Prelude:
You are seeing clearly, for the first time in a long while. You are seeing yourself as you are. A hollow thing that has allowed itself to be changed into that which it hates, in search of a vengeance impossible to get. Illidan is mad. You are mad.
But what would the kaldorei say when they saw him, tattooed with the markings of Illidan, their ancient enemy? They would not greet him as a friend and companion. They were more likely to take him for one of the demons they fought. He wondered if anyone he knew was riding with the army and if he was going to have to go out there and kill them. He was not sure what he would do if Illidan gave the order.
If we are to defeat the Burning Legion, it must be done in concert with everyone working together. Not just the Illidari standing alone. And not standing upon the smoking husk of a world that we have carelessly destroyed while trying to save it.
In purity, all things are born.
The eldest tree was once a tender sapling,
And even the stars were young.
O Lady Elune,
Weep tears so sweet
At the thought of the innocence
That once was ours.
It is mid-autumn. The purple flowers of Ashenvale will soon be curling and browning at their edges. You know this truly, though you are welcome there no more. You remember the leaf-strewn paths you once trod en route to Her moonwells as a sentinel, priestess, druid, brother, sister. Perhaps you have given up on Her ā perhaps you have not. Still, quietly, a pang hits you ā you long for your once-home.
The huntressā horn has sounded!
To battle, it calls us now,
To the defense of all we hold dear:
This city,
This well of the moon,
This soft song of the evening breeze.
It calls us,
And we answer.
War. Fat, clumsy green-skinned feet bash the grassy berms, and perhaps a skull or ten on their way through. You do not know this has happened yet, but you will soon. Word travels fast but not fast enough. It cannot travel faster than the flame, nor your cousinsā trickling blood, nor the poison through scout veins. Your people ā your people, still ā are being murdered.
The first have fallen,
The vanguard of this battle,
Preceding us
To the realm of wisps and shadows.
We yet have blood to shed.
Theirs. Ours.
It is the price
For time to save our shining city
Cradled in a tree of dreams and starlight.
They are not as strong as you are. Slender bodies crumble. Plate shatters, breaks. Bones crunch. Why did you make your sacrifice? Was it to stand idly in awe of this? Perhaps you have already left to help. You can see the shadowed forms of Deathstalkers, imperceptible to most, but not to you. You cut them down as you see them, but time is running out. You canāt buy enough of it. The baker and the blacksmith you find dead.
The tree has fire for leaves
And skeletons for branches
And its roots feed only upon
The ashes of the dead.
The winds that sigh through it now are the cries of the dying
And this song
This lament
For horrors unspeakable,
For cruelty unimaginable,
For this life and the beauty and the grace that once were
And shall never be again.
Your sharpened ears hear the crackle of timbre. Your strong nose too soon catches the smell of burning flesh. Screaming, screaming ā it is enough to make you retch.
You are a vengeful being. And they deserve vengeance.
Guild Information:
CONCEPT
The Adherents of Altruis are a guild for Demon Hunters hostile to the Horde. Supporters of Altruis and his ideals, these Demon Hunters shun the methods the Illidari employ and revile their approach to the use of fel magic.
Led externally by a Priestess, and internally by Nalyth Thornbrave, the Adherents of Altruis offer Demon Hunters a kind of redemption. The ultimate aim of the guild is to provide Demon Hunters with the skills necessary for re-integration into kaldorei culture ā though not strictly kaldorei society. While they will be trained to better control their impulses, urges, and use of fel magic ā they will also receive teachings in philosophy and given the opportunity to partake in private religious and cultural ceremonies among the Demon Hunter group.
Through this, it is believed that these willing and good-hearted Demon Hunters will not only have ultimately better health, but will also rekindle any lost faith in Elune ā all while fighting for their people. As such, it is only natural that through their actions and demeanours, they will also be more likely to be tolerated by others.
PRECEPTS
The Adherents of Altruis are governed by a strong set of precepts, created by Adjutant Thornbrave, that outline their beliefs and conditions of joining:
1. Denounce Illidan and his Illidari.
Demon Hunters joining the Adherents of Altruis will be expected to forsake Illidan and his eponymous Illidari. Illidanās role in pushing back the Legionās third invasion is acknowledged, but not redemptive; the Adherents of Altruis label him a genocidal power-mongerer, and all Illidari that hail him and his methods will be labelled the same. Items marked with Illidari iconography will be expected to be either discarded or destroyed: Illidari approaches to fel usage must be abandoned and scorned.
2. Scorn the consumption of magic and life.
Demon Hunters joining the Adherents of Altruis will be expected to adopt their alternative approach towards the usage of fel magic. Demon Hunters are inherently powerful without the consumption of excess; we are our own furnaces, with blood that oozes green. As such, the absorption and consumption of all life and all magic is strongly barred. As in accordance with the Balance that maintains our world, such practices will only be accepted in dire circumstances, where the taking of one life, or of magic, will prolong or save the life of another. In such cases, any souls that are used should be souls of either Horde or Demon.
3. Protect our kin and their allies at all costs.
Demon Hunters joining the Adherents of Altruis are expected to put the lives of their fellow kaldorei ā and their allies ā above their own in any circumstance. Demon Hunters are better equipped to take a blow than a sentinel or civilian is, and it is ultimately the former deaths of other kaldorei at the hands of demons that drove these Demon Hunters towards their sacrifices. In the eyes of the Adherents of Altruis, the Horde are no better than demons.
4. Forgo neutrality and war the Horde.
We cannot claim to protect our kin if we do nothing to stop those killing them. As such, it is required that all Demon Hunters joining the Adherents of Altruis reject neutrality. The Adherents of Altruis fight for their peoples first and foremost, sparing others from the loss that once drove them to their own respective fates. Demon Hunters within the Adherents of Altruis will be expected to wear something of the colour purple ā be it a broach or a cloak ā to represent their ultimate allegiance.
5. Honour Nature as we were born to do.
Demon Hunters joining the Adherents of Altruis are expected to pay special heed to their effects on the natural world. Fel is inherently chaotic, and will annihilate the life it crosses; felflame burns until it has run out of matter to feed on. As such, Demon Hunters are expected to use their abilities choicely and with care. It is no use fighting for our lands if we have killed it by the time that battle is done. As according to Altruis, āIf we are to defeat the Burning Legion, it must be doneā¦ [without] standing upon the smoking husk of a world that we have carelessly destroyed while trying to save itā. If we are to defeat the Horde and the blight they employ, so too must we seek to achieve the same.
As any other kaldorei would be punished or judged for severe violations of these precepts, so too will the Demon Hunters within this guild. Those who consistently fail to adhere to these precepts will be deemed inadequately commited to the guildās beliefs and principles.
RANKS
The Adherents of Altruis operate with an internal hierarchy thatās reflective of oneās progress with the guildās teachings. The more capable you are of adhering to the guildās precepts ā and acting as a model for other Demon Hunters ā the higher your ranking will subsequently be. Resultantly, you will also have more say over those less experienced in these teachings than you.
The rank structure, from lowest to highest ranking, is as follows:
Noviciate
Noviciates are yet to be officiated into the Adherents of Altruis. A judgement is still being made of their character and their potential for redemption. They will have to prove themselves to the other members of the order and show a true desire to follow the precepts outlined.
Disciple
Disciples are members of the Adherents of Altruis that have recently vowed to follow and uphold the guildās precepts. Some adjustment may still yet be in order, but they have been deemed good of heart and possible of redemption; suitable candidates for the guild. From this rank and higher, members will be required to wear āsomething purpleā, under precept 4.
Adherent
Adherents are members of the Adherents of Altruis that are now capable of consistently upholding the precepts the guild follows. Some Demon Hunters will reach this rank quicker than others, depending on how quickly they take to the Adherentsā teachings.
Apostle
Apostles are exemplar members of the Adherents of Altruis. Not only do they consistently uphold and fight for the values of the guild, but they are also capable of teaching and leading others along the same path. They possess authority over those ranking lower than them and are the go-to leader in the Adjutantās absence. As of current, there is only one ā and his name is Aeneon.
Adjutant
The adjutant leads the Adherents of Altruis internally. As of current, this position is held by Nalyth Thornbrave. As such, she is responsible for giving orders and leading training sessions or lessons. She has been walking the path of the precepts since she left the Vault of Wardens, and is perhaps notorious among the Illidari for abandoning her brethren and denouncing Illidan upon her release. She has been fighting for her people first and foremost since.
Overseer - Priestess Ylvessine
The Priestess is technically the highest ranking member of this order. Though she does not lead the guild internally, she leads it externally, providing them with information and their next directives. She advises the Adjutant.
Every promotion will be marked by a ceremony and a different set of vows, celebrating the progress fellow Demon Hunters make along a better, more respectable path.
EVENTS
Events in this guild will be largely, if not entirely free form. What this means is that most interactions between the DM and the event participants will be emote based. Although rolls may be occasionally used in situations where it would make sense, e.g AOE attacks, rolling for injury from an unavoidable projectile, etc., they are likely to be rare and infrequent at best.
Generally, events will be that of a darker nature ā touching on themes that may be uncomfortable for some, e.g the depiction of death, the death of innocents, and possibly gory scenes (though they will not be in too much detail). If this is something that bothers you, this guild may not be your wisest decision.
The DMs of the guild will generally seek to provide challenging and interactive events. Their beginning, middle, and end will never be firmly set in stone ā and so event participants are given the opportunity to really affect the direction of the initial narrative we provide.
Alongside normal events, there will also be week-long training events, where the group will depart to hunt down a demon in possession of useful or ā in the wrong hands ā dangerous abilities. This allows more inexperienced or new Demon Hunters to progress in power (for the sake of the destruction of the Horde). Of course, they will not be consuming the demonās soul, but rather going in search of written tomes.
Members can also expect more casual, social events involving matters of faith, culture, ritual, or philosophy ā where the predominant focus is building relationships between characters and providing character development.
It is also ā perhaps ā possible that the guild will be collaborating with other kaldorei guilds in need of more powerful allies.
RECRUITMENT
People looking to join the guild are expected to have a generally good grasp of lore and the English language. However, it is understood that Demon Hunter lore can be quite convoluted, and so we have constructed a google document with useful quotes should you be interested in joining:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_YbW7GivX85LACOz16xJtR9pS0RglfZK20PioXrhM0/edit
Besides this, potential applicants are also expected to have a generally amicable nature ā though strict formality is not necessary. We reserve the right to be able to ask questions that we think are necessary in determining whether or not you would be right for the guild ā and we also reserve the right to decline your request to join, for whatever reasons they may be. The recruitment process will be strict, but you are free to contact either myself (Nalyth/Paraselene) or my officer (Aeneon) for any questions you have about Demon Hunters or the guild in general.
OOC RULES
Our OOC rules are as follows:
No ERP (of course)
No discrimination of any kind (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc)
No obnoxious OOC behaviour in areas known for RP
No distasteful OOC behaviour under our guild tag anywhere else
Be chill
Be around for RP at least a few hours a week, unless youāve given us prior notice you canāt. We can and will kick people who have been inactive for 2 weeks without any notice.
These rules will be upheld strictly because theyāre more or less the only ones we care about. While we will always aim to be understanding and give leniency where we think it is suitable, we are not afraid to kick people for breaking these rules.
Donāt follow anyone blindly. Think for yourself.
Note: Don't be surprised if you see some edits to the guild thread as time goes on -- I have a penchant for revisiting what I've written!
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