Etheric Origins, a Magical School Story

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Observe the wonders of wizardry at the Royal University of Etheric Studies in beautiful coastal Riestend!

Attend lectures, participate in labs, and learn powerful and impressive magics at one of the foremost etheric universities in the world!

Make friends with students from all over and rub shoulders with our faculty of legendary wizards such as Polyphuros the Defier and the great Archwitch Elektra!

Think you have what it takes? Send in your application today!
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Intro
Hello all!

This is my first attempt at a quest so please let me know if there are ways I can improve the formatting or writing of this story.

This story is set in a magical university where you as the players determine the actions of the main character including class schedules, social circles, and other significant choices. What kind of powers and allies will you amass? I certainly have no idea!

I've already done a bunch of worldbuilding and detailed a lot of the magic system, I'm excited for you all to explore it!
With any voting in this quest, if there's an option you want that's not listed, let me know in the thread and I may add it. Additionally, if you can make a compelling argument as to why a certain option should be weighed more or less heavily, I will certainly take it into account.

Thanks for giving me a chance, hope you have fun!
 
Character Creation 1
What's our main character's gender?

Gender discrimination will not be a major factor in this story, but there might be slight differences in storyline between gender options.

Some options would be:
[] Male
[] Female
[] Trans (Specify)
[] Nonbinary
[] Write in

What's our main character's nationality?

Some background information on the setting. This story takes place on a supercontinent (think Pangea). A few thousand years ago this nation came into power called the Scurtan Empire. At one point, the Scurtan Empire conquered the entire continent (hence the continent's modern title of Scurta). The Scurtan Empire has since dissolved into smaller nations, but they retain a "common" language in addition to regional ones and share a similar basis for governance. A legal and philosophical document from imperial times called the "Social Fundament" dictated the basis for law and societal function, this document survives as a foundation of rule to this day (with a few modifications) due to factors like tradition and political pressure both by governed populations and other nations. A major distinguishing factor between the nations of this setting is how they interpret the Social Fundament, as well as some ethnic and cultural differences.

The choices are:
[] Olusk
This is a small nation with a temperate climate, it is known for its strict interpretation of the Social Fundament. Olusk is the birthplace of the Scurtan Empire and takes its name from the city of Olusk, which was the capital. Olusk is ruled by a hierarchy of judges, taken from all walks of life and trained to interpret imperial law.
[] Riestend
This kingdom is one of the largest on Scurta and consists of a large savannah with scattered forests, an extensive mountain range, and a small desert on the coast. Riestend is known for its vast trade networks and world-renowned magical university. Riestend is a monarchy ruled by noble families which answer to the crown. Most nobles are born into it, but it is not unheard of for wealthy merchants or powerful mages to be granted noble titles.
[] Tewyr
This is a mid-sized nation with a fairly even mix of desert, savannah, and jungle biomes. A distinguishing feature of Tewyr is the tropical island of Teferi which is both home to a large diversity of magical flora and fauna, and larger than some entire nations. Tewyr is a collection of city-states and a representative democracy, where each city-state is run separately, and elected councilors from each city-state make the larger decisions.
[] Hultr
This kingdom is small, with a large amount of coastline. The region is mainly forested, with some grassland areas. Hultr is known for its unique oath magics and unstructured government. Hultr is ruled by a noble class, each ruling their own territory with no central authority. There is essentially no class mobility, but nobles must take magical oaths to act in the best interests of the people they are responsible for.
[] Lemyni
This is a big nation with a colder climate, consisting of a vast prairie and the densely forested island of Zarwatos (which is even bigger than Teferi) right off the coast. Known for its history of witches and export of alchemical plants, Lemyni is a mysterious nation, not too welcoming of outsiders. Lemyni is a theocracy run by representatives of each of the "great spirits" worshipped there.
[] Fakira
The largest nation on Scurta, Fakira is also the most diverse in climate, sharing a vast desert with Tewyr as well as being home to some of the coldest tundra on the continent. The kingdom of Fakira is known for its great warriors and emphasis on martial prowess, many of the great adventurers in stories hail from there. Fakira is a dynastic monarchy, with the governance of populations usually split between multiple noble clans.
[]Agelfi
A small and frigid peninsula, Agelfi is known for its people, with their distinctive grayish skin and odd mannerisms. Agelfi has no true government, instead functioning as a collection of smaller communities which aid each other from time to time.

Further character options depend highly on the nationality of our MC, so once a consensus has been reached, I'll post more. 😁
 
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[X] Female
[X] Lemyni - This is a big nation with a colder climate, consisting of a vast prairie and the densely forested island of Zarwatos (which is even bigger than Teferi) right off the coast. Known for its history of witches and export of alchemical plants, Lemyni is a mysterious nation, not too welcoming of outsiders. Lemyni is a theocracy run by representatives of each of the "great spirits" worshipped there.
 
[X] Tewyr - This is a mid-sized nation with a fairly even mix of desert, savannah, and jungle biomes. A distinguishing feature of Tewyr is the tropical island of Teferi which is both home to a large diversity of magical flora and fauna, and larger than some entire nations. Tewyr is a collection of city-states and a representative democracy, where each city-state is run separately, and elected councilors from each city-state make the larger decisions.

So a minor formating thing, but for things like the nationality—where the vote itself can be boiled down to one word, but there's also a longer explanation to it—it'd probably help in the future to format them as:

[] Tewyr
This is a mid-sized nation with a fairly even mix of desert, savannah, and jungle biomes. A distinguishing feature of Tewyr is the tropical island of Teferi which is both home to a large diversity of magical flora and fauna, and larger than some entire nations. Tewyr is a collection of city-states and a representative democracy, where each city-state is run separately, and elected councilors from each city-state make the larger decisions.

By keeping the actual vote in a different paragraph from the explanation, there's less chance of the tally getting confused between people copying the entire block and people that shorten it to just the vote.
 
[X] Female
[X] Lemyni - This is a big nation with a colder climate, consisting of a vast prairie and the densely forested island of Zarwatos (which is even bigger than Teferi) right off the coast. Known for its history of witches and export of alchemical plants, Lemyni is a mysterious nation, not too welcoming of outsiders. Lemyni is a theocracy run by representatives of each of the "great spirits" worshipped there.
 
[X] Male
[X] Olusk - This is a small nation with a temperate climate, it is known for its strict interpretation of the Social Fundament. Olusk is the birthplace of the Scurtan Empire and takes its name from the city of Olusk, which was the capital. Olusk is ruled by a hierarchy of judges, taken from all walks of life and trained to interpret imperial law
 
[X] Female
[X] Olusk - This is a small nation with a temperate climate, it is known for its strict interpretation of the Social Fundament. Olusk is the birthplace of the Scurtan Empire and takes its name from the city of Olusk, which was the capital. Olusk is ruled by a hierarchy of judges, taken from all walks of life and trained to interpret imperial law
 
[X] Nonbinary
[X] Female
[X] Trans (Female)
[X] Lemyni - This is a big nation with a colder climate, consisting of a vast prairie and the densely forested island of Zarwatos (which is even bigger than Teferi) right off the coast. Known for its history of witches and export of alchemical plants, Lemyni is a mysterious nation, not too welcoming of outsiders. Lemyni is a theocracy run by representatives of each of the "great spirits" worshipped there.
 
[X] Male

[X] Hultr - This kingdom is small, with a large amount of coastline. The region is mainly forested, with some grassland areas. Hultr is known for its unique oath magics and unstructured government. Hultr is ruled by a noble class, each ruling their own territory with no central au
 
[X] Male
[X] Tewyr - This is a mid-sized nation with a fairly even mix of desert, savannah, and jungle biomes. A distinguishing feature of Tewyr is the tropical island of Teferi which is both home to a large diversity of magical flora and fauna, and larger than some entire nations. Tewyr is a collection of city-states and a representative democracy, where each city-state is run separately, and elected councilors from each city-state make the larger decisions.
 
What went wrong is that the starting point of the tally is not set, counting votes from Post 16 to Post 16 which is the tally itself.

You can change the configuration of the existing one (at least I assume so), or make a new tally with that in mind.
 
Here is the current count:

Adhoc vote count started by Eternal_0bserver on Oct 5, 2022 at 4:03 AM, finished with 17 posts and 12 votes.

  • [X] Male
    [X] Female
    [X] Lemyni - This is a big nation with a colder climate, consisting of a vast prairie and the densely forested island of Zarwatos (which is even bigger than Teferi) right off the coast. Known for its history of witches and export of alchemical plants, Lemyni is a mysterious nation, not too welcoming of outsiders. Lemyni is a theocracy run by representatives of each of the "great spirits" worshipped there.
    [X] Lemyni
    [X] Tewyr - This is a mid-sized nation with a fairly even mix of desert, savannah, and jungle biomes. A distinguishing feature of Tewyr is the tropical island of Teferi which is both home to a large diversity of magical flora and fauna, and larger than some entire nations. Tewyr is a collection of city-states and a representative democracy, where each city-state is run separately, and elected councilors from each city-state make the larger decisions.
    [X] Olusk - This is a small nation with a temperate climate, it is known for its strict interpretation of the Social Fundament. Olusk is the birthplace of the Scurtan Empire and takes its name from the city of Olusk, which was the capital. Olusk is ruled by a hierarchy of judges, taken from all walks of life and trained to interpret imperial law
    [X] Nonbinary
    [X] Tewyr
    [X] Trans (Female)
    [X] Hultr - This kingdom is small, with a large amount of coastline. The region is mainly forested, with some grassland areas. Hultr is known for its unique oath magics and unstructured government. Hultr is ruled by a noble class, each ruling their own territory with no central au
    [X] Riestend
    [X] Agelfi


It's a win for Lemyni and a tie for choosing between a male and female character.
 
Thanks to everyone who voted or otherwise assisted!

It seems we have a tie between male and female. I'll be using the vote for a trans woman to break the tie, meaning our mc is officially female!

Our mc also hails from Lemyni, home of witches and powerful spirits.

I'll post the next vote later today, excited to see how it turns out!
 
Thanks to everyone who voted or otherwise assisted!

It seems we have a tie between male and female. I'll be using the vote for a trans woman to break the tie, meaning our mc is officially female!

Our mc also hails from Lemyni, home of witches and powerful spirits.

I'll post the next vote later today, excited to see how it turns out!
Boo! That doesn't count!
(I wanna win, dang it.)
 
Character Creation 2
On to the second stage of character creation! This time we're voting on the origin of our character within Lemyni, their relation to religion, and their parentage.

Lemyni consists of a variety of settlements, ranging from large metropolitan areas centering a great spirit to loose networks of villages and towns. It is important to note that any population center large enough to be considered a city will have a patron spirit of some kind.

Potential options:
[] Evergreen Arbor
This large city is located within the depths of the island Zarwatos. The patron spirit of this city is the tree spirit Glaucous, which takes the form of an enormous pine which the city surrounds. All of the trees in the region are quite large, although none come close to the great spirit, and the buildings of the city are built around and often nestled in them. Evergreen arbor is home to many powerful witches, and many travel from the towns or villages of Lemyni to learn magic here.
[] Sewyn
Sewyn is considered to be the most welcoming to outsiders of all the cities in Lemyni. This city is situated near the border of Riestend and serves as a major trade hub, exchanging goods from the more insular populations in the country for goods sourced globally by foreign merchants. The titular patron spirit of Sewyn is a large flock of crows which gather in the nearby forest each winter. The culture of Sewyn is mirrors that of their spirit, encouraging their youth to travel the world before the return to settle back in their homeland.
[] Werai
This is a city somewhat near the border of both Agelfi and Fakira. It is known for its patron spirit Etornus, which takes the form of a nearby mountain. The fiery heart of the great mountain spirit inspires the citizens of Werai to pursue their passions, valuing both fervor and persistence in the pursuit of ones goals. Werai is home to many devoted craftspeople and talented hunters, who sometimes travel to other countries and gain some degree of renown.
[] Villages (region)
This option would have the main character originate from a town or village from one of the major regions of Lemyni. The regions are as follows: Zarwatos (a notably witchy region with primarily plant patrons), Prairie (nomads with a pantheon of animal spirits), Eastern Forest (major source of magical plants), and Western Forest (cultural blending with Fakira and Agelfi). An example vote for this option is "[X] Villages (Eastern Forest)".
[] Write-in
If you have an idea for a city not mentioned here, feel free to write it in. As well, if you are voting for Villages, feel free to add a write in if you have an idea for a specific village in mind. Even if your write in doesn't win the vote, I may use it as inspiration in the future.

On to our character's relationship with religion! Some background information on religion in this setting: deities (great spirits in this case) are not inherently divine, instead attaining their power and attributes from the etheric flows generated by worship. Ether is the magical energy of the setting, and worship acts as a subconscious form of magic. As the great spirits of Lemyni are physically present, there isn't really anyone who doesn't believe in them, but there is variation in worship. Devout worship of deities will effect the magical capabilities of the character.

Potential Options:
[] Casual
Our character has a casual relationship with deities, not participating in worship with any regularity.
[] Devout (Spirit)
Our character faithfully worships a spirit, whether that be the patron of their hometown or another great spirit which they resonate with.
[] Devout (Celestial)
The major religion outside of spirit worship (which is most prevalent in Lemyni but still present in the rest of the world) is that of the celestial church. The celestial church worships various celestial objects such as the sun, moon, and specific stars or constellations. This religion is not popular in Lemyni and adherents may face discrimination, especially the further they are from a border.
[] Anti-theist
Our character rejects the concept of worship wholesale, a minority opinion everywhere, especially Lemyni. Depending on how vocal they are, anti-theists are considered odd and even sometimes dangerous. They believe in deities as parasites, crippling the independent growth of humanity.
[] Write-in
If you vote for our character to be devout and have a specific deity in mind, feel free to write it in as an addition.

Lastly we have parentage! This should be pretty simple compared to the other votes. You should have two votes in this category, one for each parent.

Potential options:
[] Absent (gender) (occupation)
[] Distant (gender) (occupation)
[] Strict (gender) (occupation)
[] Caring (gender) (occupation)
[] Write-in (gender) (occupation)

Example vote:
[X] Villages (Eastern Forest)
[X] Devout (Spirit)
[X] Strict (Female) (Hunter)
[X] Caring (Male) (Witch)

The vote tally should work this time 🤞
 
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[X] Plan: Happy Little Sun
-[X] Sewyn
-[X] Devout (Celestial)
-[X] Strict (Mother) (Priestess)
-[X] Caring (Father) (Burgher)

Want to go for a happy little Sun Wizard if I can.
 
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