Archipelego 2095 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2021 The Mortal Fears Est timor — FearFew things are felt so acutely to mortals as fear. It cuts through and affects other emotions, tainting them with strands of terror. In many ways, fear is the natural state of mortals and, unlike other emotions, has a direct influence on the soul. Fear actively inflames and agitates the souls of descendants, causing an abundance of excess soul essence to be produced. This excess soul essence is tainted by the fear felt by the descendant. Over millennia of mortal habitation, this soul essence grouped together into several coagulations of soul energy, with no blueprint or structure beyond one thing; the fear they were manifested from. It is from this soul essence that the Fears themselves first formed. — The Shape of Terror The Mortal Fears (also known as the Fears or Avatars) are simple, mindless entities that have existed for as long as mortals have. They were created by large concentrations of mortal fear, and will subsist so long as the fear remains. When the mortals are gone, so will the Fears be. They have taken many forms throughout the years. Many names, mantles, and titles. Yet, behind all such ploys are the same faces of the Fears, ultimately after only more fear to fuel themselves. The Fears are largely mindless and mechanical, with no true understanding of mortals or their society. There is only one thing that the Fears understand, and that is sheer, gut-clenching terror. This leads to strange, warped creations and machinations from these Avatars of fear, tormenting descendants with malformed and impossible constructions of the world based solely on fear. They are driven not by any internal malice, but simply to fuel and grow what they are further. They reside in some thin grey space between the veil and the mortal realm, almost spectral entities with no true form. As such, they will on occasion exert control over some distant location, warping it and sometimes the inhabitants of the area to its perception of the world. This often results in horrible, destitute locations that do not follow normal laws of reality. By terrorizing mortals, the Fears can feed on their terror. This gives them some added energy, some extra vitality that they endlessly crave. The true extent of what they can do is largely unknown, though they almost never interact with the world directly. They have no capability for such, instead corrupting the natural world and mortal occupants to do their work for them. It is not unheard of for mortals to fall for their ploys of power and feasts of fear, these people becoming Serfs of the Fear that has chosen them. This traditionally comes with some small boons, though the cost tends to be great. This is an ET tool, and becoming a Serf cannot be done outside of events interacting with the Fears. In times of antiquity, the Avatars were once more active in the realm, bringing terror and dread to a young mortal world, with ancient mortals sometimes worshipping or revering these forces that seemed unstoppable in their world. The influence of external deities and forces have largely driven back the so-called Gods of Mortal Fear to the fringes of the world however, away from major population centres and mortal inhabitants. Now, they reside quietly, festering and feasting where they can. — The Avatars These ten Avatars of Fear have taken many names, faces, and titles over the years. Sometimes they serve as unwilling and unwitting tools of larger, stronger, Aengudaemons. Other times they have pretended to be of Aengudaemonica themselves, a farce to grow mortal influence. Below the surface however, they are all grinding machines of terror, and each takes on the mantle of some deep-seated, integral fear to the mortal experience. It is this fear that makes up what they are and the actions they take. ● The Drowned Rusalka, Nuckelavee, He Who Waits In The Depths The Drowned is among the more influential and powerful Fears. An unfathomable horror of the depths, Nuckelavee has beguiled and wormed its way to a position of memory and prominence. It is because of this, and the fear that constantly feeds it, that it can be considered the strongest of the Fears. Commonly known as Rusalka or Nuckelavee, this Avatar stands as a monument to that which is inconceivable below the depths. Life and structures entirely alien to mortals, horrible wretched creatures that will never see the light of day, and of inescapable suffocating death. Given that the fear of the ocean and what lurks in it is a common one, Rusalka remains quite influential even as its active involvement fades. Primarily feeding on those far out at sea or occasionally those on some miserable, damp coast, The Drowned has easy pickings. Many encounters with sea monsters and horrendous black water floods are directly caused by The Drowned, and there is little to no limit on what Nuckelavee seems capable of doing to create fear in his territory of the sea. Locations of power for Nuckelavee are always in the ocean or on the coast, and can take the form of swampy, black flood waters or incredibly dangerous patches of the sea. Deep below the ocean, the true domain of Rusalka is more extensive, however mortals tend to interact with only the surface of these vast realms and the intrusive force of dangerous sea creatures and rising waters. Serfs of Nuckelavee tend to be drowned individuals, with no heartbeat or life beyond their own animation and awareness. They are dead bodies, full of water and brine, that carry out additional action in locations of power to bring about terror. ● The Entombed Antrum, Eternal Depths, He Who Lures And Traps The Entombed is a simple, slow, and methodical Avatar. It is the fear of burial, of being trapped deep below the surface in tight dark spaces that Antrum pursues. Above all else, The Entombed seeks out those who feel claustrophobia particularly keenly. It rarely births creatures to serve it or to stalk the ground above, instead laying in wait to trap those who may wander into its clutches. Deep dark caverns, tight earth-packed crevices, and twisting slick ravines are the territory of Antrum. Locations of power for The Entombed are virtually always caverns and caves. These locations seem innocent enough on the surface, almost mundane. The entries appear as if they were typically safe places to explore, but cave-ins are often and the deeper you go the more twisting and unnatural the caverns grow. Many travellers become lost in locations of power for Antrum, individuals trapped below the surface in dark, tight caves with no exit. The Entombed feeds on these fears up until the point that these individuals eventually perish. Serfs of The Entombed are smooth, fleshy things with nubbed limbs and tiny eyes. They are twisted into a lesser form almost reminiscent of that of a worm, pitiful creatures to squirm and crawl through the endless tunnels of Antrum’s domain. ● The Intruder Noppera-bō, Lazarice, The Near Man The Intruder is a powerful and active Avatar, though largely unknown. In days of antiquity, The Intruder and his creations were known as Lazarice. To the easterners, the children of Lazarice are known as Noppera-bō, faceless men and part of its mythos. Beyond these general labels however, there is no true name or identity to The Intruder. It is the fear of the unknown and the unknowable that feeds Lazarice, and as such it and its creatures retain anonymity in all things. Twisting, mutilated forms that are almost mortal. Strange buildings with proportions that do not fit within the bounds of reality. A stranger, knocking on your door and asking in a toneless voice if you would like to come play. All of these things and more fall under the domain of The Intruder, a near-mortal Avatar that takes particular pleasure in terrorizing simpler minds such as children and fools. Large-scale or group encounters with The Intruder are rare, as it tends to target individuals personally. Impersonating loved ones but with hollowed eyes, whispering pleas from long dead relatives, etc. Locations of power for The Intruder tend to be sporadic and varied. From abandoned structures, to extremely populated cities, the only unifying thread is the fact that these locations are always uncomfortable or require some sort of social pressure. Whether it is a massive party or an abandoned schoolhouse, both put an individual mortal out of their comfort zone. It is in these strange zones that make individuals uncomfortable that Lazarice makes its domain. Serfs of Lazarice become anonymous and faceless. Creatures of sporadic fits of emotion and prone to wearing masks, they represent the social aspect of fear and misunderstanding that The Intruder seeks and feeds upon. ● The Boundless Ex Altiora, Apol, The Endless Plunge The Boundless is an Avatar of the fear of falling, of the endless plunge. Among the lesser known of the Mortal Fears, Apol is still prolific in the fear it garners. It revels in the depth of the fall, the churning feeling in one's gut as the ground grows nearer. Virtually every encounter with The Boundless is a fall in some sense, and the more prevalent the fear of heights, the better. Twisted, winged creatures with beaks of human bone and flesh tend to be the creatures of choice for Apol, things that will pick up and carry high some unsuspecting mortal, dropping them and leaving them to plunge(often to their death) from some unfathomable height. The Boundless seems to target and prefer victims who have some existing fear of heights, sometimes outright ignoring those with a lesser fear for such drops. Those with little fear of heights, particularly those who may even enjoy that sensation of falling, tend to be key candidates for Serfdom. Locations of power for Ex Altiora are mountain tops and cliff faces. These domains are always precipices from which mortals may fall. The twisted, winged creatures of Apol tend to congregate in these locations, ready to prey on unsuspecting climbers and travellers. While in these locations influenced by Apol, the distance can be warped and stretched to an extreme extent to create impossibly long falls. Serfs of Apol largely retain their humanoid structure, but become taller, more pale, and gain sharper features. They lose virtually all interest in day to day life, becoming obsessed with great heights and the sensation of vertigo. They may lure others into the domain of Apol, and on occasion cause falls for their Lord. They have some small immunity to falls, their boon from the Avatar they serve. ● The Passing Mortim, Death, The Inevitable Fate The Passing is perhaps the most silent of all the Avatars. The Passing creates very little ruckus, festering and feeding on those who feel the largest dread of all: inevitability. Everyone knows that they will die, one day, but those with a more direct certainty; a man trapped in a cave dying of thirst and hunger, a woman wandering a desert with no water or food for miles, the slow creep of gradual illness and cancers. These things are the domain of The Passing, which passively feeds on the decay and inevitable dying of mortals. It is not the death that The Passing feeds on. Rather, it is the fear of that death, the fear of that massive inevitability. The creatures and Serfs of Death are eternal, an ironic counterpart to the business of The Passing. Decayed yet everlasting creatures of bones, shadows, and taut flesh. They often act as the only direct implements of The Passing, occasionally culling those who pester or try and direct The Passing to do as they wish. Any mortal who attempts such is most often quickly dispatched by these grim-faced entities, and most end up being raised to join them in their endless vigil. On occasion, Mortim and its servants have been known to interact with the necromancers of the realm, usually in conflict and in a struggle to own death in the mortal realm. Locations of power for Mortim are places reminiscent of death and destruction. Graveyards, shipwrecks, burned villages, and any other location of mass death and disaster. It is from these locations, like spores, that Mortim will extend its influence and interact with the world around it to cause more death and strife. Serfs of Death are often unwilling and unwitting, those that attempt to intone the power of Death to make themselves immortal. Death will grant this wish, but by binding the mortal to themselves as their creature and their Serf. The creatures of Mortim and the Serfs of Mortim are one in the same, tall and bony skeletal things that seek to bring more death to the realm. ● The Dark Nox, Belial, He Who Is Comfort The Dark is an eternal, strong fear. Most people to some degree have a fear of the darkness, and Belial makes full use of that. Many encounters of true black darkness where there should be none can be traced back to Belial, luring in unwary travelers and keeping them lost in its shadows forever. Though none of the Mortal Fears are inherently malicious, Belial perhaps seems the most actively so, often personally targeting and harassing individuals to an extreme. At the height of her strength, Arun’asna made active use of Belial to harass mortals and spread pain and darkness through the realm. It was during this time that Belial was the most active its ever been, and when it began to gain its almost malignant streak, something that was previously not present. It can be assumed that it was the influence of Arun’asna that gave Belial such spite. Locations of power for Nox are places that would already be somewhat dark and unseeable. Deep forests, overhangs, and caves. These locations, while naturally dark, will gain an intense and extensive darkness that no light can penetrate. Serfs and creatures of Belial are weak, lithe entities who lurk in shadow and drag in the unwary. Although retaining most of their mortal features, they become pale and slight creatures of The Dark. In return however, they are granted the boon of true sight in all darkness. ● The Flesh The Sculptor, Atasaiah, The Perfect One The Flesh is a being with no sanctity for the mortal form. This is the fear of being hacked up, bled out, and used. Cannibalism, horrible flesh sculpting, and amalgams of bone and soft sinew. The Flesh is perhaps the most aggressive of the Mortal Fears, seeking to antagonize and dismember mortals for their fear. It creates abominations of limbs and bones of all shapes and sizes, some alive and some stillborn. The strange mix of mortal and animalistic ideas make up what Atasaiah does. Creatures of Atasaiah will often prowl locations of power for the Avatar, grabbing and cruelly dismembering mortals and using their parts for other abominations. Such creatures have been given the moniker of ‘skinwalker’ in specific parts of folklore. Locations of power for The Flesh are usually battlefields or other locations of mass death and flesh, places where the many ruined bodies can be harvested and used for the creation of many varied abominations. These locations, already horrible, will be made much worse by the influence of The Sculptor. Serfs of Atasaiah often partake in cannibalism and typically lose regard for their own bodies, sculpting and ruining them in some twisted pursuit of what they see as bodily ‘perfection’. Although granted the boon of uruk level strength, Serfs of The Flesh are miserable and putrid creatures with virtually no hint of mortality left to them. ● The Hunt Gwyn Ap Nudd, Venari, He Who Scratches And Claws The Hunt seeks one of the simplest, most natural fears to mortals: the fear of being prey, of being hunted and sought out. The Hunt will, paradoxically, almost seem to let its prey slip from the grasping claws of its Serfs and creatures, only to prolong the chase and create more dread in the heart of its prey. The creatures in service to Venari are incredibly fast and incredibly strong, and it is rare for a mortal to survive an encounter with The Hunt. On occasion however, The Hunt will underestimate its prey. It may be possible to escape, should Gwyn Ap Nudd allow you to slip free to continue the chase. Creatures of Venari are animalistic and fierce, but never anything natural. False abominations reminiscent of bears and wolves, yet never looking exactly like either. They may exhibit any number of unnatural and strange qualities. From human eyes, hair, pale skin, and far too many teeth. Locations of power for Gwyn Ap Nudd tend to be unsafe and wild locations. Deep forest, the jungle, and sometimes even the back alley streets of some crime infested town. Anywhere unsafe and where hunting can begin, Venari may stake its claim. It will exert an influence over these areas, twisting those in it to hunt or be hunted for its amusement and hunger. To The Hunt, there are two kinds of mortals: those who hunt and those who are hunted. The majority fall into the latter category, but on the occasion that Venari finds an individual who is a hunter, they may become a Serf. Serfs of Gwyn Ap Nudd are fierce and animalistic, physiology twisted into animalistic and false caricatures of the beasts of the wilderness, things to instill fear in other mortals. They will largely lose their own perception of the world, learning to focus on one thing only: the hunt. ● The Corruption Penual, Desecration, The Cloying Rot The Corruption is a foul, odorful thing. Historically known as “Poison”, Penual takes the idea of warping and twisting the mortal realm to fulfill its hunger to its natural extreme, actively creating and releasing sicknesses and infections throughout the world. Plagues which have infected entire towns, fungal infections that create massive growths, horrible clouds of insects where there should be none. Where Penual goes, only plague and ruin follows. While not the most active of the Avatars of fear, when it does choose to interact with the world, it does so in insidious and incredibly dangerous ways. The creatures of The Corruption tend to be insects, either massive and bloated or small and in massive numbers. Large swarms of mosquitoes and giant bloated flies are two more common examples, though there seems to be no true limit to the horror capable of being created by The Corruption. Locations of power for Penual are often places that are sick to begin with. Dark cloying swamps and towns suffering from illness are common locations for Penual’s influence. Even as bad as things may naturally be in these locations, Penual will worsen them considerably until virtually every surface and living thing is covered in fungus, infection, and parasites. On the rare occasion that The Cloying Rot wishes to be more subtle, it will make use of its Serfs. The Serfs of The Corruption, though immune to growing weaker from sickness, are covered in horrendous painful lesions and are infected to the bone with no shortage of illnesses. Should these poor souls stop serving The Corruption, they will quickly succumb to the many infections that have made their home in their body. ● The Sightseer Oculus, Everlasting Sentinel, The Endless Stare The Sightseer is perhaps the most passive of the Mortal Fears, but in this way, it is also among the most insidious. Its many eyes, metaphorical and physical, wish only to watch all things. Should something draw its attention, by walking through a location of power for Oculus or by interacting with the Mortal Fears in some other fashion, it will turn its wretched gaze towards that thing. An individual seen by the Everlasting Sentinel will gain the constant, never abating sense of being watched. They will see eyes and patterns of eyes where there are none, and be woken up in the middle of the night by the sensation of someone standing over them. Yet, there will always be no one. This sensation will last anywhere from a number of months to the full life of the individual, depending on how much the Sightseer wishes to see them and own them. The creatures of the Sightseer are silent, but covered in a near infinitude of eyes. They float silently in the few domains where Oculus makes its influence particularly known, seeing and knowing all around it but never acting. These things have no interest in attacking or pursuing, only seeing and knowing. Locations of power for Oculus tend to be places of education and learning. Archives, collections of information, and places where history is recorded. Its influence in these places will be more subtle, however. Oculus will only make itself particularly known in isolated and lonely locations, such as abandoned libraries or ruined temples where it can observe without interruption. Such locations of power will have a never fading sense of being watched, so long as Oculus retains its interest in such locations. The Serfs of the Everlasting Sentinel will be observed by it forever, the sensation of observation never leaving them. While never outright harming an individual, many people are eventually driven to rash action or self harm by the never ceasing presence of Oculus. Serfs of Oculus will be granted some small ability to see and know things that Oculus wishes to grant them, in small bits and pieces of knowledge in order to ensure their servitude. This information can be quite clear or extremely obscure and incomprehensible. — Locations of Power Locations of power are spots on the mortal realm where different Avatars have twisted the landscape to reflect the nightmarish dreamstate they wish to instill in mortals. These locations break the laws of reality and twist the world in any number of impossible ways. These locations will always benefit the fear of the Avatar in question, such as an unnaturally dark cave with shadows that almost seem to choke you for The Dark. Joint domains are not unheard of, such as a location of both twisted arms of The Flesh and corrupt sickness of The Corruption however, you’ll never find more than two Avatars in one domain. Locations of power are intended to be created and used as event sites. It is at these places that any real interaction with the Mortal Fears can happen, and even that through proxy. Locations of power can be created, destroyed, or changed through adequate roleplay in approved ST events. — Serfdom Serfdom is subservience to an Avatar, a truly wretched state for a mortal to find themselves in. They will be bent to the will of their Avatar, with barely any self control when it comes to fulfilling the tasks of their Fear. This could be dragging people, including their own loved ones, into a location of power for their Avatar to feed on. This could also be any number of other states or things. Serfdom is an umbrella term for becoming a mortal servant for an Avatar, and what that means varies from Fear to Fear. ‘Serfdom’ can be considered event magic, and can be granted to players via ST approved events. This should never be a large number of people, and although Serfdom is relatively open ended, should not be a significant power boost. It should be, at most, one or two small boons granted by their Avatar in return for endless service and no small amount of banes. Some Serfs will undergo great physical change, such as a Serf of The Flesh or The Corruption. Other Serfs will largely retain their physical appearance with minor changes, such as a Serf of The Dark growing lithe, weak, and pale. It is up to the ET in question the exact parameters of Serfdom, but it should be considered at maximum at ‘feat’ magic level, and nothing more. Each Fear has the most basic framework for how Serfs should function, and if you create Serfs in an event you are expected to follow those guidelines in good faith. — Purpose I wanted to try my hand at creating a sort of 'lesser patron' inherent to the mortal realm, based on horror roleplay and fear. Horror as a genre is something I've only recently been exploring, and that is a large influence for this piece. Ultimately, it is an ST resource for event purposes and future lore pieces, and an attempt to create a new and standalone concept. — Citation Written by Archipelego. No small amount of ideas taken and adapted from The Magnus Archives. Grammar critique by Nivndil 38 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luciloo 2653 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Every time Archi starts a sentence with a connective, I grow stronger. Cool lore though, much more up-to-date for Old Gods and so on. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpodoKaiba 607 Share Posted July 17, 2021 i love horrific freakazoids like this the lore is good too the joke here is that i'm calling my good friend archipelego a horrific freakazoid +1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archipelego 2095 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 Just now, Luciloo said: Every time Archi starts a sentence with a connective, I grow stronger. Cool lore though, much more up-to-date for Old Gods and so on. :) Just now, SpodoKaiba said: i love horrific freakazoids like this the lore is good too the joke here is that i'm calling my good friend archipelego a horrific freakazoid +1 heehoo 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpodoKaiba 607 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Just now, Luciloo said: Every time Archi starts a sentence with a connective, I grow stronger. Cool lore though, much more up-to-date for Old Gods and so on. . However, 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann 1418 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Fear the Old Dark (and the nine other spooky fears) Looks good at first glance. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of The Moon 5124 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Time for some bogey man RP 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archipelego 2095 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, Johann said: Fear the Old Dark (and the nine other spooky fears) Looks good at first glance. THE AMBYSDSS Just now, The King Of The Moon said: Time for some bogey man RP 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaaKc 1225 Share Posted July 17, 2021 I love me some world lore built around fear. Really do wish they people actually roleplayed fear/anxiety and it’s consequences. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarchist 306 Share Posted July 17, 2021 41 minutes ago, Archipelego said: The Passing Mortim, Death, The Inevitable Fate 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronin_champloo 5951 Share Posted July 17, 2021 wheres the mortal fear of orbs? (my balls) 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King_Kunuk 888 Share Posted July 17, 2021 The greatest of Primal Fears is ST denying this lore 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
exanimated 1360 Share Posted July 17, 2021 This is cool as **** 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoanOfArc 4586 Share Posted July 17, 2021 1 hour ago, Archipelego said: Citation Written by CAMERON. Fixed the Citation for you 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valannor 6345 Share Posted July 17, 2021 I appreciate this piece greatly. That is all. Archilore pog. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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