OOC Info Syliras Starting Guide

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

Syliras Starting Guide

Postby Mayhem on November 30th, 2019, 9:47 pm


Intro to Syliras [You Are Here]
Getting Started
Character Ideas
After Creation
NPC List

So you've decided to start in Syliras.

Great choice!

Intro to Syliras


Syliras is a safe city, one of the safest and largest in Mizahar. It prides itself on being the bastion of civilization, led by Knights that serve in the name of the God of Peace, Sylir. The entirety of the city is located inside the massive Stormhold Castle. There are no farms and no cottages in Syliras. The city is surrounded by forests and mountains, though the mountains of Sylira pale in comparison to those across the Suvan Sea in Kalea.

Being that the city is inside of a castle, the majority of rooms are entirely indoors, most without any source of natural light. It is still as spacious as possible in such limited space, but most spaces are lit by fires, whether candles, torches, or fireplaces. There are carefully spaced air shafts and vents that provide a good amount of fresh air, including inside every room.

Syliras controls the Kabrin Road, which is the only major road in Mizahar. The Kabrin spans between Riverfall, Kenash, Syliras, and Karjin, as well as a branch that leads from Syliras to Zeltiva. These roads are the safest way to traverse Mizahar. Regularly patrolled by knights, there are also Traveler Shelters located every 20 miles that are well stocked with supplies to keep small groups safe and warm as they travel.

Without farms, Syliras's main form of income is, in fact, the taxes levied on the Kabrin Road. Since they restock, maintain, and provide these roads, caravans and travelers are required to pay tolls by the way of Mizas and especially food. Syliras imports a majority of their foodstuffs and other materials from Karjin and Kenash, both cities connected to the city by the Kabrin Road. Alcohol and jewelry are imported from Riverfall, famous for their vineyards and mines.

Syliras may be a contained city, but it's still a welcoming one. Anyone of any race is allowed, as long as they abide by the city's rules, and as long as they aren't caught worshipping or possessing gnosis marks from one of the known "evil" gods, such as Krysus, Ssena, Vayt, Uldr, Sagallius, and especially Rhysol. These Gods stand for everything that Syliras does not, and anyone found to be affiliated with them will be, at worst, left in the wilderness, and at best, killed on sight.

Surprisingly, there is virtually no corruption among the Knights. They strive to uphold their standard of peace, civility, and order. There will be no cruelty towards those who live by the same standards, and if you are a law-abiding citizen, you are unlikely to find yourself at the end of their sword.
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Syliras Starting Guide - Getting Started

Postby Mayhem on November 30th, 2019, 9:52 pm


Intro to Syliras
Getting Started [You Are Here]
Character Ideas
After Creation
NPC List


Getting Started in Syliras


First thing to do when you decide to play in Syliras, (or even if you're still making your decision and Syliras is on the list), is to contact me! Ping or DM me in the Discord, PM me on the site, send smoke signals, find our 6 degrees of separation and mail me a letter, connect with me on LinkedIn - just contact me in some form or another. Tell me your intentions, your character concept, and I can give you feedback, or even direct you to another open city that would work better.

My job here is to help you get started, and I'm willing to assist with all aspects of character creation, from making a CS, looking over your personal NPCs, reading your gnosis request drafts, and more. I want to help you, that's why I volunteered. Anyone is free to DM me and bounce off ideas and get feedback, but I give priority to my friends in Syliras.

As of right now, I can't edit or create Storyteller Secrets, or SS threads. This means that for you to get a job, wages, and anything normally DS specific, you will have to talk to me and then arrange for it in the Help Desk. This should be temporary until I get DS status. :)

After your character is created, please post in the Registry. Feel free to post in the OOC thread and Matchmaking forum to send your feelers out for threading. Remember, I'm here for any questions you may have about the city or Mizahar as a whole.
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Syliras Starting Guide - Character Ideas

Postby Mayhem on November 30th, 2019, 9:56 pm


Intro to Syliras
Getting Started
Character Ideas [You Are Here]
After Creation
NPC List


Character Ideas to Jog Your Brain


Syliras is a castle city run by knights. It's surrounded by woodlands that require a Competent level minimum of Wilderness Survival to venture into on your own.

Any sort of cottage industry or crafting profession is allowed, as the area permits. Candlemakers, papermakers, weavers, tailors, cooks, grooms, birdkeepers, horse drivers, barmaids, clerks - those and more are all available for your character.

For extra adventurous types, you can play hunters, trappers, or some other kind of ranger. You will need a competent WS score before any profession that requires you to venture into the wilderness is approved. It is possible to start with a competent WS.

You can also play a Knight or Squire! The Syliran Knights have their own joining requirements, and you can PM me for help with making your character fit. You can start as a Knight, but you will not be able to start with all of the required skill points. You have a few seasons after starting to get these up to snuff or you will be kicked out of the Knighthood. Once they're complete, see me and we can start up a flashback Knighting quest, wherein you will get marked by Sylir and learn all sorts of other cool things.

If you start as a Squire, you have a smaller skill requirement than the Knights, but you don't get to roleplay in real-time as a Knight and all of the benefits that come with it. You have some more time to get your skills, and then you'll complete your Knighting quest in the current season. Either way has the same end goal, it just depends on the person who is seeking it.
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Syliras Starting Guide - After Creation

Postby Mayhem on November 30th, 2019, 10:06 pm


Intro to Syliras
Getting Started
Character Ideas
After Creation [You Are Here]
NPC List


After Creation


Now that your character is put together, your job is approved, and your family is fed, it's time to start writing!

On the chat, I have created a bot called MizBot, which has a variety of prompts to help you out. Frequently used are ~prompts, ~city syliras, and ~sprint. Sprints are when a few of us in chat set a time and try to write as much as we can, and word wars are when we pick a goal for the evening and try to meet it.

Prompts will display a random prompt from a list of Miz-relevant prompts that were submitted. (I'm always taking submissions and suggestions for MizBot!)

For super-specific Syliras prompts, check out the Bulletin Board. This is where I, and anyone with ST permission, can post jobs, thread seeds, and recruitments for the city of Syliras. I will post new prompts at the beginning of every season, adding new ones periodically as they are snatched up. At the end of the season, the old prompts will be taken down and replaced. This is also where I will post my recruitment for the seasonal Quest, so keep an eye out!
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Syliras Starting Guide - NPCs

Postby Mayhem on December 1st, 2019, 12:12 am


Intro to Syliras
Getting Started
Character Ideas
After Creation
NPC List [You Are Here]

Knights

 
Albrek Dergan
Image
Name: Albrek Degan
Race: Human
DoB: 475AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Warden Knight of the Syliran Knights
Skills: Pike 70, Teaching 60, Tactics 47, Unarmed Combat 45, Leadership 37
Gnosis: 2 Sylir
Additional Info:
Albrek Degan is the Warden Knight of the Silver Quadron, third-highest ranked officer in the Syliran Knights. He is currently stationed in Syliras.

Warden Degan was a slave in the gladiator pits of Ravok for most of his early life. At nineteen, he finally escaped to Syliras and joined the Knights in an attempt to keep himself from being dragged back to slavery. His apprenticeship lasted less than a year - only long enough for him to master the scholarly aspects of the Knighthood, as he'd mastered the martial requirements years earlier - and his quest was given and accepted by the Windoak. Since then he has risen steadily through the ranks, and has personally served as a teacher to the squires.

 
Aquila Brock
Image Name: Aquila Brock
Race: Ethaefal
DoB: 363AV
PoB: Suvan Sea
Title: Stewart Knight
Skills: Investigation 63, Tracking 55, Riding: Horse 53, Weapon: Half-spear 50, Spear 40, Astronomy 30
Gnosis: 2 Sylir, 1 Inavalti
Additional Info:
Often underestimated when she wears her mortal face, Aquila is nonetheless a powerful figure among the Knights.

She stands as something of a famous figure, being the only Ethaefal in recorded history to have been a Knight in their mortal life and returned to it when discarded from Syna's realm. Many point to her as an example of the tenacity and loyalty of the Brock family, while others decry her as a relic from a less civilized time.

As a mortal, Aquila was squired at ten and received her quest at fifteen, well ahead of most of her peers. Unfortunately, she was killed shortly after in a battle with raiders who were combing the road for slaves. Because of this, her mortal seeming is that of a rather petite young girl: huge blue eyes, long blond hair, and a face untouched by adolescence. She stands at just over 5' tall and is often mistaken for a child by those who don't know any better.

While Syna holds sway over the world, Aquila becomes something entirely different. She bears the shining copper skin and moss-green eyes of Syna's Chosen. She is much taller, reaching near to seven feet in height, and the somewhat pompous air she wears as a mortal is trebled in her true form. Her waist-length hair and delicately curving horns shift their hues with the change of the seasons, making her a true wonder to behold.

Regardless of what form she wears, Aquila is almost never seen outside of the standard-issue armor of her position, evidence of her rank pinned to her collar.

Like most Ethaefal, there is an air of wisdom that clings to Aquila no matter what form she wears. Even when her body resembles that of a fourteen-year-old girl, the depth of her eyes reveals that there is more to her than there seems.

She can sometimes be quite haughty, though, especially when she feels that the people around her are behaving inappropriately when they should know better. She is unfailingly patient with anyone who comes to her with questions, and it's considered the best kind of luck for a traveler to come upon her in the Bronze Woods, for they're nearly guaranteed an escort back to safety and a stimulating conversation during it. However, she finds it hard to abide idiocy or a lack of common sense, and can get downright brutal if challenged by what she considers to be a lesser creature.

In her mortal life, Aquila was the granddaughter of Gregor Brock, one of the founding members of the Syliran Knights. Her father was a Knight, as were all of her brothers before her. She first swung a blade at the age of three, and broke her first horse on her 8th birthday. There was no question that she would follow in her family's footsteps, and she joined the Dyres' cause just as soon as she was allowed.

Tragedy followed not long after she completed her quest. It was a tumultuous time, not even a full generation after Syliras' founding, It wasn't uncommon for roving groups of bandits to try their luck against those going to and from the new city, and Aquila was slain protecting a family of tradesmen who were fleeing to the walls of Syliras.

For the span of four generations, she lived a glorious existence that no man could hope to dream of, that no human tongue could describe, a wondrous time of servitude and worship when Syna's hands reached out to her every day - and touched her.

And then she was falling.

She came to herself in the Suvan Sea, not far from Riverfall. She floated for a day and a night and another day, shattered by the trauma of what she'd endured. When the Akalak hauled her out of the moon-drenched water on her second evening back on mortal ground, starving and in shock, she was suddenly thrust into an unfortunate situation. The Akalak who discovered her, Javertivk, was young and brash, and wasn't familiar with Ethaefal, and she had no idea yet what had even happened to her, much less what it might mean.

When they reached the shore, the Akalak explained to her that she owed her life to them, and that she would be a Nakivak to him. Without so much as blinking, she challenged him to battle in the arena. Javertivk took one look at the tiny human girl, laughed, and accepted.

At dawn, when they stepped into the arena, Javertivk instead found himself facing a tall, alien creature - with a well-worn spear in her hand.

Aquila spared his life, remembering in time how much value the Akalak placed on their survival, but when she was done with him there was no question that she had earned her freedom. The scars she left on his body would not heal quickly, and the Ethaefal did not stay to find out his fate. Before Syna retreated from the sky, she had acquired a pack and set out for Syliras.

She rejoined the Knights, remembered by the few Konti and Akalak who were old enough to recall her mortal life. Instead of taking a celestial name and hating the body she inhabited when Leth ruled the skies, she claimed her mortal name and all the responsibility that went with it. She viewed her Fall as a second chance to do what she could to help her people fulfill their destiny and rebuild civilization, and has put every ounce of herself into seeing it come to pass.
 
Matrim Druva
Image
Name: Matrim Druva (Ser Mat)
Race: Human
DoB: 30th of Winter, 473AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Sergeant Knight
Skills: 80 Longsword, 65 Shield, 60 Teaching, 54 Shortbow, 45 Riding: Horse, 55 Unarmed Combat, 37 Leadership, 55 Intimidation, Weapon: Quarterstaff 52, Hunting 60, Tracking 50
Gnosis: 1 Sylir

Additional Info: Standing at an impressive 6 feet, 5 inches and weighing nearly 220 pounds, Matrim Druva is a giant of a man. His wide shoulders, thick chest, and strong arms make for an implacable foe when angered. Despite the Knight's size, he is known to be a gentle man, with a fierce love for his wife and two daughters, and uncompromising loyalty to the Knighthood. The seasoned Knight takes a hard line on upholding the laws and ethics of the fortified city he calls home.

Credit to Bronwen

 
Loren Dyres
Name: Loren Dyres
Race: Human
DoB: 477 AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Lord of Syliras, Grandmaster of the Syliran Knights
Skills: Weapon: Sword 69, Dual Wield 60, Diplomacy 55, Leadership 90, Politics 77, Shield 51, Riding: Horse 45, Crossbow 40
Gnosis: 3 Sylir, 2 Truthism, 1 Ennervism
Additional Info:Loren Dyres is the current Lord of Syliras, Grandmaster of the Syliran Knights, and the direct descendant of the founder of the city itself. He is an important figure in the stability of the Sylira Region and in the steadfastness of the human race. Loren holds the rank of 'Grandmaster' among the Syliran Knights, and is a prominent figure in the 'new' nobility of human civilization: meaning those who achieved their status through battle prowess and defense of the city. He is a direct descendant of Lawrence Dyres, the founder of Syliras and the first of the Dyres Lineage.

Growing up, Loren was groomed from childhood to hopefully ascend to the leadership of Syliras. To do so, he would have to earn his way up through the Syliran Knights by way of hard work, study, and training. His mother, a prominent Syliran woman named Helen Bristal was an amazing advocate of equality and justice throughout the known world. Being a devote priestess of Priskil, Helen was instrumental in following through with her husband Liam Dyres' ideal of holding and maintaining peace in Sylira which the entire Dyres family initiated when the knighthood founded a castle on the western coast of the region overlooking the Suvan Sea. That one lone outpost, built by Loren's ancestor, grew into a city in its own right, one that welcomes and nurtures humanity from all over the region.

Rumors have it, the reason Syliras was successful (when so many other attempts to found cities were not) was that along the coast an enormous tree grew that was said to be a fragment monster, a slice of the soul of the God of Peace and Civilization when Sylir was destroyed during the Valterrian. And although Sylir is now slain, gone forever from Mizahar, pieces of his past and his personality remain scattered throughout Mizahar, like the enormous Windoak that looms over the city of Syliras. And though there are rumors about the tree itself, it is carefully sheltered within the walls of the ocean side fortress, kept safe thereby Loren and his family. It is said that the Windoak gave the final nod to Loren's ascension to the Lordship of Syliras, and to this day it gives advice to the Dyres family and all those that take shelter in Syliras and seek it out.

Loren is unmarried, and it is rumored that he is the lover of Kaylana Natra though no official word has ever been said to confirm this. Regardless, he has no children of his own, and as such his brother, Stewart Knight Karees Dyres, is the heir presumptive of the position of Lord Knight.

Requires Moderator Permission

 
Kaer and Weld Curisaris
Name: Kaer & Weld Curisaris
Race: Akalak
DoB: 418 AV
PoB: Riverfall
Title: Stewart Knight
Skills: Weapon: Lakan 70, Riding 60, Teaching 55, Politics 50, Meditation 48, Riding: Horse 40, Sewing 20
Gnosis: 1 Sylir, 2 Wysar
Additional Info: Kaer and Weld were born and raised in Riverfall until just after their Rite of Passage. They describe their arrival and permanent stay in Syliras as a sort of revelation - as the child of a vinter, they had accompanied their father to Syliras on a delivery. It was as soon as they had seen the Knighthood and were in awe of their values and squired within their ranks immediately. Kaer saw that they had the strength and dedication of the Akalak but with a mission honorable to all of Mizahar, while Weld considers the Knighthood's strengths to be in their community and their use of strength to protect their people rather than control them.

Kaer has a Konti wife, N'sellia, and two children - an infant Akalak named Kasellir and a young Konti girl named Ivony. Weld is unmarried and prefers to take care of the children Kaer already has rather than have his own.



Squires

 
Galina Hastings
ImageName: Galina Hastings
Race: Human
DoB: 12th of Summer, 512 AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Squire
Skills: Weapon: Longsword 15, Weapon: Small Steel Shield 15, Weapon: Crossbow 30, Riding: Horse 10
Gnosis: None
Additional Info: Daughter to a trapper and a scribe, Galina has lived all her life in Syliras. All her life she has wanted to be a knight, but duty to her family has kept her helping with the bills by working in the Inn since she was old enough to balance a tray table. Then she met a woman named Marielle Druva, and they became fast friends with due to their shared interest in joining the knights. Together they hatched a plan to get Galina’s mother a job working for Marielle’s as a scribe, and thus freed from her duties, they joined up together in the Spring of 519 A.V.

Credit to Reed
 
Marielle Druva
ImageName: Marielle Druva
Race: Human
DoB: 45th of Fall, 501AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Squire
Skills: Weapon: Short Spear 15, Weapon: Jousting Shield 15, Weapon: Lance 15, Riding: Horse 30
Gnosis: None
Additional Info: Unlike her older sister Retha, Marielle had never been inclined to follow in the steps of her flamboyant mother, or absent father. Instead, she valued the devotion of the knights to the community, and the blood, sweat, and tears it took to make life here possible. However, she also liked her music a great deal, so she hovered between making that commitment for a long time. Her mother was a perfectionist and insisted that if she didn’t devote all her time to her lessons, then she might as well not try at all. Then she met Galina, who reignited her desire to join the knighthood, and made it clear to her that she wouldn’t have to give up one for another. So, together they joined up in the Spring of 519 A.V. and now she is happier than ever.

Credit to Reed

 
Coen Truma
ImageName: Coen Trema
Race: Human
DoB: 22th of Fall, 507AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Squire
Skills: Weapon: Mace 5, Weapon: Small Steel Shield 5, Weapon: Shortbow 5, Riding: Horse 5, Unarmed 10
Gnosis: None
Additional Info: Coen is a brash young boy whom recently joined the ranks of the squires a season early after he bravely intercepted a rapist that was attempting to escape the justice of the knights. Placing himself between the man, and the only way out of the home he’d broken into, Coen bought some time for the other witnesses to grab a knight whom lived in a nearby apartment. Big for his age at 5’7, 140 lbs, he did a pretty good job of keeping the man occupied and used some of the moves his father taught him to keep from getting to bruised by the man’s desperate attempts to escape. For his courage, and respect for his family name, it was decided his time was a page was over, and he could now start training as a squire.

Credit to Reed



Commoners

 
Chuck Thorson
Name: Chuck Thorson
Race: Human
DoB: 15th Day, Winter 469AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Tavern Regular at The Rearing Stallion
Skills: Weaponsmithing 58, Observation 65, Storytelling 45, Persuasion 45, Intimidation 60, Brawling 76
Gnosis: None
Additional Info: Born and raised in Syliras, Chuck was dedicated to his family as well as his craft. His father, a gifted weaponsmith, took pride in teaching his only son the art of weapon making.

Chuck remained his father's pupil until his death in the Fall of 488. Following his fathers death, the young weaponsmith continued strengthening his skill, becoming a well known and respected weapon maker in the city.

In the Spring of 490, at the age of 21, Chuck married his love, Elizabeth. A son, Collin, was born to the couple that same year and a daughter, Hazel was born two years later. Chuck and his family settled into the common way of life in the fortress city. In the beginning days of Summer 495, Elizabeth became pregnant with the couples third child and after a difficult pregnancy, their son Austin was born in the Spring of 496, but died 19 days later.

Over the next few seasons following their baby's death, Elizabeth's own health began to decline and in Winter 499, Chuck's beloved wife died, leaving Chuck and his children devastated. It wouldn't get any easier for the newly widowed weapon maker. In the Summer of 501, his nine year old daughter, Hazel, fell from a tree and to her death.

Chuck simply fell apart, often times seeking refuge from heartache in the bottom of an ale mug. His drinking became a nightly ritual and quickly his grief turned to transgressions, fighting anyone as soon as look at them. Eventually, the passing time and his limitless love for his first born son would see Chuck in better ways. He stopped drinking...as much, mended his relationship with his son and slowly put the pieces of his life back together.

Father and son thrived. In early 510 Collin married a young lady and soon after the couple moved away to begin their lives together. The nights grew lonely for the weaponsmith and, seeking companionship, he began frequenting the local tavern for his evening meals as well as his ale.

At present, the man walks into The Rearing Stallion at the same bell everyday and stumbles out the same time every night. He sits quietly at a corner table until he finishes his meal then he'll belly up to the bar for his countless mugs of ale. Any patron that visits more than once will know his name, but he will not remember theirs. Chuck knows no stranger. He calls all the men, "Buddy" and all the ladies, "Hun". Chuck is not easy to anger, but when he does there is no one that he will back down to.

He loves a good argument and never thinks he wrong. He will give you the shirt off his back...if he rips your off as he knocks you out. He loves the ladies and often times his hands roam where they ought not to, but will defend their honor relentlessly if he sees them mistreated. If you would like to meet Chuck and have a friend for the night, join him at the bar for an ale just don't insult him.

Credit to Shiress

 
Eloisa Bertolini
Name: Eloisa Bertolini
Race: Human
DoB: Winter 492AV
PoB: Syliras
Title: Syliras's Urban Witch
Skills: Wilderness Survival (Temperate Forest, etc) 75, Animal Husbandry 60, Botany 55, Unarmed Combat 46, Trapping 39, Tracking 28, Hunting 20
Gnosis: Phylonura 2 (Temperate, Riparian, Urban)
Additional Info: Born and raised in Syliras, Eloisa had always spent much time outside of the city and with her father, who made his living as a trapper. When she was just 14 years old it was only she, battered and bloody and with Caiyha's mark wrapped around her arm, that returned from the trip. After that, she simply packed up her things and disappeared back into the Cobalt Woods.

She didn't appear again until the summer of 519AV, the forest mark now joined with a lively river and the depiction of rats and mice scurrying along stone walls. Syliras as a city was not one to disrespect Caiyha, and so accommodations were made for the girl. She spends much of her time with the feral cat and wild rat colonies that infest the reaches of the citadel, though it's not unheard of to find her with the horses or carrier pigeons, either.

Syliras
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