The Spirit of Aloha
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| For those of us that are familiar with the daily use of the word aloha, we know that this term has more than one meaning. It can be as simple as a hello or a goodbye greeting, or a phrase used to express mutual love and regards. Perhaps, most importantly, it is an expression that embodies the aloha spirit. In Hawaii, you will commonly hear the phrase said in passing all day long; at the bank, at the grocery store, when you run into a friend, in a text, even as a salutation in a business email.
The Hawaii Revised Statutes 5-7.5 acknowledges the Spirit of Aloha as not just a philosophy, but also a law that all government officials and citizens (and visitors, too) are obligated to be in accordance with on a daily basis.
5-7.5 “Aloha Spirit”is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, “Aloha,” the following unuhi laula may be used:
“Akahai,” meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
“Lokahi,” meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;
“‘Olu’olo,” meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
“Ha’aha’a,” meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;
“Ahonui,” meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.
“These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawai’i’s people. It was the working philosophy of the native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawai’i.”
For more information, please visit the following resource: Hawaii.gov
Keep the Aloha Spirit in mind, as your actions and behavior does have an effect on your environment. Nowhere are the Gods more active than they are in Hawaii. Pushing forward negative vibes and harming the world around you by shunning the spirit of Aloha can feed certain negative and/or dangerous gods. Sticking with the Spirit of Aloha can help the positive gods maintain their power in the face of those more violent. Every day, you have the opportunity to keep the balance of power in Oahu just by living within the Spirit of Aloha.
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Oahu's Darker History
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| Oahu has been around for quite some time. The lore of the area is rich with all manner of Gods, angry elements, fae, and different categories of the supernatural. Add to this that there is always someone around with big money, or something causing mischief in the water, and you have yourself an area that is just begging for its darker stories to be told. The large number of immigrants to the island also lend their individual cultural mysteries and bring along their own demons.
Because of the ripe history in the area, there are a multitude of strange events that can be looked at throughout the last couple of centuries in order to feed into the happenings within our Tenebrous Isles game. Mysterious sinking islands, erupting volcanoes, active worship to island deities and some cannibalism peppered in there for good fun, the rich culture of the Hawaiian Islands provides a fantastic backdrop for a game where all lore is real.
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A note on Theme
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| Part of what we explore here on Tenebrous Isles isn't so much the minute godliness of our PCs, but their humanity. No one is Godly, everyone is Human, and with that comes our frailty in the face of those things which could destroy us. While everyone here could have some special, supernatural, spark, it's not what tells the tale of our PCs. Our PCs forge a community story by going through their trials together, in a far more human method despite there being true Gods and other entities alive and well in the world.
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How many alts am I allowed to have?
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| Here at Tenebrous Isles we're allowing as many alts as you like, provided you only have 1 alt per mantle you're playing. Yes, this can be possibly a huge number of alts, but it also gives people a chance to really work into what they're interested in. Also, it gives people an opportunity for variety in their day to day RP.
Mixing mantles will be allowed, and addressed on a per-application basis. The Fate system is extremely flexible, and so are we, as long as you can work with the GM team to achieve a PC that falls within reason.
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What Flavors of Supernatural can be found on Oahu?
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| As far as available character types for Tenebrous Isles, we are allowing the following mantles: Changelings, Emissaries of Power, Faithful, Pure Mortal, Magic users of all flavors (seriously, all flavors), Scions, Shapeshifters, Valkyries, Jade and White Court Vampires, and the encroaching Vampires (Red Court Infectees, Jade, and White Court Virgins).
If you do not see the type of supernatural that you would like to play on that list, keep in mind that we are starting out the game with the available common groups in the Dresden Files Fate game and have been able to make rules adjustments to best fit our concept as a site. In the future, additional mantles may open up to allow for further variety of characters.
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White Council/Wizards/Magic Users
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| The White Council has been a part of the Hawaiian background for a very long time, really since before they began writing their stories down instead of delivering them via oral tradition. Hawaii represents the bridge between the Eastern territory of Ancient Mai and the Western territory of Ebenezer McCoy. It's thoroughly inundated with magical influence due to it being along the Pacific Rim which is a natural source of vibrant energies. There are two active wardens in the area, a married couple known as the Sheppards, considered to be the Wardens of the Pacifica territory. The White Council as a whole in Hawaii are a mellow bunch, living in harmony with the world around them, or at least as much as possible.
While the White Council does have a lengthy history of being involved in Hawaii, they are certainly not the most powerful influence there. Due to the unusually high number of very active gods, Emissaries, Scions, supernatural creatures, Entities, and various other sundry beings of power, there has been an understanding of balance that is only helped by the White Council. They aren't here in the capacity to control anything save the spreading of uncontrolled, harmful, magic use that breaks the laws of Magic. They are certainly a force to be reckoned with, but the Spirit of Aloha is taken very seriously by them in conjunction with all of their other concerns. After all, no one benefits from Pele electing to throw a massive fit.
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