Introduction
In a medieval land there lies a vast Kingdom ruled by seven lords. One of these lords rules over them all, while the rest reside over the territories, ruling the lower bannermen and peasants. The climate of this Kingdom experiences all four seasons, with winters and summers that can last for years at a time. Magic laces the history books and intrigues many a dreamy young person, though all that can be said of it now is myth. In the noble courts there is political struggle and romantic drama aplenty.
King Lucian is an intemperate and capricious man, a narcissist drunk on his own power. He believes himself untouchable. His courtship of the Lady Evangeline blew hot and furious, he would not accept no as an answer, he had to have her as his Queen. This brought her low ranking family great prestige very quickly, one minute they were nothings, the next, part of the royal family. During the pregnancy of their first child the King began to take mistress after mistress. This embittered the Queen but she carried on and gave birth to a Princess. The affairs continued and whenever she caught him, which was often, there would be yelling and screaming all throughout the castle. Many a poor Lady’s life has been ruined coming between the two rulers, and due to the constant stresses of her life the Queen miscarried four pregnancies, at great expense to her health. Finally, seven years after taking his first Queen the King divorced her, an uncommon but allowed scandal, especially when you are a King. The Queen, now only a Lady, was stripped of most of her properties and riches, and tossed aside, not even allowed to take her daughter with her. To make matters even worse, the King’s next choice of Queen was a mere maid, from the Queen’s own bedchambers. This sort of thing was unprecedented in the history of the Kingdom, however it has lasted the test of time, and though the King carries on having affairs the castle is peaceful and quiet with its new obedient Queen. The Queen, Freya, has provided the King with two Princes and a Princess.
During the long and harsh winter, the longest that the land had gone through in years, there was a revolt against the King, someone reached for Lucian’s Crown, a mistake that cost an entire noble family their lives. It is lucky that those who joined this family’s cause are spared, for the most part. The frost has melted and the flowers are blooming once more, the bitter skirmishes are ended, and in an effort to heal his Kingdom, or rather forcefully seal the bonds and loyalty his nobles hold to him, the King is holding court again. This time, with the aim to marry his royal children to advantageous marriages, and to see his eldest children begin making heirs. But who is heir to the throne? Is it the first Princess, who is beloved of the people and already an expert diplomat whose lineage is noble through and through; or his eldest Prince, as is more traditional and yet whose lineage includes a former maid as a mother?
And with the blooming flowers there awakens forces which have hibernated for too long, who are coming back to the land whether people believe in it or not. Magic is coming to the mortals once more, and bringing with it all of its horrors.
King Lucian is an intemperate and capricious man, a narcissist drunk on his own power. He believes himself untouchable. His courtship of the Lady Evangeline blew hot and furious, he would not accept no as an answer, he had to have her as his Queen. This brought her low ranking family great prestige very quickly, one minute they were nothings, the next, part of the royal family. During the pregnancy of their first child the King began to take mistress after mistress. This embittered the Queen but she carried on and gave birth to a Princess. The affairs continued and whenever she caught him, which was often, there would be yelling and screaming all throughout the castle. Many a poor Lady’s life has been ruined coming between the two rulers, and due to the constant stresses of her life the Queen miscarried four pregnancies, at great expense to her health. Finally, seven years after taking his first Queen the King divorced her, an uncommon but allowed scandal, especially when you are a King. The Queen, now only a Lady, was stripped of most of her properties and riches, and tossed aside, not even allowed to take her daughter with her. To make matters even worse, the King’s next choice of Queen was a mere maid, from the Queen’s own bedchambers. This sort of thing was unprecedented in the history of the Kingdom, however it has lasted the test of time, and though the King carries on having affairs the castle is peaceful and quiet with its new obedient Queen. The Queen, Freya, has provided the King with two Princes and a Princess.
During the long and harsh winter, the longest that the land had gone through in years, there was a revolt against the King, someone reached for Lucian’s Crown, a mistake that cost an entire noble family their lives. It is lucky that those who joined this family’s cause are spared, for the most part. The frost has melted and the flowers are blooming once more, the bitter skirmishes are ended, and in an effort to heal his Kingdom, or rather forcefully seal the bonds and loyalty his nobles hold to him, the King is holding court again. This time, with the aim to marry his royal children to advantageous marriages, and to see his eldest children begin making heirs. But who is heir to the throne? Is it the first Princess, who is beloved of the people and already an expert diplomat whose lineage is noble through and through; or his eldest Prince, as is more traditional and yet whose lineage includes a former maid as a mother?
And with the blooming flowers there awakens forces which have hibernated for too long, who are coming back to the land whether people believe in it or not. Magic is coming to the mortals once more, and bringing with it all of its horrors.
Madame
XX
XX
The royal family of the Kingdom of Theren; King Lucien and Queen Freya are unequal rulers, as Freya is a quiet and pliant individual who concentrates on the well being her children rather than the Kingdom itself. Some might consider this a waste of her her station, but this suits the King, as he is a controlling and mercurial individual. Though uneducated herself the Queen has made sure that all of her children have received only the best tutors, both within the Kingdom and from foreign lands. What she lacks in education she makes up for in common sense and kindness. Unfortunately despite her best efforts to keep her family together there is uncertainty and tension. The King's eldest daughter Rose, from his previous marriage, could be considered the next in line; while her own eldest son's lineage is in question. Robyn is a kind and wise individual, who possesses a rare patience in him. Her second son, Cassius, takes after his father in temperament; he hungers for the crown himself. Meanwhile her daughter, Lily, has always hoped to marry for true love and is distressed at her duty to marry so soon.
XX
XX
XX
XX
The Great House of Goodwin resides over The Great Garden; its heads, Lord Byron and Lady Gwendoline, are the shining examples of generations of Goodwins. The family has always been the most loyal and closest to the crown, they were the first lords and ladies to be given great lands to rule over in the name of their King during the expansion of what is now the Kingdom of Theren. Their lands are vast and fruitful, and are responsible for the lion's share of the Kingdom's crops. They are famed for producing the finest horses in the Kingdom, and their bannermen are many and loyal. It is said that their lands are the most beautiful of all the Kingdom, as befitting its namesake. Out of all the great houses they have the most royal blood in them, through various marriages to the crown. Little goes against House Goodwin and they fully intend that their daughter will be the next Queen of Theren through marriage of their daughter Thalia, to the King's eldest son. They hide a secret however, their daughter gave birth a year ago to a bastard child, her honor and virginity are no longer technically intact. It is a good thing for them that they have been able to keep this a secret, otherwise it would become difficult indeed to marry her off, let alone to the royal family. House Goodwin was loyal to the crown during the rebellion.
XXXX
XX
The Great House of Stoneway presides over The Stone Keep; its heads Lord Yvaine and Lady Gloriana are proud and dignified individuals. The Stone keep itself is a vast mountain range that has been tunneled through and chiseled out into a beautiful, gargantuan, palace. The Stone Keep doubles as a fortress and is as of yet impregnable. It tells in the history books that there was a time in which Theren had been invaded, and its surviving citizens took shelter in the keep, their enemies perished on the rocky edges as they attempted to attack. Those who make their home in this dangerous and beautiful place have better and more reliable means of shelter than commoners and peasants do in other domains, but they are fewer as a result of the lack of jobs available. Since The Stone Keep does not have fields to plow it relies almost entirely on import. It exports fine wine, goods, and metals, making the ladies of this domain particularly well dressed. The Lady Gloriana comes from a long line of witches who believe they descend from a fire goddess, they call themselves the Fire Dancers, because they are historically impervious to the touch of flame. This is a secret, of course, as witches are feared and not trusted, as ironic as it would be for a Fire Dancer to be burned to death she is not ignorant to her own limits. She and the women of her family can weave a few spells, and they serendipitously work out. That is all. However her daughter, Mariel, has a gift, and is as unhurt by flame as her ancestors are said to be. They must be careful to keep their secret, and if her own daughter is strong, Lady Gloriana fears that there may be others with the same strength; other rival covens. Like those damned Ladies of The River. Sir Petyr, the Stoneway heir, fought in the rebellion next to his father. House Stoneway was loyal to the crown during the rebellion.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XX
XX
The Great House Of Woodville presides over The Riverlands; its heads Lord Ronan and Lady Helena rule in a just and fair fashion. They are idealists and it was no surprise to anyone that they joined the side of the rebellion. The Riverlands consist mostly of dense forests and winding rivers, hence its name. Its warriors are excellent woodsmen and their peasantry operate in a tribal or clan fashion, there is greater sense of unity to it than in other domains. There is a secret that House Woodville holds, one that is closely guarded. The Woodville women descend from a river goddess, and are witches as a result. Lady Helena came from another family naturally, and so has no abilities as a witch, but her daughter, Thea and mother in law, Melicent, do. She fears this a little, as she had no belief in magic before marrying into the Woodville family, and it puts her precious daughter in danger. Melicent, the matriarch of the family, has taken Thea under wing. Thea is more powerful that her grandmother, and Melicent senses that there is a return of magic to the land, in full force, with Thea as proof. The Ladies of the River will weave their fortunes once more. But if magic is returning for them, then it stands to reason it returns to their natural enemies as well, such as the damned Fire Dancers. Sir Noah, heir to house Woodville, fought in the rebellion and commanded forces of his own. He is an expert woodsman and fought guerrilla style rather than on open fields. His family is pushing him to avoid marrying any girls from a loyalist family, he doesn't need to be told twice.
XX
XX
XX
XX
The Great House of Blacklace resides over The Singing Islands; a group of isles that used to be home to sirens, so it is told. As legend tells it the first Lord of Blacklace took a siren as his wife. The current Lord of Blacklace is Lord Solomon, the mad pirate. It is said that either the sun cooked his brain a little, or he drank too much sea water in his lifetime, perhaps it is both. But his madness is sometimes genius - other times just plain madness, and altogether too unreliable to run the islands effectively. He was running it to the ground until his children, at the very young ages of 14 and 16 took over. They have jointly brought greatness back to the islands, successfully pirating in many foreign lands and playing to the crown by bringing it riches from their exploits. Sir Sebastian is a tricky fellow, and no stranger to battle even before the rebellion began. He and his sister, the Lady Beatrice, are close and expert schemers. Though their education has been neglected, most likely due to their mother dying of the fever when they were young, they are knowledgeable where it matters; their craft. Rumors of Lady Beatrice report that she is hideous, circulated by disrespectful men who do not like a woman's unabashed and unforgiving authority and dominance within the isles. And though this is very clearly untrue her mad father is no help in dispelling this rumor, and has in the past laughed and confirmed, "Unfortunately she takes after me in the looks department poor sod." In any case, though it is said she is ugly, it is also said her singing is like that of her ancestral sirens. House Blacklace was loyal to the crown during the rebellion.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XX
XX
The Great House of Holloway presides over the Black Marshes; with Lord Thomlin and Lady Evangeline as their wardens. The Lady Evangeline is indeed the former Queen of Theren. When she was cast down from her position she fled back to her family, bannermen of the Black Marshes. She thought to live out her life quietly, and did for a time, until she was approached by Lord Holloway, whose wife passed away of the fever. Lord Holloway proposed a marriage to her, stating that not only did his children need a mother figure, but that he was no friend to the King and was sympathetic to her plight. Lady Evangeline refused him at first, too hurt by her horrible marriage to King Lucien to want to put her fate at the hands of another man. Lord Thomlin was patient and kind to her, and offered friendship to her instead. They were in love and married within a year. They were a good match, both deadly clever, expert politicians, and ambitious forward thinking idealists. House Holloway was the real instigator of the rebellion, but cautious Lord Thomlin roused another Great House to be its figurehead, should they fail to gather other Houses to their cause and be derailed. That House has now been decimated and their lands absorbed to House Goodwin, their names never to be spoken again on pain of death; making his cautious choice a wise one in the end. The children of House Holloway have been raised in typical Holloway fashion, meaning they received a thorough and expensive education, involving the best tutors far and wide. House Holloway does not produce fools. On top of academics both children also received expert military training, not an unusual thing for the son, Sir Tristan, but certainly unconventional for the daughter, Lady Ursula. Lord and Lady Holloway feared for their daughter's safety during the rebellion. And though she was kept from battle and well guarded with her step mother, they felt her last line of defense should be herself. Sir Tristan commanded forces of his own and fought during the rebellion. He has quite the reputation now.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XX
XX
The Great House of Hartstrong presides over The North; with the honorable Lord Ulric and Lady Ravenna as its wardens. The North is the border between Theren and other countries, vast, cold, and wild. It is beautiful but not soft or kind. The North is so vast, and not all of it populated, that it is mostly isolated from the rest of the Great Houses, and the Hartstrongs make company and court with their bannermen far more than other great nobles. In fact entire generations have gone by without a single Hartstrong meeting the reigning King. The Hartstrongs stand alone in their ability to keep The North and its people, putting them in an influential position. The North was essentially the deciding factor in the success or failure of the rebellion. And at first the Hartstrongs fought for the rebellion, and typically while loyal to the crown have always been great allies to their neighbors, the Holloways. But while they began as rebels, they doubted the honorability of the cause. They were swayed into putting down their swords by Princess Rose, sent as a peace envoy to them. She left them with a strong impression that she would take one of their sons as her husband, to be the next King of Theren. They ceased all fighting and retreated back home, a move which spelled doom for the rebellion. House Hartstrong brings with it its two sons, Sirs Volk and Ivar, both leaders and warriors in their own right. Northmen are unique in that they protect Theren's border, making battle a regular occurrence.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
↠ This is a medieval roleplay centered around politics and the court. There will be action, but it'll be later on down the road and not nearly as forthright as the plotting and backstabbing will be. The idea for this roleplay is similar to ASOIF and Game of Thrones. To summarize the set-up: each player is playing a Great House who is traveling to the Capital after a long and hard winter to marry off their children that are of age to be married. This is a royal order and can not be backed out of because there was a rebellion during the winter that splintered the Kingdom, and these marriages are meant to heal it once more. It is also meant to acquaint the next heirs of the Great Houses with one another, you're less likely to war with someone if you meet them and make friends. They all have until the next winter to make their matches. Yes this is an unusual event, but it is largely seen as one of King Lucien's better ideas.
↠ I expect posting of at least once every five days, more is great but I won't hold you to more than five days in between posts. Since we're doing joint posts in the future posts might take a bit longer, which is entirely acceptable, you just need to be actively working on something and keep me in the loop about it. You get two warnings two days apart before your character gets written off as "deceased" or otherwise for inactivity. Should you want to quit the roleplay for whatever reason, and I won't press you for one as that is your business entirely, please either pm me or leave a message in the ooc.
↠ Seriously, doesn't even matter if the reason is as simple as "I no longer have a muse for this rp." - that's entirely valid and I won't hold it against you at all. Nor are you required to even tell me a reason. What I will hold against you is dropping off the face of the planet and not letting us know if you're still in the rp. It holds everyone's posting up.
↠ I will be throwing events at both the whole of the court and at particular individuals or groups of people. Like a tabletop game master of sorts, I’ll be keeping people on their toes. These events will be announced via the ooc. If these events interfere with an important plot device you have planned, let me know so we can see what can be done about it. The last thing I want to do is mess up your plotty things.
↠ Posts should be no less than 500 words.
↠ Expect joint posts, using a writing pad of one form or another. Joint posts are a great way to get interactive scenes out there without 50 posts involving 300 words of filler per post because there really isn't more to say than a few lines of dialog in the given situation. This will allow us to play this as more of a book than a video game.
↠ Humans are the only playable option, though you will notice that some have "abilities" magical or otherwise hinted at. Magic will be a theme in the rp, as it is reawakened in this particular realm.
↠ "Character sheets" if you can call them that, are located in the ooc. These set-ups are much shorter due to the fact that people applying to this roleplay will be applying for a whole family unit, rather than an individual character. Don't ask if you can play only one character,
you can't. What you can do however is apply for a smaller family unit and consider the parents NPCs that you occasionally use in your posts, with the children being the main characters that you post for. While the children of the household will probably be considered the mains in general I personally will be taking full advantage of the parents as characters in house[s] I play, because I think they're interesting in and of themselves too. Be sure you ask if you want someone else's NPCs/Character in your post, lets not godmod or step on any toes here! There is actually a bit of wiggle room when it comes to adding and subtracting family members here, so keep that in mind if you see something you like but want to tweak it.
↠ I expect posting of at least once every five days, more is great but I won't hold you to more than five days in between posts. Since we're doing joint posts in the future posts might take a bit longer, which is entirely acceptable, you just need to be actively working on something and keep me in the loop about it. You get two warnings two days apart before your character gets written off as "deceased" or otherwise for inactivity. Should you want to quit the roleplay for whatever reason, and I won't press you for one as that is your business entirely, please either pm me or leave a message in the ooc.
↠ Seriously, doesn't even matter if the reason is as simple as "I no longer have a muse for this rp." - that's entirely valid and I won't hold it against you at all. Nor are you required to even tell me a reason. What I will hold against you is dropping off the face of the planet and not letting us know if you're still in the rp. It holds everyone's posting up.
↠ I will be throwing events at both the whole of the court and at particular individuals or groups of people. Like a tabletop game master of sorts, I’ll be keeping people on their toes. These events will be announced via the ooc. If these events interfere with an important plot device you have planned, let me know so we can see what can be done about it. The last thing I want to do is mess up your plotty things.
↠ Posts should be no less than 500 words.
↠ Expect joint posts, using a writing pad of one form or another. Joint posts are a great way to get interactive scenes out there without 50 posts involving 300 words of filler per post because there really isn't more to say than a few lines of dialog in the given situation. This will allow us to play this as more of a book than a video game.
↠ Humans are the only playable option, though you will notice that some have "abilities" magical or otherwise hinted at. Magic will be a theme in the rp, as it is reawakened in this particular realm.
↠ "Character sheets" if you can call them that, are located in the ooc. These set-ups are much shorter due to the fact that people applying to this roleplay will be applying for a whole family unit, rather than an individual character. Don't ask if you can play only one character,
you can't. What you can do however is apply for a smaller family unit and consider the parents NPCs that you occasionally use in your posts, with the children being the main characters that you post for. While the children of the household will probably be considered the mains in general I personally will be taking full advantage of the parents as characters in house[s] I play, because I think they're interesting in and of themselves too. Be sure you ask if you want someone else's NPCs/Character in your post, lets not godmod or step on any toes here! There is actually a bit of wiggle room when it comes to adding and subtracting family members here, so keep that in mind if you see something you like but want to tweak it.
- 10 posts here • Page 1 of 1
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 1 authors
View All »Arcs
Arcs are bundles of posts that you can organize on your own. They're useful for telling a story that might span long periods of time or space.
There are no arcs in this roleplay.
View All » Create New » Quests
There are no quests in this roleplay.
Add Group » View All » 0 Factions to align with
Here's the current leaderboard.
There are no groups in this roleplay!
Game Master Controls
Welcome home, Promethean. Here, you can manage your universe.
Arcs
Arcs are bundles of posts from any location, allowing you to easily capture sub-plots which might be spread out across multiple locations.
Add Quest » Quests
You can create Quests with various rewards, encouraging your players to engage with specific plot lines.
Add Setting » 1 Settings for your players to play in
Settings are the backdrop for the characters in your universe, giving meaning and context to their existence. By creating a number of well-written locations, you can organize your universe into areas and regions.
Navigation
While not required, locations can be organized onto a map. More information soon!
Add Group » 0 Factions to align with
There are no groups in this roleplay!
Collectibles
By creating Collectibles, you can reward your players with unique items that accentuate their character sheets.
Once an Item has been created, it can be spawned in the IC using /spawn Item Name (case-sensitive, as usual) — this can be followed with /take Item Name to retrieve the item into the current character's inventory.
Mobs
Give your Universe life by adding a Mob, which are auto-replenishing NPCs your players can interact with. Useful for some quick hack-and-slash fun!
Mobs can be automated spawns, like rats and bats, or full-on NPCs complete with conversation menus. Use them to enhance your player experience!
Current Mobs
No mobs have been created yet.
Spawns
Locations where Mobs and Items might appear.
Events
You can schedule events for your players to create notifications and schedule times for everyone to plan around.
The Forge
Use your INK to craft new artifacts in The Architect's Mistress. Once created, Items cannot be changed, but they can be bought and sold in the marketplace.
Notable Items
No items have been created yet!
The Market
Buy, sell, and even craft your own items in this universe.
Market DataMarket conditions are Quick Buy (Items Most Recently Listed for Sale) |
Open Stores
View All » Add Character » 8 Characters to follow in this universe
Newest
The Bastards Tab code
a pirate's life for me!
Dividers I Like
cool shit right here
PULP FICTION Tab code
A super powers rp set in modern day San Fran
Character sheet 1
A Character Sheet for Superhero/villain Characters
Trending
The Bastards Tab code
a pirate's life for me!
Dividers I Like
cool shit right here
PULP FICTION Tab code
A super powers rp set in modern day San Fran
Character sheet 1
A Character Sheet for Superhero/villain Characters
Most Followed
Dividers I Like
cool shit right here
Character sheet 1
A Character Sheet for Superhero/villain Characters
PULP FICTION Tab code
A super powers rp set in modern day San Fran
The Bastards Tab code
a pirate's life for me!
View All » Places
10 posts · 8 characters present · last post 2017-01-18 08:43:42 »
roleplaygateway Owner: Madame
None
Fullscreen Chat » Create Topic » The Architect's Mistress: Out of Character
Discussions
-
- Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
The Architect's Mistress
by Madame on Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:48 am
- 0 Replies
- 301 Views
- Last post by Madame
on Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:48 am
-
The Architect's Mistress
Most recent OOC posts in The Architect's Mistress
The Architect's Mistress
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "The Architect's Mistress"
You may edit this first post as you see fit.
You may edit this first post as you see fit.