NONE AT THIS TIME
All my life I was told that people live only to die. They say that death is the ultimate victory; that it's the prize you get for beating the impossible game called Life. It's ironic that your greatest achievement comes only at the moment of your greatest loss. I thought it funny considering no one really wants to die. We all simply want out of this fucked up world.
The sad reality is, no matter who you are or what you do on this earth while you're alive, in the end we all die and all end up the same. We all become a Pyrrhic. That's what we call the reincarnated souls of the departed. The Pyrrhics are the most dangerous force humanity must face, considering that the more we die, the more their numbers grow. They aren't a force we can ever hope to stop, but we like to think we've taken strides in keeping those monsters at bay.
As children, we're taught that when we die, our soul leaves our mortal body and becomes something more. Something dangerous, a physical manifestation of the anger and hatred that festered within us during our time walking the earth. A new creature is created and we don't know how or why this happens or what causes it. They're like nothing else living on this earth. They're monsters, the embodiment of humanity's flaws transformed into something meant to destroy us.
They come in different forms, the most common being the mindless Shades, or the Darkened as the Clairvoyants call them. Then there are the Sullen, the ones that exist to hunt us down, destroy our cities, you get it. They're tough and range in strength and size, depending on how many years they've existed or the type of soul they came from. Lastly, we have the good guys. The ones that drift about the world without a care and generally don't attack us. They are called the Essence, a collection of pure souls, typically created from those of children that died before their time. They work to make the world better, using their energy to keep the forests green, our water clean and clear, and maintain just about everything else that keeps the world spinning. Just like the Shades and Sullen, they too become smarter and stronger over the years.
The Clairvoyants, put simply, are humanity's protectors. They're humans born with the affinity for magic: the only thing capable of destroying the Pyrrhics for good. Those of us who can't fight the Pyrrhics, the ones born without an affinity for magic, spend our time making sure society keeps running. I mean, what else can we do? Without a connection to magic, it's impossible for us to fight them. Things like knives and swords do little but anger them. Everyone has their place in the world. Some are meant for glory, and others... well, we're meant to tend to those with the Glory. In the end, all of humanity just continues to do what we've always done: fight to prolong the inevitable.
Our extinction.
I have a few questions.
-The Pyrrhic are described as physical manifestations and its also said that the Clairvoyants are the only ones capable of destroying them. This leads me to think that all Clairvoyants carry a common magical means of disposal? Perhaps a universal spell/object to banish them once weakened? It would have to be a means that normal humans wouldnt have access to or else they would help to dispose of them.
-Taking into account that assumption and looking at your character sheet and finding the magic your character is using to be a combative, albeit defensive, type of magic, im guessing we should focus our characters in the same way? Im trying to grasp what kind of magic Clairvoyants can have that would be of use. Obviously any manipulation of elements or energy would work. However if im not mistaken some magic would be kind of useless, such as: Necromancy, Flying/Telekinesis, Illusions/Mind Manipulation, Shapeshifting/Metamorphasis, Teleportation, etc etc. Anything that isnt specifically combative. Could they potentially be useful? Sure. But they wouldnt give you any way to physically dispatch enemies that normal humans couldnt also do. Unless perhaps Clairvoyants are never supposed to fight Pyrrhic alone since only some may have an ability that can physically destroy them?
-Switching gears. Are we apart of an Order of some kind or are Clairvoyants common enough that anyone who possesses the ability is encouraged to find/form a circle and fight the Pyrrhic? We dont quite have a grasp on the world other than it is fantasy-esque and without technology.
Obviously im interested im just trying to clarify some points before I develop a character!