Dang, noice. You really went all out here. In terms of world lore (and I'm assuming this is merely the lore from the world your character is from), this looks pretty sweet.
The only problem I can see is the length. The GM doesn't want to deal with hyper amounts of detail initially (that stuff may or may not become relevant down the line, however), so you'll need to try and summarize the relevant bare-bones down to about 1 paragraph (MAYBE 2 at a stretch). The GM specifically wants fairly short character sheets if at all possible. You're plenty free to put the full lore in a hider on the CS right under the summarized section (as I did for my Ascent section). GM doesn't mind the full lore being a bit lengthy so long as the actual surface-level CS bits tell him everything that is relevant to the character's abilities in about as few words as possible. That goes for nearly every section. Assume that basically everything except the Legend, Ascent and Ephemera should be basically one paragraph at most.
Oh yeah, my plan is to write an unabridged version first and then summarize where I need to :)
A world cast afloat in the cosmos by one of many Arbiters of creation, wrought of the conscious essence of the all-powerful Aleph, Tir na Itheil was a world of strange paths. Where most Arbiters formulated worlds of purest Order, this one was of a unique caste, and so their universe, their Test, it was a thing of foggy definitions and mystical workings. With the advent of its creation, the Archfey bore themselves once more into the newborn planes of a forming principality. However, warped by the twisting laws of that plane, their manifestations were changed.
Thus, Itheil was born.
–So spoken by a wiseman, thinking he knew the nature of their world–
The gods, unnamed and numberless. Unknowable, they roamed the void, devoured, devouring, they spewed their blasphemous waste into the emptiness and borne of it was the world, impure, imperfect, yet beautiful in its way.
Interest piqued, the unknown gazed upon their creation, and their attention drove fear through the world. From it spawned motion and from this arose time...and life. Curious and sickly, they weaved themselves through this world’s shadow, casting their palid light upon us and creating the Luzna. Demi-gods, those horrible children wrestled in the empty sky and burrowed into the earth, seeding it with their essence as they played among the world’s laden bones.
Of them we know eight and of those remain only four, two whom slumber, one who reaps, and its hated sibling who gives in kind.
- - - - - - - - - -
To those who would seek out these frightful forces of madness most cosmic, heed these words and holdfast your mind. Generous Navreden, he who gives and gives, Twisting--its gifts taking more than they are worth. Beneath, yet among us there lies Gnev, unconscious, yet restless...violent. It is Simmering Rage--Unbridled--and of those who touch its dreams, only the maddened remain. Mir, kindest of the four, resists the night with endless vigilance, so that the Peaceful Rest of Death may hold others eternal. In her shadow, the dead dream--finally sated and content. Last among them is Tvorec, a shuttered light, blinded--blinding. It sleeps, but in this rest, it weeps, and its tears reforge the world, bringing forth an Unbound, Purposeless, Creation.
In this world, many mortals dwell, seeking to survive, striving to avoid the notice of the Gods and their nightmarish children. Yet, some reach further, their gaze looking beyond, wondering at the true nature of existence, and what an unshackled life might entail. Among these pitiful few were twins who would come to be known as Saviours, Saints, and Gods. Their names were Lírha and Lhuré and they would rise above all others.
In a world of nine realms, there are only three relevant to our tale.
The first, and simplest, is Laghrian, otherwise known as Within. This realm is divided into three distinct areas, ordered like concentric circles. At its very center, there is a place of utter Chaos, it is uninhabitable as a result. In a great ring surrounding this is the habitable zone. Beyond it is an ever-changing place of swirling eldritch power. Passing this boundary leads to the Geil, a place of Dread filled with unknowable forces. Further out from there is the Expanse, a realm overlapping with all others. It is here that the numberless gods remain, sleeping, watching, and flitting in and out of existence.
(Generosity - Twisted)Navreden, he who gives and gives, twisting--its gifts taking more than they are worth.
(Simmering Rage - Unbridled)Gnev, ever sleeping, yet restless...violent. Of those who touch its dreams, only the maddened remain.
(Peaceful Rest - Death)Mir, who never rests so others may lie eternal. In her shadow, the dead dream, finally sated and content.
(Creation Unbound - Purposeless)Tvorec, a shuttered light, blinded, yet blinding. It sleeps, but in its sleep it weeps...and its tears reforge the world.
Note: This is in the idea stages, so some names and the like are almost sure to change.
An artist might have coined the term ‘Ocean of Dreams’ to refer to some ideal or metaphorical mindset that one needs to enter in order to experience things beyond the standard reality; While Aethel could and did liken themselves as an artist (if they actually were an artist was debatable), the Ocean of Dreams that they crafted lived up to its name in that it was a literal ocean.
Traveling through the Ocean of Dreams required one to swim. In theory, it was water that all visitors to the realm that got there without falling asleep was submerged in, for the Ocean of Dreams didn’t have a ‘surface’ as it were, but it lacked a number of the traits that water should possess. The first and most important for if and when a mortal somehow managed to end up here (Mortals tended to get everywhere, no matter what you did after all) was the fact that one could breathe normally regardless of what they should require to fill their lungs.
The second was that despite how one felt like they were submerged in water, with all evidence pointing to that conclusion as everything seemed to have a weightless feel to it as it drifted in the softly moving tide, there was never a sense of wetness to go with it; The sensation of being submerged in water without being submerged in water.
The ocean itself seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see… and drifting in the tide in all directions in their hundreds of thousands floated the orbs. Each orb seemed to glow with a primary color, with easily noticeable traces of other colors flashing across the surface every now and then… and each one represented someone in the waking world who was currently dreaming, experiencing whatever the deeper depths of the mind wanted them to experience via visual, audio or alternative mediums for in the Ocean of Dreams the limitations of the body faded away and the mental held sway in full.
Upon the skull of a great stone behemoth with the shimmering starlight above and the shifting waves of the ocean beneath, Melainea fell into repose. Eyes open, her awareness drifted across the titan’s back and deep into its core, gently skimming against the subconscious surface of her would-be subjects. Something curious occurred, for as her deific attention settled like a weighted blanket upon their bodies and their souls, so too did their dreaming minds react. A great contentment fell upon them, an unknowing languor, a haze of emptiness, a daze. Though yet to truly live and breath, each of them dreamed, and so their emotions were reflected ‘pon another sea, of which the Goddess did not yet know.
First, the impressions trickled slowly into being within the many bubbles of the dreamspace, like royal ink, dying everything purple as it bled upon the pages of their many minds. Yet, this violet haze did move, dancing slowly, rhythmically to an unheard tune. Tracing lazy glyphs, humming a dreadful tune of silence and of sleeping while one had yet to fall into slumber’s soft embrace.
Like satin, like ribbon, like the sound of a mother soothing babe, that inky violet invaded that unseen realm. Unaware, Cath Melainea pondered the subtle motion of the waves and sky. She considered what she might do with the children her titan had in tow.
Her children.
She smiled faintly and the ink blossomed across many spheres, becoming vibrant and alive. Within the great Collussus many sleeping hearts soared in a brief outpouring of ecstatic joy, before falling once more back to calm. Greens and blues, yellows too the colors danced in tune within the dream-spheres till they slowly bled back to violet, trailing like smoky threads within each mind’s domain.
All around those dreaming souls, the spheres of many others remained chaotic and truly strange. Yet, in this pocket of the endless Dreaming Sea all was in harmony for each soul remained in sweet melodic sway.
It was this strange calmness in the otherwise chaotic nature of the Sea of Dreams that drew Aethel’s attention to it in much the same way that movement at the corner of one’s eye did. As the equine drifted over to investigate, their curiosity piqued; Whatever was causing the disturbance wasn’t happening in the Sea itself like had been originally expected when the Sea was developed, but instead something had gathered together a number of mortals in one place and was influencing them there.
Having designed the system, it was child’s play for Aethel to trace one of the affected persons back to their physical body. After that, all it took was a small amount of effort and… without a noise their mind and body realigned as their physical self simply appeared within what appeared to be one of Homura’s giant transport beast… things.
Blinking slightly as they shifted into a form that wouldn’t cause any mortals nearby to suffer horribly if they encountered it, Aethel decided to try something a bit new and different in order to change things up. Rather than the more equine bipedal form they favored, they opted instead for a more traditional humanoid form… though the hair seemed more like a solid piece then traditional hair should be.
Now that the body count was going to be minimized, Aethel began looking around to see if they could locate the deity they had come all this way to find.
All around her, blanketed by the embrace of a gentle violet-blue flame, thousands of humans slept. Yet, twas clear they had never even been awake, so deep in their slumber were they kept. As she searched through the core of the great stone behemoth, far above, another presence stirred.
A brief pulse of light traveled through the violet flames that blanketed every surface and the sound of rushing air swiftly became apparent. Its volume rose, as something careened ever nearer, and then, at the end of the hall a whirling dervish of power rounded a stone-made corner. It gathered there, that wild violet flame, pulsating with strange otherworldly light. Behind it, the world seemed to warp and twist, as if some other realm dwelled beyond its luminescent surface.
Slowing, the wind dying down till twas but a breath, the flames coiled upon themselves forming in their midst a feminine silhouette. Glowing ember orbs opened, their light glaring across the distance that yet remained between them.
The figure took a step, filled with poise and grace, limned with silence, and preceded only by a subtle air of calm. “Who is this, that steps among my children. A trespass, uninvited? A threat, a friend, a sister?”
Melodic, lilting, with deep undertones, and a richness that mortals could not stomach, these were the traits of her voice as it traveled the distance that remained. Carefully, with confidence, the Crucible moved to close the gap, stepping lightly as she did. Yet behind her trailed a great and terrible weight of power. A gown of flame, night-dark tongues of ashy desolation.
A veiled threat, kept only in reserve, should her guest require its deathly touch.
When Aethel spoke, their voice had a sing-song quality all of its own as they answered “I am merely someone who was seeking an answer to a mystery… and I believe I have found it. As for what I am now… We will see in time, but regardless of outcome I believe siblings will always be valid.”
As they walked over to meet their host proper, there was a flexibility and grace in Aethel’s movements that suggested that even the very act of walking was nothing more than a performance to be embraced and enjoyed to the fullest, both for the dancer and those witnessing it. “I had noticed something strange within the Sea of Dreams… something that was influencing quite a number of dreamers at once in the waking world. Curious to see what was doing that, I decided to drop in and meet a new sister in the process! I see you’ve visited Homura.”
A visitor unexpected, a sibling in her home, amongst her children. Intrigued, Melainea’s form began to shift, the flames crystalizing first into fractals, then further into solid flesh and blood. Her garments formed as well, full of feathers, cloth, and fur as they settled ‘pon her figure. Smiling slightly, she regarded her sister for a moment, before crossing the distance that remained and burying her in a sudden embrace. Holding her a moment, Melainea drank of her experience, coming to know the flavor of her essence, the Aspect of her form. Then, pulling away, she stood before the Goddess of Mana, mischief in her gaze.
“This Sea of Dreams, tell me more,” she begged with baited breath, her voice a sultry whisper.
This was not the first time that Aethel had been embraced by another, but unlike that first time they were more than willing to return the affectionate gesture as their own arm coiled around their newfound, fabulous sibling and squeezing hard. Much like how she had drunk in their essence in order to better understand them, the favor was returned… and Aethel felt truly at ease as they found what appeared to be a missing piece of themselves.
“It’s simple enough really… I rather enjoyed the experience of laying down and having a sleep, but by chance I wondered if I could make the experience all the more enjoyable. Since going around and blessing everyone so that they could better enjoy sleep seemed like such a bother, I instead created the Sea of Dreams so that all of them could be connected to it and appear there as they slept.”
There was a pause… before Aethel grinned as they offered “If you want to see it for yourself, I could show it to you.”
Watching with rapt attention, her eyes shifting from lidded, to wide and intense with burning violet interest, Melainea replied. “Please do,” her voice a whisper filled with curiosity and yearning. At the edges of her clothes and ‘pon the angular lines of her horns, flares of amaranthine flame shuddered and danced, revealing the true intensity of her desire for the thing of which Aethel spoke.
“Very well then! If you’ll just close your eyes for just a moment…” They instructed. Waiting until their new sister’s eyes were closed, they reached forward and lightly placed their hand on her forehand… and with some light and sound effects that would have looked incredibly cheap and tacky in some of the entertainments that Astus’ civilisation would have employed, the pair left the waking world and transitioned into the Sea of Dreams proper.
“Ta da!” Aethel announced with some flare, their ‘hair’ already floating in weightless directions. While the environment was something that they themself were familiar with, they were curious about how Melainea would respond to the place.
Something shifted in the world around her, that much she knew even with her eyes tightly shut. So it was, that after a moment, her body floating weightlessly in an unseen sea, Melainea unveiled her gaze. Her eyes widening in supreme delight, a flush colored her cheeks as she raised her hands to her lips in a quiet gasp. Flames sparked and flowed from her form, banking and rising in billowing waves that carried with them tremendous joy and exultation. A smile spread across her lips, wide and wild, her eyes filled with limitless violet mirth. Excitedly she grabbed her sister's arm and squeezed, shaking her slightly with the intensity of her jubilation. However, as deep and all-consuming as her happiness appeared, the glowing embers of her core were far more wild. Within her seeming mortal vessel an inferno raged just short of bursting through each and every seam of her being.
Releasing her sibling, Melainea drifted through the vast expanse of the Dreaming Sea, her gaze darting about to peer between bubbles of glorious consciousness--each filled with the many dreams of mortals far and wide. "It's beautiful," she whispered, and even that quiet sound echoed outwards in a wave of powerful intent, coloring everything around them with a sheen of violet power. Then, all at once, her fires paled to a hue of somber blue, like slowly flowing stream. Turning slowly, she met Aethel's eyes as tears beaded in her own and fell, slipping down her cheeks and causing ripples in the Sea.
"Yet, tis empty, nothing exists to truly enjoy its currents or the imaginings of mortals that drift therein." The tears, with the same suddenness that they'd appeared, ignited into tongues of flame and burned black and violet against the unreal waters of the Sea. Once distressed, downtrodden, and despairing, Melainea squared her shoulders, pulling herself up as both defiance filled her eyes. Swiftly joining that emotion was the golden glow of intense determination.
"I would change this," she declared, and in that instance, the black edges of her deific flames burst into golden light, flooding the realm around them. From within her, an amaranthine glare grew to the point of blinding, and her eyes shone with that same pulsing luminescence. As she looked upon her sister, the creator of this wondrous realm, her gaze challenged her very essence, as if daring her to try and stop her. Yet, quietly, in an unseen corner of her being, she hoped it would not come to such a frightful conflict.
Truth be told, Aethel had been intending to give the Sea of Dreams some residents… though their motives weren’t as pure as wanting someone there to be able to enjoy it. The realm needed someone here to maintain it and since they didn’t want to have to fix something unless the problem demanded their personal attention as a deity, developing some breed of ‘helper’ species to handle the day to day things that popped up… in a manner of speaking, since the Sea didn’t really have a day/night cycle in the traditional sense.
Melianea deciding to take that first step might have, under other circumstances, be taken as a grave insult… but reading from the emotions that she was radiating it was easy to see that she meant no slight against them; If anything, it was fueled by a desire to create something to bare witness to the backstage in order to understand and appreciate how the ‘magic’ on stage happened. Instead of being hurtful, it was flattering….
As such, Aethel was more than happy to start pouring some of their own strength into their sister’s efforts. It was nice to create something with someone else again!
So it was that with her inaction, Aethel condoned creation. Gladdened by the welcome revelation that her sister would not oppose her, Melainea’s flames were stoked till they burst out from her core. It would appear as if her vessel had been but a thin skein laid upon her true nature, a glamour to hide away her glory from those unprepared for such a sight.
Billowing outwards, the prismatic flames of her essence erupted from what could only be described as a violet tear within the world. Hidden beyond that aperture was a visage impossible to discern, even for her kin. T’was the Crucible of experience which briefly Aethel saw.
Then, in a golden flash, the varied hues of Melainea’s widespread might snapped inwards upon numerous axes, creating singularly brilliant points of light within the endless Sea of Dreams.
At the center of the gathering of starlight emanations, was the familiar countenance of Aethel’s sister. Eyes closed, fatigue upon her features, Melainea waited. Slowly, the whispers of many minds made themselves known, first as utterances to the senses of her sister, then as slithering sigils within the Dreaming Sea. From each dreamspace of that far-cast realm did these sigils emerge, seeking out the countless shining stars.
Languidly, the Violet Goddess opened her eyes, her gaze falling upon her sibling.
“Brilliant and untarnished by Galbarian Law, behold ye these souls: Our children. Borne of my flame, and the dreams of mortalkind. Give unto them thine gift, such that they might act upon thy edicts, and impose upon Galbar the shifting wonders of the dream!” Though she did not shout, there was a quiet intensity in her every word. Curious and eager, she awaited her sister’s choice.
Having waited for their sister’s part of the performance to end and their own to begin, Aethel stepped forward as they started to pour their own energies into this new creation. While granting these new lifeforms the ability to use mana was a given, there was a simple obstacle that needed to be dealt with in order to make that mean something because the Sea of Dreams was largely separate from Galbar… and that included the winds of Mana and the system in place to manage it.
This would require a bit of reshaping of the nature of the Sea of Dreams in order to connect it with Galbar and thus gain access to Mana. This… required creating gateways between the two realms that would be a physical anchor between the two of them. It wasn’t a prospect that Aethel really liked, but the exact method of how to use these gateways to gain access to the Sea of Dreams would be so complicated and dependent on circumstance that in the unlikely circumstance that a mortal managed to wander in, figuring out how to gain entry again once they were evicted would be more than a lifetime of research and experimentation.
With the background changes taking place, the proper work on this new life form could begin. Considering that in their current state that these unfinished souls were closer to Mana in nature then the standard living creature, Aethel easily understood as they gave them the gift of being blessed with being able to channel it freely and naturally that these new entities would be heavily affected by the deeper, more primal ideals of the colorations they encountered.
Considering the plans that they had for the creation of life within the Sea of Dreams, Aethel’s energies were bent more towards making these new creatures more attuned to their home itself, easily granting them the ability to shape and alter the Sea as required or desired… but these gifts came with a price. “I, Aethel, grant you life and the ability to thrive and enjoy your new home in the Sea of Dreams. In exchange for this through, I task you and your descendants with the duty of maintaining and safeguarding the Sea of Dreams from threats overt, subtle and general decay. This includes the safety and wellbeing of the dreamers within the Sea of Dreams. You are free to call upon me if a problem requires a deity in order to solve.”
“The only restriction that I place upon you and will hold you accountable for is interfering with the Dreamers. This realm is meant to serve as a safe place for them to experience their dreams and you are not to interfere with them lightly. You will not end a dream prematurely, nor will you alter or enter one. The only time I will accept you entering a dream is if an outside force has already invaded it and it needs to be evicted. There will be dire consequences if this rule is broken.”
Their ‘commandants’ given, Aethel turned to their sister and offered a smile now that the serious moment had passed. “Do you have anything to add?”
With the subtle workings of her sister’s power weaving to-and-fro, Cath Melainea remained rooted in place, hovering within the currents of the Dream, her silhouette surrounded by the numerous stars of their children. As each emanation of experience was joined to Aethel’s power, becoming souls en full, the whispering sigils gathered about their forms.
Focusing on a soul before her, the Violet Goddess watched as each sigil expanded into a greater form, melding with the soul itself until the form of the entity was precisely in line with its intrinsic nature. This entity, their child, opened its eyes, and irises of red and swirling gold laid eyes upon the Dreaming Sea, their realm, their home. Melainea smiled as wonder entered the eyes of the newborn, many limbs spidering out from its shifting vessel as it turned, the sigils continuing to attune to its essence.
“Dearest children, borne of sisters two, let the tides of emotion and ideation shape your beings true. Follow thy whim and fancy, sow chaos, but beneath it all know this.”
Melainea’s form grew more distinct, the flames of her body crystallizing into fractals of endless depth. Her amaranth gaze pierced to the core of each child, many glowing eyes opening across her form to take in each and every one.
“You are the Lords and Ladies of this realm. Stewards and heralds both. Underpinning the storm of thy nature will reside a singular truth. Know it as such, to defy thine word is to break the covenant of your being. The covenant binds you, by it you shall not tell a lie for to do so is to be untrue to thyself and this I will not allow.”
The being before her, at her words, turned to gaze upon Melainea and so was struck by an unseen force. Freezing in place, something within each mortal shifted, twisting into a set pattern where it crystallized and remained, hidden beneath the veil of their appearance.
Satisfied as this same reaction happened to each of their children, Melainea once more took on her mortal guise, her many eyes closing, leaving only two.
Glancing to her sister, Melainea smiled in kind. However, something mischievous entered her expression as she met Aethel’s gaze. Drifting through the Sea, she made her way to Aethel and took her then into an embrace. Holding her closely, there was something far more intimate than before about the expression of her love. When she pulled away, there was a heat to her that had before not been present. Her eyes, half lidded and filled with temptation, flitted over Aethel’s form, then–with great effort–pulled away.
“What shall we call them?” She said breathlessly, her tone low and filled with honey. Quietly, she slipped her hand into Aethel’s.
This was a brand new experience for Aethel, but as they gazed at their sister they offered a soft, gentle smile as they squeezed her hand in return. Of course, this blissful moment was somewhat ruined by a slightly frustrated sigh. “I don’t like naming things. It’s hard to do right and I feel like I’m terrible at it. Granted, I’m better at it then some of our kin, but that isn’t as grand an achievement as it sounds.”
Still, Aethel did look at their newly created children with the expression of one who was going to do their best for a task they didn’t like doing. After several moments of concentration, an idea managed to gain enough traction that it managed to meet with their personal approval. “Let them use whatever name they so wish, but compared to the races of Galbar they are ethereal…”
Listening intently, Melainea nodded, before her gaze fell once more upon their children, a deep-held adoration spilling forth from her in palpable waves as she did so. Taking a breath, she closed her violet eyes and thought on the nature of their offspring, these ethereal beings in all theory mischief and glory.
A gentle smile touching her features as she pondered their quintessence, Melainea spoke as if without thinking.
“They are a fey lot are they not,” her eyes opened and she looked to Aethel, “...why not call them as such?”
For a moment, Aethel seemed to be considering the suggestion… before a small nod was given. “Yes… yes I can see that. Fey is easier to remember than Ethereal anyway…” Clearly accepting the new name, Aethel was about to suggest something before… they paused.
They entered a brief bout of deep thought, before they blinked as an idea came to them. “...At some point we need to visit the spirit world and have a chat with the god of souls. I suspect that a few of the cases passing his way might be a lot more comfortable here…”
In response, Melainea only nodded, her faintly glowing eyes drifting shut as she reveled in the moment. Some time passed this way, with the mothers hand-in-hand as their children took form all around them. However, all things must come to an end, even the Crucible knew this, and so her eyes opened and she seemed somewhat renewed by the moment of quiet indulgence. Leaning into Aethel, Melainea briefly kissed her cheek, before pulling away with a teasing swiftness.
“I must go,” she said, her half-lidded eyes speaking of other desires left untended. With effort, she pulled her gaze away from Aethel, glancing upon the Fey, before taking her leave. As she departed, a flirtatious whisper touched the ears of the other goddess.
“I’ll surely return, sweet sister, for revelry and bliss~”
Then, with a sharp crack, Melainea’s form vanished from the Sea as she returned once more to her charges nestled deep within the Titan’s core.
Her mind drifting in a gentle song, Melainea’s power seeps into the slumbering minds of her human children, so coloring the Sea of Dreams with her violet essence. Taking note of such, Aethel travels between realms, appearing within the Violet Goddess’ Colossus to investigate the intriguing disturbance. Melainea, noticing the intruding presence, confronts Aethel. The two engage in various activities, Melainea learns of–and experiences–the Dreaming Sea, and so the Fey are born from the revelation and the union of the divine sisters.
Starting Vigor: 8/8
Help Create an Extraordinary Sapient Species (-5 Vigor. 1 Free vigor from the Shard of Tempering. Total 6): The Fey
Borne from the Sea of Dreams, the Fey are beings wrought from the Dreaming Minds of mortals and the distilled power of both Emotion and Mana. They are the first inhabitants of the Dreaming Sea and indeed its Stewards as dictated by edicts of deific source. Due to the esoteric quality of their birth, Fey are uniquely emotional entities, capable of extreme temperaments and manifestations of various psychological phenomena unheard of in most mortal beings of Galbar. However, this emotional intensity works in harmony with their innate magic, causing them to not only be accomplished wielders of mana, but to also be able to wield the power distilled power of Emotion to affect the world in exotic and startling ways. Among their innate gifts are those of biological immortality–for they have no true form which might age–shapeshifting, though this is to varying degrees, and of course the wielding of powerful magics.
Fey are particularly attuned to the minds of mortals due to their plane of origin, allowing them to easily switch between languages and dialects almost without thought. Further, as they were bore unto the world from the depths of the Crucible’s essence, they all natively speak the Cathyrian Tongue. Notable beyond these traits are the peculiarities of their forms when treading upon Galbar.
They are, for unknown reasons, particularly vulnerable to pure iron, which acts as a poison and a bane to their existence. Simply to be in its presence is to feel the shadow of illness or death. Its touch is especially painful and it is one of the few things from which they cannot easily heal themselves, be it by magic or natural means. Further, while they do not age, Fey can be killed though to do so requires that one strike at the very core of their being, unseating their soul from the mana that anchors it to both the Dreaming and Material realms.
Ending Vigor: 3/8
Start: 3. 2 Vigor (plus 1 freeable for Mana Shard to make 3) on assisting the creation of and empowering of the Fey.
1 Vigor (plus 1 Freeable for Mana Shard to make 2) in order to empower the Sea of Dreams further so that it is connected to Galbar and have mana running through it; These places where the Sea of Dreams touches Galbar create doorways into the SoD, but the method for a mortal to properly cross over often requires a rather precise and often complex set of circumstances that to do so is often a work of pure chance and actually working out the exact rules of an individual ‘Fey Portal’ might take decades, if not a lifetime of study and research.
The Fey themselves instinctively understand how they work and how to pass through them.
Yeah, gonna second Kassarock there. Though, a factor is definitely the general quietness of the OP, except in very brief bursts (to be fair, he's kinda waiting for potential players to make the first move and actually submit character concepts to him for approval). The pace of character creation itself is also generally pretty glacial unless those interested make certain to have a post up for the GM to respond to when they peek in.
If you're personally interested, I can provide some of my own experience with the character creation, since the limits are... well, extremely vague. To be fair, that's kind of necessary to preserve a sort of "over-the-top-anime-asskicking-adventure" type deal.
Here's some relevant quotes from the original interest check that give you a fuller grasp of the base idea:
{Snipped Hiders}
Though in the case of Simon, our characters currently won't be anywhere quite that strong starting out, but as an endgame...?
This was exceptionally helpful, thanks! mostly I just kind of wanted to do some brainstorming with some of ya'll. So yeah.... I suppose I could just do that in the thread, I'm just so used to the back and forth of discord at this point xD
Glimmering starlight once more fell over the continent, clear skies dominated by a half-moon and the gentle crackling of a dying fire. Still bundled up against the cold, a certain mortal finally came to wake. Eyes slowly fluttering open, Somni took a deep gasping breath as he shot up into a sitting position as if waking from some terrible dream. His sister sat across from him at the fire, staring in silence, her eyes slightly wide as her eyes caught his.
Where before his eyes had always been an almost washed out grey-blue, now they shone in the night, their hue pierced through by iridescent violet. He opened his mouth to speak but found he could not. Clearing his throat and coughing, his sister quickly recovered and fetched him a clay-made mug filled with freshly brewed tea. It had a faint spiciness to it, and it burned as he sucked it down, but he swallowed nonetheless. Sputtering a moment, Somni shook himself, a shiver running through him as he set the cup down beside him and met his sister's gaze.
"I...how did I get home?"
His sister's eyes widened, and so did his, for the voice that had come from his lips was resonant and tinged with an unearthly sound.
"I...Somni, your voice," she whispered, stunned. Bringing his hand up to his throat, Somni marveled at even the sound as he hummed quietly. He could feel it deep within him, and somehow he knew others would too as if it came from somewhere deeper. "What happened?" He wondered aloud, but his sister shook her head, not knowing either.
Slowly, Somni rose from his blankets, freeing himself from their embrace. The night air somehow felt more welcoming than before, warmer too. He turned towards the far-off coast, staring into the horizon. He didn't know why he looked in that direction, but instantly he understood that something was coming.
"Fetch mum and da," Somni said idly, but his sister heard a charm and a command. Rising, she quickly scampered off to rouse them from sleep. Turning back to the fire, Somni starred into its dancing light and all at once remembered. Curious, Somni took in a breath and spoke, his voice forming twisting words that he knew no other would understand.
Experimentally, he began to sing in this strange, yet all-too-familiar language, and in reply the fires danced in tune. He smiled.
Far to the north, a great Colossi stirred the seas with its every step, and deep within its heart burned an amaranth flame. The sleeping sparks of many mortal children flickered in time with its dancing rhythm as they came to grow in tune with the Goddess' power. At once, she attuned herself to the world and its many rhythms. The ebb and flow of the tides, the movement of the wind above, and the heavens far beyond. The gentle creeping of vines and roots, the subtle songs of creatures 'pon the land, and the idle existence of mortals near and far. Life and Death, happiness and pain. She knew them all, felt such things twisting in her breast, and deep at the core of her being she kindled a great and terrible fire.
As she came into harmony with the natural world and its inhabitants, she understood what the next step must be.
Opening eyes of violet hue, the goddess emerged from the belly of the stone and metal goliath, stepping from its back and up its neck. In the night its eyes blazed as purple as her own, each a beacon in the sky. Standing atop its metallic skull, Melainea raised a hand up to her lips and gently blew.
Coaxing a flame out from her form, the purple fire coalesced upon the surface of her palm, dancing in time with the world's beating core.
"Ah, thy souls of gods were borne into this world," she sang, a smile upon her face as the wind blew her hair back from her face.
"Unto them a power I will weave, a blessing for the world to keep. A curse it cannot flee."
The flames coiled inwards, then lept upwards from her hand in a bolt of astounding light. Cresting far above, the bolt of flame expanded, rippling outwards in great rings of purple illumination. They shook the air and covered the distance of Galbar from end to end. Life everywhere would feel them, feel the essence of their Lady embed itself within them.
None would know what it could do. For now.
Satisfied as the ember of her sky-bound flame continued its violet emanation, Melainea sat then upon the Colossi's head and stared out towards the Plains. This would be the first of her people's homes and she knew precisely who would lead them.
So it was that at the same time, the goddess and her unseen Champion smiled, and the latter stared far off into the sky where a great violet star lit within the sky, pulsing with deific light.
At the edge of the Eidolon Plains, Somni wakes, discovering his transformation alongside his sister. He summons his family to him and witnesses the birth of their Lady’s Violet Star. Far away, Melainea births said star, seeding Galbar with her essence for the era that is soon to come. Slowly, atop the lumbering form of the Colossi, she makes her way to Somni, her intentions still unknown to the world at large.
Nonetheless, a great storm brews unseen. Who will notice first?
Starting Vigor: 1/4 Starting Spirit (Somni): 2
Bless Galbar/Create a Monument (-1 Vigor): Cath Venassi (The Violet Star)
Crafting a crystalline formation of her essence high in the heavens, Cath Venassi is a glowing jewel in the skies of Galbar, always emanating a pulsating purple luminescence that soaks into all things, living, dead, or in-between. From this powerful source flows emotion distilled, yet largely unfelt. With its creation, so too is born the Cathyrian Tongue, a language of emotion which can only be truly wielded by those properly Attuned to Melainea’s grace. With her essence imbued into all creation, by the Violet Star, the Cathyrian Tongue can bid things to move and change subtly, using mana as their conduit, though capable of uniquely potent workings by the truly skilled.
Nonetheless, this power is–for now–one almost entirely untapped. As such, the monument serves little purpose except as a blazing beacon in the northern night sky.
+1 Spirit for starring in the post. +1 Spirit for being one of two main characters in the post.
From the Plains she’d set out on foot, heading to the north along the coast. Placid and calm as the sea to the east, Melainea adored the world around her. Such variety and so many things to hear and see and smell.
It was a paradise of experience.
Almost.
There was one fatal flaw. It did not brim overfull with life, with activity unending. Everywhere she looked she laid her violet gaze upon new sights, heard new sounds, and felt new things. Yet, there was little else to feel in kind. Few with which to share this place.
Yet she knew these lands were far from empty.
Still, such meager numbers were not enough.
They were but a pittance, no better than infertile silt between her fingers. A scowl crossed her visage then, her eyes narrowing, brow furrowing deeply in contempt. She stretched out her senses, but it was a new thing, and so as her awareness pressed out into the world, so too did her form destabilize and change.
So the feminine facsimile that had been her guise wavered like purple smoke troubled by an unseen hand. The haze wove and shifted, then expanded in a wave. Faint shimmering flames shattered the night in that moment, cutting through it in scintillating bolts like lightning in all directions.
A flash of heat, of feeling, of sight, and knowing. Then nothing. That violet light across all of Galbar’s skies was there no more, and once more upon the cliff face a goddess stood.
“Northward a titan lies.” From an expressionless face rose a wide and terrible grin. It was there but a moment before only thoughtfulness remained.
“I will meet her, favored of my father. My Sister.”
She tilted her head, tasting the wind, letting it fill her until she burst once more into an indigo flame and flew across the sky. Traveling outwards towards the sea, Melainea flew, her form a winged bolt of lightning coiling north and west across the waves.
Dawn’s gentle hues broke the horizon as the goddess arrived. Pink and red and orange colored the clouds in a beauteous symphony, its like interrupted only by the tremendous eruption of flame as the amaranthine bolt struck the earth just short of Keltra.
The fire coiled and swam upwards towards the heavens, hungrily eating air. Yet the crimson wall remained unaffected by its touch, as if uncaring of its existence. Curious, enraged, the flame drilled downwards at the great edifice’s upper walkways, intent upon destruction.
It mattered not. Unyielding, the Red remained for even as the deity crashed upon its surface it found no purchase, instead coiling inwards upon itself. Slowly the otherworldly flame pulled inwards, and its light dimmed such that the sun was once more the reigning champion in the sky.
What remained was an intrigued woman, horned and garbed in flowing cloth and essence, her head adorned with feathers and even vines. Yet, where her torso would have been, was instead a shining tear within the world. A burning lavender abyss to which the flames were slowly pulled.
“How stubborn,” she murmured quizzically as she admired the stone beneath her feet. Perhaps this was of her sister’s design….
Was it a coincidence that such thoughts brought the Goddess of Honor to her, or was her sister compelled to answer the arrival of Cath Melainea in Keltra? Homura walked along the barren path atop the red wall towards her visitor, wielding a golden spear that shone with celestial light in one hand. Her graceful stride brought her before the horned woman, and she greeted her with a respectful bow. “I am Homura. I have no intentions of harming you, unless you seek to harm me.”
Turning her gaze upon the very presence she had come to experience, Melainea tilted her head, a small smile playing across her lips as the remainder of her flames sealed themselves within the crucible of her chest, which faded in turn. What remained was her faintly luminescent figure, gently burning against the black.
“Harm?” She queried, her eyes moving upwards to the heavens, basking in the vastness of the sky. As she considered the concept, licks of flame pressed outwards from her feet like faint sparks of lightning. Though her power could not directly intrude on the psyche of other gods, Homura might still sense the potency of emotion held within each spark.
Rage, distilled, mirth driven to destructive heights, contentment so deep that sloth set in.
The sparks ceased and the violet-eyed goddess met her sister’s gaze. “I suppose I have no such intention.” Unsaid were the words ‘for now’.
Stepping towards her sister, the Monarch’s Crucible glided across the surface of the wall. “I am Cath Melainea,” she said, her words too quick, as if she were compelled to reciprocate the greeting. She paused in her approach, wondering at the nature of her sister.
“I am our Father’s Crucible. Emotion distilled and pure and potent. I am the tempering flame of experience. What might thy Aspect be, sister?” Though her words could not tempt, nor sway Homura, it seemed that they still had an insidious affect. Twas as if they slithered into the mind, touching upon emotions, seeking to kindle them, to coax them into flames, or perhaps to snuff them out…leaving only ash.
“My Aspect is Honor, and I act as our Lord’s Highest Judge and His Emissary. Welcome to Keltra, sister.” Homura replied, and another fire burned fiercely within her, a blinding blaze which seared those that trespassed inside her mind. Seven burning serpents hissed and coiled, interweaving and dancing in the divine fire that enveloped them. The song they sang with their graceful bodies and forked tongues drowned the attempts to manipulate the inner fire, the mind, the emotions of the red goddess.
“I apologize, but I have little time before I must depart. I would ask that you cease attacking the wall.” Homura continued, her monotone voice and impassive expression proved only a poor attempt to hide the fire of her feelings behind the mask, as the truth of emotions could not be concealed from Cath Melainea.
“The wall is of little interest,” the Crucible replied, taking another step closer, not noticing in the least as Homura rebuffed her psychic intrusion. “You however intrigue me…and there is something else.”
She paused, breathing in as she came within mere feet of her sister. The scent of clay and flesh, of soul and mind. Slumbering emotion. Dormant and unkindled, untouched yet by the world.
Melainea’s gaze wandered inwards, falling upon the colossal shapes of three titans. In their forms were nested many sparks. Violet eyes flashed and for an instant her form flickered between mortal and divine.
“Life.”
She turned away, looking to the sparks, her sister left behind, but not forgotten.
“Where is it that you’ll go?” she asked of Honor. “What transpires within these lands…that might be more precious than these children?” Only then did she turn her gaze once more upon Homura. Curiosity, awe, and love were in that look. Yet the last was joined by a great ferocious anger, like a mother bear, protective of its cubs.
“My presence has been requested by both Iqelis, God of Doom, and Ea Nebel, Goddess of the Grave, to attend the trials of the latter imposed upon her by our Lord. It is duty that calls me away, however, the ninety thousand sleeping vessels within those three machines are unclaimed. They are my gift to the Divine, and so they are my gift to you, sister. You may take the colossi, and those that slumber within, if you desire.” Homura said, gesturing to the titanic trio standing in the red sea, before she began walking once more, traveling along the length of the wall’s walkway.
“Humanity is our instrument, our will made manifest, shaped by our desires and guidance. Your presence can awaken them, and define them, their design intended to adapt to the purpose we give them. Do you accept my gift, sister?” The red goddess asked.
With quiet intensity, she held Homura’s gaze, considering her words. Dawn stretched further into the sky as she pondered Honor’s offer, and what had come before it. After a time, Melainea glanced to the glowing spear and smiled before kneeling to touch the surface of the wall beneath them. Gently, she drew a finger across the stone. A faint red dust came off and her eyes shimmered with pleasure. Rising once more to her feet, Melainea met her sister’s eyes.
Dimly at first, the dust gained a crimson glow, before rapidly growing so bright as to be blinding. Violet flames snapped upwards from her fingertips, shrouding the residue, imbuing it. She drew a ring within the air, and the dust lingered therein. Slowly, it coalesced into a burning crimson circlet. It had a dull sheen to it, as if rainbows had been writ across its surface.
Hovering a moment, it soon fell into Melainea’s palm. “I accept,” she purred as she stretched her hand towards her sister, offering a gift. “In exchange, accept this token for a time. I wish to know of this trial, but I cannot go myself. The circlet will have to do instead.”
Should one look upon the dimly burning ring, they note that it was gossamer thin, as if crafted from as little material as possible. Yet, it seemed unyielding in a way, as if would simply bend rather than break. Further, it appeared to possess endless depth and upon further observation it was more a tear in the world than any solid thing. Nonetheless, it could easily be handled.
“So be it.” Homura held out her open hand to receive the circlet, and accepted the artifact.
Almost thoughtlessly, the violet-eyed goddess dropped the circlet into Homura’s hand, before turning to walk past the boundary of the wall and to one of the three great Collossi. However, the burning ring was another story entirely, for as it touched Homura’s divine flesh it lit up like the sun. For a brief instant, a frenzy of unstoppable emotions of every variety and hue would rush into her. Then, all at once, the deluge would cease and the ring would go dark, instead slowly shifting colors to match Homura’s countenance.
The red goddess examined what she held for another moment, before she placed the circlet atop her head, hiding it beneath her scarlet hair. Then Homura set out on her journey westward with a mighty leap from the wall.
Paying little attention to the departure of Honor, Melainea stepped off the edge of the wall’s path and into the air. Tongues of flame licked against her feet, buoying her on steps of flame as she approached the Collosi. There was awe and adoration in her violet eyes as she gazed upon the magnificent creations, and the sparks they protected. Eventually she stepped onto one of the titans. Closing her eyes she took in a long breath, taking in the sheer potential of what lay before her. Then, smiling, she sent her will throughout the metal and stone of the great Collossus. The fires of her power bound themselves into its form.
However, unbeknownst to her, the smallest tendrils of divine flame pricked the mutable slumbering minds of the many mortals therein. In time, they would wake, for now though…Melainea had a mind to truly populate the world.
Soon there would be emotions aplenty.
Driven forth by the great ardour of her power, the Collossus took a step into the bay, its great limb creating tidal waves as it moved. Its eyes had become embers of purple, veins of the same hue crisscrossing its form.
Pleased, Melainea’s mortal guise phased out of being, replaced only with an ethereal inferno, which soon disappeared into the Collossus’s core. It was time to inspect the bounty of her meeting.
Melainea casts her senses across Galbar, seeking siblings. She finds the Spark of Honor, one favored by her Father, and so seeks to meet her.
Succeeding, the two converse briefly and introductions are exchanged, as well as gifts. Homura departs with an artifact of Melainea’s making, while the violet-eyed goddess leaves with a Collossus in tow, the nature of her plans for its occupants not yet known.
Starting Vigor: 2/4
Create an Artifact (-1 Vigor): Melainea’s Font.
Taking the form of a gossamer thin circlet, writ of an unknown crimson substance, and possessed of a prismatic sheen. It may be worn as a crown, a ring, a necklace, belt, or bracelet so long as its shape remains that of a ring. Its form appears less a solid and more a burning tear in the world, otherworldly as its surface shifts and writhes with unknown power.
Its most important attributes are thus, the Font functions as a receptacle of, and for, emotion/experience. As such, Melainea’s Font draws upon the experiences and emotions of all entities within a large radius around it, regardless of their nature. This effect does not pull upon the senses or energies of any being, as the Font simply detects emotions and experiences before duplicating them within the ring.
Through this process, the artifact acts as a repository for experiences that occur within its radius. Its secondary property allows these emotions and experiences to be drawn upon by the wearer. Notably, Melainea’s Font is not designed with mortal’s in mind, and thus if divine emotion–or simply too much emotion–is held within when it is worn by such, individuals may be driven mad by the resulting overflow of stimuli. In its current state, Melainea’s Font will not automatically empty its contents into the psyche of the wearer once attuned–via touch–and it may only impart experiences once before it must be filled with new ones.
Member
Megatron
evierose
Fallenreaper
Snowdrops
Taka
Dark Jack
Crimson Flame
Kalas
HeMandaddy
