this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
A coven is loosely defined as a group of witches who collectively study or practice magic, often to achieve a common goal or support an ideal. In the past, covens were generally smaller and often connected to a particular family or tribe, but as the world of witchcraft expanded, covens grew and began combining their strengths. Soon, they became an integral social, economic, and political aspect of witch society. In Salem, four major covens exist: Jester's Den, Silvertongue, the Helios Knights and coven Leviathan. [break][break] As a fledgling mage, you are required to join a coven in order to practice magic. While it's entirely possible to study and practice magic without the support of a coven, having a coven is so much easier given that covens take care of most minor legal, political, and social problems that come with being a practicing witch and that without covens, witches usually aren't trusted with missions or given true opportunities to grow and study magic. You may create your own coven once you are recognized as an Acolyte, however, your coven must have the support of four other member-controlled characters, two of which must be apprentices at the least. [break][break]
[break][break] COVEN CREATION FORM [break][break] [break][blockquote]---basics---- [b]name of coven:[/b] self explanatory [b]alignment:[/b] rogue or light? [b]leader:[/b] tag the coven leader (must be an acolyte) [b]members:[/b] tag at least three other coven members (two must be at least apprentices) [b]hex code:[/b] what color will the new member group be? Please note staff may make changes to fit with the aesthetic appeal of the site, however we will try to keep the a given range of colors. ---details---- [b]coven mark: [/b]describe the coven's unique mark and elaborate on symbolism if you so wish. [b]modus operandi:[/b] what kind of coven is this? what type of requests are they known for taking? what separates them from other covens? [b]headquarters:[/b] where is this coven's headquarters found? What are they like? ----extras---- [b]internal structure:[/b] is there any specific hierarchy or working method of this coven? any special delegations? if so, elaborate. (optional) [b]additional info:[/b] is there anything else one should know about this coven? eg. requirements, weird rituals, anything odd or extra? (optional) [/blockquote]
the helios knights is the most popular coven, with their headquarters at the heart of sundial, in the Helios knights hall. it is, according to sundial history, the first coven ever formed. originally formed by a band of twelve brave witches who fought against the evil monsters and erected the sundial tower, today this coven is a symbol of justice and hope. [break][break] though the helios knights are considered by the public as heroes of sundial and noble knights, and though they consider themselves that as well, it's known that this coven is also a place for the rich to exert their influence and flaunt their luxury. initiation rituals are bypassed for those with status, and often times witches of the helios knights will be rich and powerful either by birth or by association. most people join for the instant fame it brings, others join because they were already raised into that fame, and some...some join because to them the helios knights are still knights, and they wish only for the betterment of the world. [break][break] they are known to take rescue missions, courier missions, protection missions and anything glamorous as well, and though there are a lot of question marks on their reputation, 99% of the public loves them. the helios knights have not once taken a direct request, and they are strong advocates of the current ruling system. the Helios knights have people who are code abiding and morally sound- although often sanctimonious or less ethical than they appear. [break][break] their emblem is a radiant sun split in half by a brilliant wand, with one lion dancing on each side of the wand. bursts of magic eminante from the wand, and the lions are reared on their hind legs as though parrying away threats with their paws. the twin lions represent valor and loyalty. them facing either side is a symbol of trust and guardianship. the wand represents the skills of their members in magic; and the split sun the dawn of a new, peaceful era. [break][break]
The most populous coven, the one that's the easiest to get into and the one that everyone is happy with or slightly annoyed by. Jester's Den was established in recent history, and yet its populations exploded as soon as it was established. this is because back then the requirements for joining the only light coven, the Helios Knights, were difficult to meet for most of the general public due to wartime conditions. Jester's Den offered a home to all those that wanted one in their time of need and still does. [break][break] According to the public, the Jester's Den is either still hailed as a savior from the time of its emergence, or maybe just praised for being so lax and friendly, or condescendingly looked down upon for messing up the most times out of all covens. Indeed, Jester's Den has been through its fair share of ordeals for letting anyone who becomes a regular at any of their heaquarters-cafes call themselves a member, or even worse when actual, certified members destroyed far too many buildings while on a mission that was supposed to save the public. [break][break] People who join can't really be generalized, as pretty much every practicing witch who isn't morally ambiguous or affiliated with the Helios Knights is in Jester's Den by process of elimination. They are known to take any kind of missions, however, after lots of pressure from the government, have very recently been persuaded to not take direct requests anymore. Nevertheless, they still end up creating the most chaos out of any coven due to their sheer unpredictability and their motto of get the job done, your own way. [break][break] The emblem of Jester's Den is a fool's cap held suspended in air by two wands crossed against each other with sparks flaring from both ends. The fool's cap represents their commitment to anti-prejudice, their relaxed atmosphere, new beginnings, and wayward journeys. The two wands represent both unity and rivalry, whereas the sparks indicate the readiness of the members and their excitement for life and its mysteries. It also is more simplistically interpreted as the strength of the members holding the coven up, or the strength to explore the unknown with nothing holding one back.
the most mysterious coven, one that few know the face of and seldom any have seen the location of, but one that everyone knows the name of. leviathan has long since been a prominent rogue coven almost as old as the helios knights themselves. its name used to inspire fear in the hearts of people and still does. however in recent decades after the helios knights drove the guild to the brink of extinction, no one can seem to pinpoint the coven. however, according to most sources, its goals of changing the face of salem and witchcraft alike have not changed.[break][break]
the public knows about this coven but also knows nothing about this coven. only its members are privy to its location, and only its trusted members are given information to go with the seemingly harmless tasks they are delegated to do. its name is more common place around coastal areas, and it plays a heavy influence on the criminal world of sundial. those that have been tasked with tracking it know that the waters are hiding the storm that will emerge after the calm, and that whatever is being planned can not be good. [break][break] coven leviathan generally allows its witches to pose as light-coven witches and take normal missions, as most of its actual missions are done specifically for the glory of the coven. as such, they will mostly be illegal or shady and may involve obtaining funds, destruction, or other forms of crime. surprisingly, the inside of the coven is quite homely and the leader often discourages fledglings from getting their hands too deep in dark things for now. though the public thinks leviathan is for those anti-government anarchists and scheming mafia lords (and they wouldn't be wrong at all), it's usually just a small coven with a relaxed, tight-knit atmosphere. it demands the most loyalty out of all the covens, including even the helios knights.[break][break]
the emblem of coven leviathan is a unicursal hexagram with the classic five-petaled flower at its center. the hexagram's bottom three points are bound by a crescent moon which has its tips ending at exactly the mid point of the hexagram. the unicursal hexagram is a symbol for a novel approach to magic, while the five-petaled flower and six-pointed star represent eleven, the number of unity. finally, the crescent moon determines the immortality of the coven whereas the incomplete circle thus formed represent its dedication to destroying boundaries preset by the world.
silvertongue is a large and dangerous organization of mercenary witches that take on any job for the right price. established directly after the war of salem, it garnered respect as a coven as wrong and right was discerned by the individual witch, and actually only obtained "rogue" status later on its life. though it is mostly said that silvertongue is an organization of criminals with little love for each other, it is widely speculated that the coven's combined power makes for the greatest force in all of sundial. silvertongue holds a unique position in sundial because, despite being a rogue coven that runs in broad daylight, it is not the active target of the government or light covens. [break][break] witches that join silvertongue are often the outcasts or the ones who do not agree to limiting themselves by the moral standards of others. due to the immense freedom granted to its members, witches of all shapes and sizes find themselves in silvertongue. silvertongue specializes in direct requests, defining its approach as a 'mercenary coven.' its members seldom work together in large groups or under a leader, although the few times that silvertongue's leader has rallied all its members to arms it had become a force to be reckoned with. many ambitious fledglings join with the hope of 'uniting' the coven, but most are unsuccessful because while the rogue coven leviathan is defined by its unity, silvertongue is defined by its versatility. [break][break] the public has a hate-love relationship with silvertongue. tabloids often eat up their 'criminal code' when they take on group missions, but otherwise regard them as evil for their promise of carrying out any request-- murder and espionage included. really the opinion of silvertongue fluctuates depending on when you look at the papers, and the large network of mercenary witches wouldn't have it any other way. [break][break] the emblem of silvertongue is an hourglass with its bottom more full than its top, and two twin snakes crossing their heads and tails at the top and the bottom of the hourglass respectively. The hourglass is a symbol of death, apocalypse and also the faint hope towards a different beginning. The first snake represents craftiness, vengeance, ruthlessness and ambition while the second represents rebirth, guardianship and immortality. the crisscrossing of the snake bodies represents the intersection and separation of ideologies.
