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[[Category:Lerasi]] [[Category:Supernatural]]
== Theondume ==
Theondume, alternatively Theondume Aukstoji, Theondume Tevas, Theondume Khurvash, and Theondume Demonslayer, and sometimes Teondumis, is the King-Father of the Dievai, Emperor of the Nykstuka, Lord of the Hidden Cities, Sovereign of Starspire, Guardian of the Throne of Heroes, Master of Karo Vadas, and High Emperor of the Jakn. Theondume is a conqueror, and has led vast armies over the course of his life, such as the Scy-Re Legions, the Krathor Horde, and the Battlecult of the Black Rider. Theondume notably subdued the Elemental Spirits of Zemedievai by defeating the Icelord, Stormcrowned, and Ashking in single combat to claim their thrones for his son, The Triglav. Next, Theondume conquered the Nykstuka Kingdom, crushing the dwarven army and declaring himself their Emperor. The Nykstuka who bowed to him built his next army, battalions of warriors made of silver, and those who didn't were exiled to the far reaches of Skhvakveq’niuri. Finally, Theondume turned his gaze to the Velnia race of demons, baiting their invasion of his son's Kingdom so that he may cripple their armies and storm into Hell, massacring the remaining demons and freeing the souls they had taken to torture. In cases such as these, Theondume stole or won the power of others, befitting his status as a god of thrones and kings.
=== Dievai ===
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 ===
Jeweled Liar, or Gold and Silver, is the God of Greed, the desire for more and more and more. It appears as a withered man, barely alive, held together by molten gold that reflects light like a second sun. Its eyes and teeth are shifting, molten gold as well, and it cannot move. It grants unlimited favors, but it takes so much more. Your life, your mind, your belongings. Sometimes it takes everything. Sometimes, it waits until you think you have cheated it until it takes its due.
=== The Affliction ===
== Ezoterika ==
Ezoterika, alternatively Vyru Sodininkas, Tvali, or the Keeper of Minds, is an old god of knowledge, wisdom, and magic. Depicted as aan old, concealedwrinkled figure traveling the halls of the Eternal Library, Ezoterika is also the godKing of secrets and forbidden knowledge. Darker than thatSecrets, it is the dread feeling of being watchedbut, of having your whole existence, your whole mind, invaded and exposed and horribly seen, of having your secrets laid bare. Aboveabove all, it isrules the inescapable drive to know, to seek and find. To uncover secrets yourself, to see and to know. It has a dark lure, whispering promises of power and infinite knowledge, but darkest of all are the moments when it delivers on those promises. Ezoterika rules this dominion 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. The Watcher's Crown is a twisted silver artifact which grants limited control over the Eternal Library, allowing wearers to shift in and out at will, command the Seekers, and instantly travel to any volume one pleases.
=== Watchers ===
Seekers are mortals who find themselves in the Eternal Library. The more they search the library, the more they fall under the influence of Ezoterika. They push on more and more through the nonsense of the library and prove their dedication to the library. After a while, the become lost during their search, becoming phantoms of their former selves, evolving into something else. Seekers. Seekers may enter, exit, and explore the library at will, traveling to and through the otherworld with just a thought, and in proving their dedication to Ezoterika gain the ability to know the location of any piece of knowledge within the library. When searching for an answer, they are pulled towards it, and they find it, and they know it. However, if they search too long in the library, go too deep, or fully devote themselves to Ezoterika, they can no longer leave the library, and are cursed to roam its rooms forever.
== Hourglass ==
The Hourglass is death - the Falling Sands of Time running out, emptying with infinite patience. This is the truth of death. The force that feeds on the life forces of the departed, collecting their souls. It is the passive, inevitable march of time, and the coming end that awaits us all and cannot be ignored. It is an unstoppable force, and it takes and it takes and it takes, but it is not cruel. It is not killing. It is just death. It is the knowledge that death is imminent, the fear of one's coming end, and the acceptance thereof. It is the dichotomy of life and death as a natural, destined cycle. It comes for everyone eventually. It is only a matter of time. The Hourglass is also known for ruling Far Shores - the afterlife, a vague all-encompassing term for the unknown awaiting beyond the debt-collector. It is what's beyond the end, the lack of knowledge on what that can be, the various beliefs surrounding it, and the cold, dark assumption that there is nothing at all beyond the grave, nothing but emptiness. It has no known allies or enemies. Its reapers do not have any powers of resurrection, but often do have the power of reanimation. Mostly, their most prized power is their escape from death. Often, they have the power to know how, when, and where anyone will die. Some have vampiric powers to steal life, and others still have the power to kill in various unique ways, sometimes violent.
=== Deathmonger ===
"The Merchant of Death." He strolls into town with his cart of corpses, dressed in black. He wears a wicked smile as he rolls down the streets of the world's cities. He gathers the corpses, pulling them from their weeping loved ones, carting them away. He drives the corpse roads, and he dumps their corpses, broken and lifeless. The Deathmonger deals in life and death, a sadistic, twisted avatar of death. Sometimes, the wronged fight back, scratching and kicking, but the Deathmonger laughs and laughs and laughs and cannot die. In war, the Deathmonger carts through the battlefield, the booming cannons and whizzing bullets feeding its life with deaths.
== March of Wit ==
The March of Wit is a dominion of Progress. Science, technology, development of allany kind. The future of mankindthe world and the promise of machinesa beyondhand comprehensionto control that future. ItMarch of Wit is a lesser Dominion, ruled by no King but the promise of one beyond the horizon - a Mechanical God, withits gears whirring with power we cannot comprehend yet, but might some day. It isrules the visionhope justand beyonddrive for the horizonfuture, all the great things waiting to be revealed and invented. ItThis dominion is unattainable, however, always just beyond reach, always past the horizon and never swift -approaching. ButIt itexists isonly alsoin the Drivemind's to Wineye, theits need to progressdesire and achievehunger evenfor outsidethe offuture. scientificIt orexists technologicalin context.the Followersimagination of Thedeluded Marchfools ofwho Wit are attemptingattempt to build their mechanical godGod. TheTheir Mechanicalcurrent Godprogress is a towering construct, withcovered in scaffolding alland aroundmachines that are too primitive to build 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. They are dragged away from what they can actually do and drawn towards an unattainable desire.
=== Automatons ===
AutomatonsNot all March of Wit followers are createdpreoccupied bywith otherbuilding branchestheir ofKing. MarchMany are tasked with the creation of WitAutomatons, mechanical contraptions built to protect the Mechanical God and seeof the willNew ofWorld theand Marchsee its will done. They are allbronze mademonuments ofto bronze,the andMarch. consistThere are two main classes of Automatons. 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. ItIts King is the Great Beast, a towering monster that killssmashes 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 befeel closer to their godKing. 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 persecutionPersecution by Ezoterika that has kept them from reaching thisthe level of more major goaldominions.
=== 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 mortalsbeasts 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, panthers, rats, 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 oneover cantime easilyit getgets used to itbetter, and eventually Werebeasts may 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. ThereTheir isKing, anthe old legend that tells of aso-called Weregod, who couldcan transform into any half-beast form at will, but little is known about him. Often, norBonsamu isVampires thereare anymistaken prooffor "werebats," but have no connection to hethis existsdominion.
== 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.
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