thestewards | the offering

“

For one of the Blood, making the Offering to the Darkness and attaining their adult strength is a seminal moment in their lives. It is an intensely private communion between the one making the Offering and the Darkness itself.

—Loren Sorey

THE OFFERING FOR STRANGERS
As with the Blood, the Strangers can make their Offering whenever they choose to. Characters under the age of 20 will receive caution from Draega's Blood residents against making their Offering too soon, but the Strangers are otherwise free to go to the altar in River East at the time of their choosing.

From a canonical perspective, little is known about the Offering except that it begins at sundown and lasts until dawn. The individual walks out of the altar with the Jewel that represents their adult strength, whatever it may be, and there is no second chance. If someone makes the Offering while stressed, injured, or otherwise compromised, they may not walk away with a Jewel that represents their true strength and they won't get a do-over.

Choose your moment wisely and remember: there is Darkness in all of us.

THE MECHANICS
In game, player characters can make their Offering only after they have learned something about themselves, overcome a flaw, or otherwise changed in a fundamental way over a period of time. The more work you put into this change as a player, the more likely the character is to receive the darkest possible Jewel after making their Offering.

As a general rule of thumb, a conflict that can be solved in one thread will not be enough for an Offering. If your character is hot-headed and learns to control their temper or chooses not to snap in one thread, that is a small victory, but not indicative of a long-term change in behavior or personality.

Here's an example of what the mod team would like to see for someone to descend three ranks using Bruce Banner:

FLAW Bruce wears the Green (haha, this is not funny), and he is worried what the Hulk can do with that much power at his disposal. He is paralyzed by self-doubt.

LINK TO NETWORK THREAD Bruce asks other Strangers how they're adjusting to their Jewels and if they've discovered ways to control their power. He talks to CharA, CharB, and the Steward about managing Jeweled power.
LINK TO LOG In an open thread, Bruce practices drawing on the Green just outside of the city. This goes horribly wrong. CharA and CharB witness this loss of control. CharC is gravely wounded.
LINK TO NETWORK THREAD Bruce admits to CharA and several canonmates that he is terrified of his Jewel after injuring CharC.
LINK TO EVENT THREAD During an event, a landen attacks Bruce. He changes into the Hulk, and the Hulk uses the Green to brutally murder the landen. Bruce is even more horrified of his ability to harm people.
LINK TO LOG Bruce talks to other characters about how they're adapting to their power, and how they've kept control. He reached out to the mods for a complex interaction with a darker Jeweled member of Fayura's court, and ends up having a conversation with Fayura herself about how the Blood view his attack on the landen.
LINK TO LOG Bruce asks CharA, CharC, and a few canonmates to spar with him and the Hulk while they use their Green strength. He asks for a simple interaction where Prince Allairavar is on standby to break up the fights if anything goes terribly wrong.
LINK TO EVENT THREAD Hulk and Bruce use their Jeweled strength to protect landens and Blood during an event, and Bruce comes to understand that the strength he and Hulk wield isn't something to fear.

RESOLUTION Bruce begins to reconcile this new power with who he is and who the Hulk is—and that, among the Blood, his strength is considered an asset, not something to fear.

PREFERRED JEWEL OF RANK Gray

While reviewing all these links, the mod team notes that Bruce consistently exceeds AC and contributes to other characters' threads as well as his own. They see from his threads that his player has built a small character arc for him with a conflict and a resolution. They agree that that he should descend three ranks and receive the Gray as a Jewel of rank.

To be considered for an Offering, please use the form below. Add as many links as you believe are necessary to show the initial conflict or character flaw and how the character arrives at a resolution.

FLAW Your character's flaw here. Feel free to provide any clarifying information.

<a href="#">LINK ONE</a> A summary of what happened and who your character talked to, especially if those characters are important to later parts of their journey. If your character posted a top-level, feel free to link to that top-level instead of linking to each individual conversation.
<a href="#">LINK TWO</a> Add as many links as you feel is necessary.

RESOLUTION Bruce begins to reconcile this new power with who he is and who the Hulk is—and that, among the Blood, his strength is considered an asset, not something to fear.

PREFERRED JEWEL OF RANK Please indicate here which Jewel you'd prefer your character receive as a Jewel of rank. Keep in mind you can descend no more than three ranks.

THE OFFERING FOR BIRTHRIGHT SAPPHIRE AND RED
For Strangers whose RNG rolls give them Birthright Sapphire or Red, they won't be able to descend beyond Gray as a Jewel of rank. As compensation, they will instead receive a large amount of influence with the faction of their choice.

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