The War of Keys: Part 1

((The thread is now open, and bios may be posted! ))

THE WAR OF KEYS: PART I
“Continuance”

Prelude-

The worlds were all once connected- not as they are now by invisible bridges of light and darkness, but they once physically touched. Their edges connected and they were not separate worlds at all. They were one and the same Existence. But the Archons who created that Existence, the Archons of Light and Darkness, waged war with one another, and shattered the world. Only the Neutral Archon, using all of its power, could create a Door, behind which its siblings were sealed. The Neutral Archon then took the shattered fragments of Existence and created the worlds, bridging them back together with connections of light and darkness. Light, the essence of order and serenity. Darkness, the power of discord and chaos. The two must maintain an equal balance. Were one to overtake the other, the ties connecting the worlds would shatter and if the problem was not quickly corrected, the worlds would soon fall victim as well…

~

Beckoned by Worlds-

The story is endless, and the beginning is too far behind in the past to recall. It is like all stories, every ending is simply the beginning of the next chapter… Every story, connected. Every character’s life, intertwined.

Eden was the island world that the Gatekeepers called the world “Closest to the Light”.

The Gatekeepers… It is said that those truest to heart, those who had persevered through their desperations with positivity and hope, were gifted by the worlds themselves, and granted a special connection with the universe. All of Existence shared its enlightenment with them, and offered them the power to travel throughout the worlds with no effort. It gave them a weapon that could cut through Darkness itself, and the ability to bend the fabric of reality at will. It gave them another piece of their hearts- a key. And it was these keys that made them Gatekeepers, the chosen defenders of Balance amidst the worlds.

The Main Island, a landscape of rolling green hills dappled with houses, streetlights, and utility poles, was bathed in the pink light of dawn. Waves lapped at the nearby shore where a large and mysterious object made of metal had just appeared only moments ago.
A particularly large wave had crashed against the shore and in a flash of light, the wave had dropped the object on the edge of the shore. It resembled a padlock, nearly two meters across in size. The lock was made of thick silver metal and its edges were decorated with carvings of keys and keyholes. The key hole of the lock itself was very large, taking up nearly the entire middle area of the padlock. Shoved into the keyhole where dozens of small keys, some only the size of a child’s pinky finger. Other’s were larger, and heavier like wrenches. Each key was made of a different metal, with different colors and different designs. Each was perfectly unique...

A tall slender man in a black suit and fedora strode towards the beach. His long white scarf, which was draped over his shoulders, flapped around him in the salty air, and trailed almost to his knees. Around his neck he also wore a key much like the ones that had been tightly crammed into the massive padlock’s keyhole. His own key was made of a brown, bonze metal with angular, defined teeth and a heavy pentagonal harp with corners that curled around the key in intricate fashions. The sharp angles and the graceful curves of the key carried colorful polished jewels that resembled circles of painted glass.
Walking beside the man was a young woman with long blonde hair. She wore a blue, floral patterned dress and unlike the man, she did not carry a key.
“Is that perhaps what you sensed?” the young woman asked the man as she pointed at the padlock on the beach ahead.

Mere minutes ago, the man had sensed something arrive on the island world. The man, Ozymandias, was the Master Gatekeeper of Eden.

It was his job, a job given to him by the worlds themselves, to protect Eden from the Darkness that would seek to end it. It was also his job to keep track of anything that appeared on the island world if it seemed to be arriving from a different one. “Yes,” he replied with a sigh that sounded a bit nostalgic. “That is what I felt…”

“What is it?” his companion asked.

“A gift,” Ozymandias said. “For the next generation of Gatekeepers.”
“You mean to say**
The man nodded. “The worlds have chosen Eden to provide them with new guardians,” he breathed with feeling. “Lucinda,” he said, turning to the girl. “Gather everyone on the island. We must see who these keys belong to at once.”

~

Quick Synopsys-

The Existence is filled with an unimaginable number of worlds. It is known by all that these worlds were once a part of the same whole, but the ever present struggle between Light and Darkness, tore that existence apart. The worlds are now separate, but they remain connected by special bridges, invisible to the human eye.

Darkness, the power of chaos, disorder, and discord should not be confused with evil. Likewise, Light and its power of stability and peace, should not be mistaken for good. The two are simply the two faces of the same coin and each may be as evil or as good as the force that commands it.

The worlds have little interaction with each other nowadays. People are rarely swept away from their world to another by accident, and few people have any desire to leave their homes to see other worlds. Even if they wanted to visits another world, it is difficult to locate the bridges that connect the worlds.

The Gatekeepers are the guardians of Balance, chosen by the worlds themselves, the Gatekeepers must keep the Light and the Darkness in equilibrium to protect them from falling apart even further. The worlds give them special keys that allow them to travel freely between worlds without the use of bridges.

The keys also provide Gatekeepers with weapons that can fend of Shadows- creatures who spread the Darkness. Even further Gatekeepers are made able to control the very fabric of reality, and use nature itself as a weapon. Each world has its own Gatekeepers, free to protect what they please, as they please. Most worlds have also selected a “Master” Gatekeeper to handle the protection of their world, and the Gatekeeper affairs that might involve it.

Periodically, the worlds select a location in which they have chosen a new generation of Gatekeepers. Eden has been chosen as one such world again, and very soon Ozymandias, the Master Gatekeeper of Eden will be responsible for training the new Gatekeepers.


“The War of Keys” is a prequel to two other threads of mine, taking place nearly one thousand years before “Ripped Connections”, which took place ten years before “The Key to Balance”. While the thread IS a prequel, it will be carried out in such a way that players will enjoy it even if they are unfamiliar with the rest of the series.

Through out the series, there has been a constant mentioning of a “War of Keys* that altered the course of life for all beings in Existence and nearly wiped out the mystical guardians of Balance known as the Gatekeepers. In addition, it is rumored that the War nearly destroyed the worlds as well. The cause of the War was always a mystery as the few beings left from that time remember nothing from it as the War has altered and mutilated many of their memories.

This thread begins on an island world called Eden where the local Master Gatekeeper has just summoned the people of Eden to a beach where a strange lock, filled with keys, has appeared. Your character (provided you aren’t joining us too late into the game) will be one of Eden’s inhabitants and the game will begin as the people of Eden converge on the beach.

Please read the reserves to familiarize yourself with the thread, and as always, I look forward to seeing your bio.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE ONE
Introduction and Synopsis of Thread
Table of Contents
Rules
Bio Format
Players' List

Terminology

Plot Important Characters
World List

World List Continued
Shadows List

Combat Guide
Chronicle

RULES

ABSOLUTELY NO POWERPLAYING! Remember, at the start of this game, you are new to your role as a Gatekeeper and are capable only of what you have taught yourself until now. No magical powers yet! If you want your character to be a particularly skilled fencer in their fencing class at school, or someone with an interest in or skill of parkour, or any other such skill then be my guest. I warn you though, power players will be strung to the ceiling by their toenails and beaten with a stick!

No flaming either, it’s rude and just plain unnecessary.

Godmodding is aloud ONLY under the permission of the creator of the character in question.

Auto hitting is also not alowed. Make your attacks witty and clever so that they hit people. Those who autohit will be fed to the darkness.

Romance is fine, but please keep it PG13. We just had the floor cleaned.

This game will involve a number of instances in which our characters find that they must fight to defend the balance of light and darkness. In such instances, combat will play out as it does in the arena. There will be no system of numbers to monitor your health and magical energy so please don’t cheat. When you gain magical abilities, it will drain your energy to use them, and when you are hit with a weapon you will be injured. BE FAIR and remember NO POWERPLAYING!. If you’re going to do something reeeally powerful, you had best make your character feel the massive loss of energy they have received.

I want people to be creative and descriptive! I urge only roleplayers with at least SOME experience to make bios for this game.

If you don’t like something about the thread, tell me what it is, suggest alternatives, and we’ll see if we can compromise. I want everyone to have fun and I want everyone to be able to exercise their creativity, but I also want order.

And remember, NO POWERPLAYING!

BIO FORMAT

NAME:

GENDER:

AGE:

ALIGNMENT: (all hearts are aligned to either Darkness, Light, or Neutrality. This does not determine whether your character is “good” or “evil”, but it will determine a number of things that happen to your character. Your alignment should fit your character’s personality)

PERSONALITY: (describe in detail what makes your character who they are. What sort of emotions do they experience more strongly than others? How do they react to certain situations? In essence, who are they? Characters who do not have enough personality described will be declined.)

APPEARANCE: (describe your character’s appearance in great detail. Be sure to include details such as hair color and style, skin tone, height, and weight. Include any details of there appearance that might not be possessed by everyone. Also describe their clothing. Your character may change their outfit later, I merely want a description of what they are typically seen wearing. Do NOT include weapons or armor as Eden is a peaceful place where people don’t typically own that sort of thing. Characters lacking descriptive appearances will be declined)

BACKGROUND: (This section is to describe your character’s history. Each character’s history should be a story of it’s own, and I don’t want you to reveal all of it yet. Simply give a bit of background information to warm us up. Remember that your character is a native of Eden. Try not use a sentence such as “He was a member of the military” as there is no real military on Eden.)

KEY: (Later, your character will receive a special key, making them a Gatekeeper. Describe that key here, ahead of time, before they find it.)

WEAPON: (Your key will be capable of generating a weapon. Describe that weapon here. Be sure that your weapon is give a good description, and does not have any special powers- those will come later.)

ELEMENTS: (This section of the bio will be filled out later, and will describe a special branch of abilities for your character.)

PERSONAL ABILITIES: (This section of the bio will be filled out later, and will describe a special branch of abilities for your character.)

STRUGGLE ABILITY: (This section of the bio will be filled out later, and will describe a special ability belonging to your character)

SHIFT KEYS: (This Section of the bio will be filled out later with a number, signifying the number of Shift Keys in your character’s possession.)

SHIFT FORMS: (This Section of the bio will be filled out later and will list the special forms you have received through the use of shift keys).

Reserved

PLAYERS' LIST
This convenient list will give the locations and names of all character bios as well as the names of the players who own them. Because this game will require you to edit your bio occasionally, this reserve can be referred to if you forget where your bio is. Or you can use it to look at other characters.

Player Name - Character Name - Page Number

Skylord_Rorak - Skylord Rorak - 2

Res

TERMINOLOGY
This game takes place in a universe where certain words are give different meanings, or are completely new. If you find you don't know what a word means, you might try looking here. This is also a very good place to look if you are a new player.

Existence-
The Existence is the total compilation of all things. It is difficult to imagine what it would look like from a distance as it is filled with a myriad of entire universes. Even so, it is sometimes depicted as a long, flat rectangle covered in dots that represent the worlds within the Existence. Those further to one side of the rectangle would be worlds “belonging to the Dark” and those further to the other side would belong to the Light. The most simple way to describe the Existence would be to define it as every place, person, object, thought, and world to exist. Simply, the Existence is everything.


The Existence requires that the forces of Light and Darkness remain in equilibrium. Were that to change, and one force were to outweigh the other, the worlds would collapse and Existence would be torn apart. This special, and essential, balance is most often referred to as the Balance (capital B).

Darkness-
It is unwise to confuse the Darkness with evil or malicious power. Rather it is simply the destructive nature of the heart, the energy of chaos, and the raw essence of discord. It is required to maintain Balance. A little chaos is a good thing. Unlike the Light, Darkness seeks to grow and get stronger and larger. It does this by becoming physical entities called Shadows that spread the Darkness.

Light-
It would be foolish to assume that the Light is synonymous with the word “good”. Light is the more pure, peaceful nature of the heart. It is the energy of stability and the raw essence of order. It must be equal with the Darkness to maintain Balance. But too much order is not a good thing. It does not fight against the Darkness that tries to swallow it. Instead it must be defended by Gatekee

Worlds-
Existence is filled with a vast myriad of universes, each with its own stars and planets. These are the worlds that must be protected by the Gatekeepers. Most worlds only have one inhabited planet, and most of these are rather small. Like people, every world has a heart of it’s own, often called a Core, and this Core seems to have some kind of sentience, allowing the worlds to make decisions that alter their fate.

The Archons-
The mythology of the Gatekeepers explains the existence of three disembodied beings called the Archons. Genderless and without form, the Archons created all of existence. The Light and Dark Archons feuded and their war shattered the original Existence, creating the broken worlds of today. The Neutral Archon of balance brought those worlds together to keep them from falling apart. It sealed the Dark and Light Archons behind a special door, and after creating the first Gatekeepers, it faded, and became a part of the Existence.

Bridges-
These mysterious objects connect the worlds together. Some bridges are aligned to the Darkness, but others are aligned to the Light. The bridges cannot be seen on most occasions. Few claim to have seen them, but the ones who have describe them as doors, often appearing only on beaches.

Gatekeepers-
It is said that those truest to heart, those who had persevered through their desperations with positivity and hope, are gifted by the worlds themselves, and granted a special connection with the universe. All of Existence shares its enlightenment with them, and offers them the power to travel throughout the worlds without the use of bridges. It gives them a weapon that can cut through Darkness itself, and the ability to bend the fabric of reality at will. It gives them another piece of their hearts- a key. And it is these keys that makes them Gatekeepers, the chosen defenders of Balance amidst the worlds. The worlds choose who the Gatekeepers will be and give them keys, in return the Gatekeepers fight to protect Balance.

The Originals-
The first Gatekeepers were said to be created after the Archon War to maintain balance for the Neutral Archon. There were thirteen of them, wise and powerful, they created a golden age of balance.

Keys-
They look like any regular key, some are ornate, others are very simple. These mysterious objects are given to Lucky Gatekeepers by the worlds. They seem to have hearts of their own, because they are really just a part of their owners’ hearts. Because of this, the keys long to fully connect to their owners’ hearts. Keys can create a weapon for their Gatekeeper to use in battle. Because they are simply a missing piece of their owners’ hearts, they seem to have a strange sentience resembling that of the worlds.

Shadows-
These unnatural beings are spawned from the negative, dark, emotions in peoples’ hearts. When darkness becomes too strong in a heart, it consumes their light and leaves behind only a shadow. The shadow can take on a physical form depending upon the dark emotions that created it. There is a variety of Shadow breeds, but each one has only one goal- to spread their darkness by consuming the light of more hearts. Only the weapons of Gatekeepers can touch them.

Masters-
Any Gatekeeper who has fully connected to their key obtains the power of Mastery. Master Gatekeepers are the strongest Gatekeepers, and have endured much to earn their titles. Each world has at least one Master. And each world has one Master who resides in that world, and oversees its affairs with other worlds.

Dive-
A Dive to the heart is a special trance that a Gatekeeper undergoes. While Diving, a Gatekeeper is free to walk within their own heart, and open doors to new power and abilities, as well as observe the connections they have made on stained glass platforms called “Stations.”

PLOT IMPORTANT CHARACTERS
The characters listed in this section of the reserves are created and controlled by me, for the purpose of furthering the thread's plot.

Ozymandias
Age - roughly forty.
He is the Master Gatekeeper of Eden, sometimes called by the name "Oz". His power is known through out the worlds, as his wisdom. The people of Eden know him as a leader, guardian, and a giver of advice. He wields immense power and lives on an island of his own near the Main Island of Eden. He will be responsible for training the new generation of Gatekeepers.

Lucinda
Age - early twenties.
Lucinda has served as Ozymandias's acolyte and assistant for many years. Though she is not a Gatekeeper herself, she knows a great deal about the world of Gatekeepers and is said to have some unique abilities of her own. She is always seen at Ozymandias's side.

The Silver Haired Man
Age - Mid to late twenties.
His name has yet to be revealed. He is a young man who seems to be unusually strong, and unordinary clever for a new Gatekeeper.

Master Amaterasu Omi-Kami
Age - She appears to be in her thirties, though she is hundreds of years old.
Amaterasu is the beautiful Master of a world called Yum Gan. She is an Immortal Gatekeeper with the ability to communicate with nature. She surrounds herself with creatures from her world called “Kitsune”. She is wise and loving, and appears very peaceful. Around her, is the scent of ozone and rain.

Master Gilgamesh
Age - Unknown
He says he is not -truly- the Master of the Yggdrasil, and is only covering for a Gatekeeper named Odin. He has obtained immortality through some cryptic, and unknown method. That method, and his old age, have cost him his sanity and he is now very scatter minded. He dislikes being asked questions, and often times refers any question back to Odin in some way.

Master Lazarus
Age - Mid twenties
One of the few non-immortal Masters. He is the young Master of a world called Elysia. He appears to be carefree, but a bit sarcastic.

The Fisher King
Age: Unknown
The Master of a world called Sheol, he may, or may not be an Immortal. He has a grim outlook on everything, and never reveals his given name. He was the last Master before Ozymandias to train a group of new novice Gatekeepers.

Arturus the King
Age: He -appears- to be in his forties.
Like the Fisher King, it is unknown whether or not he is an immortal. His governed world is also unknown. The Masters hold him in very high regard, considering him almost to be like their leader. They claim he is the greatest of the Masters.

Master Jeanne
Age: She appears to be only nineteen.
Master Jeanne comes from a world called Naraka. She is a very young Master, though she seems to be older than she appears. She is a headstrong, and courageous girl with much to stay. She voices her opinions, and respectfully heeds the thoughts of others.

WORLDS LIST
Gatekeepers must travel through the worlds, protecting them from forces that would disturb the Balance. This section of the Reserves is not just a list of all visited worlds, but it will also describe them in great detail.

EDEN
A world of vast ocean where a small cluster of islands house a modern civilization. The Gatekeepers refer to Eden as world that is “close to the Light,” meaning that the forces of chaos and destruction associated with Darkness rarely plague the world.
The world is governed by its local ‘Master Gatekeeper’ Ozymandias, or “Oz” for short, and while Ozymandias does leave the island world from time to time to visit the other worlds within the Existence, other Gatekeepers rarely venture into Eden.

The Main Island is the largest of the isles of Eden. It houses a large, modern, hilly city with buildings made of beige brick and red tiled roofs. The Eden economy is based mostly upon the fishing and farming industries. There is also a school on the Main Island where the Island’s youth are taught not only general subjects of education, but also about the Gatekeepers and the mythical Archon War.
To the south of the nameless city is a wide beach where the Lock appeared. This beach if of little interest, other than being a nice spot to spend time with friends. The beach to the east of the city is the industrial beach with large docks and ships for the fishers. The beach to the west of the city is rocky and of no interest.
To the north of the city is a rather large area of farmland, and to the north of that is a small range of rocky gray mountains. Further north, there is only another rocky beach with little use to the island people.

There is an island to the south of the Main Island where a large leafy jungle grows surrounded by golden beaches. Fruit is gathered from this jungle, but the island is mostly used as a recreation center. Massive wooden buildings have been built on the edge of the jungle. Some of them are houses, though most of them are simply storage buildings sometimes used by the island children during hide and seek games.

There is also an island to the east of the Main Island. This is the smallest of the islands and it houses only a small forest, a single volcano, and the mansion of Ozymandias.

SHADOWS LIST
The Shadows seek to spread Darkness and disrupt the Balance of Existence. They come in a variety of breeds each with their own unique forms and powers. These breeds will be described in this section of the reserves.

COMBAT GUIDE
Many of the challenges within this game will involve some sort of battling to be done, as most problems are best solved through violence. To familiarize yourself with the special details of combat read this section of the reserves.

BATTLE: Battle will most often be between two opposing forces with each team having similar numbers of combatants. However you may find some battles to be matched with one combatant against many, or one team of combatants against another team, against another, against another. Some battles will be simple fights against Shadows. These are brief fights built mostly for the purpose of advancing your character. Others will be more important to the plot of the thread and may even be built in a "boss battle" like manner. Some battles will require specific strategies, but it is always important to use creative attacks and to try and use the environment around you to your advantage.

LIFE ENERGY: When you are hit with an attack your character sustains damage to their life energy. In theory, losing all of this life energy would mean that the damaged character is dead. You can choose to fall unconscious before that happens, but then you force your allies to protect your unconscious body. Don't worry, in most battles you can always choose to flee if you are about to die.
-LOSING AND WINNING: Typically a battle is lost when your character flees (or dies if you're unlucky or simply wanting to try and shake up the plot). And a battle is won when your enemy flees or dies. Winning and loosing will determine the direction of this versatile plot.

CHRONICLE
The chronicle will record the most recent things to happen in the plot. When it is full, it will be cleared and new events will be recorded. It is a good place to go if you are new, or have been away for a while.

~

A mysterious lock, very large in size, appeared on the beach of Eden's Main Island. This lock, full of keys, caused the Master Gatekeeper, Ozymandias, to summon the island's every citizen to the lock's location.

NAME: Skylord Rorak, Skylord Master

GENDER: Male

AGE: 3076

ALIGNMENT: Neutral

PERSONALITY: He is an elder so because of this his personality is wise, great and spiritual. He has a strong belief in legends and myths which causes him to go paranoid about going to certain places sometimes.

APPEARANCE: BEING DRAWN

BACKGROUND: As a child he was hit and abused by his parents but as he grew up he was left to be happy. His teenage years (13-19) were filled of him researching a type of lords, Skylords. He fell in love with the greatness of Skylords so when he was 24 he applied for the job and got it!

KEY: Key of Air, this key looks transparent, cloudy and white.

WEAPON: His weapon is the Zephyr Blade. It looks like a light blue cloud sword but has alot more power! The regular version is just a 700 hit sword but the Zephyr version is a 1 hit destroy sword. :3

ELEMENTS: Sky Element, he is a master of it! Usually.

PERSONAL ABILITIES: His personal ability is nothing. He was born a normal human.

STRUGGLE ABILITY: Not even I get this.

SHIFT KEYS: He has 12 Shift Keys because of his exploring threw the universe.

SHIFT FORMS: They all have Air Forms but they are not known yet.

Aaaah? This experiment isn't good enough!

-Destroys an experiment-

Remake it Gene!