Eternity: Spellbound
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Eternity: Spellbound (affectionately dubbed 'Smutbound' by the players) was a tournament proposed by Tenshi Kain that won the vote for the Winter 2009/2010 tournament spot and started in mid-February after concerns with the beta delayed the initial start date. This tournament tells the story of Lenna Leamonde, Sycorax, Hika Aubade, and Ariel, and the sponsors that joined them for their investigation of the "Deep Magic".
Eternity: Spellbound was preceeded by a two-stage beta, Eternity: Dawn of Dissonance, which told a short story not directly related to Spellbound's own overstory.
Contents |
Overstory Overview
It has been a part of the Multiverse since it all began - the last great mystery a mortal mind can touch. Legends of the Continuous say that the first magic, the "Deep Magic", was created by the Old Goddess Pele, "the Fire Dancer", and from its inception all other magic spread through the Multiverse. It was her greatest creation, a means to creation: a path she intended mortals to someday walk and ascend to the realm of the gods. This creation, however, alarmed Phaetheon, brother to the Creator, and he broke the Deep Magic himself, spreading it beyond the range of mortal grasp. The clash between Pele and Phaetheon over their actions left the Mother of Magic dead, and forever darkened Phaetheon's being. Magic has continued to flourish since then, its presence felt in stories across the Multiverse - spells, charms, enchantments - and the secrets of the Deep Magic have faded into the dark.
Where this story truly begins, however, is with the Fire Dancer's last breath.
Today, Lenna Leamonde, the Gamma Epsilon of Magic, is spirited away during a training exercise to an island within the Continuous. There she meets an airy spirit, Ariel, who calls himself "Herald of the Flame." He claims to be the guardian of the Deep Magic - "not made, but cast" by Pele just before her death to impart the knowledge of the Deep Magic she created to a worthy successor among the mortals she so cherished. Bound to do nothing but protect this magic until it passes from him, forbidden to cast even a single spell of it, Ariel begs Lenna's aid in finding a successor, for only then can he be freed from his task.
Intrigued with the nature of such power, and pitying this spellbound spirit, Lenna decides to take a page out of her own book to help him: she proposes a tournament of the most promising mages and magical warriors in the Multiverse, to decide a successor worthy of the mantle. Ariel graciously accepts, believing this to be the destiny Pele had always intended for him, and together they set out to stage a contest of sorcery, such as has never been seen before, upon some of the grandest stages of magic in the Multiverse.
But Lenna is not without questions for this airy spirit. He has apparently waited an indeterminably long time to seek out help, chose to seek her help, is quite insistent that the tournament begin as soon as possible, and despite his charm and cheer has the look of one hunted - and their journey soon begins to give her the feeling of one followed.
The champions of magic from across the Multiverse are gathering for a storm of sorcery, and a hunt spanning untold millions of years and worlds is about to come to a head. Now is the last chance for the Herald to pass the flame of the Deep Magic to a new bearer - the bearer it was always meant for.
Other Features
AST
Like numerous tournaments before, Spellbound included an AST with music chosen by the hosts for various parts of the story or characters as well as tracks chosen by the players for their own sponsored characters.
Path of the Bard
Following the success of the revival of Path of the Bard in Eternity: Written in the Stars, Spellbound also included this sort of pressure-free 'minigame' in each round through the semi-finals. Players could use one or more prompts in a poem, song, or other creative manner that did not fit the mold of a normal story post.
Pilot Posts
In an attempt to bring the round locations to life even more, Spellbound introduced Pilot Posts, a new style of optional story post written by players from the perspective of one or more NPCs in the current round location rather than from their own character's perspective. By writing pilot posts, players could earn bonus experience to apply to the gameplay side of the tournament.
Awards Ceremony
Pele's Fire-Dancer Award for Best Overall Story - Reno as written by Plasmos
Ariel's Herald of the Flame Award for Best Dramatic Performance - Ammon Jerro as written by Helmar
Lenna's Loudmouth Mage Award for Best Comedic Performance - Reno as written by Plasmos
Hika's Unstoppable Arrow Award for Best Heroic Performance - Zelgadis Greywords as written by Luna
G'mork's Shadowy Presence Award for Best Villainous Performance - Ultimecia as written by JSG
Axe's Singer in the Dark Award for Best Dramatic Scene - Ammon's Wish, written by Helmar
Kenpachi's Make a Man Out of Squall Award for Best Comedic Scene - The Drinking Contest, Round One, written by Plasmos and Luna
The White Magic Award for Best Heroic Scene - Ammon's Sacrifice, written by Helmar
The Black Magic Award for Best One-On-One Duel - Ultimecia vs. Zelgadis, Semifinals Rematch, written by JSG and Luna
The Deep Magic Award for Most Creative Use of Magic - Summon: Fat Chocobo, written by Plasmos
The Traumatized Archmage Award for Best Melee (Multi-Sponsor/NPC) Duel - Eff Granddad: The Archmage Beatdown, written by Plasmos, Luna, Helmar, Luminitrium, Veers, and Cray Wolfen
Axe and Lenna's Catfight Award for Best Rivalry - Ultimecia and Zelgadis, written by JSG and Luna
The BFF With a BFB Award for Best Alliance or Friendship - Ammon and Hayate BFFs, written by Helmar and Veers
Lenna's Big Smooch Award for Best Interaction with Overstory Characters - Zelgadis Greywords as written by Luna
The Passionate Smutbound Award for Best Freudian Slip - Slashfic, Round Three, written by Luna and Dareon
The Science of Sorcery Award for Sponsor Who Overcame All Odds - Reno as written by Plasmos
The Whale's Whisker Award for Best Support - Void-King Vire
The Journey to the Flowplane Award for Best Introduction - Ultimecia's Introduction by JSG
The Magic Monkey Wrench Award for Best Assist - Rein, assist of Hayate, by Veers
The No Magic Without Wonder Award for Best Signature Image - Veers, for his Hayate signature
The Feral Chu-Chu Award for Best Pilot Post - "Robo in Binary", written by JSG
The Iron Claw Megaballad Award for Best Path of the Bard - Luminitrium
Rounds
1) 13th Hierarchical City, Kagutsuchi – BlazBlue
2) Avalon – Gargoyles
3) Magus' Castle - Chrono Trigger
-) Omake! - Balamb Garden – Final Fantasy VIII
4) Assault on the Giant of Babil – Final Fantasy IV
5) Fantasia – The NeverEnding Story
6) Island of the Flowplane - Eternal Canon location
-) Afterparty - Island of the Flowplane / Carpasia, City of Dreams – Eternal Canon locations
Host Cast
In the wake of the success of Eternity: Written in the Stars' small cast, Spellbound also opted to keep the host character roster short. In addition to the aforementioned Ariel and Lenna, Spellbound later brought Hika back to the action following her début in Eternity: Dawn of Dissonance, and later introduced Sycorax (or Axe), as a counterpart to Ariel and another major player in the overstory, along with the wolf G'mork.
Ariel
Hika Aubade
Lenna Leamonde
Sycorax
G'mork
Sponsor Cast
The Sponsor Pool for Spellbound allowed characters from any published fiction, provided they had a strong aptitude with the magic of their source world. Pure mages were encouraged, but hybrid magic/melee characters were also permitted, provided their magical abilities constituted a significant portion of their combat abilities. Spellbound aimed to bring high-powered sponsors into its overstory, and as such the Red Standard was not invoked, and upper power limits were only vaguely defined.
| Final Round | Sponsor | Character | P. Assist | Duo Host Grids |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Plasmos | Reno (Final Fantasy VII) | Rude | Melee/Lightning |
| Finalist | Veers | Hayate Yagami (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS) | Reinforce II | Ranged/Water |
| Finalist | Luminitrium | Luc (Suikoden II) | Noel (Recruited in round 1) | Ranged/Water |
| Finalist | Dry | Magus (Chrono Trigger) | --- | Melee/Shadow |
| Semifinals | Helmar | Ammon Jerro (Neverwinter Nights 2) | --- | Ranged/Shadow |
| Semifinals | FenixDown | Emperor Mateus (Final Fantasy II/Dissidia) | Ozzie (Recruited in round 3) | Ranged/Fire |
| Semifinals | Cray Wolfen | Dark Schneider (Bastard!!) | --- | Ranged/Fire |
| Semifinals | Luna | Zelgadis Greywords (The Slayers) | --- | Ranged/Fire |
| Semifinals | JSG | Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII) | Ariel (Recruited in round 5) | Melee/Water |
| Round 3 | Thirdtwin | Rydia (Final Fantasy IV) | --- | Melee/Lightning |
| Round 2 | Seril | Fried Justine (Fairy Tail) | --- | Melee/Lightning |
| Round 2 | Switchblade | Nico Minoru (Runaways) | Molly Hayes | Melee/Shadow |
| Round 2 | Kellios | Celes Chere (Final Fantasy VI) | --- | Melee/Water |
| Round 1 | Puel | Asato Tsuzuko (Yami no Matsuei) | Hisoka Kurosaki | Melee/Fire |
| Round 1 | Mith | Romeo Guildenstern (Vagrant Story) | --- | Melee/Shadow |
| Round 1 | Lionheart | Sorata Arisugawa (X/1999) | --- | Melee/Lightning |
| Round 1 | Dareon | Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legends) | --- | Melee/Lightning |
| Round 1 | Ashilyn | Gwen (Guild Wars) | --- | Ranged/Water |
| Round 1 | Coin | Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail) | Happy | Melee/Fire |
| Round 1 | Hito | Vivi (Final Fantasy IX) | --- | Melee/Fire |
Eternity: Spellbound used cumulative damage and delayed eliminations until the semifinals. As such, where numbered rounds are referenced, the Final Round column indicates a player explicitly or implicitly withdrawing from gameplay, or the entire tournament itself.
