So this is, at least in part, still a work in progress. This started as an idea of mine a few years ago and, well, one thing led to another (the name Godsend was unavailable and I'd accidentally put a character through seven levels on the /wrong/ server) and I decided to try this out here on CoH.
So. A few centuries back a sorcerer rose to prominence in China through heretofore unexplored avenues of research. What kind of prominence? The 'make your own army of demons and a place to house them to boot' kind of prominence, that's what. His servants were known as 'mirror demons' for their ability to enter the world through, well, mirrors. The weaker minions (mirror goblins) could manifest through any reflective surface, while the more powerful ones were restriced in the ways that they could enter. Denouncing his humanity along with his name, he became known as the King of Three Shadows and proceeded to commit the kind of villainy that comes with the territory.
Things were looking pretty bleak until a sorceress (whose name, sadly, is unrecorded: books refer to her as the Jade Maiden) came along and started banishing his demons left and right. As his demons were banished, their mirrors back home would crack, denying them the ability to return to the world save through the direct will of their master. The King responded with a direct assault on the would-be exorcist. The battle was reputed (in the sort of books where this kind of thing is written down) to have lasted for days but ended, finally, in the King's defeat. She banished him (for his efforts had made him, over time, into something akin to his servants) and set his worldlet adrift in the dimensions to keep it from our own world.
Unfortunately, she knew that her efforts were not final and complete: with time (a few centuries, by her estimation) he'd be able to bring his world back into alignment with the Earth and renew his invasion. To this end she invested a measure of power in creating a servant (whose name, in the long form, is Reflected Light of the Jade Maiden) and bidding it to wait until the time was right to grant this power to two humans. The first would become the Mirror Guardian, whose job it would be to banish the demons of the King and hopefully find a way to prevent His return wholesale. The second would be the Mirror Knight, and it would be his task to protect the Guardian and keep her safe.
Enter Yagami Hiroshi, nineteen year old college semi-burnout and his fourteen year old sister Naoko. Descended of the Jade Maiden herself (though they don't know /that/ bit yet), each was spiritually ideal for the jobs to which they would be assigned. Reflected Light knew this and, when he thought the time was right, came to them to bestow their birthrights.
Well, this was the plan. First off, the King's return happened just a /wee/ bit ahead of schedule and he knew the identity of the two who would be chosen. The means by which he returns to the world are slow, luckily, and so the first minion he set loose on the world was not something that could kill them. The being was known as the Duke of Names, and it possessed power over the notion of identity. The Duke used his powers to switch brother and sister between bodies and keep Reflected Light from discovering that this had happened. In this, he succeeded. That he was the first mirror demon that the duo managed to banish was small consolation.
The two have been trying ever since to learn how to use the powers they were /not/, in any way, prepared to have. Well, they've been doing that while they were trying to adjust to each other's lives, too. The real Naoko seems to find the whole affair rather fun, but then she's not the one who's been desperately trying to cram-tutor her in college courses while doing both of their homework.
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So yeah, that's the idea. Now I'm a big fan of the RP, and it so happens that I was hoping this could take off as a basis for this. There's a number of roles that suggest themselves for the purpose:
-The King of Three Shadows is already taken by EML. He's one bad mothe(HOLD THY TONGUE!). Yeah. Evil sorcerer and ruler of a hierarchy of demons.
-Mirror Knight Hiroshi 'him'self. Think of it as an opportunity to play Sailor Moon in the role of Tuxedo Mask. Ability to portray appropriately brat-ish behavior a plus. Magic would be the obvious choice for Origin type, and if you need a suggestion for build I'd reccommend Broadsword and Invulnerability for either Tanker or Scrapper. He's the Knight, after all.
-The Shadows of the King. "And in abandoning humanity his evil became a thing that cast Three Shadows upon the world." They aren't just metaphors: the King's Shadows are his inner council of advisors and his most trusted minions. The idea, again not really tied down, was that "War was his general, Strife his advisor, and Death the shadow that stalked his enemies." Reccommended: Brute, Dominator (or Corrupter) and Stalker, respectively. As I imagine those names are taken, feel free to come up with something.
-Mirror Demons. Ever feel the need to play a Sailor Moon villain? Well, now's your chance. The Mirror Demons come in all shapes and sizes and orders of power and usually have loosely descriptive names: the Duke of Names, the Bone Merchant, Fire's Steward, yadda yadda yadda. Have fun with them! Be evil! Make unlikely speeches! Shout "REFRESH!" Wait. Don't do that. It never helps.
So yeah. I offer this in the spirit of fostering role-playing of a slightly silly and melodramatic vein. If anyone wants to take one of the roles, make sure to say so here. Let the games begin!
(Edit: I need to pay more attention to forum posts: EML already mentioned this idea. Gomen!)
So. A few centuries back a sorcerer rose to prominence in China through heretofore unexplored avenues of research. What kind of prominence? The 'make your own army of demons and a place to house them to boot' kind of prominence, that's what. His servants were known as 'mirror demons' for their ability to enter the world through, well, mirrors. The weaker minions (mirror goblins) could manifest through any reflective surface, while the more powerful ones were restriced in the ways that they could enter. Denouncing his humanity along with his name, he became known as the King of Three Shadows and proceeded to commit the kind of villainy that comes with the territory.
Things were looking pretty bleak until a sorceress (whose name, sadly, is unrecorded: books refer to her as the Jade Maiden) came along and started banishing his demons left and right. As his demons were banished, their mirrors back home would crack, denying them the ability to return to the world save through the direct will of their master. The King responded with a direct assault on the would-be exorcist. The battle was reputed (in the sort of books where this kind of thing is written down) to have lasted for days but ended, finally, in the King's defeat. She banished him (for his efforts had made him, over time, into something akin to his servants) and set his worldlet adrift in the dimensions to keep it from our own world.
Unfortunately, she knew that her efforts were not final and complete: with time (a few centuries, by her estimation) he'd be able to bring his world back into alignment with the Earth and renew his invasion. To this end she invested a measure of power in creating a servant (whose name, in the long form, is Reflected Light of the Jade Maiden) and bidding it to wait until the time was right to grant this power to two humans. The first would become the Mirror Guardian, whose job it would be to banish the demons of the King and hopefully find a way to prevent His return wholesale. The second would be the Mirror Knight, and it would be his task to protect the Guardian and keep her safe.
Enter Yagami Hiroshi, nineteen year old college semi-burnout and his fourteen year old sister Naoko. Descended of the Jade Maiden herself (though they don't know /that/ bit yet), each was spiritually ideal for the jobs to which they would be assigned. Reflected Light knew this and, when he thought the time was right, came to them to bestow their birthrights.
Well, this was the plan. First off, the King's return happened just a /wee/ bit ahead of schedule and he knew the identity of the two who would be chosen. The means by which he returns to the world are slow, luckily, and so the first minion he set loose on the world was not something that could kill them. The being was known as the Duke of Names, and it possessed power over the notion of identity. The Duke used his powers to switch brother and sister between bodies and keep Reflected Light from discovering that this had happened. In this, he succeeded. That he was the first mirror demon that the duo managed to banish was small consolation.
The two have been trying ever since to learn how to use the powers they were /not/, in any way, prepared to have. Well, they've been doing that while they were trying to adjust to each other's lives, too. The real Naoko seems to find the whole affair rather fun, but then she's not the one who's been desperately trying to cram-tutor her in college courses while doing both of their homework.
----------
So yeah, that's the idea. Now I'm a big fan of the RP, and it so happens that I was hoping this could take off as a basis for this. There's a number of roles that suggest themselves for the purpose:
-The King of Three Shadows is already taken by EML. He's one bad mothe(HOLD THY TONGUE!). Yeah. Evil sorcerer and ruler of a hierarchy of demons.
-Mirror Knight Hiroshi 'him'self. Think of it as an opportunity to play Sailor Moon in the role of Tuxedo Mask. Ability to portray appropriately brat-ish behavior a plus. Magic would be the obvious choice for Origin type, and if you need a suggestion for build I'd reccommend Broadsword and Invulnerability for either Tanker or Scrapper. He's the Knight, after all.
-The Shadows of the King. "And in abandoning humanity his evil became a thing that cast Three Shadows upon the world." They aren't just metaphors: the King's Shadows are his inner council of advisors and his most trusted minions. The idea, again not really tied down, was that "War was his general, Strife his advisor, and Death the shadow that stalked his enemies." Reccommended: Brute, Dominator (or Corrupter) and Stalker, respectively. As I imagine those names are taken, feel free to come up with something.
-Mirror Demons. Ever feel the need to play a Sailor Moon villain? Well, now's your chance. The Mirror Demons come in all shapes and sizes and orders of power and usually have loosely descriptive names: the Duke of Names, the Bone Merchant, Fire's Steward, yadda yadda yadda. Have fun with them! Be evil! Make unlikely speeches! Shout "REFRESH!" Wait. Don't do that. It never helps.
So yeah. I offer this in the spirit of fostering role-playing of a slightly silly and melodramatic vein. If anyone wants to take one of the roles, make sure to say so here. Let the games begin!
(Edit: I need to pay more attention to forum posts: EML already mentioned this idea. Gomen!)