Well, I don't know if you're using mobile or something, but at least on my laptop screen, I'd have to expand a tab to be nearly fullscreen to see the whole image. It's definitely sizable.
And I definitely feel you with the oomph and flavor. But the GM has definitely been pretty specific about this. I don't know if you've looked at the sample CS at the top of the OOC, but that should give you a good idea of how short he'd ideally like it to be. He'll make some allowance for things to be tad larger, but when I mentioned a single paragraph, I wasn't expecting you to make paragraphs that were technically singles but look more like two slapped together... and then to not stop at "two" in most cases.
As in, the GM has just straight up said in the face of long CS's that he's "not going to read all that". It has to be cliff notes. Putting the full version of sections in a hider is perfectly fine too, just as long as doing so wouldn't conceal some secret aspect of their abilities.
No, I'm on PC, maybe my screen is just bigger? Idk. As to length, what I'll probably do is throw some hiders at the beginning of each section with the bare bones Tl;dr of that portion of the CS. That should hopefully suffice, plus that way the aesthetic structure of the CS is maintained :P
I struggled with this too, but I'm telling you, this sheet is definitely too long. Really, the best I can give you is that it comes down to is doing away with the "why they can do something" except for the absolutely relevant and instead just list "what they do". All the GM wants are the cliff-notes really. Anything more (actual detailed lore and such) can go in hiders. Also, I'd definitely find some way to make the size of the images a bit smaller. That's just way too huge, the biggest one so far, and we really shouldn't need to scroll just to see the whole image.
Weird, I don't have to scroll to see the whole thing. Nonetheless, I cropped it a bit more and then resized it by about 500 pixels so hopefully, that helps.
Also, yeah I guess I can do that, just kind of...takes a lot of the flavor and oomph out of things IMO.
Edit: Needless to say I won't be doing it today though lol. Already pumped out a lot for one day :P
~“Unified we stand against the forces of Chaos. Never faltering, never waning, moving always towards our goal”~ Theme I ♦ Theme II
【Basic Info】
♦
Titles: Lírha the Untarnished; Chaos’ Bane; The Great Devourer; The Guardian Shadow; The Merciless Maw Lhuré the Resplendent; He of Endless Arms; Brilliance Unending; Lifter of the Veil; The Unyielding Tempest
【Age: Couldn’t decide on this. Ages kinda work different in their world (people live longer on account of how their world works, plus like…reincarnation is a standard thing sooo. Should I just put unknown? It’s kind of inconsequential).
【Form:
Lírha
Appearing fundamentally human when at rest, Lírha is a strong, if lithe, woman with a fierce beauty to both her visage and bearing. She moves with a natural grace, every motion filled with finesse and considerable poise. Fair of complexion and features, she is striking to look upon, but perhaps more notable is her garb, which covers the vast majority of her frame, up to and including strips of cloth that hide her eyes from the world. When in her full glory, though her precise anatomy and features can shift due to her prodigious control of her vessel, she can be seen shrouded in a dense miasma of amaranth and pitch. In this state, unlight burns through the crimson wrappings on her eyes, shining with an unnamable prismatic hue that can be described only as perfectly blinding in its radiance. Shrouded in the dark miasma of chaos, Lírha will become wreathed partially in the malaise-inducing storm of intermingled emotional lhuin. In this state, simply looking upon her can inspire equal parts glorious awe and gut-deep revulsion. If one were to ever peer beneath the wrapping ‘pon her eyes, they would bear witness to quite the sight: Startling eyes of gold and black and silver, colors writhing in a hideously beautiful dance.
Lhuré
Always garbed in his regalia, Lhuré’s appearance is truly shrouded beneath the cloth and armor that adorns his form. Nonetheless, he moves with a certain weight to his step and there is a deep sense of serenity that emanates from his person. When in the full sway of his power, his mask shines with divine light and many almost ghostly limbs can occasionally be glimpsed about his form. Often a haze of drifting mist-like light will emanate from his being and at his behest solidify into any number of constructs. If ever he must stoke his fiery core to its most resplendent he becomes less a man and more a shining pillar of divine radiance. Were you to remove that which conceals his form, one would find a thin man writ from the same light as his constructs and bound with an uncountable quantity of silver threads weaving across his form in an endless array of sigils. Truly, he has become the light amidst the darkness, the Order shining resplendent from within the Bed of Chaos.
【World】
♦
Hailing from a particular universe in a multiverse all its own, Lírha and Lhuré were born in an iteration of said world known as Tir na Itheil. Created by a warped Arbiter–beings who preside over each their own universe–Tir na Itheil is a world of twisted laws and hazy limitations. Rather than being bound by law as many iterations are, it is instead subject to the rules of Invocation, better explained as the Emotions of Lhuin–with lhuin being the exotic energy/substance that composes all things. This world is thus divided into several relevant parts, the innermost of which is referred to as the Heart of Starlight. Surrounding this bed of Chaotic lhuin is their equivalent of a material realm, known as Laghrian. This is where all mortal souls are born and die. Ever plagued by the gods unnamed and numberless who exist in the Geil beyond Laghrian, mortals of Itheil struggle even to survive in the harsh world they were born in. Whereas normally mortals would be capable of a magic called Intimation, which concerns itself with imposing the will to interact with and manipulate the physics of their world, the overbearing power of the emotional lhuin of their world–and its frayed worldweave–have rendered them largely incapable of this innate power.
So it is that Itheil is a world where emotion and belief, or Chaos as the mortals call it, serves as the driving arcane power of the realms therein. Beyond mortalkind–who can take a vast variety of forms–there are the Fey, which mortals refer to only as gods. These are beings of Emotion (Chaos) rather than Logic, as mortals are, and as a result of Itheil’s warped nature as an iteration, they rule supreme. However, with the rise of the Twins, and their healing of the Worldweave, some cosmic Logic has been renewed to their fraying world and so the struggle is not so dire as it was before their ascension.
【Race】
♦
Mortal Greater Mianloinnir. Perceivers
~“Through Will alone, we conquer Chaos, asserting Order where we can. Still, it is not enough and our world remains fractured and impure. This, we will change. So we swear.”~
Mortals
Unlike worlds most are familiar with, the term human, or mortal, in Tir na Itheil covers a vast quantity of bases. From animal-like, to the mundane biped with which we are so familiar, all of these are mortal. Possessed of the warm Black Flame, and imbued with silver Sparks of divine logic, mortalkind may take many forms but they hold within all of them the same essential nature. Each and every mortal is a being of logic–though obviously capable of emotion as all beings are–allowing them the innate ability of Intimation, a magic that works by allowing the Will, using lhuin as a conduit, to directly interact with the physical laws of the world. Thus, through skillful manipulation, mortals can harness cosmic law itself, bending the world around them to their Will. Though a lesser power of most humans, the mortals of Tir na Itheil are also capable of Invocation, which essentially allows individuals to channel distilled emotion to will lhuin into actions in line with that feeling. Rage might beget a consuming flame, whereas love and lust might cause growth in surrounding flora and fauna both. Similarly, Invocation allows those wielding it to harness the power of those connected to them through Chains of Invocation, which serves as metaphysical bonds between souls. These chains are created through strong belief as the force of one’s emotions connects them to another through the crystallization of ambient lhuin in the world.
Greater Mianloinnir
A title and a class of souls from their multiverse, the Twins are mortals who have cultivated and tempered their divine Sparks to the point of Ascension, pushing them beyond normal limits and into the realm of middling divinity. This class of mortal souls is called as such due to its namesake material, which are essentially confluences of perfectly balanced essences–various specific forms of lhuin–that come together to form what can only be described as universal perfection. Said material is unbreakable and more potent as both a physical and magical tool in essentially every way. This class of being was named as such due to the change in their nature as they ascend, as their souls and mind become utterly unassailable, incapable of being manipulated by Invocation or other magics through direct or indirect means. Despite this, Mianloinnir are still capable of being harmed or killed, though such requires drastically more effort than it would for a lesser being. Due to the ascended nature of their Spark, Mianloinnir are afforded preternaturally long lives, and though they can eventually die, they will typically reincarnate unless their souls are utterly destroyed, retaining all their memories and power when they do so. The last notable aspect of this class of being to which the Twins belong, is the inherent ability granted to those who ascend to this degree. Known simply as a Rulebreak, each Mianloinnir holds the ability to break one distinct cosmic law or smaller intertwined laws.
However, it bears knowing that the Twins are not like typical Mianloinnir who hail from Iterations wherein Order, and Law have some significant sway. As a result, the potency of their capabilities comes from elsewhere, and their Rulebreaks instead take on the form of twin Wills that are largely beyond reproach. This renders their magic particularly potent even for Mianloinnir–though not completely unstoppable–forcing others to engage them knowing that most arcane forces will pale in comparison to their own.
【Origin & Aspiration】
♦
【♦ Legend & Ascent ♦】
Filled with optimism and understanding for others, Lírha–with great confidence–walked into the Darkness of the churning Geil. Harnessing her will and her lhuin, she survived the forces therein, but could not pull herself from such alone. Thus, her brother, a forgiving soul, intent upon unifying others with the clear vision of the world and the joy he hold as a light against it would have to aid her. Having remained in Laghrian amongst the people, Lhuré did not lose hope when his sister fell into the all-corrupting Geil. Knowing her worth, he trained himself, harnessing the lhuin of his vast internal light and stoking it into a beacon of intense and purifying fire given solid form. Pressing forth, to the dismay of many, he pierced the Geil and came to his sister’s aid.
Side-by-side, she who took on darkness and he who had harnessed light, fought against the Geil, seeking to free the mortals trapped in Laghrian. Yet, as they fought the twisted will of the nameless gods made itself known and soon, they were faced with the foremost children of such beings.
Navreden, he who gives and gives, twisting–his gifts taking more than they were worth.
Gnev, ever sleeping, restless…violent, sowing madness in all who touch his dreams.
Mir, never resting such that others may. In her shadow, the dead dream, sated and content.
Tvorec, a shuttered light, blinded, yet blinding. It sleeps, but in its sleep it weeps…and its tears reforge the firmament.
Surrounding them, these titanic forces might inspire in others Dread, but the twins did not falter. Instead, they clasped hands, and with palpable relief that blossomed in a great shield about their forms, they ascended. Erupting from their vessels were waves of intertwined chaos and order, light and darkness. Briefly overtaken by the force of such a sudden display, the four retreated, shielding themselves from the fury of the twins.
Then the world itself tilted on its axis, the shattered heavens and the mirrored lands below were healed. With threads of darkness, and rays of purifying light, they were woven back together and Itheil knew Order for the first time in many eons. Stepping from their home, from the yin and yang of quintessence that had borne them anew into the world, the twins revealed themselves to their fourfold foes.
On the right stood the brother, Lhuré the Resplendent. The very laws of the world draped about his form in the shape of crimson robes, golden chain and mask. Surrounded in an uncountable array of floating crystal blades forged of purest pale gold light, he was brilliant as the sun and stars combined, more blinding than the foremost god.
On the left beside him stood the sister, Lírha the Untarnished, garbed in the Chaos of the gods, yet bereft of its ghastly touch. Writhing at her back was an endless cloak of darkness from which sightless eyes peered out, alien and strange. Wound about her arms were cords of ink-like essence, pulsing with the infernal wrath of her divine power. Raising her chin, a hood fell away, revealing startling eyes of gold and black and silver. They were the image of hunger and control.
So it was that as a pair they faced off against the Four and after a titanic battle, won. However, they were not satisfied with this, for the very laws of their world remained frayed, and the gods unnamed and numberless remained lurking beyond in the Expanse. Thus through sheer will, they pressed on, piercing and subsuming the Chaos all around them to reach their unknown adversaries. Facing those faceless entities was a struggle all its own, one impossible to describe, but in the end they won the battle, but lost the war. Unsatisfied with this result as well, the twins sought out the center of their world, and submerged themselves in the wellspring of chaos at its core. Though they were never seen again, the world restructured itself with their passing, giving the rest of their kind a fighting chance against the many horrors that lay beyond Laghrian.
【♦ Will ♦】 In truth, the two did not die but merely transcended the confines of their world, and so stepped through the Sea of Stars and into the greater cosmos. Intent to change the nature of existence such that mortals such as they would always have a fighting chance, if not a fair one, they pressed on, ever searching for the source of their people’s misery. Be it gods or primordial beings beyond even the ken of the deific, they would fight for their right to change existence to suit the needs of the small, over the will of Chaos and its servants.
【Mastery】
♦
~“From Chaos and Despair, to Order and Prosperity. This is the promise we must uphold, no matter the obstacles before us, the foes upon are path, or the costs such might incur. We will see it done.”~
Chaos Subsumed:
By conquering the chaos of emotional lhuin, and mastering her own psyche as well, Lírha has become an endless font of emotional lhuin. Through this power, she can manifest a wide variety of constructs with varied properties by channeling specific emotions through her essence internal, and then releasing it into the world, ordered by the power of her Will. However, there are some limitations to her beyond considerable potency, and that is essentially a matter of range and manifestation. While most mages can utilize their magic at a wide variety of distances–moreso for most Mianloinnir–Lírha’s power is constrained to her vessel and the area around it relative to her size. To make up for this, however, she is capable of drastically altering the shape, size, appearance, and composition of her body. Nonetheless, her maximum range is never greater than her own height twice over in any direction starting from the surface of the nearest part of her body, going outwards. Notably, this mastery of her vessel and Invocation as well allows Lírha to more easily recover from, or conceal damage that she does take. Further, since her vessel is composed of the Worldweave–the nature of which was to preserve the physical and arcane laws of Itheil and all other Iterations–she is innately much more durable than one might expect of a being composed of what at least appears to be flesh and blood.
Piercing Order:
Having distilled his essence internal into an all-consuming, ever-piercing luminance, Lhuré’s power largely takes on the form of brightly shining, or pale, golden light. This light is, in actuality, lhuin with the imbued properties of strict and unrelenting Order. Thus, when it comes into contact with other magics or substances, Lhuré’s power will attempt to reorient them to his will, either destroying their initial formation in the process, returning them from whence they came, or converting them into more of his distinctive golden essence. Unlike his sister, Lhuré is capable of manifesting his golden essence at essentially any range, but this reveals that much of his magic is external in nature. Reflecting this, despite the fact that his vessel is composed of the Worldweave, just as Lírha’s, his is not nearly so resilient or transmutable as hers. As a result, he keeps himself shrouded in crystallized golden light, which has over time taken on the form of his garments, protecting him from the outside world.
Notably, though his magic is far more narrow in manifestation than his sister’s, Lhuré’s piercing light is not to be underestimated, as he is capable of creating any construct he can imagine, at any distance, he can perceive, as well as moving them with incredible speed and force with his mind alone.
Twinbound:
Having ascended together, and further, having done so in an Iteration of twisted laws where Invocation rules, Lírha and Lhuré’s souls have been inextricably bound to one another. Their fates are forever intertwined and truly they are at eachother’s mercy. This has both benefits and limitations of course, the latter of which is most prominently represented by the fact that they cannot stray from one another’s senses without significant consequences. Should they ever be well and truly separated–be it by distance or potent magics–the severance or weakening of the Chain of Invocation that binds them together will cause both Twins to enter a drastically weakened state. Where before Lírha might be an unstoppable juggernaut, consuming all before her and bending the very laws of the world to her Will, she would be reduced instead to the likes of a more mortal mage. In such a state she would lose much of her inherent power, retaining only her resilience, healing factor, and the ability to make more subtle alterations to her vessel. Furthermore, she would retain the ability to make constructs of lhuin, but their potency and range would be even further reduced, forcing them to remain within an armspan or so of her person. Lhuré on the other hand, who before was a beacon of unending purity and light would become but a lantern in the dark. Forced to preserve himself, he would be forced to rely on his defensive aura, and be limited to summoning only a sparse few constructs at a time or manifesting his light only in limited amounts and at closer ranges than before.
However, so long as the two remain together, they are more than a force to be reckoned with, for while they each possess their individual boons, they too can call upon their sibling’s power through the chain of their entangled souls. So it is that the piercing light of Lhuré might emanate from the vast Chaos of Lírha’s shroud or vice versa. Furthermore, one twin may reduce their own capacity to drastically bolster their counterpart, and indeed the two may weave magics together with frightening dexterity beyond the abilities of most mages–even those considered masters of cooperative magic.
【Ephemera】
♦
~“Creation; Destruction. Purity; Corruption. We will use whatever means we must so long as the ends are just.”~
Sgàil(Shroud):
Typically taking the form of a crimson cloak that drapes down from her shoulders, Sgàil is composed entirely of indestructible mianloinnir and is attuned to Lírha’s soul alone. Its precise form can transform and move according to her will, and it can also be used as a conduit to enhance her various magics. Notably, should she channel her inherent nature through the living cloak, it will become just as deadly as any of her direct physical assaults, taking on the properties of subsumption and domination in kind.
Òir-gheil(Brightmaw):
As with his sister’s implement, Lhuré’s is also composed entirely of mianloinnir attuned to his soul. Not often seen, it is instead integrated with his body and thus hidden from the world, Òir-gheil is liquid mianloinnir infused with the inherent power of his being. However, though its form can shift according to his desires, the implement’s favored form is that of a prismatic greatsword, shining with blinding light. Whereas Lhuré’s typical projections can transmute energy and matter into more of itself, or pierce/destroy it utterly by returning it to its most basic state any attack delivered by Brightmaw cannot be resisted. This stands in stark contrast to his typical attacks which can be matched, overwhelmed, or prove ineffective in various circumstances.
Mianloinnir Regalia:
Created when they dove through the Heart of Starlight and transcended their Iteration, the regalia of the Twins was crafted to contain and stabilize the tremendous potency of their ascended sparks and the souls tempered by their presence. For Lhuré, this meant containing his vessel in a solid shell, protecting him further from outside influences, and ensuring that he retains cohesion. Should he be deprived of his garments and rendered in his purest state, he will lose solidity. In such a state he would remain a considerable threat but would lose some of the intense focus required to wield his vast power.
His sister, Lírha on the other hand found her typical garments simply transformed by their traversal to realms above and beyond their own. These alterations made her regalia better complement her powers, making it an extension of her vessel. While this allows her to transform her armor as well and always maintain a protected state regardless of her form, it also means that she can quite clearly feel pain even through her armor and anything affecting it will also affect her to a lesser degree.
I haven't gotten around to any of the extra lore yet, but honestly it's probably not super necessary anyways. Also, I couldn't really streamline things more than this ^^; Apologies Cruiser!
Not ready to post it to the thread proper just yet, but I've gotten through to Mastery and Ephemera at this stage. I still need to write some stuff about Form as well, but that's about it at this point honestly.
I've managed to summarize as much as possible (the bit a few posts ago is actually totally absent from the sheet, sans a hider I plan to add including more in-depth lore should anyone be interested), so things are either a single paragraph unless they're the combined Legend/Ascent and probably Mastery and Ephemera, which will almost inevitably be longer.
So woo.
But yeah, if you want to see what I've got so far. Check out this link.
~“Unified we stand against the forces of Chaos. Never faltering, never waning, moving always towards our goal”~ Theme I ♦ Theme II
【Basic Info】
♦
Titles: Lírha the Untarnished; Chaos’ Bane; The Great Devourer; The Guardian Shadow; The Merciless Maw Lhuré the Resplendent; He of Endless Arms; Brilliance Unending; Lifter of the Veil; The Unyielding Tempest
【Age: Couldn’t decide on this. Ages kinda work different in their world (people live longer on account of how their world works, plus like…reincarnation is a standard thing sooo. Should I just put unknown? It’s kind of inconsequential).
【Form:
Lírha
Appearing fundamentally human when at rest, Lírha is a strong, if lithe, woman with a fierce beauty to both her visage and bearing. She moves with a natural grace, every motion filled with finesse and considerable poise. Fair of complexion and features, she is striking to look upon, but perhaps more notable is her garb, which covers the vast majority of her frame, up to and including strips of cloth that hide her eyes from the world. When in her full glory, though her precise anatomy and features can shift due to her prodigious control of her vessel, she can be seen shrouded in a dense miasma of amaranth and pitch. In this state, unlight burns through the crimson wrappings on her eyes, shining with an unnamable prismatic hue that can be described only as perfectly blinding in its radiance. Shrouded in the dark miasma of chaos, Lírha will become wreathed partially in the malaise-inducing storm of intermingled emotional lhuin. In this state, simply looking upon her can inspire equal parts glorious awe and gut-deep revulsion. If one were to ever peer beneath the wrapping ‘pon her eyes, they would bear witness to quite the sight: Startling eyes of gold and black and silver, colors writhing in a hideously beautiful dance.
Lhuré
Always garbed in his regalia, Lhuré’s appearance is truly shrouded beneath the cloth and armor that adorns his form. Nonetheless, he moves with a certain weight to his step and there is a deep sense of serenity that emanates from his person. When in the full sway of his power, his mask shines with divine light and many almost ghostly limbs can occasionally be glimpsed about his form. Often a haze of drifting mist-like light will emanate from his being and at his behest solidify into any number of constructs. If ever he must stoke his fiery core to its most resplendent he becomes less a man and more a shining pillar of divine radiance. Were you to remove that which conceals his form, one would find a thin man writ from the same light as his constructs and bound with an uncountable quantity of silver threads weaving across his form in an endless array of sigils. Truly, he has become the light amidst the darkness, the Order shining resplendent from within the Bed of Chaos.
【World】
♦
Hailing from a particular universe in a multiverse all its own, Lírha and Lhuré were born in an iteration of said world known as Tir na Itheil. Created by a warped Arbiter–beings who preside over each their own universe–Tir na Itheil is a world of twisted laws and hazy limitations. Rather than being bound by law as many iterations are, it is instead subject to the rules of Invocation, better explained as the Emotions of Lhuin–with lhuin being the exotic energy/substance that composes all things. This world is thus divided into several relevant parts, the innermost of which is referred to as the Heart of Starlight. Surrounding this bed of Chaotic lhuin is their equivalent of a material realm, known as Laghrian. This is where all mortal souls are born and die. Ever plagued by the gods unnamed and numberless who exist in the Geil beyond Laghrian, mortals of Itheil struggle even to survive in the harsh world they were born in. Whereas normally mortals would be capable of a magic called Intimation, which concerns itself with imposing the will to interact with and manipulate the physics of their world, the overbearing power of the emotional lhuin of their world–and its frayed worldweave–have rendered them largely incapable of this innate power.
So it is that Itheil is a world where emotion and belief, or Chaos as the mortals call it, serves as the driving arcane power of the realms therein. Beyond mortalkind–who can take a vast variety of forms–there are the Fey, which mortals refer to only as gods. These are beings of Emotion (Chaos) rather than Logic, as mortals are, and as a result of Itheil’s warped nature as an iteration, they rule supreme. However, with the rise of the Twins, and their healing of the Worldweave, some cosmic Logic has been renewed to their fraying world and so the struggle is not so dire as it was before their ascension.
【Race】
♦
Mortal Greater Mianloinnir. Perceivers
~“Through Will alone, we conquer Chaos, asserting Order where we can. Still, it is not enough and our world remains fractured and impure. This, we will change. So we swear.”~
Mortals
Unlike worlds most are familiar with, the term human, or mortal, in Tir na Itheil covers a vast quantity of bases. From animal-like, to the mundane biped with which we are so familiar, all of these are mortal. Possessed of the warm Black Flame, and imbued with silver Sparks of divine logic, mortalkind may take many forms but they hold within all of them the same essential nature. Each and every mortal is a being of logic–though obviously capable of emotion as all beings are–allowing them the innate ability of Intimation, a magic that works by allowing the Will, using lhuin as a conduit, to directly interact with the physical laws of the world. Thus, through skillful manipulation, mortals can harness cosmic law itself, bending the world around them to their Will. Though a lesser power of most humans, the mortals of Tir na Itheil are also capable of Invocation, which essentially allows individuals to channel distilled emotion to will lhuin into actions in line with that feeling. Rage might beget a consuming flame, whereas love and lust might cause growth in surrounding flora and fauna both. Similarly, Invocation allows those wielding it to harness the power of those connected to them through Chains of Invocation, which serves as metaphysical bonds between souls. These chains are created through strong belief as the force of one’s emotions connects them to another through the crystallization of ambient lhuin in the world.
Greater Mianloinnir
A title and a class of souls from their multiverse, the Twins are mortals who have cultivated and tempered their divine Sparks to the point of Ascension, pushing them beyond normal limits and into the realm of middling divinity. This class of mortal souls is called as such due to its namesake material, which are essentially confluences of perfectly balanced essences–various specific forms of lhuin–that come together to form what can only be described as universal perfection. Said material is unbreakable and more potent as both a physical and magical tool in essentially every way. This class of being was named as such due to the change in their nature as they ascend, as their souls and mind become utterly unassailable, incapable of being manipulated by Invocation or other magics through direct or indirect means. Despite this, Mianloinnir are still capable of being harmed or killed, though such requires drastically more effort than it would for a lesser being. Due to the ascended nature of their Spark, Mianloinnir are afforded preternaturally long lives, and though they can eventually die, they will typically reincarnate unless their souls are utterly destroyed, retaining all their memories and power when they do so. The last notable aspect of this class of being to which the Twins belong, is the inherent ability granted to those who ascend to this degree. Known simply as a Rulebreak, each Mianloinnir holds the ability to break one distinct cosmic law or smaller intertwined laws.
However, it bears knowing that the Twins are not like typical Mianloinnir who hail from Iterations wherein Order, and Law have some significant sway. As a result, the potency of their capabilities comes from elsewhere, and their Rulebreaks instead take on the form of twin Wills that are largely beyond reproach. This renders their magic particularly potent even for Mianloinnir–though not completely unstoppable–forcing others to engage them knowing that most arcane forces will pale in comparison to their own.
【Origin & Aspiration】
♦
【♦ Legend & Ascent ♦】
Filled with optimism and understanding for others, Lírha–with great confidence–walked into the Darkness of the churning Geil. Harnessing her will and her lhuin, she survived the forces therein, but could not pull herself from such alone. Thus, her brother, a forgiving soul, intent upon unifying others with the clear vision of the world and the joy he hold as a light against it would have to aid her. Having remained in Laghrian amongst the people, Lhuré did not lose hope when his sister fell into the all-corrupting Geil. Knowing her worth, he trained himself, harnessing the lhuin of his vast internal light and stoking it into a beacon of intense and purifying fire given solid form. Pressing forth, to the dismay of many, he pierced the Geil and came to his sister’s aid.
Side-by-side, she who took on darkness and he who had harnessed light, fought against the Geil, seeking to free the mortals trapped in Laghrian. Yet, as they fought the twisted will of the nameless gods made itself known and soon, they were faced with the foremost children of such beings.
Navreden, he who gives and gives, twisting–his gifts taking more than they were worth.
Gnev, ever sleeping, restless…violent, sowing madness in all who touch his dreams.
Mir, never resting such that others may. In her shadow, the dead dream, sated and content.
Tvorec, a shuttered light, blinded, yet blinding. It sleeps, but in its sleep it weeps…and its tears reforge the firmament.
Surrounding them, these titanic forces might inspire in others Dread, but the twins did not falter. Instead, they clasped hands, and with palpable relief that blossomed in a great shield about their forms, they ascended. Erupting from their vessels were waves of intertwined chaos and order, light and darkness. Briefly overtaken by the force of such a sudden display, the four retreated, shielding themselves from the fury of the twins.
Then the world itself tilted on its axis, the shattered heavens and the mirrored lands below were healed. With threads of darkness, and rays of purifying light, they were woven back together and Itheil knew Order for the first time in many eons. Stepping from their home, from the yin and yang of quintessence that had borne them anew into the world, the twins revealed themselves to their fourfold foes.
On the right stood the brother, Lhuré the Resplendent. The very laws of the world draped about his form in the shape of crimson robes, golden chain and mask. Surrounded in an uncountable array of floating crystal blades forged of purest pale gold light, he was brilliant as the sun and stars combined, more blinding than the foremost god.
On the left beside him stood the sister, Lírha the Untarnished, garbed in the Chaos of the gods, yet bereft of its ghastly touch. Writhing at her back was an endless cloak of darkness from which sightless eyes peered out, alien and strange. Wound about her arms were cords of ink-like essence, pulsing with the infernal wrath of her divine power. Raising her chin, a hood fell away, revealing startling eyes of gold and black and silver. They were the image of hunger and control.
So it was that as a pair they faced off against the Four and after a titanic battle, won. However, they were not satisfied with this, for the very laws of their world remained frayed, and the gods unnamed and numberless remained lurking beyond in the Expanse. Thus through sheer will, they pressed on, piercing and subsuming the Chaos all around them to reach their unknown adversaries. Facing those faceless entities was a struggle all its own, one impossible to describe, but in the end they won the battle, but lost the war. Unsatisfied with this result as well, the twins sought out the center of their world, and submerged themselves in the wellspring of chaos at its core. Though they were never seen again, the world restructured itself with their passing, giving the rest of their kind a fighting chance against the many horrors that lay beyond Laghrian.
【♦ Will ♦】 In truth, the two did not die but merely transcended the confines of their world, and so stepped through the Sea of Stars and into the greater cosmos. Intent to change the nature of existence such that mortals such as they would always have a fighting chance, if not a fair one, they pressed on, ever searching for the source of their people’s misery. Be it gods or primordial beings beyond even the ken of the deific, they would fight for their right to change existence to suit the needs of the small, over the will of Chaos and its servants.
【Mastery】
♦
~“From Chaos and Despair, to Order and Prosperity. This is the promise we must uphold, no matter the obstacles before us, the foes upon are path, or the costs such might incur. We will see it done.”~
Chaos Subsumed:
By conquering the chaos of emotional lhuin, and mastering her own psyche as well, Lírha has become an endless font of emotional lhuin. Through this power, she can manifest a wide variety of constructs with varied properties by channeling specific emotions through her essence internal, and then releasing it into the world, ordered by the power of her Will. However, there are some limitations to her beyond considerable potency, and that is essentially a matter of range and manifestation. While most mages can utilize their magic at a wide variety of distances–moreso for most Mianloinnir–Lírha’s power is constrained to her vessel and the area around it relative to her size. To make up for this, however, she is capable of drastically altering the shape, size, appearance, and composition of her body. Nonetheless, her maximum range is never greater than her own height twice over in any direction starting from the surface of the nearest part of her body, going outwards. Notably, this mastery of her vessel and Invocation as well allows Lírha to more easily recover from, or conceal damage that she does take. Further, since her vessel is composed of the Worldweave–the nature of which was to preserve the physical and arcane laws of Itheil and all other Iterations–she is innately much more durable than one might expect of a being composed of what at least appears to be flesh and blood.
Piercing Order:
Having distilled his essence internal into an all-consuming, ever-piercing luminance, Lhuré’s power largely takes on the form of brightly shining, or pale, golden light. This light is, in actuality, lhuin with the imbued properties of strict and unrelenting Order. Thus, when it comes into contact with other magics or substances, Lhuré’s power will attempt to reorient them to his will, either destroying their initial formation in the process, returning them from whence they came, or converting them into more of his distinctive golden essence. Unlike his sister, Lhuré is capable of manifesting his golden essence at essentially any range, but this reveals that much of his magic is external in nature. Reflecting this, despite the fact that his vessel is composed of the Worldweave, just as Lírha’s, his is not nearly so resilient or transmutable as hers. As a result, he keeps himself shrouded in crystallized golden light, which has over time taken on the form of his garments, protecting him from the outside world.
Notably, though his magic is far more narrow in manifestation than his sister’s, Lhuré’s piercing light is not to be underestimated, as he is capable of creating any construct he can imagine, at any distance, he can perceive, as well as moving them with incredible speed and force with his mind alone.
Twinbound:
Having ascended together, and further, having done so in an Iteration of twisted laws where Invocation rules, Lírha and Lhuré’s souls have been inextricably bound to one another. Their fates are forever intertwined and truly they are at eachother’s mercy. This has both benefits and limitations of course, the latter of which is most prominently represented by the fact that they cannot stray from one another’s senses without significant consequences. Should they ever be well and truly separated–be it by distance or potent magics–the severance or weakening of the Chain of Invocation that binds them together will cause both Twins to enter a drastically weakened state. Where before Lírha might be an unstoppable juggernaut, consuming all before her and bending the very laws of the world to her Will, she would be reduced instead to the likes of a more mortal mage. In such a state she would lose much of her inherent power, retaining only her resilience, healing factor, and the ability to make more subtle alterations to her vessel. Furthermore, she would retain the ability to make constructs of lhuin, but their potency and range would be even further reduced, forcing them to remain within an armspan or so of her person. Lhuré on the other hand, who before was a beacon of unending purity and light would become but a lantern in the dark. Forced to preserve himself, he would be forced to rely on his defensive aura, and be limited to summoning only a sparse few constructs at a time or manifesting his light only in limited amounts and at closer ranges than before.
However, so long as the two remain together, they are more than a force to be reckoned with, for while they each possess their individual boons, they too can call upon their sibling’s power through the chain of their entangled souls. So it is that the piercing light of Lhuré might emanate from the vast Chaos of Lírha’s shroud or vice versa. Furthermore, one twin may reduce their own capacity to drastically bolster their counterpart, and indeed the two may weave magics together with frightening dexterity beyond the abilities of most mages–even those considered masters of cooperative magic.
【Ephemera】
♦
~“Creation; Destruction. Purity; Corruption. We will use whatever means we must so long as the ends are just.”~
Sgàil(Shroud):
Typically taking the form of a crimson cloak that drapes down from her shoulders, Sgàil is composed entirely of indestructible mianloinnir and is attuned to Lírha’s soul alone. Its precise form can transform and move according to her will, and it can also be used as a conduit to enhance her various magics. Notably, should she channel her inherent nature through the living cloak, it will become just as deadly as any of her direct physical assaults, taking on the properties of subsumption and domination in kind.
Òir-gheil(Brightmaw):
As with his sister’s implement, Lhuré’s is also composed entirely of mianloinnir attuned to his soul. Not often seen, it is instead integrated with his body and thus hidden from the world, Òir-gheil is liquid mianloinnir infused with the inherent power of his being. However, though its form can shift according to his desires, the implement’s favored form is that of a prismatic greatsword, shining with blinding light. Whereas Lhuré’s typical projections can transmute energy and matter into more of itself, or pierce/destroy it utterly by returning it to its most basic state any attack delivered by Brightmaw cannot be resisted. This stands in stark contrast to his typical attacks which can be matched, overwhelmed, or prove ineffective in various circumstances.
Mianloinnir Regalia:
Created when they dove through the Heart of Starlight and transcended their Iteration, the regalia of the Twins was crafted to contain and stabilize the tremendous potency of their ascended sparks and the souls tempered by their presence. For Lhuré, this meant containing his vessel in a solid shell, protecting him further from outside influences, and ensuring that he retains cohesion. Should he be deprived of his garments and rendered in his purest state, he will lose solidity. In such a state he would remain a considerable threat but would lose some of the intense focus required to wield his vast power.
His sister, Lírha on the other hand found her typical garments simply transformed by their traversal to realms above and beyond their own. These alterations made her regalia better complement her powers, making it an extension of her vessel. While this allows her to transform her armor as well and always maintain a protected state regardless of her form, it also means that she can quite clearly feel pain even through her armor and anything affecting it will also affect her to a lesser degree.
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
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Snowdrops
Fallenreaper
Taka
Dark Jack
Crimson Flame
Danyel
Kalas
HeMandaddy
Lord Zee
