Shade Gem Revision

[Tsuyose 3284]

 

“A weapon forged from the ire of Iblees’s ill plight against the Aegisians; carried via Rilath’s eldritch prowess; a weapon once lost, now sought again, instead, we draw the unbridled might of the voidal nexus, a plane akin to the unrelenting shadow; the heart of chaos. From hereon, we forge the Aknu’gul; a crystal akin to our forefathers.”

 

The Shade Gem is a sinister object akin to a pool of unrelenting blight; it cannot be fractured, only destroyed with enough relentless force. A Gem forged from the chaotic forefathers of Shades, the Shade Father, can only be made possible with two, and pertains enough corruption to stain the minds of others in frightful terrors, and should they wield the Gem long enough they will come to fear it, and their soul will be rooted upon by a Shade born from the Gem itself. Forging a Gem is no easy feat, with the two Fathers taking three days of consistent preparation before the process may begin. The catalyst to creating the Gem would be an object produced from the implosion of a Void Node, the ‘Ore’ which is a clean crystal with an aura; how this aura is produced, is uncertain. Then, the Shade Father would draw forth their aura and imbue the Ore with their corruption, encompassing it in a frightful display of shade blight. The ritual from hereon could go either way, resulting in a dreadful explosion with the possibility of maiming, if not slaughtering the two Fathers, or they successfully forge the Shade Gem which pertains an immense power akin to Rilath’s Shade Gem. Should they fail, it is entirely possible that a breach tears open into the fabric of reality, a gateway between the void and mortal realm which permits voidal horrors and their ill-minded ilk to roam freely without the hinderance of the eternal abyss.

 

Should they succeed, the Gem has been forged and is even portable albeit cannot be carried like one could a phylactery; the Gem emanates a transparent aura that is capable of lulling those nearby into a temporary state of madness akin to an ancient Shade that has succumbed to the terrors of its shadow. Wise would be the man to keep the Gem safely locked, and hidden away. The Gem’s power is equivalent to that of Rilath’s original Shade Gem albeit is weak at first, the Gem continuously produces the aura which the empowered blight feasts upon.

 

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Essentially to forge a Shade Gem you must have two Shade Fathers and the volatile material called ‘Ore’ which is produced from the implosion of a Void Node.. This can go two ways, failure will result in a mass explosion and a tear in reality manifests from the voidal realm to ours, permitting voidal horrors and its ilk to freely flow into this realm (providing the opportunity for a plethora of events should this transpire) Succeeding will result in a semi-portable Gem and must be handled with significant care.

 

This revision will bring about the removal of any previous Shade Gems prior to this revision, its power would’ve simply faded away whereas this revision will permit any future forged Gems to retain a consistent flow, anchored by the now extremely corrupted, and un cleansable Shade Gem.

 

Much like the Gem of ages past, Shade Gems forged by the aforementioned methods contain the power to instill or remove Shades from the souls of descendants. If in the possession of a Shade Father, the gem significantly increases the power they wield. This, however, will prove fatal for the average Shade Father, resulting in a temporary, if not permanent Shade which has mutated further, and consumed the soul to the point that going back is no longer an option. To the conquered Shade it serves as a temporary funnel, eliciting the pre-existing Shade’s whispers for a short period of time until the Gem is no longer in their possession.

 

Red lines:

 

• The Shade Gem cannot be consistently carried, and must be stowed away in a secure location.

• Any creation of a Shade Gem must be approved via the LT, or they must be notified of a Gem’s creation.

• This revision will mean that any pre-existing Shade Gems will simply fade away due to the lack of a surplus power fueling it.

• The Shade Gem, is not a pet, and cannot be treated as such; it can be mounted upon a stave and temporarily used to boon one's power albeit significantly increases the curse temporarily, if not permanently. (for conquered Shades it has a chance of fracturing the soul to the extent that the pre-existing Shade can sluggishly seep out, igniting the curse once more. This, however, is an extremely low chance, and is only permittable if the Gem is power gamed, and abused.)

 

Spoiler

Bearing in mind this revision has already been accepted via the LT as it had been submitted privately. Making private lore, public lore.

 

 

[Tsuyose 3284]

“Long have the Shade gone unruled, to flee the might of their forefathers albeit troubles us no more; Aknu’gul will preserve the way of the Shade, to ensure our future ‘pon this desolate realm. Need I say, a Shadow that disobeys their Father shall not go unpunished, and from hereon forth our Coven shall become whole once more.”

 

Aknu’gul, the shadowed abyss, the absolute epitome of that which is unholy; a blight that can scorch the realm in an unrelenting blight as it matched the power of Rilath’s Gem. The now corrupt albeit still volatile material expunged its mass amount of blight and power in an abhorrent display, however, it was Vorroch who had been studying the crystal intently, the weapon he sought to forge for roughly a decade had finally come to its climax and thus was, the creation of Aknu’gul. The Shade Gem.

 

Upon the mantle to which the Gem lays rests a plethora of scarlet runes that each thrum a different shade of crimson, casting a dull light from the center of the Shade Gem; whereas a set of boots struck hard against the stone as Vorroch traversed the cavern with an ebony elfess following after; the two had descended in privacy as the Blood Mage sought to experiment on the lone gem; having arrived the two’s facial expression contorted in both fear and disgust as they were battered with the whispers of the eldritch Gem, Vorroch more so the elfess. Nevertheless the two drew closer to the fabled crystal as the Blood Mages’ head twists to utter a few words to the Mali’ker, and she bobbed her head in absolute obedience -- her figure trembling in pure fright as she stood naught but five feet from the mantle. Sliding a dirk from her robes she would promptly slice down the length of her arm, to which, Vorroch would hover his left palm over the wound with a scarlet mist starting to excrete from the droplets of blood whereas his gaze pooled black with an opaque aura cascading around his visage akin to the aura that encircled the crystal.

 

With his spare arm lifted the emaciated elf muttered a few short words beneath his breath as he sought to conjoin the two eldritch arts; the scarlet mist flowing freely toward his spare palm as an ebony mist manifests before his digits, flowing down to form around his palm. Once more, the gem would thrum.. A low ringing resonating throughout the halls of the seemingly abandoned ruin as the ritual was underway; the crimson runes emanating a lighter hue now -- as the two mists brewed before his right palm as it hovered above the crystal. The conjoined mists would flow down in a flurry akin to a wild waterfall in the pitch black night.

 

The curse cannot be shattered, nor the effects entirely negated; a Shade will always live on in the abhorrent nightmares of his past even when conquered -- The Shades’ might’ve been unruly however they had family. An ethereal bond that tethered them to one another - the blight that roots upon their soul. - The Shade was a shadow unlike any other; it cannot be forgotten, it is the anchor to their brethren.

 

And that anchor became reality in the form of Aknu’gul; as the conjoined power between Blood Mage and Shade battered the crystal, the power it consumed far, Vorroch could not stop as the crystal latched unto his prowess albeit could not pry free the conquered shadow so easily; his torso craned over the length of the crystal as it rumbled upon the mantle with the elfess fleeing back to one side of the cavern in absolute horror, the eldritch crystal abruptly paused..

 

Shortly after, a knock-on effect transpired with several pulses bellowing forth from the crystal which rumbled along the continent of Vailor unknown to all except those who were bound to their deities, and the Shades themselves -- it enacted as an anchor in the literal sense as it developed a transparent albeit ethereal attachment to each and every Shade upon the realm -- a viable method of self-moderation amidst the Shades.

 

Both Vorroch and the elfess lay slumped, unconscious till he awoke to peer onward toward the ebony crystal that wafted a light scarlet hue amidst the blight and he would eagerly withdraw, heaving slightly with the odd rib cracked and bruised, tugging the elfess with him. It wouldn't be until later that Vorroch had discovered his failed ritual had pried open a new possibility; a new age dawned for Shade ilk alike.

 

Spoiler

 

Deviant Art

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This lore will provide a viable method for Shade Fathers to moderate the Shades, primarily the inactive Shades to provide other players with a chance to become a Shade and prevent a build-up of stagnancy. The Gem will essentially enact as a nexus, a mainframe to the remainder of the Shades although it isn't the source of the power it has latched a tether of sorts onto each, and every Shade, future or past, providing the capability of drawing the blight from their soul, effectively wiping them clean. This tool won’t be used to actively hunt down Shades who aren't apart of the Coven albeit will be used as a functioning way to remove the Shades’ of those who've left LoTC, or are significantly inactive. Again, it opens up more viable ways for other players to experience the shade-esque side of magic whilst also preventing a build up.

The Shade Gem will pertain its weaknesses and strengths -- however, it’s a more knock on effect to the Shades should the Gem ever be destroyed, causing a great deal of disorder amidst the coven; only those versed in manipulating the Gem is capable of removing other Shades with it. The concept of this lore has already been pressed through the chat and none presented issues with it. Alongside this each coming leader of the Shades will be taught how to manipulate it unless certain circumstances come to pass, the LT is permitted to also over watch the removal of certain Shades to ensure the lore is in proper use. Bearing in mind, it can also be used as a form of punishment for disloyal Shades albeit is unlikely.