Character Overview, addressing major plot beats and personality features of a character to give someone an idea of this character's overall deal (~500 words).

While Lady Valfreyja Naja Aufastri was always a well-liked and respected member of the court, there had never been any hope for her as a political player, simply as a matter of succession. As the niece of some relative of the ruling monarch, she had precisely enough importance to be adored and pampered and married off to a neighboring prince in hopes of tying up a political alliance, neat and tidy, and no more than that at all. Then Askajord trounced Einnheimr in a war they spent vying over her small and hopeless home of Favollr's precious metals, only to be immediately wiped off the map by an angry dragon, leaving the remnants of Favollr in a murky political gray area—one Lady Valfreyja is determined to stand out clearly from.

Naja (nah-hah, as said in the eastern lands her father came from, and not the local nay-ah—and so only those close enough to trust are permitted to say the name) is a cunning chessmaster, well aware that the rest of the nobility gives her little consideration, and only annoyed enough by it to turn it into spite to use to her advantage. Though well-known and loved by the common people for her and her husband's consideration for them in the aftermath of a war that was more like a curbstomp, her kindness comes from the knowledge that it's the best way for her to reach the power she's after, rather than a place of sincerity. Rather than wanting power for its sake, she vies for political autonomy, wanting to keep Favollr in its own court's hands rather than foreign influence, and revive and rebuild it. Her endgame is a genuinely noble one, but without warm intentions.

Ruthless, clever, and planning to play the long game, Naja allows herself kindness only for her family—her child, her husband, and the estranged sister he's finally brought home. Despite her primarily pragmatic nature and her personal willingness to get her hands dirty, she won't compromise their safety or reputation, even if it means doing things the hard way. Though Naja's risks are calculated, she's well aware that a misstep could lead to the rest of the royal clusterfuck descending upon her, but she makes every move planning to ensure her family has no part in the chance of her downfall.

But from the inside, a downfall seems less and less likely. The masses adore her and her beloved, especially after his latest quest to slay the dragon which ruined his old kingdom ended in success. Other nonhuman factions, frightened by the new reminder of draconic power, are responding to the novelty of her outreach for alliance with interest. The rest of the royal court, overwhelmed by the taint of foreign influence, bristles when she speaks, but is only now beginning to recognize her as a power. As a threat. And Lady Valfreyja Naja, a paradox of closed-lipped smiles and sharp eyes full of sun, is ready for it all.

Skills List, specifying the nature of a character's various abilities (example is ~500 words).

• Rue is a homunculus formed from clay, her master's blood, and a philosopher's stone, which inherently leaves her with some interesting features and functions:
  • Rue is completely inorganic and doesn't breathe, bleed, need to eat, produce waste, and so on. She has no vital points except for the philosopher's stone, located in her head. While she can go into a sort of temporary shutdown, she doesn't sleep, nor does she truly need to.
  • There's a seam around her neck where her head meets her body. Her choker covers it but otherwise serves no practical purpose to keep it attached. It can detach completely, or partially as if on a hinge, but this is difficult to do unless Rue is making a willing attempt.
  • While it's difficult to injure her, her injuries don't heal themselves. Injuries manifest as cracks or depressions as you'd see in a damaged clay foundation or pottery piece.
    • She can heal her injuries by consuming large quantities of clay or sand. The most efficient way to do this is by removing her head at the seam and dumping it down her neck. It's exactly as horifying as it sounds! The self-repair process only takes seconds from there.
• As an alchemist, Rue is able to perform magical tasks through combining both mundane and supernatural ingredients. She can transmute substances into others (the classic case of lead into gold), but she can also create potions and medicines with widely varied effects, even able to imitate substances from the inaccessible fae realm. She can also use her transmutation skills to enchant mundane items, giving them magical properties from good luck charms to manufactured fae curses. With the right ingredients, Rue can (and has been able to) even create life—or at least a facisimile of it.
  • The nature and full extent of Rue's alchemical capabilities is purposefully left vague, as the system she's played in will allow just about anything if you can come up with a creative enough justification for it.
• With the influence of the magic that gives her life, Rue can communicate with manmade machines and they can understand her as though they were sapient humans. While she cannot understand them in language, they're able to act in return as though with wills of their own. Her use of this ability does not guarantee they will help, or even like her.
• Various practical skills necessary to run a household; sewing, household maintenance, repair, etc.
• Rue is freakishly physically strong. This ensured she could help her master with carrying large amounts of supplies as needed, as well as making her more capable of protecting him and his work. These days, she just uses her strength to move furniture by lifting entire couches up over her head, mostly.
• Rue has an extensive wealth of medical knowledge. This has largely been a matter of needing to assist in dealing with Belial's enemies; the more you know about how the human body works, the more you can do to disrupt it cleanly and efficiently. Additionally, Rue knows how to clean a crime scene. At the same time, alchemy was originally a medical science; Rue can brew healing tinctures and treat wounds and diseases, even and especially those that are magical in nature, or considered incurable.

Plot Pitch, a brief, dramatic introduction to a plot and world to supply context and provoke intrigue (~300 words).

For as long as we have had memory and the language with which to preserve it, we have lived in the treetops. branches bound together over decades upon decades and bridges constructed with wood and ropes let the wingless among us travel from one ancient tree to the next ,to the homes and buildings constructed against their sides and between their yearning branches and inside their hollowed cores. Our magic protects us from fire and falls, keeps water pure and flowing, keeps us alive, keeps us safe. We live close to the sky and sun and stars, surrounded by the air and the green. We do not descend. The land below is tainted, heavy with the same dark miasma that sent our ancestors clawing upwards like drowners struggling out of the sea. We offer no protection nor passage. There is only darkness below.

And so if the people discover the rot growing inside the ancient Elder Oak, they will panic. Our archivists can find no record of this, our clerics can cast no cure. If we cannot beat the infection back, if it spreads, if our city falls, we have nowhere else to go. We are safe from the darkness here. We have to believe this.

We are left with no other choice than to ask this of you: descend into the darkness. Follow the Elder Oak to its roots. Find the source of the rot so we may mend it. The woods below will not be your friends. Our ancient ancestors took to the treetops for a reason. We don't continue their ways on a whim. You will have your strength, and our prayers—and little else. The Below is so ancient as to be unknowable. We can offer no more than that.

Major Locations Overview, intended to highlight the major points of important areas to establish context and act as a cheat sheet (~600 words)

Ervend
The holy northern mountain kingdom. The gods are said to have founded Valaraes when they traveled across the icy sea Ervend borders and arrived in what would become this kingdom. By and large, it boasts a harsh climate which makes it difficult to live in except in the villages at the mountains’ bases, but even they suffer from short springs and frequent snow. Many monasteries are carved into the mountainsides; the gods are said to reside at the mountains’ peaks, but only, of course, the ones too high for any climber to safely reach.

The High Priestess Pannova rules over the kingdom and is said to be an oracle of the gods, but her orders generally go through her closest advisors and council representatives. It’s said that none outside the palace have seen her face.

Knod
The southern desert kingdom. Nearer its northern border, the weather remains pleasantly warm, making it one of the most densely-populated parts of Valaraes. The further south one travels, though, the harsher the climate becomes, to the extent that most travel to the neighboring continent at the southern border is done by boat, going the long way around to the kinder parts of the foreign kingdom.

The elderly queen Zilpah rules the kingdom alone, and is known to be as harsh as the sands themselves.

Talgon
The western kingdom of light. The radiant sun shines especially brightly upon the parts of the kingdom where its most bustling cities are established, and what a sight to see they are, often built with stained glass and glittering surfaces. They only make the terrible class disparity of the kingdom that much more apparent, however; outside of these beautiful patches of long days, villages are weak and decrepit. Though not especially known for its military knight, Talgon boasts a famous pegasus knight squadron.

The young king Izachar has recently ascended the throne, but something is amiss: Out of nowhere, Talgon has closed its borders; nobody goes in or out. The Talgonian councilmen have abruptly stopped coming to council sessions, and no messengers have been sent forth with any explanation.

Sedar
The eastern kingdom of darkness. Much of this kingdom is made of deep forests, foliage thick enough to keep the woods impenetrably black. Regardless, these are a happy people, well taken care of by their rich farmland. Though people from many parts of this kingdom have a reputation for being hicks or bumpkins, they are well provided for and seem to care little for the opinions of outsiders—in part because the landscape tends to make travel out as difficult as travel in. It’s said that far to the east near the bordering ocean is a tribe of draconic demigods, but outings that way result in more corpses than answers. Often the bodies of foolhardy travelers are never retrieved.

The married kings David and Jonathan rule the kingdom together, often advising a local senate.

Chadea
The central kingdom. The council meetings occur here; representatives from each kingdom take time to arrange trade, travel, and assistance. Political arrangements are discussed and turmoil in one kingdom is settled as if it is the business of them all. The kingdom is also well known for its magic academy; mages and scholars come from far and wide across Valaraes to improve their skills and knowledge.

While the princess Vira technically rules the kingdom, she is largely a figurehead; her people adore her, but it may be that she isn’t permitted to leave the kingdom’s borders…

• POINT OF VIEW: Unknown
• RATING: Unknown
• GENRE: Unknown
• This is an excerpt. The full version can be found here.

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