[Complete][Lore] Yah'sharau And The Mraka'svijeta

[NomadGaia 924]

 

Yah’sharau The Deceiver

and The Mraka'svijeta

 

Materials:

One piece of obsidian, about the size of a mina

The Blood of whichever race you plan on changing to

A dark room

A diamond shape.

Knife

 

 Ritual instructions

Find a small, dark room, with plenty of space to move freely in. You are to begin with the shape of a diamond, about the size of the room itself, drawn onto the floor. Take the obsidian in hand, smear it with the blood of the races. Place it in the center of the room. This will act as a catalyst for all of your forms. Meaning if your gem is destroyed in some way or another, you turn shadow form until your obsidian gem is remade, which has to be made by a mortal, willing to sacrifice themselves to reforge you. Without the gem, you are stuck in your shadow form.(note that you do not have to keep it on you). After placing the gem in the center of the diamond, proceed to kneel before it. There are no words, or incantations for this ritual. You need only cut your own hand off. The shadows will take care of the rest. After these steps have been completed, the shadows will destroy your original form(which is extremely painful, imagine getting thrown underneath a steamroller, and there you go), and remake it from the shadows. This means that all ailments will be cured. Missing limbs, and injuries will all be undone. This is a one time ordeal, and does not give you any permanent healing properties. During the elven day, your form will be remade anew. Your new form will have some slight changes though. Your eye color will change, at random. There will be a sort of tattoo on the lower half of your back. This is muscle deep, so unless you feel like carving your back muscles out, there's no getting rid of it. The shadows will however instantly turn you into the shadow form, and you will be reborn. That's all for the instructions.

 

If the Ritual should fail

There is a slight chance that the ritual could fail. If it does, one of two things could happen. Best case scenario is when the shadows don't tear your entire body apart. Think of it like this. The shadows are creating shadow you, then they stop halfway through, you would look like a humanoid version of a "dark one" Your skin would be blackened, horns sprouted from your head, and your eye color would be a dark red. Those who get like this, will feel immense pain most of their life.

The other scenario. Your entire body explodes from the shadows that are creating your new body. Say during the ritual, the shadows see something wrong. They are a part of your body now, so this would happen about 3/4th s of the way through the ritual. The shadows would see the problem, then all try and leave your body at once, bringing bits and pieces of you with them. The result is quite gruesome as you might think, so I won't go into detail. This would of course kill you in the process, and the choice to pk or not is yours to make. If you choose not, then you go to the cloud temple like always.

 

Yah’sharau

Also called “The Deceiver”, Yah’sharau was once a man, just an elf. He was a natural historian, figuring out the world mysteries. There was one problem...the world had already been so deformed by the races of the world, it was almost a completely different place. He longed to see the world as it really was, before anyone, or anything touched it. This longing after centuries, had turned to hatred of the races. This thought, this idea grew inside his mind, consuming him. He wanted, no...needed to see the world untouched. The thought only grew overtime, festering and boiling his hatred for the various races of the fringe. He began to plot...and plot and plot. He began to create his own type of magic. A dark...and foul magic. The foul magic...changed him. His reasons changed. He had read about true power. The ability to crush his enemies. He now sought power. He knew this power could grant him his wish.

Months, and years, and decades had past. The ritual had been completed. The parts

necessary had been gathered. The finally walked to the center of the diamond, where he placed his hand on the floor. He took the knife, saying no words. He reached down to his hand, with the knife, and in one swift movement, he separated his hand from his arm, and immediately screamed and cried in pain. The shadows of the room began to swirl about, going towards the center of the diamond. He continued to writhe and scream and shout, the shadows swirling and circling around him.

All at once, they gathered and shot through his chest, surrounding him with shadow. They all dropped through the floor, and Yah’sharau was gone, only his hand remained, in a pool of blood, motionless.. The shadows began to rise from the floor, at the center of the diamond. It shaped the form of a man, but the legs never grew, only shadows coming from the ground were in their place. Horns grew from the head shape, and blood red eyes formed. The shadows formed a mouth, where but a whisper came from.

“Finished...finally…”

 

The Magic of Dark Metamorphosis 

 

The ritual that Yah’sharau designed, gave him some unique abilities. From that point on, he could change. Not just from elf to shadow, or shadow to elf. He had exactly one form of every race. He could change his appearance from race to race. However this had its limits. It was not instantaneous, it really had not combative power to it, as that came from personal skill. He devised a way to use this magic for his own purposes. With a new face, he could be multiple people, from multiple races. He could infiltrate, and he could go to those places where he originally could not. He could be the person that can be blamed. He could be the hero. He could be the villain. He could be...anyone.

 

Changing Forms

Changing forms is not all that complicated itself. All it takes it a bit of time. You require the original room that you performed the ritual in, and you require the obsidian gem. All you do is enter the circle and you state the words "Darkness darkness...make me anew...give to me the body of a (Insert race here)" and the shadows will do their work, changing your body after one complete elven day. This is not painful as you've already become one with the shadows, so its as easy as making a new shape with a shadow.

Some notes on Forms

• You cannot change a form's appearance once it has been created.
• You get the racial buffs of the form that you change into
• You will not age after the ritual, nor will your forms. They will retain the age of your original body, but will only look like that age, not feel that age.
• You cannot and will not be able to change gender by changing forms. If you are male, you will stay male. If you are female, you will stay female.

 

OOC Notes

With this magic type, i'm hoping to not restrict it. I want this to be a widely available type of magic that could be used in a wide manner of ways. Though it is a dark magic, I want it to be available for people. However if the lore team, or the gm’s want this to be a form of restricted lore I won’t argue.

• While in shadow form, you are completely unable to interact with the world.No touching, no attacking. you are quite literally a shadow.

• If accepted, books containing the ritualistic instructions will be scattered across the land. Those who may find them may do as they please with them. Note that those who wish to perform the ritual will need to contact me, so I may oversee it.

• When in each form, I've decided to make it so that you will get that form's racial buffs, as you turn into them, flesh, bone, brain and all.

• Turning into a "dark one" will render you completely and utterly infertile.

• This is not a combative magic, this is sort of a disguise type of magic. It's meant for deep cover, and all things of that manner.

• Changing will take place by using your personas to change forms.

 

Debuffs

• Weakness to golden weapons: All forms.
• The Ritual leaves you weakened, making you quite fragile and weak.: All Forms
• Extreme Weakness to golden weapons: Shadow form.
• Ritual physically alters your appearance: Process of Ritual leaves the user with tattoo like markings on their back, which means that someone could find them out.

Due to all your feedback, the original three will not be played. In addition the whole idea with the mental link has been removed, as it does create some form of unity between the "Dark ones"

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

 

The ritual that Yah’sharau designed, gave him some unique abilities. From that point on, he could change. Not just from elf to shadow, or shadow to elf. He had exactly one form of every race.

To clarify, does this mean that a player would be able to have an orc form, kha form, human form, and so on?

 

Edit: And would these forms (if the above is true) be locked in appearance or could the orc look different each change?

[blindmind 350]

I'm not sure if any new magics are being accepted/reviewed, but I'm gonna leave a bit of feedback for the fun of it. 

 

I like some of the ideas here, though I believe a kind of shapeshifting was in use a long time ago (by pretty much one dude, if I'm not mistaken). I don't believe it sees any practice today, or even if its allowed anymore, but that's why you wrote this up. I like the idea of shadowy forms. That is to say, I like the idea of a culture related to shadows. I also really enjoy anything that adds to ritualized magic (the greatest and inherently superior kind).

 

Shadows-things are widely regarded as pretty bad voodoo. This sets the score right off the bat. There's no vagueness about what you're encountering. Yonder shadow-man is probably evil and must be met in glorious combat or subdued. I also like the idea of this mystical, one-way connection. It means that, in whatever circumstance an individual performs this ritual, if s/he is successful, that person is immediately under watch. This lends a certain kind of intimacy and closeness to what would otherwise be a scattered group. Even if you do not wish to be under the sway of whatever force is contacting you, it can.

 

The first thing I thought of while reading this was how such a ritual could fail, and what that might entail. Something I thought might be interesting to consider is a kind of "between" existence while transforming. Or, at least, a state of being that sinks a character into shadow (as in a normal shadow like any other). The final step of the ritual would be to pull your own form out of that "between" world. If one should fail, or be made to fail, that character could be imprisoned in shadow. In this state, a character would maintain a foggy consciousness, but otherwise in a kind of stasis. This kind of thing could be used creatively, I think.

 

Perhaps someone wants an interesting way to kill off their character, assuming the chance to free it is lost. Or, maybe some crazy, yet ambitious individual sees this as a last ditch effort of preserving themselves for a future time, assuming their consciousness does not dissipate and someone is around to retrieve them by performing another ritual to free them. Then, they must hope their stasis/imprisonment did not drive them mad.

 

Anywho, there are some things to be wary of, here. Firstly, the characters you've set up probably wouldn't be in your control. If that's not the case, however, you're looking at some very likely negative reactions from the community. Nobody likes to see lore written to benefit, glorify, or otherwise artificially reinforce the coolness/appeal of a select group, which would probably include Yah’sharau and Khai’ihel. At the very least, they'd be resistant.

 

Secondly, the actual benefit of shapeshifting might make people hesitant. Right now, we see that a character, through this ritual, can acquire the appearance of one of the four races, but we don't know much beyond that. Can any form be chosen, or is one granted naturally? That is to say, could you look like a specific person? Is this appearance illusory? For example, would an elf that has changed into a dwarf have to contend with a dwarf's inherent greed? Are they now, down to its bones, a dwarf? If the change is real, how would this effect lifespan? How old would a 200 year elf be, should it choose a human form? While my previous suggestion can be seen as a way to postpone death, this might defeat it entirely, if the rituals are always successful.

 

I like the opportunity this provides for subterfuge and sabotage, especially from an evil and driven supernatural force (we need more of these kinds of things). And, if the person performing the ritual for the first time isn't evil, but desperate to escape from something, this would provide a kind of ***-for-tat roleplay. The person could then be considered indebted to whatever force allowed the ritual to proceed. I also think that its important to note that the ritual takes a year, in-game, to complete. One could not toss off and don new disguises like clothing.

 

Other than this, my suggestions would be to fluff up the actual ritual more. Add a lot of zany requirements (like black silk retrieved from the sarcophagus of a person laid to rest 7 days hence, worn as a shawl on a moonless night). Also, describe why this ritual takes so long. Is the person changing over this period of time, or is the ritual not ready for a specific reason until a year has passed? Or, is this person in the "between" world, incubating? Lastly, think about all the things in the previous paragraph.  

[NomadGaia 924]

 

 

To clarify, does this mean that a player would be able to have an orc form, kha form, human form, and so on?

 

Edit: And would these forms (if the above is true) be locked in appearance or could the orc look different each change? 

 

You would be correct in assuming that the player would have one locked look for each form. You could not change to look like someone else. And yes, An orc, kha, human, so on and so forth. But I've actually been considering only making it the four base races. So then you could only turn into a human, elf, dwarf, and orc. I feel as if that would give you less of an advantage over other players.

[NomadGaia 924]

I'm not sure if any new magics are being accepted/reviewed, but I'm gonna leave a bit of feedback for the fun of it. 

 

I like some of the ideas here, though I believe a kind of shapeshifting was in use a long time ago (by pretty much one dude, if I'm not mistaken). I don't believe it sees any practice today, or even if its allowed anymore, but that's why you wrote this up. I like the idea of shadowy forms. That is to say, I like the idea of a culture related to shadows. I also really enjoy anything that adds to ritualized magic (the greatest and inherently superior kind).

 

Shadows-things are widely regarded as pretty bad voodoo. This sets the score right off the bat. There's no vagueness about what you're encountering. Yonder shadow-man is probably evil and must be met in glorious combat or subdued. I also like the idea of this mystical, one-way connection. It means that, in whatever circumstance an individual performs this ritual, if s/he is successful, that person is immediately under watch. This lends a certain kind of intimacy and closeness to what would otherwise be a scattered group. Even if you do not wish to be under the sway of whatever force is contacting you, it can.

 

The first thing I thought of while reading this was how such a ritual could fail, and what that might entail. Something I thought might be interesting to consider is a kind of "between" existence while transforming. Or, at least, a state of being that sinks a character into shadow (as in a normal shadow like any other). The final step of the ritual would be to pull your own form out of that "between" world. If one should fail, or be made to fail, that character could be imprisoned in shadow. In this state, a character would maintain a foggy consciousness, but otherwise in a kind of stasis. This kind of thing could be used creatively, I think.

 

Perhaps someone wants an interesting way to kill off their character, assuming the chance to free it is lost. Or, maybe some crazy, yet ambitious individual sees this as a last ditch effort of preserving themselves for a future time, assuming their consciousness does not dissipate and someone is around to retrieve them by performing another ritual to free them. Then, they must hope their stasis/imprisonment did not drive them mad.

 

Anywho, there are some things to be wary of, here. Firstly, the characters you've set up probably wouldn't be in your control. If that's not the case, however, you're looking at some very likely negative reactions from the community. Nobody likes to see lore written to benefit, glorify, or otherwise artificially reinforce the coolness/appeal of a select group, which would probably include Yah’sharau and Khai’ihel. At the very least, they'd be resistant.

 

Secondly, the actual benefit of shapeshifting might make people hesitant. Right now, we see that a character, through this ritual, can acquire the appearance of one of the four races, but we don't know much beyond that. Can any form be chosen, or is one granted naturally? That is to say, could you look like a specific person? Is this appearance illusory? For example, would an elf that has changed into a dwarf have to contend with a dwarf's inherent greed? Are they now, down to its bones, a dwarf? If the change is real, how would this effect lifespan? How old would a 200 year elf be, should it choose a human form? While my previous suggestion can be seen as a way to postpone death, this might defeat it entirely, if the rituals are always successful.

 

I like the opportunity this provides for subterfuge and sabotage, especially from an evil and driven supernatural force (we need more of these kinds of things). And, if the person performing the ritual for the first time isn't evil, but desperate to escape from something, this would provide a kind of ***-for-tat roleplay. The person could then be considered indebted to whatever force allowed the ritual to proceed. I also think that its important to note that the ritual takes a year, in-game, to complete. One could not toss off and don new disguises like clothing.

 

Other than this, my suggestions would be to fluff up the actual ritual more. Add a lot of zany requirements (like black silk retrieved from the sarcophagus of a person laid to rest 7 days hence, worn as a shawl on a moonless night). Also, describe why this ritual takes so long. Is the person changing over this period of time, or is the ritual not ready for a specific reason until a year has passed? Or, is this person in the "between" world, incubating? Lastly, think about all the things in the previous paragraph.  

Thank you for your feedback, lemme break this into parts.

 

The mental link was created not to make a group. Absolutely none of the dark ones will be gathering together, as they're pretty independent. The link was actually made for Yah'sharau, so that if people that resisted his influence with the ritual, the desperate people, he could somehow talk them into becoming corrupted. 

Moving onto the forms. A form is locked, meaning from the moment you become a dark one, your forms are chosen(However, obviously you would pick them OOCly.). you can not change your forms appearance. Also, no matter what you change into, you have the blessings and curses of your original race. This does not change your actual lifespan either. Your original race will also choose that. However, after you do the ritual to become a dark one, your age will not change. You essentially become a shadow. This change has no effects on disease however. And yes, down to the bones you do become that race until you are to change back.

One last thing I'd like to note. Yah'sharau and Khai'ihel are completely separate beings with separate goals and so on and so forth, they just use the same kind of magic.

[Lita 677]

I'm actually rather interested in this idea, even if it were to only be put into practice for events and the like. However, like Blindmind mentioned, I'd really like to know if there was any way the ritual could fail, and, if so, what would happen? Could they burst into shadows, never to reform?

 

Rather than require the blood of all four original races, I'd recommend that each blood type used would grant the ability to shift into that race, which could, potentially, include Kharajyr. If they were to be this race, would they be fertile? So, given the possibility of them encountering a relationship, could offspring be formed? If so, would the offspring be normal, or have the curse of the other race, or would they be another one of the Shadows? I'd also like to know how it is that the other ingredients, besides the room, knife, and diamond shape, are used in the ritual. I may have accidentally missed that, but I don't believe you outright stated it.

 

Finally, the name 'The Dark Ones' is a tad unoriginal. I'd recommend trying to come up with something unique, like the names you came up for the characters. The Dark Ones could simply be what they're called in different legends and the like.

 

As a note, I'd also recommend you allow the creator character to just be vanished. If you intend to have this an open magic, it'd be impossible to know who was a part of the group, first of all, and it's a little special-snowflake-y to play the creator.

[Destroyer_Bravo 1052]

So... a shadowdancer?

[LaCabra (Soda) 1515]

I actually kinda like this, it's not the run-of-the-mill magic idea. It'd add more of a fantasy feel (and not /weird/ fantasy, we have too much of that) to the server, which I'm always in support of. It's also a magic that doesn't take months to learn - NICE!

As for questions, are you planning to make some sort of evil guild with this?

[Hydra 513]

I think you should allow all the rest of the lesser races, such as Kha Halflings because they all have their own nations and it would open up more RP oppertunitys more then just the 3 you would get otherwise

[ShameJax 1391]

I like this, as much as I am more into the combat magics, I would definitely learn this/become this if I could. This does really intrigue me. One thing I am curious about though is if you are in the form of another race would you get it's racial buff's?

[Hydra 513]

I like this, as much as I am more into the combat magics, I would definitely learn this/become this if I could. This does really intrigue me. One thing I am curious about though is if you are in the form of another race would you get it's racial buff's?

 

nope read the lore. You keep your original racial buff and curse

[excited 10833]

I love this I must say, I really do, you sir receive a +1, but don't forget to flesh it out even further if you want! :D

[blindmind 350]

The mental link was created not to make a group.

This is something you could definitely play up, however. Its a uniting factor among all those who choose to dabble in this magic, regardless of how they feel or what their motivations are. Even if you don't know about anyone else with the same experience, there's still this thing talking to you somehow, tugging on your interest. Its a kind of devil on your shoulder. I would hope that the lore characters are mysterious manipulators to fill that role.

 

Also, I'm still curious about what happens during the year of the ritual. What about it requires a year of time?

 

Thanks for answering pretty much everything else. 

[Lago 2569]

I'm not entirely sure what this does. Lots of backstory, not as much explicit information on function, which should be the focus when designing what's essentially a set of roleplay mechanics.

[NomadGaia 924]

Updated the lore, added from your feedback and fleshed it out quite a bit. Changed many many things, and added new sections.