The Corrosion of Immortal Essence

[excited 10834]

 

 

The Corrosion of Immortal Essence
 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

“.. The ability to mimic ichor was unprecedented to say the least.”

 

Origin
*-*-*

[This account is purely from an in-character perspective and is thus also based on the character's interactions, religious beliefs, and etcetera.. not all of it is exactly correct, but the gist of it will give you the impression you need.]

 

"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended... so the world might be mended..."

 

Suffering was the curse Man paid for the sins of the gods, and in their utterances of the prayers of the deific they found no respite from the atrocities that had befallen them. The transgressions of the gods were far too numerous and their en-action of a most heinous First Sin nearly led to the collapse of all civilization, shaking the very foundations of the world with the brunt of the malignant tide. In uproar, Man cast his rebellious gaze away from the gods and instead to magic with high hopes that they could empower themselves -- but like all things magic casts a large shadow, new forms created solely for bending the world’s elements to Man’s will without the aid of external functions aptly named the Mortal Arts came to fruition.

Failure for the Old Lords craved new powers and held not the might to retain it, and so they withered away to ashes thanks to their ignorance. Necromancy, the one mortal boon and skillset Man could exceed at alone had made its mark apparent as its adverse effects twisted and demented its practitioners. Thus their sight was then fixated upon the gods, not for reverence or worship by any measure but rather theft. How could they pry away what the gods had? How could they achieve mortality and how could they actually empower themselves?

And even with aeons death may die, for in this great hunt for knowledge the weavers Dralazar and Abdiel found the truth -- the distortion of immortal blood harked great boons. Tests were done on the blood of Kharajyr to no avail, and still the Necromancer seeks for an essence of greater value than that of the failed, diluted Kha blood.

 

Summarization

*-*-*
 

This lore is largely focused on the derivatives of ether, ichor and ambrosia and the transformation/construct/state of being known as Nephilimdom. Nephilim exist as creatures in a morale grey, they are pseudo-immortals that unlike their other counterparts are played according to the players goals with no actual construct based missive as to how they must act or what they must do. They are weak to gold seeing as it disrupts the ether in their system, and they cannot use magics of any kind excluding Necromancy, Blood Magic, Soul Puppetry, and Mysticism. They are physically robust and are not anchored by the effects of physical degradation.

I. Key Terms

 

 

Ether: deific powers and energies, it can be refined into ambrosia or ichor. Divine magic.

Ambrosia: the dark ebon-colored liquid is a dark mimicry of ichor that allows for the creation of Nephilim, it also acts as blood and once spilled releases steam or char colored smoke of varying colors and hues. The changed blood of Dragonkin, the descendants of the Daemon Dragur.

Ichor: translucent liquid, a substance akin to ambrosia seeing as both are changed variants of ether.

Nephilim: an entity produced from diluted ether, ambrosia.

The Awakening: the process undergone in order to reach a state of perpetual limbo in the form of becoming Nephilim.

Limbo: degradation of the soul, letting it be caught between the crossroad of life and death. Soul Erosion. Calamity. The Darkening.

Laws of the Functionality of Ether: you cannot destroy with ichor or ambrosia, only change. Ichor dabbles in what is held in the jurisdiction of life-force and constantness while ambrosia acts as a force where death can transpire only for something to rise again.

Coma: a state of  hibernation where Nephilim go into a long state of reparation or long slumber, it is possible for Nephilim to be unable to reawaken or to find themselves trapped perpetually in the Enwraithed state.

Ashen: Nephilim traits, they exude more warmth than the average individual and hold the scent of cinders.

 

II. The Creation of Ichor and Ambrosia

 

 

The creation of ambrosia occurs in the ritual known as the Awakening in which gorging the blood of Dragonkin kills the participant, shorting out their mortal body and extinguishing their life as one does a flame. However once the Blood Mage and Necromancer come into play the very blood of the recently deceased candidate is transfused, both mortal energy and the essence of the Daemon Dragur converging, burning away the mortal coil and revitalizing them. This ritual focuses on the convergence of a genus enhanced life-force surplus being fixated onto the candidate, with this they arise empowered through the fruition of their efforts.

 

III. Laws on the Functionality of Ether

 

 

Life-force acts both to maintain life and bring it about, thence allowing it to diminish by fading away into nothingness. Ichor dabbles instead in what forces fall under the jurisdiction of life-force to conform to the status of constantness or unrelenting “immortality”, so one could infer that ambrosia acts as instead as a binding power where death may transpire but the individual shall simply rise again from the ashes. Ether and ichor are both translucent aura conductors while ambrosia can only be black due to its inability to reflect light. Ambrosia serves as mortalized ichor, greatly different in the sense it revitalizes something anew instead of keeping it as it once was.

 

IV. Nephilim and Enwraithed

 

"And with strange aeons, even Death may die." 

Xionism, The Way of the Primeval Man
 

Physiology/Cataclysm

 

Nephilim can be slain in a way that saps away their reserves of ether sustenance in their ambrosia, their entire form could be crippled when this does happen and left in a ghastly reconstructive state known only as the Cataclysm, the process under which the Nephilim’s coil burns out completely and paves the way for a ghostly Enwraithed State as it rebuilds itself from what’s practically ashes. Identity distortion is a byproduct of this, due to the process the body undergoes called the Darkening due to the nature of the soul being gradually burned away in the search for greater powers.

 

Nephilim do not reach the pique of the mortal physical condition instantaneously, but instead holds a greater capacity for it. It is no quick thing seeing as the ambrosia itself only bestows a minor latent healing factor that slowly mends the corporeal form of the being after severe wounding or death. They are enveloped in warmth and those with an affinity for magic can sense an ashen aura around their warmer-than-normal bodies. Healthy and strong, they contrive to bring about their agendas through their guile, agility,  and ample form bestowed onto them by the change and they hold a reputation not unlike those of the forgotten Wraiths of old, in their stead acting as a bastion of true neutrality. The goals of these creatures are devised by themselves, not some inherent necessity or godly purpose.

Because of the Darkening Nephilim stand at a permanent crossroad, limbo, and therefore they cannot perish the same way normal descendants do. The ingestion of the blood of Dragonkin itself is something that kills them and eventually allows them to rise post-mortem, coming again from the lull of death to claim what was once theirs. When they are slain they either wake up again where they were killed, or their ashes which were blown away with the wind eventually reconstruct elsewhere. Death rules do apply.

 

Enwraithed
 

 

This enashened state serves as a form of long term collapse for a supposedly "deceased" or fallen Nephilim to recuperate after a fatal fall. Unable to die, yet unable to feel like they can continue on their ripped, fragmented soul tries to re-piece itself together to no avail, damning the shell of the creature to being only able to focus purely on one of their aspects, magic or combat, for the allotted time of one month.

 

Pros

 

- Alive: Nephilim are living, and therefore bear mortal functions while being imbued with the powers of their being.
- Pseudo-Immortality: they are unable to die, and the magic that keeps them existent and corporeal resurrects them after death, preventing PKs.
- Preserved Physique: dark magic and weapons/armor can be used in tandem, but strength and endurance remains average.
- Temporal Resistance: Nephilim can resist some elemental wearing, but violent or hazardous degrees of elemental afflictions still harm them.

 

Cons

 

- Soulbound Aversion: holy or Aengulic magic harms Nephilim on account of the darkness that shrouds their soul and the unnatural fusion of mortal and immortal powers within them. 
- Darkened Soul: Nephilim can only use dark arts on account of the shroud from which their souls are blanketed in. Voidal magic cannot be cast, power-gifting curses cannot be taken (Shades, Frost-Witches), and deific connections cannot be forged (Aengudaemonic/Spiritual powers).
- Enwraithdom: when corporeally-destructive death is inflicted upon Nephilim or they experience the equivelent of permanent character death, their demise is resisted and they instead regress into an ethereal state akin to spectral Wraithdom. In this form, the Nephilim are deranged and weaker, and their powers are circumvented to where they may only keep to their mastery of dark arts or martial skills. The display of their unholy visage allows their inherent weaknesses to be exploited to a higher degree, as it cannot be disguised and lasts one month.
- Golden Suffering: the limbo which Nephilim Lifeforce is disrupted by the touch of gold, of which itself may pain them. Aurum weaponry is doubly effective against Nephilim as a result, cleaving into their flesh effortlessly.
- Mental Contortion: the imbibing of Aengudaemon-essence-bearing dragons blood, and its infusion with mortal life-force, brings to Nephilim an anguish of the psyche in which an incurable bipolarity plagues them forevermore.

 

Their Contribution to Role-Play

 

- Nephilim don't exist as an antagonizing force, but a means to transcend by means of dark magics. This means their alignment may be dynamic and they may take any side depending on the qualities of the character.

 

- Nephilim, in the case they do choose to become antagonists, can prove to be quite a force to oppose, though can be killed in reason. They may die like all other physical beings, which gives players a fair chance against a stronger force.

 

- Nephilimdom can be sought by anyone who wish to go through the ritual, meaning players can have an additional, dark-sided goal to pursue.

 

 

MECHANICS:

 

 

- Due to the scarcity of the blood of Dragonkin there is no predetermined cap for Nephilim. When created, they must make a magic construct application and list those who partook in their ritual (akin to Lich or Darkstalker creation).

FAQ:

 

- Unlike most dark entities, Nephilim are without a doubt alive.

 

- Nephilim are capable of reproducing, but the child will not be Nephilim, nor will they hold any special abilities/be able to be harmed by Holy magic.

 

- Nephilim can hold Soul Puppetry, Necromancy, Blood Magic, and Mysticism. Nothing else.

Nephilim blood is black.

- The Nephilim curse is capable of purging an individual of deific curses or influences.

 

Red Lines

 

Nephilim cannot remember deaths, death rules still apply despite the fact they don’t necessarily die. They lose memory and can only reconstruct when it’s safe to (i.e. no foes in the vicinity).

 

Nephilim cannot cast Arcane or Deific arts, including Shade and Fjarriauga in any circumstance.

Creation of Nephilim is only possible with the blood of Dragonkin (Dragaar, Drakaar, Dragons, etcetera).

Nephilim do in fact tire during combat, and cannot use spells in conjunction with swordplay.

 

Credits

Zerachial - Initial ideas, writing.
Swgrclan - Xionism, constructive criticism/discussion, writing.

Voorhis - Constructive criticism, grammar/word usage.

[excited 10834]

Ammendments:
- 4/15/16: Consistency errors fixed, summary added. 
- 4/16/16: Removal of cap due to the scarcity of Dragon blood. Pending clarification on whether or not Anchors shall be re-added to the piece. Fi'hiiran'acaele classification made. Elaboration on strengths and weaknesses by Swgrclan, wording changed. 
- 4/19/16: Grammar tweaked, format added onto. 

- 4/20/16: Grammar tweaked, format added onto, Origin story implemented, Enwraithed clarifications/updates. I.E Enwraithed are now able to remain manifested without much difficulty, they still suffer from mania and must decide between martial skills or magic to retain once they've entered the state. One month timer.

- 4/27/16: Flaming sword emblem added, Dark Souls quote added. 

[Ford 1990]

im gushing rn +1

[Supremacy 3357]

This lore is written without the curse of knowledge in mind.

 

Perhaps an introduction begining with what this is as opposed to its limitations would be easier to understand.

[Monomakhos 1837]

2 minutes ago, Supremacy said:

This lore is written without the curse of knowledge in mind.

 

Perhaps an introduction begining with what this is as opposed to its limitations would be easier to understand.

seconded, otherwise this is lit +1

[excited 10834]

2 minutes ago, Supremacy said:

This lore is written without the curse of knowledge in mind.

 

Perhaps an introduction begining with what this is as opposed to its limitations would be easier to understand.

Feedback noted, shall be amended. 

[Blundermore 2733]

Sounds a lot like darksouls. 

Probably is darksouls. 

 

[excited 10834]

1 minute ago, Blundermore said:

Sounds a lot like darksouls. 

Probably is darksouls. 

 

All Xion stuff takes heavy inspiration from Dark Souls tbh. 

[ooooowee 559]

edgy +1

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

Reserved for later, but I'll be -1'ing this since this is as OP as fi is now

literally just a way to create a character that is a physically strong necro that can't die

[excited 10834]

3 minutes ago, The Pink Lion said:

Reserved for later, but I'll be -1'ing this since this is as OP as fi is now

literally just a way to create a character that is a physically strong necro that can't die

I don't mean to be rude but did you even read the clarifications inside the lore? 

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

Just now, aerialkebab said:

I don't mean to be rude but did you even read the clarifications inside the lore? 

ofc I did, like I said I was reserving that spot since atm I'm trying to make myself some ramen noodles

when I said "can't die", I should have said immortal but w/e

 

I'll comment in a bit showing why I think this is an OP lore piece that provides little actual beneficial roleplay to those outside of the people partaking in this (all five people, haha).

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

1 hour ago, aerialkebab said:

 

Pros


 

- Once Nephilim undergo the Awakening they possess a dormant healing factor which ensures that they are capable of holding a slightly broader survival rate than normal people. Agile and ambidextrous, they hold great physical strength not unlike that which the Wraiths held.

 

- Limbo, semi-immortality, they cannot effectively die and do not suffer from the consequences of old age.

 

- They cannot die from exposure to excessive cold or heat, however fire still works on them as it would to a normal individual, setting their flesh alight.

- Nephilim are physically advanced in the fact that they do not suffer the degradation of magical use, and therefore may utilize martial skills and armaments alongside magic.

Cons

 

- Nephilim are alive and thus have living bodily functions, i.e. they must eat/sleep lest they erode as all people do (but not die), can reproduce.

 

- Nephilim are literally incapable of dying, as they are a fusion of immortal/mortal essences. They can be "killed", but never permanently killed, and all death rules apply to them.

 

- Nephilim souls are imbued with an ancient power known as the Darkening. This "enshrouds" their souls in darkness and prevents them from establishing greater connections or accepting outside influences; this means they cannot use voidal magic, they cannot be connected to deities, they cannot accept soul-bound curses like shade magic and frost witch stuff, and are affected by Ascended flame.

 

- Nephilim are mentally distorted, and thus suffer from constant kinks in their psyche (this is more like a psuedo-con, mostly for rp aesthetic but still prevalent)

 

 

- Nephilim can suffer something called a Greater Death where, instead of being PKed in circumstances where a reg. player character would, their body is broken and they become Enwraithed. This is a spectral, wraith-like form where they become weak to gold and all forms of Aengulic/Holy Magic, and must remain this way for three months until their corporeal body regenerates.

- Nephilim souls are relentlessly eroded by their curse, once they do eventually commit suicide and die, they are unable to pass on in the Soul Stream. Their souls instead conjoin with the Void to be preyed upon by the Horrors, and who knows what else, for they truly never die and hold no capacity to ever move on to greater pastures.

 

Their Contribution to Role-Play

 

- Nephilim don't exist as an antagonizing force, but a means to transcend by means of dark magics. This means their alignment may be dynamic and they may take any side depending on the qualities of the character.

 

- Nephilim, in the case they do choose to become antagonists, can prove to be quite a force to oppose, though can be killed in reason. They may die like all other physical beings, which gives players a fair chance against a stronger force.

 

- Nephilimdom can be sought by anyone who wish to go through the ritual, meaning players can have an additional, dark-sided goal to pursue.

FAQ:

 

 

Unlike most dark entities, Nephilim are without a doubt alive.

 

Nephilim are capable of reproducing, but the child will not be Nephilim, nor will they hold any special abilities/be able to be harmed by Holy magic.

 

Nephilim can hold Soul Puppetry, Necromancy, Blood Magic, and Mysticism. Nothing else.

Nephilim blood is black.

The Nephilim curse is capable of purging an individual of deific curses or influences.

 

Red Lines

 

Nephilim cannot remember deaths, death rules still apply despite the fact they don’t necessarily die. They lose memory and can only reconstruct when it’s safe to (i.e. no foes in the vicinity).

 

Nephilim cannot cast Arcane or Deific arts, including Shade and Fjarriauga in any circumstance.

 

Enwraithed are not Wraiths, anything can kill them, even a slight tap dissipates their manifestation.

Creation of Nephilim is only possible with the blood of Dragonkin (Dragaar, Drakaar, etcetera).

 

 

Lemme break down this lore to how I see it and keep in mind each point is lined up with the one you made in the section that it's in (so the third line in pros would be the third line in your lore in pros)

 

Pros:

Physically fit necro/mysticism/bm/sp user, negating one of the biggest drawbacks to necro and making it an incredibly powerful thing (don't even try to bs me that this isn't strong)

 

"semi"-immortal

 

they can withstand cold and hot temperatures (useful for being with frosties lmao)

 

And then you straight up say they're physically adept and able to not only partake in dark arts, but also can go around in full combat gear (rply)

 

Cons:

They have to eat and do normal people stuff, not even a con

 

they can't die at all (I mean like, overall from age and junk as you were saying)??? how is that a con lmao

 

Okay I admit the next one is an actual con, they can't use voidal magic and are affected by holy fire

 

Now this one, the mental con, is as you put it an aesthetic thing and can't be enforced in any fashion

 

The enwraithed thing is optional since where a "normal player" would be pk is different for all players

 

And then the next con is also an aesthetic thing, they can't go into the soul stream oh no

-----

 

So all in all, the only real cons there is the voidal magic and holy fire one. You can get enchanted junk to make up for voidal and then you have the physical prowess in addition to dark arts, so it's not really a crippling one.

 

Onto the "contributions" to roleplay:

 

You're basically saying they have no purpose outside of the players, so they aren't required to do anything.

 

Then you say /if/ they choose to be an antag, then they'd be a force to reckon with, okay

 

And then you finish by saying anyone can become one, which taking a look at the dark arts history of players, is funny

[excited 10834]

11 minutes ago, The Pink Lion said:

 

Lemme break down this lore to how I see it and keep in mind each point is lined up with the one you made in the section that it's in (so the third line in pros would be the third line in your lore in pros)

 

Pros:

Physically fit necro/mysticism/bm/sp user, negating one of the biggest drawbacks to necro and making it an incredibly powerful thing (don't even try to bs me that this isn't strong)

 

"semi"-immortal

 

they can withstand cold and hot temperatures (useful for being with frosties lmao)

 

And then you straight up say they're physically adept and able to not only partake in dark arts, but also can go around in full combat gear (rply)

 

Cons:

They have to eat and do normal people stuff, not even a con

 

they can't die at all (I mean like, overall from age and junk as you were saying)??? how is that a con lmao

 

Okay I admit the next one is an actual con, they can't use voidal magic and are affected by holy fire

 

Now this one, the mental con, is as you put it an aesthetic thing and can't be enforced in any fashion

 

The enwraithed thing is optional since where a "normal player" would be pk is different for all players

 

And then the next con is also an aesthetic thing, they can't go into the soul stream oh no

-----

 

So all in all, the only real cons there is the voidal magic and holy fire one. You can get enchanted junk to make up for voidal and then you have the physical prowess in addition to dark arts, so it's not really a crippling one.

 

Onto the "contributions" to roleplay:

 

You're basically saying they have no purpose outside of the players, so they aren't required to do anything.

 

Then you say /if/ they choose to be an antag, then they'd be a force to reckon with, okay

 

And then you finish by saying anyone can become one, which taking a look at the dark arts history of players, is funny

 

Removing climate resistance is within reason, but no it would not condone frosty *******. In that case the Nephilim would be screwed and would have a frostbitten you-know-what downstairs. Onto death and immortality, all players possess this already if they choose and its condoned by the rules seeing as nobody is forced to PK. They lose any ability to sustain outwardly sourced magicks or deity-based curses, which leaves more magic out. They are tormented, and their soul erodes until it literally gets tossed into the Void (this is something that will be RP'd seeing as all the planned candidates are held to a clause, and I would personally correct them if they didn't adhere to the lore, if their boon was retracted too by the MAT they'd be pretty much permanently Enwraithed which is a PK so there's no room for Tom foolery tbh). 

They interact with players, talk with players, etcetera, much like Frost Witches, Wraiths, Keepers, and Augurs. Anyone can become one because it's true, but the question is, what character has enough motive to hunt for something so enticing? As for enchanted junk, anyone can wear that anyway. 

You're saying Nephilim are over powered when they just hold things that other people have in a more defined and thought out manner that is supported by lore. 

PS: Only real boons are as following to be frank when you examine the piece.

- Immortality (alternative process to body reconstruction contrary to that the Monks use. Monks cannot repair these themselves because the soul is greatly overshadowed). 

- Strength (you cannot use martial prowess in conjunction with magic anyway).

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

9 minutes ago, aerialkebab said:

 

Removing climate resistance is within reason, but no it would not condone frosty *******. In that case the Nephilim would be screwed and would have a frostbitten you-know-what downstairs. Onto death and immortality, all players possess this already if they choose and its condoned by the rules seeing as nobody is forced to PK. They lose any ability to sustain outwardly sourced magicks or deity-based curses, which leaves more magic out. They are tormented, and their soul erodes until it literally gets tossed into the Void (this is something that will be RP'd seeing as all the planned candidates are held to a clause, and I would personally correct them if they didn't adhere to the lore, if their boon was retracted too by the MAT they'd be pretty much permanently Enwraithed which is a PK so there's no room for Tom foolery tbh). 

They interact with players, talk with players, etcetera, much like Frost Witches, Wraiths, Keepers, and Augurs. Anyone can become one because it's true, but the question is, what character has enough motive to hunt for something so enticing? As for enchanted junk, anyone can wear that anyway. 

You're saying Nephilim are over powered when they just hold things that other people have in a more defined and thought out manner that is supported by lore. 

I'm saying that it makes an OP thing limited to FIVE players. Idgaf if it's "more defined" and "thought out", it's the same as when cyndikate would make lore to boost her character and small group of friends.

 

And you cite other things like frosties, wraiths, keepers, and augurs. Those have (aside from Augurs, I think they need a purpose too) a purpose that makes them interact with people. Keepers gotta uphold order, frosties have to eat, wraiths SHOULD be doing antag stuff unless that was changed, but then again they aren't that active anymore so idk.

 

If you're making something like this, you should be making it more inclusive and not some special snowflake group. I can think of a few different ways off the top of my head to make this effect more than just your group of "planned candidates" in an inclusive fashion, I'm sure you can too. If not, then make them have an actual purpose that spreads their RP to others.