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04-24-24 11:28 PM |
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| Main - The Landfill - Ximes, Chapter 1 - Of Slums and Sorcery | New thread | Thread closed |
| Tommathy |
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 Red Paragoomba Level: 20 Posts: 1/60 EXP: 36814 Next: 5625 Since: 02-19-07 From: Cloud Nine, Turn Left and I'm There~ Last post: 6116 days Last view: 6067 days |
Intro: Welcome to the (fictional) city of Ximes. It's a large, sprawling metropolis located somewhere in the middle of south Pennsylvania on the (fictional) Abrax River. On the East side there's sky scrapers, fancy apartments, lots of small parks, and farther out you've got the various suburbs of Ximes. The West side is dominated by the docks, industrial sector, and the slums. There is a brisk and efficient bus system, and a one-token anywhere subway. The football team is the Ximes Knights, and the baseball team is the Ximes Lumberjacks. There is also a WNBA team, the Ximes Valkyries. The Knights have had a rather crappy season.
There is a crime problem in Ximes, with gangs constantly warring in the riverside district. The city has the dubious distinction of having the highest homicide rate in the state. The police force is largely under-funded, however, as crime seems primarily concentrated on the West side, and the upper classes on the East really don't care what happens in the slums. Most funding goes into schools and city beautification, and most legislation errs on the side of reducing taxes. This RP is based on an alternate Earth where magic exists, in a variety of different forms. Some examples include cryptomancers who draw runes to shape magic, priests of various religions, wizards who rely on magical artifacts such as wands and staves, and psionicists who use their minds. Feel free to implement your own system of magic. Most everyone knows some minor form of magic, although one can only subscribe to a particular form of magic, once you start casting spells of one sort, you can't use other kinds. Such is the nature of magic in the local universe. The ability to use magic happens around the time puberty sets in (thus, no five year olds tossing fireballs), and basic magic is taught to all high school freshmen (atleast in Pennsylvania). Higher level magic can be taken as an elective, and colleges give degrees with Majors in the various forms of magic. Magic is pretty much legal to use everywhere, although, obviously, use of combative magics in the middle of the street is frowned upon (much like the random discharge of a gun). The subway and buses prohibit eating, drinking, animals, music devices without headphones, and all magic use. Teleportation, time travel, emotion-affecting spells (ex: "love charms"), "death" and "life" spells are outside the realm of possibility with magic. However, the benefits of two of the three are slightly remedied with flight (for fast transport), and mental domination (to force someone to act as you please). No spell known can make a person suddenly "stop living" or "start living again". Undead creatures (zombies, skeletons, vampires, liches, ghosts, etc.) can be created, however the practice is outlawed and really socially taboo (it's up there with owning slaves and beating women). Feel free to take any role in this RP. Perhaps another cop on the beat, a local juvenile delinquent with a heart of gold, a local crime boss, the hardcore owner of the local liquor store, the crazy homeless guy who sees more than what's really there. I'm envisioning an ensemble sort of RP, with many different, interesting stories intertwining for a slice of life sort of feel. Your character need not even interact with the others on a significant basis, but instead react to the larger goings on in the life of the city, and have their own distinctly unique tale to tell. The story opens on January 1st, 2007, 02:57 AM ***RP start*** "Ah, finally, some time to relax..." Jon sighed, as he slumped down onto his comfortably worn-and-ratty second-hand couch. It had been a LOOONG night. On his patrol, there had been three gang fights, seven incidents of domestic violence, countless riots, rowdy-ness, acts of vandalism, and that one bitch who bit him in the arm. Most people had fun as they counted down celebrated the changing of the calendar, but for an officer of the law it was one of the most obnoxious nights of the year. Quietly, he contemplated his apartment. Even though the lights were all off and the blinds were down, a red glow suffused the tiny efficiency suite. Across the street was a great, steadily glowing neon sign that read "ROY'S HORSEMEAT PALACE", which was tragically always in good repair no matter how often the neighborhood kids threw stones at it. His gas stove had only one working burner, his refridgerator a non-functioning freezer, and his bathroom yielded exactly six minutes of hot water. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this BS" he thought to himself. After vegetating for several blessed minutes of inaction, Jon contemplated getting himself a beer from the refrigerator, and then watching some old movies until the either hundreds of cups of coffee he drank wore off or the hundreds of bottles of beer he was about to drink kicked in. In the end, he decided "Screw it, I think I'm just going to lay here until I fall asleep", and traced a darkening sigil in the air to dim the awful, red glare that always pervaded his studio flat. Right at the moment unconciousness nearly had him in it's sweet, sweet grasp, a huge *BOOM* awakened him, and the crimson haze that usually permeated his apartment was replaced by a sickly purple and yellow glow. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, roused from his slumber. He looked out his window, and the red neon tribute to Horsement was muted in comparison to the huge, strangely-hued and distinctly magical flames that had engulfed a large portion of the Riverside slums. Fully awakened, he grabbed his coat, put a hat on over his curly brown hair, and ran out the door to find out what the hell was going on and to kick the ass of who ever it was that interrupted his rightfully deserved sleep! ____________________  |
| Caos |
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 Paragoomba Level: 20 Posts: 14/65 EXP: 41509 Next: 930 Since: 02-19-07 From: Camrose, AB Last post: 6231 days Last view: 6116 days |
Maximilian walked along with with his hands in the pockets of his oversized brown overcoat, paying no attention to the homeless people scurrying to the other end of the street with whatever belongings they still held dear to them under their arms. He held his hand up to shield his eyes, waiting for the bright flash of flame to subside and the overwhelming cloud of smoke to crest it.
He wheezed loudly, watching his breath in front of him quickly fade back into nothingness. It was only likely that an otherwise chilly night be torn apart by this new heat. Few things in Ximes were truly dependable. He rubbed one palm into the black beret holding the majority of his blonde hair back, and continued walking forward. Again he reminded himself why breaking curfew was normally a Very Bad Thing. He reached under his coat, his hand eventually fumbling to a foot-long handcannon that hung from his belt. The device looked more like a badly-made radar gun, as a series of supports attached to its barrel held a square, red lens in front of the muzzle. Nonetheless, he didn't need to see any more of the weapon than was necessary, and he toggled several small switches down the back of the grip. He moved his hands back into his pockets, looking over his shoulder. He only had a few more blocks to go and he wouldn't likely encounter anyone else... but in this day and age, he never knew. |
| Grey |
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 Panser Level: 42 Posts: 74/338 EXP: 492234 Next: 29128 Since: 02-19-07 Last post: 6090 days Last view: 4675 days |
The slums were burning. Christoph could feel the heat around him as he stared down the arrogant teenager whose sneer haunted his vision...
--------------- The educational system in Ximes had changed significantly for the better in recent times -- Less destructive magic was being taught, and an advocacy of control of magical use, as opposed to abstinence, was widely advocated throughout the city and its surrounding counties. Creationism, they called it. Using magic to build a better world, instead of using it to annihilate your fellow man. A Grad student at the Ximes University, Chris had never envisioned himself in a situation like this; It was here that he learned that the school in no way prepared him for any kind of danger surrounding magic, instead taking its idealistic view of the system and pumping him full of knowledge about windmills and glass-cutting. It'd figure -- so much for destruction, every single one of his professors had been a Creationist. Of course, there still existed electives and clubs for graduate studies in truly destructive magick, as opposed to the run-of-the-mill Arts and Sciences degrees, but recent legislation had outlawed their use in large part. The balance of power simply tipped too far to the left and right when force was used to control the masses. But in times like this, Christoph couldn't help but see just how wrong the authorities were... --------------- The older man cursed under his breath as he drew a small knife out of his pocket... The teenager eyed the knife through a pair of shimmering sunglasses, and grinned. ???: "A knife, eh? Going to stab me? Hope you're not considering trying Blood magic, now... You and I both know that that's illegal in Ximes, after all." Christoph: "And stealing an Industrial Lifting Glove, attacking a citizen, and setting a slum on fire isn't? You're just a little punk. Magic shouldn't be used that way... Not to hurt people." The teenager raised an eyebrow. This guy was making him feel a little desperate... Christoph turned the knife towards himself, and felt his eye twitch slightly as he prepared for the sting. The teenager staggered backward, and feigned calmness. ???: "Hey, whoa now! Practice what you preach, man! I... I ain't got time to deal with this now. Just get your facts straight. I ain't got nothing to do with setting this place on fire, and this glove..." He raised his left fist, encased by a roughly-sewn leather glove that reeked of sloppily-applied magic, and continued his fearful plea. "...It's mine. Take a look at the shoddy casting on it! And why would a standard industrial glove be a lefty? And hey! If it IS mine, which I can tell you it is, how could I have started any of this?" Christoph gripped his knife in a rapidly sweating hand. The kid was right. If he was an enchanter, it wasn't too likely he'd have the capacity to just hurl fireballs left and right, like the scene appeared as. He hesitated. The teenager watched for his cue, and there was a quick pump of leg muscles as the boy sprang up and out of the burning streets, his boots carrying him high into the air and safely onto a rooftop. 'Dammit all...' Christoph thought as the boy ran away. Standing among the flames, he placed his knife back into his pocket, and ran a hand through the dark mess of hair on his head. Of course, his absent-minded anger at the conflict that had just arisen had for the moment relieved him of his ability to think rationally. Instead of focusing on the fact that he was standing amidst a magical inferno as the only possible perpetrator of the event in the eyes of the local authorities, Christoph contemplated why that kid had tried to jump him in the first place. Naturally, his troubles had only just begun... |
| Tommathy |
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Red Paragoomba Level: 20 Posts: 9/60 EXP: 36814 Next: 5625 Since: 02-19-07 From: Cloud Nine, Turn Left and I'm There~ Last post: 6116 days Last view: 6067 days |
Jon stepped out onto the street felt waves of heat radiating from flames more than ten blocks distant. Turning to face the river for respite from the radiance and burning, he dimly heard the low, rough rumbling of fire truck sirens. Insofar as he could tell, they were making all-haste toward the Lion Street Bridge, but certainly wouldn't arrive before the conflaguration devoured all of Riverside, and maybe even his own place here in Shady Gardens.
He looked up, and saw tens of heads peering out of windows, looking much like stacked meercats in a concrete savannah. Stupidly they stared at the fires, slack jawed and pointing and muttering "Look at that!" and "What's going on?" Irritably swatted his hand over his head, and scrawled a bright yellow shouting sigil, Jon called out "It's a fire, ya morons, and it's coming this way! Stop gawking and run!" Satisfied to see heads popping back inside (hopefully) to gather family members and run, the lanky cop did some of his own running, but *towards* the distaster zone. Dimly, he noticed the piercing wail of police cars joining in the cacophony. "Well, at least I won't have to call for back-up" he thought to himself. As he ran he drew more rune, weaving lines of coruscating, reality bending force into the air. Protections against heat and smoke went up first and took up fixed postions above his shoulders. Another darkening symbol, but slightly altered so that it only affected yellow and violet wavelengths of light. Finally, as he crossed Iris Street, one block away from the first tongues of flame, he brought both hands to fore and created runes for moisture and cold with great sweeping motions of his arms. "Some people might call me a hero, 'OFF-DUTY COP FIGHTS FIRE', or something stupid like that" was the thought that was carried in the back of his mind. "Screw that, I just don't want to lose my shitty, rent-controlled apartment, and I know for damn sure the 'authorities' aren't going to make it in time to save us." And with that, a long night had just become even longer.... ____________________ |
| Sinfjotle |
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 Red Cheep-cheep Level: 35 Posts: 11/221 EXP: 260246 Next: 19690 Since: 02-19-07 Last post: 6104 days Last view: 6141 days |
Chi couldn't help herself but cough, the smoke was making it nearly impossible to breath. She was collapsed on the floor and after wasting precious oxygen crawling around trying to find a way out she thought she was about to die. She had learned how to use a type of enhancement magic from her brother, but it required a person to be calm, and she was anything but calm. As she continued to cough, she became distant from her distress, almost accepting.
It was a very odd feeling as she felt her hair singeing, she was suddenly at peace with everything around her. She felt herself automatically reach out with some sort of phantom limb and the fires died all around her. Was this telekinesis? No, she didn't think so, she made no thought about stopping the fire. She felt air rush back into her lungs and she had another coughing fit. Slowly standing, the young woman looked around her. Everything else was still on fire. Her red hair and eyes seemed to have quite a bit of company tonight. She tried to focus again to bring out that phantom limb and quench the fires that she could see, but she couldn't access the same power that had saved her. Chi: "Come on..." She couldn't do anything to help anyone else. |
| Trapster |
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 Morton Koopa Feel the pain of those inferior beings...as you burn in hell! Level: 98 Posts: 38/2410 EXP: 9371487 Next: 282866 Since: 02-19-07 From: Sweden Last post: 4513 days Last view: 4494 days |
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| Tommathy |
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Red Paragoomba Level: 20 Posts: 20/60 EXP: 36814 Next: 5625 Since: 02-19-07 From: Cloud Nine, Turn Left and I'm There~ Last post: 6116 days Last view: 6067 days |
***OOC POST***
Traps, not to be tyrannical, but your character isn't quite fitting the RP theme. I'm going for more of a comic book, gritty, pulpy schlocky feel, and also more of a modern, slice of life, ensemble, living city environment. More "Heroes", less "Hogwarts". If you could maybe adjust your character's theme a bit, change his name to something a bit more contemporary, and ditch the cheezy reverse-KKK look, that'd be great  The story elements you've added so far though (moving into the slums for mysterious "guardianship" purposes, being a young independently wealthy wizard, and finding Chi) work well so far.
To everyone else, your posts have all been fantastic, and I'll have Jon's next segment up tomorrow =) ***OOC POST*** ____________________ |
| Grey |
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Panser Level: 42 Posts: 81/338 EXP: 492234 Next: 29128 Since: 02-19-07 Last post: 6090 days Last view: 4675 days |
There was a glint of a pair of black sunglasses as the young man who had previously brought an unknown degree of danger into Christoph's life eyed the wand Belgarion had used to douse the flames. They shined blue for a moment, and the boy got a much closer view, his enchanted frames giving him sight beyond sight. Slowly, the distance between the rooftop that he stood upon and Belgarion's shattered window shortened, husked in the dull glow of magic.
???: "Hoohoo... Was that a Wand of Elements? Been a while since I saw one of those. Guy's just wavin' it around, too." He held out his hand and grimaced, looking up at the sky as the heavily magnified drops of rain fell in droves on him. Oddly enough, only his exposed skin and hair were soaked. He harumphed. "If this weren't such a strong spell, I'd swear the guy was an amateur. Well..." He tapped his toe on the rooftop twice and nodded. The boy's boots glistened with green sparks for a second, a sign of another dirty casting, and he took off like a speeding car across the rooftops. Three settings: Speed, Spring, and Special. He hurtled from roof to roof, grabbing handles and swinging from rails along the way, crushing them with the iron grip of his left hand. "...I've got to get out of this rain soon..." It wasn't as though he was in any immediate danger, but the boy had an intolerable aversion to water -- Not any particular physical need, as everyone drank it, more a personal preference. That said, it went without saying that enchanters in general disliked water; unless personally safeguarded against its effects (which the boy consistently attempted), water would sometimes cause certain magically enhanced articles to malfunction or, in extremely rare cases, stop working altogether. There was nothing worse than being twenty-thousand leagues under the sea, only to realize you had forgotten to waterproof your Blouse of Breathing. And to a young man who was springing from rooftop to rooftop with a pair of boots that made sure his knees wouldn't buckle and shatter from the impact, safety became somewhat imperative. He made a particularly high jump to the roof of a tall but dilapadated communal home, where an air vent curved upward to meet him, welcoming his entry. Diving inside, the boy scuttled through the well-sized vents before reaching an exit panel. He took his gloved hand and reached for the bars, lifting the entire structure delicately out of the way. With a tap of his foot, another shower of green sparks, and a bound out of the vent that bounced him soundlessly onto the carpeted floor of the building's interior, the boy found himself in the fifth-floor hallway of the building's east side. Reaching upward to the low ceilings, the boy replaced the vent cover and turned to a door on his right. He drew a small key from his pocket, unlocked and opened the door, and walked into his sparse home, which only slightly resembled a magical laboratory -- cauldrons for soaking items lay about, in spite of their looking suspiciously like cookware, and a few books were strewn across the otherwise barren countertops. "Know your Glow", "Lifestyles of the Witch and Famous", and "Metabolic-level Enchanting for Dummies" were but a few of the odd-hat topical material. Satisfied with the day's work, the boy collapsed lightly onto a lumpy, tattered couch, picked up the remote control for his small television set with his gloved hand, and promptly crushed it. Surprised for a moment, he grimaced and took off the glove before getting up to manually turn on the television. --------------- Christoph, of course, was in a completely different world of shit. With the authorities arriving soon, he'd be in for a fierce questioning, especially if they found his knife. The younger man was correct. Blood magic WAS illegal to use publicly, and as a rule it was considered suspicious for anyone in Ximes to be carrying around a knife for what seemed like no reason, unless they used it for some kind of profession. Even then, the blood of a magician was so potent that those who usually used knifes in their professions often found charms and enchantments that prevented them from actually touching the hazardous device. Carrying a knife around in Ximes was like waving a gun around in public, claiming madly that you swore you wouldn't shoot anyone, especially not that exposed gas main on 3rd Street. The reason? Blood magic was powerful stuff, dark and mysterious, a real-life storybook plot device. The weapon of terrorists and serial killers, whose scarred and slashed bodies could at some points become even more gruesome than their victims, it traded the body's essence for power, and was a social faux-pas to even know. Nevertheless, it was available for independent study, and Christoph had felt the need to be able to defend himself from anything, especially in a world where kids like that boy existed. It was this, Christoph's desire for security and understanding, that his peers saw as one of his less impressive qualities. But even the best and brightest students can sometimes find themselves in rotten situations, and as the local law enforcement closed in on Christoph's position, Christoph did little more than consider the properties of the fire's ferocity and what that young man might have had to do with it... |
| Trapster |
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Morton Koopa Feel the pain of those inferior beings...as you burn in hell! Level: 98 Posts: 42/2410 EXP: 9371487 Next: 282866 Since: 02-19-07 From: Sweden Last post: 4513 days Last view: 4494 days |
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| Caos |
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Paragoomba Level: 20 Posts: 28/65 EXP: 41509 Next: 930 Since: 02-19-07 From: Camrose, AB Last post: 6231 days Last view: 6116 days |
As the boy's door slammed shut, Max walked around the corner down at the other end of the hallway. He slogged down towards the room immediately next to his, leaving a dirt trail that mingled with his. Max fumbled around in the other pocket of his coat for a moment, and suddenly flung out a keyring that nearly fell off his finger. He jammed the device into the door's lock and jiggled it around for a moment. Upon hearing the click associated with it however, he only pulled it out halfway - and twisted again. A previously unseen sigil above the door handle pulsed green for a moment and the door quietly swung open.
Anyone could replicate a physical object if they knew what they were doing, copying its enchantment was an entirely different matter, and Max had worked on building one onto his apartment key and its accompanying lock. The neighborhood sucked. He didn't want to have everything stolen, how little that actually represented. Of course the elaborate device didn't exactly work as intended, but it would suffice. Enchantment wasn't his forte. Max maintained his chambers better than other rooms in the apartment, but it still wouldn't be considered the height of living. He flicked on the light in the kitchen as he passed through. Moving to the living room, he stuck a hand behind the curtain and drew it back slightly. The fires on the horizon had diminished. It still irked him a little to watch it play out. He threw himself onto the couch, flicking on the television and moving it to the local news network. True enough, people were watching the situation play out like the new grim fad it was. Max reached over his head to the endtable and fidgeted around for a bit before draping his face with a thick, white hardbound text. He continued to look over it with only a tiny bit of ambient light and the television to guide him. Within minutes the book would be back on the table, and Max would be asleep. "Alchemic Fortitude". |
| Sinfjotle |
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Red Cheep-cheep Level: 35 Posts: 16/221 EXP: 260246 Next: 19690 Since: 02-19-07 Last post: 6104 days Last view: 6141 days |
As Chi heard someone speak to her, she suddenly turned her head. What greeted her was a wizard, her eyes opened wide as she forced her body to move, and fast. She leaped out a window of the now ruined and half blown out first floor. Her enhancement magic flowed easily as she poured magical energy into her legs, giving her a high speed advantage against possible pursuers. Her head throbbed and her heart beat sped up. A wizard had been the one that ambushed her and her brother.
The slums were never a safe place, Chi knew it very well. Her brother was a strong magic user and very gifted at close range combat. His enhancement magic could be focused into making a body part have the impact of a rocket. The wall piercing power and mind blowing speed had saved him many times, but an elemental wizard had ambushed him. She was cast off to the side as a strong wind flipped her aside and forced her brother into a slower speed. Lightning was the wizards next move as it struck at him from all sides. He broke free of the lightning before it fried him, but all that greeted him was a swarm of ice needles. He never would've gotten close against such a fast magic caster and Chi never knew why he was targeted. Ever since then, Chi couldn't trust a wizard. Any other kind of magic user could be defeated by getting in close range before they could finish their incantation, but many magical items were instant and had great effects. As Chi rushed through the slums at top speed, she began t o become aware of just how much her burns hurt. It would take her a while of concentration to repair her skin and hair. She stopped suddenly to try and find a safe spot, but before she could even look around, she felt a sharp pain in her head as a small rock smashed into it. Dazed for a second, Chi jumped away from the direction of where the rock had come from. She could only see two figures, but she couldn't make them out. Another rock whizzed by her head and struck glass behind her. Figure: "Hey girly, where you goin'? Eh? How 'bout ya' come here and have some fun?" Manners weren't common in the slums and bullies tended to get away with everything, at least if they were strong enough. They would commonly take simple forms of magic that could be controlled by brute force, something that Chi could deal with easily. She leaped into the air and crossed the distance between the two with blindingly fast speed. She planted her foot right on his head, but he didn't budge an inch. As Chi looked at the man she noticed that he wasn't using some low level force magic. Her force didn't even make contact with his head as a small barrier of rock had stopped her less than an inch short. Leaping backwards and landing on her feet, Chi was prepared to run. Man: "Got some fight in her!" Chi moved just as another rock formed in front of the man and then shot at her. The man didn't let her have the opportunity to recover as a shower of rocks began to pelt her. Second Thug: "Dude, she's going to be so beat up it ain't gonna be worth it." Man: "Relax, she's one of them enhancers, she can fix herself." Chi felt a larger stone hit her in the back of the head and blacked out. |
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Morton Koopa Feel the pain of those inferior beings...as you burn in hell! Level: 98 Posts: 71/2410 EXP: 9371487 Next: 282866 Since: 02-19-07 From: Sweden Last post: 4513 days Last view: 4494 days |
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| Main - The Landfill - Ximes, Chapter 1 - Of Slums and Sorcery | New thread | Thread closed |
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