Welcome to Gaia! ::

Section I An Introduction:



Masquerade was founded by scout's Ice Queen and Trinityblue. In their early explorations they discovered a handful of strange masks that silently relived happier days for the planets previous occupants. A nostalgic event for the brave adventurers when a mask that had been cared for and prized by Ice Queen soon evolved into a young girl. The evolution was an inspiration, and while colonizing the planet, the duo uncovered more Masques which they began to share with the colonists, hoping to revive the native population.

While the planet was far from hospitable, there were certain rewards that made up for the dense wild trees and vines, ruins scattered here and there speaking of long lost civilizations. The only living things were a few scattered animals, strange sounding birds that cried out foreign words, and shining eyes that watched the two females from Gaia, blood lust in their eyes. Trinityblue and Ice Queen were on a mission. They were plotting a planet for new colonization.

In the years since a lot has been learned about the Planet called Masquerade, though with each answered question a new mystery was born. A place far more dangerous than one would suspect, has recently met with a lull... one can only wonder what trial our colonists will face next.

Section III

...The Story...

The Past:

Giant tiger like beasts called Rade seek to kill Ice's little masque, Io. And then there were the space pirates that used the planet to hide their treasure on, one of which is Scagg, who now lives with us after rebelling against his captain.

There are other dangers, ROUS's, poachers, and dangerous, crumbling ruins to be explored still. But those are for the bravest of the colonists to deal with. The ROUS's were deterred back to their nests, though we haven't seen the last of them. There was much rejoicing.

*Lapse*

Time goes by, and many more Masques have been found and given to foster parents. A couple of full grown Masques appeared out of the wood work, Nika's siblings Lyra (who took an un-natural and limited interest in Fauve) and Seishuko who appears to have the secrets to removing the Masques from the children.

(Truncated for Space)

Aricin and Kataio (Colonists) fell in on (literally) catacombs from one end while Santa_Kitty (Colonist) and Zahar came upon the legitimate catacomb entrance, both duo's came across ROUS's and an odd Serpant creature that has not been seen before or since.

*Lapse*

Ice Queen and TrinityBlue have moved on, Io, Lyra and Seishuko have gone with them, leaving the secrets of Mask removal in the hands of Nika. To judge when the other Masques are mentally and emotionally ready for the change.



The Present:

Expectation: http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10998967&page=9

Intoxicating: http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10998967&page=9

Consequences: http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10998967&page=10



This body was pathetic; weak and unworthy of a harboring a soul that had once been a part of something gorgeous and powerful. Scarlette cursed and urged Jace onwards, eager to discover everything that had taken place since the night that she couldn't remember as clearly as she would have liked.

When she'd had time to take in the destruction of what had once been a grand city a part of her wondered if her plan could possibly have gone wrong. Then, she recalled a flash of bright light and realized that no, her hopes and desires had been robbed from her that night. Now, she had been reduced to wandering the forests of Masquerade in a body that wasn't her own; a body that didn't deserve her.

Anger bubbled up within her soul and Scarlette forced Jace to take quicker, more forceful steps. The poor man, who was still feeling ill and beaten from when he had first placed Scarlette's mask on his face, whimpered and stumbled under the influence of her spirit. Nothing was as it had been; nothing was as it should be. He was no longer breathing on his own. In fact, he had swiftly discovered that he was breathing through her, the parasite that had latched onto his face and refused to move.

'Get up!' Her tone was like ice.

Jace couldn't move. He didn't have the strength she was forcing him to use.

'Get up!' Scarlette's voice burned inside his head and caused him such a degree of pain that Jace moaned and tore at his scalp. Short, dry strands of his ragged brown hair flew everywhere as her anger soared and he continued to try and ease the suffering of his head.

'Pathetic fool,' she hissed and, desperate to make him get up, wrapped her soul around his heart and squeezed.

The feeling was so foreign, unexpected and painful that Jace wheezed and collapsed onto the floor with a soft thud. All of the wonderful things in the world seemed so far away from him at that point and Jace found himself wishing that he had never set foot on this godforsaken planet. He scrambled and scratched at the ground as her hold on him tightened. His hand struck something and the power behind his struggles sent it flying to the side.

All at once, Scarlette relinquished her grasp around Jace's heart and didn't allow the poor man some time to breathe before she was firing orders at him again.

'What was that?' She barked and forced his head to swivel to the side where the pair of them could get a clear look at whatever it was that Jace had hit. They recognized the object at the same moment but their feelings towards it were far from being identical.

Jace whimpered. Not another one. He never wanted to see another one of those for as long as he lived.

Scarlette, however, beamed from ear to ear and made Jace crawl towards the white mask that lay on the ground nearby. It was entirely familiar to her; she could recall seeing it that night that everything had gone horrible wrong.

'Hello, Diamond.'



The Future:

You'll see.

Section V

Date found: Type, Name

*Date of Discovery/Type. ~Name/Gender/Guardian*
Mask/Child/Teenager/Maskless



July 30, 2006: Fantasy, Unknown
July 30, 2006: Dream. ~Nineteen/Female/Tisiphone
Mask
May 31, 2006: Horror, Unknown
May 7, 2006: Yggdrasil. ~Ashtoreth/Female/Lady_Ourania
Mask








April 13 2004: Classical. ~Artemis/Male/santa_kitty
Mask/Child
?, ?, 2004: Sapphire. ~Khan/Male/Teralinth dKalin
Mask/Child




March 29 2004: Blitz. ~Satehl/Male/Uta
Mask/Child/Teenager
? ?, 2004: The Geisha. ~Etsu/Female/Sukkubus
Mask/Child/Teenager
September 9, 2004: The Sumurai. ~Kenshi/Male/Rhiannon Everwind
Mask/Child/Teenager
July 2 2004: Fire. ~Kasai/Male/Cinderfae
Mask/Child/Teenager
June 26 2004: Obsidian. ~Galilee/Male/Kaliskanny
Mask/Child/Teenager
March 18 2004: Aqua. ~Saniya/Female/Trivii'
Mask/Child/Teenager
March 11 2004: Terra. ~Cern/Male/Everdark
Mask/Child/Teenager




November, 8, 2004: Silence. ~Seishouko/Male/Trinityblue
Teenager/Maskless
July 3 2004: Light. ~Zahar/Female/Kataio F
Mask/Child/Teenager/Maskless
June 28 2004: Time. ~Nika/Male/Green_Eyes
Mask/Child/Teenager/Maskless
May 16 2004: Diamond. ~Shiva/Female/chaeval
Mask/Child/Teenager/Maskless
March 14 2004: Dark. ~Io/Female/Ice Queen
Mask/Child/Teenager/Maskless
September, 10, 2004: Space. ~Lyra/Female/Herself
Teenager/Maskless
April 14 2004: Whimsy. ~Ashirha/Female/Haisyn Fierra
Mask/Child/Teenager
April-May 2004: Whimsy. ~Fauve/Female/Merci'
Mask/Child/Teenager




...Latest Developments...

Section VII

RP:

~how this works~

Important Places:

The Guild
Original Home Base RP (no longer used)
RP backup (Only those that have access to the mule use this thread.)
--MASQUERADE-- (the first)
(there was another old RP thread, but I can't find a link that works)

Section IX

...FAQ'S...

Getting a Mask:

Q. How do I get one?
A. Through normal flatsales, auctions and raffles. Sometimes there may be special events.

Q. How much?
A. Flatsale is ..... (TBD), and auctions start the same.

Q. Do you do pet trades?
A. Not at this time. No.

Q. There are none available, but I REALLY want one! Can I bribe you?
A. It would have to be a hefty bribe. Very hefty. Because we usally have nothing available when we don't have time. If you offer a poor amount, I retain the right to decline, and if harrassed, we *WILL* blacklist you.

Q. Can I get a Mask baby from a mating?
A. As of yet, no Mask has had children. It is not something that will happen often, if at all. If there is a child, it will be up to the Guardians of the child. They will make the decision.


Store upkeep and maintenance:

Q. The art is different! Why?
A. The original artist, TrinityBlue, no longer had the time to dedicate to doing additional art. While she is still caring for the original Mask, we have solicited additional artists to offer Mask to new guardians.

Q. How long does it take you to do ....
--breeding
--item orders
--flatsales
--growings
--anything else
A. As long as it takes us. If it has been a while since you have heard anything, a PM would suffice. As this is an RP required shop, a lot of things will depend on you as the guardian.

Q. Can I PM you?
A. We'd rather you not. Not because we think we're too good for PM's. . . but rather because our inbox gets filled up too quick as is. if it is something you simply MUST PM us about, ask here first for permission, so we make sure I have room.

Q. Can I add you as an affiliate?
A . Absolutely! Let us reciprocate! But PLEASE PLEASE use such sites as tinyurl.com for shrinking the size of your URLS.

Q. I want a job!
A. If there are any positions available, we will post them.



Roleplay:

Q. Are these RP mandatory?
A. Due to the responsibility of raising a mask from its initial stage to final, these children are very RP demanding. If you do not RP, your child will not grow. If left abandoned long enough, your child will be re-homed and no refund will be given.

If for whatever reason you are not going to be around (due to real life issues) let us know. We will work with you. We know RL is priority and won't wait.

Q. Can I customize my child?
A. By Rping, we will pick up certain traits that may find their way into your portraits. However, the child itself will have a pre-determined appearance. You can suggest, but please do not take offense if we have a different view of your child.

Q. But...Im not much of an RPer....
A. We do understand that not everyone feels they are pulitzer material. But this is a world that was created to have fun in. If you don't participate, your child will not grow. You have ways of interacting with your child, either in journal or with group RP. You could even write poems or draw images about/with your child.


About Masquerade:

Q. You aren't the "real" owners, are you?
A. Ice Queen and Trinityblue are the originators of Masquerade, and all it's wonder. Because real life commitments keep them away, and Gee and Chae couldn't bear to see their Mask children fade into obscurity, the shop has been revived, given a new plot and will have new children.

Q. Are Mask children the only available species?
A. There are others. ninja

Section XI

...Babies...

None Yet... or Ever?

Section XIII

...TrinityBlue and Ice Queen...