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IC: Aeragot - Ga-Koro Aeragot was leaning against a railing and keeping to the edge of the crowd, a sea of various shades of blue which shifted and trembled much like the real ocean all around. He reflected that, perhaps, he should not have come here at all. If he was a diplomat, a reporter, maybe he might have been able to get close enough to find out something interesting. But with this crowd? No way he was going to get to talk to somebody who really knew what was going on. Not that it was a complete wash, of course. Whole new civilization showing up on shore? Dragon flying in? Exciting to be sure, but seeing something exciting is just an unanswered question. A poet friend had once told him the whole world could be found in unanswered questions, but Aeragot had yet to be convinced. It would have been easier had he been anyone else, and just taken the ferry from Forsi to Ga-Koro. Would have been a shorter walk across Po-Wahi, at least. As it stood, however, it wasn’t worth the sickness to take the boat. He wouldn’t have minded walking so much either, but then the prevailing wind carried in a little rainstorm just as he passed the border of Ko-Wahi going towards Ga-Koro, and the clouds hung around against the mountain range the whole time. He always found Ga-Koro a little difficult too, when he first arrived. Just the slight motion of the floating bridges and the grown walkways, undetectable to anyone who had been there long, made him a little tense. He could feel the potential for a headache just just hanging around the edges. And yet, when he had heard from a contact that the whole fleet would be arriving, he left immediately. More out of a sense of obligation than anything else. How could anyone take him seriously as a student of history and seeker of knowledge if he didn’t show up to see this. He had seen their submarine surface once, from the cliffs on the edge of Ta-Wahi. And yet, now that he was here, he was standing before a crowd like any other. Countless people in awe, but it’s hard to get any real information from that. OOC: Aeragot open for interaction.

Mata Nui: Name: Aeragot (AIR-uh-got) Species: Onu-Toa Gender: Masculine presentation, he/him pronouns Mask: Kanohi Kualsi, Great Mask of Quick Travel (shaped like a noble Mahiki) Appearance: Aeragot is of average height for a Toa but small and lean of build, not unathletic but clearly unable to match some other Toa in strength. His armour is close-fitting plates of dull, greenish grey, and deep black; it’s light and movable, but it lends little further bulk to his slight frame. His mask is a flare of bright orange, seeming even brighter by standing against the rest of his ensemble. His slightly large and round eyes are a pale seafoam green, in stark contrast with the mask around them. He is quick to smile, and his eyes are always flitting about. He walks quickly, with a steady and even gait, and has a tendency to pace when in thought. Equipment: Aeragot’s primary weapon is a one-handed smallsword, flexible, durable, and primarily intended for parrying. He wears it slung across the back of his waste. The belt on which he has his sheath also has a series of pouches across the front. In one of these pouches Aeragot carries a notebook, which has a carefully constructed and waterproof-sealed metal exterior. Powers and Abilities: Aeragot has Toa-level control of earth, and while he is not a grizzled veteran, neither is he new to his capabilities: he wields his element comfortably. Aeragot is an adequate fighter, evidencing practice more than any natural skill, with a close-ranged and strongly defensive style. He might be able to buy time against a more skilled combatant in a duel, but his offenses are dependent on reactions and ripostes. Personality and Traits: Aeragot is good-natured and affable, albeit with a tendency to be stuck in his head. This, however, can be overpowered by a curiosity and drive to investigate which at times borders on monomania. When the opportunity is given he can do no other than plunge into the unknown. Though this can easily lead him into trouble, it lends him much good as well. Aeragot has bravery in his seeking, and it gives him the confidence to follow knowledge as far as he can. He is confident as well in danger, so long as he is on the trail of something interesting, and this confidence allows him to keep his head about him. His mind is sharp and analytic, and thus far it has kept him alive. History: As a Matoran Aeragot served as a prospector in the Great Mine in Onu-Koro, but a chance discovery of some minor archeological relics buried in Onu-Wahi led him to Ta-Koro and the Wall of History. Aeragot spent several months studying the recorded history of the Island, and the academic interest instilled in him during this period led him further and further afield. He spent some time with the astrologers of Ga-Koro, and at the Wall of Prophecy in Ko-Koro, but mysteries still called to him more than prophecies. At some point during these wanderings Aeragot became a Toa, and put his new powers to the same pursuits. Aeragot made only minor, though well-intentioned contributions to the effort to free the Island from Makuta. He has yet to forgive himself for not solving the riddle on the wall of the vault. Weaknesses: Terra Firma: Aeragot, raised on the unmoving earth, is afflicted by motion sickness. In any motion felt but not seen, be it on the pitched deck of a ship or the back of a Gukko or Ussal, he develops headaches and, after sufficient exposure, nausea. This can be overcome, but it is enough to noticeably decrease his ability to focus or fight. Parry and Riposte: Aeragot is a firmly defensive fighter, relying on reactions for his offenses. Against better fighters, of which there are many, his defenses are strong but his stamina is not limitless. Timetur Lux: While he is more used to the light of day than many of his brethren, Aeragot can still be stunned momentarily by especially bright light. In Search of the Unknown: When on the trail of knowledge or mystery, Aeragot will not be denied. This can easily overrule common sense and practical wisdom, and a trap set with the right bait would be irresistible to him. Name: Dolbren (DOLE-bren) Species: Ba-Toa Gender: Masculine presentation, he/him pronouns Mask: Kanohi Calix, Great Mask of Fate (shaped like a Miru) Appearance: Not especially tall, but broad shouldered, Dolbren has evidently honed his physical capabilities. His physique is not overly muscular, but rather lean and endurant. Even in repose there is a sense about him of the compressed spring: tension always ready to be unleashed into movement. He is wreathed in thick armour plates, coloured in a slightly garish scheme of warm purple and teal. His mask is the latter hue, and is uniquely carved with wider openings than usual for his eyes. In movement Dolbren occasionally exhibits a curious habit of gesturing in one direction, then moving or speaking in the other. These seemingly extraneous movements broadly do not hinder him. Dolbren has an expressive face, changing quickly and unwilling to conceal emotion. Equipment: Dolbren favours a long and curved single-edged kriegsmesser. Its hilt is long enough to enable one-handed or two-handed wielding, though the total length of the sword means wielding it in one hand demands ample strength. This weapon is most often sheathed in a baldric worn at the shoulder. Because of the size of his preferred weapon, Dolbren also carries a thin-bladed dagger. It serves easily as a weapon, but is otherwise used as an eating utensil. He has it constantly at hand, in a sheath on his belt. Powers and Abilities: Dolbren uses his Toa-level control of gravity with the practised skill and familiarity of a longtime soldier. Because it requires significant concentration to sustain the gravity-changes it enables, he tends to use it in brief spurts to augment his fighting abilities. A particular favourite is giving his weapon more weight suddenly on a well-timed downswing. Athletic in his youth, Dolbren’s talent has only been augmented by years playing hired muscle for ventures both legitimate and illegitimate. His idiosyncratic way of moving shows itself in the heat of combat to be a canny defensive decision; a lightness on his feet and unpredictability of movement which makes him hard to pin down in a melee. This skill is helpfully augmented by his Kanohi Calix, which with concentration allows him to continually operate at the top of his physical capabilities. This defensive style does, however, leave him with no way to lessen a blow he can’t dodge, and is less well adapted to dealing with a ranged combatant. So far at least, he’s been tough enough to get back up from anything that managed to hit him. Personality and Traits: Dolbren makes no bones about it; he’s a mercenary, condottiero, hired sword, whatever you want to call it, and most often the work he does is not strictly legal, nor is it really a nice thing to do. But he insists, typically with a downward flick of his gaze and an apologetic smile, that he really isn’t such a bad guy. And his self-assessment mostly bears out: Dolbren is pleasant and affable, perhaps not proactive at avoiding conflict, but not fomenting it either. It isn’t that he changes in moments of combat, either; Dolbren is willing to do what needs to be done, and he clearly enjoys combat, but he isn’t out to cause pain. Dolbren reconciles these things in a couple of ways. The first is that Dolbren is just good at fighting, with natural athletic talents well-suited to the sport of combat. The second is that Dolbren has belief. His personal philosophy, which he thinks of in terms approaching religion, is centred around the inherent value of revelation. This intersects most boldly with his life in his belief that war is essentially good. In its life-or-death severity war insists that those who participate hold nothing back if they wish to survive. For this reason he also mostly eschews sanctioned arena-style combat: an opponent who isn’t fighting to survive neither reveals as much about themselves nor forces Dolbren to be so open about himself. Dolbren is not much of an evangelist of this creed, though he is convinced he has discovered the true principle by which the universe operates. History: Dolbren is open about his unremarkable early life. He built his strength as a youth farming in Po-Wahi, a time which is still evident in his respect and fondness for the ornery forthrightness of the Mahi. Farming and shepherding being both highly solitary (and to Dolbren highly unsatisfying) he developed a taste for inward contemplation, seeking meaning in his life. This philosophical orientation led to him finding what he believed to be a greater purpose, upon becoming one of the scores of forced Toa created following the First Toa’s failure. Thereafter, Dolbren sought to propagate the same kind of revealing of inner truth which he himself underwent when he was shown to be greater than an ordinary Matoran. This has mostly taken the form of working as a hired sword, as Dolbren is perfectly happy to combine his talents with his beliefs. In recent days he ended up in the Legacy-controlled Ko-Koro, but he opted not to go down with that particular ship. Nothing much would have been revealed by him fighting an impossible battle and likely being captured or dying in the attempt, he reasoned. Instead, he slipped out among the refugees. He has since continued around the island no differently than before. Weaknesses: Sword to a Gunfight: Dolbren uses melee weapons exclusively, and his power over gravity does not effectively cover this deficiency. Unlike many elements, gravity does not give him access to ranged bolts of elemental power, and the focus over time required to make best use of its capabilities at range leaves him only more vulnerable to an effective ranged fighter. His style of defence, focusing on dodging and playing with melee range, does him no favours in this area either. Bellicose: It isn't hard to draw Dolbren into a fight. He likes fighting, and he has a philosophical interest in testing himself and others. Directed in the right way, he can be manipulated. If his opponent was planning on this, he would easily walk into a trap. Name: Gonrae (GONE-ray) Species: Le-Matoran Gender: Male presentation, he/him pronouns Mask: Powerless, shaped like a Kanohi Kakama, Great Mask of Speed Appearance: Gonrae is taller than the average Le-Matoran, a fact both made apparent and accentuated by his habitually straight-backed posture. He combines this with a more sedentary lifestyle than many of his fellows, resulting in a build that approaches portly. Atop his natural armour, a blend of light greens and deep emeralds, Gonrae wears a pocket-lined bandolier of thick brown cloth. His mask is of the standard form for a Kakama, but he often attaches a pair of concave glass lenses to it with small magnets. These lenses go some way towards ameliorating his nearsightedness. Equipment: The pockets of Gonrae’s bandolier are filled with drafting tools, pencils, and notebooks. These materials are necessary to his preferred methods of working; at all times, and often outdoors. He also places his corrective lenses in a pocket when they are not required. Powers and Abilities: Gonrae is an accomplished technician and engineer. He can visualize in his mind’s eye how machines work with ease, and in great detail. He has a fairly intuitive sense of how various machines might be improved. He is capable of making his designs real, tinkering and building, though he prefers to leave that part to other people. Personality and Traits: Gonrae is at once both feckless dreamer and compulsive worker. This contradiction in his nature resolves to drive him to toil tirelessly on one project, then just as soon flit on to the next thing. This has not compromised his career as an engineer, though it is easy to get the impression that his lack of focus may keep him from reaching his potential. Nevertheless, Gonrae is a shrewd and creative designer. His intelligence serves him well in other areas of his life, though his flightiness remains always. He is not much of a big picture thinker, and can be easily talked around to largely accept another’s perspective while still remaining sufficiently unconvinced that the next perspective will sway him just as well. Gonrae is stubborn on his position only in questions of design, otherwise sharing a version of the easygoing mien stereotypically associated with his Le-Matoran brethren. History: Gonrae’s first dream was a dream of flight. Like many a youth in Le-Koro, he looked with wonder to the pilots of the Gukko Force as they flew above the treetops. However, despite his starry-eyed admiration of them, Gonrae was categorically ill-suited to the life of a soldier. Both his eyesight and his temperment made him a poor fit for aerial combat and regimented living. Dimly aware that such a path was beyond his capabilities, Gonrae instead took easily to a life of indolent leisure. He persisted in this pursuit for some time, until as a lark he designed some improvements to a well-traveled bridge in the treetop Koro. Though his design seemed quite obvious to Gonrae, a more senior engineer to whom he showed it deemed it rather innovative. Thus Gonrae began to work as one of Le-Koro’s corps of civic engineers, and thus he remains. He insists that engineering is just something to do to stave off boredom, but his experience and skill is by now evident. Weaknesses: You just can’t do / things your body wasn’t meant to: Not only does he have the physical limits of a Matoran, his capabilities are decidedly below average. He is not a fighter, and it is hard to imagine that he ever could be. Zakaz: Name: Shind Qorl Larin Species: Fa-Lesterin Gender: Male presentation, he/him pronouns Appearance: Typically Lesterin in size and build, Qorl is thin and weather-worn. However, his condition is not due to being used to hardship: his clothing was obviously once fashionable and expensive, and similarly his physique is that of one who has recently been forced to give up a life of some luxury. Qorl is athletic, though more by necessity than natural inclination. He habitually stares into the middle distance, but is quick to give both a raised eyebrow and a quizzical squint. Equipment: Qorl carries what he needs to survive, as he has spent his time on Zakaz-proper travelling with bands of his fellow Lesterin, be they merchants or bandits. With this in mind, he wears a worn rucksack. Among other items, the rucksack carries a waterskin, a coil of rope 10 bio in length, and a collapsible metal pole which measures two bio at full extension. Qorl wears a finely-wrought sabre at his hip, of the typical Lesterin naval style. Technological items (and, if Foreign Tech, which staff member approved the item): A Najin-powered revolver, weathered but kept in fine working order. (standard stuff) Tero-Podos or Demon’s Feet: A pair of sandals with hobnailed soles, composed of antique and unrecognizable hides. Ancient Lesterin sorcery was used in their making, and it can be activated by tracing a certain rune across the side of the sandal. Once activated, the sandals cause the wearer to sink into solid matter they come in contact with, as if it were a slow-flowing fluid. No other properties of that matter are altered. If the wearer stands still, they will begin to sink into the ground. By moving they are able to stay on the surface. The malleability of matter under this power allows the wearer to climb sheer surfaces or push through walls. Matter displaced in this way returns to its original shape immediately when the wearer of the sandals is no longer in direct contact with it. As the sandals do not otherwise change the properties of matter, the wearer cannot breathe if fully immersed. When the wearer deactivates the sandals, any matter they are in direct contact with remains affected until they are no longer in direct contact with it. (approved by Tyler) Powers and Abilities: Like all Lesterin, Qorl’s elemental powers manifest only passively. He has a strong internal compass, and is unusually resistant to magnetic pulls. Personality and Traits: A manner typically associated with high breeding on Seprilli, recently faced with substantially changed material conditions. Such is not an inaccurate assessment of Shind Qorl. However, he is not simply that. Zakaz has awakened the drive in him, not long ago sleeping under the persona of a sybarite. If what the Skakdi creation myth says is true, then much of his people’s lost knowledge lies sleeping on Zakaz. Qorl wonders if he might be the one to discover it. These are his dreams, but he is also faced with necessities. It is not easy to survive on Zakaz, especially not as a free Lesterin. And Qorl has retained the pride ingrained in him by his upbringing; he does not prefer enslavement to death. He is amenable to certain other compromises, however. In his relatively short time on Zakaz he has been both merchant and bandit, and found his scruples could adapt to either. History: Qorl is an exile from an outcast people, but it was not always so. Qorl was once a disappointing younger son to a councillor in the Assembly. His family counted many wildly successful merchants among their ancestors, and remained wealthy in the present era of Seprillian social marginalization. Despite this, Qorl was entirely uninterested in perpetuating his family’s way of life. Instead, he passed his time in idle pleasure-seeking. His days were spent in playing games and practical jokes and spending his ample wealth, and his nights were spent in the beds of other wealthy merchants’ scions. This made him a disappointment. And then, something happened that made him an exile. Perhaps it was a jape gone too far, or perhaps it was revenge for a perceived insult. Qorl does not speak of it, and his countenance grows dark if he thinks of it at all. Whatever happened, someone ended up dead. Qorl would do anything to not face the judgement of his family and his people. Even go to Zakaz. He snuck aboard a merchant vessel bound for Zarrava, and slipped out at the destination. There, he became anonymous. Though remaining a free Lesterin on Zakaz was not easy, he made do. He plied his trade as a hired hand on merchant caravans. He worked the route between Zarrava and Khy;Barr, because at least both ends were places where he did not fear enslavement. When times were hard, his adequate skill with blade and pistol found him working on the occasional bandit raid or pirate crew. He had left Seprilli so as not to face up to the law, and he would do whatever he had to do on Zakaz to remain unfettered. Weaknesses: Dog among wolves: Qorl can handle himself well enough. He has been forced to learn how to do so very quickly. And yet, he is no natural-born fighter. He cannot count himself among the best warriors of his own people, not to mention his Skakdi neighbours with whom he now lives in relatively close quarters. Pride goeth: Qorl is proud. Though this can manifest as motivating magnanimity, it is also a hubris that leads him beyond his capabilities. Furthermore, it can be taken advantage of. To him, insults ought to be answered in kind and challenges met.

That's great, thanks again for the help!

This is very helpful, thanks all! Just a few more: Have there been any major events since the arrival of the Dasakan fleet at Mata Nui? I understand a large part of the Dasakan population remains on Kentoku -- is life there somewhat similar to life on Mata Nui during the height of Makuta's power, insofar as it isn't safe outside of major population centres? As well, I see that the starter topic says making an open for interaction post is a good way to get started -- would you still say that is the case? I ask mostly because it seems like the player population was larger at that point, and I imagine that could affect this question.

Alright cool then, I've got a couple things I'm interested in setting wise off the bat. I realize this kind of stuff can be a little bit up to individual interpretation in forum RPGs but I would be interested to hear what the prevailing thoughts are on some of it. By the same token, if I'm asking for too much specificity here let me know lol. So right off the bat: What does religion look like on Mata Nui? I've seen some mention in character profiles of priests of Mata Nui -- how organized or disparate are those kinds of institutions in this setting? Are the three virtues part of that structure, and does the average person on Mata Nui think of them as significant in their life? It seems like the population of Mata Nui is much larger than in other sources, am I right in thinking the major Koros should be thought of as more like cities than the villages they appeared to be in the MNOG, for example? Do any smaller forms of settlement support populations outside the major Koros, are there the equivalents of rest stops along roads or hamlets or some equivalent? I realize that kind of settlement didn't make sense when Makuta had a strong presence on the island, but did that kind of thing pop up in the time that he seemed gone forever? Perhaps this is written down somewhere and I missed it, but how much time has passed in game since the beginning of play? There's good information on how Skakdi think of Lesterin, but how are Lesterin seen in Matoran society? As well, did Seprilli Lesterin have any contact with the Kentoku Archipelago before Kentoku had major contact with Mata Nui? Have the Piraka been absent since the retaking of Ko-Koro from the Piraka-Legacy Alliance?

Hey, I'm interested in getting involved -- I've read through the story so far posts and the descriptions in the locations topics so I feel like I have a decent idea of the broad strokes, but I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to talk about some more conceptual stuff before I really get into it. Perhaps over PM or somesuch, I don't want to clog up the discussion topic if I don't have to. Thanks!