Hey guys!
I go by Rav3nsblad3 and I’ve been on the forums for like years at this point. I’m not quite as active as I once was, but my life situation changed, giving me ample time to work on writing, like I’ve been wanting to do FOREVER. Ahem
So my new project is entitled The Night’s Militant, wherein you play a holy knight, and before all you fellow savvy grammar nerds have my hide, there is a reason I’m using the “wrong” knight/night.
Alright, lets break it down!
Summary/Lore Blurb
As the church of Stellinity would tell us, from time immemorial, there have always existed the Father and the Mother, though whether they are the same deity with two aspects or two separate beings (or three, more on that later) is matter that is still hotly contested by the high clergy. The Mother is represented in the earth, embodying the virtues of fertility, command of the homefront, and stability. The Father, meanwhile is represented by both the Sun and the Moon, delineating the duality of masculine passions from the fiery, the bravery, strength, and guardianship of the sun, to the sensible, the chastity, tenderness, and temperance of the moon. (Hence the debated notion of three deities)
The Mother and Father were perfect in their union, but wished to revel in their perfect love by sharing it with created beings. Out of their holy love was born humanity, the deific aspects personified in men and women. The Mother and Father, in their infinite wisdom, gave their creations free will, a necessary step for truly being able to choose love. And, for a time, all was perfect.
But, alas, the very component that afforded humanity the path to true love was also the agent by which they could reject it. There were some among that chose to reject the Gods’ love, twisting their souls in darkness and decay, absent from the deific love. Some scholars also posit that the Gods made other beings besides humans. These beings might have been perfect creations that fell as well, or they might have been additional testing to see if humanity would choose love, even in hardship. Whatever the case, the prime among these beings was Arsiel, the Storm Lord, and it was said that it was he who lead the first humans to reject the Gods. Whether for this act, or some former rebellion, the Gods turned their love from these creatures, warping them into demons, the Unloved, as the Church calls them, with nothing but voids of souls keeping them animated.
Humanity has struggled with demons and heretics for the entirety of their existence. With the Church of Stellinity as the only guide, humanity has long since lost its contact with the Gods.
It used to be, that demons were to afraid of the Father’s wrath to make overt infringements into mortal life. Even heretics were few and far between. As of late however, demons and their ilk have taken to interfering during the Father’s gentler phase, in the night, as a test to see how much they can get away with. The Church responded quickly to this increase in demonic activity with the implementation of the Night’s Militant, a military wing of the Twilight Sisterhood.
It is into this new and danger-fraught organization that you are thrust. Will you be a shining example of the order and help cement its necessity into the minds of the public? Will you use your position to rekindle the Gods’ connection with humanity? Or will you take a more sinister path, destroying the name of the Militant by allowing demons to ravage the country? Death, glory, and hardship abound when the day slips into night…
Romantic Entanglements
-Sister Lucaria Hearthsong (attendant of MC’s squad, kind, sarcastic, down to earth, very knowledgeable about Stellinity, 5’6, violet-red eyes, long black hair tied perennially in a high ponytail with a teal ribbon, wears all black dress with leggings, for “tactical appropriateness”, and silver jewelry, as gold clashes with her complexion)
-Lady Evelyn Silvermoon (presiding ruler over Lorathyra, capital city of the region where MC is stationed, calculating, cold, formal, secretly wishes for a whirlwind romance, but cares too much for her people to compromise, 5’2, amber eyes, silver-white hair hangs styled loosely to mid back, wears all manner of noble dresses, but favors reds)
-Mina(‘rath) Godscorned (demoness previously running an orphanage, captured by MC’s squad, gentle, penitent, with a strong sense of protection for the weak, wants to be reconciled to the Gods’ love, 6’2, green eyes via magic, standard black void for demon eyes naturally, long brown hair worn in a fishtail braid over the shoulder, intentionally dresses in brighter colors, either for herself or for others, like green accessories to match with her chosen eye color
Human Eyes
Demon Eyes
Features/Hopes
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Play as a man of the Night’s Militant, building power and prestige!
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Pick a defining combat style and weapons! As a Militant, you will obviously be among the foremost warriors of the land, but how you choose to dispatch your enemies is entirely your choice!
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Get to know your peers! Whether it be your first mentor, a romantic option, or that commanding officer with whom you don’t quite see eye-to-eye, your personality and responses will notably change how you’re viewed. Each character will be painstakingly fleshed out in my best effort to make each aspect part of a living world.
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Stats that actually matter! Tired of games where you have to choose between being weak, impersonal, or a little slow? Not so with The Night’s Militant. You represent the greatest of humanity, and are more than capable in myriad situations! Stats will be more expressive of how you think and accomplish your goals, rather than whether you can actually do things. Moreover, the characters and story will react differently to different personalities and responses.
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A ‘more’ historically grounded fantasy epic! I’m going to really strive to research arms and armor from the late medieval period from which I draw the inspiration for setting. This will not be a story where a simple longsword is categorically the best in all situations. With a planned choice between at least eight weapons and three varieties of armor, (and helpful explanations of each!) you’ll have the freedom to purge wickedness in whatever gory fashion your heart desires!
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A magic system with defined limitations! Although the exact amount of use of magic (specifically miracles) will depend on your protagonist, I will strive to make magic accessible and understandable! No more wondering why the mage didn’t simply wipe out the opposing army in a torrent of fire!
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And more stuff to come!
Hierarchy
- Night’s Militant
-Knight Adjudicant (right hand of the Twilight Abbess, creates ruling strictures in coordination with the Twilight Abbess that govern all Knights)
-Knight Commander (Highest field authority of the Militant, each responsible for a Battalion, around 1000 knights, one in each cardinal direction)
-Knight Captain (Responsible for administrating commander orders for their company of around 250)
-Knight Lieutenant (Responsible for relaying orders to a platoon of around 50)
-Knight Corporal (In charge of 5-man squads, the smallest individual unit in the Militant)
-Knight Supplicant/Knight Brother, colloquially (Base rank of the Militant)
-Knight Aspirant (knights in training, typically on probation for a period of 6 months under direct supervision by the Corporal)
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Twilight Sisters
-Twilight Abbess (On the Council of Stars along with Harbinger of Dawn, Physician of Earth and Sky, and Mother’s Precept, under the Star Priest/Priestess)
-Twilight Prioress (Of the North and of the South, work with Knight Adjudicant to deploy Twilight Choirs to support the Militant)
-Twilight Mother (Lead Twilight Choirs of around 25 Sisters that typically attend Knight Lieutenants to support)
-Twilight Sister (Base rank of the Twilight Sisters)
Squad Exi Members
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Felix Moonsgaze
Rank: Knight Corporal (in charge) of Squad Exi
Physical Description: brown hair, blue eyes, strong build, 6’2
Combat Info: Felix uses a single-edged, “falchion-style” sword and large shield in combat
Reason for joining the Militant: To protect the innocence of common folk that don’t know the horror that demons pose
Faithfulness: he is moderately faithful to the Gods
Personality: Felix has a bit of a bleeding heart and cares for his subordinates greatly (some say too much), he is a teacher by nature and allows each of his charges an unadvised opinion in what the squad should do
Likes: Earnestness, Well-reasoned arguments, Horses
Dislikes: Lying, Formality, Authoritarianism
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Tristan Nightguard
Rank: Knight Supplicant of Squad Exi, acting “right-hand-man” to Felix
Physical Description: black hair, gray eyes, athletic build, 5’10
Combat Info: Tristan uses a greatsword in combat
Reason for joining the Militant: To leave the Sentinels of Dawn and to do something meaningful with his martial prowess
Faithfulness: He is respectful of the Gods, but doesn’t possess a true faith
Personality: Tristan has strong feelings on many things, chief among them being the need to bear hardship with brothers and the necessity of humble military commanders, he despises those who present themselves as larger than life, he is kind, sometimes joking, but takes his duty very seriously
Likes: Humility, Vulnerability, Cats
Dislikes: Arrogance, Showing off, Bureaucracy
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Exter Sunshatter
Rank: Knight Supplicant of Squad Exi
Physical Description: Mane of red hair, blue-green eyes, a large burn scar mars his face, strong build, 5’6,
Combat Info: Exter uses a poleaxe in combat
Reason for joining the Militant: To defend people from cultists
Faithfulness: He has no real faith and only sees the Militant as a humanitarian military organization
Personality: Exter is the resident joker of Squad Exi, he only gets serious when villains threaten innocents, he loves poking fun at Casi
Likes: Levity, Compassion, Children
Dislikes: People who mess with his team, Giving up, People who pick on the weak
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Cassidus (Casi) Sunshadow
Rank: Knight Supplicant of Squad Exi
Physical Description: white hair, brown eyes, lithe build, 5’4
Combat Info: Casi uses dual daggers in combat
Reason for joining the Militant: He believes he was chosen by the Gods to be Their martial instrument
Personality: Casi is a serious individual, kind on the surface, and he occasionally tries to make jokes with Exter (most of which fall flat), but at his core he is brutally efficient, he takes religious strictures into consideration for every decision
Likes: Respect for the Gods, Pragmatism, Birds
Dislikes: Complacency, Pretenders, People who shift blame
As I mentioned in the features/hopes section, I’d love to make this story an approachable foray into fantasy grounded in historical examples, within certain creative limits of course. Arguments like “A medieval warrior would always choose to use a bow when they could remain at range” might be true, but a little less cinematic than what I’ve got in mind.
Mainly, I’d love to help people broaden their horizons of knowledge about medieval arms and armor in a fun and interactive way. That being said, I’m only a journeyman of this type of knowledge myself. I will do my very best to scour available info to bring accurate depictions within the story, but if I miss anything or simply put in bad info, please don’t hesitate to let me know!
Update Log
04/14/22 Prologue Posted
04/15/22 Stat Screen Added
04/20/22 Chapter One Uploaded
Here is the demo!
https://dashingdon.com/go/11051