-
This section is for roleplays only.
ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.
Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.
Fantasy Grimhaern, City of Schemes
sspky
ooof my bones
(( Right-o so Grimhaern is ruled over by 5 Great Houses. Each Great House is run by a powerful sorcerer called a Grand Magnus, and they are all named after animals. House of Owls, House of Rams, Houses of Stags, House of Wolves, House of Starlings. *jazz hands* ))
Grimhaern was a sprawling city of stone spires and arched bridges, overlooking a mess of narrow, winding streets and secretive, dank passageways. It was a city of secrets and schemes, with five Great Houses, each ruled by a sorcerer of great acclaim, and each vying for power over the other noble factions. The denizens of these Great Houses lived in opulent mansion-towers that looked out over the maze of layered streets and gabled rooftops of the city below.
The city proper was home to an utterly diverse citizenry. Although founded on human ancestry, the rise of the Great Houses and their formidable control over the elements of magic, had brought about an era of prosperity for Grimhaern. This led to the mass immigration of all manner of non-human outsiders, who flocked to the ever-growing city in search of their own fortune and providence.
Marcus Anton of the Owl had been born and bred in Grimhaern, although unlike his compatriots at the House of Owls, he had little distaste for the influx of outsiders who had settled in the city. In many ways, Marcus himself was an outsider. While his brothers and sisters of the House preferred to spend their days in the spired upper-city of the Great Houses, Marcus had little patience or interest in the scheming and politics of his bloodline.
Although very well educated, Marcus had little talent for magic. This unfortunate fact had become apparent at a young age, and so his father, third-great-grand-nephew of Grand Magnus Vivus Artalius of the House of Owls, handed his third youngest son off to a distant cousin who had made a career for himself as a captain in the city guard.
Because of this, Marcus felt he had more in common with the watchmen and their citizenry, then with the pomp and circumstance of the Great Houses. Due to his lineage, however, Marcus had been fast-tracked through the ranks, and soon found himself in a comfortable position as lieutenant.
“You’re too clever for this by half, Marc,” his cousin and mentor had told him, and soon the opportunity for a different branch of service presented itself. His literacy and quality of education had already put him far ahead of his common-bred compatriots, and by 29 he had taken on the position of Hand of the House -- a rank of Agent designed to ferret out trouble before it became to comparison to the guard to handle.
He certainly wasn’t the only Hand of the House in the Guard. Each of the Great Houses kept a good dozen or so Hands in service at any given time. It was a treacherous line of work, with enemies from both the criminal underground and from within the Guard and the Houses themselves.
Yet it served Marcus Anton well enough. He was able to avoid the stuffy, pretentious life of the Houseman, and he needn’t surround himself with the brutish ignorance of the common Guards. Instead, he cloaked himself in the city and relished in the anonymity that his position afforded him.
It was thanks to this anonymity that the tavern master and her staff at the Hare and Huntsman thought Marcus Anton was a simple sergeant of the city guard who chose to frequent the tavern in his off-hours. Now in this mid-thirties, Marcus had settled comfortably into his unorthodox career. Few who knew him knew him well enough to know he was a Hand, and those who did know of his true vocation, he kept at an arms-length as much as possible.
The Hare and Huntsman was a three-story, half-timber boarding-house and tavern located in the cities River District. It wasn’t cheap enough to be destitute, and not expensive enough to seem extravagant, and so it tended to appeal to the more savoury and morally upstanding of the cities visitors. This was exactly the sort of crowd Marcus preferred to spend his leisure hours around -- they didn’t cause trouble, and they tended to mind their own damn business.
Grimhaern was a sprawling city of stone spires and arched bridges, overlooking a mess of narrow, winding streets and secretive, dank passageways. It was a city of secrets and schemes, with five Great Houses, each ruled by a sorcerer of great acclaim, and each vying for power over the other noble factions. The denizens of these Great Houses lived in opulent mansion-towers that looked out over the maze of layered streets and gabled rooftops of the city below.
The city proper was home to an utterly diverse citizenry. Although founded on human ancestry, the rise of the Great Houses and their formidable control over the elements of magic, had brought about an era of prosperity for Grimhaern. This led to the mass immigration of all manner of non-human outsiders, who flocked to the ever-growing city in search of their own fortune and providence.
Marcus Anton of the Owl had been born and bred in Grimhaern, although unlike his compatriots at the House of Owls, he had little distaste for the influx of outsiders who had settled in the city. In many ways, Marcus himself was an outsider. While his brothers and sisters of the House preferred to spend their days in the spired upper-city of the Great Houses, Marcus had little patience or interest in the scheming and politics of his bloodline.
Although very well educated, Marcus had little talent for magic. This unfortunate fact had become apparent at a young age, and so his father, third-great-grand-nephew of Grand Magnus Vivus Artalius of the House of Owls, handed his third youngest son off to a distant cousin who had made a career for himself as a captain in the city guard.
Because of this, Marcus felt he had more in common with the watchmen and their citizenry, then with the pomp and circumstance of the Great Houses. Due to his lineage, however, Marcus had been fast-tracked through the ranks, and soon found himself in a comfortable position as lieutenant.
“You’re too clever for this by half, Marc,” his cousin and mentor had told him, and soon the opportunity for a different branch of service presented itself. His literacy and quality of education had already put him far ahead of his common-bred compatriots, and by 29 he had taken on the position of Hand of the House -- a rank of Agent designed to ferret out trouble before it became to comparison to the guard to handle.
He certainly wasn’t the only Hand of the House in the Guard. Each of the Great Houses kept a good dozen or so Hands in service at any given time. It was a treacherous line of work, with enemies from both the criminal underground and from within the Guard and the Houses themselves.
Yet it served Marcus Anton well enough. He was able to avoid the stuffy, pretentious life of the Houseman, and he needn’t surround himself with the brutish ignorance of the common Guards. Instead, he cloaked himself in the city and relished in the anonymity that his position afforded him.
It was thanks to this anonymity that the tavern master and her staff at the Hare and Huntsman thought Marcus Anton was a simple sergeant of the city guard who chose to frequent the tavern in his off-hours. Now in this mid-thirties, Marcus had settled comfortably into his unorthodox career. Few who knew him knew him well enough to know he was a Hand, and those who did know of his true vocation, he kept at an arms-length as much as possible.
The Hare and Huntsman was a three-story, half-timber boarding-house and tavern located in the cities River District. It wasn’t cheap enough to be destitute, and not expensive enough to seem extravagant, and so it tended to appeal to the more savoury and morally upstanding of the cities visitors. This was exactly the sort of crowd Marcus preferred to spend his leisure hours around -- they didn’t cause trouble, and they tended to mind their own damn business.
