information.

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More Info on Dragon Riders

dragon riders and their dragons both have resistance to flames

dragon riders can manipulate fire, but they can’t create it 

they both tend to heal faster than a normal human, but it isn’t lightning fast (so like if a dragon rider got stabbed, it’s not gonna magically close up before your eyes) 

before the dragon rider purge, riders and their dragons would travel to the hall of the dragon riders in the east to live and to train

usually training would last approximately five years

riders do not need to remain celibate for life, but they take a vow to be so during their training years 

once they’ve been fully trained, they would be stationed somewhere in aragoth (there were dragon rider halls in each of the capitals, plus one in ~*~central~*~ aragoth. there’s not much in the central region and that was often just a stronghold/where some older riders went to ~retire~)

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The Aragothi Calendar

is there any sort of aragothi zodiac associated w this - like, if you're born under a certain god, are you said to be blessed/cursed/whatever by them and/or said to have certain of their attributes?????

Okay, so yeah, some people do believe this and some people don’t. The calendar was constructed by man to honor the gods (and not laid down by the gods themselves) so some people buy into the idea that the gods decided to “chose their children” by having them be born in their own month and others believe that since man decided what time of year was dedicated to each of the gods, that it doesn’t have any bearing whatsoever. 

If you’d like to find out which ~month~ your character was born under, check out the family tree. Each Aragothi month (listed here) correlates with our months. (So 1 aka the Creator is aka January). Some characters align perfectly with their god, others are super far removed. :) 

also...do you know how many years the age of the lion had?

Okay, so the Age of the Lion lasted 1183 years. In the year 405 (age of the Lion), the first Godiva King crowned himself in the South. So the year 405 (age of the Lion) was also the year 1 (age of the dragon). The Age of the Dragon became countrywide in 1183 (the age of the Lion) and 778 (the age of the Dragon) when Droyn Godiva married Eliarnora Arrington and the country was united. 

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The Aragothi Calendar

I’m not sure if this will ever even come up in comments, but it is something I’ve thought about so ... here goes. 

So the Aragothi calendar is divided into twelve months, like ours, and each month is dedicated to one of the gods. Each month will hold a feast day in honor of that particular god. 

So the list, in order, is as follows (the months also roughly correlate to ours as far as the seasons go with the first being January-like and the last, December) 

The Creator 

The Orphan

The Rebel 

The Jester 

The Mother

The Innocent

The Ruler

The Lover

The Sage

The Sorcerer  

The Explorer 

The Hero

Currently, Aragoth is in its second age -- The Age of the Dragon. The first age, was the Age of the Lion. After the Godiva’s claimed the throne, they declared Aragoth in the second age and dated the first year back to the first Godiva king’s rule in the south. This also creates some confusion in the histories because there was a time when the North had an Arrington King and considered themselves in the first age, while the South had a Godia King and considered themselves in the second age, but now everyone is on the same page. 

Currently, it is the year 817. 

Important Dates Thus Far: 

The Hero’s Twenty-First Day, in the 801st year of the Second Age: The purge of the Dragonriders 

The Jester’s Fourteenth Day, in the 817th year of the Second Age: Marriage of Lynessa Beaumont to Jon Valles/Jon Valles’s death  

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Current Events (June 2017)

THE EAST:

Jon Valles is dead. Alexandir Godiva has been (falsely) accused of his murder and awaits his trial. Jon Valles’s funeral is held. The Fontaines (and Isabella Quincy) prepare to move to their new home in the North. Celia Beaumont has been returned home by James Garin, but Avelina has imprisoned him.

THE NORTH:

Rowlin Stafford has reached his eighteenth name day and has gained control in the North. The North celebrates Remembrance Day. (for more info on what Remembrance Day is, see here)  

THE SOUTH:

Rob Barret has made a deal with Dezod to obtain a dragon of his own. He finds the promised dragon egg and shares the news with the Southern Resistance.  

THE WEST:

So having Western characters is a completely new thing for the rival!!! Yay!!!! I don’t have any events for them, yet, since we are all just starting to set up the characters and get things rolling there. Don’t worry! Events will be coming :)

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Castle Names:

THE NORTH: 

House du Fey - Icemark 

House Grancourt - Blysford Hall 

House Moran - Redwolf Hall 

House Stafford - Soarhall  

House Valles - Yilankale 

THE SOUTH: 

House Alainon - Sandstone 

House Barret - Direwood Hall 

House Meriet - Engelwood Hall 

House Mortain - Silverwynne Palace

House Vymont - Oaktree Hall

THE EAST: 

House Arrington - Fain 

House Beaumont - Ravenwood Hall 

House Fontaine - Gryffintree Hall 

House Godiva - The Imperial Palace 

House de Montfort - Longcastle 

THE WEST: 

House Godiva (old seat) - Raimbeaucourt 

House Vipont - Weswick Castle

House Wystan - Greencastle 

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Remembrance Day

300 years ago, Lord Lanslet Stafford rode the south to attend to official business. While there, he fell in love with Lord Mortain’s eldest daughter, Gisella, and before the summer was through they were married. The two newlyweds tarried too long in the warm of the south and they started their journey to the north late in the season. When the northerners received word that their Lord was returning and he did not arrive when he was expected, they grew worried. When the cruel northern winters began to threaten them, they knew that if something had happened to him, that he would not survive if he was not safe inside his castle walls when the storms came. Together, they organized a search party and search along the northern road (and well off it) until a group of them stumbled across Lord Stafford and his lady. They had been robbed by a pack of thieves who took everything, leaving them only their lives. Starved and near frozen, they did not think their bodies would be found until spring. Lord Stafford rewarded his people well for their loyalty, but he decided that it was not enough. He vowed that the North would always remember what they had done and so, every year, there is held a great feast where the Warden in the North invites all of his subjects, nobles and peasants alike, to be his guests.

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Currency

Gold Dragons: the most valuable of currencies. a dragon is rarely seen in the hands of peasants and is mostly used amongst nobles and royalty. worth 500 silver crowns, 125,000 pennies

Silver Crowns: worth 250 copper pennies

Copper Pennies: frequently used amongst peasants

some examples of fair prices:

a castle: 80 dragons

golden necklace: 4 crowns

a horse: 1 crown

a room for the night: 75 pennies

a bowl of stew and some ale: 10 pennies

there are 1, 5, 10, 25, and 100 penny pieces

there are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50,100 silver pieces

gold pieces only come in 1s

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Dragon Riders

Dragon Riders have always been the protectors of Aragoth.

Many believe that they’ve been sent to Aragoth straight from the gods.

They swear allegiance to Aragoth, not its ruler (until now. Cassius basically working straight for Rowena has been unheard of as far as dragon riders go, but he broke a lot of dragon rider rules, so what’s one more)

And as such, they posed a severe threat to Rowena when she was planning to take over Aragoth. Not only was it “foreseen” by Dezod that she would be killed by a Rider, but even if the Riders believed that her family died of natural causes, if they all agreed that she was unfit to rule, they would remove her from the throne

You cannot become a dragon rider unless you are chosen

This means that an egg hatches for you

Dragons can communicate with each other and other riders via mental telepathy

Dragons have an especially strong connection to their Rider

If a Rider dies, so does the Dragon

If a Dragon dies, however, the Rider doesn’t necessarily die

There have even been cases where Riders have had more than one egg hatch for them (although never has anyone had two Dragons living at one time)

Riders have magical abilities, but they don’t develop until after their Dragon hatches

They have to learn to use/control it

Abilities that Dragons/Riders have include: Dragons can breathe fire after they’ve reached about six months old. They are incredibly strong and often intelligent. They have special healing powers (for themselves, not others) that allows them to heal quickly (they aren’t immortal, however, and can’t always heal themselves fast enough) Some dragons have the power of foresight. Riders, in addition to magical abilities, have enhanced senses and strength.

Dragons and their Riders have a bond that won’t ever break, but this doesn’t mean that they always agree

Riders and Dragons are immune to fire and they cannot burn

Riders tend to heal more quickly than non-Riders, but not as quickly as Dragons do

Before Cassius and Rowena destroyed all of the Dragonriders, they all lived and trained together in the Hall of the Dragonriders

It was a massive structure in the east, large enough to house a hundred dragons and their Riders.

Young Riders would be sent there to live and train as they and their dragons grew.

Training usually lasted six years and, after that, Riders and their dragons were free to return to their regions or to remain in the east.

Most Riders w/o families, choose to live the rest of their lives in the hall with their other Riders

There are smaller Halls throughout Aragoth, but the main one/the school was located in the East, near the Capital

The Halls of the Dragonriders were all completely destroyed when Rowena took over and now they lie in ruins

House Godiva has always had a high percentage of its members born to be Riders, which is why their sigil is the dragon

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Magic

what is the difference between light and dark magic? Dark Magic is the harnessing of magic for selfish and unnatural reasons (things like curses, immortality, and necromancy fall under this). Dark Magic always has consequences that someone must pay. For example, immortality requires the sacrifice of an innocent (a life for a life) as a part of a horrific ritual which must be repeated after you’ve used up the life force of your victim. Basically, it’s not fun stuff. Both the Queen and Cassius must kill innocents to keep their immortality and their unnatural abilities. While human sacrifices are the most extreme, there are always consequences when using Dark Magic and anyone who has a consciousness tends to be unable to live with them.

are you born with it or can it be learned? Both. But to elaborate, most people who study and become powerful with using magic are ones who start showing that they have natural magical abilities. They will need to learn to control and harness their abilities. If you don’t have magic, you can be taught it, although most people can only do simple spells that just assist with daily living (ie washing dishes, lighting fires, etc.). To learn anything more, it’s extremely dangerous and the consequences can be damaging to the caster’s physical and mental state. The strength of the spells can sometimes be intense and have unforeseen consequences. And in others, they cannot learn it at all. Most people do not risk learning magic, if they are not born with it.

how does magic work? In it’s simplest form, is the manipulation of the energy around you. There aren’t words or incantations that need to be spoken in order to do this: it’s all about your mental state, although it is normally directed by the hand. Magic does depend on the caster’s life energy, so performing a spell that they aren’t ready for, can potentially can kill them. The specific limits of a character’s abilities are more or less based on the rper’s discretion – but if you have questions, feel free to ask!  Now w/ Dezód, I feel like his magic might be slightly different. He’s the most powerful sorcerer that Aragoth has ever seen and he has the ability to travel through different universes (which no one else can do or learn to do), so he might have some other abilities that no one else does. Basically, I’m leaving that up to Kate.  Some examples of things you can do with magic: enchant objects to give them magical properties (examples of this are scrying glasses. These are made by summoning a spirit – or demon if you are daring – and trapping them in a reflective surface, such as a silver tray or a mirror. They will be able to spy on people and report back/sometimes show you visuals. Only demons can capture sound, but if they should ever escape they will drag you to hell and you won’t ever escape them. I’m also cool with you guys coming up with your own enchanted objects. ;D If your character ever uses one, let me know and I’ll post about it.) Other things you can do is teleportation and physical transformation (these are things dragonriders cannot do, but sorcerers and sorceresses can). Physical transformation is very advanced and I’m not sure that either Safira or Rowena can do it (at least not yet). Also, there’s potions, too.  So that’s more or less everything I know about magic. I honestly haven’t figured out everything (so I guess the title is a little misleading), but hopefully this is a jumping off point and makes things clearer, but please let me know if you have more questions. ;D

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Divorce in Aragoth

reasons a man can set aside his wife: 

if she hasn’t given him any children within the first seven years of their marriage. women who can’t give their husbands children are often thought to have committed great offense to the gods and if they aren’t cast out by their husbands, even their husbands are shunned by society. this doesn’t apply if she’s been with child and lost it before it was born.

if she’s gone through the “change” and only given her husband daughters. this clause is now only adopted by traditionalists, as daughters can inherit. keeping your wife at this point even if she has only given you daughters, is socially acceptable. if they do put their wives aside and take a younger bride in this case, they are still responsible for the welfare of their first wife. most times she retires to one of his smaller castles/homes or returns to her family but in some cases she stays on as she always has, although now she’s an inferior to the second wife (you know this gets awkward fast)

if she’s proven to be unfaithful, this is the worst crime a wife can commit and depending who her husband is, she might even be put to death for it.

reasons a woman can set aside her husband: 

she can’t

annulments:

a marriage can be annulled if it was never consummated  

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Weddings in Aragoth

For twenty-four hours before her wedding day, the bride takes vigil at the altar of the gods (it’s usually the lover or the innocent or a combination of several different ones, but ultimately it’s up to her). She prays and fasts during this time and begs forgiveness for her sins. This is supposed to cleanse her spirit/make her ready for her husband. It’s said that if she does not pure confession to the gods, then she will not be blessed with children.

The Bride is given away by the most prominent member of her house (in some cases that doesn’t always mean it’s her father). 

During the ceremony, the bride and groom’s hands are tied together.

The ceremony is presided over by a priest, under the altar of the creator.

The bride and groom both make vows before gods and men to honor each other. The woman promises to serve her husband and the man promises to protect his wife.

They exchange rings. A bride also has an engagement ring which is often engraved with the man’s sigil.

There are prayers said to the creator and the lover.

The final act (in noble/royal weddings) is the groom draping the bride in a cloak of his house colors.

The bride often has several attendants, all of whom are unwed maidens (including a maid of honor) but the groom usually has only one or two men

During the reception, the bride and groom drink from a single cup (the wedding chalice). For noble/royal weddings, the cup is made especially for the occasion with both house sigils.

At the reception, the priest blesses the couple and usually gives them martial advice followed by a long prayer to the sage to guide them.

It is a great honor for Dragon Riders to attend and often they will give the couple a blessing during the ceremony

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Religion in the Southern Isles

The Southern Islanders worship the four elements. They make sacrifices often (mostly goods like slaves and food, but sometimes virgins, too) to keep in good standing with their gods. If ever an elemental were to go there, they would see them as someone as a god’s vessel and there would be a great celebration for a year and a day, before they would sacrifice the elemental, as they believe this releases the god from the body.

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Religion in Aragoth

There are thirteen gods (well twelve ~true gods and the demon god). Aragoth has only this one religion. The gods do not take an active role (they don’t appear/make themselves known) and there are definitely a lot of people who don’t believe in them anymore.  Most people have one or two gods that they identify with and pray to the most.

The Creator: The maker of everything, including the other gods. It is said that he was a dragon who roamed the empty night skies until he created the earth with his dragonfire. Dragons are also a religious symbol, as well as the sigil for House Godiva. Dragon RIders are said to be The Creator’s protectors of earth.

The Ruler: God of lords and kings.

The Mother: Goddess of families. She is a favorite of mothers who pray to her to keep their children and families safe.

The Orphan: Goddess of parentless children. Prayed to by those who have lost their families and are alone. Also parents look to her when they lose their children (either to death or if they physically go missing).

The Hero: God of chivalry and great deeds. A favorite amongst knights, soldiers and young boys.

The Explorer: God of travel and adventure. Prayed to when you are making a journey.

The Rebel: God of those brave enough to oppose a bad king (or queen). This god isn’t one that most kings like to hear that people are praying to. It is a god only prayed to in times of unrest and obviously he’s someone that the resistances pray to often.

The Innocent: Goddess of young maids and children.

The Lover: Goddess of love – both romantic and otherwise.

The Sorcerer: God of magic. He is the one who bestows natural magical abilities onto those who have it. Those who don’t have any magical abilities and wish to learn often pray to him. Some religious men and women believe that trying to learn magic when you are not born with it is unnatural and offensive since surely The Sorcerer would have given you the abilities if he thought you should have them.

The Jester: Goddess of happiness, celebrations, and wit. Everyone would pray to The Jester for happiness if she did not have a reputation for having a bit of a mischievous side. When praying to her, be careful what you wish for, for it is said that she often purposefully misinterprets your prayers. Some religious believe that this is false and that she will only bestow happiness on you if you truly deserve it.

The Sage: Goddess of advice and council.

The Demon God: Once it was his duty to harbor the souls from the world to heaven. He was known as the god of Death. He was often considered the least powerful of all the gods. To prove that he was not, he created hell and became its master. He was cast out of heaven, for only The Creator may create. The Demon god gains all of his power from human souls. He gets souls when 1) they are sacrificed to him, either directly like Rochilda Thaon or in immortality spells such as Rowena Godiva preforms or 2) when someone with a truly black heart dies, he claims them. If the demon god should ever gain enough souls, it’s said that he could reclaim his seat in the heavens and cast out all the other gods. Followers like Rochilda Thaon who help him accomplish this, are promised high seats should this ever come about, but anyone who knows anything about the demon god, is that he is a made of false promises …

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The Southern Isles: These Are Desert People; They Value Water, Not Gold

the southern isles is considered to be a “savage” land in comparison with aragoth

for more about their religion/customs, you can click on the main religion/marriage/funeral etc. links and there is stuff for them as well as aragothi info

The Southern Isles are desert islands

Like the South of Aragoth, theses islands are frequently plagued by hurricanes

The Vitalis family has ruled the southern isles for as far back as their records goes

The Southern Islanders have always looked to Aragoth with a jealous eye

They want the land for their own, but they’ve always lacked the men to oppose them, so they’ve settled for raiding the Southern borders

After Rowena became Queen and there were no longer dragonriders protecting the southern borders, the Southern Islanders declared war on the south and, for years, fought with the south for their land

The Queen didn’t consider them a threat and didn’t do much to aid the south, save send a small army with her uncle at the head to defeat them

She had hopes that her uncle would tragically die in the wars and rid her of having to do away with him herself, but in the end, Alexandir Godiva led his troops to victory and the Southern Isles now belong to Aragoth.

Romayne Vitalis’ brother was king until he was killed when Aragoth finally conquered the Southern Isles

Romayne ultimately helped the Aragothi in removing his brother from power

He hoped that his aid would earn him the crown or, at the least, the opportunity to be warden of his homelands

Romayne loved his brother, but he knew him to be cruel and unjust.

Romayne also wished to abolish the Southern Isle practice of owning slaves (mostly Aragothi who were kidnapped and sold into it)

Things didn’t go as planned for Romayne, for Rowena placed an Aragothi warden in charge of the Southern Isles and means to make Romayne her king consort.