Arcadia: A Fantasy With Fae, Dragons and a Bit of Noir.

"Here you go Branwen, the usual. Is right, yes?"-

With one deft sweep, the dark, taloned hand took hold of a resin bowl from the shelf and tipped a pan full of noodles into it. A pair of chopsticks was sunk into the top before it was slid across the wooden stall front to the waiting customer.

That's right Ori, you know me better than I do." came the reply.

The Tengu let out a throaty, squawking chuckle before hopping back over to the steaming pans of ramen and dumplings that he tended to.

It was unusual to see a far eastern demon in Arcadia, but the birdlike creature had found quite a niche for his cooking, and had plenty of regulars showing up at his street stall every lunch time.

Once such regular, Branwen the Changeling, stood at the brightly-coloured storefront, beneath the lazily drifting paper lanterns, grasping the bowl of spiced noodles in one hand and some tea in the other, and contemplating the current events in the City of Unity.

Ori's stall, sat upon one of the great tree branches on the south side of the city, offered an amazing view...one of the reasons Bran made it her regular stop. A collection of wooden tables sat out the front, and from a seat there it was possible to look below, into the intense colourful bustle of the Goblin Market, or across to Spire Rock, where ghostly marshlights dances around the branches of the Seelie, and the occasional purple flame leapt from the windows of the Wizards' tower.

The Changeling settled into her seat and began to drink her tea as she watched the panorama.

Despite the serene look of the place from there...there was quite a storm up at the Seelie. She was rather glad that she'd be working down in the city most of the day. Anything to avoid all the troubles. A wizard murdered, the Fae blamed. A war was brewing in Arcadia.

"City of Unity indeed..." she muttered, taking a sip of tea."



It had been several centuries since the Magical Revolution. That was what they referred to it as, the day when the magic users, and the beings of magical descent rose up against the human population whom they claimed repressed them so terribly.

Initially, things had looked quite grim for the magical types. While their power allowed them a distinct advantage, they were small in number, spread out and disordered, their species' squabbling and mistrustful of one another. Their small groups became easily surrounded and wiped out by the superior organization of the mortal ranks.

It was at that point that the Fae stepped in. They offered vast amount of magical power and influence....but they also offered something more terrifying than any of their kind. They organized a summoning ritual, calling upon the dark and ancient beasts that slept within the earth.

They summoned dragons.

When the dragons came, their smoke blotted out the sun and their fire scorched the earth. Human cities were reduced to charred bones and cinders. Thousands were turned to ash.

The armies of humanity bowed before the creatures. Magic had won.


Many years have passed since that dark and
distressing period of history. The world supposedly became a much more civilized place in that time, under the leadership of the magical folk. Attitudes were wholly different to how they had once been. Strangeness and abilities were prized, humanity was regarded as the lowest of the low, treated with anything ranging from disdain to open hostility.


Arcadia, one of the largest cities of
the new society, was heralded as a great example of how the new world functioned better than the old world had...and how all the mythical species could live and work together in harmony.

Certainly, Arcadia was nothing like a human city.

Bathed in a constant, magical twilight, Arcadia was built around enormous trees and spires of rock, streets perching on huge branches and up nearly impossible slopes. There was no particular plan to it, making it easy to get lost....especially as whole streets would often change places overnight. It was populated by all sorts of magical beings, living alongside one another and having comparatively normal lives. One could buy fruit from a goblin, or stay in an establishment owned by a personable manticore.

Humans existed in Arcadia, though the majority were trapped in jobs none of the other residents would wish to do.

Arcadia was certainly a sight to see....but all wasn't well there. Upon the peak on the northern edge stood two structures, the course of the conflict. One was the twisted palace of branches that made up the Seelie, the court of the Fae and Elvish folks. On the other side stood the jagged stone tower of the Wizards. Those two made up the greatest authorities in Arcadia...and they had been engaged in a power struggle for years.

The natural, instinctive magic of the Fae, and the carefully calculated study of the Mages had never matched well together...and things flared into a new level of hostility when Finneaus, one of the leading wizards of the tower, was discovered face-down in his
seeing pool. A Fae plot was suspected, and the two establishment seem ready to fight...but a few suspect something else is afoot.

-----

Arcadia is an idea I had a while ago that I've been working on developing, with the idea of reversing the old 'humans treating magical creatures badly' trope. It turned into being a bit more about the setting, and gradually took on a plot about murder and scheming within the dark heart of the city. It's still very much in development and open to suggestions, but I thought I'd put this up to see if it appealed to anyone as a concept.

Sounds interesting, new and fresh. I'll definitely join if you get this up and running.

Thanks!

I'm still working on trying to develop it, and possibly throw in a few sub-plots that might be fun for people, and adding a map and such to make things a little easier.

Is it possible to bring in an old character of mine, who happens to be a faerie dragon?

Yes, that would be entirely possible. Arcadia is a setting where more or less any sort of creature can live. In a short test RP I tried we had a changeling, a high fae, a wizard, a couple of human, a troll stallholder, a dragon-human thing and a tengu who sold noodles.

The ancient dragons of the background story tend to dwell in the caves beneath the city, though I'm sure other species exist.

Then count me in.

A few more details I've been working on...a map!





Details on the districts to follow!

Looking good so far!

Sounds pretty cool. I'd be interested in participating.

roleplay/arcadia/

Arcadia is now up, for all those interested!