This is a preliminary I've managed to get typed so far, suggestions are welcomed.
History: The Summoners of Mist
Year 0 - Denouncing the Warrior 'God'
The original settlers of Mist were once from the same area as the people of Baron. Some of the tribes were wary of following Odin, fearing that he may be a demon, or some kind of evil spirit. These tribes retreated through a pass in the Titan Mountains, hoping to find a way into the lands further north. Unfortunately for them, the caverns were full of many dangerous and deadly creatures. They thought the risks was worth it in the end, however, and decided to take their chances in the cave, rather than passing the harsh terrain that surrounded their lands. Many of these original settlers died, sacrificing their lives so that their brethren could move on and build a bright future for their people. After much travel, they finally made it to their current home, a patch of fertile land located in the Titan Mountains. The land was low enough on the mountains to receive rain, yet high enough to be nearly unnnoticed by the people back in their former homeland. The survivors went right to work trying to cultivate the land and make this place livable.
Year 1,000 - They Were Not Alone
The people chose to call their village 'Mist', named after the frequent weather phenomenon common to this land, as well as the cave leading to their village. As time passed, the people started to notice something odd about their homeland. Many frequently felt they were not alone, aside from the occasional beast lurking out of the caverns. Some began to have dreams about strange looking creatures, others swearing they saw people of flame or wolves of lighting running in the distance. None today are exactly sure when this changed, however the story told by both sides goes something like this:
A human of Mist and one of the Summoned shared a dream one night, each hearing the other's thoughts. As the nights went on, they soon learned who each other were, and of each other's worlds. Each being felt drawn to a place in their worlds, the human of Mist to a hill overlooking their village. The two beings spent several nights at this spot, until one night reality around the pair seemed to bend and warp. It was this moment when a Summoner and a human of mist first came into physical contact with each other. The pair frequently met with one another at this spot, trying to find ways to meet without having to wait for their worlds to allow them. This would eventually lead to the first 'bonding' of Summoner and Summoned. Things would not immediately go smoothly between the two worlds, as there was much fear from both sides of these 'strange people'. The early people of Mist thought the Summoned were demons, while the Summoned viewed the people of Mist as an annoyance. It would take several years before relations between the two people's stabilized.
Year 2,000 onward - Though there have been periods of darker times for both peoples during these years, for the most part the lands of Mist have been tranquil and peaceful, for both Summoners and the Summoned. Each learned more and more of each other's words, the society of Mist becoming deeply entwined with the society of the Summoned. (AKA: Open for Additions / RP background stories)
Year Unknown (400 years ago from current RP time) - Destruction
This marks the darkest day in the history of Mist. The King of Baron at this time was hell bent on making Baron a worldwide power. It was decided that the summoners of Mist posed too great a risk to his plans. In the guise of a gift of respect to the powerful people of Mist, one of the Kingdom's Knights was sent to deliver this gift in person. When he arrived in the village to meet the elders, the gift revealed its true nature. It was a summoning artifact, calling forth a swarm of deadly, blood-thirsty demons that quickly killed the elders, soon moving out against the rest of the village. The surviving Summoners called forth their Summons, a long, grueling battle taking place between the demons and the people of Mist. To the surprise of the survivors, the same Knight who brought this destruction upon the village was doing his best to aid them in stopping the demons. After several hours of fighting, the demons had been eraticated. The surviving Summoners and their Summoned all gathered around the Knight, enraged and saddened at the loss of their comrades. To their surprise, however, they found this Knight weeping openly before them. He looked around to all that had gathered, tears in his eyes as he uttered his last words:
"I am sorry for the horrors I have brought upon you, and the dishonor I have brought to the Knights of Baron. May Odin forgive me, and watch over all of you."
He then stabbed himself in the chest, ending his life before the stunned Summoners and Summoned.
This Knight's sacrifice is one of the few reasons not all the people of Mist have hatred for Baron. A small monument still exists at the entrance to the village, in honor of the Knight who tried to right this wrong.
Current Day - Mist Today
After several generations of fear of the outside world, the people of Mist are slowly starting to venture back out into the rest of the world again. The age old tradition of the 'Journey of Enlightenment' has been started again, and many Summoners are once again using the pass from Baron to the northern lands as a way of training their skills, via escorting people through the hazardous caverns, as well as earning some coin for the village.
Mist Summoner Info
*Summoners and the rest of Mist*
Due to the thin barrier between they heavy magical plane of the Summoned and the area of Mist, over the generations the people of this land tend to have a better affinity for magic than average humans. However, in order to become a candidate for being a Summoner, one must have an affinity for magic much higher than normal, otherwise the bond will become too taxing on both the Summoner and the Summoned. This is also true of the Summoned in their world, so a Summoner and the Summoned are, for the most part, highly respected by the people of both worlds (there are, of course, exceptions for certain pompous, arrogant individuals, etc). This is not the only way the two worlds meet, however. In a paticular part of Mist is a shrine on a hill overlooking their village. This location is the place where the barrier between Mist and the Summoned's world is weakest. It is where individuals from one side can attempt to cross to the other with minimal strain. This only occurs roughtly every two weeks, the rest of the time still requiring a lot of effort on the part of the individual(s) attempting to cross, at high risk to their health. Due to this, it is not unusual for one to see many exotic, strange beings casually walking around the Area of Mist.
*Culture*
(Would like some input on this ^_^; )
*The Summoned*
This is the name the people of Mist have given these magical beings from another plane, and one said people have adopted in identifying themselves in the Summoner's plane. These beings have radically varying forms, some appearing humaniod, others resembling creatures such as wolves, lions, bears, and the like, others beyond an equivalent discription from the human world. While each individual is unique, there are some consistent traits among the Summoned.
While those outside of Mist frequently believe these creatures to be immortal, the truth is that the longest a Summoned has been known to live is 1,000 years, the average tending to be somewhere around 300 years.
All usually have a tight bond to magic in some form. Most of the time, this is in the form of great skill with a certain type of magic, such as control over one of the elemnts, etc. In a few cases, this bond is used by the individual to enhance their physical skills, rather than magical.
The Summoned have their own language, though most pick up the human language rather quickly from their frequent contact with the people of Mist. Only Summoners who have been bonded with a Summoned for many years usually has hope of learning any of this language.
FInally, all Summoned creatures have the ability to take a smaller, less powerful form of themselves in the Summoner's world. This acts as an advantage to both the Summoner and the Summoned, as doing so makes it less taxing for both to maintain the Summoned in the human plane. Generally all will take some kind of human-like form, as a form of respect to the Summoners. The more animal-like and exotic Summons, however, will occasionally take the form of an animal or other creature from the human world.
*Bonding*
When a child of Mist reaches the age of 10, a council is conviened to determine if said child has the gifts necessary to become a summoner. The council consists of 10 members, the community's five most experienced Summoners, and their five bonded Summons. The child is tested in various ways, their magical ability, their character, much of this is left up to each individual council. This is not the end of the test, however. Once the child is decided to be ready, The Summoned go to their own world to find someone to bond with the child. Most in Mist are not 100% sure what methods are used by the Summoned, though some Summoned have hinted to their Summoners it involves their own tests and trials back in their world. Once the Summoner and Summoned have been selected, a special ceremony is held in the village temple. This spot is where the bondaries between the plane of the Summoners and the plane of the Summoned is weakest. The council members gather in this temple, the Summoners calling forth the Summoned they are bound with and the Summoned to be bonded to the child.
(OOC: I'm not 100% sure how this should go yet, I'm open to suggestions)
The intricate ceremony involves magic of the people from both worlds, as well as the child and unbonded Summoned. Once complete, the connection between both becomes immediate. A Summoner and their Summoned are assigned to watch over the two for a short period of time to help them adjust, as the shock of having someone in their thoughs has frequently caused discomforting, and occasionally violent tension in the past. Once this period ends, the pair are seperated for length of time to be trained. The Summoned prepare the bonded one for taking their new form in the human world
The Summoned and the Summoner share a tight bond. As time passes, each can hear and respond to the other merely by though. Initially, the Summoned has more of an advantaged, as they tend to develop their abilites at a faster rate than their Summoner. This leads to the situation many Summoners jokingly called "The Age of No Privacy", as the Summoned can easily read any thoughts the Summoner may have. As the Summoner becomes more accustomed to their bond, however, they eventually learn to block their thoughts much better. In some cases, the Summoner can even force himself into the Summoned's thoughts. This is also jokingly called "The Age of Payback". In general, close Summoners and Summoned will respect each other enough not to do so, unless each feels something is severly wrong with the other.
One may wonder why the beings of this plane began to do this in the first place. The Summoned enhance the Summoner's abilites, while the Summoner also allows the Summoned to learn at a much higher rate. This is why
*Summoning*
The art of summoning involves the Summoner and the Summonded channeling their magical powers in a ritualistic spell, allowing the Summoner to 'call' the Summoned to assist him. Because this involves forcing the Summoned through the barrier between the Summoned plain and Gaera's plane, the spell is extremely taxing on both individuals. As noted above, this effect can be lessened by the Summonded taking on a less powerful form before coming over.
(I'd like some input on how to make this 'fair' should someone want to make a Mist Summoner for PS, etc. )
*Taboo's*
The summoned are not simply wild creatures with powerful abilites. They are concious, emotional, rational beings that have the ability to choose their actions. As such, it is not surprising that in the early days, many summoned became very close to the ones they bonded with. The results of some of these relationships, namely children, usually caused much tension between both societies. The child of such a relationship would never feel quite right, drawn to both the world of humans and the world of the Summoned. This also caused much anguish and sorrow to the Summoned, as they normally live much longer than humans, and in some cases outlived their offspring.
Because of all this, the following guidelines have become deeply entrenched into the dual society:
1) The Summoner and The Summoned must be of the same gender when bonded.
Obviously, in certain cases, this would not be 100% effective, but this feeling still remains today in a majority of The Summoned and the people of Mist.
2) The Summoned may not spend a lengthy period of time in the human world, unless absolutely necessary.
There were some Summoned who, after spending a lengthy time in the human world, became overcome with the idea of holding power over the 'weak' humans of this world. Some even went so far as to take over the mind of their Summoner, using them to fulfill their selfish desires. It is beleived by many that limiting the time spent in the human plane will help prevent this from occuring, though there is a vocal faction in both worlds that strongly disagree with this. While not strictly enforced, those who are found out are normally punished in some manner.
3) A Summoner and A Summoned must never, ever have anything deeper than friendship with one another.
As mentioned above, it was viewed that this caused too much grief and sorrow for all parties involved. Should such a relationship be found out, the people of both worlds are harsh in their punishment. The Summoned is usually forbidden from ever returning to the Human plain, and the human is banished from the village Mist, never to return.
Edited by: FF Fanatic 80 
at: 7/24/04 11:00 pm
at: 1/30/03 2:38:02 pm
...what the bloody hell is a British accent? o\/ó
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