a nightingale in a golden cage

[NEPHILIM]

THIS IS NOT A JOURNAL BUT RATHER
A PLACE FOR ME TO ORGANISE MY IDEAS.

OK. THANKS. <3

[NEPHILIM]

THE CELESTIAL MAIDEN

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She first appeared prominently on the North American servers, particularly the United States and Canada. Players would report spotting a glowing figure with curly, two toned hair and a flowing white dress shortly after entering an area. Those who attempted to approach her-- perhaps thinking she was a natural part of the area or a fellow World player-- found themselves engaged in combat with an uncharacteristically high leveled monster. If a player found himself dying at the hands of the monster, he would find his inventory cleared and level dropped. When she began appearing on various European and Indian servers, rumors began to grow about exactly who this girl was. Theories on it being a regular player playing a prank were eclipsed by wild speculation. Some labeled the girl a glitch in the system. Some said the girl was an A.I. warning players of a glitch in the system causing high level monsters to be spawned in lower level fields. Others said the girl was the monster using some sort of ploy to draw players near. When the mysterious figure, dubbed the "Celestial Maiden" after her pale appearance and proposed connection with "humans" (or player characters), made it to the Japanese servers, administrators of the World began to take serious notice. No longer content with the field, the maiden was now appearing in lower levels of the dungeon, triggering battles as soon as a player entered the room. What was once an interesting spotting during dungeon runs became a serious threat. C.C. Corp promised players they would get rid of the threat. And they did. The Celestial Maiden hasn't been spotted in the last three months.

[NEPHILIM]

THE WHITE ROOK

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No one is exactly sure when the Royal Guard first began making their presence known. No one is sure of the number of members, the goals of the guild, or the location of their headquarters. All that is known with absolute certainty is that they are a group of hackers. Based on the known members, people place membership around ten (or at least ten possible spots). This, of course, is if the naming of their group follows the suspected chess related theme. The actual identities of each member is currently unknown as is exactly how one becomes initiated into the group. Some have begun to blame the group of hackers from any suspicious incidents that occur in the world, while others scoff at the lack of substantial proof of the group having done anything at all-- even existing! Below is the hypothesized members of the Royal Guard. In bold are titles that have been confirmed.

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♕ The White Queen
♜ The Red Rook
♖ The White Rook **
♝ The Red Bishop
♗ The White Bishop
♞ The Red Knight
♘ The White Knight
♟ The Red Pawn *
♙ The White Pawn *[/ul]* There has been consideration as to whether there might be more pawns as characteristic of a chess board, but due to the undebatable "the" preceding the White Pawn's name, most believe there is only one of each.

** The C.C. Corp believes that they managed to find and permanently ban the supposed White Rook from the World.[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[NEPHILIM]

THE ADEPT ROGUE

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The player character Nephilim is a rather new one on the scene. According to her files, she only registered a few days ago. Not that you need to see any words on paper to figure that out. The newbish aura circling her is so thick even a Blademaster might find a hard time cutting through the cloud. Approach her to be in your party, and you're bound to be on the receiving end of even the most idiotic of questions. Keywords, equipment, logging in and out are all fair game. However, if you have a keen eye and a good memory-- and the patience to put up with Nephilim for more than a few seconds-- you'll note some interesting contradictions. For instance, she might ask you the exact same string of questions she did upon your meeting, almost as if they are rehearsed. Sometimes, she slips so far as to ask questions about a certain skill, item, or field after already demonstrating that she has this knowledge in her arsenal. Those honed, instinctive reactions to creatures on the field aren't your eyes playing tricks on you. Nephilim has played this game before. If you ask her about it, though, cue the innocent facade. She will go down with that secret if it's the last thing she does. It's not the only secret she won't explain. If you decide to add her to your contact list, expect to see something slightly weird. She is always signed in. You won't be able to find a time when she's not on. No, not just signed in and asleep. She will answer within a short amount of time with enthusiasm.

[NEPHILIM]

THE SYMBOLISM

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There isn't consensus on exactly what the Nephilim are. Not completely, at least. Many agree that they are the offspring of "sons of God" and "daughters of Man," but as to what those terms mean there is no one theory. Some believe this to mean that angels beget children with human women. Some believe that they were offsprings from sons of Seth and daughters of Cain and that, they too, carry the Mark of Cain. There is debate whether they were giants or ancient warriors, whether they all died in the flood or whether some survived. However, it seems to be common to look down upon what the Nephilim might have been: abominations. A rook is a chess piece that has been known by other names, including: chariot, castle, tower, marquess, rector and comes. It is a major piece like the queen. Two rooks are worth slightly more than a queen and one is worth more than either a bishop or a knight (though any combination of the latter two is worth slightly more than the rook). Rooks are unable to participate early in a chess game, but when they can-- and they will be able to-- they can become very powerful, very reaching pieces. A rook shows its greatest strength toward the end of a game. Pictured to the left is a khakkhara, a sounding staff once popularly carried by Buddhist monks. It is the form Nephilim's weapon takes when she is in the Wavemaster form and what it appears as by default. Like the picture, hers only has four rings, the number of rings given to a novice. Six rings are given to bodhisattvas, or enlightened ones, and the final twelve rings are given to Buddhas. Her staff was named after Ksitigarbha, a bodhisattva who has vowed to never ascend until the bowels of Hell are clear of souls. He is also the patron guardian of children who died before their time. Four rings represent the Four Noble Truths which are:

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Six rings represents (The Six) Pāramitā (Perfection) which are:

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Twelve rings represents Twelve Nidānas which are:

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