Old material that I hope to incorporate into a new game eventually. Will be reworked, of course.
Oh, Justice! Divine Overseer of the Heavens, Enforcer of all Righteousness!
Chief Judge of the Final Judgment, Your laws are the way!
Grant me the strength to do your will and to aid the victims of your enemies.
Bless me with the ability to see the truth in all those who cross my path
And to strike down those who would break your most sacred laws.
To You I pray and to You I lay down my life, now and forever.
— Translation of an ancient Gunslinger oath from archives.
Several thousand years ago, during the time of the first Immortal War, a cult devoted to justice rose in power among the vampires' mortal cattle. They prayed daily to the goddess in hopes that she would bring them salvation. It was during this time of slaughter and chaos that the Order of Justice kept mortal families from harm. The patriarch of each family swore an oath to the goddess Justice, devoting their lives and the lives of each and every member of their family to her work. This oath has passed down through the generations and up to this very day.
The Name; Gunslingers received their new name when they took up their side arms—six-shot revolvers. Their weaponry has evolved over the years, but a few of the "old timers" still prefer their six-gun over anything made today. All lawmen carry at least one sidearm, though many may choose to carry more.
A Society of Mortals; All Gunslingers are mortal, but that doesn’t mean a few aren’t powered mortals. The original Order of Justice that spawned the Gunslinger families was, and still is, a mortal-only religion that taught mortals to protect themselves during and after a time of great war and destruction. Without these men and women who gave their life to the goddess Justice, there would be no mortals today. The tenets of the Order have not changed since their beginnings and are passed down from generation to generation. Only within the last few centuries have they bent to allowing women and powered mortals into the Order.
Ammunition; Gunslinger ammo comes in two forms: blessed silver-steel bullets, which are considered semi-lethal rounds, and blessed hollow-points filled with liquid silver nitrate. The silver nitrate rounds will do great harm to not only humans, but also to supernatural creatures. These two sets of ammunition are a necessary evil as the deadliest killers of the last century have been supernatural. Gunslingers also have experimental, alternate shells that contain spells and can almost be wielded like magic though it is not true magical power. Only the most skilled of shots will use the experimental magic shells and only after much coercion from research teams.
The Path of the Oath to Justice; Above all else, a Gunslinger must uphold the mortal law and provide justice. It is their highest code and oath. All children of Gunslingers are raised and immersed within the Oath to Justice. These children are bred to follow their parents into the Order as their lives are promised to Justice long before they are ever born. Their integrity is almost never in question among mortals and, to most, the lines of good and evil are clearly drawn. When new families join into the order, they are immersed in this world and ushered in as deputies under the eldest members of the Order.
The Oath to the People; Second to their Oath to Justice is the Gunslinger's oath to the mortal people. All marshals and deputies are servants of the mortal population of Inora, no matter who that may be, and they guard these people with their lives.
The Councils of Marshals; The ruling body of the Gunslingers is called the Council of Marshals. The heads of all the family houses belong to the Council of Marshals and they handle punishment for crimes that Gunslingers may have committed against their own kind. The High Council of Marshals consists of seven Grand Marshals—one from each of the oldest mortal families.
Punishment in the Order; Gunslingers are given some leeway when it comes to upholding the law, but they are punished if innocents are hurt, they are caught breaking their Oath to Justice for their own gain, or if they are caught using their title to help criminals. Punishment for offenses is based on the severity of the crime, but even some minor infractions could see Gunslingers stripped of their rank and weapon. High-crime punishments can include the taking of one’s pistol hand and even execution. The Councils of Marshals uphold this system, but only one family carries out punishment within the order. This burden has been placed upon their shoulders since the very beginnings of the Order and shall not be removed until the line itself comes to an end. Legends say that it is a curse that only the strongest family could bare.
Marriage & Family Unions; Marriage and dating for Order members is just like everyone else. The main difference is that anyone who is brought into an Order family has no choice on whether they wish to immerse themselves in the Oath to Justice or not. A large percentage of the time, Gunslinger sons marry Gunslinger daughters and so the families have always intermingled. New families are added from time to time, their offspring taught and ordained in the Order as well. Being a part of the Order is a family tradition that is rarely broken.
Law & Order; One is expected to follow the laws that most all real-life countries have laid down to keep law and order—no murder, rape, thievery, etc. No exceptions are made for mortal or immortal alike. You follow the law or you are punished.
A Sexist Culture; Most people do not know that the original Order of Justice was once a "men only" religion and, thus, do not understand the very sexist undertones that ripple throughout the Order. This is one hurdle that the Gunslingers have yet to overcome and is kept tightly under wraps within the Order itself. No one really talks about it, but everyone knows it happens.
A Racist Culture; The Order believes that the immortal races need to be extinguished for their wrong-doings against their ancestors. Gunslingers have no qualms about shooting any supernatural creature that might cross their path if it contributed to their ultimate end. Some do at least give the creatures time to explain why they're there before shooting them down in cold blood.
I'm borrowing some of my own elements to try to put together a history of the Merhite demons from The Beyond. This is a work in progress. Not canon.
The ancestors of the Merhite demons were first summoned to the mortal realms by the people as they sought a way to save themselves from their vampire overlords. Before they were able to acquire mortal bodies, demons were grotesque creatures. Covered with horns and reeking of brimstone, they were an even match for the vampires though still not enough to overpower them as the creatures could seek sanctuary within their fortified spaces.
After the first shots in their immortal war, the demonic descendants settled into the lands and integrated themselves into the population by possessing the bodies of mortals. Because of this, their garish outward appearance has changed over the centuries so that they blend in with the populace of the lands. Demons now look and act like mortals, but have subtle differences that allow them to stand out in the crowd. These Children of Hell come in all shapes and sizes, but are most well-known for their extreme magical abilities. An "upper class" of people, demons are filled with a lust for life that drives them to enjoy themselves wherever they may be though they usually call Lybvian their true home.
The Merhites are the children of the great immortal wars. Fighting is in their blood and that blood has been spilled for generations.
"They won't find out. There is no other way. After tonight they will be too busy pointing fingers at one another to notice what we are doing. We need this, we deserve this."
Below him breathed the Merhite court, swirls of people and activity as they all moved to their own little tune, the dance and life of a body. All intent on their own activities whatever they may be. It fascinated him in all honesty, although he didn’t understand the need to be down there in the thick of it all, to jostle for place, for the illusion of power that being in the middle of the beast gave them. A living, breathing monster at times, Enzio leaning forward, hands resting on the rail of the balcony, attention caught by someone who most certainly did not belong. A messenger, one among many perhaps, but there was something about his movements, the jerky little motions as he fought against the current that threatened to send him away. Another odd thing, that he wasn’t the smooth motions of the other messengers, and whatever he had to share was clearly important. Enzio could all but taste it, sharp blue eyes tracking the man as he made his way further, tongue flicking out to wet dry lips. Something was coming, something big, every inch of him straining out for it. As eager as the rest of them really, but it wasn’t the show of power that he wanted, the visibility and the endless dances, but the raw energy, the power that the nameless messenger possessed in this moment as at long last, the man reached his father.
The ripple of anger, surprise - and was that fear he could see? - was like a pebble against the water, bouncing from one person to another, leaving a trail in its wake. Like a shock wave it moved through the crowds, a murmur that became a roar, washing over him even as he stood above them all. Dead. The Demos King was... dead. Interesting. Who would have done that naughty little deed, changed everything with one motion, a single act and second. How would it have been done? The knife, the bullet, the wire, the poison. What little toys would have ended the man’s life?
Eyes slanted to the side, taking in Issandria as his sister gracefully moved up the stairs to join him and Enzio was grateful she was here with him for a moment at least. “You?” He questioned softly, knowing the negative answer before it would be spoken. Questions were all he had at the moment, hands full of questions all running through his fingers, but this one at least had a solid answer, one he knew, a tiny little nugget of power. It wasn’t her, and it hadn’t been him, but that still left so many possibilities, and without knowing the who, he was left fumbling in the dark like the rest, but he was determined to find out. That answer promised to hold such tender and raw power it made him almost dizzy merely to think about it, tongue flicking out against his lips once more as he glanced down to the court, to the sheer confusion, the panic below.
The news was a virus, eating away at the body once so peaceful in its haste.
“My Lady,” Fira called as she stirred, her voice heavy with... something, sadness perhaps, worry. No, fear.“Your father...”
“Has been murdered,” Aneesha finished, voice clipped, controlled, her mind cast back to the vision she’d had some weeks ago.
Everything was soaked in amber, a burnt umber colour which saturated the world. It was deeper toward her door way, out through the hall, down the corridors. Outside her father’s door it was deepest, turning more to the colour of blood than amber, freshly spilt perhaps.
A shadow crept down toward her from the right, keeping close to the wall. Whomever it was had been cloaked by magics, turning him into nothing more than smoke which swirled and convoleased. An assassin, she mused lightly, watching him with interest. Or her. There was no way to tell through the shadows and smoke.
They moved before her, glancing left and right before entering her father’s bed chamber. Aneesha followed. The vision shifted in the space of a step; she entered the room and ended up beside her father’s bed just as the shade split her father’s throat. The blood was lost in the crimson colour of the vision but she knew it was there, knew that soon enough her father’s blood would spoil the lavender and teal bedspread she had always liked.
She reached out, not to stop the shade but to try and catch it, to see who it was but they vanished between her fingertips, the smoke dissipating into nothing.
That vision had been hers alone, not shared with even Aryah or her brother. Kept tucked away in her heart as she waited for her father’s blood to spill. It had been in her power to ensure no one could but sometimes the best course of action is to let time do as it pleased.
“Come here, Fira,” she murmured, holding out a delicate hand which the girl took. They both knew she would not make it out of here alive, no one must know that Aneesha had been granted this vision and no one would know... not once Aneesha was through at least.
Ten years ago the two Kingdoms of Arillius were brought together by their Kings who signed a treaty to bring peace after too many years of war. This treaty was signed and sealed in the blood of each King and it is only their blood, or their direct descendant’s which will break this seal. A seal which is more than just words on paper but something which has become woven into the very land, ensuring this peace continues so long neither family draws the blood of the other.
Blood has been spilt and this treaty broken and Arillius has been thrown into chaos once more as King Lyonnis Demos lies dead and his murderer free.
What the people of Arillius do not know is that the death of Lyonnis is only the beginning of their troubles, something deep, dark and powerful is about to stir and life will never be the same again.
Hi guys! First of all a big welcome and thanks for following and second I thought I would give you all a little insight of what to expect and what the Beyond is to me.
The Beyond is a game which started life in around 2006/2007 and was originally called Arillius, it was played for around a year on greatestjournal.com and then insanejournal.com. It was my first big game and has stayed with me since then. This version however is being re-made from the ground up. I've grown up and the Beyond has grown with me and as such it is entirely getting a re-vamp.
We will not be releasing information based on the number of followers. Information will be given as and when it is written. Ordinarily we would have ensured all information was written up before even thinking of doing anything like this but our intention is through the use of this tumblr to involve all the future writers and players by incorporating history, houses, creatures, places, magics and ideas they come up with. It would be fairly easy to come up with x number of houses with a handful of places and magical creatures and perhaps it would even be fun but why should we be the only ones to stretch our imaginations? So our intentions is that YOU get to come up with some of the characters you want to play, or the places or the creatures.
In the up coming future (hopefully tonight but certainly in the next few days) the basic history of the Beyond will be put up and from there we will start prompt challenges and allow people to submit their ideas for such.
Our ask box is open, including to anons and we would love to hear from you all. We would love to hear about what you would like to see first info wise. Our official tag will also be beyond-rp. There will be adverts going up shortly and hopefully more images of the world though we do currently have a pinterest going on here where images will be constantly added.
Once again thank you for the follow and I can't wait to write with you all!
