Reynarda
Nerdy Vampire
Everyone knows the two sides that war unseen--the two sides that attempt to drag organic flesh into their bickering. They are Good and Evil. Heaven and Hell. Angels and Demons.
But few have noticed the tireless toils of the neutral party. They are those who dwell in the Between and Keep reality. Certainly, there are stories of the Grim Reaper, the Sandman, Mother Earth, and Madam Fate. But few thank the endless work of Time, Chaos, or Imagination. None but the magically inclined who daily attempt to wrestle the order of reality from the hands of the Keepers even consider them. If a mage was Lucky, the Keeper would be dealing with another problem elsewhere--Keepers were no more omnipresent than a single entity of Good or Evil, after all--and the spell would go off without a hitch. If Lady Luck was off busying herself with someone else, well, the Keeper would catch them, and the spell would flop. And so it continued. The magi, witches, wizards, and warlocks of the world dragged at reality, and the Keepers pulled it back. A few of the Keepers were more inclined to help out the magical--Luck, Chaos, Art, and the like--but others seemed to ignore their pleas altogether. Neither side would give in, and so the push and pull continued with the organics barely being able to warp reality.
Until.
There were rumors. Rumors of an old mage who had been condemned to die by a chaos curse. But she had not died, and best everyone knew, the chaos curse was still active. But the mage had escaped because she knew something no other organic creature knew. She knew the true name of Death. Death might come knocking, but the woman would just order him away--or so they said. And, they said even Time was gracious to her for Death's sake.
Since the rumors had spread, magi of every stripe have hunted for tell of the Keepers' true names. For a century, no progress was made. There were not enough stories, and no one knew how or why Death had been so careless. It seemed no other Keeper had been. They walked in the Between, only slipping into reality to deal with problems. The magi had tried luring them and catching them, but the Keepers were too slippery. One was very slippery when one controlled reality.
But then, a young witch accidentally fell into the Between. It took them a while, but the wizard order was able to replicate the accident. Magi kind began to traverse the Between. To this day, many wander in the mists still. The Between has no obvious layout--it is timeless, deathless, lightless. Nothing but grey, curling mists.
Luck--always the helpful one--smiled on a coven of witches. They discovered that the Keepers left trails of energy for a brief second when they passed from reality to the Between. They could be followed.
According to the stories, the Keepers have an annual gathering--a Winter's Ball, some say--during the Winter Solstice. During this gathering, the Keepers check in with one another and make sure the world is as it should be. Often the two warring sides turn up as well--either to check in, stir the pot, or attempt to recruit Keepers to their cause. While they are not entirely welcome, they are tolerated and treated with polite respect. Every Keeper does not know all the entities on the two sides, and no one would ever expect to see a fleshling in the Mists of the Between. Besides, being neutral does not mean they are perfect. Light's and Dark's spat is legendary. They get on each other's nerves, stray out of the bounds of their aspect of reality, trod on toes. The Winter's Ball is the perfect time to go hunting for the Keeper's names.
This year, it is Death's turn to host. All Keepers are slipping from their worldly duties back into the Mists to attend the Ball, and many organics and Good and Evil entities are also journeying to attend.
So, the idea is that you will take a Keeper, one of the magic-wielders of Earth seeking a name, or one of the Good or Evil (think angels and demons). I will be hosting as Death and Time, and I might bring in the mage who learned Death's name if we run low on magi. For the Keepers, feel free to run an idea by me. They usually go by whatever aspect of reality they Keep, but some have taken human-sounding names in order to interact more with humans. Death and Time are the only ones who are taken, so you are welcome to take any that I mentioned, but please make one up that you think would be fun if you like! They are sort of the personifications of their reality, but they are not all-powerful. They can manage reality in the Between as it is not part of reality, but once they step into reality they are bound by everything except their slice of reality (for instance, Time can't just teleport and Death can't just alter the light/dark of a room for the aesthetic). But they will not be seen by mortal eyes unless they want to be--and some magi can spot them even if they do not wish to be seen. In the Between their abilities will be dampened as the Between is not exactly part of reality and their abilities are tied to reality. Keepers are also sexless/genderless, but will chose to manifest themselves in a humanoid way (female, male, both, neither, etc.). The Keepers will all know each other, so you are welcome to figure out alliances and rivalries and such.
In order to generate conflict, we do need all sorts! Feel free to grab a magical type or a Good or Evil instead or as well!
As for the time period, I'm thinking like a steampunk/Victorian sort of fantasy setting with magic.
We'll see how much interest this generates and go from there. Just a heads up, I'm a university professor, so I'll be a bit spotty during the day.
But few have noticed the tireless toils of the neutral party. They are those who dwell in the Between and Keep reality. Certainly, there are stories of the Grim Reaper, the Sandman, Mother Earth, and Madam Fate. But few thank the endless work of Time, Chaos, or Imagination. None but the magically inclined who daily attempt to wrestle the order of reality from the hands of the Keepers even consider them. If a mage was Lucky, the Keeper would be dealing with another problem elsewhere--Keepers were no more omnipresent than a single entity of Good or Evil, after all--and the spell would go off without a hitch. If Lady Luck was off busying herself with someone else, well, the Keeper would catch them, and the spell would flop. And so it continued. The magi, witches, wizards, and warlocks of the world dragged at reality, and the Keepers pulled it back. A few of the Keepers were more inclined to help out the magical--Luck, Chaos, Art, and the like--but others seemed to ignore their pleas altogether. Neither side would give in, and so the push and pull continued with the organics barely being able to warp reality.
Until.
There were rumors. Rumors of an old mage who had been condemned to die by a chaos curse. But she had not died, and best everyone knew, the chaos curse was still active. But the mage had escaped because she knew something no other organic creature knew. She knew the true name of Death. Death might come knocking, but the woman would just order him away--or so they said. And, they said even Time was gracious to her for Death's sake.
Since the rumors had spread, magi of every stripe have hunted for tell of the Keepers' true names. For a century, no progress was made. There were not enough stories, and no one knew how or why Death had been so careless. It seemed no other Keeper had been. They walked in the Between, only slipping into reality to deal with problems. The magi had tried luring them and catching them, but the Keepers were too slippery. One was very slippery when one controlled reality.
But then, a young witch accidentally fell into the Between. It took them a while, but the wizard order was able to replicate the accident. Magi kind began to traverse the Between. To this day, many wander in the mists still. The Between has no obvious layout--it is timeless, deathless, lightless. Nothing but grey, curling mists.
Luck--always the helpful one--smiled on a coven of witches. They discovered that the Keepers left trails of energy for a brief second when they passed from reality to the Between. They could be followed.
According to the stories, the Keepers have an annual gathering--a Winter's Ball, some say--during the Winter Solstice. During this gathering, the Keepers check in with one another and make sure the world is as it should be. Often the two warring sides turn up as well--either to check in, stir the pot, or attempt to recruit Keepers to their cause. While they are not entirely welcome, they are tolerated and treated with polite respect. Every Keeper does not know all the entities on the two sides, and no one would ever expect to see a fleshling in the Mists of the Between. Besides, being neutral does not mean they are perfect. Light's and Dark's spat is legendary. They get on each other's nerves, stray out of the bounds of their aspect of reality, trod on toes. The Winter's Ball is the perfect time to go hunting for the Keeper's names.
This year, it is Death's turn to host. All Keepers are slipping from their worldly duties back into the Mists to attend the Ball, and many organics and Good and Evil entities are also journeying to attend.
So, the idea is that you will take a Keeper, one of the magic-wielders of Earth seeking a name, or one of the Good or Evil (think angels and demons). I will be hosting as Death and Time, and I might bring in the mage who learned Death's name if we run low on magi. For the Keepers, feel free to run an idea by me. They usually go by whatever aspect of reality they Keep, but some have taken human-sounding names in order to interact more with humans. Death and Time are the only ones who are taken, so you are welcome to take any that I mentioned, but please make one up that you think would be fun if you like! They are sort of the personifications of their reality, but they are not all-powerful. They can manage reality in the Between as it is not part of reality, but once they step into reality they are bound by everything except their slice of reality (for instance, Time can't just teleport and Death can't just alter the light/dark of a room for the aesthetic). But they will not be seen by mortal eyes unless they want to be--and some magi can spot them even if they do not wish to be seen. In the Between their abilities will be dampened as the Between is not exactly part of reality and their abilities are tied to reality. Keepers are also sexless/genderless, but will chose to manifest themselves in a humanoid way (female, male, both, neither, etc.). The Keepers will all know each other, so you are welcome to figure out alliances and rivalries and such.
In order to generate conflict, we do need all sorts! Feel free to grab a magical type or a Good or Evil instead or as well!
As for the time period, I'm thinking like a steampunk/Victorian sort of fantasy setting with magic.
We'll see how much interest this generates and go from there. Just a heads up, I'm a university professor, so I'll be a bit spotty during the day.
