The End has to come sometime, does it not?
For thousands of years, men have walked upon this green Earth. They have created, destroyed, flourished, receeded, but linger on still. From their earliest days, they have prophesized how their end shall come. In the old days, they appreciated and revered life, fearing the end. However, with time came power, and with power, arrogance. And in their arrogance, they have forgotten the old ways, and dismissed the prophecies as myth and superstition. In this day and age, only a dedicated few practice the old ways. They are the few who have seen the signs, who have warned others, and taken the precautions.
They are the ones who have a chance of survival.
After millenia, the Seals have been broken, either by time or by man's interference. Forests have been turned to deserts by the greed of men. Their pride has led them to construct massive monuments to their own glory by way of their cities. They are gluttonous to a disgusting degree. They envy and lust after their neighbors, going so far to be proud of their sins. Their wrath has created greater weapons that could tear their world asunder. Above all, they have been too slothful to stop the Seals from breaking.
So it has been decreed.
The Divine and the Damned Gates have appeared, great and terrible constructs of blessed and cursed iron and steel above Bejing and New York City. Behind their respective Gates, the forces of Heaven and Hell assembling en masse, ready to march onto and cleanse the world of all but the few who heeded the old warnings. Mankind as a whole is in panic. Only those who remember the old ways, either by family heritage, religion (not specific), or research are given the oppurtunity to prevent the oncoming Apocalypse. How?
By convincing the Riders this world is worth saving. War. Pestilence. Famine. Death. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have appeared, and now ride around the world for 99 days and 99 nights, judging all that they meet. Those deemed unworthy, are subjected to their traits. Those deemed Worthy are permitted to live, for a time. These are the few who must seek out and manage to sway the Riders that there is still some worth in allowing this to go on.
There are those, however, who wish for the war between the Divine and the Damned. A few souls from both sides who act through possession, turning their hosts into sick, disgustingly powerful reflections of themselves. These are the ones who would corrupt and urge mankind on their current path, more importantly seeking out and hunting down the Worthy to ensure that the Riders do not heed their words. Those taken by a Demon are known as Shades. Those taken by Angels are called Mirrors. Mirrors justify the purification of the masses. Shades simply wish for Hell on Earth. Both are corrupted to the core.
At the end of 100 days, the Riders shall pass their judgement. Shall the Divine Gate and the Damned Gate open and begin the Apocalypse? Or shall the Worthy give some sign that Mankind should live on, and that the Seals can be restored? That is entirely up to you. Damn the world. Save it. Find an alternate solution. Whatever choices you make, know this...
We shall ride.
With some very minor inspiration from the recent release of Darksiders, I've decided to put out a little idea I've been toying with for some time now. Rather than just having the end of the world be an instant thing, I thought there might be a little grace period. I've always found the idea of the Four Horsemen being arbiters rather than the actual force of destruction, and of course, the ever present option of redemption. SO. That said, here be info! Side note, this RP is going to be very player-driven.
The Riders
The legendary Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence. These are the judges and gatekeepers in this probable end time. Their forms and appearances change often, but their power is enough to keep Heaven and Hell in check. Each has a steed, and can have abilities related to their namesake. Because they are so powerful and limited in number, only a very, very select few will be allowed to play as a Rider.
Mirrors and Shades
These abominations are the results of human beings being possessed by either an Angel or a Demon, as they cannot pass through the Gates themselves. The hosts change and contort, gaining unnatural abilities such as flight, pyrokinesis, drastically increased strength, et cetera. However, the abilities have to be affiliated to the type of creature that is doing the possessing. I.E. a Shade cannot sprout angellic wings and use anything remotely Holy. Likewise a Mirror cannot call upon hellfire and send out swarms of demonic insects to kill a foe. As for appearances...
Mirrors typically force their hosts to adapt to their natural beauty. This is a horrifying process all in all, and results in the host having entirely white skin, beyond any definition of the word pale. Their eyes are always a burning golden color and nearly all of them are unnaturally tall and slender. Mirrors typically have an extreme superiority complex, fearing and respecting only superiors from Heaven, and the Riders. They seek to stop the Worthy simply because they believe that the world needs to be purged to be saved...at least, most do.
Shades are far more easy to pick out in a crowd. Blackened skin, horns, claws, fire literally pouring from their eyes, these creatures are far more bestial than their heavenly counterparts. Impulses and corruption drive them, being anarchistic in nature. They thrive on chaos and destruction, and all but a rare few simply wish to see the world burn.
Their forms of course can vary greatly depending on the strength of the posessor, and creativity is greatly encouraged. These are the primary antagonists.
The Worthy
Every culture and civilization have had a few who believed the stories of the Riders and the Apocalypse and have stuck to the old traditions to honor and respect life and nature. These people are inherently good, and are crucial to the possible survival of mankind. It does not matter what creed one follows, if they've been proven Worthy. They could be anything from a business executive, to a Bhuddist monk. But in one way or another, they are familiar with the old legends, and have been marked to prove that they are indeed worthy. The mark appears as a small sigil of a scythe on the palm of the left hand with a number underneath, and appear when the Riders set foot on Earth. The number is the countdown, and changes based on how many days are left. (It is, of course, in the bearer's native language.)
However, providence knows that there are those who would act to stop the Worthy. As such, the Worthy have been granted survival aides in the forms of Familiars to protect and fight for the Worthy. The Familiar is as varied as the person chosen to be Worthy. It could be a stone golem, or a sentient blade that actually fights in union with its Master. The common factor is that it can be summoned at any time by the Worthy. Once again, creativity encouraged.
RULES:
1. No god-modding. That is a basic must.
2. At LEAST 2 paragraph posts. This is meant to be an upper-caliber RP, so if you cannot manage to write up two quality paragraphs per post, this is not for you.
3. No Machine-gun posting.
4. Romance is allowed, I suppose, but keep it reasonable? Nothing that would get this RP locked down, eh?
5. No meta-gaming. If I see ANY sign of this, you WILL be removed from the RP. And I will see to it that your character suffers a horrible, horrible, bloody, painful, and humiliating death.
6. I've read these rules, so I'm going to post "Dont fear the Reaper" in my app.
7. Please, at least one post a week. If you are absent for more than a week without word, you shall be removed from the RP.
8. One character per player for now. However, if you are rejected from a certain role, then you could apply for something else.
9. For the love of all that is holy, use spellcheck and proper capitalization at least before you post it? I can understand a mistake here and there, but if you post "and he went to kill the guy, and said, "i'm going to kill u with my swrd of power, lol!" I will remove you.
10. Do try to be original, please?
11. At the end of your app, in addition to rule #6, post "Yes, I actually read the rules. I <3 David Bowie" at the bottom of your template.
12. Have fun with it!
1. No god-modding. That is a basic must.
2. At LEAST 2 paragraph posts. This is meant to be an upper-caliber RP, so if you cannot manage to write up two quality paragraphs per post, this is not for you.
3. No Machine-gun posting.
4. Romance is allowed, I suppose, but keep it reasonable? Nothing that would get this RP locked down, eh?
5. No meta-gaming. If I see ANY sign of this, you WILL be removed from the RP. And I will see to it that your character suffers a horrible, horrible, bloody, painful, and humiliating death.
6. I've read these rules, so I'm going to post "Dont fear the Reaper" in my app.
7. Please, at least one post a week. If you are absent for more than a week without word, you shall be removed from the RP.
8. One character per player for now. However, if you are rejected from a certain role, then you could apply for something else.
9. For the love of all that is holy, use spellcheck and proper capitalization at least before you post it? I can understand a mistake here and there, but if you post "and he went to kill the guy, and said, "i'm going to kill u with my swrd of power, lol!" I will remove you.
10. Do try to be original, please?
11. At the end of your app, in addition to rule #6, post "Yes, I actually read the rules. I <3 David Bowie" at the bottom of your template.
12. Have fun with it!
TEMPLATE
Name: (Basic. I know, right?)
Race: (Rider, Shade/Mirror, Worthy) <---Riders will be MUCH more strictly judged.
Age: (If Worthy. Its sort of pointless for the others.)
Abilities: (If a Rider, be creative in regards to your namesake. Shades/Mirrors give details, but don't go overboard with the number of abilities, you're possessing a human after all. Worthy, talk about your Familiar and any other mildly more realistic skills here.)
Physical Description: (Obvious. Please, post something OTHER than just a picture. If you cant type out a good two paragraphs detailing your character, I'd suggest not bothering with this.)
Personality: (Are you a jerk? A prep? God complex? Sadist? TELL US!)
History: (Riders are Exempt, but all others, be very creative. I enjoy complex characters.)
Other: (Miscellaneous)
Race: (Rider, Shade/Mirror, Worthy) <---Riders will be MUCH more strictly judged.
Age: (If Worthy. Its sort of pointless for the others.)
Abilities: (If a Rider, be creative in regards to your namesake. Shades/Mirrors give details, but don't go overboard with the number of abilities, you're possessing a human after all. Worthy, talk about your Familiar and any other mildly more realistic skills here.)
Physical Description: (Obvious. Please, post something OTHER than just a picture. If you cant type out a good two paragraphs detailing your character, I'd suggest not bothering with this.)
Personality: (Are you a jerk? A prep? God complex? Sadist? TELL US!)
History: (Riders are Exempt, but all others, be very creative. I enjoy complex characters.)
Other: (Miscellaneous)
The Cast So Far...
Riders:
Death - Exvind
War- (open)
Pestilence - (open)
Famine - (open)
Mirrors/Shades:
Worthy:
((If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to PM me!))
I'll post my template in a jiff, but as it is, sign up here! Bring your friends! We have cookies!