Rhys Owens (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thewanderer) wrote2012-03-14 12:54 am
thewanderer) wrote2012-03-14 12:54 am
Entry tags:
(no subject)
Out Of Character
Name: Chloe
Age: 24
Journal: [Bad username or unknown identity: ”swevene"]
Contact: this email/swevene on plurk/oraclevsreality on AIM
In Character
Name: Rhys ap Owain
Canon: N/A
Canon Point: After Aoife's marriage and before he leaves Ireland
Sex/Gender: Male
Actual Age/Apparent Age: 1100/50
Belongings: One suit of weatherbeaten clothing, a stained green cloak with tattered gold trim, a walking stick, a leather pack with basic travelling supplies (though no tent), a sword that is a very large shard of obsidian with one end wrapped with leather to serve as a hilt, a small pouch of money, and a small flint knife.
Skills and Powers: To begin with the mundane skills, Rhys has all the skills that you'd expect a man who's travelled the world for a thousand years. He can hunt, build fires, create tools and build good campsites... listing all of that sort of thing would take a really long time, but if it's a survival skill, he has it. In addition, he's a professional storyteller with an excellent memory and sense of the dramatic, and he can play the harp very well. He's also very good swordfighter (again, more than a thousand years old) and can fight without weapons.
His magical powers are quite extensive. He acquired them by bargaining with spirits for the knowledge of how to control the elements, and are controlled by the set of tattoos/brands (in his case they're branded onto him but traditionally tattooed) that are on his left forearm. There are seven of them- earth, air, fire, water composing the elemental set, and then spirit, mind, and heart, which allow him to contact the more powerful spirits. Having all seven of these has rendered him immortal- he cannot be killed by any of the elements (each brand granting him an immunity to the element it represents) and the three higher brands render his body and mind, and soul immune to the passage of time. He can still be killed by weapons.
His higher brands (the Aethereal Brands, as they're known to most) are more complicated than the elemental brands and will probably not be functional in anywhere but his own world. They allow him to summon a sentient spirit that is able to grant him some sort of power for a price. Basically, they function as a pager. Powers already granted by the spirits will be functional in the gates, since they're already part of him. These are some limited foreknowledge (usually not beyond a couple of minutes, though he has prophetic dreams on occasion), the ability to communicate with others by thought (only mental communication, not the power to read minds)
The four Elemental Brands function more simply. Each allows him to control one of the elements- fire, earth, air, and water. In addition, the fire brand grants him a berserker rage in battle (though he only activates this if he pleases), the water brand allows him to shapeshift, the air brand allows him to move more quickly than any regular human, and the earth brand makes him especially strong and enduring. He doesn't suffer the more negative temperamental effects of the brands because the presence of all three Aethereal brands grants him control over himself. These won't be active in the Library.
Physical Description: Rhys appears to be a weather-worn middle-aged man with sandy hair and blue eyes. He's handsome in a craggy sort of way, solidly built and of average height. His torso is covered in tattoos of all sorts- words in ancient languages, bands of knotwork, pictures of things... the most significant are the seven circular knots on his left forearm, which allow him to access his powers. There's also assorted scars. These are all usually covered with his clothes, of course. He tends towards long sleeves, and customarily wraps his forearms with bandages or cloth to conceal the power brands on his left arm.
Rhys tends to stand and move very casually, very unhurriedly. He usually the impression that nothing concerns him enough to put more effort into it, and there's a general sense of harmlessness or trustworthiness. This changes when things do get serious: he stands up straight and seems a lot taller than he is, and a lot more dangerous than most people think.
Book Description: Rhys's book is bound with battered brown leather with this knot stamped on it in gold and stained and weather-beaten parchment pages. His Bookmark looks like this but green, with the knot stamped in gold.
History and Personality: Rhys is the younger of a set of twins, born on Midwinter just moments after his brother Gwynn- they named him Rhys, which means 'enthusiasm' in Welsh, because of this abrupt entry into the world. Growing up, he was the quieter twin, usually overshadowed by his charming and charismatic brother. Not that he didn't have his own charm or charisma- he certainly wasn't unpopular or disliked. However, Gwynn was destined to be the king of their part of Wales, and while Rhys showed a great deal of talent as a bard, he wasn't as important.
He was never jealous or upset about this- he was always fast friends with Gwynn, and the two were known to be inseperable. Of course, as they grew older they did develop some separate interests (Rhys preferred boys, while Gwynn was more interested in girls), but on the whole there were never two more loving brothers. When they were twenty-one, Gwynn was engaged to a princess of a neighbouring border kingdom- a strategic alliance, hoping to help strengthen both kingdoms against the Romans, who were making noises about invading.
Knowing it would be his last chance to spend time with his brother alone, Rhys suggested a hunting trip. They left a week before the wedding was to take place, getting out of the way of the preparations and intending to come back with meat for the feast. Instead, Gwynn saw a pure white stag and became obsessed, dragging Rhys (despite his protests that it was foolish, knowing that any stag had to be a fey creature and hunting it would be stupid) over mountain and valley to find it. They didn't find it, but they did find a lake.
Rhys fell asleep, and when he woke up, Gwynn was gone- there was one set of tracks leading out from the lake, and two sets of tracks going back in.
To his eyes, it was pretty obvious that his brother had been taken by the Tylweth Teg, the fair folk of Wales. He sat by the shore and waited for three days, but there was no sign of them and eventually he had to return back home to his family and the disappointed bride. After he told them what had happened, the rest of the family would have given Gwynn up for lost- the fairies weren't known for giving back the ones they took, and they did have Rhys left to be an heir- but he took his harp and dressed in the clothes of a travelling minstrel. Since he'd managed to lose his brother- he had known better than to follow that stag- he was determined to get him back. Also, he really, really, really didn't want to be the heir or the king. That had always been Gwynn's place, and he was content with his own. He had no particular desire for political power or the responsibilities of the throne- bards were footloose and fancy free, wandering where they pleased, and that was part of what had always appealed to him about being one.
It was hard to find the lake again, but he was determined not to give up on his brother. Finally, he made it back to the lake where he'd left Gwynn and st down to play. He played so well and sadly that finally the fair folk sent representatives to beg him to stop, because he was making them all weep and a weeping fairy is not to be borne. He refused to stop, though, until they let him play for their king, since he knew that the king would have the power to release his brother.
It took a lot of playing- and bargaining- but eventually it was decided that in return for Gwynn's safe return, he would spend the length of time that Gwynn would have dwelt among them with them instead.
His captivity wasn't hard or unpleasant- just the opposite. Singers and storytellers are very rare among the fairies, and his gift made him popular. In what seemed to be no time at all, he fell in love with the King's younger son, who taught him sorcery. When the time of his captivity had passed, he left regretfully- but a human couldn't stay forever in the land of the fairies, no matter how much they might want to. As a last gift, his lover gave him the ability to call on the fairies for help, should he need it.
When he ascended out of the lake, he found that it had been forty-nine years since he had taken Gwynn's place, and he found that his brother was dead, the kingdom ruled by his son and threatened heavily by the Romans. He missed his brother desperately, but without the option of seeing him again- unless he travelled to the afterlife, which he had no desire to do, all he could do was be grateful that he'd granted him a full life, and offer the new king his help in defeating the Romans.
He taught the sorcery that he'd mastered in the fairy realms to his countrymen, teaching them how to brand themselves and give themselves the ability to control the elements. Even though they were outnumbered by the Roman soldiers, with this new power they managed to drive them away from the border- and as more and more Britons flocked to their banner, they drove them off of the island altogether.
After their decisive defeat of the Romans, Rhys parted ways from his nephew- he didn't know him, and being reminded of Gwynn and his mother and father but unable to see them was very painful. He began to travel, covering first Wales, then England and Scotland and Ireland, teaching those who he met his magic and learning more of the world. He let himself grow older, hoping to fade into some sort of obscurity, though it was already too late for that- he was a legend. Travelling to the continent and the nearer parts of Asia didn't help, either- with the sudden introduction of magic and spirits to a world that had not had them in such a blatant way before, there were a lot of problems to be fixed and he was usually the best one to fix them. He felt a responsibility for that, though it was unwelcome. He'd been the one to bring magic to the world, so when it went wrong or those who had it misused it, as was human nature, he did his best to fix it. He never felt himself to be a hero for these things, though other people did- he was just doing what he had to do, a duty that he'd never expected to carry, even though he had his wish of travelling where he liked.
Still, time moved on, as it did. Few people associated the weather-beaten older man in the travelworn cloak with the hero of stories, and that was how he liked it. He wrapped up the markings that showed he was special- the only person in the world with all seven- and became known just as one of the Wise Ones, those who summoned the spirits and bargained with them, rather than just using the elemental brands that were easier to predict and control.
Eventually, he wandered back the way he came- it wasn't terribly changed- Gwynn's descendants now ruled most of Wales. He didn't tell them who he was, still wanting little to do with the rulership of the country, and still regretting the loss of his brother. Seeing that it was in good hands, he went to Ireland and it's at this point that he was taken to the Library.
Rhys is a complicated man- he tends to hold his reactions close to the chest, rarely showing spontaneity. He's been alive so long that very little surprises him anymore, and he reacts to most things with a dry sense of humour. It's hard to make him seriously angry, but he does have little patience with fools and he will show it. Him slapping someone stupid upside the head is not at all uncommon, and if people actively block him or what he's trying to do he will get rid of them somehow- usually not fatally, but he doesn't hesitate to kill if he must.
He has a dry and obscure sense of humour, finding humour in many things that others wouldn't. He thinks it's funny to be cryptic, though he also doesn't think that people need to know everything. He actively enjoys having secrets, though if keeping one will hurt someone else, he won't. He is not actively malicious towards other people unless he really doesn't like them or he thinks they're harmful- again, he has a very long-term point of view.
He is actively a good person, on the whole- he strives to better the world and make people happier. His own selfish desires get in the way of him doing as much good as he could, perhaps, but in spite of the magic and immortality, he's just human.
He has a strange mix of a total lack of desire for responsibility- hence him avoiding most of it like the plague- while feeling that he has a duty to take care of the issues that arise from the use of magic. It's easiest to say that he avoids any further responsibility than the one he has- being raised as a member of a royal family left him with a strong sense of duty that ensures that if he does take responsibility for something, he will be stuck with it, and he hates feeling trapped.
He has no interest in being praised by other people or even getting more than a modicum of respect. He thinks it's funny when people don't know who he is, in fact, especially if they promptly proceed to make idiots of themselves.
Likely the strongest influence over his entire personality is his wanderlust. He hates to stay in one place for any longer than absolutely necessary- his feet were made for walking. His desire to constantly find out what's over the horizon kept him moving for a thousand years, and he's never going to settle down or raise a family. He will resent any force or duty that prevents him from living like this.
World Description: The world that Rhys is from is Earth, but an Earth that is very different from the one we know today- and most of that is thanks to Rhys himself. He brought magic out of the realm of the spirits and taught it to anyone who sought that knowledge, sending the practice of summoning spirits and controlling the elements far across the world. Even in the time he's from- what would be called the Dark Ages in our world- there is surprising peace and cooperation because of the bond of magic that has been formed.
Of course, its first use was to drive the Romans out of Britain, sending them into a retreat that collapsed their empire into the area around the Mediterranean and no farther. The native peoples of Europe have flourished and the Romans have fought among themselves for centuries now. Most of Europe now is slowly moving towards a more cohesive, feudal system of rule than the tribal system it has had, but England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are still primarily ruled by various kings and clan-chiefs.
One clear and present danger is the Northmen, the Vikings. They also possess magic, and they're still very happy to raid whatever they can. Most coastal villages, especially in Britain and Ireland where the raids are the worst, but also all over Europe, keep a close watch for them.
Magic is an inherent part of society at this point. Most earlier religions have phased out or been incorporated into the wisdom that the Wise Ones, the priests and druids and shamans who hold the Aethereal brands, teach. Gods are recognized as spirits and honoured, but rarely worshipped on the level that they were. Even in Greece and Rome, this is usually the case although there are hold-out sects. Every village has their group of elemental branded men and women, and occasionally their own Wise One- though most Wise Ones are found travelling.
Everyone can bear a brand if they wish, but it's known that each of them carries their own burden, so not everyone does. The Fire brand, for instance, can make you irritable and easily-angered, and the berserker rage it can summon in battle is as much a curse as a blessing. The Air brand is often characterized as making people shallow or distracted, up in the clouds so to speak. Water brands are known for their inability to hold to a conviction, and Earth for their extreme stubbornness. So only a few will try and take a brand- when they think it's worth it. These effects are a bit stereotypical- not everyone suffers from them to the same extent. Still, the brands do unbalance your nature.
It's possible to cancel out those effects if you have an Aethereal brand, like some Wise Ones do. However, getting one of those is not as easy as it sounds, and being in debt to the spirits who will give them to you is not advisable if you want a normal life.
Samples
First Person/Action brackets: [Actions in brackets]
[Rhys looks worn, tired, and more than a little dirty as he flips his bookmark on.]
I never thought I'd say it, but I think I'm getting tired of books. Not that they're not wonderful founts of wisdom but the scenery in here does get a bit same-ish, doesn't it? Not a huge amount of variety, once you get used to books, books, large monsters, and books. I could really use a change in the scenery.
[He turns the bookmark away from his face to do a three hundred and sixty degree survey of the bookshelves around him.]
I suppose this is to let you all know that I'm emerging from the land of the book forests to see your bright and shining faces again. I'm sure you'll be thrilled.
Third Person/Prose:
The Library was big- big enough that even he on his various peregrinations hadn't covered all of it. Of course, some parts were impassable, and others only with great danger (he'd noted those carefully on the map he was making as he went). The others were carving out something like civilization in a small area, but he wasn't particularly interested. It was the dark corners that fascinated him, the books that reached towards dim ceilings, and the beasts that lurked among the shelves, hungry for any prey after so long with only each other to devour.
Map-making was a good excuse to be gone, though he didn't really need one. Yes, he could do a great deal to help them- and he should do more, a nagging voice that he had developed some skill liked to remind him- but this was helpful enough, and it kept him from being cooped up and miserable. He turned a corner and drew an X on it, marking that he'd already been down that path, then pulled out the map and pen to mark it there as well. He could hear a snuffling sound from further down the corridor. He'd come to a conclusion that things that snuffled rather than sniffed or growled were usually less dangerous, but he drew his knife anyway. The sword was too big for close quarters use and this hallway was stacked with books.
Tucking the map back into his belt pouch, he moved down the corridor with a silent tread, alert for any surprise.
Name: Chloe
Age: 24
Journal: [Bad username or unknown identity: ”swevene"]
Contact: this email/swevene on plurk/oraclevsreality on AIM
In Character
Name: Rhys ap Owain
Canon: N/A
Canon Point: After Aoife's marriage and before he leaves Ireland
Sex/Gender: Male
Actual Age/Apparent Age: 1100/50
Belongings: One suit of weatherbeaten clothing, a stained green cloak with tattered gold trim, a walking stick, a leather pack with basic travelling supplies (though no tent), a sword that is a very large shard of obsidian with one end wrapped with leather to serve as a hilt, a small pouch of money, and a small flint knife.
Skills and Powers: To begin with the mundane skills, Rhys has all the skills that you'd expect a man who's travelled the world for a thousand years. He can hunt, build fires, create tools and build good campsites... listing all of that sort of thing would take a really long time, but if it's a survival skill, he has it. In addition, he's a professional storyteller with an excellent memory and sense of the dramatic, and he can play the harp very well. He's also very good swordfighter (again, more than a thousand years old) and can fight without weapons.
His magical powers are quite extensive. He acquired them by bargaining with spirits for the knowledge of how to control the elements, and are controlled by the set of tattoos/brands (in his case they're branded onto him but traditionally tattooed) that are on his left forearm. There are seven of them- earth, air, fire, water composing the elemental set, and then spirit, mind, and heart, which allow him to contact the more powerful spirits. Having all seven of these has rendered him immortal- he cannot be killed by any of the elements (each brand granting him an immunity to the element it represents) and the three higher brands render his body and mind, and soul immune to the passage of time. He can still be killed by weapons.
His higher brands (the Aethereal Brands, as they're known to most) are more complicated than the elemental brands and will probably not be functional in anywhere but his own world. They allow him to summon a sentient spirit that is able to grant him some sort of power for a price. Basically, they function as a pager. Powers already granted by the spirits will be functional in the gates, since they're already part of him. These are some limited foreknowledge (usually not beyond a couple of minutes, though he has prophetic dreams on occasion), the ability to communicate with others by thought (only mental communication, not the power to read minds)
The four Elemental Brands function more simply. Each allows him to control one of the elements- fire, earth, air, and water. In addition, the fire brand grants him a berserker rage in battle (though he only activates this if he pleases), the water brand allows him to shapeshift, the air brand allows him to move more quickly than any regular human, and the earth brand makes him especially strong and enduring. He doesn't suffer the more negative temperamental effects of the brands because the presence of all three Aethereal brands grants him control over himself. These won't be active in the Library.
Physical Description: Rhys appears to be a weather-worn middle-aged man with sandy hair and blue eyes. He's handsome in a craggy sort of way, solidly built and of average height. His torso is covered in tattoos of all sorts- words in ancient languages, bands of knotwork, pictures of things... the most significant are the seven circular knots on his left forearm, which allow him to access his powers. There's also assorted scars. These are all usually covered with his clothes, of course. He tends towards long sleeves, and customarily wraps his forearms with bandages or cloth to conceal the power brands on his left arm.
Rhys tends to stand and move very casually, very unhurriedly. He usually the impression that nothing concerns him enough to put more effort into it, and there's a general sense of harmlessness or trustworthiness. This changes when things do get serious: he stands up straight and seems a lot taller than he is, and a lot more dangerous than most people think.
Book Description: Rhys's book is bound with battered brown leather with this knot stamped on it in gold and stained and weather-beaten parchment pages. His Bookmark looks like this but green, with the knot stamped in gold.
History and Personality: Rhys is the younger of a set of twins, born on Midwinter just moments after his brother Gwynn- they named him Rhys, which means 'enthusiasm' in Welsh, because of this abrupt entry into the world. Growing up, he was the quieter twin, usually overshadowed by his charming and charismatic brother. Not that he didn't have his own charm or charisma- he certainly wasn't unpopular or disliked. However, Gwynn was destined to be the king of their part of Wales, and while Rhys showed a great deal of talent as a bard, he wasn't as important.
He was never jealous or upset about this- he was always fast friends with Gwynn, and the two were known to be inseperable. Of course, as they grew older they did develop some separate interests (Rhys preferred boys, while Gwynn was more interested in girls), but on the whole there were never two more loving brothers. When they were twenty-one, Gwynn was engaged to a princess of a neighbouring border kingdom- a strategic alliance, hoping to help strengthen both kingdoms against the Romans, who were making noises about invading.
Knowing it would be his last chance to spend time with his brother alone, Rhys suggested a hunting trip. They left a week before the wedding was to take place, getting out of the way of the preparations and intending to come back with meat for the feast. Instead, Gwynn saw a pure white stag and became obsessed, dragging Rhys (despite his protests that it was foolish, knowing that any stag had to be a fey creature and hunting it would be stupid) over mountain and valley to find it. They didn't find it, but they did find a lake.
Rhys fell asleep, and when he woke up, Gwynn was gone- there was one set of tracks leading out from the lake, and two sets of tracks going back in.
To his eyes, it was pretty obvious that his brother had been taken by the Tylweth Teg, the fair folk of Wales. He sat by the shore and waited for three days, but there was no sign of them and eventually he had to return back home to his family and the disappointed bride. After he told them what had happened, the rest of the family would have given Gwynn up for lost- the fairies weren't known for giving back the ones they took, and they did have Rhys left to be an heir- but he took his harp and dressed in the clothes of a travelling minstrel. Since he'd managed to lose his brother- he had known better than to follow that stag- he was determined to get him back. Also, he really, really, really didn't want to be the heir or the king. That had always been Gwynn's place, and he was content with his own. He had no particular desire for political power or the responsibilities of the throne- bards were footloose and fancy free, wandering where they pleased, and that was part of what had always appealed to him about being one.
It was hard to find the lake again, but he was determined not to give up on his brother. Finally, he made it back to the lake where he'd left Gwynn and st down to play. He played so well and sadly that finally the fair folk sent representatives to beg him to stop, because he was making them all weep and a weeping fairy is not to be borne. He refused to stop, though, until they let him play for their king, since he knew that the king would have the power to release his brother.
It took a lot of playing- and bargaining- but eventually it was decided that in return for Gwynn's safe return, he would spend the length of time that Gwynn would have dwelt among them with them instead.
His captivity wasn't hard or unpleasant- just the opposite. Singers and storytellers are very rare among the fairies, and his gift made him popular. In what seemed to be no time at all, he fell in love with the King's younger son, who taught him sorcery. When the time of his captivity had passed, he left regretfully- but a human couldn't stay forever in the land of the fairies, no matter how much they might want to. As a last gift, his lover gave him the ability to call on the fairies for help, should he need it.
When he ascended out of the lake, he found that it had been forty-nine years since he had taken Gwynn's place, and he found that his brother was dead, the kingdom ruled by his son and threatened heavily by the Romans. He missed his brother desperately, but without the option of seeing him again- unless he travelled to the afterlife, which he had no desire to do, all he could do was be grateful that he'd granted him a full life, and offer the new king his help in defeating the Romans.
He taught the sorcery that he'd mastered in the fairy realms to his countrymen, teaching them how to brand themselves and give themselves the ability to control the elements. Even though they were outnumbered by the Roman soldiers, with this new power they managed to drive them away from the border- and as more and more Britons flocked to their banner, they drove them off of the island altogether.
After their decisive defeat of the Romans, Rhys parted ways from his nephew- he didn't know him, and being reminded of Gwynn and his mother and father but unable to see them was very painful. He began to travel, covering first Wales, then England and Scotland and Ireland, teaching those who he met his magic and learning more of the world. He let himself grow older, hoping to fade into some sort of obscurity, though it was already too late for that- he was a legend. Travelling to the continent and the nearer parts of Asia didn't help, either- with the sudden introduction of magic and spirits to a world that had not had them in such a blatant way before, there were a lot of problems to be fixed and he was usually the best one to fix them. He felt a responsibility for that, though it was unwelcome. He'd been the one to bring magic to the world, so when it went wrong or those who had it misused it, as was human nature, he did his best to fix it. He never felt himself to be a hero for these things, though other people did- he was just doing what he had to do, a duty that he'd never expected to carry, even though he had his wish of travelling where he liked.
Still, time moved on, as it did. Few people associated the weather-beaten older man in the travelworn cloak with the hero of stories, and that was how he liked it. He wrapped up the markings that showed he was special- the only person in the world with all seven- and became known just as one of the Wise Ones, those who summoned the spirits and bargained with them, rather than just using the elemental brands that were easier to predict and control.
Eventually, he wandered back the way he came- it wasn't terribly changed- Gwynn's descendants now ruled most of Wales. He didn't tell them who he was, still wanting little to do with the rulership of the country, and still regretting the loss of his brother. Seeing that it was in good hands, he went to Ireland and it's at this point that he was taken to the Library.
Rhys is a complicated man- he tends to hold his reactions close to the chest, rarely showing spontaneity. He's been alive so long that very little surprises him anymore, and he reacts to most things with a dry sense of humour. It's hard to make him seriously angry, but he does have little patience with fools and he will show it. Him slapping someone stupid upside the head is not at all uncommon, and if people actively block him or what he's trying to do he will get rid of them somehow- usually not fatally, but he doesn't hesitate to kill if he must.
He has a dry and obscure sense of humour, finding humour in many things that others wouldn't. He thinks it's funny to be cryptic, though he also doesn't think that people need to know everything. He actively enjoys having secrets, though if keeping one will hurt someone else, he won't. He is not actively malicious towards other people unless he really doesn't like them or he thinks they're harmful- again, he has a very long-term point of view.
He is actively a good person, on the whole- he strives to better the world and make people happier. His own selfish desires get in the way of him doing as much good as he could, perhaps, but in spite of the magic and immortality, he's just human.
He has a strange mix of a total lack of desire for responsibility- hence him avoiding most of it like the plague- while feeling that he has a duty to take care of the issues that arise from the use of magic. It's easiest to say that he avoids any further responsibility than the one he has- being raised as a member of a royal family left him with a strong sense of duty that ensures that if he does take responsibility for something, he will be stuck with it, and he hates feeling trapped.
He has no interest in being praised by other people or even getting more than a modicum of respect. He thinks it's funny when people don't know who he is, in fact, especially if they promptly proceed to make idiots of themselves.
Likely the strongest influence over his entire personality is his wanderlust. He hates to stay in one place for any longer than absolutely necessary- his feet were made for walking. His desire to constantly find out what's over the horizon kept him moving for a thousand years, and he's never going to settle down or raise a family. He will resent any force or duty that prevents him from living like this.
World Description: The world that Rhys is from is Earth, but an Earth that is very different from the one we know today- and most of that is thanks to Rhys himself. He brought magic out of the realm of the spirits and taught it to anyone who sought that knowledge, sending the practice of summoning spirits and controlling the elements far across the world. Even in the time he's from- what would be called the Dark Ages in our world- there is surprising peace and cooperation because of the bond of magic that has been formed.
Of course, its first use was to drive the Romans out of Britain, sending them into a retreat that collapsed their empire into the area around the Mediterranean and no farther. The native peoples of Europe have flourished and the Romans have fought among themselves for centuries now. Most of Europe now is slowly moving towards a more cohesive, feudal system of rule than the tribal system it has had, but England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are still primarily ruled by various kings and clan-chiefs.
One clear and present danger is the Northmen, the Vikings. They also possess magic, and they're still very happy to raid whatever they can. Most coastal villages, especially in Britain and Ireland where the raids are the worst, but also all over Europe, keep a close watch for them.
Magic is an inherent part of society at this point. Most earlier religions have phased out or been incorporated into the wisdom that the Wise Ones, the priests and druids and shamans who hold the Aethereal brands, teach. Gods are recognized as spirits and honoured, but rarely worshipped on the level that they were. Even in Greece and Rome, this is usually the case although there are hold-out sects. Every village has their group of elemental branded men and women, and occasionally their own Wise One- though most Wise Ones are found travelling.
Everyone can bear a brand if they wish, but it's known that each of them carries their own burden, so not everyone does. The Fire brand, for instance, can make you irritable and easily-angered, and the berserker rage it can summon in battle is as much a curse as a blessing. The Air brand is often characterized as making people shallow or distracted, up in the clouds so to speak. Water brands are known for their inability to hold to a conviction, and Earth for their extreme stubbornness. So only a few will try and take a brand- when they think it's worth it. These effects are a bit stereotypical- not everyone suffers from them to the same extent. Still, the brands do unbalance your nature.
It's possible to cancel out those effects if you have an Aethereal brand, like some Wise Ones do. However, getting one of those is not as easy as it sounds, and being in debt to the spirits who will give them to you is not advisable if you want a normal life.
Samples
First Person/Action brackets: [Actions in brackets]
[Rhys looks worn, tired, and more than a little dirty as he flips his bookmark on.]
I never thought I'd say it, but I think I'm getting tired of books. Not that they're not wonderful founts of wisdom but the scenery in here does get a bit same-ish, doesn't it? Not a huge amount of variety, once you get used to books, books, large monsters, and books. I could really use a change in the scenery.
[He turns the bookmark away from his face to do a three hundred and sixty degree survey of the bookshelves around him.]
I suppose this is to let you all know that I'm emerging from the land of the book forests to see your bright and shining faces again. I'm sure you'll be thrilled.
Third Person/Prose:
The Library was big- big enough that even he on his various peregrinations hadn't covered all of it. Of course, some parts were impassable, and others only with great danger (he'd noted those carefully on the map he was making as he went). The others were carving out something like civilization in a small area, but he wasn't particularly interested. It was the dark corners that fascinated him, the books that reached towards dim ceilings, and the beasts that lurked among the shelves, hungry for any prey after so long with only each other to devour.
Map-making was a good excuse to be gone, though he didn't really need one. Yes, he could do a great deal to help them- and he should do more, a nagging voice that he had developed some skill liked to remind him- but this was helpful enough, and it kept him from being cooped up and miserable. He turned a corner and drew an X on it, marking that he'd already been down that path, then pulled out the map and pen to mark it there as well. He could hear a snuffling sound from further down the corridor. He'd come to a conclusion that things that snuffled rather than sniffed or growled were usually less dangerous, but he drew his knife anyway. The sword was too big for close quarters use and this hallway was stacked with books.
Tucking the map back into his belt pouch, he moved down the corridor with a silent tread, alert for any surprise.