[ENROLLMENT] Jora, Horseman of Death - ACCEPTED

[Akina Tokuwa]

LOST CLAN CREATION FORM

The Horseman
Name: Jora
Nicknames: Jo
Gender: Female
Age: Presents physically as if mid-20s, mentally 30s

Original Clan: Death

Job Role: Ashen Soldier (former Guardian but lost her priestess, weep)

Personality:

Jora is devout beyond all else — a zealot, through and through. This was instilled in her from a young age by her extremely religious father. She believes that the cultivation and harvesting of Fear is the holiest endeavor a horseman could ever pursue, which is why she worked as an Ashen Soldier for a significant time upon maturation. (She transitioned to Guardian temporarily after being selected by a priestess, previously.) Fear brings power to their cause, and power is key to restoring their society to its former dominance. Her reverence for priestesses, especially the High Priestess, defines the course of her life. Growing up, Jo was utterly devoted to the worship of Death, even carving holy symbols and words of prayer into the skin on her back and arms.

When she experienced the destruction of her homeland, Jo was a guardian to her first priestess, who did not survive. After this particular failure, she fled into exile, dejected and lost and questioning, until she felt she was worthy to return to the Clans. It was the whispers of the latest revelation that have brought her back: that the Old Gods should be the true focus for her devotion, not Death. Now, she prays nightly to the Old Gods and is fully prepared to be a diligent foot soldier for Medea’s vision. Jora believes that proper atonement can only be accomplished through pain, and that any creature may be permanently cleansed through the healing process of dying. And she is more than willing to help them on their way.

Her allegiance is to her belief system first, all else second. Jo, more than anything, seeks a return to the full, empowered glory of the Horsemen and a way to return the Old Gods to their former power. With the Old Gods returned, humankind will be, in her heart, made to suffer for the rest of eternity for the sins they committed. And then, she will have paid back the Clans for her failure to keep her priestess safe.

To say that Jo is guarded would be an incredible understatement. She tries to be single-minded in her purpose and fears the pain of loss of those close to her. Naturally, this leads her to self-imposed isolation that is only broken by her required duty or the incredibly persistent. Her devout nature makes her judgmental of those who she sees as less dutiful, and though she tends to be stoic and silent (even compared to other Death Horsemen), Jo is quick to speak in matters of devotion, purpose, or the cause. Jo sees herself as a tool of the Old Gods, but has a relatively low opinion of her worth beyond that. She believes her role is to support and lay her life down, not to lead or shine.

Her intense focus makes Jo a bit of the stick-in-the-mud who takes herself too seriously and needs to lighten up, basically all the time. Beneath her steely exterior is a good heart, like so many steely exteriors seem to hide, and an overwhelming desire to please the Old Gods, honor her family, and restore the Clans. Though she is a very competent and skilled soldier, Jo lacks real emotional experience (beyond grief) and can quickly devolve into an unsure, naive, almost girlish disposition when confronted with something like someone wanting to be her fiend, someone just wanting to do something for fun, or, god forbid, someone having any romantic interest in her. (She has a sort of Jon Snow Complex.)

Mount Form: A blur of white and gray that at certain angles appears something like this. Jora sometimes refer to this manifestation as Judgment.

Weapon Form: Twin scimitar blades (more like daggers, like one scimitar was melted down into two smaller versions), bone handles set with a single purple stone at the hilt, steel forged by her father and then passed down to her.

FEAR ATTACK:

[Y2] Gambler's Chance -- Judgment Jora whispers a prayer against the blade, kisses it, and then strikes. If the Old Gods heard her prayer, it is effective. If the strike misses, then clearly it was not meant to be.
[Y2] The Eye -- Blessing Jora (or an ally)'s accuracy is increased after appealing to the Old Gods.
[Y1] Swift Strikes -- Shadow Slip Jora is filled with a sudden explosion of energy originating from her desire to protect and aid the Clan, which she uses to deliver repetitive blows while seeming to do attack from all sides thanks to handy dandy acrobatics. She appears to slip into shadows, get a little blurry during this.

Physical Description:

Eye Colour: Highly saturated icy green. Shrewd, cat-eyed, dead expression.
Hair Colour/Style: Faded lilac in color, mostly straight, length to below her shoulders, but it is mostly hidden by her hood.
Skin Colour: A shade of gray that compliments her other coloration.
Clothing Style/Colours: Looking for some CC here. Basic idea would be: a hooded cloak, boots, fitted pants, tunic flowing into a gladiator-style skirt, silver jewelry, white/gray fur accents. But I am flexible here. You are a better designer than me, trust. The vibe should just be mercenary/ranger.
Extra: Markings on her face, something like this. These should appear more like scars/cuts, less like paint.
References: I am not an artist, but I do have ~inspiration~ images that give the general feel:
[x] Good reference for coloring of skin, hair, and eyes. Personality accurate too.
[x] Vibe/overall look.
[x] Coloration, belts, silver accents, fur usage all nice.
[x] Good feel for personality/general vibe.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

Additional Notes for Fun

- Mother was a Conquest Horseman, a Scholar. She encountered Jora's Death Horseman father during her studies, they got pregnant, and when the child came out appearing like a Deathpony, she passed her over to the father. Jora has very complicated feelings about her mother. (Playing with the idea that she actually developed horns but cut them off and now has little nubs.)

- Her half-sister is Sindri -- younger than Jora and 100% Death. Their father was not as hard on Sindri as he was on Jora, but they were both raised with strong religious conviction. He feared that Jo might be less devout because of the dilution of her blood, though he did truly love her.

- Whenever Sindri wandered off, Jora would frequently be the one who brought her home. She is very protective of her little sister. When their home world was destroyed, Jora believed Sindri was killed along with their father.




Crits are welcome!  

[lizbot]

 

[lizbot]

What was joras priestess like and their relationship? Did joras zealotry make that dynamic easier or did it create certain frictions?  

[Akina Tokuwa]

My concept for her former priestess is that she was a childhood friend who selected Jora because she trusted her. Jora desperately wanted to be a guardian and so this friend gave her the opportunity. (Both were young, inexperienced.)

Her zealotry was inspiring in some instances, and overbearing at other times. I imagine that Jora was somewhat more rigid about their religion, in some ways, than the priestess. Jora wanted to keep a strict schedule, abstain from all frivolous endeavors, etc. whereas the priestess had a better, more evolved sense of balance. Jora was probably unbelievable pushy and a touch judgmental. The priestess would have to check her attitude every now and then, remind her that there is more to religion than abstinence. So there was a lot of the priestess trying to loosen up Jora, and Jora judging any moment they spent doing anything outside of worship. Over time, the priestess's persistence began to work -- Jora loosened up, started trying to have fun and not take herself so seriously.

However when the priestess died when their homeland was destroyed, Jora blamed herself entirely. She thought that, if she had been more serious, more rigid, less personal, then the priestess might have lived. So if anything, Jora only became more guarded about being, you know, a normal horseman with wants and needs.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

IM JUST GONNA AMA AT U

1. What profession was her father? Did it have any impact on Jora's own goals as an Ashen Soldier/Guardian?
2. Does she have any person rituals? What about habits?
3. What kind of fights did she get into growing up? Or if she mostly internalized, what fights were most tempting to get drawn into?
4. So what has exile consisted of?
5. What was a day in her life like before the destruction?
6. What is a day in her life like in her self imposed exile?  

[Akina Tokuwa]

lizbot

IM JUST GONNA AMA AT U

1. What profession was her father? Did it have any impact on Jora's own goals as an Ashen Soldier/Guardian?
2. Does she have any person rituals? What about habits?
3. What kind of fights did she get into growing up? Or if she mostly internalized, what fights were most tempting to get drawn into?
4. So what has exile consisted of?
5. What was a day in her life like before the destruction?
6. What is a day in her life like in her self imposed exile?

1. Her father was a Jewelcrafter who specialized in exceedingly intricate gem inlays in armor. Though the stones were all practical, he was known for creating aesthetically pleasing pieces, which he would always say was never the point. His work was intense labor, and he would sooner destroy a piece than hand over anything that he did not consider perfect. Jora's childhood was spent watching him painstakingly work -- and work he did. He was a tireless, disciplined, deeply religious man. Jora, wanting to please him and always feeling a bit less than because of her half-Conquest blood, absolutely shaped her entire identity with those same ideals in mind. She originally thought she would become a Jewelcrafter too, but her father was incredibly unforgiving of his criticism while teaching her the basics, which steered her in another direction. As an Ashen Soldier/Guardian, Jora holds herself to incredibly high standards and is similarly critical of others but mostly herself.

2. Jora's days are incredibly calculated. Her morning routine is as systematic as a choreographed ballet recital. She practices battle form for several hours a day, eats basically the same meals, wears the same clothes -- it's all the same, all the time. She has a few particular routines. Cleaning her weapon is one of them. Cleaning herself is another. Lots of cleanliness. In terms of rituals, Jora does have one particularly unique (and painful) one. Whenever Jo does something that she feels she must atone for, she does so by intentionally carving symbols into her skin. These are hidden beneath her clothing so very few people, in anyone, know about it. She does still dabble in some jewelcrafting, like her father, but it is solely for personal use and not something she advertises.

3. Jora would occasionally suffer teasing, bullying, or alienation for being not 100% from Death. It was pretty well known that her mother was some scholar from Conquest who wanted nothing to do with her. Kids can be mean, horsemen or not. She would quickly devolve into throwing fists in these situations as it is a particularly sensitive issue for her. Her father would chastise her for allowing people to get the better of her -- both by getting her to react and also by kicking her a** in the fights. He told her that she needed to make an example of one bully one time, and it would be done. So Jora began training for combat initially so she could win these fights. Once she was able to do so, she followed her father's advice and the incidents of teasing quieted down. As an adult, the majority of her battles are internal, save those she gets into in the course of her line of work.

4. At first, running. Jora ran until her body finally collapsed. She had taken almost nothing with her and did not recognize where she was when she woke up. She spent months wandering, falling into small jobs in exchange for food and a place to toss and turn when she could not sleep. After months of aimlessness, friendlessness, and hopelessness, Jora began to slowly work her way through as much of existence as she could. She helped out people in need, like her own self-induced Peace Corps, but always left before anyone could get attached. In her travels, Jora wandered to the edges of all she could searching for a sign that the greater powers had forgiven her. She only decided to end her exile when she heard whispers of what had happened with Medea and Death -- and the truth about the Old Gods.

5. Lots of routine. Wake up before the sun, bathe, pray, light breakfast, pray, check on the priestess, pray, escort the priestess, pray, light lunch, drop off the priestess, pray, train, light dinner, pray, bathe, sleep. Incredibly repetitive. The only variation in her schedule came from other people, such as a visit from her family or a change in plans from the priestess.

6. After she evened out after her grief, it took on the shades of her former schedule -- except with 10x the praying and helping random communities instead of a priestess. The most significant change was her atonement. Prior to the destruction, Jora only had a few symbols carved into her skin. Now, her entire back is covered, her stomach, and portions of her thighs.  

[Akina Tokuwa]

Liz is my hero.

 

[Zoobey]

BASIC CHARACTER KIT WHAT DO I DO NEXT

Welcome to This is Halloween!

Congratulations! Your character has passed the enrollment process and you're cleared to begin playing. Essentially, this means you can get your art certed, make your character's journal, and most importantly start RPing. If you're a little lost then don't worry, this guide is here to point you in the right direction.

gaia_crown [ Art Check! ]:

- Do you have your character's art? Great! Move onto the next crown.

- If you do NOT yet have your art, you may now contact your artist and let them know that they may now start on creating your character!

gaia_crown [ Certs & Emblems ]:

- If your character is a STUDENT, you may create a customized student pin for them. This is entirely optional (but fun!) special badge that is unique to your character's design! You can find more information about pins (also known as their emblem) here.

- Hallowen characters (Students & Horsemen) may bet their character certed here!

- Hunters may get their certs here!

gaia_crown [ Creating a Journal ]:

- A journal is a thread where you can keep track of your character's accomplishments, RPs, progress, relationships, etc!

- All HALLOWEEN characters (Students & Horsemen) may create one here!

- All Hunters may create one here!

gaia_crown [ Let's RP! ]:

- Don't be shy about RPing! As soon as your character has been enroll approved you can start! Check out this awesome information about The World of Halloween and Amityville Academy. All students start off in Amityville academy. Need more things to do? Check out this whole subforum! Anything labelled Activity is open for you! Occasionally GMs will promote and open CLASSROOM orps. These usually happen in the classroom subforum. All students are invited to participate!

- If you are a Hunter, you will want to read the Hunter Newbie Guide Occasionally GMs will promote and open MISSION orps. These usually happen in the main Deus subforum and be followed by a guild announcement. All Hunters are invited to participate!

- If you are a Horsemen, please refer to here and the handy links in the first post as well as the other posts for concurrent and quest information! Need more things to do? Check out this whole subforum! Anything labelled Activity is open for you! Occasionally GMs will promote and open CLASSROOM orps. These usually happen in the classroom subforum. All Horsemen are invited to participate!

gaia_crown [ What's happening currently? ]:
- We try to keep all important things happening regularily updated in the ANNOUNCEMENTS THREAD. This goes for ALL FACTIONS. Have a question? Ask it in the Q & A !

gaia_crown [ Still feeling a little lost or overwhelmed? That's okay! ]:
- Check out what was just mentioned in FULL DETAIL HERE! Don't be too overwhelmed, there's time to sort everything out. For now, just enjoy some simple RP!

gaia_crown [ Finding RP ]:
- There's a bunch of ways to find RP. You can just contact a friend or any shop regular OR one of our available GMS for help! Otherwise, there are a lot of people looking to plot with YOU in their plotting threads! You can even make your own and advertise in your sig/ in the main thread/ etc etc!

- In addition any thread marked ORP is open for you to join!

- If you ever feel lost as a newbie, our many GMs are more than happy to one on one RP with you to help your character get acquainted. Send a PM to WE ARE HALLOWEEN and we can get you started this way as well. Otherwise, enjoy immersing yourself in the many RPS in TiH! It is all about discovery after all!

Akina Tokuwa

GOOD TO GO!