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Lore

• Basic history

Edited by kaalban on Jun 29th 2018 at 6:48:59 AM

Alright, let's start:

History 101:

A long time ago, in this very Earth, there was a world considerably different from ours called Old Earth. Its civilizations were stagnant, and the denizens suffered from the tyranny of Daemons, cruel gods of the Old Earth. Violation and slaughter was a common occurrence. Hope was only a child's delusional fantasy. All seemed to have been lost...

Until God-Creator, with his creations Angel-Machines, decided to save the world from the evil grasps of Daemons. A war broke out, where most Daemons have been killed, other banished. While Daemons have been dealt with, the Old Earth was too wretched to be salvaged. So, God-Creator decided that he would save the souls of its denizens, while destroying all the physical rot of the Old Earth. Then, he put those souls back in new vessels... Humanity and animals.

While the negative influence of Daemons was mostly long gone, the pure essence of Old Earth was deeply enrooted in the core of the world. God-Creator deemed it harmless, so he left it alone. This essence, called by humans "magic", gave birth everything considered mythological, opening way to Age of Gods. It lasted until Gottedammerung, an event where all gods where either weakened or killed. Not much is revealed about this event. The only thing clear about it was that the age of gods was over. Mythology was established due to surviving gods acting as storytellers for humanity.

Old Earth essence was rampant during Ancient Times. However, fter the fall of Roman Empire, when the first base for the first Mage Union headquarters was destroyed, it faltered in the European region. In Asian region, Han dynasty falling into three pieces resulted in an Chinese base (which was pretty much Asian base) of Mage Union being destroyed by Yellow Turbans, who was lead by a mage. All of this prevented any significant supernatural events occurring up until 2000. make no mistakes, magic still existed, but it was few enough to be considered as mere urban legends.

Meanwhile, while magic was as weak as a toddler, a malevolent force called The Rot was spreading like a disease in a very humid environment. Knight Order of Zaziel was established to combat the threat. As a fun fact, Black Death was a product of The Rot.

In 2000, magical activity rose spontaneously. This event was called Second Renaissance (or Magical Renaissance, or its slang term Magic Boom). An attempt to establish Masquerade was not successful. An active collaboration with Knight Order and Mage Union (their subsidiary, WORM, to be precise) proved to be enough to bring order to the world.

Now, New Earth is... pretty fine, with a perfect(?) balance of good things and bad things happening.

edited 29th May '18 3:42:07 AM by kaalban

Knight Order of Zaziel:

With various supernatural creatures roaming around the Earth, humanity needed some form of protection from them, especially from the Rotten Beings. As such, according to the Codex of the Knight Order, Archangel - Technocrat Zaziel himself showed himself to the humans and gave foundation to the Knight Order of Zaziel, sworn protectors of humanity.

It is said that Zaziel gave humans two things in order to combat the supernatural: Tears of Angels and Divine Rule. Tears of Angels is a small golden orb that can either transform into a weapon of any kind or physically modify a human. It works particularly well against Rotten Beings. Divine Rule is exactly what it says on the tin: a rule that all Knights of Zaziel must follow. “Serve the will of God-Creator” is its most important Rule.

While they’re not fond of Worldwide Organization for Ruining Monsters (WORM), a more secular organization of hunting supernaturals under the control of Mage Union, they still cooperate in protecting the mankind from the magical dangers. Knight Order is more specialized in hunting down Rotten Beings.

Their HQ in Linburn is Grand Cathedral of Saint Adela.

Currently, they’re working on “Project Saint”.

edited 1st Jun '18 1:18:57 AM by kaalban

Magic and mages:

Essence of the Old Earth could be felt clearly for humans. For some, more than others. People would often call these people “mages”, “magicians”, “wizards”, “witches” and etc. Basically, mages are humans with certain affinity towards the relic of the Old Earth called magic, a force capable of bending reality. There are countless types of magic, and listing all of them here would be daunting.

There is a special rule for usage of magic. The more specialized a mage is in one type of magic, the more potent they will be. Having more than one specialization will weaken the potential of all possessed magic specialization. However, the one with more experience can be stronger than the one with more potential, but with significantly less experience.

edited 29th May '18 3:47:03 AM by kaalban

On the Topic of Slimes

Even among mythical creatures, slimes are a curious breed. For one, there exist absolutely zero records of slimes from before the Second Renaissance, implying that either they are very good at hiding, or that their very existence is a recent development. Two, there seem to be different species or varieties of slimes. Green slimes are sentient and humanlike in intelligence, while blue slimes are little more than animals. The intelligence level of red slimes is unknown, but what is known is that they are extremely rare, that they prey on humans, and that they are theorized to be connected to the Rot.

All species of slimes thrive in moist environments, running the risk of drying out when exposed to dry heat, or being washed away in large bodies of water. A slime’s den is generally nearly coated in their own ooze. This is theorized to be a way of marking their territory, but could also simply be the effect of prolonged habitation by such a messy creature.

Biologically, slimes seem to have a set mass, and will regenerate any lost ooze to maintain that mass. Their bodies are full of strong acids and powerful digestive enzymes, capable of digesting anything they engulf. Curiously, these acids and enzymes only seem to be active on the inside of the slime, and their outer surface and any ooze they leave behind are completely harmless. Slimes can generally hold themselves together quite well, but are prone to leaving portions of their sticky ooze behind when startled, seemingly as a trap for predators. They can also do this on command. They can also take advantage of their sticky consistency to attach themselves to walls or ceilings.

edited 29th May '18 9:23:09 AM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

Schools of Magic: Transmutation

At its base, transmutation is the magic of converting one substance to another substance. Unlike transformation, transmutation generally does not change the shape of the affected object, merely its makeup.

Transmutation magic can be divided into two major subfields.

• Alchemical transmutation: Generally considered a scholar’s magic, alchemical transmutation skirts the line between science and magic. Unlike its counterpart, alchemical transmutation takes a good deal of preparation, supplies, and specialized equipment. It makes up for this with consistency and a very low power requirement, allowing even the weakest and most inexperienced mages to achieve the same results as anyone else.
• Sorcerous transmutation: Unlike alchemical transmutation, sorcerous transmutation is a purely magical discipline. For most spells, all that is required is a sample of the intended result substance, and it can be performed almost on a whim. However, the magical power required is significant, increasing with the size of the affected object. A weak or inexperienced mage could barely transmute a quarter, but a master could transmute an entire city block.

The holy grail of transmutation magic is the fabled “Midas Touch”. A spell spoken of in ancient records, but lost to the ages, the Midas Touch would allow a mage to imbue themselves with raw transmutation energy, thus allowing them to transmute any object into anything with a touch. So far, all attempts to replicate this spell have been unsuccessful, with some attempts having disastrous results.

One major shortcoming of transmutation magic is that it can only affect nonliving objects. Any attempt to transmute a living being will have no effect, no matter the power of the mage attempting it. If exceptions to this rule exist, they have never been documented.

Daemonism:

Among mages, it is a common knowledge that Daemons (at least most of them), tyrannical gods of Old Earth, are deceased (they may not necessarily agree on them being killed by God-Creator, however. That is more of a question of faith). But there are certain mages or other beings with Old Earth essence that believe in their glorious return. While all of them share the same Origin, all the sects have differences, minor or major.

Among the more famous schools of Daemonism, there are Cursebringers and Harbingers of Progress. Cursebringers want to curse the whole world, using curse magic altered by their gods (according to them). harbingers of Progress want to achieve their goal through science (normal and weird).

WORM:

Worldwide Organization for Ruining Monsters is exactly that. Originally, they were a task force assembled by Roman Senate and Mage Union called Monstrum Venatores in order to combat the monsters that caused chaos across Rome. They were believed to be chosen by their Gods to protect their country. Time flew, and, especially after the fall of Western Roman Empire, influence of Monstrum Venatores weakened until Second Renaissance, where they rose in prominence.

WORM uses magic as a tool for hunting monsters and fellow mages that pose threat to the humanity. The point of interest for this organization is the progenitor of WORM who is only known as The Worm (pretty obvious, I know). While the origin of this organization was a taskforce of various people, The Worm was considered as the leader and the strongest of them all. It is also believed that he was the one who established codes of WORM, which boil down to “protect humanity at all costs”. All members of WORM try to follow the example of The Worm.

Despite once believed to be chosen of the gods, present WORM denies existence of any god, which puts them into conflict with Knight Order of Zaziel. Their specialty lies in dealing with Old Earth stuff.

Remember this: Its foundation may very well be its doom.

edited 30th May '18 8:24:42 PM by kaalban

Beastkin

Beastkin were a species of Daemonkin created by one deamon and the cursebringers serving them. Unlike most Daemonkin, the intention was not to make new servants but for this species to replace humanity so New Earth would resemble Old Earth more. When a human is turned into a Beastkin, any evidence of their life as a human is erased. The only way a Beastkin's loved ones to remember them, is those loved ones to also be turned into the same species, which can be an incentive for those transformed to work for the Daemon responsible for their transformation.

This species was common during the days of Old Earth but were one of the many things the God-Creator erased. When the Second Renaissance happened, sighting of the species became common again but soon decreased as the species started to better hide themselves.

Some beastkin are human waist up but animal waist down, some have the head of a human but their bodies are more bestial while some basically look like animals with bodies the shape of a person. None of these creatures are human waist down, which is good as beastkin tend not to wear anything (though, female beastkin more human around the chest area usually wear bras)

What abilities a beastkin has depends on what animal they resemble. Apex predators tend to have great physical might while animals more known for stealth like cats and foxes have a high proficiency in illusion magic.

edited 30th May '18 2:34:50 AM by JustaUsername

Gods:

In the New Earth, there was an age by the name "Age of Gods". During that age, all sorts of mythological creatures came to life, including gods. Certain gods have formed certain pantheons and ruled over mortals... until Gotterdammerung either sent them to death or stripped them of power. Currently, they roam the Earth among the very mortal they reigned over.

Gods, while at first glance may seem like just mages on steroids, but their nature is quite a bit different from any mortals. They were formed with Old Earth essence far exceeding that of any mortals. As a result, they had a power far exceeding any mage, but consequently they were bound to concepts like Health, Love, War, Death and etc.

Remember this: their loss of power and deaths are results of a great sacrifice.

Gods of Darkness

Contrary to popular belief, not all of the Daemons, Lords of the Old Earth, did die...

High Priest of the Umbral Horde Antonius Lucidius Malvo: The Dogma of the Gods of Darkness is one of determination, of Dark and forbidden things. In being a Son of Dark, you forsake the Light and swear war upon the Anathema.

Eight of the highest of them survived, and tell a far different tale. Of the leader of their number, the great lord Khaos who led a fight against beings "from the outside", wielding weapons forged of the Dark, yet bearing no ill intent to the world.

However, when the God-Creator appeared, he showed no distinction to the Gods of Dark, even as he had fought the same enemy alongside them. When those "from outside" were dealt with, the Gods were turned upon as if there was naught to differentiate them.

Certainly among them were unsavory individuals, Silmarul, Varancain, Vicelogia and (possibly) Zayufur among them...but the God-Creator would broach no surviving influence of the Dark. Many of the Umbrals who secretly do service to the Gods of Dark allege He feared the Dark, and what it could bring to Man.

Khaos in particular desires to free his kind from the Uberwald they were imprisoned in when they would not be slain - to find his extremely cherished and dear Lishana. In the course of the war, she was lost, and Khaos has never forgiven the God-Creator for possibly being involved...nor has he forgiven himself.

While they remain imprisoned, in recent years their influence is slowly trickling out.

Lord Silmarul, King of Decay, created the dread Ebola virus.

Lady Zayufur engineered a great many upheavals, so as to frustrate the servants of the God-Creator.

The Eight Dark Gods are comprised of;

• Khaos, Dark God of Protection and Warranted Vigilantism / Dark Justice.
• Vicelogia, Dark God of Knowledge and the Void.
• Varancain the Deceiver, God of Dragons and their traits.
• Shiryu, the War God.
• Daeth, the insane God of Destiny.
• Zayufur, Goddess of Despoilment, Upheaval and Inversion.
• Silmarul, God of Disease, Mutation and Decay.
• Azekred, God of Promises and Power.

As their influence begins to increase, people can seek their favor - acquiring "blessings", weapons empowered by their servants in a number of ways, or invoking their name for a spell or rite.

Rotten Beings:

All humans hold evil in their heart with no exception. Some, however, indulge in it, causing them to become inhumane… in many ways. Their “Rot” (something akin to the concept of Sin) will cause these types of humans to become Rotten Beings (or just Rotten), nightmarish creatures that commit depraved acts of evil. Into what kind of Rotten Being a person can transforms depends on what kind of Rot a person has. For example, if one’s Rot is Violence, then they shall turn into a creature akin to a werewolf. Even an insanity of some form can cause a person to become Rotten.

All kinds of monsters akin to vampires, werewolves, ghouls and such share the same Origin as Rotten Beings. However, as time went by, diversions happened, leading to formation of various sub-species of these Rottens. There are very few creatures of pure Rot left on New Earth, as most subspecies are the result of them merging with the essence of Old Earth.

Dragons, daemonkin and Daemons are free from the influence of the Rot.

Remember this: Rot itself has nothing to do with the Old Earth.

edited 7th Jun '18 1:41:16 AM by kaalban

The Magic of Misfortune

Of all the magical disciplines the school of curses, and magic controlling the tides of fate, have always been a particularly capricious, difficult art – one often poorly understood by even magi. These spells and rituals all broadly affect the fate of something, be it a house, an individual, their descendants or the occasional monkey paw, in an ultimately deleterious fashion. In other words, it is the subtle magic of encouraging reality to tear you a new one. The exact mechanism, nature and outcomes of such curses are often drastically different.

Hexes

Hexes are quicker, simpler and more directly harmful. Say, striking someone blind for the rest of the day or causing someone's shoe laces to untie the moment they're out of sight. They don't necessarily need an 'out' clause, though they may have conditions in the case of more powerful hexes. They are also easier to break, and ultimately less powerful in scope, duration and impact.

Curses

Curses, on the other hand, take longer and are more complex to inflict, often less direct and far more demanding on the caster. They usually require at least a few conditions for its maintenance, and always require a way out in the case the more powerful, longer lasting ones. In other words, the one afflicted must meet certain conditions to end the curse, or continue to fulfil certain conditions to maintain it. They often must be cast as rituals, requiring time as well as often physical reagents. Typically this could include an item pertaining to the victim (or the item to be cursed), an ingredient or item or relating to the conditions of the curse, and most often a somewhat 'symbolic' reagent relating to the nature of the curse. The knack of curse making is in figuring out what is most appropriate, and constructing appropriate rituals. Often overlooked, but vital, is the exact wording of the curse – these malicious magics tend to have their own sense of humour.

edited 30th May '18 1:56:02 AM by Lt.BGob

Mage Union (Union of Mages):

Despite what the name might indicate, this is not the organization that asks for higher wages for mages.

Magic existed since the dawn of civilization, and it was very potent, powered by Old Earth essence that was in abundance. However, mages (and magic in general) were incredibly disorganized during that time. There was a need for order, which was prevented from being fulfilled by various circumstances. Temple of Isis was first such organization, but it suffered through so much turmoil that only ashes were left. Greek Shrines of Hecate, while existent, could not unite mages due to them divided by city-states.

Only in the times of Roman Republic that a progenitor to current Mage Union was formed (called Magus Societas). But even so, it was not a global organization, since its influence was limited to the territory of Roman Republic. Still, they tried to keep everything magic balanced, safe and in one place. Then, when Western Roman Empire fell, so did its HQ, which killed off most of magic in Europe.

Meanwhile, in Asia (specifically in China), a similar group by the name Magicians’ Tower started assimilating mages of other countries and making them submit. It lasted until Yellow Turbans destroyed the Tower. This organization also made the same mistake as Magus Societas (keeping most magic in one place).

Thanks to them, magic withered until the Second Renaissance, where it came back to life. To keep everything balanced, Mage Union was formed. This time it was a global group, and they did not make the same mistake of keeping everything in one place.

Mage Union tries to preserve the interest of mage community, as well as helping Knight-Order and humanity get rid of criminal mages. However, it has a reputation of being as shady as Illuminati (which was exposed and eliminated in 2005).

Their HQ in Linburn is a structure by the name Linburn HQ of Mage Union. Originally, they opted to go for a Roman sounding name. Disagreements arose, and they all happily (read: begrudgingly) decided for the simplest name possible.

Its leaders are a group called Cabal of Archmages, which membership consists of notorious Family Heads. Here is the list of Families:

• The Roman Family, led by Shannon Roman, The Silver-Singer

• House Drakhof, led by Ilya von Drakhof, First of Iron Conclave

• ???, they of no family, The Silent Script

• The Dremari Family, led by Thaddeus Dremari, the Mad Butcher

• The Mornstar Family, led by Ulysses Mornstar, the Knight of Flame

• The Servus Family, led by Maria Serva and Leon Servus, Master Dolls

Remember this: The past still haunts the Mage Union.

edited 1st Jun '18 1:26:57 AM by kaalban

Angels-Machines and Demons-Organisms:

Angels-Machines and Demons-Organisms share the same origin as mechanical servants of God-Creator. When the Creator of New Earth had to rest due to wasting too much of his power, his first creations took responsibility for keeping the New Earth balanced and (relatively) safe from all kinds of threat, especially the Rot. Archangel-Technocrat Zaziel was the leader of Angels. His leadership was not welcomed by everyone, however. Angel Madan, believing that omnicide was necessary for saving the world from itself, led his supporters (mostly Bio-sorcerers) against an army of Zaziel. Madan lost and, along with his faction, was banished from Heaven to the realm unknown. Their nature changed irreparably during the fall, turning them into monsters of pure flesh (maybe with some metal attached to them).

Despite this, however, they mostly work on the same principles with some significant differences.

There are two types of angels and demons: Greater ones (those who were created by God-Creator himself) and Lesser ones (manufactured from factories). Greater angels and demons are more powerful than their Lesser counterparts.

In addition, individuals of both of species have three forms: Human Form, True Form and Manifestation (a form that can be anything).

The most significant difference lies in the magic (or rather sorceries) they use. Angels can use sorceries that are pretty much -punk tech, but only magic. Demons, on the other hand, as former Bio-sorcerers, use an incredibly twisted form of biotechnology. As a result of that, they look more like Resident Evil monsters (or Necromorphs) than anything else.

Remember this (again); Don't take anything about angels and demons at face value.

edited 31st May '18 3:19:29 AM by kaalban

Spirit House, Wraiths, Ghosts and Revenants:

Now, there must be a question about the afterlife of this universe, especially since the concept of souls definitely exists.

In the Age of Gods, there were multiple dimensions for the dead (Hades, Hel and etc.) However, events of Gottedammerung led to the destruction of them all, which displaced all the souls that resided in those realms. God-Creator and his Angels rightfully saw it as a significant problem. And so they created a new dimension called Spirit House for those souls to settle in.

Despite what the name may indicate, it does not have a shape of a house. Spirit House is more of an ever-changing landscape, where the dead see what they need to see (reward for the decent, punishment for the scum).

As souls of humans are comprised of Old Earth residents' souls, it is not infinite. As such, the Spirit House recycles the souls so that they will be implanted into the bodies of newborns. Usually, they go to the newborns of their family.

Ghosts are souls that have been displaced from the Spirit House due to the lack of storage, as it is a limited place. Their danger levels depends on what kind of person the ghost was before death.

Wraiths are souls, whose Rot purification process was not successful. The more Rot the soul had in their mortal life, the higher is the probability of the failure. Wraiths need to possess a living being in order to manifest in the living world. They generally prefer to take hold of mages and, if not them, then former family members. Humans, flora and fauna (I know humans technically count as fauna, but still...) are mostly last resort options.

Revenants are souls that escaped the Spirit House in order to pursue their vendetta or other obsessions. Unlike wraiths, revenants have their own forms, which can be either ghosts or walking corpses. They... are not exactly known for their sanity. Revenants stay on this earth until their vengeance is fulfilled.

edited 6th Jun '18 8:52:26 PM by kaalban

Lishana, the Heavenly Daughter

Among the most enigmatic figures of the Old Earth is the beautiful beloved of Khaos, Lady Lishana, known as the Heavenly Daughter. Lishana is a figure steeped in mystery - she is said to be daughter of many heavens, scion of deities dead and, oddly, not yet to exist. She was found by Khaos, wandering the furthest reaches of the world - the lone survivor of some impossibly ancient settlement called Mandabus.

The Heavenly Daughter immediately forged a relationship with the Dark God Khaos, and the two were known to spend most of their days together. Khaos was willing to do anything and go anywhere for Lishana, who confided in him a troubled life bereft of memories and history. Lishana loved Khaos as he loved her, for he gave her understanding and a new world to live in.

However, the God-Creator came to the Old Earth and while he was steadfast in his desire to expunge "those from the outside", and then the Daemons following that, he was astounded by the odd nature and capabilities of the Heavenly Daughter.

Lishana's tears possess the power to well and truly revive the dead, her touch strengthens the body and elevates the individual from humanity, those blessed by her unleash magical effects...yet do not use magic in doing so. She bends the very laws of probability, time and space by her very nature.

In his haste, the God-Creator seized Lishana from Khaos, creating a fiery grudge between the powers of the Old Earth and the powers of the New.

The God-Creator thought his power sufficient to grab hold of the Heavenly Daughter and force her secrets to be divulged. He imprisoned her high above, watched constantly, and allowed her only to sing.

One day after the creation of the New Earth however, the Creator returned to this great palace, hearing the beautiful but sorrowful singing of Lishana and entered her chamber...but she was gone from it. One of the Angelic guards stated that he witnessed her walk into a wall and then disappear.

Precious few sightings of Lishana exist, even as time marched on.

The Winged Knights of Aurelia Monastery claim to be blessed by her, and exhibit the same odd abilities listed, with the Knightly Order considering these winged, pseudo-angelic men heretics.

Many have quested for the Heavenly Daughter over the years, for her many rumored abilities. Yet none have so much as seen her...

Telum. (Yes, the name for 'em is still up in the air.)

Back in the Old Earth, such tales of people turning into weapons were definitely real, but in a different sense. Whether it was a warrior seeking to immortalize his legacy or a daemon tricking a naive fool with a way to live forever, there was a spell that turned one's soul into a weapon. Although such a transformation was irreversible as their body simply turned to dust and in most cases, the former humanoid's mind and personality ceased to exist.

The few exceptions retained some sense of self or some sort of lingering emotion. Some say that a few tenacious daemons turned these spells on themselves to escape being annihilated, hoping some fool would wield such twisted weapons and potentially give them a puppet to control. ...In either case, such spells and weapons likely faded along with the Old Earth, with such a fate only of being cursed to remain as a weapon only existing if a Telum was consumed by the Rot.

In the New Earth, however, how they came to exist is something that's difficult to determine with the common explanation being those who's souls had been forged into weapons from the Old Earth returned to a human body, somehow retaining the ability to shift into the form of a weapon at will and potentially passing on such an ability to their bloodline with many potential 'Telum' going through their life unaware of their abilities. Others say there's only been a handful of them through the history of New Earth, lying dormant until being awoken by a potential and worthy wielder.

As the definition of a weapon can be pretty varied, so too is a Telum as some turn into daggers, others into rifles...lead pipes or in one particular case, being able to turn into a complete armament of NERF-like weaponry.

Understandably, this sort of power and their 'traits' has earned them some ire, but for the most part, they're an accepted part of society.

Homiciders:

One of the creatures that Rot can birth are werebeasts. However, due to influences akin to old Earth essence, there are many sub-types of werebeasts roaming this Earth. Out of all of them, monsters called Homiciders are far the worst out of them.

Homiciders have the most concentration of the Rot in them. As a result, they are known to be the most depraved out of all werebeasts, giving care to only violation and nothing more. This lure to violence even spreads to their human consciousness, often turning them into serial killers or worse. It is theorized by Knight-Order that wrath, frustration, bloodlust and uncontrolled basic instincts give birth to these monsters. It is also notable Homiciders appear most often during wartimes.

Despite being classified as werebeasts, Homiciders do not necessarily transform into beasts (although that is the most common form of transformation). What all the forms share in common is the fact that they’re humanoid and that their skin is covered with The Rot.

For as long as time has been charted, there have been stories. You could liken them to grooves carved by the flow of events, growing deeper with each passing current, but that would be a disservice to the power they hold...or the life they hold within. They don't quite live in the same sense as mortal life, and they don't quite think in the same sense that we know of the mind, but they are alive, no question about that, and they have evolved. The strongest have survived, and grown fat on the retelling. Whenever a familiar story begins, it resonates with all the times it's been told before, absorbing the people within it and leading its participants down the shape of the narrative. Harness that, and you harness the future.

There was a time when story was truly king. The first peoples were ignorant of the static rules of the universe, letting magic flow free in the uncharted waters and hulking myths and legends rampage through the unknown. There were a million trillion stories of how everything came to be, and every one of them was just as true as the others. In time, the weaker stories died out as the stronger ones gained strength, and became more 'real', so to speak. They towered above the clouds, these tales of gods and monsters, heroes and demons...but then came the God-Creator and his hordes to wipe the slate clean for mankind. Mighty myths were forced into the shadows, with only their vaguest elements still free, while great legends were flattened, reshaped, and integrating into the paving of the world to come. The mechanics of narrative were quickly deciphered by the mechanical, and the God-Creator allowed those creation myths closest to rationality to fill the ecological niche of scientific theory.

So, where are the literal living legends now? Many still surround us, only unmasking themselves after the facts have passed. The trickster god Anansi holds a monopoly on many squabbling tales, though an aspect of Loki, shifting him/herself to keep with the times, has attempted a bid for the title God of Stories. And then...and then there are those others roaming narratives. Born from the seed of tropes, but so steeped in emotion they elude the rationalist grasp of the mechanised divinity. Gods a little like...

The Shifting Ones

These roaming titans aren't so much composed of story beats or iconic characters, but they dwell in the heart of an event, a place or a person, and so can dwell everywhere and anywhere at once. For they are the moods of stories, the tones of narratives. They can bring about laughter, tears, snarls or shivers, in their participants and in those who hear their stories. Wherever they go, their tone comes with them, and they are always on the move, clashing with their rivals, bringing their feel to whatever story they deem wanting. They may be good, they may be bad, but they all hunger for greater coverage, and they're waiting...waiting for their chance to dispose of their own kind, buck the constraints of the powers that be and truly dominate the universe. But that time has not come yet, so they will abide by the rules, and they will tolerate their fellows...for now.

Each Shifting One has a mammal they use as a symbol when manifesting into a physical body and mind. Their avatars may also be served by a veritable army of lesser constructs- minions of the opposite sex that still resemble that self same mammal. When bringing about a mind such as we can understand, they will contain both a Virtue and a Sin with the counterbalance leading to the shape of a relatable personality. The Shifting Ones may take on countless names, but here, we will refer to them by their spirit animals.

First among them, we have The Bat. In her right wing she holds Diligence and in her left wing she holds Envy, and thus, she relates to the Resentful. Where she flies, the world turns Darker and the people turn to Edginess. Her opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.◊

Then there's The Wolf. In her right hand she holds Charity and in her left hand she holds Wrath, and thus, she relates to the Just. Where she walks, the world turns Bloodier and the people turn to Goriness. Her opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.

Moving on to The Rabbit. In his right hand he holds Kindness and in his left hand he holds Indulgence, and thus, he relates to the Loving. Where he walks, the world turns Hotter and the people turn to Sexiness. His opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.◊

Now for The Hedgehog. In her right hand she holds Patience and in her left hand he holds Greed, and thus, she relates to the Cunning. Where she walks, the world turns Younger and the people turn to Hipness. Her opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.

The Pony. In his right hand he holds Humility and in his left hand he holds Ignorance, and thus, he relates to the Simple. Where he walks, the world turns Denser and the people turn to Wackiness. His opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.◊

The Mouse. In his right hand he holds Restraint and in his left hand he holds Laziness, and thus, he relates to the Unambitious. Where he walks, the world turns Lighter and the people turn to Softness. His opposite-sex minions may turn out a little something like this.

And last but not least, The Dolphin. In their right fin they hold Wisdom and in their left fin they hold Pride, and thus, they relate to the Enlightened. Where they swim, the world Goes into the Cosmic and the people expand their minds to higher, more abstract thoughts. Their...erm...non-binary minions may turn out a little something like this.◊

edited 16th Jun '18 4:51:27 AM by LizardOfAus

New Angelic Council

A group of Angels who function as a shadowy, concealed council, coordinating agents and patsies for the greater holy cause. They ultimately answer to Zaziel, though some of them are more happy about that than others.

• First and most powerful of them is Djuriel, the Wheelspinner. Not much is known about this strange angel, except that whenever his fellows come to a conclusion, he urges them to follow that conclusion to its logical or in most cases illogical conclusion. Most often resulting in something that somehow benefits him. Djuriel is secretive and few know many things about him. Djuriel is also one that most heavily resembles a machine, with a slightly curved oval shaped face, ten glowing ruby gem eyes, huge mechanical arms ending in large claws, which come from somewhat curved large tower shields built on to the main body. Its whole form is centered around wheels and a massive shield shaped center piece. Numerous wheels protrude from the back, and Djuriel seems to float above a large wheel. His wings are four in number, and seem to be made of heated mercury. Its body resembles stained glass but is made of metal. (this odd focus on appearance has its purpose)

• Midrael the Calcifier is an absolutist of the status quo - in his view, all things are justified, no matter how injust, by the greater justice of maintaining the status quo. He does not care if this harms or endangers anyone, and will empower those of a similar view point. Midrael wants an obedient and unquestioning humanity, and is one of the Angels that tries to curry the most command with the Knightly Order. It is frequent that Midrael demands a crusade, and often against immaterial things or social concerns. An utmost politically incorrect villain, Midrael despises those his interpretation of scripture tells him to hate. He is however something of a hypocrite in that he is remarkably permissive of those that follow him as long as they do as he tells them. Obedience before purity it seems. His signature spell is Calcifier, which purifies and negates Rot in humans...while doing something remarkably horrible to them that forces said human into a POV like that of Midrael.

• Next is Jemmiel the Equalizer. A fanatic for the concept of "true equality", Jemmiel desires to do away with strata that he believes cause pain to God's children. He wants nothing more than for everyone to be as similar and "unharmed by exception" as possible. This takes the form of wanting to do away with such things as excessive intelligence, physical aptitude, "malign handsomeness and beauty", talent and skill. In Jemmiel's ideal world, all humans are at peace with god because nobody has anything more than anyone else. "Exception breeds contempt, which breeds dissatisfaction, which breeds harm. Best to cut the bad seed from the pod." Jemmiel is unbothered by the fact his signature spell that enables this, Equalization, deadens emotion (can't be too much happier than your fellow!) and suppresses any "deviant persuasions" (as defined by Jemmiel). Jemmiel gets along the worst with Makhiel.

• Makhiel is the Objectivist Angel - as far as he is concerned, humans must rationally and selfishly choose, in line with a sort of prosperity gospel. Those who are faithful will prosper, and those who aren't will wilt. Attempting to change the circumstances, thus, is skirting God's Will, and Makhiel is willing to kill those who would dare do something "so radical" as "help the baleful and the damned". Makhiel despises Jemmiel, and the feeling is quite mutual. Despite both serving on the Council, not two minutes can go by without these two arguing and sniping at one another. Makhiel spends most of his time attempting to create some form of Libertarian paradise by using his spell, Stratifier, to "unlock human potential", thus strengthening humans while expunging traits Makhiel views as promoting weakness.

Eastern Dragons

Unlike their Western counterparts, Eastern (or Chinese, Imperial, or Long) Dragons were mysterious, highly magical creatures, revered by both mortals and mages alike throughout much of east Asia. While the explanation for their origins are varied—from being carp that had the willpower to evolve to being direct descendents of one of the major deities—these dragons were culturally recognized as figures of power, harmony, and spring; in the pre-Gotterdammerung days especially, they were actually capable of affecting the weather in the form of rainfall. With their added reputation as wise mentor figures (though only to the very few they deemed worthy of their knowledge) and being symbols of prosperity and good luck, it’s no wonder they are still honored in their region of origin even to this day.

It is not entirely known anymore as to what became of the rare but powerful species after the collapse of the Han dynasty and the attacks against the Magicians’ Tower. While a number of them are known to have been killed by particularly overzealous rebels, even after the Second Renaissance, it remains uncertain whether this drove them to extinction or placed the survivors in perpetual hiding that they have yet to emerge from.

Facts Somewhat Known to Magic Scholars:

• As creatures who were scourers of knowledge and whom tales said had innate abilities related to bringing life to the land (likely related to wood magic), their preferred homes were 1) near major bodies of water (i.e., rivers, lakes, or the sea) and 2) mostly in solitude but still relatively close to human civilizations (at least by the standards of magically flying dragons). Small but generally consistent ways of getting on their good side involved giving them some new piece of knowledge previous unknown to them or showing a great deal of respect for the natural world.
• In what scarce text that's left that can be considered “factual information” about the species, it’s noted that Eastern Dragon scales—with colors ranging from sapphire blue to seafoam green—were highly resistant to magic thrown their way. It’s also written, though, that they were said to be such “embodiments of balance” as to be called one of the four “pure" beings in east Asia^note the other three being Phoenixes, the White Tigers, and the Black Tortoises. It's unknown if this was just meant in a metaphorical sense—possibly to express a godly nature, a subject highly debated among contemporary magic scholars^note throughout history, some magical beings of a sufficient power level were known to be called “gods” by mortals around the world, but that didn’t mean they actually were one—nor is it certain how effective they actually were against Rotten Beings.
• Hybrids occasionally existed of dragons and one of the other three great beasts of Asia. However, they were not as highly worshiped as the main four due to their mixed appearances and less powerful elemental magic.

Things No One Else Knows^note Unless You’re Also Over 2000 Years Old, Are Omniscient, and/or Happened to Have Personally Known a Particularly Chatty Eastern Dragon Yourself:

• Eastern Dragons kept information about their own species and their origins incredibly tight-lipped outside of facts that could be gleaned just from observation. This, though, didn’t stop humans from sometimes making unintentionally right speculations on certain points, like their ability to shift into human forms, or that they had a connection (that wasn’t simply based on a physical resemblance) to Qing Long, the Azure Dragon (aka, the East Wind) who presided all around the East China Sea in the pre-Gotterdammerung era as one of the main five Shen of the Chinese pantheon. Whatever jobs they might have had, though, it clearly wasn’t to boast about them.
• In actuality, for reasons that were never disclosed to almost any of the Eastern Dragons*, the species came in two breeds as early as the first generation: The more common water magic type, and the rarer wood magic ones. While the two breeds were, as a whole, roughly equal in power level, the fact that the wood ones fell more in line with the Azure Dragon’s own speciality made them far more favorable to him.
  • Water: Slightly darker blue scales, could shoot a strong jet of water from their mouths. In the Age of Gods, they were magically powerful enough that their very presence in water could begin purifying whole swaths of it. Due to Qing Long’s strange indifference to them, it resulted in water Easterns being the breed that more often interacted on a personal level with non-dragon beings, especially humans. A dozen of them died in Gotterdammerung, cutting their numbers by over a third.
  • Wood: Generally closer to lighter blue or even bluegreen. At the height of their power, merely walking on the ground would sprout grass and flowers from under their feet. Gotterdammerung reduced their already smaller numbers to four.
• Unlike most reptiles, Eastern Dragons, if a female ever reproduces, only lay one egg at a time, always in either a body of water or in a generally wet environment; they’re only distinguishable from smooth, oval sapphires by their large size (which were commonly deep blue for water types, green for wood), and they could wait a considerably long time to hatch if circumstances weren’t in their favor. After the dragons disappeared, there were extremely rare instances through the two millennia where a human found an unguarded egg, and they, mistaking it for the precious gemstone, either sold it or broke it down for jewelry or for charms and magical tools that were (to the utter shock of a mage who thought they knew their materials) far more potent or powerful than expected.
  • * ^note If you really wanna know the explanation: The original water Eastern Dragons were the product of eggs made by Qing Long being slightly damaged before hatching, usually meaning a bit of the shell was chipped off or something caused a crack or two, visible to the naked eye

edited 24th Jun '18 6:23:28 PM by BlackRevolver