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The White Tower of Alesia |
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The White Tower of Alesia
The White Tower was formed approximately a thousand years ago, 3E30106. The people of Earth, when they came to Alesia, had discovered a means to widen the mind to be smarter and more adept at what they did. When they came to Alesia, however, an undiscovered source made those “opened minds” capable of something akin to telepathy and telekinesis. It was over the course of the colonization that those with Talent – as it was called – were treated a bit better than others due to their ability to sense lies and deceit, to guess at the intentions of others at a glance. Mediators and truthsayers at first, they soon became revered after several found their abilities stuck with one thing or another. The White Tower was forged, the tallest structure on Alesia. A single tower, constructed by the minds of its occupants alone, was constructed from a single source of rock. A seamless structure of elegance and enrichment, it embodied everything those with Talent exemplified.
Soon, after investigation, Affinity’s were discovered and put into separate groups: Fire, to manipulate flames to produce light, to set aflame, or to douse flames; Water, to heal and to alter, to move water or manipulate anything liquid; Earth, to construct buildings or move them, to crush or sense where someone is as long as they stood on the ground; Air, to feel the emotions of another, to clear the air or to fly through it; Metal, the ability to know the metal one holds to modify it to be better or less, peerless swordsman due to their ability to move their steel to whatever location they wish; Wood, to know plants and trees, peerless archers due to their ability to deflect enemy arrows with a whim or make their own hit their target dead on, or – like many others – to duplicate one arrow into hundreds; and Life, the ability to understand and be understand by all walks of life, to know what one feels and to simply understand. Many of those with this Affinity are known for having animal companions who are gifted with speech and heightened intelligence. They understand animals and animals understand them.
A rank structure was devised into three Lesser Ranks: Gifted, the induction of young men and women who have just come to their Talents and have yet to be sorted into an Affinity; Talented, those with Warden’s and have been put into their Affinity; and Ascended, the last rank anyone can achieve before reaching Master level in their Affinity. It takes some up to a decade – or even two – to reach Ascended. Once there, through study and advancement in their abilities they may reach Master level, or the Greater Ranks: Master, the first of the Greater Ranks in which, when reached, means the Talented has achieved the greatest they could in their Affinity; the second Rank is that of High Title, Title being the Affinity they are in. Ex, the High Flame John Smith., or High Wind Jane Smith. For Metal and Wood, High Steel or High Ranger. For Life, High Druid or High Healer depending on the field they take in their Affinity. The last Rank is that of Councilman/Councilwoman. The Gray Council is the board of leaders that run the Tower, the most powerful in their Affinity’s and are thus those seen when a Gifted is sorted into their Affinity.
When one becomes part of the White Tower, they are sometimes regarded as someone above the rank of Lord or Lady, simply because of what they do and how they do it. Circlets made of silver and set with a gemstone that belongs to their Affinity is set over their foreheads to help channel their powers and to keep them in check. Besides those in Metal, Wood, or Life, the majority of the Talented wear robes and hold staffs depending on their affinity: Red robes with gold embroidery for Fire with a black staff, a hovering ball of fire over its tip; Blue robes with silver embroidery for Water with a white staff, an orb of glass that appears to ripple like actual water; Green robes with bronze or gold embroidery for Earth with what is normally a brown staff, forged by their own hands with the wood of a sacred tree within the Tower’s garden, usually with a glowing gem whose color is dependent on the holders mood hovering over the tip; White robes with silver embroidery for Air, a staff made of silver a glowing gem hovering over its tip, dependent on the persons emotions. For Metal, usually dark gray or black robes with either a single sword – forged by their own hands when reaching Talented – or a large collection of other bladed items. For Wood, green or brown robes – though Metal and Wood normally don’t wear robes, just dark clothing for their daily exercises outside – with a large quiver of arrows – made by their own hands – and a bow – made again by their own hands. For Life, they wear gray or white robes that are usually plain, along with their animal Companion – usually an animal still in its infancy so when it grows it becomes accustomed to its Companion, usually some type of pack or family animal. Tigers, lions, wolves, foxes, the like. Sometimes they are birds or some type of rodent. Along with their Affinity, every Talented has the normal ability to force things to move with his mind or understand another’s thoughts, though can only talk mentally to another Talented. When Ascended is reached, the person may customize their appearance according to their tastes. Gifted normally wear the apprentice robes of either cyan or indigo.
Most do not survive the Three Trials, the first being Talented reaching Ascension, the process in which they become Ascended. They must pass a test to show they deserve that rank, something many don’t reach despite best efforts. The second Trial is called Mastery, from Ascended to Master rank. Many Ascended have died trying to reach Master. All the trial wants is for you to survive. If you live, you become a Master. The last is that for Master to become a High Lord or Lady, testing them on their knowledge of their Affinity and their other natural powers. Currently, the Advisers for most of the nobility are Ascended, being naturally able to tell when someone is lying or guess at their intentions, thus why they make such good bodyguards.
On the topic of bodyguards, Wardens are those young men and women chosen from the places the Tower visits when the Search starts. Those they find with a touch of Talent, naturally, get sent to the Tower. There, they are tested on which Affinity they might have. If they have no Affinity, yet still have Talent, they are normally put into the ranks of the Wardens. There they are trained to be the best warriors alongside those of the famed Ghost Legions of the Farlen. Over the course of their training, they are given the Five Tasks: The First Task is to forge a sword. They must either buy the ore themselves, mine for it, or get some from the Master Warden himself. The last option must be won in a duel, not to the death, but to whomever falls first. The best ore available - usually Clamoaric - is given to the winner of the duel. After they acquire the ore, they learn to forge. They are given two years to learn how to forge a sword.
Their first sword, while never the greatest, is what gets them to the Second Task: Learn to use it. They train for years with their swords until they earn the right to have it forged for them by the Master Smith of House Clamoar, the finest smith in the land. There, he forges them a blade that has an insignia on it that he finds best suits them. Some say he has a small Affinity for Metal despite not being in the Tower. However it is, he forged them the best blade any money can afford.
The Third Task is to learn the trade of a Warden: To be silent, to be a shadow, to track like a master, to fight off a horde of enemies, to traverse places no other would go, and to come back - if not in perfect health, most just come back wounded or such. The Third Task takes the longest, sending them out into the world. It is before this Task that they are bonded with a Talented and sent off to their Great Adventure. The Talented is usually given about a month to become accustomed with the bond, seeing through their Warden's eyes as he/she goes about their Adventure.
After that Task is finished, the Fourth Task is to achieve a state of mind that is akin to supreme knowledge. A trial of mental games is played on them to test their abilities in tactics, strategy, and raw thinking abilities. The Fourth is sometimes the easiest, the Final Task being that of beating their Master. If it is accomplished, they become the Master Warden and train others. Since it is most likely not to happen, once the Master Warden decides it is enough and sees the Warden has done all he can, he then graduates into a fully fledged Warden and sent off into the world to protect their Bonded.
Lord Arimor Darkheart · Sun Mar 06, 2011 @ 10:45pm · 0 Comments |
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