Lapidary

Not visions nor dreams were so common to Florian, as new to the vampiric as he was, but in his sleep his brow furrowed and he found when his eyes had opened beads of sweat rolled their way down his temples. "What does it mean?" He uttered first, a hand pressed to cover one side of his face. Below, the uncertain murmurs of others could already be heard. ". . Meeting. Jea must call a meeting." 

It was nothing but grief. The form he found was still and cold, and not a sound from his lips nor the prayers he pleaded to whatever god might show mercy could bring back what was so violently stolen from him. 

Everything he had given, every day he strived to be better, someone better for them. His children, those gentle faces who had looked to him with trust and joy. Now, so much torn from him in such a short time, as his family was reduced to two. Had it all been worth it? Everything sacrificed? Of course it had, just to see the smile on her face. Anything for her to know she was safe, and that he was proud of her above all else. She was so good, worth everything.

The walls of Hokhmat trembled, for a short time. Like a roll of thunder as he stared, near catatonic at that white sheet with the horrible knowledge of what was beneath. You never understand, until it strikes you and your kin, the true awful tendencies of the world and it's dark corners. Each time before now he had taken it, sat idle, ignored with the feeble hope that it would pass him by and he would not have to face it. It was clear now that pacifism was not enough, to drive the worldly demons away. 

For the first time in years, Orion would seek his blade. It would not happen again.

3/3

Florian had passed the cell on occasion, watching the imprisoned writhe as he struggled to fight off the influences so graciously given to him. Each time, with the lightest chuckle. "He'll come to thrive, in it all. . ." A murmur passed beneath his breath as that final visit drew closer. "Soon."

MC Name:

         Lapidary

Character's Name:

         Orion

Character's Age:

         Old enough

Character's Race:

         High Elf

What magic(s) will you be learning?

         Water Evocation

Teacher's MC Name:

         EdenCringe

Teacher's RP Name:

         The Visitor

Do you have a magic(s) you are dropping due to this app? If so, link it:

         No

Do you agree to keep Story updated on the status of your magic app?:

         yes

Are you aware that if this magic is shelved, it will be unavailable to use?

         yes

Good rp is usually rewarded. If you put forth effort in your banditry to be interesting, I've seen players even un-soulbind items to give as rewards for well-done crp and enjoyable encounters.  Focus on what makes the other player happy, treat yourself (as a bandit) like an event for the player you're taking things from. Don't stack yourself to win every time, don't expect to get a kill, be OOCly respectful too and players will be much more likely to give up  their items. :)

2/3

I feel like I have waited long enough to give my personal take on this topic. I have been a player on LOTC for going on 5 years now, and ever since my first character on LOTC the personas I have created have all been queer in some form or another. Either by flagrant or different expression, actively seeking partners of the same gender, not conforming to gender expectations etc. I have been at this for years, I understand what the experience is like.

When I first attempted to outwardly express and pursue the storyline of "gay character, homophobic state" it was something that I found exhilarating. I was something interesting, in a place that would not accept me, and I thought it would make for an interesting story line- well I can tell you flat out from my experience it was not fun. My rp consisted of being flung from my home and rp community, character lied about and called all sorts of things icly and oocly, and had their entire personality and legacy and everything destroyed with no chance for reparation because of that simple fact: they were gay. I lost my rp community and everything I had spent months on, in half a second, because of the homophobia which at the time I was fine with but I realized shortly after just the toll it had taken on me. It's the sort of thing that makes you feel guilty out of character. If the rp is not enjoyable at all OOC, what's the point? After their exposure I lost all motivation to even play the character, and if this experience sounds false I'm sure @erictafoyaremembers just how quickly I vanished off the server after this experience. I was off LOTC for about 6 months, after how jarring it was.

I have tried again, and again, with the motivation to have a character of mine experience true happiness while allowing that to be a part of themselves. I have migrated from place to place on the server over the years, and it has reached such a point that I no longer have the energy to play characters who are human, as the experience of the church's homophobia has been so destructive to any character paths and external stories that I almost never play humans anymore. These past few years I have spent on that path in the hopes that one of these times, I would get to play a character in that realm peacefully and with some semblance of normality. This has not been the case, even after seeking groups that were specifically queer-friendly there had always remained burning homophobia pressured by outside prejudice. 

I should say, the final decision as to whether or not irp homophobia is outright admin banned is not something I am hard-pressed upon. I have been dealing with this for years, and as much as it continues to sting I will continue dealing with it anyways. I thought, though, my experiences could serve as an example for what constant irp homophobia does to a character and also to a player. It becomes so immediately disheartening to be removed from what you have, the people you care about, the work you were doing all because of something so small. It really just breaks my heart each time. Homophobia is fine when you have your first dose, at least for a little while, but you begin to feel restricted and tired and limited to a section of the server just to play a character that doesn't fit a specific mold. It's draining, demotivating and rapidly becomes so exhausting to keep reliving. 

If not outright banned, I think the irp harassment should at least be toned down. The church could remove their ban, the storyline of characters who have been slowly fighting for their rights beneath it is one I have been a part of and participated in for years. I've wrote in-character essays  on the topic. It has been so many years of work in the making, and I'd like to see something done, instead of the accusations that it was "all OOC" and "Planned discord talk" Because I can share with you my essays, the writings, the secret wedding screenshots and the government talks. It has been happening, even if you haven't seen it- that's the nature of 'hiding it' irp right? 

I hope everyone on this thread chooses kindness. I appreciate everyone's constructive discussion, and I would like to see it kept that way. I've been in this for so long, it would be nice to see the years of rp amount to something, even if not admin-side. Roleplay on LOTC should be enjoyable, that's what I've always said- if you can't have fun OOC, then the hobby entirely loses it's purpose. I hope this settles without too much tension or OOC hatred. 

COOLDOWN REDUCTION! YES PLEASE!

+1 I'm always too scared to post MArt ideas because of the cooldown

MC Name:

         Lapidary

Character's Name:

         Kimura

Character's Age:

         Old Enough

What feat(s) will you be learning?

         Alchemy

Teacher's MC Name:

         SoftestMallow

Teacher's RP Name:

         Averwyn

Do you agree to keep Story updated on the status of your feat app?:

         Yes

Have you applied for this feat on this character before, and had it denied? If so, link the app:

         No

Are you aware that if this feat is shelved, it will be unavailable to use?

         Yes

Somewhere in the distant hills, the announcement is read by a once-wronged man who cackles a moment in delight. "Oh, what a twist! And somehow, you did not believe your actions would catch up to you?" Florian managed a grin, to himself. "Jea did not even have to send a letter. You doomed yourself from the start 'little man'." 

Somewhere in the Seven Skies, a once disgraced Alstreim sheds a tear. It had been years, and finally, it had been done. Hans von Alstreim leaned towards his mother, bowing his head into her shoulder. "Hope that ze future of humans can be happier than I was." He murmured. "A shame I did not live to see it changed."


Orion breathes a sigh of relief, knowing he and his husband can FINALLY hold hands in canonist nations. About damn time.

The new spells spells are cool don't get me wrong, but why are we adding another slot requirement? Why are we locking spells off from transfiguration enchantments, when enchantments are already SO debuffed, and transfiguration takes 2 slots to have anyways. Some of this could be cool sure, but I feel like maybe these rewrites could (instead of locking off T5 spells) be applied like jing in life evocation, where the abilities are accessbile with extra time after T5. Requiring another dedicated slot makes evocations feel so much weaker than they already are. Add progression, not hard aggressive limits and debuffs. It doesn't feel balanced at all. 

It's mostly the slot addition I find frustrating. That's a big commitment for a very small addition of power. I don't know why we're rewriting a good thing. Maybe lore addition these spells to the existing evo page? Follow the jing progression thing? idk. It feels like this will make a lot of people just sad too, I'll be honest, esp already fully built mages who would lose access to spells they might enjoy. It feels like rp-wise it would be an implementing mess. No hate, just genuinely, I don't think this will feel right on the server.

-1 man, I don't like this. Please reconsider.

Lurin's Supreme Healer scanned the document with a scowl, pushing it part-way off his desk to recall how the event had begun. "You would think, no matter the goals of righteousness these people would find the mind to have common sense. Interrupting a surgery in my clinic, to shout darkspawn while someone was under the knife? It is a repetitive pattern of assault." Orion reached for pen a moment to write a missive of his own, then dropped it, with a shake of his head. "Would probably bring them to harass us more." 

1/3

Character is a half-elven male. Play-times fall usually within the very late EST, normal AUS, or early GMT times. Though, someone who is flexible/outside these is fine by us. If you're interested in being wrapped into a whole WORLD of family drama mixed in with dark secrets and possible cult? Ties, send me a message! 

Due to the nature of the character someone who's looking to put a lot of time into them. You probably won't run out of things to do all that often, and you might not even need to wander the continent to find rp! 

DM: angelics on Discord to inquire!

Orion awoke on the floor of his home, a spiraling gaze staring up at the ceiling. There was already some ruckus outside, he could tell. A vision? It had been a long time since. He would have to find the others. Surely, they'd know what to make of it.

MC Name:

         Lapidary

Character's Name:

         Orion

Character's Age:

         Old enough

Character's Race:

         High Elf

Link to your accepted MA:

        https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/229062-conjuration-ma-lapidary

What magic(s) will you be teaching?

         Conjuration

Describe this magic or a creature as a whole:

Life evocation is still an evocation in the sense that a magician is pulling or creating nothing from the void using their knowledge of said thing and concentration, however, life evocation is immensely different in that it is not one singular element but living things, be that a walking breathing creature or a piece of flora. 

Mages conjure forth these things through the careful reconstruction of their forms, though due to the unique nature of the cast, the magi must understand the inner working of what they summon to an almost medical and at least scientific degree. To gain the ability to summon something a life evocationist must first dissect it, and gain the proper knowledge to summon them working properly. They understand the inner workings of these flora and fauna so that they may properly reconstruct them piece by piece using the void. Once summoned, a creature or plant will reflect all characteristics which they did in life, how they were constructed, with need to eat and drink should they last long enough. However, they are intrinsically linked to the psyche of the caster, and will follow directions given. Life evocation takes immense concentration to cast with the complexity of its inner workings, creating living things from the nothingness of the void.

Flora, fauna, or combinations and sections of fauna are summoned and used. Those are the basics.

Are there different sections or subsections of magic? Can those be elaborated upon?

Perennial Conjuration

Focused specifically upon the summoning of flora, perennial conjuration allows the mage to construct plant life as long as they have access to some sort of earth, soil, sand etc to summon their creations from. A conjurationist focuses their mana into said soil, and uses it as a catalyst to grow forth their creations from the void, such as a singular flower, field of plants, or one large tree. 

Perennial conjuration limits are defined through area to work out size, and with two emotes someone may conjure a single flower or patch of flowers in a 1 block radius. Every subsequent emote will raise the radial size by another block, which is spherical, allowing casters to conjure up trees with immense focus.

Disjointed Conjuration

Disjointed conjuration is the first step in a life evocationist’s journey to understanding how to properly conjure fauna. An aspiring student will begin their journey by dissecting and properly understanding the inner workings of an animal, most often beginning with a singular limb of such a creature. Once a student has taken the time to fully grasp the workings of the limb, bone structure, vein placement, muscular makeup and otherwise they can begin to conjure pieces of fauna for the first time. 

A life evocationist may use disjointed conjuration to summon individual limbs of a creature, like a frog’s leg or bird’s wing, though they can be sized no larger than a bull’s head. These are often used as projectiles in combat scenarios, though outside can be used to summon small things like a fountain of blood from one’s fingertips.

Terrestrial Conjuration
 

The abilities of terrestrial conjuration are unlocked after a long period of careful study and research on part of the student. Because of the complexity of life evocation, the reconstruction of life itself using the void, it takes much time and immense concentration on the part of the caster. A life evocationist at peak strength can only summon a creature as large as a bear. These summons require all similar functions as a regular beast of their caliber would, to eat and drink and sleep, though they are not usually held in existence for long enough to need so. Like their regular animal counterparts, they take blows, bleed, and will die if struck correctly.

The limits upon a life evocationist’s terrestrial abilities are as follows:

- 20 minuscule creatures - smaller than rats.

- 10 small creatures - larger than or the size of a rat, smaller than a housecat.

- 5 medium creatures - Housecat, up to the size of a wolf.

- 2 large creatures - Up to the size of a bear.

Chimeric Conjuration
 

Chimeric conjuration functions immensely similar to terrestrial conjuration, though combines itself with disjointed conjuration to allow a mage to combine different elements of several creatures together. The limits on the amount comparative to size for these creatures are relatively the same, and each chimeric addition requires an extra emote to cast and add to one’s work. No more than three species can be merged together, and the possession of traits from one animal to the other does not necessarily mean that animal will be more successful. A bear with wings will not be able to fly with them.

Jing Artificery is not taught directly to students, as it is to be learned by the student after they reach T5 and are removed from your TA. Because of this I do not feel it is relevant to discuss in a TA.

Can you give an example of a casting emote, of a spell of your choice?

Orion drew both hands before himself, raised palms facing the earth before him as a ripple passed over his hands. The splitting open of a connection, like a small wave that strung specks of violet between his fingers like a hanging mist. He guided this to wrap about his wrists, condensing that concentrated flow out from his palms towards a center mass before him. allowing it to pour forth into a structure, growing in size slowly as a temporary amorphous construct.

Orion reached forth into that reservoir like an artist to clay, fingers shifting and pushing to construct what began to take the shape of a mana-fueled skeleton. Another pinch of effort, allowing reality to condense in place and an ivory hue to wash over his construction, forming marrow then bone weaving up and over itself into individual vertebrae, ribs, joints and the beginning of a skull. What he crafted reached about up to his knee in height, as the faintest trickle of red emerged from between each jointed connection. A weaving of tendons, carefully strung to connect each piece and hold it while the rest was to be formed.

Orion leaned closer as his energy was focused to the middle, pulsing energy made into a collection of spheres that he cautiously shaped into organs. A throat, leading to lungs and stomach, down to intestines, kidneys, everything in-between. Strung over them quickly to be contained was another layer of muscle, stuck to the diaphragm, then another as from the center mass there washed out a crawling cover of muscular attachments and veins to the heart. bringing blood to every edge of the body, as it was almost complete.

Orion sat back with a nod, pleased with his work as a hand guided slowly over his creation. Skin and fur, attaching to bone and crawling its way over the body. Eyes swirled out into the skull, flesh connecting itself to muscle and hiding the gory scene beneath. Linking to lips, over claws and tail, as the canine before him finally released a small yip. Maintaining his energy flow, to hold it steady.

Can you give an example of a teaching-emote (interacting with another) of a spell of your choice?

Orion sat down carefully at the table just across from Ino, scanning over the lab, then back to his student. Both hands were folded together in his lap as he observed his student, waiting for his approach. “Do you remember how we did the last one?” A question following. “You’ll want your journal for proper reference while we work.”

“I do- sort of. Or maybe not.” The elf offered in reply, fumbling for his book that was soon sprawled out open onto the table. Flipping through pages quickly, to come to his notes and check over them once again.

“Then you remember, we want to reference our work- good.” A motion was given from Orion, to the delicate drawings on the page. “The rabbit is a good start, but we’ll want to work with it in pieces, unlike the flower. Since fauna is able to move and function partly on its own, we first need to learn to form parts of it, before the whole can be formed. Let’s start with something simple yet in-depth, like the leg for example.” The book was nudged towards him.

Ino pinched at the corner of the page, taking a good look over his diagram. Checking over his notes on the rabbit’s leg, and tracing it with a finger. “I ne remember if I marked everything down right. The veins move a lot with dissection.”

Orion raised a hand, with a reassuring nod. “That is why we practice, Ino. It will take a try or so to perfect- so after our lesson, like the last, I expect you to spend some personal time perfecting.” He raised a palm, allowing his own connection to ripple open between his fingertips. “Follow me, ai? The steps are easy, once you know the order. We’ll do bone first, for solid structure- Then muscle, veins and nerves. Then skin over-top, to wrap it in. Seems easy enough?”

That seemed to bring some confidence towards Ino, and he opened a connection of his own, a shimmery pink-orange like a sunset flowing down over his shoulders and towards his palms. Like a gentle mist, he raised it, looking to Orion for further instruction.

“We start with the bones,” he guided, wrapping those swaths of violet between his fingers and guiding them together with his palms. Like a sculpturist, each place he pressed his fingers to those swaths of mana took slowly solid form, first a pulsing of marrow from the middle and then three links of bone to cover each joint of the rabbit’s leg to its foot. Looking towards his student, and waiting patiently for him to follow.

Ino gave it a look over, then chuckled. “Seems easy!” as his own aura began to move, focusing as marrow began to form. The bones over-top weren’t quite smooth, but they got the shape done, even if they were a little bumpy.

“Take your time with it, Ino. Slow and steady. Life is structured, not quite as chaotic as the elements.” He encouraged, offering a second nod. “Smooth the errors, before you continue. Practice makes perfect.”

Now with a furrowing of his brow, Ino concentrated over the hovering bones he had made, pushing a thumb covered in mist against it and tracing down. The material smoothed itself flat with a bit of concentration, and a grin met his lips when it was finished. “Oh- that worked! I didn’t think it would.”

Orion watched his work closely for a moment, the faintest smile meeting his lips with a hint of pride. “That’s it- While making life, it is still your own manifestation. You have time to perfect them, if given focus.” A pause, guiding another swath of violet back to his fingertips. “Now for the muscles, check your diagram again.” As tendons and reddish matter began to crawl its way over the bones. Veins wove their way between the matter, and he took another pause, watching intently and waiting for Ino to follow.

With a burst of confidence, Ino reached with both hands up towards his creation, starting to form out those chunks of flesh and mold them over the bone. He did his best, glancing at his notes on occasion to estimate the location of nerves and veins, but attached proper tendons between the bones. With a test, he made the tendon pull back, a kick sent from it as he grinned with pride.

Orion seemed satisfied with that result, as skin and fur began to crawl its way over his own conjuration. “Final step, wrap it all in.”

Ino pushed his mana over the formation of the leg, still grinning as he did so, working efficiently now to create his summon. The skin and furry brown fluff tucked its way beneath the toes, and he gleamed with pride in the process. “I did it, see?” He turned to Orion when it was finished, and the rabbit’s leg gave another kick- only for the skin to split at the heel, and partly slide off. All former pride faded from Ino’s face immediately. “But- I did all the steps!”

With a sigh, Orion reached out towards Ino to offer a reassuring tap to his shoulder. “That’s the beauty of practice. When you try it the next time, on your own, you remember.” A motion to where the skin had split. “Where your biggest mistakes were.” His own conjuration fizzled out in a puff of red back to the void. “Want to give it another go?”

Say your student powergames during or after teaching, how do you reprimand that?

I expect to choose my students very carefully, but in the case that I learn they have powergamed, I will work with them directly to ensure they properly understand how to cast their magic, and if the behavior continues I will report/remove them for it. I will only give them two chances to fix their behavior before this.

Do you have a magic(s) you are dropping due to this app? If so, link it:

         No

Do you agree to keep the ST updated on the status of your magic app?:

         Yes

Have you applied to teach this magic on this character before, and had it denied? If so, link the app.

         No

These are quite cool! What if one of them was gained at 16 weeks instead of 12, to add a bit more progression even after the curse is permanent? Just a suggestion. 

While I see the difficulty in managing Tawkin mutations, there are so many characters I'm familiar with that have their benefits as an integral part of their character. I think this could be easily tracked with something simple as an FA and reply system, in which the mutation is specified. I understand wanting to boost CAs, but the loss of mutations is immensely sad to both myself and a large community of people. Herbs we'll never get back!

This has happened to me several times in the past few weeks and it's immensely frustrating! I do my best to extend kindness and give ground and take hits, and it's impossible to enjoy it all when you're the only one who takes hits, and gives none! Good faith CRP is important, and I don't understand why people refuse to do it. How is the rp enjoyable without any give and take? For silly pixels?! 

bro got his soul chopped up yay Scion

4 minutes ago, Gaea_Foundation said:

 They are actually based off Poros from League of Legends!

FANTASTIC I want them 100%

You just like wybels don't you

+1 anyways I love these things wth amazing