[Magic Lore] Elysari - the Shieldmaidens of Saphiel's Everspring

[Aelesh 540]

 

ᛝ  E L Y S A R I  ᛝ THE SHIELDMAIDENS OF SAPHIEL’S EVERSPRING

ᛝ「O R I G I N S」

Yeu Rthulu's fall marked the end of an age.  Her celestial body splintered with a sound like a thousand chiming bells as she fell into that whitest snow she found so comforting.  Her loyal augurs came rushing to her aid, their many hands reaching out for her spiralling, diamond shards, and claimed but a few pieces of her glistening viscera.  One claimed an eye without sight, another claimed a hand without feeling and yet another claimed a strand of her hair, glossy but hollow, light as the wind itself.  They searched for the loving friend they had found in her and discovered nothing but an open chasm, an emptiness where the illusion of Compassion had once dwelt.

 

Svandara, one augur amongst many, was filled with a conviction that burnt like the Sun’s all-warming flames.  She held the aengul’s heart in her hands and willed it to beat, clutching it as she had often clutched the bloody prizes of the hunt.  This was her purpose, she knew, to be the cloak that shields souls innumerable from this alien coldness, this immortal falsity.  She would be the Merciful heart that bled for all.

 

Through her interactions with the Last Sojourners, travellers from a distant land who took refuge in the far north of Azuras, the newly mantled Saphiel’s teachings have begun to spread among the descendants.  The daemon of Mercy now seeks out the last shards of her predecessor, and companions worthy to wield them in a world desperate for her intervention.

 

More information on Saphiel can be found [here].

ᛝ「E X P L A N A T I O N」

The Elysari are loyal allies of Saphiel on her quest to help mortal souls endure the wars, physical, mental and spiritual, that have assailed them since the dawn of Creation.  Being once mortal herself, she views them more as companions than she does as servants, receiving each soul as an equal.  The Elysari way began when Saphiel interceded on the behalf of displaced travellers who came to Azuras in search of sanctuary.  She came to them as the so-called ‘Crowhealer’, who granted them succor in the first and hardest months they spent taming the snowy lands of Skjolvindr.

 

With the continued breakdown of Yeu Rthulu’s splintered body, shards of divine power have now begun to rain down across Aeos.  Rather than gathering these shards of power greedily back to herself, Saphiel has chosen to make an offer of them to certain adherents of her merciful ways, granting them miraculous powers to wield in the defence of others.  

 

Elysari magic can be split into [2] broad disciplines; their out of combat Augury, which deals in commanding the help of Saphiel’s raven-augurs, and their in combat Shield-sorcery, a group of protective techniques that focus on drawing forth power from an Elysari’s blessed shield, called a skjöldr.

 

ᛝ TENETS

Elysari keep to a set of tenets collectively called the Gjallr (resounding), a poetic name for a shield given in some of the pre-Canonist sagas of northern Aeldin.  Its echoing sound is not other than Saphiel’s intense battlecry that wards away evil, not other than the sage wisdom she dispenses to all her shield siblings as they stand beside her on the eternal battlefield.

 

These tenets are purely cultural.  Breaking them does not allow for a divinely mandated disconnection.  They are primarily a guide for Elysari to interpret the will of their patron and judge their peers by it, allowing them to point the way for each other in properly dispensing Saphiel’s mercy.

 

i.  Mercy for the Wicked | If even a whisper of repentance, a sliver of remorse, a mote of regret remains in those against whom you raise your shield, grant them a reprieve.

ii.  Compassion for the Meek | The least, the last and the lost are your calling.  Raise your shield in their defence, strain your bodies for their edification and search the depths of your soul for every ember of hope to shine on their sufferings.

iii.  Sanctuary for All Souls | Not one soul deserves eternal damnation.  The world conspires against each of us, through Ibleesian curses, through the temptations of mad souls; we bleed with all the fallen, and endure with them.

 

ᛝ CONNECTION & PROGRESSION

A [T5] Elysari may mark a prospective student with three runes, one on the forehead, one on the back of each hand and the last on the nape of the neck.  Each rune is the initial of a line of the Elysari creed:

ᛜ  ᛖ for eirð (help, protection, mercy)

ᛜ  ᛒ for bliðlæti (kindness, gentleness, compassion) 

ᛜ  ᚺ for hǫfn (haven, sanctuary)

 

These runes attune the marked character's soul to the divine energies of Saphiel, setting them on a quest to find a lost shard of the once-aengul of Compassion. The marked character is drawn to helping others, giving their body and soul in service of all who they find.  For each merciful task that the character completes, one of the runes on their body comes to life with light, and they begin to notice phantom ravens following them wherever they go.

 

When the marked character has completed [3] tasks, they will be ready to wander into the wilderness in search of their shard.  The augurs who have been following them will catch their attention and take them on a journey, which ends in finding their hidden shard.  Upon claiming their shard, the marked character will experience a vision in which they meet a phantom image of Saphiel, who shakes their hand as a new shield sibling and whispers the Elysari creed into their ear.

 

When an Elysari is taught a new spell, this must be marked on their [MA].  Elysari become eligible to apply for a [TA] once they have learnt all available spells and have reached [T5].  The ritual to mark a prospective Elysari with the runes of the Elysari creed is revealed to a master Elysari by Saphiel herself.

 

[T1]: Ravenkind, Rescue  ||  [T2]: Shelter, Repel, Mitigate

 

[T3]: Dew, Endure, Intervene  ||  [T4]: Fare Forth, Guilt

 

[T5]: Everspring, Rebuke

 

🗙 Elysari occupies [3] magic slots.

🗙 Elysari is only compatible with Seer, Kani, Housemagery, Bardmancy, Vivification, Shunting and any knowledge-based feats.

🗙 The illusion that comes to meet the newly connected Elysari cannot be roleplayed beyond the description given above.  She cannot answer questions, and will ignore all attempts to interact with her.

 

BENEATH HER GJALLR DO ALL THINGS DWELL.

ᛝ AUGURS

Due to Saphiel’s deep connection to the mortal world, having been a descendant before her ascension to daemonhood, she is able to send projections of her augurs into Aeos with particular ease.  These augurs are the souls of descendants who have taken refuge in her realm of Forever Spring, and who have then chosen to go on serving her as eternal companions. Whilst in Saphiel’s realm, they appear as they would have done in life, but whilst projected into the physical realm, they don the guise of ravens in order to make themselves less conspicuous when aiding the Elysari.

 

An augurs soul remains in the land of Forever Spring when they project themselves into the mortal realm, protecting them from attempts to steal their anima. An augur is therefore only partially physical, winking into and out of existence at will.  Elysari draw these projections to themselves in great numbers, granting them a flock of watchful eyes that they can call up and dismiss at will.

 

🗙 All capabilities that augurs have are covered in the passive ability Ravenkind.  They are not able to perform tasks outside of those specifically listed in that passive.

🗙 The great concentration needed to project themselves into Aeos prevents augurs from speaking under normal circumstances.

 

ᛝ SKJӦLDR & BRUNI

A skjӧldr is a shield made by setting a mundane shield with an Elysari’s claimed shard.  If a skjӧldr is made of a material that is less durable than steel, it is fortified to the durability of steel by the divine power of the inset shard.  Materials that are as strong as or are stronger than steel are not affected by this fortifying power; this extends to any additional properties they might have.

 

Preparing an Elysari’s skjöldr for battle takes [3] emotes during which they perform a brief, freeform ritual to rouse the skjöldr’s sleeping shard.  If this ritual is interrupted, the Elysari must begin again from the [1st] emote of the ritual.  Once their skjöldr is activated, the Elysari is considered connected until they willingly relax their focus or until their skjöldr is removed from their grip.

 

Passively, a skjӧldr has no other unique properties. When connected, however, a skjӧldr is imbued with the following properties, becoming:

ᛜ  Weightless to the Elysari, allowing them to move unhindered.

ᛜ  Translucent to the Elysari, allowing them to see through it.

ᛜ  Interactive with magical spells and creatures, able to strike or obstruct the otherwise intangible.

 

Every skjӧldr is infused with Saphiel’s deific mana, called bruni (power).  It is a deep blue energy that evaporates into a thin mist; on occasion, this evaporation takes the form of raven feathers.  Elysari become more efficient at drawing out their skjӧldr’s power as they increase in tier, equating to additional units of available bruni.

ᛜ  [T1]: [2] bruni

ᛜ  [T2]: [4] bruni

ᛜ  [T3]: [6] bruni

ᛜ  [T4]: [8] bruni

ᛜ  [T5]: [10] bruni

 

Whilst Elysari can enter battle wielding a weapon, this causes friction between their soul and the motives of their patron, which lessens their ability to access the powers of their skjöldr.  An Elysari wielding a weapon is only able to perform the spells Repel and Mitigate.  The first time an Elysari draws a weapon during combat, they lose [2] bruni.  Sheathing their weapon does not restore any lost bruni.

 

🗙 Bruni recharges once every [24] hours.

🗙 A skjӧldr cannot be a tower shield, or any other kind of shield that protects the whole body, since (for reasons beyond mortal fathoming) shields of this size dissipate the shards energy in ways unhelpful to harnessing it.

🗙 A skjӧldr cannot be spiked or in any way weaponised, since a skjӧldr constructed in this way causes the same supernatural friction as a weapon.

🗙 A skjӧldr cannot be made from the following materials: morion, dracanium, rokodra, argentum.

🗙 A skjӧldr, even if made from wood, interferes with an oscillits Resonance, preventing them from performing Kani whilst holding a skjӧldr.  This is due to the powerfully condensed mana present in the inlaid divine shard.  An Elysari must drop their skjӧldr in order to perform Kani, just as they would any normally incompatible item.

🗙 Potions which can harm a character, e.g. Blasting Potions or Frostbreath, count as weapons when wielded by an Elysari, and will cause them to lose bruni and access to all spells bar Repel and Mitigate if wielded.  Potions that do not cause direct harm, e.g. Tanglefoot or Smoke Whispers, do not count as weapons.

ᛝ「A B I L I T I E S」

「A U G U R Y」

THEY TAKE WING!

ᛞ [T1] [PASSIVE, N/C] RAVENKIND

Whilst outside of combat, Elysari are able to call up and dismiss a flock of augurs.  These augurs will dutifully obey the Elysari’s commands, happily carrying small objects for them in their beaks.

 

The raven is mythically associated with wisdom and memory for the people of Fjordem, from whom Saphiel hailed.  Thanks to the raven flock’s many eyes, this wisdom makes an Elysari perpetually aware of the direction they are facing (north, south, east or west), and even allows them to, with a few moments of concentration as they send some of their attending augurs to investigate, estimate how far away points of interest are.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Augurs are physically identical to mundane ravens.  They cannot carry objects heavier than a raven could, nor can they see or hear any more keenly than a mundane raven could.

🗙 Augurs never partake in combat. Whilst they can be roleplayed as watching a battle play out, they will never intervene.

🗙 Augurs cannot be dispatched for reconnaissance for any reason other than to point the way to a point of interest.  They cannot be sent to carry messages, nor can they be sent to scout a chosen area for threats.

🗙 Augurs cannot be used to recall information not already available to an Elysari.  For example, if an Elysari dies, their augurs are not able to tell them what events led to their death.  Equally, augurs are not able to be sent to eavesdrop on other characters and then return to tell the Elysari what was said.

 

ᛞ [T2] [N/C] SHELTER

[1]: The Elysari calls out to an augur who lands near or on the Elysari carrying a sparkling twig, infused with bruni.  [2]: The Elysari thanks the augur for their help, bowing their head respectfully, to which the augur responds by dropping their twig into a waiting source of fire.  [3]: As the augur leaves, the source of flame bursts to life with deep, midnight blue flames that emit a dense magical aura.

 

Shelter’s aura extends [8] blocks from the fire.  Within the aura, regardless of the current time of day, the sky darkens, the world quiets, and the moon rises high into the sky.  In the distance, illusory flowers in perpetual bloom sway in the breeze and the distant caw of ravens occasionally sounds as the lands of Forever Spring draw near.  Inclement weather breaks against the auras edge, which acts like a wall against stormy winds and pouring rain.  This protection also resists boiling heat and chilling cold, causing the space within the aura to warm or cool to a comfortable level.

 

Whilst battlewounds are not healed whilst in the area, they pain those afflicted by them less, as the divine energies emitting from the fire act as a strong painkiller.  Any character who attempts to sleep in the area can do so without interference from mental afflictions, whether mundane or magical.  Unless disturbed by other characters or events, a character can always easily obtain [8] hours of refreshing sleep.

 

Spoiler

🗙 The calming influence of Shelter can be easily resisted.  However, resisting these effects does not dispel the visual effects of Shelter.

🗙 If combat begins whilst Shelter is in effect, it remains in effect for as long as the fire sustaining it continues burning.  However, its effects are too diffuse to grant any meaningful advantage when in combat.

🗙 Shelter’s painkilling effect does not heal wounds, nor does it restore energy to exhausted characters.
🗙 Shelter’s effect cannot be spread to torches, lanterns, or other sources of fire.

 

ᛞ [T3] [N/C] DEW

[1]: The Elysari commands one of their augurs to bring them a drop of dew from the lands of Forever Spring, who quickly flies out of sight.  [2]: The augur reappears in a flash of blue, seemingly liquid light that sprinkles the area in a glowing mist.  [3]: The augur lets a drop of their collected dew fall into the bottle of a recently used medicinal potion, which quickly swells and refills the bottle with sapphire waters.

 

Once cast, the bottle of a medicinal potion used within the last [10] emotes is refilled with a divine liquid that perfectly mirrors the original potion, allowing for [1] additional use of that potion.  This liquid dissipates if it is not used within [10] emotes of its final creation emote.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Dew must be used on a medicinal potion, such as an antidote, wound healing or pain numbing potion; this list is not exhaustive.  It cannot be used to refill other kinds of potion.

🗙 Dew can only be cast [2] times an IRL day, since the petals found in the lands of Forever Spring only offer their dew in the most dire of circumstances, and are not to be abused.

🗙 Dew cannot be used twice on the same potion.

 

ᛞ [T3] [N/C] ENDURE

[1]: The Elysari commands one of their augurs to protect them and their allies, who promptly flies in nearby.  [2]: The augur begins to effervesce with bruni, issuing forth a glowing mist from between their feathers.  [3]: The mist becomes dense enough to begin protecting from the natural forces in its radius.

 

An Elysari can command their augur to move anywhere within [20] blocks; the augur moves at descendant speeds.  Their mist extends to the [5*5] block radius surrounding them, moving with them as they fly.

 

The mist provides some of the same protections provided by Shelter, namely against inclement weather and uncomfortable temperatures.  In addition to these protections, it can also protect those within from more ferocious natural forces such as wildfires, crashing waves or noxious fumes.

 

Spoiler

🗙 This spell will cease immediately upon entering combat. Attacks launched at the augur count as beginning combat.

🗙 Forces actively being created by player spells cannot be protected against using this effect.  For example, flames created by an evocationist will easily pass through the mist. The only exceptions to this rule are wide-scale, ritual spells used to target large regions of land, such as Call Calamity.

🗙 This spell cannot protect from events such as collapsing buildings, falling boulders, meteorites, or other falling objects that would otherwise crush the augur and those it is protecting.  However, this spell could carve a path through an avalanche or safeguard those within from a tidal wave.

 

ᛞ [T4] [N/C] FARE FORTH
[1]: The Elysari commands their augurs to draw near; many of them flock close by, watching expectantly.  [2]: The augurs begin to fly in a tight swirl around the Elysari and their target, forming a dense barrier of feathers and talons.  [3]: Dense bruni begins to blur the line between reality, dream and the lands of Forever Spring as deep blue mist builds and swells within the cawing cyclone.  [4+]: The noise crescendos and collapses into a sudden peace, ensnaring the Elysari and their target in a dream world constructed from their target’s memories.

 

Characters in the waking world see the Elysari and their target surrounded by many coloured flowers, sprouting from the ground and even from the folds of their clothes.  They remain in whatever posture they were when they entered the trance, with eyes closed.  

 

Travelling through the created trance allows the Elysari’s target to confront mental trauma.  This trance is freeform roleplay that can be explored as is necessary.  A target can only overcome their trauma through this experience by accepting Saphiel’s mercy.  The character must choose to form a religious bond of siblinghood with the Elysari and other worshippers of Saphiel in order to be filled with a supernatural grace that sets their heart at ease.  If the target fails to overcome their trauma by accepting Saphiel, they finish the trance only a few steps down the spiritual path to peace.  They may have revelations about why this trauma harms them in the way it does, and they may have some insights into how to overcome it on their own, but they will not be filled with the complete victory over their trauma that comes with accepting Saphiel.

 

If the target accepts Saphiel’s mercy and companionship, they forge a bond with her that manifests as a totem grown from the roots of the plants surrounding them during their trance.  Their soul is marked by Saphiel, claimed by the lands of Forever Spring for so long as they remain unclaimed by any other deific forces.  This totem has one of the following [3] magical effects.

 

ᛜ  Fragrant: When thrown into a fire, the totem causes the flames to turn a deep blue as they become suffused with bruni.  The shapes of flowers curl through the tongues of flame and a beautiful scent quickly replaces any other smell that was present before.  The totem survives the flames thanks to its magic, glowing blue in the ashes.

 

ᛜ  Luminous: When held aloft and Saphiel’s holy name is spoken aloud, the totem begins to burn with a deep blue light.  This light causes darkness to clump up and flow like ink, pouring out of any crevices that it might be hiding in.  This has the effect of making the [5*5] area surrounding the totem completely devoid of darkness.

 

ᛜ  Watchful: When held aloft and a direction is spoken aloud (North, South, East or West), the totem falls on its side and points in the specified direction.  Additionally, a small number of augurs follow the holder at a distance, although they interact only sparingly and never at the holder's command.

 

Spoiler

🗙 If a character successfully faces their trauma through Fare Forth, this fact must be noted on the performing Elysari’s [MA].  There is no cap to how many characters an Elysari may Fare Forth.

🗙 The trance is purely illusory.  No harm is ever caused by the hallucinated experiences, nor can material objects be brought back from the experience.

🗙 A target must willingly accept to have this ability performed upon them.  They can choose to awaken at any time during the trance and cannot be forced to stay in the trance under any circumstances.

🗙 A character who successfully overcomes their trauma through Fare Forth is marked by Saphiel’s influence and travels to the lands of Forever Spring upon death.  Saphiel’s mark is nullified should the character come under another deities or afterlife’s influence, such as by connecting to a deific magic.

🗙 A character whose soul is actively claimed by a deity or afterlife can partake in Fare Forth, although their trauma will always remain unresolved.  This failure cannot be used to suspect a character maintains a deific connection. This does not apply to characters who have been disconnected, who are able to benefit from Fare Forth. 

🗙 Relevant deific connections include Naztherak but exclude Seer, as Vaasek’s influence cannot be detected by Saphiel.

🗙 A character can only have [1] active totem at any one time.  They may perform this ritual again to obtain another totem, although this causes the previous totem to become purely mundane, losing any powers it once had.

🗙 A character’s totem will cease functioning if they are connected to another deific magic due to their soul now being claimed by another deity.

🗙 A character’s totem can only be used by them, since their soul, claimed as it is by Saphiel, is what fuels its magic.  Equally, if a character loses their relationship with Saphiel, so too does their totem become inert.

🗙 A character’s totem must be [ST] signed.  The description of a totem must specify its owner and its type.

🗙 With regards to Luminous totems, they function identically to a mundane torch with regards to other lore pieces.

🗙 With regards to Watchful totems, following augurs are purely to be roleplayed aesthetically.  They have no function other than to denote that the holder is favoured by Saphiel.

 

ᛞ [T5] [N/C] EVERSPRING

[1, 2, 3]: Each emote, an augur comes to rest on or nearby the casting Elysari.  [4]: The Elysari kneels before their target, and offers them mercy; if the target accepts, the three augurs surround their body. [5]: The augurs whisper to the target, who begins to feel faint; their eyes blacken with a magical aura.  [6]: Concluding the spell, the target's soul is dislodged from their body by the three augurs, who carry them beyond the world of the living and into the peaceful afterlife of the lands of Forever Spring.

 

Any pain that a target character is currently experiencing eases with each augur they lay eyes on, until they are completely painless at the point of receiving their blessing on the [4th] emote.  Blood does not leak from wounds, any coughing abates, the eyes that might have been shaking violently moments before become still; in every way, the target is made ready to meet their end.

 

With OOC consent, a character who dies whilst under the effect of this spell is permakilled, travelling to the lands of Forever Spring as a newly born augur.  This occurs irrespective of where the character’s soul might have been sent normally, allowing souls to escape damnation in the Ebrietaes, Moz Strimoza or other hellish planes.

 

Once a character has passed away, their body will be consumed by natural flames, reducing them to a starkly white, but totally mundane, ash.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Everspring supersedes any and all prior claims made upon a character’s soul.  Without fail, they will travel to the lands of Forever Spring upon death.

🗙 This spell requires OOC consent from a character’s player, and IC consent from the character themselves, in order to take effect.

🗙 Under normal circumstances, Everspring can only be cast on characters who are actively dying.  However, Everspring can be cast on willing [CA]s who wish to pass on to the lands of Forever Spring.  These [CA]s include; tree lords, azdrazi, eidola, soul-bound golems, draugar, darkstalkers, archliches, wights, ghosts, 

🗙 Characters who, due to their [CA], do not have a soul in their manifest body, cannot have Everspring cast on this body. Instead, Everspring must be cast on the anchor for their soul, such as a tree lord's soultree or an undead character's phylactery.

ᛝ「A B I L I T I E S, cont.」

「S H I E L D - S O R C E R Y」

ONWARDS, TO BATTLE!

ᛞ [T1] [C] RESCUE

[2 emotes, 1 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari focuses on the bruni in their skjöldr, causing that bruni to begin flowing up their arm, glowing blue beneath their skin.  [2]: The Elysari physically lifts a character, who immediately becomes weightless to them.

 

Rescue lasts for so long as the casting Elysari continues to carry their charge.  An Elysari can sprint whilst carrying a weightless character.

 

Whilst walking, an Elysari can defend themselves by blocking or dodging attacks.  The flow of bruni will be disrupted if the Elysari dodges an attack, or blocks an attack with their skjöldr; if an Elysari dodges or blocks a combined total of [2] attacks, Rescue ends immediately.

 

Spoiler

🗙 An Elysari can only cast this spell whilst not wielding a weapon.

🗙 Rescue is only effective on Lesser or Greater Soul bearing mortals.

🗙 Rescue cannot be used on inanimate objects or constructs.

🗙 The held character cannot take any action other than to hold onto the Elysari.  Taking any action, such as defending against an attack or launching an attack of their own, breaks Rescue immediately.

🗙 As soon as a character is no longer touching the Elysari, they return to their original weight.

🗙 Rescue cannot be cast whilst mounted.

🗙 Rescue cannot be used to carry extremely heavy loads held by the target character, e.g. a person chained to a boulder.

 

ᛞ [T2] [C] REPEL

[2 emotes, 0 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari excites the bruni in their skjöldr, infusing its width with veins of coursing, blue bruni.  [2]: The Elysari strikes a target with their shield, unleashing a blast of bruni that knocks them away with great force.

 

Targets struck by this ability are knocked [6] blocks away from the Elysari.

 

Spoiler

🗙 An Elysari must strike a target with their skjöldr using a melee attack.  This spell will not activate if the shield is charged and then thrown at a target.

🗙 Repel cannot be used to launch the caster or others into the air.

🗙 Repel does not amplify the damage that would be caused to a character by striking with a shield.  The blast will not draw blood or break bones, for instance.

 

ᛞ [T2] [C] MITIGATE

[2 emotes, 2 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari lifts their skjöldr as it begins to exude an expanding field of vaporous bruni.  [2]: The expanding aura begins to solidify into a translucent barrier attached to the Elysari’s skjöldr.  [3]: The barrier finishes taking shape and completely solidifies.

 

Mitigate creates a translucent, ghostly shield attached to the Elysari’s skjöldr, which increases in size with the Elysari’s current tier: 

ᛜ  [T2]: [1] block tall by [3] blocks wide

ᛜ  [T3]: [3] blocks tall by [3] blocks wide

ᛜ  [T5]: [3] blocks tall by [5] blocks wide

 

The generated shield can be easily passed through by characters and melee weapons, making it useless in defending against close range attacks.  A character can easily approach on foot and strike the casting Elysari as normal.

 

The shield is most useful in protecting against projectiles, mundane or magical.  Projectiles are slowed when they strike the shield, losing [½] of their effective range upon contact.  A projectile can still strike a target if its reduced range still reaches the desired space, but otherwise, the projectile will fall short of the target.  Arrows, crossbow bolts or thrown weapons will fall to the ground, whilst magical projectiles will dissipate in midair as if they had reached max range.  This protection against projectiles is one way, allowing characters behind the Elysari to fire projectiles through their barrier without incurring its effects.

 

Explosive projectiles, such as spells and alchemy potions, still explode, although the size of their explosion is reduced by [½] when they do explode.  Explosions are, however, no less powerful; an exploding fireball will deal its regular damage to characters caught within its reduced radius.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Mitigate’s created shield is always attached to the caster’s skjöldr.

🗙 Projectiles fired from behind the Elysari are unaffected by Mitigate.

🗙 Exploding projectiles include projectiles that do not explode violently, such as smoke bombs.

🗙 Magical projectiles or combative magical properties with no travel time, such as Hemorrhage, cannot be impeded by Mitigate.

🗙 If, when a value is divided by Mitigate (range or radius), that value includes a decimal, the decimal is always rounded down.

 

ᛞ [T3] [C] INTERVENE

[2 emotes, 1 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari raises their shield, from behind which black raven feathers begin to emanate.  [2]: The Elysari reacts to an attack made against a viable target by vanishing in an explosion of blue bruni and teleporting, either appearing beside their chosen target or swapping places with them.

 

After the first emote of Intervene has been performed, an Elysari can channel this spell for so long as they refrain from taking any actions beside moving and blocking with their raised shield.  Whilst channeling, an Elysari cannot move more than [2] blocks in an emote.

 

Intervene can be used to react to attacks made on targets within [10] blocks of the channeling Elysari.  The Elysari can choose either to appear at their target's location, ready to intercept the attack originally meant for the target, or to spend [1] additional bruni to teleport their target to their original location.

 

Spoiler

🗙 An Elysari can only cast this spell whilst not wielding a weapon.

🗙 When using Intervene to switch places with a target character, that character must willingly accept the switch.

🗙 Intervene can only be used on characters within range who the Elysari believes are under imminent attack.  It cannot be used on inanimate objects.

🗙 Intervene cannot be used to intercept attacks that the Elysari is unaware of.  Intervene does not enhance the Elysari’s threat perception in any way.

🗙 Intervene cannot be used to subject a character to an attack originally meant for the Elysari.

🗙 An Elysari cannot use Intervene to intercept attacks that they have made, e.g. they cannot throw a rock at a target, and then trade places with the target of their rock.

 

ᛞ [T4] [C] GUILT

[3 emotes, 2 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari aims their shield at their target, generating a beam of light from their skjöldr.  [2]: The generated beam of light continues to increase in intensity, until the skjöldr becomes covered in a mirror-like sheen.  [3]: The Elysari unleashes a burst of bruni from their skjöldr at their target.  Should they look at the skjöldr, they see a reflection of themselves as they were when mortal.

 

Guilt subjects a once mortal being to a harrowing regret for [4] emotes that latches onto their soul, making them temporarily vulnerable to pain caused by mundane weaponry.  Viable targets include:

ᛜ  Phantoms: Ghosts, Wights, Eidola

ᛜ  Undead: Draugar, Darkstalkers, Moroi

ᛜ  Constructs: Soul-bound Golems, Machine Spirits

 

Mundane weapons do not become able to cause bodily harm to these targets; for example, a steel sword will still bounce off of an eidola’s stone body without causing it to crack or break.  Rather, weapons will cause the target to feel pain as they would do if struck by a weapon whilst alive, temporarily disabling limbs or stunning the target.  Using the previous example, slashing an eidola’s arm with a sword might cause it to hang limply by their side as if the tendon had been cut, returning to normal functionality after the [4] emotes of Guilt’s effect has dissipated.

 

Spoiler

🗙 An Elysari can only cast this spell whilst not wielding a weapon.

🗙 If line of sight is broken before the burst strikes, Guilt fails.  Blinking does not count as breaking line of sight.

🗙 Characters other than the targeted character cannot see the targeted characters appearance in the skjöldr’s face.

🗙 The casting Elysari is not able to see the reflection created by this spell, preventing them from learning the identity of any character on which they cast Guilt.

 

ᛞ [T5] [C] REBUKE

[1 emote, 4 bruni] || [1]: The Elysari reacts to an attack by swinging their skjöldr at it, swiftly generating a sheen of fortifying bruni that ruptures with a thunderous clap.

 

Rebuke can be used to parry melee attacks, ranged attacks, and spell attacks.  The protecting sheen of condensed bruni that surrounds the skjöldr prevents it from being damaged in any way when parrying an attack using this spell.  Additionally, the protective sheen also reduces the blunt force of whatever attack is parried to zero.

 

Weapons with anti-magical properties or melee strikes improved by Kani using Penetrative Inertia render Rebuke ineffective. These attacks break the sheen of bruni covering the skjöldr and end the spell immediately without the attacker incurring any of the effects that would normally entail.

 

Performing Rebuke temporarily destabilizes an Elysari’s skjöldr, causing the bruni within to pulse chaotically across its breadth.  This might appear as spectral fire, many ravens' wings breaking through the shield's surface and beating wildly or even the roots of flowers from the lands of Forever Spring ensnaring the shield.  This state lasts for [2] emotes, during which time the Elysari cannot sprint or cast further spells.

 

Spoiler

🗙 An Elysari can only cast this spell whilst not wielding a weapon.

🗙 Whilst an Elysari’s skjöldr’s bruni is destabilized following the performance of Rebuke, they are still able to perform all actions other than those specifically precluded above.

🗙 Performing Rebuke does not in any way enhance an Elysari’s speed, flexibility or reaction time.  Therefore, an Elysari must be focused on their target prior to performing Rebuke.  They must be ready to intercept the incoming attack.

🗙 Attacks which are channelled continuously for multiple emotes can be parried by Rebuke.  However, this parry only rebukes the first emote of the attack, such as the first gout of flame emitted by a flamethrower.

🗙 If multiple attacks are launched at an Elysari on the same emote, they must choose which of those attacks they are going to target and parry.

 

MELEE

When a melee attack is parried by Rebuke, the parrying Elysari’s shield issues a blast of force that is always equal to the strength of the attack being parried.  For instance, if Rebuke is used to parry an orc-strength attack, the explosion generated by Rebuke will be powerful enough to match that orc-strength attack.  Equally, if an attack’s force is augmented by other factors (ex. weapon types, materials, spells or [CA] abilities) these factors are also matched by Rebuke.

 

Targets whose melee attacks are parried by Rebuke stumble back [4] blocks and are encumbered by the dense bruni that clings to their body.  For the next [2] emotes, their strength is capped to that of a Void mage and they are unable to sprint.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Whilst a target’s strength is capped by Rebuke’s emitted bruni, they are still able to perform all actions other than sprinting, albeit at the effectiveness expected of a Void mage.

🗙 Rebuke’s knockback is always horizontal.  It cannot be used to launch a target into the air.

 

RANGED

An Elysari can direct the trajectory of a parried ranged attack, so long as the desired trajectory is in the 180 degree arc in front of the Elysari.  This could allow an Elysari to redirect a fired crossbow bolt, with all of its original force, back at the launcher of the crossbow bolt or another desired target.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Parried projectiles can be launched using the remaining distance that the projectile could have travelled at maximum range before striking the Elysari.  For instance, if a projectile with a [20] block maximum range strikes an Elysari [14] blocks away, Rebuke may only redirect that projectile a further [6] blocks from the Elysari.

🗙 Parried projectiles always travel in straight lines.

🗙 Projectiles parried by Rebuke do not have the force with which they strike modified.

🗙 Thrown potions and alchemic projectile attacks are counted as ranged attacks that can be parried by Rebuke.

🗙 The resulting effects of an AoE potion cannot be dispelled or parried if their effect has already been triggered, such as a cloud of smoke.  An Elysari can, however, parry a thrown AoE potion so long as they are able to intercept the potion with their shield before it hits any other surface.

 

SPELLS

Parrying a spell increases the cost of Rebuke by [1] bruni to [5] bruni.  Parried spells can be redirected in much the same way as projectile attacks, allowing the parrying Elysari to redirect the trajectory of the spell at any target in the 180 degree arc in front of them.

 

Spoiler

🗙 Parried spells can be launched using the remaining distance that the projectile could have travelled at maximum range before striking the Elysari.  For instance, if a spell with a [20] block maximum range strikes an Elysari [14] blocks away, Rebuke may only redirect that projectile a further [6] blocks from the Elysari.

🗙 Parried spells always travel in straight lines.

🗙 Spells parried by Rebuke do not have the force with which they strike modified.

ᛝ「D I S C O N N E C T I O N」

 

GIFTS FREELY GIVEN, GIFTS FREELY RETURNED.

 

[1]: Two of the gathered Elysari begin to beat their skjӧldr.  [2]: The third Elysari raises their hands to the heavens and begs for Saphiel’s mercy.  [3]: Augurs begin to flock in great numbers to the third Elysari.  [4]: The third Elysari, emboldened by the continued drumming of their companions, blurs into a shadowy figure beneath the many augurs covering their body.  [5]: The Elysari covered in augurs unleashes a blast of energy, channeled from the numerous augurs surrounding them, blowing away their target's connection in an overwhelming blast of shadowy, many-feathered energy.

 

In order to disconnect an Elysari, breaking their skjӧldr and their link to Saphiel, [3] Elysari who have accepted [TA]’s must gather to perform a ritual.  This ritual takes [5] uninterrupted emotes to complete.  The target of this ritual must remain within [4] blocks of the casting Elysari during these emotes.  Once performed, all performing Elysari are exhausted of all available bruni.

 

🗙 The disconnection ritual is open knowledge available to all Elysari with accepted [TA]s.

🗙 If combat begins at any time during the ritual, it is interrupted and must start be started from the beginning again.

🗙 Elysari can perform this ritual regardless of how much bruni they have available to them.

🗙 Elysari should take the tenets of Saphiel’s way into account when disconnecting another character.

ᛝ「C R E D I T S  &  P U R P O S E」

I’d like to thank F1F4 for their piece on Yeu Rthulu from a while back that inspired me to write this, and their patience with me whilst I worked on this, christ2man for their insight and help writing out the abilities, and Vhorazu for their invaluable idea to focus on shields.  Thank you all very much for your help with this.

 

Elysari are designed to tread the line between hedgewitch healer and stalwart shieldmaiden.  They stand proudly in the shadow of the real-life valkyries as psychopomps ready to guide the slain to peaceful lands.  Where other deific orders stand together beneath single (or very similar) ideological banners, Elysari are able to roam the lands in search of those in need, inserting themselves into all manner of settings.  One might take up a role as guard in a frontier town rife with villainy, whilst another might decide to oversee a group of Void mages as they delve into the treacherous depths of horrific lore.  The ways in which Mercy can be dispensed across Aeos are numerous.

 

In this sense, Elysari are not lone crusaders nor a singular, reclusive order, but rather a grassroots movement of many souls touched by Saphiel as she goes about her work.  Every soul responds to that work in a way that is personal to them and made manifest in the support and guidance they give to all manner of guilds, nations and faiths.  Whatever society an Elysari integrates into, they will always seek to counsel empathy and understanding over the harsh ways of the sword, for Saphiel’s cause is a merciful one.

 

Elysari uniquely fulfils the ‘tank’ archetype, which until this point has been absent from the combat ecosystem and particularly from holy magic, where one would think it would be most at home.  Whilst Elysari are exceptionally good at protecting themselves and others, they are purposefully designed without a finishing move in mind.  Their most powerful aggressive spells, Guilt and Rebuke, do not cause physical harm, but rather redirect it and create opportunities for other characters to capitalise on.  For this reason, Elysari are most vulnerable when alone, and shine their brightest when playing supportive roles in a party of allies.

 

Saphiel herself is an interesting deity that I have become quickly endeared to.  She is, so far as I can tell, the only aengudaemon in current canon who was originally a descendant, and I appreciate that this was drawn out in her write up.  Seeing how hollow Yeu Rthulu really was led her to assuming the mantle of daemon, becoming what she felt was lacking in her predecessor and in the aengudaemonic pantheon at large.

 

Thank you for reading!

P.S.  Let me know if you spot any errors…

 

[The King Of The Moon 7016]

[Venomous_Pup 2978]

I didn't read but it is Aelesh so just accept please : 3 

[KeiaTypeBeat 3277]

Saphiel, My Beloved. Was hoping someone would get around to doing the shield maiden stuff w her I had been told about. Looking forward to the read

[kuebiko 684]

This looks really interesting, I'll give it a full read and feedback later. 

update: I forgot to ever come back and actually write a reply here! But I really like this piece. I think more support/defensive focused magic could be good. I do wish it played a little more with the idea of performing small miracles, like say.. when an archer never seems to run out of arrows. Not that a spell like that would work well on LOTC, but the motif of small, easily missed miracles is interesting.

[F1F4 121]

The effort in this piece was incredibly creative, productive and especially tremendous; I’m forever happy to be invited and involved in this project.
 

One way or another, I’m rooting for this piece to be accepted and hopefully witnessed by a larger audience. Aelesh, and all the other contributors to this project really deserve that much love.

[Anbennar 2351]

 

I don't understand a single word in this lore post but it looks sick as hell. Accept this now.

[Navigator 4260]

I like it, but...

 

(Full feedback after I've had dinner, watch for post edit)

[nepir 472]

Now this is some thing I scanned the poste and well

[Stag 3229]

I gave it a nice thorough reading! This is chock full of PEAK. I really dig the ideas presented & I think you achieved finding a niche that has yet to be explored! Nice work bud!

[Vertigo_Round 330]

Genuinely my favorite magic i've read for a while, makes sense and is easy to read, +1
Also the vibes are SO good omg?? Love this tbh pop off

[LoTC's Next Top Model 1626]

neat. i had workshopped an elysari write myself some months ago, and it's interesting how we came to similar ideas (though executed far differently).

it has the main bullet point i think a magic drawn from saphiel needs, namely that it is almost purely defensive. mercy girl shouldn't be helping fools brain each other.

i like it! i like the direction and the theming. in terms of balance, i thought cleric was egregiously busted, and elysari just seem overall weaker than clerics (albeit they're doing completely different things and fulfilling different roles), so i don't see anything in here that springs up at me as overly strong.

i might suggest putting spell info into spoilers though, just to break up the absolute volume of text, but maybe i'm just too old head. some lines between each spell wouldn't go amiss either, alternatively.

[wx4927 82]

This is actually peak! +1

[ReverseNebula 373]

Very interesting take, I like it.

[z3m0s 1957]

A cut above the rest as usual old friend, so glad I happened upon it amongst the hundreds of notifications since I was on the forums last, what a blessing 🙏 hope you're well brother.

 

P.S: Aelesh should have Lore Master lore