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Posts : 458 Join date : 2012-02-04
| Subject: A Brief Overview of the Last of the Shire Family Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:19 pm | |
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Originally for Aeria by Psyche. ___________________________________________________________ Although the entire Shire bloodline is deceased and the family legacy now but a memory, the family has been in Aeria's history since before the God Wars, when Sylornath was still alive. The Shire family is the original Dragon-Blooded human family, with all resulting families being loosely related. As a result, many of the Shire family are born with large amounts of draconic blood in their veins, becoming immortals. The origin of the Shire family is a mystery, known only by the most ancient of Aeria's inhabitants, but when the God Wars begun, the head of the Shire family struck a deal with Baator, pledging his services to the under-god, which gave Baator some much appreciated assistance in the wars, and in return the Shire family was given sanctuary from the ongoing war. Baator hoped to infect the entire bloodline with his demonic taint, but as he sent minions to carry out this plan, other immortals attempted to win over the bloodline aswell, but all attempts backfired when the draconic strength of the Shire bloodline was grossly underestimated. Instead of the family being subject to a single diety, members of the Shire Bloodline would often occasionally be born with the likeness of a diety, such as Bryan Shire being born with demonic taint, and appearing to be as much a demon as a human. *Disclaimer: From looking at this thread, it may seem like I only bothered to list the Shires that either were relevant to Marius Shire's exploits, or were especially heroic in their own sense. This does not mean that every Shire is automatically a badass by default, all it means is that I chose to list the Shires that were relevant to Marius' (and the on-server rp's) exploits, or the Shires that were especially heroic. I'm a sucker for heroics. -Bryan Shire- Spoiler:
Bryan was the last of the Shire family. He was born the son of Marius Shire and was unfortunately murdered at a young age by Ossus, prior to his escape from Baator's realm and before he assumed God-like status. Bryan was born with Baator's demonic taint, and although he was not doomed to become a soulless demon, he sported an immunity to elemental fire, with a fiery temper to match. Bryan inhereted powers of Surge when his uncle, Wade Shire became the ArbiterBryan harboured deep resentment towards his father, Marius, having only known about his short history as an outlaw and a necromancer, but was convinced to abandon his preconceptions and assumptions about Marius when he arrived in Surna to hear the inhabitants' history of Marius, although Bryan never met his father in person. Bryan is shown here, equipped with an unknown blade. Bryan's features are oddly not similar to his father's. -Marius Shire- Spoiler:
Marius was the son of Percival Shire, father of Bryan Shire, and brother to Wade and Thomas Shire. Unlike his siblings and son, Marius was born with little dragon blood in his veins, and no features of any diety. Marius did, however, go down to be known as the 'Revolutionary Mortal', and the most famous Shire in the history of Aeria since Thaddeus Shire, even after Marius' death by the hands of one of Shar's minions, assisted by Ossus. Marius was taken from his family's villa; Percival's Haven, at a young age by slavers, and spent most of his childhood as a slave. When released into the world with no guidance, Marius wandered the mainland as a bitter young adult. Marius was taken in as an apprentice by the infamous Nero Farrek; an immensely powerful follower of Nazu, and renowned philosopher, known for "unethical" and "sadistic" views on mortality. As Nero's apprentice, Marius was introduced to swordsmanship, and although he was slow to catch on, Marius trained tirelessly to start his path to eventually becoming one of Aeria's greatest swordsmen. Nero's tutelage was traumatic as much as it was enlightening, and awoke Marius' interest and talent for magic, which eventually lead Marius to Surna and got him enrolled into the Necromancer's Guild under Xalicor the Lich's direct mentoring, after Marius and Nero parted ways. Marius displayed the raw power and ambition required for necromancy, with immense talent for pyromancy, and although he displayed a love for the guild's library, growing very book-smart, and gradually became a very powerful necromancer even after he left the guild, he lacked the sheer discipline that Xalicor's other apprentice, Zayl Rathman displayed. The two apprentices eventually became friends, despite the constant threat from hellish 'Disciples' of chaos and the town guard of Surna. When Marius was lead to believe that his only friend, Zayl, was slain, he developed an alcohol addiction, which eventually lead to death. Unbeknownst to Marius, Nero's influence was much, much more powerful than he previously assumed. Marius was resurrected, a power immensely rare among mortals, his body cleared of scars and wounds gained from after his apprenticeship under Nero, and his soul purged of taint. This revival came with a price, however. Since his revival, Marius suffered Nero's curse, a gripping insanity that grew to full fledged schizophrenia that opened Marius' mind to the possibilities and majesty of magic, but allowed his imagination to haunt himself for the rest of his second life as he had visions of Aeria's past, present and future, complete with threats that have passed and yet to come. Marius revisited his knowlege of necromancy and fire magic, and returned to pledge his services to Zayl and Surna, befriending many other of its inhabitants while tirelessly defending the town from threats both widely confronted and unseen by any other. Marius' curse was provoked and shook his newfound 'good' natured to the core when two things came to Surna, however. The brief visit of his brother, Thomas Shire, which reminded Marius of his family half a world away, and the arrival of The Prophet, whom caused Marius to question his new morals. Marius assisted against battling The Prophet and his minions, and proved to be immune to any and all temptation of switching alliegances, while displaying his dangerously fast-progressing talent with pyromancy. After The Prophet was slain, however, Marius left Surna to once more wander Aeria. In the five years Marius was absent from Surna, his curse allowed him to see the gods' selfish hands over the fate of mortals and his own, and vowed to form The Vindicators, effectively making his departure from Surna the start of the count-down until The Vindicators fufill their prophecy of mortal freedom. Marius travelled to many different corners of the world and recieved training from countless factions, such as The Dragoons, but his greatest influence was when he returned to his home village in The Wastes, Percival's Haven, and reunited with his family. Upon his arrival, he learned his brother Thomas had left the region after a failed attempt to seize control of the town, and recieved lessons on swordsmanship from two of the greatest blade-users in Aeria; his brother Wade, and his father Percival. Shortly after completing his training, Wade passed away from unknown causes, and Marius made his goodbyes and left the village once more. Much later, Marius created Surge, an entirely new weave of magic exclusive to the Vindicators, a feat only accomplished by dieties in the past. Marius eventually fell in love with a fellow Vindicator, Nomi Freya, but when she and many other Vindicators were persecuted and slain by Talibarian Imperials, Marius vowed revenge, eventually leading to his assassination of the Talibarian Emperor, during the Sacking of Imperia, when Shar's army sieged the city of Imperia and layed waste to it. When confronted by the Imperial Remnant, Marius willingly went into service of Talibar, with restraints, which lead to his death at the hands of one of Shar's most powerful servants, whom was secretly aided by Ossus. Marius has been responsible for several revolutionary events that have failed to be recorded in Aeria's history, and his schizophrenic visions that were recorded have predicted events that happened even after his death. Marius is shown here (although with incorrect eye-colour) equipped with the legendary Blade of Gales, an elusive weapon in Aerian history, known to only be in Marius' possession briefly. His face was similar to his father's, unlike his siblings. -Wade Shire- Spoiler:
Wade Shire was the older brother of Marius and Thomas Shire, and son of Percival Shire. He was both born with the likeness of Kielm, and enough draconic blood to be immortal. As a result, Wade was very handsome, charismatic and skilled. There is no known explanation to his death, but history remembers he died a happy man after having tutored his younger brother Marius about swordsmanship, albeit dying very, very young for an immortal. Wade has been recorded as the one person to best Marius in skill with a blade. His finesse and power unmatched, he was the dubbed the most powerful member of the Shire family since Thaddeus Shire. Wade eventually became able to contact his living brother Marius, and to assist The Vindicators's cause, Wade endured the trying process of ascending from immortality to goodhood, eventually becoming The Arbiter, and the anchor-soul for Surge. Wade is shown here in the Shire Family Armour, a unique set of armour forged from many different metals and imbued with magical powers. -Thomas Shire- Spoiler:
Thomas was the younger brother of Marius and Wade Shire, and son of Percival Shire. He was born with considerable dragon blood, and although he was not immortal, he proved to be an excellent leader. He was supposedly slain by OssusThomas spent his entire life in Percival's Haven, and did not accomplish as much as his older brothers. He did however, attempt a grab for power over the village by forming a small rebel militia, but was single-handedly thwarted by his kin Wade. Considerably outraged, Thomas gathered what little forces he had left and set out into the Wastes to form an independent nation, which begun to flourish before it mysteriously disappeared. Many speculate that Ossus must have been behind the disappearance. Thomas was charismatic, but his treacherous nature to his family has been described as disgraceful by his father, Percival. Thomas is shown here, with his young features showcased. His face was described as 'easy to trust' and his young charm contributed to his gathering of followers. -Percival Shire- Spoiler:
Percival was the father of Wade, Marius and Thomas Shire, and son of William Darius Shire. Percival's life has been shrouded in mystery since his childhood. Little has been recorded about him except that he was a renowned swordsman, and a retired master Demon-Hunter. Percival died from illness very shortly after his son Wade passed away from unknown causes. Percival is shown here, offering seeds to The White Crow, a legendary companion of Percival. -William Darius Shire- Spoiler:
William Darius was the father of Percival Shire, and his father is unknown. He was born with very little dragon blood in his veins, but was born attuned to elemental ice, and as a result was always immune to the coldest fringes of The Wastes. William Darius was a noble in the castle-city of Boreal, an independant single-city kingdom in the colder reaches of The Wastes, and served as the Knight-Commander of the indepent city-state's guard. Since he was born with the likeness of Glacios, he could single-handedly patrol the outskirts of the town, and moved faster than any man on foot, without fear of being harmed by the blistering cold outside the city's walls. Boreal's reign was short-lived, as when William Darius and his wife had just been gifted with his son, Percival, the city began to fall into chaos and destruction, as inhabitants would randomly fly into fits of rage, all while a single man under the name of Nero Farrek stormed the kingdom. William Darius was greatly injured after attempting to hold back the attacker, but was forced under order of Boreal's queen to take the city's refugees and flee. William Darius lead over 400 refugees from the kingdom to the warmer, more hospitable reaches of The Wastes to found a new village, naming it Percival's Haven, after his new-born son. Two years later, William Darius finally died from his wounds he recieved from his battle with Nero Farrek. William Darius is shown here standing before the last remaining ruins of Boreal, depicted inaccurately in armour. William Darius never wore red armour, as it made him too easy to spot in the cold. All officers of Boreal wore half Tan, half Sea-Blue uniforms. -Thaddeus Shire- Spoiler:
Thaddeus Shire's children and parents are lost in history, all that is known about his relatives is that he is at least three generations before William Darius Shire. Thaddeus was born with plenty of draconic blood but still mortal, and with the likeness of Aten, and he eventually became blessed by Aten. Thaddeus Shire is often described as the 'Legendary Shire', a hero to never be forgotten by history. He was and still is known for his outlandish charisma, strength, skill and many adventures. While it is commonly believed that Thaddeus' exploits are exaggerated, near all of his stories have rung true, proving that the truth is stranger than fiction. For most of his life, Thaddeus was a freelance adventurer, and a thrill-seeker. He was talented in fire magic, but preferred martial combat over a battle of magic, favouring unarmed combat the usage of So'Lustre, a family blade made from Orium. Thaddeus Shire is highly regarded as one of the most powerful of the Shire family, and one of the most powerful mortals to walk the face of Aeria. Since Thaddeus was born with a high amount of draconic blood, he was fairly resilient, and often shook off magic directedat him. By being born with the likeness of Kossuth, he was a passionate, fiery individual who feared neither hot not cold. When blessed by Kossuth, Thaddeus became much more used to the application of pyromancy than before, as he had become immune to elemental fire, and his magical flames more effective, and used it in fights for it's flashy, romantic appearance and deadly efficiency. Thaddeus was also known to be a romantic, who loved to read novels about fictional adventures, and also had many lovers in his life. It is theorized that Kerodil has several dragon-blooded families because of Thaddeus' many adventures that took place in the isles. Thaddeus is shown here on one of his many adventures, escorted by a rambunctious group of friends that showcase a small example of Thaddeus' exploits, and depicted shirtless to display his famous dragon tattoo, which appeared on the cover of several books written about Thaddeus.
--Family Artifacts-- The Shire family had a secret method of enchanting weapons and armour than the traditional method. An item to be enchanted was directly linked to a specific bloodline, drawing power from it to gain a magical property that varied in power depending on the bloodline's quality. Naturally, Shire family weapons were exceedingly powerful. -So'Lustre- Spoiler:
So'Lustre translates to 'Sword of Lustre', and was given the nickname 'Lackluster' by Thaddeus ShireSo'Lustre is a bastard sword fashioned from Orium with three gems of Cordonium in the hilt. So'Lustre can act as minor protection from magic, and is enchanted to generate speed when swung, making it a swordsman's best friend. -So'Sil- Spoiler:
So'Sil translates to 'Sword of the Sun'. So'Sil is a blade that resulted from Thaddeus' blessings from Aten, and unlike the other Shire Artifacts, was actually gifted to Thaddeus by Aten, or one of his followers. So'Sil's materials are a mystery, but what is known about the blade is that it ignites and blazes with the flames of Aten when swung. The thin design of the sword may appear to be a design flaw to most swordsmen, but the blade was not made for extended sword-fights or tests of durability, but flashy and dramatic one-swing attacks. -Mall'Aer- Spoiler:
Mall'Aer translates to 'Maul of Aeria'. Mall'Aer is a gigantic Maul, sizing 5ft tall, that generates immense shockwaves upon impact, and was originally created by one of the Shire family's most ancient forefathers for the purpose of changing landscapes. The shockwaves released upon impact are harmless to organic life, but have titantic influence on inanimate surroundings such as stone and sand, allowing the wielder the ability to change their surroundings to how they see fit. Although Mall'Aer's shockwaves cannot harm a human, the Maul is extraordinarily heavy, and the physical blow from this weapon will shatter bones. This weapon was not made for man on man combat, but for the control over land, and occasionally to combat gigantic armoured wildlife such as giant, draconic sand-worms.
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