Aurai Newsletter Vol. I

The First Official Announcement of Aurai Academy!

FIRST of all, on behalf of all the admins we would like to thank you all for joining us here in Aurai Academy. We really appreciate you taking time out of your days to play with us, lending us your voices and imaginations to make this place even better. That being said, please remember to feel free to drop any of us questions or comments at any time so that we can continue improving.
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SECOND form of business, we would like to clarify a few things starting with EMBLEMS. Emblems are like badges which carry the symbols of the various clans and they are given to students by teachers, tutors, and staff members for mastery of their current level of skills. They do not themselves grant any power but rather recognize that the student has earned enough experience through training and hard work to unlock the next tier of powers. The powers are designed to sort of build off of one another. 
For example: How could one learn to control an entire blizzard when they cannot even summon a ball of water? 
Think of emblems like levels in rpgs or even pokemon. When you reach a certain level, by earning it, you are now able to learn more advanced powers.
Until you master your first clan’s powers you do not earn Emblems for another clan.
Who has what Emblems and how can you tell?
- Every new regular student starts with 0 Emblems.
- Clan Head Students can have 3 Emblems in their respective Clan as well as having the basic understanding for how the powers for 2 Emblems and below work for each of the other clans so they can help to train.
- The Head Boy and Head Girl each have 5 Emblems for their respective clans and they understand how the powers for 4 Emblems and below work for each of the other clans so they can help in training.
- Teachers themselves start with 10 Emblems for their current clan and 5 Emblems in secondary clan of their choosing. Any teacher can teach up to 10 levels of any clan but they are especially gifted at teaching their own clan powers.
- The Headmistress has mastered all 5 clans’ powers and is able to effectively teach anyone.
For Sentinels Emblems are doled out as follows:
- The Sentinel Captain has 10 Emblems in four of the clans, including their original clan, and they are able to teach any clan powers to anyone.
- The Sentinel Lieutenants have 10 Emblems in three of the clans, including their original clan, and they are able to teach any clan powers to anyone.
- The Sentinel Sergeants have 10 Emblems in two of the clans, including their original clan, and are able to teach any clan powers to anyone.
- Regular Sentinels have 10 Emblems in their original clan and can teach any clan powers to anyone.
To keep track of how many Emblems each character has and how many you have earned, we recommend keeping a count on your profile somewhere. The symbols in each clan’s hall are pictures of the Emblems so you know what they look like. For rp purposes we consider them like badges, medals, or trophies that you can interact with if you so choose. Even put them on display.
How to earn Emblems? Training and duels for now. We may offer group missions later that can be completed to earn Emblems but we are still working that out.

TRAINING is simple – Rp the training with the headmistress, teachers, headstudents (including the headboy and headgirl), and even the Sentinels. We encourage you to make it interesting. Maybe your character is really good at some powers, like they come naturally, and absolutely rubbish at others. Have fun and make it a journey for your character to go on. 
DUELS are a bit more complicated. We do not want to tell anyone how their combat should be. If both players wish to have it pre-plotted who would win then that is fine. You may also wish to just write it out and end it for whomever in a somewhat natural way based on what you both come up with during the battle, that is fine too. If maybe you’d like to do something a little different then we recommend developing a system using the dice to decide whether casting a spell is a success or failure. The admins are working on coming up with a definitive way to use the dice and as soon as we come up with some rules that work you are welcome to use them too. Whichever method you and your partner decide, it will be fine. Just make sure at the last post you tag the admins so that we can note an Emblem has been earned.
A few more facts for FAQs coming up:
- The maximum age is 150
- For now we are not allowing minors or children at the moment. All applicants should be at least 18.
- The Academy is meant strictly to train soldiers and students were invited to attend based on their innate talents. As mentioned in the description, not all are capable to use their abilities for battle. Kynarrai with lesser skill go to the other schools to learn how to use their abilities for normal or mundane things such as farming, transportation, fishing, construction, and things like that. 
- The Haeyari are a matriarchal society  
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THIRD form of business… POINTS! That’s right, we are coming up with things for rpers to do with the points you will be earning as you post and play with each other. We are toying with the ideas of second and third characters, personal housing, new weapons, and pets; just to name a few. These new features will be rolled out incrementally as we figure out how to appropriately manage it. 
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NUMBA 4 ~ RECRUITMENT! We are also tossing around the idea of recruitment bonuses; awarding extra points to those who actively advertise and recruit for the Academy. Once we have the details ironed out we will update the rules and how to join page accordingly. We will even allow points to be added retroactively for those who already have helped with advertising and brought their friends. 
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FIVE IS ALIVE! To help maintain the life in the rp and keep things interesting we also intend to unveil group missions. They will basically be fun and optional little side plots for characters to carry out once a week (though the deadline can be extended indefinitely if needed) for added points. We will try to tie them into things going on at the Academy and Events to add more layers to the overall story for everyone. And that brings us to the last little tidbit…
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*EVENTS* We will be holding monthly events for Aurai Academy and the surrounding area. They can be combat related, history related, or even just fun little festivals for all to enjoy. For the most part events will be MANDATORY and serve as activity checks so make sure your character at least makes an appearance. Of course we would prefer that everyone participates more than that given how hard we will be working on them but we do understand this time of year can get very busy for a lot of you and lots of you have real lives. So if you need a hiatus or semi hiatus please feel free to let us know.
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HISTORY TIME! I figure it might be a good idea to kind of lay out the history of these people so you kind of know where they are coming from.

A long time ago, the entire continent was one empire ruled by an imperial family that lorded over various kings with power, lands, and territories of their own. The system functioned well for quite a while but as with all power, it corrupts and those with the most of it became twisted, cruel and evil. Those at the top rose so far above those below, they were so disconnected, that they could no longer see them as people but rather pawns, toys, and things to use as they willed. Excess and debauchery became a way of life for the royals, taking everything from those beneath them until they ruled over masses of oppressed and slaves with nothing to lose. The royals began fighting each other, all the greatest families warring against each other unbalanced the entire empire and created just the right kind of conditions for change.

The oppressed had to be soldiers for the fights and thus became organized and the idea for rebellion spread, starting near the southern coast of what is now Kynara. The rebels fought well and managed to seize nearly half of all the land when their former masters finally managed to defend themselves. A deadly, ugly, and stalemated war waged for nearly 30 years until one hero, with the help of the heads of all the clans, sacrificed himself to create the barrier. Thus the two countries were created and the southern section of the continent with the former slaves and rebels became Kynara in the hero's honor. 

In the days that followed the infant country had to come up with a system to sustain themselves which worked. They were no longer at war so they would be able to come up with something more stable. At first they were unsure how to proceed but they knew for sure that they didn't want to become the tyranny they had fought so hard to be free of. From there they established the Enclave and the governing structure of the elder councils so that they would never again create positions with too much power.
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LET'S TALK ABOUT CLANS. Clans are groups of people who hail from the same ancestral region which had bestowed them with elemental gifts. Not all Aurai clan members are from the same family, come from the same current region, or even follow the same local clan government. 
For example: A clan in the southeastern part of a valley will have a different group of elders than the group in the northeastern park. Like different mayors and city councils for different cities within the same province or state. 
Individual or familial clans have their elder council, from that council they have a representative that sent to the city council. From there an elder is chosen to go to the province elder council, and from that council they choose one from to go to the Enclave which is the governing body of the entire country. In the case of mixed cities, they have representatives made available from each ancestral clan (Aurai, Essara, Filaren, Haeyari, Shira) on the council and one representative from each moves upward, all the way to the Enclave. The Enclave can consist of 25 members (one from each ancestral clan from each region 5x5) with one elected member being called the Grand Elder who acts as a sort of spokesperson for the entire Enclave and thus the nation.
NOTE: The clans are not evil entities, though with minor corrupt groups like in any country or government. You can have a sad/rough backstory concerning your family, but do not imply that the whole clan is evil or the clan head is evil as that is false.

Thanks for sticking through this far! We know it is a lot but we have big dreams and ideas for this place and we would like to share them with you. Together we can make this special, a place that can feel like a second home with ideals we can work towards as a group. As always, we would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or even ideas please let us know. 

Once you have read this, please drop a comment below saying so. 
Again we would like to humbly thank you for coming to Aurai Academy.