Post by Emily on May 23, 2009 20:08:29 GMT -5
Everyone had them. Unless you weren't born in Ishiia, it was unheard of not to. The Osjics, small glowing riverstones, were always found at a young age. The latest anyone had ever found them was at the age of ten, and even that was rare. They were found when a child was doing something they liked and were good at. At first they would appear to be normal stones, but the second their owner touched it it would glow to life, and would stay that way until the owner's death.
What they were doing when they found the stone determined what they would train as and be for the rest of their life. Aside from placing someone in their profession, the Osjics gave small, useful powers related to their owner's job. Magic was not all that uncommon, and anyone might be born with some kind of ability, so that feature of the Osjics was almost expected. A cook might be able to make a filling and delicious meal out of any edible food. A healer could be able to think of a way to efficiently use every herb to the best of it's abilities.
However, the Osjics didn't magically make you an expert at your job, you had to train for it. The extent to which your Osjic helped you depended on your skill level. In many cases, it also depended on natural ability. All of that, of course, is just the background. The real history began fifteen years ago, when all of the Six Elemental Lords became deathly sick. As I should probably explain, Ishiia was once ruled by the Six Elemental Lords.
Their Osjics, instead of helping them with basic household chores, gave them control over an element. Tragically, every single Lord died. Every one, that is, except for the Water Lord. Some said the sickness made him go mad, others believed that he had killed the other Lords with it. Many even thought what he did next was truly what was best for Ishiia. That, or they just said it to grab power and move up the political ladder. In any case, the Lord of Water was the sole ruler of Ishiia, and he changed things. He hired mages and sorcerers to try and find a way for someone to transfer the power of one Osjic into another.
He planned to strengthen his army and expand his borders. And after a year and a half, they found it. Anyone that worked at anything useful to the army was captured. Warriors, healers, mages, and even cooks were brought to the castle where their Osjics were drained of their power. What the Lord of Water didn't foresee were the consequences, not that he cared. After someone's Osjics were drained, the human was useless, and he might have been kinder to simply take their souls.
They had no way to make money, no skill at their craft, and the physical pain required to do this made some go mad, and even killed others. Aside from the physical aspects of it, there were mental ones too. A piece of themselves most didn't even notice was there didn't simply disappear, but was ripped out in the most crude manner possible. Osjics were flat, smooth stones about two inches in diameter. They could be any color, and emitted a faint glow. But once the power was drained they became nothing more that grey stones that were thrown into the road. Small groups began to come together against the Lord of Water, and eventually formed into one, larger rebellion.
It was slowly growing, but still nowhere large enough to attack. But The Lord of Water had his own tricks up his sleeve. He had created a way for members of the rebellion to redeem themselves. If they brought in fifteen Osjics to be drained, they were immediately forgiven of all charges and given a wooden bracelet with a single red ruby in it. There were three things that made these bracelets important.
The first is that they were impossible to get off, they literally were part of the owner's wrist. Not even cutting off your own hand would work, as it would grow in size and seal itself to the rest of their limb. For extremely desperate people, it would seal itself to whatever limbs were left. The sealing process was enough to reduce the hardest soldier to tears. This was done on purpose, to ensure that few people tried removing it as possible.
Secondly, they couldn't be duplicated. The rubies in them gave off a unique magical signature that anyone that used magic, or was even heavily exposed to it, could tell if it was real or not immediately. In other words, every person in Ishiia immediately knew it if you had betrayed the rebellion.
Thirdly, and most importantly, anyone with a bracelet was widely avoided. They were considered by most common people, regardless of whose side they were on, to be shameless traitors. The Water Lord had more than one way to use these to his tactical advantage, and it was just a matter of time before all heck broke loose.
What they were doing when they found the stone determined what they would train as and be for the rest of their life. Aside from placing someone in their profession, the Osjics gave small, useful powers related to their owner's job. Magic was not all that uncommon, and anyone might be born with some kind of ability, so that feature of the Osjics was almost expected. A cook might be able to make a filling and delicious meal out of any edible food. A healer could be able to think of a way to efficiently use every herb to the best of it's abilities.
However, the Osjics didn't magically make you an expert at your job, you had to train for it. The extent to which your Osjic helped you depended on your skill level. In many cases, it also depended on natural ability. All of that, of course, is just the background. The real history began fifteen years ago, when all of the Six Elemental Lords became deathly sick. As I should probably explain, Ishiia was once ruled by the Six Elemental Lords.
Their Osjics, instead of helping them with basic household chores, gave them control over an element. Tragically, every single Lord died. Every one, that is, except for the Water Lord. Some said the sickness made him go mad, others believed that he had killed the other Lords with it. Many even thought what he did next was truly what was best for Ishiia. That, or they just said it to grab power and move up the political ladder. In any case, the Lord of Water was the sole ruler of Ishiia, and he changed things. He hired mages and sorcerers to try and find a way for someone to transfer the power of one Osjic into another.
He planned to strengthen his army and expand his borders. And after a year and a half, they found it. Anyone that worked at anything useful to the army was captured. Warriors, healers, mages, and even cooks were brought to the castle where their Osjics were drained of their power. What the Lord of Water didn't foresee were the consequences, not that he cared. After someone's Osjics were drained, the human was useless, and he might have been kinder to simply take their souls.
They had no way to make money, no skill at their craft, and the physical pain required to do this made some go mad, and even killed others. Aside from the physical aspects of it, there were mental ones too. A piece of themselves most didn't even notice was there didn't simply disappear, but was ripped out in the most crude manner possible. Osjics were flat, smooth stones about two inches in diameter. They could be any color, and emitted a faint glow. But once the power was drained they became nothing more that grey stones that were thrown into the road. Small groups began to come together against the Lord of Water, and eventually formed into one, larger rebellion.
It was slowly growing, but still nowhere large enough to attack. But The Lord of Water had his own tricks up his sleeve. He had created a way for members of the rebellion to redeem themselves. If they brought in fifteen Osjics to be drained, they were immediately forgiven of all charges and given a wooden bracelet with a single red ruby in it. There were three things that made these bracelets important.
The first is that they were impossible to get off, they literally were part of the owner's wrist. Not even cutting off your own hand would work, as it would grow in size and seal itself to the rest of their limb. For extremely desperate people, it would seal itself to whatever limbs were left. The sealing process was enough to reduce the hardest soldier to tears. This was done on purpose, to ensure that few people tried removing it as possible.
Secondly, they couldn't be duplicated. The rubies in them gave off a unique magical signature that anyone that used magic, or was even heavily exposed to it, could tell if it was real or not immediately. In other words, every person in Ishiia immediately knew it if you had betrayed the rebellion.
Thirdly, and most importantly, anyone with a bracelet was widely avoided. They were considered by most common people, regardless of whose side they were on, to be shameless traitors. The Water Lord had more than one way to use these to his tactical advantage, and it was just a matter of time before all heck broke loose.