OOC/Lore/Roleplay: Mursaat

Taking some time to talk about the Mursaat, beings that have captured my attention since shortly after starting to play Guild Wars 2. I was never a player of the orgiginal game and part of me wishes I had been. Yet sadly my attention span was spent on simpler things...

Since learning about them I've wanted to be involved with them to a degree, upon making a human and doing a fair bit of research behind them I found that they are linked to Tyria's history through the White Mantle, a cult that worshiped the Mursaat.

"The Mursaat were discovered in a 'dense forest' by the Krytan exile Saul D'Alessio shortly after the end of the Guild Wars. When Saul found the Mursaat, he was on the brink of death and saw the Mursaat as godlike creatures. The Mursaat saved him and Saul returned to Kryta to proclaim them as his gods, under the name of the Unseen Ones, forwarding this cause through the formation of the White Mantle."

Mursaat Image found on the Guild Wars Wikki

Though Guild Wars 2 doesn't really elaborate on the history of the Mursaat and most of this can be found in the expansion for the first game (Prophecies), it does start off with arising problems and later on linking it back to the White Mantle in which if you play human will deal with in your story arc. As far as anyone is aware the Mursaat are long gone and are left to the history books.

Outside of the lore aspect I am personally led to believe that the Mursaat will have a strong return to Guild Wars 2 down the road, taking a look into some of the abilities that they had in the original game the major ability that I noted was one called "Agony". 

Agony a painful ability that takes large percentages of your health way in ticks can't be avoided unless you have Agony Resit, which in turn will reduce the percentage of damage you take. One which was re-introduced with the scalable dungeon called Fractals of the Mist. An excellent random dungeon run that Agony scales the higher you go, forcing you to require more Agony Resist. Something my personal guess will be needed upon the opening of the Ring of Fire. As players get used to Agony in Fractals of the Mist it's still not required in any other part of the game as of yet, but making it so your daily tokens are eligible to purchase Agony Resist gear is what I would consider a foreshadow. One I am hoping and waiting for.

As far as Roleplay goes with the Mursaat and White Mantle cults it's really hard to say where it's at. Because it is such a taboo-ish cult to be apart of here in Tyria most stay quiet and rather underground (as most cults really should...). I've come across a few roleplayers who desire to get White Mantle roleplay underway and I would love to help get them started which leads me to a guild created in December called the "Mursaat Syndicate [MuSy]" a guild me and friends created that started out really well and as time went on the players stopped playing, not because they wanted too - but more so simply due to real life; something I feel a lot of initial Guild Wars 2 players have needed to do seeing as you are not required to pay for it after initial purchase which means there is no pressure to play.

I'm not sure where I'm going with the mention of MuSy other than I'd like to find more groups who desire White Mantle and Mursaat exposure. I think it's fairly clear that they will be involved again in the future and the lore behind them makes them interesting target group to work with as you can do so much without breaking the lore behind them.

So here's hoping to see more about the Mursaat in both in character events and out of character events pretaining to the overal storylines in Guild Wars 2!

Cheers!

~Mara~

Roleplay/OOC: Iron Parrillian's Armor - Part 1

So this took a bit longer to get out than I intended for two reasons:

1. Waiting on Information from other players to fine tune
2. Creating an image reflecting a the Q.I. Labs GUI (Graphical User Interface)
3. Easter... 

With that said, I still have a whole post to the installation of his armor system to write up but refer to the first point as to why this is so delayed.

This was a rather neat project to work on as it's not souly about my characters, in fact my character was not really present for much more than the installation. I present to you Iron Parrillian, a Charr soldier from the Iron Legion who was in dire need of upgrades for his old prosthesis , after long discussions in character with Abranka; leader of Q.I. Labs they colaberated and developed an intriguing system working with energies stored in crystals from the Mists.

Though my personal involvement with the installation process and developing the systems was rather minimal I had taken a strong interest in the character and the mechanics that were behind him. After talking to the players to get some more details out of them I decided to make a GUI of what one might see in the Q.I. Lab monitors. This was the rest of the time that I spent slacking working to get this set up - I am rather fond of how it turned out.

Link to Deviant Art Image

I am hoping the next post will have the details of how the installation process went, again if it dosn't happen for next post please refer to the top of this post to reason number 1 as to why this was late to begin with!

Hope you all had a great Easter/Holiday over the weekend, and more to come (hopefully) by the week's end.

~Mara~

Roleplay/OOC: The Blacklung Plague

Though there has been some time since the start of this epidemic, I find myself constantly amused with how far this Meta Plot has gone. Originally started by dangeraaron10 on the GW2RP Forums (Post found here: BLACKLUNG PLAGUE ) it's spread through Tarnished Coast well... Like a Plague. Though I am apart of this meta plot myself in minor ways and not apart of the heros who plan on taking out the infamous Dr. Okeer for this plague stunt, I can't help but smile and love the community of Tarnished Coast for partaking in such a meta plot. In past experiences I've witnessed communities simply ignoring and continuing on with their day-to-day drull routine. This has given that drull some spice, and some fear.

I don't expect this plague to last forever, perhaps small relapses after the protagonist is dead (or simply removed) - but for anyone interested in following some of his neferious updates you can head over to his GW2RP profile here: LINK! There  you can find updates on plague bomb hits and any other tid-bits you are curious about it.

Though I am sure there are several places who have managed to revert the Plague back to stage one in one fashion or another - I remind anyone who reads this and is interested on being infected by this dastardly plague - that Q.I. Labs - Run by Abranka, has managed to find a syrum which reverts the plauge back to stage one for a limited time. With the assistance of the Tyrian Apple Company, we've managed to let this be known a bit as well as other helpful parties in our roleplay adventures, as well as the C.H.A.T.T. network.

There has been a Priory Update as followed posted on the Blacklung Thread:

PRIORY UPDATE

"It is to out deepest regret that here at the Durmand Priory we must update you with the gravest of news.

We have been working around the clock with the provided sample of the cure in hopes to figure out how to produce the antibiotic to cure the plague. Our progress slowed when we couldn't trace how the cure was formed. We were getting closer, but alas, have been forced to come to a screeching halt. Our lab was destroyed.

We are not sure how the chemicals on the other side of the lab were tampered with. Most of our scientists have made the cure top priority and due to this, we had placed other projects on halt. Alas, in the explosion, the cure was lost (along with group paper work). Some of us had personal journals on our findings, and we're currently placing our notes together in hopes that we can at least explore different routes of knowledge. Yet, without the cure, we cannot produce any antibiotics.

We are all deeply discouraged by the turn of events that happened, and a full investigation of the explosion is underway. 

Celestial Seer, Mender of the Grove, Réalta."

To further this, the Krytan Herald has been adding to this fear and cling of hope for a cure by making postings. The writers of the Krytan Herald have done a marvelous job of keeping members of Tyria updated on what exactly is going on. Below you'll be able to find the updates from the Krytan Herald from start to current following the Plague.

 Enjoy the Plague all! Try not to get infected!

~Mara~

~~~~~ [ KRYTAN HERALD IMAGES ] ~~~~~

OOC: Update

Minor update to the TO DO list as far as what to expect on Speechless.

I've added and scratched out some things on my list to date. More so adding more than I probably should.

TO DO:

• Finish any roaming story arcs. - Ongoing
• Iron's Armor (RP)
• Bloodbane - Wide Spread Meta Plot
• Personal thoughts on it (OOC)
• Forum talk (OOC)

DONE:

• Introduce the Q.I. Labs
• C.H.A.T.T. System
• Rumors of Plague Bombs in Divinity's Reach
• The Temporary Cure
• Dr. Okeer
• Any linking information otherwise

• [Updated April 10, 2013] Mursaat and White Mantle Lore
• Sudden Interest on White Mantle and Mursaat (That I've noticed)
• OOC/RP Introduction of The Mursaat Syndicate [MuSy]

 
My goal at this point is to have two updates posted by Saturday at this point. So stay tuned!

Roleplay: C.H.A.T.T.

A crisp, newly printed flyer hangs just a touch off center in the store window. Bright colors splash and play like a fountain spraying in all directions behind an abstracted scene of Humans, Charr, Sylvari, Norn and Asurans smiling into the soft glow of a little book-sized tablet each of them holds.

Below this colorful scene are words printed in a soft gold-toned leaf-like font:

'Would you like to C.H.A.T.T with me? The Chat Hyper Action Transport Transmitter will let you talk to friends, family, loved ones and even comrades in arms on the battlefront quickly, easily and efficiently.

Sold only at the finest retailers: C.H.A.T.T -- Be Heard.' 

 Link to the C.H.A.T.T. Thread

~~~ [RP] ~~~ 

Maranari had been wandering about Lion's Arch, she needed out of the Lab. Things had become rather hectic with Iron getting his new armor and she wanted to stay out of the way while they discussed things that was well over her head. It's not that she wasn't interested it was she simply didn't understand this new bond to a Charr that Abranka had found.

It was about noon as she was heading over to the beach to enjoy the sand between her toes and the sound of the water, one of her favorite places. She could hear other residents of Lion's Arch chatting happily and a few children running around throwing buckets of water at each other. This made her smile as it seemed to be simple pleasures that made her really happy. 

While heading east along the beach she nearly stepped on some flat black device a bit smaller than the height and width of a book, yet only a centimeter or two thick. She set her staff in the sand that she had been using as a walking stick bending over to pick it up and dust off the sand from it. Looking at it she turned it over not seeing any initials or name on it as it started to make pinging sounds which startled her. Turning it over she saw messages on the screen.

It seemed to be a conversation happening live, tags of names beside each message as she looked at the device she pressed the screen as a little window poped up saying "Type your message here!" she looked about once more hoping someone would come back for the device as she typed into the box.

???: "Hello? I found this device..." 

Maranari blinked looking at the device as it pinged and a reply to her message..

Etainne Deneuve: "My little C.H.A.T.T. is beeping, saying there are new connections! Welcome, whoever you are!"

???: "Thank you, the C.H.A.T.T.? Is this what this device is? It was laying here in the open has someone lost theirs?"

Etainne Deneuve: "Possibly. Either way, it's yours now."

???: "How many out there have these intriguing devices?"


Etainne Deneuve: "I'm not sure!"

Spokko: "By my current count, 66. Likely more that use it for personal use and are set to private, however."

With that Maranari went silent recognizing the last name of the person who replied. She looked about once more to make sure nobody had come back for the device as she tucked it away into her bag picking up her staff again continuing to walk along the beach in thought. She would sit down in a secluded place to change the settings on the device - something poked at her that someone might come looking for it, but whomever this Etainne Deneuve was on the C.H.A.T.T. was right, in a way - it was her's now... Right?

 Graphic I created for the C.H.A.T.T. device. Enjoy!

Roleplay: Q.I. Labs - The Black Lung Plague - Part 1

"Innovative Ideological In-genuine Industries. I.I.I.I."

Q.I. Labs, also known as Quadruple I Laboratories is headed by the brilliant Asuran field medic Abranka. Working on Biotic, Artificial Limbs and Pharmacology the small Krewe running the lab keeps rather busy working hard to find efficient solutions to current medical problems. Though the lab is not currently situated for generic research or neuroscience the possibility of expanding is a possibility and may be considered down the road.

~~~ [RP] ~~~

 

The console lit up green as the icons shifted forming an eye pattern as the room filled with a voice "Salutations Chief of Security Iron, Maranari and friend?"

The three stood listening to the voice speak to them; Maranari had invited Rorshak Voidwalker a human afflicted with a new plague named 'Black Lung' into the lab - he was self contained as to not release any of the disease to the public, as well as Iron Parrillian, a Charr warrior who had earned Abranka's trust to become their lead of security within the labs. 

Iron Parrillian looked towards the console and calmly, but cheerfully spoke to it giving it a wave "Oh, Hi Zed!"

Maranari had turned to where Iron was facing; she looked about waiting to see if the machine would do much else as she turned hearing the human speak "Rorshak Voidwalker, and you are Zed I presume?" he said to Zed - the voice that had greeted them. 

"That is the correct presumptions Rorshak. You have been listed in the file. Please excuse myself as I continue data collections." the green eye on the console faded as the icons resumed a purple hue and faded off to it's usual screen display.

After that moment, there was an angry scream as well as bashing against one of the containment fields was heard to the group's right - the Risen Quaggan that Rorshak had brought to the lab for Abranka to study had awoken shouting strange things, but most of the intimidation in the undead being was lost n account to what it used to be and it shouting "BOOOOOO!" periodically between angry mutterings and flailing against it's new prison. 

The three looked on until the Risen Quaggan had knocked it's self unconscious again after a rather hard hit to the wall with it's head in attempt to free it's self. They decided to go and talk while they waited for Abranka's return.

They retreated to a quieter area of the Lab, a place where Iron had claimed to be his own - blankets spread on the ground as well as a plush gryphon sitting upright against a pillow. Rorshak gave an odd look not to the setting but specifically towards the little gryphon plush as Iron moved to pick it up and sit where it once was.

"What is that?" Rorshak asked in a slight taunting tone.

"Griffy" Iron replied to him without hesitation nor embarrassment "I was given it by a kid in Holbrek." he spoke sitting down on the blanket getting comfortable.

Just as the three were getting comfortable they heard Zed's voice again as if speaking to someone. "Birth: The emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; the start of life as a physically separate being." this prompted the three to get up again and see who Zed was speaking too in the main lab.

[To Be Continued...]

Rough Start to 2013

Although I have had some delays in getting some posts out lately (and I can blame this on creativity block) I have somehow managed to get a drawing out recently of Maranari. I generally prefer her hair down as far as style goes. The Buns are cute but there is such a strange wild flare with the hair down it seems perfect for when she's in trouble or mad.

This creativity block hasn't stopped me from role-playing in the game it is simply in writing out the events that happened in a manner I would have deemed worthy of posting that I am stuck at.

A few things I would like to hopefully cover is finishing any loose ends on the stories I do have up, and adding how Maranari has entered the C.H.A.T.T. System as well as her meeting with an interesting Charr named Iron who has been welcomed into the Q.I. Lab.

What is Q.I. Lab you ask? Also something I wish to cover. I am thinking perhaps a checklist of events? Yes, that sounds lovely...

TO DO:

• Finish any roaming story arcs.
• Introduce the Q.I. Labs.
• Iron's Armor
• C.H.A.T.T. System
• Rumors of Plague Bombs in Divinity's Reach

For now that is it - I hope to have something smushed out by March 1st, hang in there with me!

~ Mara

Bonus Drawing from Xam, who is a wonderful artist and made this for Abranka and Mara. I love it!