The Dominions: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Still need to revise from March of Wit onwards, and Ezoterika. Maybe link Vampire article? Some sort of connection with Urth? Oh and do references, steal from Morst like he stole from native civilizations.
No edit summary |
(Still need to revise from March of Wit onwards, and Ezoterika. Maybe link Vampire article? Some sort of connection with Urth? Oh and do references, steal from Morst like he stole from native civilizations.) |
||
Line 34:
The Princes of Ganadgureba are often called Demons. They are the greatest princes of Magnum Chaos, second only to their king in its life, but now disorganized masters of their own fates. Laag is a prince that appears as a towering figure with horns, a spiked tail, and a head resembling that of a dragon. He leads armies of monsters made of corpses and blue fire, and fights with cold, iron chains. Wildfire is another prince of fire, a grey figure with a twisted crown which appears beyond the trees before forest fires. Molten flames flow freely from its hands and burn hotter than any normal fire. Voyenachal'nik is a powerful prince which acts as a god for many followers of Ganadgureba. It emphasizes strength, dishonor, and combat above all. Its worshippers are known to fight each other to the death in service of Voyenachal'nik, which rewards the last one standing with great power. This Prince is also known for possessing the corpses of sacrificed innocents, forming a figure locked in a frozen, ugly expression of terror clad in black armor and wielding a double-bladed battleax, but its true form is unknown.
Hell, to some. It is a realm of suffering, a shrine to torture and pain, a throne room of Ganadgureba. Kuvunda was its master, the King of the Velnia Demons. Dhaka ruled following Kuvunda's destruction at the hands of Theondume, which sparked a war with Ku-Vun. Korrvod was the second demon to die, a General of the Velnia, who led a flank of Kuvunda's invasion of the mortal plane. The demon army was crushed by the Dievai, but when they fled they were pursued by Theondume, leading his children into battle. They stormed Ku-Vun, slaying the demon assassin Morag, the Prince Riskhva, and the hunter Nadirobis, before reaching the new King and destroying the Velnia race once and for all. After exterminating the Velnia of Ku-Vun, Theondume freed the tortured souls, releasing them into the care of a benevolent spirit.
=== Jeweled Liar ===
Line 45 ⟶ 49:
== Ezoterika ==
Ezoterika, alternatively Vyru Sodininkas, Tvali, or the Keeper of Minds, is an old god of knowledge, wisdom, and magic. Depicted as a concealed figure traveling the halls of the Eternal Library, Ezoterika is also the god of secrets and forbidden knowledge. Darker than that, it is the dread feeling of being watched, of having your whole existence, your whole mind, invaded and exposed and horribly seen, of having your secrets laid bare. Above all, it is the inescapable drive to know, to seek and find. To uncover secrets yourself, to see and to know. It has a dark lure, promises of power and infinite knowledge. Ezoterika rules from the Eternal Library - a realm of infinite rooms with a collected infinity of volumes, containing every combination of letters, symbols, words, and phrases possible. Within the library are the secrets to the universe, every answer to every question, every story ever written and thought of, but infinitely more gibberish and garbage. The more you search, the closer you are to falling under the influence of Ezoterika, and the harder it is to leave. Entrance to the Eternal Library is guarded by Black Books of limitless power that act as the source of magic for Witches and Warlocks.
=== Watchers ===
Line 68 ⟶ 72:
== March of Wit ==
The March of Wit is Progress. Science, technology, development of all kind. The future of mankind and the promise of machines beyond comprehension. It is a Mechanical God, with gears whirring with power we cannot comprehend yet, but might some day. It is the vision just beyond the horizon, all the great things waiting to be revealed and invented. It is unattainable, however, just beyond reach, always past the horizon and never swift approaching. But it is also the Drive to Win, the need to progress and achieve even outside of scientific or technological context. Followers of The March of Wit are attempting to build their mechanical god. The Mechanical God is a towering construct, with scaffolding all around it. The project is hidden underground, pursued by the top engineers and scientists entrapped by the desire to build God. They have been trying forever, and will never finish.
=== Automatons ===
Automatons are created by other branches of March of Wit, built to protect the Mechanical God and see the will of the March done. They are all made of bronze, and consist of Giants are twice the size of men and act as guardians. Spiders are the size of house cats, and swarm their target, electrocuting them. They act as foot soldiers. There are more experimental classes as well.
== Precipice ==
Precipice is the smothering, vast infinity of an uncaring, possibly malicious universe that you cannot fight or even comprehend. It is far and large, making you feel infinitely small, a cosmic speck of a cosmic speck. Too small and weak, crushed by infinity, paralyzed by existential insignificance and chaos. It is the Great Beast, a towering monster that kills entire worlds like tiny ants. It is Nothing Out There, the fear that everything is pointless and too large for you. It is the Vast, a fear of heights and open spaces, and it is the feeling of being overwhelmed by and buried underneath the vast weight of the universe. Its followers are some of the most tame of the supernatural orders, likely due to an apathetic attitude, and most are concerned with deep ocean and space expeditions, likely to be closer to their god. Its antithesis is solid, dense ground, deep caves, and tight spaces, but is not itself a supernatural order, just a very strong weakness. Precipice itself is almost powerful enough to be considered a major order, but not quite there. Mostly, it is persecution by Ezoterika that has kept them from reaching this goal.
▲== Mages ==
=== Michael ===
Michael is the messenger of Precipice, the word of infinity. He is the immortal face of
== Werebeasts ==
Werebeasts are spirits of the hunt, the chase and sacrifice of mortals and monsters alike. Cursed or, from some perspectives, blessed with the power to transform into a monstrous synthesis of man and beast, they share no unified god or code, and it is not unheard of for some to work for various other orders or against their own kind. The most common Werebeasts are Werewolves, but other documented beast forms are bears, hawks, crocodiles, lions, sharks, boars, vultures, and elephants. All share a common weakness to silver, salt, and consecrated weaponry, but a common strength in enhanced speed, strength, reflexes, and senses, which they maintain in their human form and is doubled in power by their beast form. Any natural weapons and features of their beast shape are enhanced in their beast form. The process of transformation is very painful, but one can easily get used to it, and eventually control their transformations, even without a full moon. Werebeasts have the power to call animals to their aid, but the animals of their beast shape, such as wolves, for example, are bigger, faster, and stronger in their presence. There is an old legend that tells of a Weregod, who could transform into any half-beast form at will, but little is known about him, nor is there any proof he exists.
== Utsnobi ==
It Lies and Hides. Utsnobi is the Coming of the Stranger, but also Madness. I Do Not Know You, but also You Are Not There. Utsnobi is deceit, the fear that the world is not quite right, or the knowledge that it is indeed very wrong. It is twisted and unknown, a spiral of doubt and fear, most of all. It is wrong, it is strange, it lies and it hides. Utsnobi is a minor faction, and it is unknown if it has even manifested an entity, but it is powerful among those it affects, and seemingly organized. The avatars and manifestations of Utsnobi, which are indistinguishable from one another, are strange, discrete, and motivated by unknown desires. Utsnobi is closely related with the concept of identity, and the lack thereof. Its manifestations are well documented in this regard, with accounts of faces that are smooth and blank, or ever-shifting, or familiar and strange at the same time. Utsnobi is strongly connected with the idea that you cannot trust anyone. They have no known allies or enemies.
=== The Stranger ===
The Stranger is a shadowy figure who represents Utsnobi to mortals, whose face can never truly be seen. He wears a fedora and old coat, is distinguished by the smoking of cigarettes. He appears in strange, seemingly random places, doing the bidding of his master.
=== The Faceless ===
The Faceless are the most recognizable monsters of Utsnobi. These are the monsters whose faces can be nothing, everything, or else an uncanny something, and can sometimes shift between which faceless presentation they show. Some Faceless are said to steal the faces of their victims and wear them like a mask, although to what end is ultimately unknown.
== Shield of Heroes ==
Shield of Heroes, or sometimes The Stalwart Bulwark, is an order of warriors dedicated to the protection of threatened innocents. Their appearance and powers vary with the avatars, and they have no manifestations, god, or real organization, but they all share a mutual nobility and benevolence. Some theorize it is the universe’s way of empowering heroes to fight against supernatural monsters and give them a chance to win. Once they handle the threat that turns them into avatars, they can stay to protect their community, expand their vision, or even travel dimensions the way most other avatar types do. Most are based mainly around the ideas of heroes in the old legends, such as in saving entire peoples from monsters and tyrants. Due to the complex nature of the orders, no single supernatural group is opposed completely by the Shield, but all can be enemies in certain circumstances.
=== Heroes ===
Gramor Axelord is the first Shield of Heroes Avatar, a great ancient warrior clad in heavy steel armor. His axe is a weapon of great power, capable of killing manifestations. His current status is unknown. The Horned Soldier is another Shield of Heroes, a dark-skinned being with white body paint and a golden spear. It is not human, but its compassion is, and it dutifully protects innocents in the name of the Shield. The Immortal is an armored assassin with a steel mask and various blades. Their specialty is the killing of tyrants in the name of justice, a morally grey branch of The Stalwart Bulwark. The Raider is an old raider from before the Middle Ages, who once cut down innocents, but has since branded himself with the symbol of the Shield, and attempts to atone for his sins so that he may make the world right. Swanknight was a knight of the biggest kingdom of his world, the right hand of the King. His arms were a white swan with a crown over its neck. His armor was always polished and cleaned, an unblemished image of piety, loyalty, and justice. Following the death of his King and the rise of his tyrant in his place, the Swanknight gathered the people and led a revolt, sacrificing his sacred ideal of loyalty to uphold his ideal of justice. Now, he is a full-fledged Shield of Heroes, and his armor isn't always unblemished, but he keeps the Swan as a symbol of his journey. Victoria of Warris was the first female knight of Warris, who disguised herself as a man in order to protect her home. Her victories earned her the Sword of Angels, the highest honor in Warris, and used her influence to reveal herself as a woman and champion a law granting equal status regardless of gender. Her path to the Shield of Heroes led her to a legendary griffin, who remains her companion following her ascent to the Stalwart Bulwark.
| |||