Roleplay Overview and Background Story

[Jackercat]

BEHOLD MY SEVEN PAGE LONG BACKGROUND STORY. Er, here's the TLDR version. The long version is below that.

TLDR Version of The Story and General Roleplay Overview

Basically, this roleplay is fantasy roleplay with a twist. It takes place in an area of Russian Siberia called the Boreal Zone (human name and sort of the fantasy equivalent of the Zone) where all mythical creatures have been confined to due to their unwilling attraction and eventual addiction to an energy that permeates the area called Karial. These mythical creatures include elves, dragons, lycans, wendigo, vila, dwarves, rogue undead, nymphs, driders, centaur, the whole fantasy shebang. Karial also effected the lands and native creatures, mutating animals and even changing some mineral composition. Mithril and other fantasy minerals n shit exists there, basically.

Because of the isolation of the area, its existence hadn't been known at all by the outside world and din't really change Earth's timeline much until confirmed reports of its mythical inhabitants came to be known by the rest of the world in 1876. Still, it didn't change that much even in Russia. World War 1 still happened as well as the October Revolution while the zone still remained unexplored for the most part because of the races within wanting outsiders the fuck out (many humans didn't want to deal with all the crazy animals like dragons and giant wolves within either)

However, eventually a large resource node was discovered by a bold group of human prospectors (even though everyone knew it was risky to enter the zone) in 1920 in the zone and a town was set up. As it turns out, this resource node was soon found out to be not only one the richest in the zone, but the entire god damned world. It's filled with everything from natural stuff such as gold, silver, oil, titanium, lead, helium, to unnatural stuff such as bloodstone (major scientific interest in that), mithril, and naturally magically charged ores.

The elven nation the town was set up in protested to the Soviet government about it. A deal was struck and the town was heavily expanded upon by a co-elven/human taskforce. Will initial tensions were high both the humans and elves bonded slightly through sweat and blood, building the town and fighting off mystical creatures such as dragons together respectively. After a while, the town became a major hub of all races in the zone who were free to mine at their leisure as long as they payed taxes to the elves. Because of the resources and the fact this was the first time humans and the rest of the races had interacted with each other closely, the town quickly became filled with all flocks of life; miners, scholars, diplomats (complete with embassies and military detatchments), teachers, scientists, artists, merchants, film makers, you name it.

The current date of the roleplay is 1930 and you can check below for the map to see exactly where it is. The map will likely be rp_mountainvillage. The main theme of the roleplay is cultural interaction and understanding as well as learning about the history of the zone and the secrets that lie around the town of Taromak. Technology in the zone hasn't really reached past the bronze age but magic can be learned by most within to compensate. (humans can't learn jack shit bout magic though because they suck, still they're generally tougher/stonger then most races and are technologically superior and therefore naturally know how to use their own technology such as gawnz better then others. Thus, they're generally better shots.). You can roleplay what you want, just make sure to read up the races on the forums. Making up shit is fine like races but just make sure it isn't out of place, extinct, overpowered, or fucking dumb.

Roleplaying powerful races such as dragons (in human form) isn't really encouraged unless you know what you're doing. See me about that if you want to do so. If a race isn't listed, ask about it before you roleplay because it may not exist at all Basically, don't roleplay retarded shit that doesn't belong or races that are just naturally way too powerful. Also, if too many of one type of race exists try to roleplay another. Don't roleplay rare races if a bunch of people are already roleplaying them. Lore submissions are allowed. If you're worried shit may not go down well talk to me about it, I have plenty of free time.

As always, powergaming isn't allowed as well as general stupid shit. Stay smart.

Really Fucking Long Version of the Story

The Boreal Zone

Fifteen thousand years ago, two massive and unimaginably powerful elder gods fought in the northern stretches of Siberia. One made it out victorious, the other was slain and began decomposing in a roughly ten thousand square mile area of wilderness. His spirit intermingled with the very fibers that create the illusion of reality around us and gave the area a unique property of being enriched with an energy called Karial. At this time, many creatures with magic flowing through them (basically, their souls are tainted by other energies other then what composes a normal soul and thus they can use its energies) roamed the Earth, what we would know as mystical creatures. These creatures were drawn to the area and became one with it, and eventually most on Earth had settled there, the Karial enriching their well-being and increasing their life-spans.

It was pleasant, though cold to most of the creatures, even the sentient amongst them, with the population density not being too bothersome due to the fact mystical creatures never existed in large numbers in the first place. Unfortunately, they soon became engorged and addicted to the Karial, and after several generations even became dependent upon it as if it were a narcotic. Thus, most if not all mystical creatures became confined to this tract of hidden wilderness in the cold central north of Siberia. Besides twisting its inhabitants, the energy also twisted the very land itself giving rise to anomalies such as unusually tall trees and caves filled with rare and unnatural minerals such as mithril and Karial stones (portable Karial). The area has had many names over the years, it is called Elbereth by the native Boreal Elves, Daragon by its Salendi guests (mysterious beings wearing odd clothing and semi-transparent helmets), and the Boreal Zone by the early Soviet government.

Though Siberia is a harsh environment, it is not without its natives. As humans began to evolve and form nomadic lifestyles in tribal communities, a rare few occasionally stumbled into the zone every thousand or so years. Unfortunately, some of the creatures inside were not keen to their presence, including the frost dragons and even some early tribes of elves. Many never returned or stumbled out with haunted eyes. Thus, as men in Siberia learned to use their tongues in a more sophisticated manner stories began to be told of a place where no men should dare venture. Because of the relative isolation of these tribes, the rest of the developing world rarely heard any of these stories until in the 1700s when Russian explorers from the West began to make contact with the relatively unadvanced people. At this point, very few humans if any dared live within the zone.

Life inside the zone was going much better for some, but not all of the mystical beings. Much like what happened with the Cro-Magnons and their cousins during the ice age five thousand years before, some sentient races flourished when temperatures suddenly dropped during a subsequent miniature ice-age like the Boreal Elves (or Dark Elves) and Wendigo while others such as the High Elves and Vila perished. The survivors, like the Cro-Magnons eventually developed from nomadic tribes to early stationary farming communities and eventually to entire nations. By the 1700s, many nations, each populated by only one species usually, had developed in the zone.

By the end of the 1700s many humans had heard of dragons and other mythical creatures living in Siberia but few could find exactly where they were hiding. Most just attributed the tales to superstition. Still, a few tribes seemed to know the general location of this supernatural zone which eventually led to one or two Western expeditions braving the harsh journey to central northern Siberia by the end of the 1800s. They were quickly scared away by natives using basic magic, usually chuckling at the sight of the frightened humans. Returning without proof to back up their tales, many didn't believe the explorers claims of this strange, mystical land no matter how respected those in the expedition were. Because of the long journey through unchecked wilderness to the zone and the fact that it could only be taken eight out of ten months of the year because of General Winter's wrath, no attempts were usually made to verify these claims. However it wouldn't be long for the supernatural to find the natural.

Spoiler:

There But For the Grace of God

From the darkest regions of Eldereth came a terror of unimaginable evil known only as the Lich. From the 1850s onward he cut a path of destruction out of the zone and westward. Using ancient runes to amplify his leech like powers, he began draining the life energies of everyone inside entire human villages at once, using undead warriors to cut down anyone who interfered with the process. This bolstered his other powers and quelled his need for Karial. Growing more and more ambitious, he set his sights towards Moscow. A group of vampire hunters monitoring the situation who initially believed they were dealing with their usual enemy eventually tracked down the true source. They fought a brief battle with the Lich but were vastly outmatched. Were it not for the intervention of a group of Boreal Elf (using rare and valuable Karial stones to be able to exit the zone) and mysterious masked Salendi warriors who had tracked down the Lich they would have been annihilated. The group was forced to retreat and the Lich pressed forward.

With an undead army the Lich planned to take Moscow in 1876. Fortunately, a Russian army group out out on a military exercise managed to catch sight of the Lich and his twenty-thousand strong zombie army. With the entire unit all giving their word that what they saw was real and scouts varifying their claims, a thousand strong army (with Cossacks included) of their own was mobilized and marched to meet the undead enemy at the gates. The army fought bravely, but for every warrior they lost the Lich gained another. Eventually, they were forced to retreat into defensive positions around the great city. Many within began to panic as word of a zombie army approaching spread. A religious frenzy began, with the Russian Orthodox church blaming an apparent mass lack of appreciation for god for him letting what many were viewing as Satan come to destroy them. The Lich struck the Red City in the early morning hours, intent on seeing his pray's faces as the life was leeched out of them.

The army fought with courage and determination, but their muskets were no match for the overwhelming numbers of the damned as well as the Lich's tremendous Necro magic. However, they didn't stand alone for long. The small group of vampire hunters, elves, and Salendi who had experience dealing with this sort of thing, managed to convince a significant amount of Russian troops to cover them and while they cut through the undead lines to fight the Lich in person. In full view of the Russian army and many civilians watching from rooftops, the elves in this group managed to humble who many were viewing as Satan with an impressive display of arcane magic, with the rest providing backup. The Lich was forced to retreat East. Though the group wished to pursue them, they were soon surrounded by a group of admirers and questioners. The group was eventually brought before Tsar Alexander II

Spoiler:

Confusion immediately spread through the city. The only people who were supposed to be able to use magic were supposedly in league with Satan, yet why would demons [the elves] fight their master [The Lich], or at least a high ranking demon? Was this group in league with God? Yet when questioned, the magic users in the group seemed to not know of god or Christianity at all. Over time, sixth main opinions rose among the populous. The first was that the elves were angels sent to Earth for some reason in order to combat the forces of Satan directly and that they were simply not saying who they really were as a test of faith. (This was the most popular theory among those in the Russian Orthodoxy) The second was that they weren't related to Christianity at all and were in fact the real deities that should be worshiped. (Many who never fell in line the Russian Orthodoxy were quick to buy into this). The third, brought up in secret among the scientific minds in Moscow was that they were simply a different type of being with unique, unexplained natural powers beyond the realm of current scientific understanding, not 'magic', the same being for the Lich.

The fourth was that they were demons or beings in league with demons trying to trick everyone into believing they were angelic. The fifth was that they were demons (or again, people in league with demons/satan) trying to take down another demon who would have spoiled their own plans to gain power themselves (the last two were the least believed theories). The sixth was that both the Lich and the elves were simply the mythological creatures spoken about in older times, not divine or satanic but still very powerful and supernatural, and like many things not worth mentioning in the bible or that the bible simply was false. For those wishing to hang onto their biblical beliefs without accusing the heroes of Moscow of being in league with devil, many began to say that these beings were using magic that came from another source besides Satan or that the rules in the bible about witchcraft only applied to humans.

In the meeting with Tsar Alexander II, the Boreal Elves reluctantly elaborated on who they were: the most powerful race in the Boreal zone who controlled a large empire. The Salendi simply stated with folded arms that they were a race native to the zone allied with with elves. The vampire hunters elaborated on their careers but were somewhat disregarded by the Tsar, vampires being the least of the things on his mind at the moment.

Being somewhat territorial and distrustful of man, the elves demanded the Tsar recognize their country as a sovereign entity and demanded the Tsar keep people from settling in the zone, knowing that with the Russians expanding ever westward eventually their homeland and its vast amount of resources would be probed in increasing numbers. The Tsar agreed to these terms out of principle and not wishing to start a conflict with those who just took down what his army could not. In return for this, the elves would guarantee their support against any mystical threats to Russia in the future. With their Karial stones running low the elves and their group set forth from the town in pursuit of the Lich along with a few Cossack and Red Army volunteers eager to put that which had killed so many into the ground.

Together, they intercepted the Lich as he journeyed back Eastward and gained a decisive victory over him, though despite their best efforts they were unable to kill him. His ragged body was dragged back to the Boreal Zone and preserved in an Arcane stasis field deep within a mountain cave, and those among his killers went their separate ways.

Consequences

Word spread quickly from Moscow of the Lich, his undead army, and his mysterious opponents. Though at first the world remained skeptical, the sheer number of claims eventually turned some heads, especially when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to admit what he saw. Many became convinced there could be a whole civilization of mystical beings in the wilds to the East of Europe and Moscow, especially when the Tsar ordered there to be no military fortifications to be built in a specific area in Siberia [The Zone] as well as warning civilians they would not be guaranteed protection if they decided to venture or settle there. Despite these warnings, many Russians and large numbers of foreigners were resigned to find out what was hiding in the wilds.

It wasn't long before stories being told of groups of adventurers being denied entry to a specific area of land by chased out of northern central Siberia by various sorts of pissed off mythical creatures, including ones that looked like the elves who helped save Moscow. Even the attempt by diplomats to set up more formal ties with the unknown nations within became dismal failures. After casualties and the various monstrosities such as dragons, lycans, rogue undead, and elementals in the zone began to be reported, fear overcame overwhelming curiosity in most and the zone was left along to its isolation until the early 1900s. It didn't help that it was still out in the middle of central Siberia, a place only the most hearty would dare trek.

Spoiler:

Still, scientists and scholars would continue to try to probe the zone, risking their lives doing so due to their abid curiosity to what was within. The most famous among them included biologists Ivan Schmalhausen, Theodor Boveri, and even an elder Charles Darwin. The latter once famously quoted saying, "After careful studies of the creatures indigenous to northern Siberia and their unusual abilities, I believe I can safely say without fear of scrutiny that if they didn't seem to be confined to that area, mankind would not be around now to gawk at them."

As it turns out, the brief period of increased contact was not just because of the larger number of people setting forth to look for dragons and other crazy shit, it was also because the zone had actually expanded for an unexplained reason, nearly doubling in size.

Though this Earth saw a few differences to its history to our own after contact was made, it still sped down the same path for the most part. Despite the fact that dragons and other supposedly mythological creatures were actually more then just stories, for many they existed literally a world away and did not effect their lives at all. Still, these new discoveries did significantly effect the sciences and religion, with many religions struggling to explain everything being reported at Moscow and from explorers without a holy war starting against mythos within the zone. Meanwhile, the sciences struggled to explain what all of the sentient creatures being reported in the zone were in relation to humanity as well as how their their ability to seemingly manipulate energy without any tools worked.

Taromak and Elensar

In 1920 during the conquest of Siberian undertaken by the Soviet people, rich deposits of resources were found at the edge of the original zone due to new prospecting techniques and equipment, some buried in the Earth and others within previously untouched caverns. These deposits included minerals known to man such as gold, titanium, platinum, uranium and silver, and others not known to man such as mithril and a mysterious gem soon called blood stone. With the old Tsar government gone, no laws existed which forbade settlement in the zone or recognition of the various mythical nations within. Furthermore, advances in weaponry and armor led to many to entertain the idea that the things within the zone were no threat to man. A settlement was quickly erected (the settlers with a bit of luck managing to hold off the mythical beasts in the area as well as angry elven frontiersmen) which quickly became filled with people looking to make a fortune off mineral recovery. This didn't go over well with the elven nation the town was located in.

Almost immediately a band of elves representing the nation of Elensar set out in heavy disguise to meet with the government of Russia. After revealing who they were to local guards around the Red Square, they were brought before Premiere Lenin. Angry with him for not upholding the treaty they had signed with the Russian government before, they quickly demanded that they remove the settlement from their lands or they would do it themselves. Lenin countered that the laws and treaties signed by the old government were no longer valid in the new Soviet regime. This shocked the elves, who were unaware any change had come at all.

"You hide within your lands and refuse to let us ever contact you, no wonder you had no idea what's been happening. Do us humans disgust you that much?!" Lenin barked at them.

The elves quickly apologized on behalf of the zone if they had come off as arrogant. They claimed their isolation had nothing to do with spite, but refused to admit the real reason (It was a lie, most of the mythics believe that most if not all humans are a warlike and will do anything for power.). However, they soon admitted that staying out of world affairs may no longer be possible. To avoid needless bloodshed, a deal was thought of.

The elves would allow the settlement to remain and would even provide protection and guidance against supernatural threats as long as they could have access to the resources in the area as well, for after stealthy inspection of the area they determined it may be the richest node in the zone. They also demanded the humans stay out of a specific cave near the area, the place where they had caged the Lich, and that no more settlements were to be made in their territories. Afterward, the new treaty went through the Soviet congress where it was barely passed under heavy scrutiny, though Lenin called it a bold experiment to see if two very different races could exist in harmony.

Soon, elves began flocking to the town and began working with the humans on expanding it. After five years, it was a sight to behold: a beautiful half-elven, half-human town set atop a large, rocky hill deep in the mountains complete with a keep (as insisted upon by the elves). Many other mythical races began to flock to it, hearing tales of the vast amounts of various ores and minerals in the area. Elensar's government reluctantly set up a program to accommodate them which stated they would have to pay a more hefty tax then the humans and Elensar Elves, though they like everyone could mine at their own leisure.

Racial tensures were high at first due to many reasons: humans distrusting the elves because of their magic use (many religions considered them to be demons) and the general lack of knowledge about them, the zone races distrusting the humans due to their violent nature (and a stigma that all humans would grab power wherever they could) and fearing their ever-growing technology levels and how their technology could corrupt their cultures, and of course because of old grudges held between the various races in the zone as well as centuries old racism. In order to keep the peace, a town guard majorly backed by Russian resources took shape. Still, despite the trouble peace was able to be kept and the town prospered, becoming much more then a mining station as the years went on.

It became a cultural melting pot where various peoples could learn about each other, as many different races even in the zone barely had much contact with each other. It also became a major political hub for the mythical community, with various governments setting up embassies. Russia and a few human nations nearby were not too far behind doing so as well. It also began serving as a major trade center, with various merchants from all over the zone and even the rest of the world coming to buy and sell products. The zone would never be the same again.

As of 1935, the town continues to prosper. A few changes have occurred such as the town guard being supplied with heavy weaponry such as T-34 battle tanks and M1910 artilery cannons as a safeguard against creature attacks that often plagued the town. However, dark secrets are beginning to be discovered by Russian scientists studying blood stone mined in the area. The red mineral could end up being the key for Russia's victory in the coming World War 2, or it could lead to them to disaster.