Prelude
As you stepped into the chamber, the weight of your responsibility as one of The Seven rested heavy on your shoulders. You were proud to have come this far, to have battled against the malignant force that had threatened the empire and its people for so long. This was the moment you had been waiting for, the chance to finally put an end to the death and bring tranquility to the land.
But as you looked into the eyes of the old men and women before you, you felt a sudden sense of unease. These were the same people you had once trusted, the ones who had congratulated you and taken care of you after every battle. Yet, something was different this time. They began to chant in the same colors and with the same cursed magic that you had been fighting against for years.
You tried to fight back, to resist their power, but it was too strong. You flailed and struggled until you could no longer hold on, and your world went dark.
For years, you were lost in the abyss of darkness, hoping to wake up and find it all to be a bad dream. But time passed, and you remained trapped, staring into the void.
Then, after over five decades of darkness, your eyes finally opened. But they were no longer the bright gold of your resolve. Instead, they were as dark as the abyss you had been lost in, with a swirling purple that seemed to pulse with a malicious energy. You heard a voice in your head, asking you to destroy the empire you had once sworn to protect. The voice reminded you of the backstabbing, the betrayal. Your heart filled with pure disdain. For years, that void stood by you. When no one else did. If anyone was right, it was the void. Right?
But as you looked into the eyes of the old men and women before you, you felt a sudden sense of unease. These were the same people you had once trusted, the ones who had congratulated you and taken care of you after every battle. Yet, something was different this time. They began to chant in the same colors and with the same cursed magic that you had been fighting against for years.
You tried to fight back, to resist their power, but it was too strong. You flailed and struggled until you could no longer hold on, and your world went dark.
For years, you were lost in the abyss of darkness, hoping to wake up and find it all to be a bad dream. But time passed, and you remained trapped, staring into the void.
Then, after over five decades of darkness, your eyes finally opened. But they were no longer the bright gold of your resolve. Instead, they were as dark as the abyss you had been lost in, with a swirling purple that seemed to pulse with a malicious energy. You heard a voice in your head, asking you to destroy the empire you had once sworn to protect. The voice reminded you of the backstabbing, the betrayal. Your heart filled with pure disdain. For years, that void stood by you. When no one else did. If anyone was right, it was the void. Right?
Synopsis
Seven Knights, each representing one of the Blessed Virtues of the land-- Chastity, Kindness, Patience, Hope, Faith, Fortitude, and Temperance --The knights were tricked into a slumber, told that their power was needed to seal away a dark force. By the time they realized what the Council they had long since served was doing, it was too late, as the ritual was nearly complete. But the ritual the Council used was pulled from a dark text, and with it came exactly the kind of dark force the Knights had once defended against. This dark force, named Daemonium, was sealed with each of the Knights in solitude-- "thankfully" --but in being sealed with the knights in their imprisoned slumber, It was able to infest them, drowning them in Its darkness and twisting their thoughts, making them corrupt versions of the Virtues, the very Virtues they were supposed to represent. The Council betrayed them, out of fear of their grand power. The Council told the people of the land that the Knights died honorably in their battle against the dark force and gave unto them the title of Saints. The people they had protected cast them out without a care or question. And so it was twisted in their minds over the decades stuck staring into that void with Daemonium ever-present in their solitude. What they stood for was meaningless. They were worthless, for they couldn't even protect themselves against the dark force that the Council had so foolishly used to seal them away.
In five decades' time, a figure arrives at the chamber of their resting. A Vessel meant to hold this dark force. A vessel meant to trap the dark force. Overcome it and blot it out of existence. But the Vessel fails, and with Its fall, the dark force takes control in Its stead. The Vessel had no intention of releasing the Knights when It arrived in the chamber and broke the seal, but Daemonium isn't complaining, after all...the Knights belong to It now, and with Its new, stronger form, Daemonium and the Knights at Its command, it's only a matter of time before the kingdom once protected by the Knights of Virture, falls to the saviors it cast out so long ago...
In five decades' time, a figure arrives at the chamber of their resting. A Vessel meant to hold this dark force. A vessel meant to trap the dark force. Overcome it and blot it out of existence. But the Vessel fails, and with Its fall, the dark force takes control in Its stead. The Vessel had no intention of releasing the Knights when It arrived in the chamber and broke the seal, but Daemonium isn't complaining, after all...the Knights belong to It now, and with Its new, stronger form, Daemonium and the Knights at Its command, it's only a matter of time before the kingdom once protected by the Knights of Virture, falls to the saviors it cast out so long ago...
Vitanima
Vitanima is energy that courses through everything living, and every individual can access it, with proper concentration and discipline. This energy is broken down into three tiers, or schools, of focus: Cardinal, Contingent, and Celestial. All three of these schools rely on the core elements of the world: Shape, Blood, Breath, and Soul-- More often referred to as Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. These are the foundation of Life and Existence as it is known, encompassing all that which is as they are broken down to their very meaning and essence of being.
School of Cardinality
At the Cardinal level of schools, the elements are restricted to purely their base forms. One who focuses their magic through Fire would be able to not just conjure, control, and craft fire in its literal form (see "Fire Bending" or "Pyrokinesis"), but so too, they would be able to cast spells with Fire as the focusing core of the incantation. This is to say, when casting, one uses the literal embodiment of Fire as a foundation for this spell. For example, if a Fire focuser were to cast a healing spell, it would be brought from the very flame itself with themes of cauterization and sterilization. One could use a focus of Fire to mend and bind materials, or, on the contrary, they could use their fiery focus to boil and break materials down to their finer forms. For one who focuses on Fire as their center, spells are read as passionate and warm in nature. Naturally, all magic comes at a cost, though the drawback of these simpler castings is minimal. Headaches, minor fatigue, and hunger are the worst of the extent paid for Cardinal spellwork. This is the most basic level of harnessing Vitanima, accessible by all as an innate ability learned with age and practice.
School of Contingency
At the Contingent level of schools, the elements are broken down to their finer forms. One who focuses their magic through Fire opens the way to expanding their power to encompass the internal notes of the flame: Heat, Glow, and Spark are among these notes in the realm of Fire. These refined points of focus allow for sharpened, more refined spells when used as the focusing core. Heat is used for higher, more severe healing spells, while Spark is used not only to produce specialized flames, but can also be used in spells for energizing, inspiring, or even soothing. For one who focuses on the keynotes of Fire as their center, spells are read as invigorated and hot in nature. Unsurprisingly, the cost of these higher-level spells is quite great. Headaches rise to migraines, while fatigue becomes utter exhaustion, and hunger is replaced with painful nausea and other internal pains. This is a more specialized level of harnessing Vitanima, accessible to those who take strides into deeper learning, expanding their knowledge of the core elements and their inner parts. One must learn from tomes and mentors-- teachers in academies and freelance masters of the craft --to achieve this level of power when utilizing their Vitanima.
School of Celeste
At the Celestial level of schools, the elements are expanded further into their abstract forms. One who focuses their magic through Fire rises high in the overlaying planes of mortal and soul, evolving their power to reach the abstract characterization of the pyre: Passion, Ferocity, and Rebirth are among these characterizations. These abstractions of focus allow for the highest of spells when used as the focusing core. Most notably, one who focuses a healing spell through the abstract of Rebirth is believed to be capable of bringing a soul back to life, though to attempt this is said to risk the greatest of drawbacks. As is to be expected, the drawback of paramount spells like these is of the extreme. Such can include migraines so severe they bring the onset of temporary blindness or deafness, as well as instances of bleeding of the nose, ears, and eyes, and exhaustion leading to long-lasting unconsciousness, and even coma and, in some cases, even organ failure are possibilities when using these high-level spells. This is the highest level of harnessing Vitanima, achievable only by rigorous years of learning to further deepen one's understanding of the world as a whole, as well as countless hours of diligent practice, becoming one with the energy that flows throughout all of life. This school is reserved only for those in a higher power, forbidden to be learned by the common man, for it holds powers that should not be wielded lightly.
Elements
The core elements of this magical system - Soul, Shape, Blood, and Breath - each relate to one another in nuanced ways. At their most basic Cardinal level, they represent the raw materials that make up the world: Soul as Fire, Shape as Earth, Blood as Water, and Breath as Air. But looking deeper, we see each element contains, within it, Contingent notes that reveal unique qualities. Fire, for example, holds the notes of Heat, Glow, and Spark - qualities that evoke its passionate, fierce, and rebirth-oriented nature. Earth's notes of Dense, Root, and Bloom reflect its associations with strength, stability, and compression. Water's notes of Crisp, Dark, and Pitch align with its adaptivity, flexibility, and its role in birth. And Air, through its notes of Loose, Drift, and Range, connects to freedom, tranquility, and growth. Ascending to the Celestial level, the abstract meanings of each element come into sharpest relief, as Fire's ferocity contrasts Water's flexibility, while Earth's stability differs from Air's freedom. Yet there are also resonances - Dense relates to Strength, as Loose does to Freedom. These interwoven layers allow for myriad creative applications, as one moves from the raw Cardinal elements, through their Contingent notes, up to their Celestial abstractions. With each level revealing new facets, the elements become richer in meaning and more open to imaginative magic use. The system thus encourages flexibility and experimentation, with the elements' meanings multiplying as they are broken down to their philosophical cores.
Core: Soul; referred to often as "Fire"
Notes: Heat, Glow, Spark
Abstracts: Passion, Ferocity, Rebirth
Core: Shape; referred to often as "Earth"
Notes: Dense, Root, Bloom
Abstracts: Strength, Stability, Compression
Core: Blood; referred to often as "Water"
Notes: Crisp, Dark, Pitch
Abstracts: Adaptivity, Flexibility, Birth
Core: Breath; referred to often as "Air"
Notes: Loose, Drift, Range
Abstracts: Freedom, Tranquility, Growth
Keys of Virtue
The Keys of Virtue are magical weapons that the Seven Knights of the Blessed Virtues wielded in battle against the dark forces of the world, and took with them into their slumbering imprisonment in the Void. Each Key is entirely unique to the Knight, crafted by their own, or another, and blessed by the Holy Council for which they served. The Keys share one common ability, the ability to siphon out the Vitanima of anyone who dies by the Key, increasing the strength therein. It is a dangerous tool. One that should not fall into the wrong hands. And yet...with the corruption of the Knights throughout their fifty-year slumber, and now their release alongside the dark force of Daemonium after the fall of the Vessel...these once-holy and blessed weapons have been warped into tools for nothing but pain, suffering, and most of all, destruction...
