"Where brilliance is good and madness is better..."
Helovia Info
Helovia opened in February 2012! We are an active fantasy equine RPG
Where once the world narrowed into naught but gray dust and desolation, the gods called for life. Wielding the elements of fire and light, dark and wind, earth and water, spark and time, they have created Helovia. The realm is set within the mythical globe of Loorien, a planet rich with all variety of creatures and blessed with all manner of magic. Originally populated by nomadic, tribal characters, they've since grown into massive empires saturated with culture and history. Separated into four distinct segments of Helovia, called "The Regions," each band of horse strong enough and capable enough, took up the power and responsibility of leadership. Unicorns, old, wise and mysterious, took to the north, hidden in forests of mists and shadows and rarely making themselves known beyond their cliffs of the World's Edge. Equines, vast, organized and militaristic, split into two, one group went north to the Windtossed Foothills and the other group went south to the Dragon's Throat. Pegasus remained nomadic, making their homes in various parts of The Wilds in a migratory manner. For many generations, the land was peaceful and calm, but peace was never the way of the gods. With a clash of argument, war and bloodshed massacred Helovia, and in the aftermath, the realm was eerily quiet. Now, as newcomers sweep into this land, they are met with the lingering bitterness of the gods and the struggle to reclaim what was lost. Nothing remains safe or certain while sorcerers and soldiers alike brood and bide their time for revenge, honor and glory.
Site Wide Plots
Kaos :: The Beginning of the End ☼ - 6/2017 - Kaos placed Helovia in a time-bubble for a short period of time, but the Helovian gods are fighting back. But Kaos is powerful- far more powerful than anyone thought. This may be the beginning of the end of Helovia as we know it.
Kisamoa :: A New Kind of Kaos ☼ - 3/2017 - Kisamoa asks Helovians to help him restore the Spectral Marsh. Which side will you choose?
Invasions :: All Out War ☼ - 5/2/16 - New layout and the brand new invasion rules are up! Thank you for your patience and we look forward to getting started with this new adventure.
The Rift :: Gods Do Die ☼ - 8/2015 - Helovia Gods are saving the Rift from corrupt gods! Can Helovians band together against these foreign deities?
The Literal Ship ☼ - 2/8/15 - Oh no! You have to pair up for Valentine's day!
Sky Island :: Murder ☼ - 10/25/14 - Vesta has been found dead on the island, and the gods have called to you to solve the murder!
Sky Island :: Peace ☼ - 7/7/14 - An island has appeared in the sky! Clouds carry Helovians from the Veins to the sky.
Restoration :: We Welcome the Dawn ☼ - 9/21/13 - The sun has finally risen on this day, giving the land new light, but the Time God and the Sun God have yet to be seen.
Endless Night :: Broken Magic Plot ☼ - 8/30/13 - The earth god has returned and is walking across Helovia to heal the land. Every area can now be considered lush and prosperous, but the sun has still not risen.
☼ - 7/19/13 - The moon has risen in the sky, heralding the return of the Goddess of the moon. Lamp trees which light the paths have grown brighter, moon flowers which grow in dark places have begun to grow and prosper and the world is brighter, filled with a new hope.
Endless Night :: Dead Magic Plot ☼ - 6/22/13 - The gods of Helovia, in order to protect the world, have disappeared into the rift, leaving the world sunless, moonless and magic-less in their absence. Only the herdlands have a source of light, but lamp-trees with glowing leaves and branches sporadically line the popular roads and paths from place to place.
Doppleganger Plot ☼ - 6/20/13 - The God of Time is still struggling to close the rift though which the dopplegangers have come. He has requested that his brothers and sister assist in closing this hole, but without knowing why it opened, the task is proving difficult. Magic still remains faulty and hard to control, but the herdlands continue to be places of refuge for those who are fortunate enough to call these lands home.
ORANGEMOON cools off the lands with a a viscious force. Colder than normal, a sign of things to come during Frostfall, Helovia is bathed in a rich tropical lushness - albiet a cold one. The coastlines of the Dragon's Throat are pelted constantly by tidal waves, and the desert climate is humid but chilly. Ice begins to form early in the Aurora Basin leaving the winding trails slick and dangerous. The mists of the World's Edge coat everything in a glistening crystalline shine which encourages mould to grow everywhere. The Spectral Marsh is the only area which remains fertile, blissfully temperature and lush.
Cotm
Character of the Month for
June, 2017
WEAVER, Corporal of the Aurora Basin, is a relatively recent addition to Helovia and has taken it by storm. Branded with the seal of Death on her chest, intrigue and interest follow both her past and present. Though she is assuredly beautiful, her sometimes sharp personality reveals that there is more to this uni-peg hybrid than meets the eye. Proving herself able on the battlefield in the Basin’s warrior ranks, we can’t wait to see her test her mettle against the looming Kaos happenings! Congratulations!
Helovia RPG was created by Tamme and Blu and coded by Tamme also known as Schwartze. All coding, palettes and imagery are copyrighted to the website and are not for use outside of Helovia. Thank you to our ServerMaster for hosting Helovia. A special thanks goes to Neo for all of her coding help and fixing Tamme's errors, Boom, for her loyal service and creation of the Time God, and to Ali for her consistent contributions and dedication.
It's easier than the hunter expects to guide her to his home. As soon as he mentions a healer (though he'll admit to himself the only one he knows is Resplendence, and she doesn't know this form) Aquila seems ready to follow. It feels a bit cheap of him to dangle medical care, but if it's what she needs then he isn't about to leave it out of the conversation on the table.
So, decided, they walk. They move through the night so that dawn is approaching when the Hidden Falls appears, glorious and seeming exactly like home. Whether it really is or not, well... Knox can't be sure. He's too preoccupied with the mare's last words, all so haunting. Her brazen renaming of his son to a word he can't even say, her invocation of a name for herself, her own kind, that seems so outlandish that Knox can't even comprehend where it might originate from, but above all...
She has branded his disabled son as wise. And what is wise about a hindrance, about dumbness, about hobbling around looking sad and dejected all the time? His son is no hero. His son certainly can't be wiser than he is, so why... why does Aquila think he is wise?
The hunter could hide the haunting in the dark, could conceal the shivers of doubt prickling across his skin as he led the mare who'd bested him in more ways than one to his home, but now that the morning light peeks through the trees he knows it is only Cem's stoic figure that saves him from physically breaking down. That oldest ancestor of his isn't even capable of looking weak, though, not at that size, not with that firm posture and that dead-eyes gaze.
"Welcome to the Hidden Falls," he says softly, his voice not carrying the enthusiasm that perhaps Archibald would want it to. But the hunter can only do so much, especially now as he battles with the understanding that this mare sees his son as an entirely different child.
"I'm sure one of our healers will be along shortly," he adds, lying through his teeth and leaving silence where he might have once prayed to the gods for some sort of luck, "they're accustomed to healing herd members upon homecoming, and do much of their work at the borders."
Another lie, another figment. The truth is he doesn't know a damned thing about the healers operate; again, he only knows Resplendence. He can only hope he doesn't make a fool of himself in front of the monster that has follow him this far.
""
Make no mistake I don't do anything for free
I keep my enemies closer than my mirror ever gets to me
Continued from How Can I Explain? Knox is in the form of Cem. @Aquila and @Agnodice, healing thread. Private just to keep it moving but if you wanna join just ask me on skype :)
The walk to the Falls is long— especially for the aquatic woman worn and fatigued by battle and injuries. Her body ached for the ocean, to feel its salty embrace for her tired muscles and sore skin; to bathe her dry gills with its briny breath. But, alas, she knew that a healer’s touch would work far faster than saline salve. Her too-large eyes glaze over, the pale solders’s tall haunches becoming a blurred beacon to follow through the trees.
Scaled ears perk, hearing the sound of flowing water long before she could see it— and scenting it shortly after. It was fresh water, but it was still liquid and blessedly wet. Her long, lean limbs lengthen their strides, and she comes abreast with Cem even in her limping, faltering walk. An ear twitched sideways as he listlessly welcomed to the Falls, but her attention was focused wholly on the flowing water before them.
Though it was fresh water, and often left her gills and ridges swollen and sore if she stayed in it too long, she still stepped into the nearest pool, webbed hooves easily managing the mossy rocks. She submerges, a low hiss pushing out her sharp teeth as the fresh water bathed her wounds— it did not sooth like the sea, but her gills were relieved to be moist once again.
Her head carefully turned back to Cem, the stiffness from soreness and her injuries making her movements cautious, “Your herd members often need healing? Why? Are you warriors?” Her throaty growl is calmer than before— the water, though not the ocean, soothed both her body and her temper. She waded, nearly wither-deep, in the cold pool, blue blood spreading around her as wispy dye in the water.
where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about
Stay, she had commanded.
Hero huffed a cloud of green smoke from his nostrils, but grudgingly remained on his perch. He scratched his neck with a claw, took a two second nap, then began plucking a nearby flower apart. It lost its allure when it became devoid of petals. He flopped on the branch and huffed again. The little dragon was hopelessly bored.
He understood that she needed alone time, she had to like bathe or something—he couldn't remember exactly—but any reason to leave him alone was not a good enough reason for him. It would be different if it were lunchtime and he were hungry enough to hunt, but it wasn't and—OHOMYGOSH HORSES????? WAIT NO??? NOT HORSE???? ??????? FISH????? BUT LIKE HORSE???????
The little dragons mind faltered as he tried to comprehend the sight before him. It was a stallion he had never seen before and a mare—fish? Fish-horse? He didn't know—it looked kind of pointy and scary, but didn't act threatening. He sent visions of his sight urgently through the bond, causing an annoyed rebuttal from Agnodice. She quickly changed her mind, however, when she saw the fish-horse.
She wasted no time.
It only took seconds for the doctor to arrive, flustered and eager to see the unfamiliar specimen. Hero joined her happily, flying from his branch to her withers and pointing her in the direction of the fish-horse and stallion. The duchess and her dragon approached with all the grace they could muster, which wasn't much when their curiosity was piqued. They moved hastily, just in time to hear the foreign, throaty growl of the fish-mare.
"Not all of us are warriors. However, we have no shortage of the type," Agnodice noted, arriving in a flurry of flowers and petals that had fallen from her hair. She offered a dip of her head to the dark stallion, an unfamiliar man, though he smelled of the Falls.
"I'm Agnodice, a Caretaker of the Falls," She offered, her gaze trailing to the fish-mare, watching the water around her turn blue. She looked away only when her companion tugged forcefully at a chunk of her mane and appeared on her poll, pushing her curvaceous ears out of the way to trill at the strangers. "This is Hero, my companion," Agnodice stated reluctantly before turning her attention back to the mare and the blue stained waters around her. Her scaled body looked wounded through the water, and the blue liquid seemed to seep from her body. Blood? Agnodice bit her lip, weaving her leonine tail anxiously around her hocks. If it was blood, could she even be any help? Could her flowers heal other species? Well, she was interested in finding out, at least.
"Is that—is that your blood?" She asked softly, her features turning from their normal, stoic apathy to genuine concern as more of the wispy blood liquid mingled with the water. "Can I help you?" She asked after a moment, stepping closer to the mare and praying she was a friendly creature.
Given that Knox is almost always paying careful attention, he's surprised when Aquila surpasses him and he notices something new. Her blood. Perhaps their walk had exacerbated her wounds and made them to bleed more, or perhaps he'd really been so unobservant that he hadn't noticed her shoulder before. Whatever the case, he is surprised when the mare bleeds blue. After all, that isn't a very normal thing for injuries to do.
When her back is still to him he frowns, his nose wrinkled up tight at the sight. It isn't Cem who is squeamish, and it isn't Knox either. Zsoka's childlike immaturity takes over and inside screams, trying to take over the hunter's speech.
{Zsoka:} LOOK at it! It's so gross!
And though Knox can't deny that the sight of blue spreading so brazenly through the waters of his home is strange to see, he won't give in to his ancestor's temptations. If anything he's offended that she doesn't wait a moment before plunging into his home as if it is hers. But then again... isn't that what's this all about? Making his home hers? Being inviting, welcoming, convincing?
Curse his brother and the very cause of diplomacy that binds him to politeness in the face of one who has bested him. She asks him a question that he doesn't have any real or honest or good answer too, and so he is thankful when another arrives and answers it for him.
Agnodice, she says. A caretaker, she says. Not all of the herd but a fair enough amount. And he? What is he, besides outside of that number? Maybe a narcissist for thinking only of himself in this moment. The hunter flinches inwardly and the sight and introduction of her companion, not wishing to greet another dark shadow that isn't his own. Just when he thinks he's getting better...
He shakes his head in a nod, distracting himself and contributing as passively as possible to the scene. The motion looks odd in Cem's stiff white form, but it's graceful enough to pass as a greeting.
"Agnodice," he says, repeating her name with an easy, cold roll of his tongue. "I don't believe we've met; I'm Cem." His introduction is curt. He looks to Aquila, wondering if she'll offer her own name, but figures it's better if he doesn't do it for her. "It's a good thing you've come when you have, I was bringing our guest here to see the Falls and was hoping one of our herd's caretakers could mend her wounds."
His long tail moves slightly and his eyes narrow as he watches the two drastically different mares. One bleeding blue in his waters, the other with flowers in her hair and a shadowy hero on her back. Agnodice looks like a perfect image of a representative of this herd, at one with the Earth God and her rank.
Knox would be lying if he said he isn't thankful that someone's come to reprieve him.
""
Make no mistake I don't do anything for free
I keep my enemies closer than my mirror ever gets to me
05-16-2016, 02:10 AM (This post was last modified: 05-16-2016, 02:10 AM by Aquila.)
of the sea
There is a rustle in the trees and any sense of calm or security flees the woman in an instant. He’s lured her here to attack her. She should have known. Of course he had predators in skies, winged beasts that lived in the trees. He had magic that could take her sight! Why wouldn’t he have an attack planned for the moment her guard dropped?
Ridges raise, her single un-torn fin flares and vibrates, eyes growing bright and angry from her nearly submerged position in the water. Though she may be torn and bleeding, let him try to take her in the water. Regardless of her injuries, she would have the upper hand in the pond (or so she believed).
Only once does her resentful glare leave Cem, darting to the disappearing black wings of the dragon, before hisses left her peeled-back lips, “You dare lure me here to—” But her violent snarl is cut short by the sudden appearance of a pale, earth-bound woman. Answers to Aquila’s earlier questions spill from her lips just as petals sprinkle from her hair. And they are growing?
There was more magic here than the sea-birthed woman had realized.
Slowly, her ridges lay flat and her good fin tucks into the crease of her jaw and neck. Unblinking eyes dart between the tall, white man and the smaller, pale healer. Though she is not as relaxed as he had been when she first entered the pool, her obvious outrage fades into the blue-tinted water.
A quick glance takes in Cem as he introduces himself, but not her. Was her name that foreign? Shark stare bounces back to the woman as she asks after the blue life that seeps into the liquid around her. The fresh water still stung her open wounds with every moment, and so it is with wary glances towards the dragon that she chooses to answer the woman rather than try to return to the ocean. “I am Aquila. Yes, this is my blood,” her growl is defensive, terse, “Your companion is a dragon? You can trust it?” Her moving, too-large eyes finally come to rest suspiciously on the small, winged creature. “They eat my kind— Akvians— in the Rift,” her explanation was more of a reason for her to stay away from the mare who offered her help.
But the entire reason she followed the untrustworthy Cem was to be healed. So, with slow and cautious movement and rigid (if sore) muscles, she approaches where the woman stood on the bank, “If you are a caretaker, then why are you asking if you can help?” her question is pointed, blunt but not necessarily rude. The woman is still uneasy, even remaining in the water, “My injuries are from sparring in the Flats, and they need healing. A caretaker can do that?” Though her words were a question, they boarded between query and demand.
where poor ghosts, breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about
She quietly watched the fish-mare's fins and ridges rise and fall, ripple with language she didn't know how to read. The aquatic nature of the mare puzzled Agnodice, simply due to the unfamiliarity of her. The doctor found her behavior outlandish, but not completely indecipherable.
Her growls and cold stare weren't helpful, however.
Agnodice turned her attention to the white stallion, dipping her head to him as he repeated her name. She offered her Cem a bright smile, her tulip shaped ears pricked forward as he spoke of the mare needing a caretaker. She felt a twinge of eagerness swell up within her, excitement brewing in her breast as she realized she was just the mare this duo needed. The prospect of healing the fish-mare was too enticing for her to turn away.
The doctor turned to the aquatic creature, her concerned features struggling to hold their composure as the mare spoke. Her words were sharp and demanding, a combination she was unused to facing. Agnodice's ears swiveled back as she spoke of her companion with hostility. The dragon's head tilted, the little reptile perplexed by the hesitation his bonded felt.
'Fetch,' she reluctantly, inaudibly told her dragon. He understood the command immediately, and jumped from his perch, a flower clutched between his claws. He trilled as he left, flying away from the trio and towards his dwellings.
"He's trustworthy," Agnodice stated quietly, firmly, as she watched the dragon fly. The doctor turned her head back to the fish-mare, her gaze looked over the broken scales and blue wounds. Her features turned concerned once more, but oh, could she really heal a horse that's part fish? Was she good enough?
She wove her leonine tail between her legs anxiously, more flowers falling from her hair due to the motion, but the verdant in her locks was in no short supply. Agnodice's self-doubts were only expanded upon by the Aquila's uncertainties. The doctor shielded her emotions the best she could, and kept her gaze concerned, perhaps a bit inquisitive. "I wanted to make sure it's all right with you that I help," She replied softly, noting that although she had Cem's encouragement, she didn't have Aquila's vocalized consent. "I'm not sure of the other caretakers capabilities, but I can heal you," Agnodice continued, stating her words solidly, though she didn't totally believe in herself.
Worth a shot though, isn't it?
She stepped closer, and closed her eyes, beckoning the healing magic that normally laid dormant within her. It flourished at her call, and seeped into the flowers in her hair. The flowers glowed softly, the magic within straining to be used, for it's existence, like all beautiful, well-intentioned things, was ephemeral. She stroked the magic towards the wounds on Aquila's body with only the best intents of mending her broken body.
The interaction that follows is tense and uncomfortable. Luckily for the two mares before him, Knox is used to situations that aren't particularly pleasant. He's had his fair share of blood, gore, and mayhem. A grumpy exchange between a healer and her patient is tame and straightforward. Like a true man, he knows that if he sits back and watches for long enough that someone else will do his work for him.
And he's right, of course he is. He's been in this herd and its previous incarnation most of his life and watched enough interactions like this to know that even the most bitter of wounded eventually concede. And luckily Agnodice is patient and swift, though as he watches her heal, he feels jealousy rise in him like bile.
It's the same sensation he has felt before, when Brisa had crafted the dagger. His eyes narrow again now and he passes it off as vague interest. One eye is focused always on the dragon—he too does not trust the creature, not since he was burned so badly by one of its kind—but the other part of him watches Agnodice with incredible care. Once again he is shown the severe shallowness of his own skill. Once again, he lusts after the power that others have.
But he tries not to focus on it, tries to form enough of a sentence to move on with whatever this is and keep things going.
"Thank you, Agnodice," his voice rumbles. It sounds simultaneously smooth and as if it's been run through a gravel-filled mill. Regardless, it doesn't sound particularly thankful. "Do you feel better, Aquila?"
It almost pains him to pretend as if he cares this much, but it's what Archibald has tasked him with.
""
Make no mistake I don't do anything for free
I keep my enemies closer than my mirror ever gets to me
06-19-2016, 08:15 AM (This post was last modified: 06-19-2016, 08:15 AM by Aquila.)
of the sea
Eyes of aqua and yellow watch the bright smile the healer, Agnodice her mind sounded around the foreign name, gave Cem. It was guileless, true— it did not hint at devious plans and subterfuge. And so it marginally relaxed the woman of the sea, even as her eyes darted to the sudden flare and flight of the dragon’s black wings.
“He’s trustworthy,” but Aquila merely grunts in reply to the quiet, firm reassurance. The fish-mare stills and stands rigid beneath the concerned stare of the healer, eyes darting between her icy eyes and weaving, black tail.
She leans back on her haunches as the woman approaches, sending ripples out around her in the blue-dyed pond. But, other than that slight movement, she stays still and watched the pale mare approach. Her ears, which had been splayed in uncertainty, perk forward as the flowers in her mane and tail begin to glow.
And suddenly a warmth filled the open wounds on her plated skin. Reluctantly, but curiously, her angular head swiveled around to look at her battle-ravaged shoulder. And slowly, under her gaze, muscle and skin knit together.
Brows raise as she swings her head back around. Cautiously, she extends the fin that had nearly been ripped from her face— and is relieved to find it no longer hurting or dangling. It, too, had been healed by the woman.
“You have my thanks, Agnodice,” her throaty growl was quietly sincere as her unblinking gaze swept up to the woman who had healed her. She then swings her stare to Cem as he speaks, questioning her well-being. Eyes sharpen at the question, for it seems quite unlikely that a man who would blind her truly cares about her, but she still answers his question, “I do.”
She fell silent for a moment, plated face turning to survey all of the Falls that she could see. And then, simply and without pretense or grandeur, she asked, “You have need of warriors?”