Story & Setting
"Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time." - Leo F. Buscaglia.
Special thanks to our player Lilly for finding the images for Rivelata City (Lacoste, France) ♥
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
Premise
The Story So Far
Many years ago, explorers from the east, known as the Old World in these times, came to the compelling and bountiful New one. It turned out to be a land of danger and beauty alike, vast and unexplored, a new frontier to humble men. It was on the coast that they founded the luxurious city of Rivelata - "revealed" - and severed all ties with the world of yore.
What they found in the New World's lush jungles was something beyond the reaches of even the most fantastical imaginations of their time. It is said that when the young Immaculada discovered the Garnet of Journeys, God had looked down on this New World, and chose her to be its ambassador. It burned her hands and took her mortality, but after that day, people began to come to Rivelata, people not from any other world they had ever heard of. These lost souls, dubbed "Arrivals" or "Off Worlders", taken from their homes, were very confused. As she had been the one to awaken the crystal, it was she who spoke with them - the original immigrants made her their Queen and the first wave of people that populated the city began to create the foundations of the city as it stands today - the walls, the castle, the park, and all the streets. The original immigrants questioned the action, some wondered if she had some measure of control over these people's minds, but none would speak publicly against one with such a power.
About six generations later, however, the people of Rivelata have become accustomed to all the newcomers on their land. It would also appear that after everything that has happened in the past year, that the Child-Queen Immaculada's reign is rapidly coming to an end. Oh, how things change.
But that is only the beginning of a new chapter in Rivelata's history; the winds of change are in motion...
Maps (Player Reference)
Rivelata City
City Outskirts/Jungle
Other maps of interest: The Ridges and The Cave Behind the Waterfall.
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Andre Gide.
Tour of Rivelata City
Arrival/Beach Area
Beach (Sea Level) • White sand and pristine waters make for a scenic opening to your stay here in Rivelata, but if you turn back towards the Ridges, you'll also spy a Mysterious Haze. It is coloured cyan-blue, forest-green, and dirt-brown -- but that's all the information anyone can seem to gather. As the shoreline spreads along the coast, you'll find things become quite rocky, that the jungle gets thicker, the short cliffs begin to rise, and the rocks become covered in a slick ocean film. Who knows how many explorers fell into the bay this way?
City Area
1A/1B: Market District • Lined with shops on either side of a main thoroughfare, this is the place to get whatever you need (if it even exists here)! Signs hang out over the streets with ornate picture displays of each shop's kind of product or trade. But this isn't purely the locals -- some of the Off Worlders also run their very own businesses! It's a wonderful place; but that doesn't erase those dark looking alleyways or those shady looking characters who won't hesitate to sell you something a little bit different from the norm.
2: Warehouse District • For the most part, many of the warehouses here don't seem to really be in use (although there are some larger businesses in this area). It overlooks the Boardwalk in one direction, the Housing District in another (and beyond it the Jungle, but it's quite a view!), leaving the Market District further up the slopes.
3: Airship Crash • When the pirates arrived in Rivelata, their ship, The Nimirum, accidentally crashed into the marketplace. While the ship itself has since been dismantled, there are still lasting scars on the city's ground and buildings where the event happened.
4: Housing Slums • Like any city, there is an area people call the Slums. Rivelata's is located at the base of the Housing District, and there tends to be a lot of natives renting their houses out to the Off Worlders in these parts.
5: Housing District • This is where most other worldly and wealthy citizens reside. If you look hard enough it's possible to find some nice houses for sale or rooms for rent, so you probably want to hit up here first. And depending on where you snag a place, you could get a stunning view of the ocean, the jungle or maybe just the town itself. Either way, being in such a lovely, warm, tropical place has to be fantastic, right?
6: Park • Ah, the park. It's really quite the fascinating place, you know. There's a modern style playground cobbled together from what appear like some crudely-welded metal beams and such, but that doesn't bother the children in the slightest. Many beautiful flowers and trees also grow in this magical place and the bell atop the Church of New World Religion is quite easy to spot. It's truly a stunning place, if not a little mysterious by how easily negative feelings are eased if you're here, but seem to slowly return as you move away from the area.
7: Professional District • The Church of New World Religion marks off the start of the Professional District, a place dedicated to the things that didn't quite fit in the Marketplace. The most well known facilities include the theatre, music hall, the Husband's Alley brothel, library, orphanage, bathhouse and clinic but if you just look around you're sure to find some other interesting things!
The Castle • Elegant, grand and regal is Rivelata's Castle. It is home to the new King Alistair and other royalists, and very rarely have citizens, natives and Off Worlders alike, been permitted on the castle grounds. It sits atop the highest point in the city and close to the jungle, surrounded by strong walls.
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
"We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character" - Henry David Thoreau.
Setting
The Bay
Beautiful, vast and alluring is Rivelata's bay -- an estuary in fact, meaning that a collection of rivers and streams have a free connection to the sea. There is also quite the colourful ecosystem living in this area! Bright tropical creatures (like clownfish, angelfish, jellyfish just to name a few) dart around the coral reefs and sea anemones happily in the sun -- or not too happily when they're being pursued by sharp toothed predators like sharks and barracuda!
Of course, these are all normal things to find in tropical waters. But, as you've probably guessed, Rivelata isn't exactly a normal place. Sometimes you'll find something you recognize, but from a slightly different environment. But even more mysterious than that is how in amongst these familiar sights, there are things that no one but the locals recognize, despite the many different worlds that people come from. Some of these things are friendly and timid -- others violent and ugly. But you shouldn't worry too much; the nastier ones tend to live out further than most people dare to venture.
Oh, and don't forget about those scaly, flesh eating creatures (aka Sea Monsters) that spend their time out in the deeper waters. True, lately they've been rather quiet and you'd have to get a boat out to reach them, but that doesn't mean that their teeth won't hurt ripping into you.
The City
A lot of the urbanization going on within the city makes it a little hard for vegetation to grow; but that's not to say that it's completely void of some very lush trees, exotic plants (both flowering and not) or sweet smelling herbs. One place guaranteed to have all these things would be the Park, an almost magical place for children to play and people to admire. The Park and other places of the city are better described within the Tour of Rivelata section on this page, so read through that if you'd like to know more! Hopefully the visuals of the streets and waterside bungalows are some help as well.
Due to all the people about, not a whole lot of animals poke around often. There are the odd cases of a jungle animal wandering around the streets for a little bit, and it's actually fairly common to see a toucan, macaque, parrot or some other exotic bird sitting in your backyard, but mostly it's just harmless little critters and insects that flit about the city area. Oh, and don't worry about those vicious Sky Snakes. They only terrorized the city once.
The Jungle
Now this is where things start to get a little interesting.
As with any jungle, it is home to many exotic animals (like lemurs, snakes, frogs, panthers, sloths, parrots and macaques to name only a few) and is, of course, also the home of both natural beauty and danger. But there are stranger things going on within this specific jungle -- things that are shrouded with mystery yet.
The most common Rivelata-specific animal would have to be the Shadhavar; a flesh eating unicorn. Sky Snakes have been known to roam the skies above the deeper jungle, giant Venus fly traps are just hiding behind the most innocent looking of ferns, and all sorts of lovely things like that are lurking around every corner. For a long time, the jungle was ruled by the "God King" Zikhadhara, a large and fearsome jaguar god who stayed near the ancient temple he called home, a mysterious place covered in vines on the outside and littered with deadly booby traps on the outside. While Zikhadhara is out of the picture these days, it's still not exactly recommended to explore the temple.
There are certainly many dark secrets hidden within it's depths. Gods? Treasure? Unspeakable monsters? Salvation? Hah! That's the thing about secrets -- no one knows.
The Jungle con't. (Places of Interest)
Egil's Chessboard • Rivelata's resident trickster god, Egil, has been busy! The little devil has taken a large section of the jungle and transformed it into an oversized chessboard that plays itself every other hour. Feel free to interact with the pieces -- but as soon as you enter a square with a piece already on it, your clothes will be magically transformed into that of the piece you are now representing, and you'll direct the rest of the game. The only way you can leave the board is by finishing the game, so you'd better get started! If the piece you're playing gets knocked out of the game you take control of a different piece. Be careful that you don't run out of pieces to control, though! Being knocked out yourself, or just losing the game, means getting knocked unconscious for two hours.
Bloodstone Springs • Strikingly strange and beautiful is the newly formed Bloodstone Springs, created by yet another goddess currently watching over Rivelata. With the name on this spring, it isn't hard to guess why exactly the water is tinted red and runs thicker than water is supposed to. However, the blood drinkers of Rivelata will no doubt realize that it isn't real blood that pours from this spring, but instead a very convincing and satisfying blood substitute. And despite the odd nature of this place, it is actually a thank you gift, as it was a vampire who had defeated Rivelata Zikhadhara for good.
There is a small path of Bloodstone that leads to the beginning of the spring, where the water is exiting the rockface. However, it can be difficult to find and even follow if you don't know what you're looking for.
Technology
Needless to say, but Rivelata isn't incredibly tech-savvy. There are many little fishing boats at the docks, horse and buggies in the streets and old fashioned clothes on the people -- so yes, the basics of a 16th century town certainly apply; but really? It's more of a base, considering all the supernatural and unusual things about Rivelata. There are no iPods, TVs, digital cameras or anything like that available, but there is magic, odd humanoid species and a firm belief in the Gods. It's not like home to most Off Worlders, however, all the knowledge they bring with them is beginning to make its mark. A modern setting will never be achieved, of course, but some of its small comforts can.
Although the time period technically shouldn't allow it, Rivelata actually does have electricity. The Garnet is what allows this, and it is said that it channels the power for it from dormant volcanoes (most underground or beyond Zikhadhara's temple); although it's also possible that the Garnet relies on nothing but it's own unique power. Who really knows with this place?
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
ROLEPLAY • STORY & SETTING • RULES • F.A.Q. • ADVERTISEMENT • CALENDAR
CHARACTERS • APPLICATIONS • OC APPLICATIONS • RESERVED • TAKEN • WANTED • CANON UPDATING
PLAYERS • HIATUS & DROP • PLAYER CONTACT (locked) • MOD CONTACT • NAVIGATION
Special thanks to our player Lilly for finding the images for Rivelata City (Lacoste, France) ♥
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
Premise
The Story So Far
Many years ago, explorers from the east, known as the Old World in these times, came to the compelling and bountiful New one. It turned out to be a land of danger and beauty alike, vast and unexplored, a new frontier to humble men. It was on the coast that they founded the luxurious city of Rivelata - "revealed" - and severed all ties with the world of yore.
What they found in the New World's lush jungles was something beyond the reaches of even the most fantastical imaginations of their time. It is said that when the young Immaculada discovered the Garnet of Journeys, God had looked down on this New World, and chose her to be its ambassador. It burned her hands and took her mortality, but after that day, people began to come to Rivelata, people not from any other world they had ever heard of. These lost souls, dubbed "Arrivals" or "Off Worlders", taken from their homes, were very confused. As she had been the one to awaken the crystal, it was she who spoke with them - the original immigrants made her their Queen and the first wave of people that populated the city began to create the foundations of the city as it stands today - the walls, the castle, the park, and all the streets. The original immigrants questioned the action, some wondered if she had some measure of control over these people's minds, but none would speak publicly against one with such a power.
About six generations later, however, the people of Rivelata have become accustomed to all the newcomers on their land. It would also appear that after everything that has happened in the past year, that the Child-Queen Immaculada's reign is rapidly coming to an end. Oh, how things change.
But that is only the beginning of a new chapter in Rivelata's history; the winds of change are in motion...
Maps (Player Reference)
Rivelata City
City Outskirts/Jungle
Other maps of interest: The Ridges and The Cave Behind the Waterfall.
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." - Andre Gide.
Tour of Rivelata City
Arrival/Beach Area
Beach (Sea Level) • White sand and pristine waters make for a scenic opening to your stay here in Rivelata, but if you turn back towards the Ridges, you'll also spy a Mysterious Haze. It is coloured cyan-blue, forest-green, and dirt-brown -- but that's all the information anyone can seem to gather. As the shoreline spreads along the coast, you'll find things become quite rocky, that the jungle gets thicker, the short cliffs begin to rise, and the rocks become covered in a slick ocean film. Who knows how many explorers fell into the bay this way?
City Area
1A/1B: Market District • Lined with shops on either side of a main thoroughfare, this is the place to get whatever you need (if it even exists here)! Signs hang out over the streets with ornate picture displays of each shop's kind of product or trade. But this isn't purely the locals -- some of the Off Worlders also run their very own businesses! It's a wonderful place; but that doesn't erase those dark looking alleyways or those shady looking characters who won't hesitate to sell you something a little bit different from the norm.
2: Warehouse District • For the most part, many of the warehouses here don't seem to really be in use (although there are some larger businesses in this area). It overlooks the Boardwalk in one direction, the Housing District in another (and beyond it the Jungle, but it's quite a view!), leaving the Market District further up the slopes.
3: Airship Crash • When the pirates arrived in Rivelata, their ship, The Nimirum, accidentally crashed into the marketplace. While the ship itself has since been dismantled, there are still lasting scars on the city's ground and buildings where the event happened.
4: Housing Slums • Like any city, there is an area people call the Slums. Rivelata's is located at the base of the Housing District, and there tends to be a lot of natives renting their houses out to the Off Worlders in these parts.
5: Housing District • This is where most other worldly and wealthy citizens reside. If you look hard enough it's possible to find some nice houses for sale or rooms for rent, so you probably want to hit up here first. And depending on where you snag a place, you could get a stunning view of the ocean, the jungle or maybe just the town itself. Either way, being in such a lovely, warm, tropical place has to be fantastic, right?
6: Park • Ah, the park. It's really quite the fascinating place, you know. There's a modern style playground cobbled together from what appear like some crudely-welded metal beams and such, but that doesn't bother the children in the slightest. Many beautiful flowers and trees also grow in this magical place and the bell atop the Church of New World Religion is quite easy to spot. It's truly a stunning place, if not a little mysterious by how easily negative feelings are eased if you're here, but seem to slowly return as you move away from the area.
7: Professional District • The Church of New World Religion marks off the start of the Professional District, a place dedicated to the things that didn't quite fit in the Marketplace. The most well known facilities include the theatre, music hall, the Husband's Alley brothel, library, orphanage, bathhouse and clinic but if you just look around you're sure to find some other interesting things!
The Castle • Elegant, grand and regal is Rivelata's Castle. It is home to the new King Alistair and other royalists, and very rarely have citizens, natives and Off Worlders alike, been permitted on the castle grounds. It sits atop the highest point in the city and close to the jungle, surrounded by strong walls.
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
"We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character" - Henry David Thoreau.
Setting
The Bay
Beautiful, vast and alluring is Rivelata's bay -- an estuary in fact, meaning that a collection of rivers and streams have a free connection to the sea. There is also quite the colourful ecosystem living in this area! Bright tropical creatures (like clownfish, angelfish, jellyfish just to name a few) dart around the coral reefs and sea anemones happily in the sun -- or not too happily when they're being pursued by sharp toothed predators like sharks and barracuda!
Of course, these are all normal things to find in tropical waters. But, as you've probably guessed, Rivelata isn't exactly a normal place. Sometimes you'll find something you recognize, but from a slightly different environment. But even more mysterious than that is how in amongst these familiar sights, there are things that no one but the locals recognize, despite the many different worlds that people come from. Some of these things are friendly and timid -- others violent and ugly. But you shouldn't worry too much; the nastier ones tend to live out further than most people dare to venture.
Oh, and don't forget about those scaly, flesh eating creatures (aka Sea Monsters) that spend their time out in the deeper waters. True, lately they've been rather quiet and you'd have to get a boat out to reach them, but that doesn't mean that their teeth won't hurt ripping into you.
The City
A lot of the urbanization going on within the city makes it a little hard for vegetation to grow; but that's not to say that it's completely void of some very lush trees, exotic plants (both flowering and not) or sweet smelling herbs. One place guaranteed to have all these things would be the Park, an almost magical place for children to play and people to admire. The Park and other places of the city are better described within the Tour of Rivelata section on this page, so read through that if you'd like to know more! Hopefully the visuals of the streets and waterside bungalows are some help as well.
Due to all the people about, not a whole lot of animals poke around often. There are the odd cases of a jungle animal wandering around the streets for a little bit, and it's actually fairly common to see a toucan, macaque, parrot or some other exotic bird sitting in your backyard, but mostly it's just harmless little critters and insects that flit about the city area. Oh, and don't worry about those vicious Sky Snakes. They only terrorized the city once.
The Jungle
Now this is where things start to get a little interesting.
As with any jungle, it is home to many exotic animals (like lemurs, snakes, frogs, panthers, sloths, parrots and macaques to name only a few) and is, of course, also the home of both natural beauty and danger. But there are stranger things going on within this specific jungle -- things that are shrouded with mystery yet.
The most common Rivelata-specific animal would have to be the Shadhavar; a flesh eating unicorn. Sky Snakes have been known to roam the skies above the deeper jungle, giant Venus fly traps are just hiding behind the most innocent looking of ferns, and all sorts of lovely things like that are lurking around every corner. For a long time, the jungle was ruled by the "God King" Zikhadhara, a large and fearsome jaguar god who stayed near the ancient temple he called home, a mysterious place covered in vines on the outside and littered with deadly booby traps on the outside. While Zikhadhara is out of the picture these days, it's still not exactly recommended to explore the temple.
There are certainly many dark secrets hidden within it's depths. Gods? Treasure? Unspeakable monsters? Salvation? Hah! That's the thing about secrets -- no one knows.
The Jungle con't. (Places of Interest)
Egil's Chessboard • Rivelata's resident trickster god, Egil, has been busy! The little devil has taken a large section of the jungle and transformed it into an oversized chessboard that plays itself every other hour. Feel free to interact with the pieces -- but as soon as you enter a square with a piece already on it, your clothes will be magically transformed into that of the piece you are now representing, and you'll direct the rest of the game. The only way you can leave the board is by finishing the game, so you'd better get started! If the piece you're playing gets knocked out of the game you take control of a different piece. Be careful that you don't run out of pieces to control, though! Being knocked out yourself, or just losing the game, means getting knocked unconscious for two hours.
Bloodstone Springs • Strikingly strange and beautiful is the newly formed Bloodstone Springs, created by yet another goddess currently watching over Rivelata. With the name on this spring, it isn't hard to guess why exactly the water is tinted red and runs thicker than water is supposed to. However, the blood drinkers of Rivelata will no doubt realize that it isn't real blood that pours from this spring, but instead a very convincing and satisfying blood substitute. And despite the odd nature of this place, it is actually a thank you gift, as it was a vampire who had defeated Rivelata Zikhadhara for good.
There is a small path of Bloodstone that leads to the beginning of the spring, where the water is exiting the rockface. However, it can be difficult to find and even follow if you don't know what you're looking for.
Technology
Needless to say, but Rivelata isn't incredibly tech-savvy. There are many little fishing boats at the docks, horse and buggies in the streets and old fashioned clothes on the people -- so yes, the basics of a 16th century town certainly apply; but really? It's more of a base, considering all the supernatural and unusual things about Rivelata. There are no iPods, TVs, digital cameras or anything like that available, but there is magic, odd humanoid species and a firm belief in the Gods. It's not like home to most Off Worlders, however, all the knowledge they bring with them is beginning to make its mark. A modern setting will never be achieved, of course, but some of its small comforts can.
Although the time period technically shouldn't allow it, Rivelata actually does have electricity. The Garnet is what allows this, and it is said that it channels the power for it from dormant volcanoes (most underground or beyond Zikhadhara's temple); although it's also possible that the Garnet relies on nothing but it's own unique power. Who really knows with this place?
Premise • Tour of Rivelata City • Setting Overview
ROLEPLAY • STORY & SETTING • RULES • F.A.Q. • ADVERTISEMENT • CALENDAR
CHARACTERS • APPLICATIONS • OC APPLICATIONS • RESERVED • TAKEN • WANTED • CANON UPDATING
PLAYERS • HIATUS & DROP • PLAYER CONTACT (locked) • MOD CONTACT • NAVIGATION