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Rilynath

 
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:47 pm    Post subject: Rilynath Reply with quote

Rilynath






From the darkest depths of the world a power is rising that gives pause to even the mightiest of heroes. Shrouded in mystery they spread their influence through the underworld, buying and selling favors to those desperate enough to turn to them for help. Only one thing seems certain where the Dragons are concerned, whatever you might gain from dealing with them.. they will gain more.


Drow. The word itself is enough to spread panic through the country side. Their appearance is enough to shake the convictions of even veteran soldiers. Civilized and savage alike know well the doom that their presence portends. Servants of the mother of all darkness, their only joy is gained from inflicting pain and suffering. This is the truth as has been accepted by all who walk above and below the surface.
Until recently...

Rumors of Drow activity on the surface have become more prevalent in the past decade. Most peculiar is that these rumors do not involve maimed bodies being found in the burnt remains of villages along the outskirts of civilization. No these whispers are more foreboding still to the wiser minds of the land. Dark elves finding common cause with their surface kin. Back room business deals with nobles who wish a taste of the exotic added to their collections. New lives of prestige bought by those willing to trade a lifetime of service. Day by day more drow are sighted in cities throughout the land that have not banned their presence.

The source of these rumors lies just below the surface of the war torn city of Tharis. The City of Thieves has never been a reputable place. It is home to the temples of the darkest of gods and its streets have been ruled by gangs of lawless thugs that seem undeterred by the illusion of authority the Duke claims. The elves clinging to what is left of their ancient ancestral home have only recently cast the humans from the broken down quarter they had been assigned and in the process shattered much of the human strength in the city as a whole. What terrible price did the elves pay for this insurrection? It depends upon who you ask but the end result is the same, the birth of Rilynath.

==================================================================================

Rilynath is the culmination of years of RP interaction that has led to a wholy unique organization that provides a true place for those who wish to play drow living on the surface. If the prologue wasn't clear enough this is not an organization of Drizzt wannabe's any more than it is your classic spider loving drow stereotype. Instead through the worship of Vhaeraun (son of Corellon and Lolth) we have taken the road less traveled. Vhaeraun(Mask) is the primary deity of Rilynath and the objectives of destroying Lolth's grasp on the drow and reclaiming the dark elves' place on the surface are what shape the majority of our interactions. It is a dark guild with mature themes however that does not limit its membership to evil characters only.


While the leadership of Rilynath are drow the House accepts and gives equal treatment to other elven sub-races who agree with their goals and offers positions outside the direct hierarchy for half-breeds. While Rilynath primarily promotes Vhaeraun's designs, it is a polytheistic family whose members serve a number of other elven deities that do not directly oppose the Masked God of the Night.

Heads of House

Valsharess: Aunuit Rilynath Valuk: Ryzan Rilynath

Leadership

Witchlord: Vicdaerrysn Rilynath Warlord: (OPEN) Shadowlord: (OPEN)

Deities of Rilynath

Vhaeraun(Mask), Khalreshaar(Mielikki), Aerdrie(Akadi), Corellon(Lathander)

Races of Rilynath

Drow make up the majority of the House with a small number of Sylvan elves who have joined after the war on Tharis. Any elven subrace is welcome though thus far only sylvans have responded to the House's entreaties. Half-breeds (drow and elf alike) are welcome though their impure blood limits them from reaching the highest echelons of power. Non-elves cannot hold position within the House but are not excluded from business dealing and other arrangements of mutual gain.

Characters of Rilynath

Rilynath is not a House of Adventurers. It has its goals and sometimes those goals coincide with killing a dragon to claim its hoard and other such things. What we wish to focus on most though is not the crushing of content but the development of our characters and the House itself. Because of this focus all manner of characters are possible to enjoy with the support of the house including artisans, entertainers, servants and diplomats. Your success in Rilynath will not be measured by your levels but by your contributions and we will find ways to reward everyone who puts forth the effort to contribute to the advancement of the House.

Joining Rilynath

Joining the House is not a quick process and will require a good deal of interaction with the leadership as well as tests to determine if an applicant is genuine in their desire to serve the goals of the House. Those who begin the process will enjoy limited benefits of their association while they undergo their trials up to and including shared knowledge, protection from powerful foes and even direct aid in some situations. An applicant can expect to be watched at all times.

Arranging ties and rp with Rilynath

As a primarily drow group we have a very high standard for rp (as is required from an HM only race) and also have a more limited venue to rp within. We expect our members to properly rp the hatred most of the surface world has for us (example: standing around uncloaked in public locales not openly friendly to drow is likely to get you admonished if not expelled) and this includes any openly Rilynath non-drow membership. We still wish to engage in rp with the mud as a whole but due to the limitations of race it often requires more work on our part to find a proper in character reason to interact. Thus we invite anyone interested in rp with our House to mail both Aunuit and Ryzan with any ideas they might have. Also anyone interested in making new characters with a history based in Tharis who would like to form ties with us may also mail us and we can work together in developing a background to submit for immortal approval if necessary.

Going Forward

Going forward we intend to plan rp events/gatherings based on the interest of the playerbase and the actions of House members. Public events will be posted in this thread with details such as the date and time so that we can maximize attendance and draw the interest of immortals who might like to throw a curve ball at us. I look forward to hearing from all that have an interest in our unique brand of drow rp and hope everyone comes away wanting more.
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

11 Summerstime, 714SG

The soft orange light of the rising sun peeked through the thick canopy of leaves far overhead casting dappled shadows across the forest floor. The hunters moved with a common purpose back towards the distant walls of the city, each with their portion of the nights bounty slung across their shoulders. Six of the eight hunters had pulled their hoods low as the light began to creep up on them, their obsidian skin blending into the shadows theirin and the red glow of their eyes giving them the appearance of leather clad wraiths. The remaining two embraced the warm glow as it bathed them, their leaf green eyes sparkling in the morning light.

Eilthi looked briefly to his brother before casting his gaze back to the silent wraiths they strode behind. They had been assigned this group three years ago by the new council and while the hunts had been productive and their students were fast learners trust was still something he could not claim to have for these dhaerow. Despite all they had done for him and his people Eilthi could not shake the discomfort he felt in their presence. Their thoughts were alien, their humor always tinged with cruelty and the darkness in them was evident in more than just their aversion to the warm morning light that shone down on them.

Still, he could not deny their effectiveness. Discomfort aside Eilthi had never felt safer. No, safe was not the word he was searching for. Empowered. Since they had joined forces with the dhaerow and the war to retake the quarter everything had changed. He had once been part of the small group of guardians who traveled through the quarter trying to quell the violence of the various humans who would victimize his People. He lost many of his cousins in skirmishes with the various gangs and things only got worse after the Talossian storm tore through and ravaged the few hiding places they had left for their young as well as that which they had been sworn to protect through the generations..

Now the tides were turned. The humans spoke in hushed tones of the People. The gangs no longer wandered into their territory. The People walked with pride and the humans cowered before them wondering if they would be the next to disappear into the night. There was an immense sense of satisfaction in standing above those who had previously spat on them. It was addicting and he knew he was not the only one who felt that way. He still could not trust these shadows from the underworld but secretly he wanted to..

Eilthi was stirred from his contemplations by a sharp pain in his shoulder. His immediate reaction would be to throw himself for cover but already his body was beginning to feel numb, his vision blurring. He heard distant cries and even as he fell he could see the vague distorted silhouttes of his party jerking under a hail of arrows from the trees. He did not feel the ground as it rose up hard to meet him, blasting the breath from his lungs.

His fall had seemed to take an eternity but he knew that it had taken only seconds. All around him the blurred forms he knew to be his companions lay still. His mind was beginning to fade at this point, everything growing darker but he clung to conciousness as best he could. Ahead of him he could see something was emerging from the brush. His last thought before the darkness settled over him was of the irony of how quickly the tides can turn...


18 Growingdays, 714 SG

Dorn could hear the rumbling murmur of the gathering crowd through the dilapidated walls ahead of him. Elves… He had always hated elves. Their haughty demeanor and the disgust, disdain or worse yet -pity- that they looked on all around them with. It was enough to make him almost willing to take on jobs like these for free... Almost.

He crawled beneath the broken beams of the collapsed roof, inching his way through the debris in absolute silence. Dorn knew there would be eyes in every shadow, he had been moving through the quarter for the better part of a year. Since the war all that came out of the quarter were whispers and even those were few, causing the price of information in the area to rise significantly. As time went on and Rilynath consolidated its power the price rose to the point where caution was lost to desperation.

It took a special kind of confidence or stupidity to challenge the boundaries that Rilynath had established a decade ago. Tharis was no stranger to the darkest sorts but these Drow were a special breed. They did not operate like any that had come before them, brokering deals with everyone willing to listen rather than forcing the hand through threats and subjugation. You never knew who was working for them, indebted to them or looking for an opportunity to get in their good graces. Everything you saw they wanted you to see and what they didn’t want you to see… well the regular disappearance of informants said much.

At last he reached his destination, one of many nests he had established throughout the city offering him a bird’s eye view of the high traffic locations in the quarter. In this case it was the center square, not usually a point of interest, but over the past few days the area had been bustling with activity. It was fairly obvious that a stage was being erected and that meant a show. He did not know what to make of that.

He peeked through the rotted wood to observe the gathering elven crowd. He had not seen numbers like this in the quarter, well… ever. There were hundreds present, mostly Sylvan, and all milling about and murmuring various versions of the question, “Why are we here?” On the stage he saw several Drow, one holding a chain linked to a handful of human prisoners who Dorn immediately recognized, his gut twisting as he realized what was happening. His gaze shifted to the elven beauty standing at the front of the stage overlooking the crowd. He had never seen her before but nonetheless knew her. Everyone knew of the Valsharess of Rilynath. Aunuit, the deadly voice.

The porcelain beauty’s crimson eyes glowed brightly as she looked out over the crowd, her lips drawn upward in a welcoming smile. Her presence was overwhelming and even from this distance Dorn found it difficult to take his eyes off her. The crowd seemed likewise entranced, captivated by the ghostly queen adorned in her gleaming rubies and dark robes. Thick unnatural shadows churned about her form, a halo of darkness that hungrily reached towards the onlookers. As she began to speak her voice carried out over the quarter and the shadows surrounding Dorn echoed her words in a soft whisper. He shivered despite himself and tried to focus on his task.

As the Valsharess welcomed her cousins Dorn scanned the surrounding buildings, his keen eyes almost immediately sighting two hidden snipers. With their dark skin and hoods it was almost impossible to make them out among the shadows of another collapsed roof but Dorn had a knack for finding things that were not meant to be seen. After several more minutes he uncovered a half dozen more scattered amongst the surrounding buildings. He pursed his lips as he considered how many more might be out there. Judging by the positions of those he identified he assumed at least another half dozen. That was one thing he could always count on with Rilynath, they were predictable in their meticulous nature.

Dorn reached into one of his vest pockets and produced a small clear crystal. He breathed on it and rubbed it clean on the cloth of his pants before holding it up to his eye and peering through. Dorn breathed in sharply as numerous magi, invisible without the aid of the viewing crystal, appeared atop the roofs’ on all edges of the square, wands in hand. Most seemed to be watching a specific area in the square which was surprisingly not the stage. Dorn shifted his gaze downward following their eyes and furrowed his brow as he found something unexpected…

Standing just off to the side of the crowd was the most unusually armored human Dorn had ever seen. His person shimmered with layers of powerful enchantments and wards including what was clearly an invisibility spell; the Sylvans in the square seemed to take no notice of him. Apart from the illusion he did not appear to take any apparent care to conceal himself and strangely enough the magi seemed inclined to allow his presence. Dorn made note of the symbols of Tempus brazenly stamped all about the mystery man’s armor and knew this bit of news might be especially profitable. The servants of Tempus were the harbingers of war and if the Drow were looking to go to war again…

Dorn’s curiosity at the spectacle quickly dissipated a few moments later as a familiar figure was shoved out of an alley ahead of a child sized elven woman. The man was starting to show his age, his dark hair surrendering to an onslaught of gray and his defiant eyes surrounded by deep crow’s feet. Daven Gord, like the other men being held in chains and Dorn himself, was an informant though he had not been in the game quite as long as the rest. Daven had thrust himself headlong into the life after a war ten years ago that had lost him both his sons. He sold his information to slavers and hunters exclusively, his small way of getting back at the monsters who stole his children from him. Seemed he was about to share their fate for the effort. It was a pity, Dorn had liked Daven.

The small Sylvan woman prodded him along at dagger-point and Daven stumbled up the stairs onto the stage where he was seized by a pair of heavily armored guards and added to the line of chained men. Another younger Drow girl rushed across the stage to greet her, wrapping her in a tight hug and chattering something Dorn could not understand. When the Sylvan pulled back her hood recognition dawned on him, Daerah the Mouse. Dorn had seen her in passing at the thieves’ guild and knew her reputation as one of the greatest thieves in the city if not the region. It was difficult to believe for anyone who had spoken to her at any length; she was as timid as her namesake but perhaps that only lent to her efficacy

Dorn’s displeasure was growing by the minute. All the captives were rivals of his but occasionally they pooled their resources for a big score. If Rilynath had found them it was only a matter of time until they discovered him as well. It was time to gather his things and move someplace not infested with gods forsaken Drow. Perhaps a quaint home off the coast of Torm. He doubted there would be any lack of work for one of his talent, but if so he had always enjoyed fishing.

The Valsharess was still addressing the crowd, laying the guilt of every rape, kidnapping and murder in the quarter on the prisoners’ shoulders. She was stirring their emotions and the hatred was evident in the onlookers’ eyes as they beheld his captured associates. She was a master at this and nothing, not the fact that she was Drow or the great miasma of darkness that enshrouded her, could diminish the effect of her words. Deadly voice indeed.

Again his attention was drawn away from the stage as another prisoner was dragged up the street by the scruff of his neck. This time by a Drowess taller than most and garbed in a way that left little to the imagination. Dorn had long ago adjusted to how little the Drow typically wore in their casual attire but this specimen seemed scandalous even by their standards. She was voluptuous like a human woman with thick hips and backside below plump breasts. Fat by the reckoning of the elves he suspected she might be a half-breed. He did not recognize her prisoner but a stifled gasp and mournful groan from the other captives told him it was another of his kind.

As her prisoner was taken the busty Drow joined Daerah to the side where they exchanged hushed words. The Valsharess was introducing something now and spoke of a great terror in the service of the House. Dorn could only imagine what that might be, likely some terrible demon or devil. As she spoke her cloud of darkness roiled in agitation and through his gem he saw something he had missed before. The Valuk was there with her, in her shadow with a concealment spell woven around him. Dorn had seen the Valuk moving around the quarter often and he had been surprised not to see him on the stage earlier. He had become the face of House Rilynath in recent years while the Valsharess had been less and less visible. It had been suggested that the Valuk had slain her and claimed the House for himself but Dorn had heard whispers of her movements and had not believed the popular theory.

The air sizzled and popped as a planar tear opened at the back of the stage, ripping wide to reveal a place of undulating murk. Tendrils of darkness poured from the rift, curling into the air and fading in the light of the square. Dorn’s gem dropped from his hand as a great black creature emerged from the tenebrous gash. Its pitch black scales shimmered in the light and its thickly muscled neck supported a massive horned head equipped with a toothy maw dripping with acidic ichor; a dragon. It threw back its head and issued a roar that shook the very ground and rattled the wooden planks that Dorn lay upon. The Valsharess smiled broadly as she welcomed the creature and introduced him to the cowering throng. She declared him Onyx the Dread but Dorn barely registered the name; House Rilynath was already terrifying enough but now they had a dragon at their disposal. Perhaps Torm would not be far enough.


Last edited by Ryzan on Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:08 am; edited 3 times in total
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

<RESERVED>
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

<RESERVED>

Last edited by Ryzan on Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:51 pm; edited 2 times in total
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hades



Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

<schemes>
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Verbannon



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 398

PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll try to make it though I'll probably be a little late.
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

First portion of the Rilynath event story is up with much more to come. Apologies for how slow I am churning these out but holidays are approaching and my free time is more limited. I hope everyone enjoys and do not worry, if you were in attendance you will be featured. I went a little long in the set up and decided I wanted to put what I had in since I wasn't sure how long it would be til I finished.
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Verbannon



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was fun to read and nice cliff hanger.
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Ryzan



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The second portion of the event story has been added. Hope everyone enjoys and looks forward to the final portion coming sometime soonish. I did not have a log of the actual event so this is entirely written off memory. There may be some inaccuracies but I don't intend to rewrite because I have a lot of current stuff I would like to get to. Also given recent events I will need to make some changes to the guild description as well but I am going to wait until the current war runs its course to do that as there is no telling what other changes could occur shortly.
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Verbannon



Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 398

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Soonish is past.
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