The King Of The Moon 5123 Popular Post Share Posted November 1, 2019 Vivification - The Curse Of True Sight (Loregames Resubmission of This.Updated Format and Clarifications) Background/Origin To most, the elysian wastes serve as a one way mirror; its inhabitants are forced to watch the realm of the living and remain unseen... Unseen by all in the realm of the living but the clairvoyant, those cursed with true sight. This curse (oft called vivification) forces its victims to passively see and hear beings trapped in the elysian wastes and live their lives out amongst both the living and the dead. They are able to see not only the stagnant souls with which they share the realm, but also apparitions and ghosts regardless of their desired visibility and are often targeted by geists. Priest, gypsies, soothsayers and troubled housewives: the clairvoyant come from all walks of life, though their burden is shared. Magic Explanation The Elysian Wastes: A Place Caught Between Spoiler When freed from its mortal bonds the soul travels much. Some are fortunate enough to trace the soulstream from this world into the next. The fates be it the seven skies, stargûsh'stroh, ebrietaes or elsewhere are the final rests - or torments - of the soul for most. Some, however, don’t transition so smoothly. The elysian wastes (named so to parody elysian fields, a fabled alternative) are not a ‘location’ in the conventional sense, but a bridge between all the mortal planes and the soulstream. Its geography is nonexistent; the beings caught in the wastes dwelling in the same towns, forests and mountains as those still present in the realm of the living, albeit unable to interact with them. This is the curse of the elysian waste’s permanent residents: to watch the world of the living move around them, screaming at deaf men, trampled by blind horses and squatting beneath crumbling houses until the end of time. The elysian wastes are inhabited by all varieties of spectral undeath: apparitions, ghosts, gravens, wights, geists, strigae spirits or simply stagnant souls, though the latter is its only true residents. Whilst apparitions are strong enough to interact with both the mortal realm and the elysian wastes, the lesser spectres [ghosts, gravens and wights] root themselves to the mortal planes firmly enough to interact with them and consequently grow ignorant of the waste’s other inhabitants. Geists are also known to only partially linger in the elysian wastes, being prisoners of ebrietaes (the closest fate geographically to the elysian waste tied to axiom and aerios) they may only escape such torment when called upon by mystics through hexing or in the presence of a clairvoyant, in either circumstances empowered to briefly escape their torture by inflicting it upon others. Stagnant souls then make up the elysian waste’s majority populus; they are the souls of beings not yet willing to pass on through the soulstream for one reason or another, be they clichés with ‘unfinished business’, watchers still attached to the realm of the living or simply those too hesitant or fearful to be carried into their fate (in light of this many atheists, xionists or known sinners in life tend to become stagnant residents of the elysian wastes in death). They are oft known to linger around the site of their death or burial, though in truth are free to roam as they please in line with the mortal laws of travel; for example an unfortunate soul is one who falls down a well, is locked in a mausoleum by an unwitting cemetery master or wanders into a building just before it collapses; being forced in such circumstances to either stay trapped or accept their fate and be carried off by the soulstream. The curse of true sight can be bestowed in two ways. The first being the reading of the grimoire of phantoms by a Mystic who - having peered into the ebrietaes by the will of Mthyul Tlan itself - will have the Elysian Wastes unveiled to them. Those not practicing Mysticism can not be cursed by reading the grimoire, and the second bearers of the curse are those smitten before birth. Barrow-born, as they are known, are product of ghastly experimentation upon a pregnant woman, wherein an apparition (either of its own accord or directed by the physical touch of a clairvoyant upon the pregnant woman) afflicts the curse upon a child whilst still in the womb, making them ‘barrow-born’; cursed with vivification their entire lives, however unable to conduct seancés and beseech the dead until they come of proper age. The life of a barrow-born is a troubled one, often shrugged off as ‘born mad’ or disowned by their peers, these cursed children live in the cold light of the elysian wastes and will be subject to the dead’s torment their whole lives. To most, the elysian wastes serve as a one way mirror; its inhabitants are forced to watch the realm of the living and remain unseen by all in the realm of the living but the clairvoyant, those cursed with true sight. This curse (oft called vivification) forces its victims to passively see and hear beings trapped in the elysian wastes and live their lives out amongst both the living and the dead. They are able to see not only the stagnant souls with which they share the realm, but also apparitions and ghosts regardless of their desired visibility and are often targeted by geists. Abilities/Spells The Curse of True Sight Spoiler Cursed to peer into the Elysian Wastes, percieving the stagnant dead as well as the more active spectres of the realm, in these interactions - with the exception of the monstrous appearances of apparitions and geists - the unliving will always take the appearance of their living selves to the clairvoyant and are usually at first mistaken for such and ignored by clairvoyants. Most clairvoyants would do well to live as hermits for fear of scrutiny from both the living and dead. If choosing to integrate with society then superstitious tendencies are rife, usually keeping aurum handy to keep the unliving at an arm’s reach at the very least. There are many reasons for a clairvoyant to avoid the dead, for example mistaking a spectre for a mortal man is an easy mistake to make and can prove detrimental to users of vivification either in accusations of insanity or heresy by their fellow living men or in the desperate pursuit from the dead seeking anything from well meaning company and favours to granting the clairvoyant a lifetime of torture as entertainment for a mind dirtied by aeons of stagnation. Geists too prey on those with true sight; foul creatures taking the opportunity of a brief escape ebrietas’ torment by afflicting it upon another similarly to how their influence is used in hexed items by mystics. The full extent this affliction is felt by the sleeping clairvoyant, whose body becomes prime for the taking by any stagnant soul or geist looking to possess it; their resting bodies also become invitations to geists temporarily hoping to leave the ebreitaes, clairvoyants often being startled awake by the same nasty afflictions one might experience from touching a hexed item. This curse is passively enforced upon the clairvoyant at all times, and has no permanent cure though its effects are most potent when the victim is empty of mind and the terror of constant haunting can briefly be kept at bay in the absence of such. This usually leads clairvoyants that wish to keep their sanity down an unhealthy spiral of zealotry or abuse when pursuing a moment’s respite or a good night’s sleep, usually through drugs and alcohol in excess, risk taking for adrenaline rushes or fanatical religiosity (as a means of honing the curse and almost always misinterpreting it as a divine ‘gift’). --Whilst otherwise invisible ghosts can be seen by clairvoyants, the clairvoyant would usually be unable to distinguish them from normal people and should RP as if they are any other person. The exception to this would be if they directly see the ghost doing ghostly actions (e.g. walking through someone), the ghost is explicitly described to appear differently to their living form (e.g. mutilated to an extreme) or if the clairvoyant is already aware of the ghost's nature from prior experience. -The ability to see ghosts and apparitions that would usually wish to remain unseen does not extend to other spectres being seen through physical mass, such as apparitions, wights, ghosts or gravens that choose to possess physical bodies or objects. Similarly vivification does not allow one to recognise haunted or hexed objects. -Whilst stagnant souls are usually NPCs akin to geists, dead characters will require the consent of their former players to communicate with. Stagnant souls will usually (though aren’t forced to) linger near the site of their death or burial, making battlefields and graveyards traumatic and confusing sites for those cursed with true sight. -A clairvoyant can not opt out of seeing the nearby dead - to suspend the implied mental detriment of vivification - unless by sacrificing their clarity of mind also accepting the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse or physical harm risked by chasing adrenaline rushes. -A religious clairvoyant will be granted similar peace of mind to a clairvoyant in the above circumstances only whilst performing religious duties and rituals. They are by no means immune to the detrimental effects of Vivification. Furthermore, fanatics of religions that condemn the undead will be subject to far more vicious attacks from Geists whilst attempting to sleep, often resting at holy sites in an attempt to hide from them. Seances Spoiler Through physical contact with a dead man’s belongings a clairvoyant may try to beseech a soul from the elysian wastes intentionally and if they’ve access to a corpse or skeletal remains a clairvoyant may even try to conduct a seance speak with souls that have passed on to fates beyond the soulstream (with the exception of the ebreitaes), at the expense of crippling fatigue. Not only are clairvoyants able to communicate with the elysian waste’s residents but they may also offer (or more often lose) control over their bodies to the unliving through possession. Funnelling their very essence into the seance, a clairvoyant has two means of allowing the dead to speak through themselves. The first would be a common seance in which the dead individual is ‘projected’ onto something such as a painting, body of water, crystal ball, bonfire or other inanimate object, whilst the clairvoyant would be physically strained and forced to maintain touch with said object. There, the dead will be able to speak to nearby witnesses and display things within the confines of their object (IE having a teacup appear in a painting with them) whilst also hearing and interacting with anyone within the object’s vicinity, as if they were still living and conversing normally. The seance is not powerful enough to grant physical impact on the wider world however bar subtle changes in temperature and ambience (ie a summoned soul couldn’t suddenly take form as a graven and start fighting for the clairvoyant, such complexity is reserved for mysticism). Alternatively, a clairvoyant could open themselves to possession. This could be favoured by the dead seeking to feel sensations again through a temporary host, whilst also allowing them to move and interact with the world to the abilities of the clairvoyant’s body. In this scenario, a clairvoyant loses any and all control over their body and must instead act and move at the wills and whims of the contacted dead. Their tone of voice and eye colour would also change, to match that which the dead once had in life and blind witnesses in the vicinity (or those opting to shut their eyes) would sense the aura of the dead individual over that of the clairvoyant, perceiving the smell and touch of the dead rather than the host. Furthermore, whilst opening themselves to possession the clairvoyant creates an unintended interference for seers of vaasek; in the presence of a possessed clairvoyant, the Seer would percieve the dead individual as they were in life in place of where the clairvoyant is standing. Both instances could be upheld for half a narrative hour - ample time to sustain a conversation – before absolutely withering the clairvoyant and causing them to collapse, after which they would be too physically weakened to walk for up to half a saint’s day. -Conducting a seance to temporarily call upon dead characters beyond the Elysian Wastes will require the character’s corpse, skeletal remains or an item once belonging to the dead individual as well as the OOC consent of the player behind it. Souls doomed to ebrietaes can only be contacted through mysticism’s seances, making them beyond the common clairvoyant’s reach. -After conducting a seance successfully souls will return to their designated fates and a clairvoyant is left physically crippled by exertion for 12 irl hours, unable to walk. -A possessed clairvoyant will gain no physical or magical prowess or benefit. They will still suffer pain to the same extent and this will be experienced by the possessing soul in the same manner a living person would. -‘Projecting’ in Seances must be done onto specific objects, entities or surfaces, and will not appear vivid enough to decieve someone into believing a conjured object or entity is physically there (seances don’t function like Sensory Illusion). Red Lines Spoiler -Only Barrow-Born can apply for a TA to bestow the curse upon another. Mystics wishing to spread the curse to others will require the Grimoire of Phantoms, which is listed under 'Teacher's RP Name' in applications. -Souls can only stagnate in the elysian wastes when accepting true death and choosing to delay their inevitable fate. In this regard the souls of characters that are not permanently killed be it through monk revival, kloning, machine spirits, tree lords, blood magic rebirth etc will be immediately plucked into the soulstream and to their method of revival upon death. They can not linger about the elysian wastes until accepting their permadeath. -Magics can not be taught by dead characters being spoken with via vivification. -Dead player characters that have been killed by other player characters can not name or allude to the identity of their killer (for metagaming concerns). They can however give minor details like the whereabouts of their body or their cause of death, IE “I drowned in <x lake>” but NOT “I was pushed into <x lake> by <y character>”. -Furthermore, dead player characters will suffer a stagnant memory; they would forget interactions with the clairvoyant and others bar when speaking with/ in the company of the clairvoyant and others, rendering them useless for the purpose of undetectable spies or messengers out of the clairvoyant’s company.. -Vivification is a dark magic feat and requires an application. -Whilst vivification is a curse and not a magic to be learnt from an RP standpoint - it’s detriments are picked up instantly without any means of avoiding them whilst it’s boons can be naturally grasped without instruction given time - those spreading the curse (with a TA) are still required to give OOC explanation and instruction regarding the feat to their victims. -Apparitions creating ‘barrow-born’ with vivification require LT approval (as apparitions always do) for their creation and an LT or approved ET to play them, as well as a player mother; barrow-born need to be applied for as new characters following an event or following the cursing process as RP'd out by the prior clairvoyant with a TA, namely establishing physical touch with the pregnant woman, with whatever additional aesthetic flair the mother and clairvoyant player agree to add. There is no ‘becoming’ barrow-born on a pre-existing character that has already been born. -Those without souls and already undead creatures (with the exception of Wights reading the grimoire of phantoms) can not be cursed with vivification either due to their already close bonds with the elysian wastes (or complete lack thereof). -Whilst most people can be cursed, only the barrow-born or the mystics who have read the Grimoire of Phantoms to be cursed can make a TA and spread the curse which in this regard is functionally similar to the spread of Arcane Displacement. -vivification is an optional side effect of hexing, still serving the purpose of a seperate feat rather than just a mysticism addition; any mystic who reads the grimoire of phantoms following this piece’s acceptance CAN be cursed with vivification though this is not mandatory. -There is no cure for the curse, meaning this brings about a permanent change of character and requires OOC consent of whoever is being cursed, either from players lined up to play barrow-born or mystics reading the grimoire of phantoms. Dropping mysticism in the latter example does not cure the curse; it is permanent. -A clairvoyant must use aurum if they wish to harm to stagnant souls, even then unable to destroy them, only causing the unliving great pain for forcing them to stay at bay. Stagnant souls are otherwise unable to interact with the physical world and will pass through people and objects, though will be stopped by doors and walls (in this sense a clairvoyant couldn’t have an invisible undead NPC walk through walls to spy on someone). -The feat app for the character must be made before they are playable (before age 5) unless cursed by the grimoire of phantoms. One cannot create an app for a character older than age five. Tier Progression Spoiler As a passive curse limited by nature as a feat, Vivification only has one ‘tier’. That said, tangible differences in character behaviour and capability ought to occur with reasonable development IRP and appropriate passage of time. In the first weeks of being cursed, for instance, a clairvoyant would be far from ‘comfortable’ with their new state. Plagued by insomnia from constant geist-torture, mobbed by the dead of the elysian wastes in the streets and generally disturbed by the possible appearance of maddened relatives and loved ones – coming to the realisation they’ve been stuck watching their every misdeed since their death – the mental state and day-to-day functionality of a clairvoyant would be severely damaged. With time, however, coping mechanisms might be adopted (healthy or otherwise) and a clairvoyant might slowly but surely familiarise themselves with their new life amongst the dead and make steps to regain control over their lives. The exception for this comes with barrow-born, children who have been cursed, that will be disturbed still by the tortures of geists but are far quicker to normalise their existence between the living and dead, as they’ve never known much else. Furthermore, barrow-born are unable to conduct seances (as possessions or otherwise) until the age of sixteen, when their minds and constitution are decently developed. The act of conducting seances might also be normalised, in the sense that clairvoyants will be able to anticipate the stresses of the act and can grow fairly accustomed to it. The crippling hangover of a seance, however, and the loss of physical ability for a time afterwards can never be avoided or progressed beyond. 33 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcerio 4596 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Very nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaMoist 1707 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Magic redlines need to be listed under the specific spell they refer to. If not, the lore will be denied without much thought. A general redlines is okay at the end of the lore, but spells must have their redlines listed below them. **** looks neat though 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of The Moon 5123 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 13 hours ago, TheAlphaMoist said: Magic redlines need to be listed under the specific spell they refer to. If not, the lore will be denied without much thought. A general redlines is okay at the end of the lore, but spells must have their redlines listed below them. **** looks neat though Fixed. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
𝙻𝚞𝚟 XO 3066 Share Posted November 2, 2019 when it comes to barrow-born, i am under the impression it is still only able to be bestowed by an apparition or wight? are those that read the book of phantoms able to learn this magic still? just asking because i didn’t see it specifically written out anywhere ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
𝙻𝚞𝚟 XO 3066 Share Posted November 2, 2019 7 minutes ago, The King Of The Moon said: See: oh, awesome!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodEmperorFlam 3447 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Thank you for submitting your Lore Games draft! You will receive input on what needs to be fixed within the next 2 or so weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodEmperorFlam 3447 Share Posted December 18, 2019 This lore is pending, send me a PM over discord ( Flamboyant#8856 ) or over the forums at click me. I will go over the things that need to be fixed there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodEmperorFlam 3447 Share Posted February 12, 2020 This Lore has been accepted. Moved to Implemented Lore, it will be sorted to it's appropriate category soon. Please note that if this is playable lore, such as a magic or CA, you will need to write a guide for this piece. You will be contacted regarding the guide (or implementation if it isn’t needed) shortly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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