HIGH COUNCIL CHARACTER CONTEST

The entrances are in the most ordinary of places. They don't bother to hide the portals, nor are they worried about them being found, for they know all that deals with time and its events, thus knowing how to steer one away from ever stumbling on these portal entrances. Bathroom stalls, broom closets, grocery store freezers - these are what link the mortal world with that of the Time Rangers.

It is a realm separate from time itself, as its influence there is irrelevant. The buildings are devoid of colour, made of nothing ever seen on Earth before. The city is compact, without roads or cars or fast transport, for it is not necessary to desire speed when time has no place. Two balls of light adorn the sky, one duller than the other, and it is near impossible to differentiate between the ground and the sky, for both shades of white are too similar to make the distinction. Despite such a bland first impression, the city bustles with life and energy, its occupants dressed brightly in the garbs of many different Earth centuries and cultures. They, too, are timeless, borrowing here and there from the eras past and to come.

Within the heart of the city, a building, not unique from all the rest, is the only one absent of signs of life. That is, no one enters the building in the conventional sense. It stands four stories high, the white compound shaped into bricks on the outside. In here, the highest political network conducts their business in absolute secrecy. The High Council, as they are so generously named, has existed since the beginning of creation. The twelve individuals were born into power beyond the intellectual capabilities of a mortal human, and with this came the greatest burden of all. They have carefully scribed all the laws of the land, this world of the Time Rangers, and maintain their status as the upholders of justice.

Theirs is a type of justice that can be swayed, as corruption lies in all beings, not just in humans. The most notorious of all Council members is one woman by the name of Pandora. Whispers tell of her as a woman with an iron fist, but an unquenchable thirst for all things sexual. Her beauty works in her particular favour, and if she wants something, she will exploit any means possible to make it happen for her. With her already superior position on the High Council, it is a wonder how the world remains intact and in such an admirably serene state.

Laws forbid the meddling of the affairs of the mortal. A Ranger's duty is simple: to monitor their assigned mortal humans, acting as a sort of modernized guardian angel figure. It is very important for Rangers to maintain their secrecy, so direct interference is discouraged unless absolutely necessary. Lowly Rangers are apprenticed in order to explore their skill in the area; if they do not adequately meet the qualifications, then they are assigned to mundane work limited only to the city. Those of higher rank and more developed skills are able to be "born" into the world to live amongst the mortal, their memories and power intact, but still only to be deployed if the laws allow it. They are privileged to a life on Earth, however brief a time in comparison to a Ranger's full soul life.

The full extent of a Ranger's power is highly circumstantial. Even the lowest of Rangers are able to teleport; and what an elegant sight it is to observe this ritual act. The Ranger's body relaxes, and much like wind blows away sand under the desert sun, so too is their body swept away in tiny, dust-like particles until nothing remains. Secondly - and this is a less common ability - a Ranger is able to access files that contain the memories of all mortals who have passed on. Those with lesser developed power can view them only in the depths of their own minds, while others, the more skilled, can transmit the images into the physical plane. This works best in an empty room, where one can observe a complete 360 degree viewpoint of the memory file. It is a most wondrous experience, and the limitations of language cannot truly explain just how breathtaking and intimate a gift it is.

Humankind will not be witness to anything more than whispers on the subject of the Time Rangers, for they are very precise about their work. Their work, quite often, is their life, and none would risk their life, never mind their race, to push along simple rumours. And so, the rest about this race remains a mystery yet to ever be solved.

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Now that you've been introduced to my invented race of people through a fancypants description, I welcome you to my character creation contest!

What do I do?
Very simply put, you're to create a member of the High Council. Up until this point, I've never really explored any of the twelve, besides Pandora, through my writing of this world and these people. I've only mentioned them in passing, a face there, a sentence here. What I ask of you is to help me in fleshing out these highly powerful and influential people, so that the Council as a whole can thus become more substantial and real for me and whomever reads what I write involving the Rangers.

Entries are encouraged to be drawn, but it's not a necessity. If you're more a writer: your entry should be a really detailed physical description, amongst other things, and photo refs are always encouraged. But if you are an artist, a character sheet would be more than fabulous!

Okay, but what are the rules for the High Council characters? How do I know if I'm doing it right?
Based on how I have fleshed out Pandora's character [I'll speak about her in a minute, I didn't get enough details earlier], it is necessary that each High Council member be mythology based. That is to say, they should take roots within stories of our people, no matter the culture! The best place for reference is [link] through which you can find plenty of myths from all over the globe. I'd really like to see diversity in the mythological backgrounds - sort of to say, "if everyone was just a little bit right"..! Same goes for naming. You can modernize an ancient name, or what have you, and taking the exact name from the myth isn't required. Just something related/deviated from it, so that their myth isn't a huge mystery to those who don't know the character, <3.

High Council members were appointed at the beginning of time, so if you can incorporate the myth to be "said to be one of the first peoples" or what have you, that'd be fab. It's not required, though. Take something YOU find interesting, and make it fit!

You got a taste above for what Rangers can really do. But, to reiterate, these are the abilities that have been exhibited in a wide variety of Rangers:

- teleportation [by particle disintegration]

- 360 projection of soul files [can access any point in history and project them in panorama, like watching a lifelike movie from someone's POV of any point in time, minus restricted files]

- accessing soul files [soul files are glowy, standard sized file folders that actually contain every bit of information, no matter how insignificant, about a person's lifetime. They are self writing, self sustaining, and do seem to have some semblance of consciousness/choice. Can be magicked to forbid access to certain people, block out memories or info, etc.]

- telekinesis [rare]

- body transmogrify [used to disguise, or permanently change or enhance appearance, for those vain enough to do it.. like Pandora. Can be made to resemble animals, most commonly.]

- and most obviously, time powers! But, ironically, these are extremely limited, pretty much taboo, for the consequences are usually greater than the benefits of time travel/warping/stopping/etc. This doesn't mean they don't have them or don't use them, it just means they're aware of the consequences and are thus veryyy careful about using them.

- myth specific powers. Very limited, very rare. [Re. Pandora's soul shredding box is a tangent of the mythological Pandora's box, etc.]

High Council members are, obviously, outside of the law, for the most part. They're fearful of their own time magic, but will manipulate it in ways other than actual travel, so exploit that as you will for your own invention!

Keep in mind that, by nature, the Time Ranger race is, as a whole, a very indulgent people. They are susceptible to major addictive qualities and overindulgence. Rangers are forbidden, therefore, to make personal ties to Earth [because, between far outliving potential human friends, they are also mostly unable to control.. urges, hehe.] and this rule is highly enforced.. for regular Rangers. The Council members can mostly get away with things, so long as the public doesn't know that there's truth behind the scandal.

Indulgences include but are not limited to: friendships with humans, sexual deviance, addiction to human intoxicants and drugs, overindulgence with human food, etc.

Who's this Pandora chick?
Pandora is the self appointed leader of the High Council. In truth, and as most of the oblivious Ranger public believes, they are twelve of equal stature, power, and prestige. But even the other Council members know better to get in Pandora's way or oppose her too heatedly.

She looks like a heavily enhanced Aishwarya Rai. Her attire consists of very skimpy, lingerie type clothing.. as business attire. Her canines she has modified to be slightly sharpened, and she wears a human tooth around her neck. Needless to say, she's not afraid to go for what she wants, and she always gets her way. That's just how it is for her. She's the ultimate spoiled bitch with her own city of puppets to play with, and she's damn proud of it.

Granted, she has her insecurities; she's not some Mary Sue, haha. No, she wouldn't know what to say if someone told her no, other than take out her box [yes, she has a box! Myth-twisted!] and shred their soul with it. The box consumes the person's life force, shreds the soul in two, and stores the pieces together, but broken, into an underground library on Earth. Whole different story all together, but if you're curious about that, read more about my character April, or send me a message.

Her quarters is very generous in size and decor. Gigantic heart shaped bed, a balcony with a simulated waterfall, gigantic ornate
furniture.. the works. All surrounded by the most impossibly soft fabrics and a delicious array of rich colours.

Reference material, including Pandora in action, as well as how the other High Council members have been portrayed up til now: [link]

Okay already! How do I do this?
Draw! Write! Whatever!

It's up to you how you'd like to present me with your High Council character. As mentioned, it'd absolutely thrill me to receive character sheets and photo refs, and thorough personality profiles are very desirable. You should get pretty detailed, as I wouldn't want to butcher your character when I adopt them as my own [please realize that you're creating this character for my own use! You're helping me flesh out characters that already exist, they just don't know it yet!] but you don't need to get so detailed that you start listing off what your Council member would eat for breakfast.

As a bonus, include a description/art of their private quarters, which are located in a wing of the government building and are basically their only personal space in their world. Pandora's is number 21. No, the numbers aren't supposed to be logical; yours can be roman numerals or symbols - remember, no one questions the Council but the other Council members.

What you MUST include: physical description/art/photos, thorough personality analysis, powers/abilities, a link to their myth from the aforementioned pantheon website
What you COULD ALSO include: description/art/photos of their quarters, relationship possibilities with other Council members, possible lackeys, etc.

So what do we get in return? PRIZES PLZ
How I wish it'd be sane for me to reward everyone who enters! ): I'll probably find a way to pay y'all back, even if it's a watch and a few faves of gratitude, if I don't already do that, haha.

First prize: One cg from me of a character of your choice!
Second prize: One flat coloured sketch of a character of your choice!
Third prize: One full body sketch of a character of your choice!

You can enter as many times are you want! You can only win one prize, though!

Top Eleven: Anyone whose character I choose for the High Council, which may be up to eleven people/characters, will receive a headshot sketch from me, in addition to any prize they might win in the process.

Begins: July 22nd/08
Concludes: January 22nd/09 [FINAL DATE]

Exciting, no? I hope so! I've been looking forward to running a contest like this, and hope you share my enthusiasm. Can't wait to see what comes of this!

Entries:
1. [link] and [link]
2. [link]
3. [link]
4. [link]
5. [link]
6. [link]
7. [link]