The 2nd original ever created, Costine is almost 200 years old, having seen her people rise and fall throughout the ages. Her race is that of the Vanators, winged beings created by Rolf Vladimir to be monsters used in battle, capable of shattering steel with their bare hands and surviving in the coldest of temperatures. Draconian in design, the Vanators all have leathery-scaley skin, thicker than the average human’s, and their legs are something akin to legs you’d find on a large lizard, talons and all. Massive creatures, Vanators are built like bricks and are capable of taking heavy damage and tearing through ships if necessary. Because she is an Original, she and the other Originals have more mutations than the others of their race, ranging from color, number of eyes, number of limbs and wing, abilities, etc. Vanators also have growths on them that can act as plating and armor, which can be filed down into a form that best suits that Vanator, as well as horns that vary from each individual. All Vanators have 2 abilities, a passive and an aggressive.
Costine herself stands at 8 ft 4, with a wingspan of 29+ feet from tip to tip and weighs in at 400 lbs. While she is by no means the largest Vanator, she’s larger than non-Original Vanators which is useful for intimidating opponents. Like the originals, she does have some mutations, including 6 eyes, longer ears, and 4 muscled arms, with the bottom two having extra thick plating that can be used to block several melee attacks (within reason). Like all Vanators, she’s primarily carnivorous, with teeth that match such a diet. Because of her anatomy, tight clothing is very useless so she wears more tunic-like clothing that allow for higher movement with less restraints.
As the 2nd oldest known Vanator, Costine is a wise individual who knows for a fact that while some humans can be trusted, her people are still viewed by many as monsters rather than as individuals. A cautious person, she’s very picky about who she trusts, and it takes a lot for her to fully trust someone given the treatment of her people. As a Neutral Vanator (she has no bloodline), she’s often called in by Clans of Vanators to act as a judge to settle disputes and act as a diplomat, which over time has given her a strong sense of moral and justice. Despite her age, and her interactions, Costine is to a degree a bit naïve about certain things. She and the vast majority of Vanators didn’t exactly get to have an education, so her ability to read and write is mostly self-taught and there’s things about this world she’s never seen before, so she actually has the curiosity of an excitable child when she sees something new and interesting.
Pros:
The strongest character you can play in the game, as she can basically beat things to a pulp with her fists and is the most combat based character (if a player is more into battle this is the character to play).
Abilities:
Passive: Allows for her to predict an attack from up to 10 seconds randomly.
Aggressive: For a limited amount of time, she can phase through a physical thing, be it a person of a thing. But doing so means she needs to be at full energy
Gets to do the most amount of exploring as she is the one traveling on foot the most
Cons:
Has waaaay more enemies than the other heroes to deal with
Can only travel in cold areas. Vanators have a higher body temperature so traveling in hot places like the south of Bharata is not an option
Has the hardest time making political allies
Given her sheer size and anatomy, indoor combat is near impossible for her, which makes it harder for her to fight indoors.
Is extremely bad at dealing with technology.
Catchphrase: Sounds like a deal!
Hello, I am Arjun Parkash, a simple merchant-in-training.
What an adventure!
I am seeing delightful new things, meeting wonderful new people, and learning more and more with each passing moment. I am learning right now. What more could I ask for?
I love meeting new people!
Well, that didn’t work out as well as I thought…
I can help!
I may be a simple merchant, but I can help you!
I’m not so useless that I cannot fight.
I refuse!
I can relate.
No!
Yes!
Gripping!
Interesting!
Please forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself!
A handshake is equivalent to a promise when it comes to trading.
50 for just one (currency)? What a steal!
I can tell that this is a loss just by seeing it.
No deal!
I am Costine, a Vanator.
I am the 2nd Original.
For my people!
With age comes wisdom.
Protect the Vanators!
You are nothing to me.
I am not a monster!
We are not monsters!
We are living, breathing beings just like you! We feel just as much as you. Just as much human.
We strive to live in this world. To find a place for ourselves. That is all.
Please!
I have fought for so long to get us where we are now. I won’t let you ruin it.
You will not take me down!
I have been a part of this vast world for so long, but I’ve yet to see everything.
Commander Vester, you fight with grace,
Don’t be so arrogant, King.
I am Grace Vester, Commander of the Black Brigade of the Kingdom of Lorcia.
For the Kingdom of Lorcia!
Prepare to fight!
Troops!
The Black Brigade lives to fight another day.
We will not stand down!
I refuse to give up!
You will fall!
Defeat is inevitable!
We shall succeed!
Don’t even try!
A little bit of strategy goes a long way.
Forward!
Retreat!
Together we can win!
I am my own commander.
I am my own person.
Don’t try to compare me to anyone else.
We will overcome any boundary!
I will overcome any boundary!
Try me.
Catchphrase: Wondrous!
I am Mavrock Krey, the King of Marvansk.
Stand down.
You will stand down.
Bow.
Bow before me.
For Marvansk!
Marvelous!
Simply wondrous!
Never!
I am King!
Nonsense!
Haha! Wondrous!
How delightful!
Haha!
You cannot defeat me!
I am Marvansk!
Unpopular Poles: Get rid of councilman, persuade people to do things for you, and go fight stuff
Go over conversation mechanics/options
Get out of castle, go to the training grounds, go over combat commands
(A suspicious sound) Go towards it (Hunting tutorial), find it, kill it
While holding a meeting with all his ministers, a scream is heard throughout the castle - the scream of Mavrock’s younger sister, Katerina. Upon coming across her, they see a mutated Vanator wearing the armor of Hellion, about to strike down his sister. Killing him, Mavrock swears to destroy Hellion and find out who is responsible for this.
During this time, Mavrock would be keeping the peace in his country while dealing with people coming to his country. During this time he has allies; the woman who raised him and watches over his younger sibling Ervie, and her nephew Thomas (romanceable ally) who grew up together with Mavrock, a rather good observer of the court and entertainer for the court.
Corruption in the Government
Track some corrupt officials down and use the information as blackmail to have sway over them (Good ending)
Track them down have them publicly apologize and kick them out to replace them with someone else (Peace ending)
Track them down and have them executed (Bad ending)
Impression Hunt: To impress a diplomat from another country, Mavrock must go on a hunt with them and hunt the biggest monster possible to show his strength.
Abduction or Abdication: Mavrock is knocked out (wine poison) at a meeting with the counsel by unknown enemies of Marvansk (Hellion forces). His captors at this point can’t decide on either killing him or keeping him in exile. They kidnap him, Mavrock escapes (battles in between escape), discovers that there are people or a hidden enemy that is trying to take him and his country down. Mavrock does not know who the enemy is.
(Pierce’s perspective): Intends to dispose Mavrock and replace him with a noble that would be much more malleable to his (Hellion’s) will. Intends to make the nation have a policy against Vanators to push them into a corner where the only country that can support them is Hellion, thus having control over the Vanator race
Corrupt Minister wants to take down Mavrock and take over control of Marvansk. The Minister makes a deal with Pierce (Money from Marvansk/Protection from Helyon) in order to make this possible, and cooperates with Pierce under the shadow.
Liar, Liar: A Vanator and a human are two major suspects in a crime that has scared the kingdom to its core; having unleashed a beast being held for research upon a defenceless town and colony of Vanators. One is lying and the other is not, and the case has gotten so out of hand that it has been brought to the king. He can:
Side with the Vanators (gain Vanatorian strengthened bond, but lose some loyalty from human citizens)
Side with the humans (Gain more loyalty but lose some level of trust from the Vanators)
Pardon both (loses and gains nothing)
Kill both (loses trust and loyalty from both sides)
Clan battle: A clan of Vanators has sent Razeth, a female diplomat (romanceable ally) to help smooth things over between Vanators and humans, especially after some rouge Vanator attacked the royal family. However, because she is some a powerful Clan, some of the other colonies fear that she will abuse this influence to bring the demise of other Clans, causing tensions to run extremely high. Mavrock can:
Talk to all the Clan leaders and convince them that they have nothing to fear (good ending)
Talk to the Clan Leaders and give each of their Clans some new level of influence as a sign of trust (Peace ending)
Send soldiers out to deal with them and force them to kneel (Bad ending)
Conquests: Gain some new land in multiple missions against Helyon
Negotiations: A diplomat sent by Lorcia escorted by Grace Vester (romanceable ally) has come, asking for Mavrock to not invade Lorcian or Aldorfan lands. Before a decision can be struck though, a group of Helyons and monsters too hideous to be Vanators come into the castle to kill the royal family, and they must work together to kick out the forces.
Hunt down the Helyon Forces: Mavrock and Grace find and eliminate the attackers, discover that the Helyon country is the cause of the instability in Marvansk and in many other nations.
Leading up to the climax:
Mavrock and Grace discover similarities between the hideous monsters and some mutated vanator corpses lying around. Throughout examination, they come to realize that no human in the world (as they know) has any access to these kinds of genetic medications. They conclude that a vanator might’ve been capable of manipulating their genes to the point they could transfer it somehow (genetic anthropomorphism, new - birth (stem) genes being passed on, highly unorthodox experiments in general). They suspect, judging from the large, oddly - shaped footprints, that the vanator responsible for this must be nearby, so they go searching for it. Upon their search Costine appears.
To the surprise of everyone, the 2nd Original Costine (Romanceable ally) has been improving relations between Vanators and humans in Marvansk, ending up in the court of the King. She brings heavy news of who their opponent is; Pierce, an exiled Vanator, who has taken over the minds of the Helyon country and used their technology to create an army of monsters. As such, they must ready for war.
Missions
Prepare troops for battle
Convince ministers to pass laws to allow him to do so
Get more budget
Use his connections with other leaders of countries to get what they need
Refugees: A Bharatan merchant named Arjun (romanceable ally) comes with a group of displaced Clans, all of which are being hunted by Vladimirians. Mavrock can:
Fight a few Vladimirians and talk to the leader to get them out of his country (good ending)
Be diplomatic from the start, and getting them to leave his country with minimal casualties. (Peace ending)
Killing all of them (bad ending)
In the chaos of the refugees, Costine is captured and Arjun goes to rescue her along with her allies. In the meantine, Mavrock must keep the Clans at peace and avoid the relations from getting worse.
Upon her return, Helyon attacks and all 4 heroes face off against Pierce.
Multiple missions to increase or worsen relations with other heroes and countries.
Swaying people to will
Keeping country at peace
Fight off Vladimirians/Hunt down the mutated monsters in Marvansk
Good ending: All his political opponents are knowingly or unknowingly under his sway, 1 or less heroes are dead, his country stands proud. They have gained the land of Helyon.
Peace ending: None of the heroes are dead, some of the political rivals are under his sway, and the Vanators are active protectors of his land and are now his neighbors on the map.
Bad ending: More of the heroes are dead, the country is successful but so much blood has been shed that all the other countries are making plans to fight back in case. The Vanators are tense and are moving deeper into the wild away from humans.
The story begins within The Village, a small collection of people and tents established on a relatively flat area of the desert. Located within the center of the village is circular dais that pulses a faint cyan light and hums a low-pitched sound with a cadence like that of a heartbeat. At the center of this dais is a small fountain that has a very weak flow of water, the only source the small village has. Three of the village’s occupants sit around the fountain with bowls and jars to collect what little they may, but as the last villager begins to fill their jar, the flow weakens, eliciting looks of worry from the group. From the distance, a fourth villager can be seen returning from a recent scavenging, a small sack carried with him. The three gather around him eagerly to see what he has brought back in hopes that something was found that could possibly prolong their survival in the desert, yet as he empties his sack, nothing of use is found amongst the artifacts retrieved. Disappointed, the group scatters as the scavenger approaches one of the tents.
Inside, The Nomad stands over a table with a map of mostly uncharted desert terrain, turning his gaze up to the returning scavenger as he enters. As the scavengers gaze meets The Nomads, he shakes his head slowly. Nomad looks off to the side for a moment with disappointment before he quickly makes his way out of the tent and towards the village entrance, holding on to the hope that there still may be something out there that can help the people.
As he leaves the village, this can serve as the games basic tutorial for the game’s controls for basic movement. Upon wandering a small distance, the Nomad will come across a small ruined structure that will attract the player towards it. There, a pile of rubble can be seen with a small stone gleaming within it. Upon investigation, the stone is fractured, looking to be broken in half. Not too far from the ruin the Nomad stands in, something reflecting light atop a series of small pillars can be seen in the sunlight. Here, the nomad can jump and/or climb to reach the top of the pillar. As he investigates the object, it is revealed to be the other fragment to the stone found earlier. Curious of this discover, the Nomad peers at it for a brief moment, noticing a strange pulsing from the rock. His curiosity gets the better of him as he begins to scour the small ruin for other relics. As he searches though, a sandstorm draws dangerously closer and closer. As he begins to leave, the Nomad spots the encroaching storm, staring at it in terror as he quickly tries to run away from it. Unfortunately, he is swept away by the great storm, being carried away and consumed by the great clouds of sand.
A day passes and the unconscious Nomad lays face down in the sand with nothing but his cloak and the stone found from earlier gripped tightly within his hand. The strange rock begins to pulse yet again, though this time, faster. As Nomad slowly comes to and realizes that he is lost in the desert, his attention is drawn to the stone as it casts a light leading further into the dunes. As he makes his way to the top of the dune, an expansive ruin can be seen. As the stone leads him further into the ruins, its pulse quickens in pace until he approaches a door where other stones like it are lodged into the wall. An open indention that the stone fits in perfectly ignites a light that serves as a circuit leading to the door. An armory lies within, and standing amongst the various oddities within are a pair of boots. The Nomad is drawn to them. Stepping closer to the boots causes them to levitate for a moment, pause, then launch towards the Nomad, taking him by surprise as they latch to his feet. Briefly panicked, he tries to take them off, struggling for a brief moment before utterly failing to remove them. As he picks himself up and slowly makes his way towards the exit, he discovers the sand-surfing abilities the boots grant him. This could potentially be done through the ‘pyramid puzzle’ we talked about in the last meeting. Further exploration leads to the discovery of a strangely humming gear-like relic which has sound all too similar to the dais back at the village, and as it is retrieved, a pillar of light leading back to the Nomad’s village shines from the dais back at the village, directing the Nomad where to go.
Upon his return, what few villagers are remaining have gathered around the dais, each of them uncertain as to what’s causing its strange behavior. As the Nomad draws closer, the gear hurls itself towards the dais, causing the water flow to speed and gives the machine greater potency. This could serve as a potential transition from the introduction to the first chapter of the game.
Environmentally: Similar to the Sahara Desert, but with much more hills and valleys that allow for more platforming. There are also sand “holes” akin to something like quicksand which would help direct and control the player’s path. There are also sand mountains which the player will platform in order to access the next area - these mountains can be traversed by jumping/surfing on the walls from ledges that stand out of the mountain. Also, there will be multiple oasis-like places, which act as waypoints/quick save points.
It’d look similar to this:
Plant: Plant life is sparse, being a desert. However, faded-green grass-like plants, cactus-like plants are littered throughout. At the oasis-like places in the desert, there is one decently-sized tree (think like one’s in a park), which, due to the pool of water, creates a blooming area. However, where our trees and plant life are green, these planet’s plant life is blue. The trees have this sort of glimmer in the sunlight. It suggests not all hope is lost. In the village, trees and other plants are smaller-sized and scattered around.
Animal: We talked about sandworms before. Also, perhaps scaled leopards of a sort - leopard-like creatures taking snake skin in order to acclimate to the temperature better.
It was a time of prosperity. Civilization had reached a technological zenith, wherein every being was happy. However, researchers had discovered that the planet they were living on was in actuality an hourglass. Eventually, the hourglass would reset, and with it, their world would be gone. Destroyed. Erased. So an invention was made: a gravitational tether that would prevent the hourglass planet from resetting. It was a good stopgap. However, because the planet could not reset itself, resources eventually stopped producing and what was once a utopia had become a dystopia. Civilization went to ruin without the resources that had brought it to where it was. Further, the world was wrecked with chaos. Because the planet could not be reset, disasters started. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. But worst of all - sandstorms. Eventually the world became nothing more than a desert, with a population of what was once billions turning into scant thousands. Now, people simply try to survive.
This is where the Player’s story begins.
Themes: The idea of greed in which the researchers and engineers bit off more than they could chew. The idea of doing better for the world at the cost of yourself (while physically in this case, it could also be a metaphorical statement) when you can reset the world but lose everything. (Possibly) religion and beliefs of gods when the world is wrecked as it is.
How this could become infused with the gameplay: the Player could visit the various ruins of what used to be this utopia. As they platform from place to place perhaps they could enter the collapsed institutions which are available for platforming. Possible obstacles could be security droids or systems that still function, somehow (or are malfunctioning). Certain rooms exist with holographic projectors and recordings the show this backstory - scientists testing out the gravitational tether, the costs of not resetting the planet and why the people shouldn’t be afraid (a contrast to the world as it is now), and the world’s collapse as a result, and why no one shut down the tether if it was ruining the world (short answer - people didn’t want to die).
