Solterran Sovereign Auditions
The desert is singing, on the night that Orestes leaves.
It is a song of sand and sorrow, of a hunger that runs deep beneath the Mors and lies there at the bottom of the world like a great, golden serpent. And there it waits in the dark, alone and so very, very hungry, as the sun rises on a Court whose King is again missing.
Perhaps, at first, they do not believe it. Perhaps they think he is only traveling to see Marisol, and his children, or off on some diplomatic meeting that went unannounced. The optimists of the Court believe he will be back. Bells ring in the castle square on the first day. Whispers spread door to door like wildfire, the streets full of questions and rumors and fear spreading its wings like a dragon over the city of the sun —
But the next day the desert is still crying out.
And as the sun warms the sands there is an edge now to its song that was not there before, as if sorrow’s tears have only washed away the sand keeping its ancient angers buried below the surface. The dunes turn into restless things, tossing themselves like waves against a shore. The sand gathers and swells and falls, ripples like some great monster is diving deep in the depths of it.
Its song rises with the sand. It laps against the walls of the city, floods through its streets like water. Teryrs raise their heads and bellow out the notes to it in the canyons, coyotes set to yipping in the distance. With every passing day the song grows louder, and wilder, and the Mors thrashes more fiercely. With every passing day the lament of Solterra becomes sharper.
A week passes and there are no more whispers of when will our king return to us? It is only ever where has he gone? and see how the desert screams without him?
See how the desert grows wilder each day?
And the vultures are circling in the city, and every morning there are more snakes sunbathing near the fountains, and more jackals waiting beyond the walls, and more cries filling the night. And every day the sand that blows in on the westerly winds looks more and more like writing, like a message, like a command.
Until, one day, it is.
Come to the desert, it reads in glittering gold, all you who think you are worthy.
And we shall see which of you truly are.
~~~
The desert, when they come to it like sheep at the command of their shepherd, is a wild thing. It twists, and bucks, and rages — and it sings. It sings with all the sorrow and fury of a thing borne of violence, of a creature who has seen kings rise and fall and abandon. In the center of all those roiling dunes is a pedestal of sandstone — and upon that pedestal a miniature sun waits, throwing off light that pulses like a beating heart.
The first horse to step out into the sands and declare to all the world, I am the worthy one you seek, was promptly swept off of his hooves and devoured by the sand.
The desert curls itself around the pedestal, dunes rising and falling like golden waves.
And it waits.
It is a song of sand and sorrow, of a hunger that runs deep beneath the Mors and lies there at the bottom of the world like a great, golden serpent. And there it waits in the dark, alone and so very, very hungry, as the sun rises on a Court whose King is again missing.
Perhaps, at first, they do not believe it. Perhaps they think he is only traveling to see Marisol, and his children, or off on some diplomatic meeting that went unannounced. The optimists of the Court believe he will be back. Bells ring in the castle square on the first day. Whispers spread door to door like wildfire, the streets full of questions and rumors and fear spreading its wings like a dragon over the city of the sun —
But the next day the desert is still crying out.
And as the sun warms the sands there is an edge now to its song that was not there before, as if sorrow’s tears have only washed away the sand keeping its ancient angers buried below the surface. The dunes turn into restless things, tossing themselves like waves against a shore. The sand gathers and swells and falls, ripples like some great monster is diving deep in the depths of it.
Its song rises with the sand. It laps against the walls of the city, floods through its streets like water. Teryrs raise their heads and bellow out the notes to it in the canyons, coyotes set to yipping in the distance. With every passing day the song grows louder, and wilder, and the Mors thrashes more fiercely. With every passing day the lament of Solterra becomes sharper.
A week passes and there are no more whispers of when will our king return to us? It is only ever where has he gone? and see how the desert screams without him?
See how the desert grows wilder each day?
And the vultures are circling in the city, and every morning there are more snakes sunbathing near the fountains, and more jackals waiting beyond the walls, and more cries filling the night. And every day the sand that blows in on the westerly winds looks more and more like writing, like a message, like a command.
Until, one day, it is.
Come to the desert, it reads in glittering gold, all you who think you are worthy.
And we shall see which of you truly are.
The desert, when they come to it like sheep at the command of their shepherd, is a wild thing. It twists, and bucks, and rages — and it sings. It sings with all the sorrow and fury of a thing borne of violence, of a creature who has seen kings rise and fall and abandon. In the center of all those roiling dunes is a pedestal of sandstone — and upon that pedestal a miniature sun waits, throwing off light that pulses like a beating heart.
The first horse to step out into the sands and declare to all the world, I am the worthy one you seek, was promptly swept off of his hooves and devoured by the sand.
The desert curls itself around the pedestal, dunes rising and falling like golden waves.
And it waits.
Rules to Apply
Before filling out the form found at the bottom of the page, you must read the rules and guidelines below, as well as everything posted on this page! Please ask us if you have any questions or concerns at all!
If you have read through the rules, understand the requirements, and still want to audition for Sovereign, please make an IC reply to this post and put your completed OOC audition form (below) underneath it!
Character Requirements:
- You can audition both existing characters and brand new characters, however both are required to make an IC post responding to this post! This thread has been temporarily opened so that both OOC, pending, and accepted IC accounts may make their replies for the audition.
- Anyone from any Court can apply.
- Your character must be at least three years old.
- You do not have to create a character account unless you are chosen. In the event that you are chosen as Sovereign, you will have 2 weeks to create your character's profile (it should be easy, since all of the information is already required to fill out the audition form).
- You can try out with as many characters as you'd like! However, each needs a fully separate post and application in this thread.
General rules and requirements regarding Sovereigns:
- Regarding Sovereign vulnerability: Sovereigns will be deemed Vulnerable if you make 10 IC posts or less per month (this means that it will be extremely easy for anyone to win a Challenge against you), and posted absences only make you immune for 2 weeks.
- Sovereign activity requirements: To promote activity within their respective Courts, the Sovereign must setup 1 IC event every other season.
- Once you are selected and your profile approved, your first duty will be to create a Court Rules thread in your respective Court forum. Read this thread for things you can do as Sovereign.
Regarding this audition:
- All auditions are due by 11:59PM EST on 12/05/20. Novus-standard time is listed in the sidebar.
- You must make an IC post replying to this post AND post the OOC audition form! Both must be included in the same post, with the IC post first and the OOC audition form underneath it.
- Please, only reply to this thread if you are auditioning for Sovereign.
- The IC post can have your own personal coding and art - but that will not affect the outcome.
- All responses to this thread will be considered complete, whether they are actually finished or not. Please do not post Work in Progress auditions!
- Please do not alter the OOC audition form itself. Although we love to see special coding and pretty pictures, we want to be as impartial as possible - and as much as we'd like to say we're fairly objective, special coding and pretty pictures can impress us! We want these to be bare-bones.
- As you're filling out the audition form, pretend you're filling out an actual profile. Make sure you adhere to all Character Rules set out here.
- We'll be judging on writing quality and how well your character fits into Solterran ideals.
If you have read through the rules, understand the requirements, and still want to audition for Sovereign, please make an IC reply to this post and put your completed OOC audition form (below) underneath it!
Code:
<button class="acc_ctrl"><h2>Click here to see this character's OOC audition form!</h2></button><div class="acc_panel">
<div class="tcat"><font style="font-size:20px; font-weight:bold;">About the RPer</font></div><blockquote><blockquote>
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">Thanks for auditioning! Let's start with your name.</span>
What is your OOC name?
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">Great! How old are you?</span>
How old are you?
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">Have you ever held a Position of Power before?</span>
Have you ever had any characters in a leading position, on or off-site? What did you like about it? What did you not like about it?
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">Have you read the Sovereign Rules?</span>
Yes/No - if No, please read the rules above and follow the links to the rules regarding Sovereigns and Courts
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">What aspect of Novus are you most excited about?</span>
Tell us something that stood out to you when you read the Guidebook, or something about the site in general.
</blockquote></blockquote>
<div class="tcat"><font style="font-size:20px; font-weight:bold;">Sovereign Questions</font></div><blockquote><blockquote>
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">Why would your character be a good candidate to lead Solterra?</span>
Tell us why your character would be a good choice to be Sovereign of this Court. Match up their ideals and values with Solterra and Solis.
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">What would be their goals as Sovereign? What would they do with their new power?</span>
What are your plans for the Court? Do you have a vision for Solterra? What rules would your character set? Would they hold any events to garnish activity? If so, what?
<span class="sidebarheaders" style="font-size:12px;">You've got us convinced. Is there anything else you'd like to add?</span>
Here's your chance to add anything else at all!
</blockquote></blockquote></div>