Fitermon

https://youtu.be/mIrt5MkGpy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mt8kuqPmFI **Quick little note. Yes, it's long. Don't torture yourself reading it all at once if you want to read it. Think of it like a lore piece conglomerate as opposed to one big piece.** Corrupted: The aspect of the Soul which has been made darker by the Shade Parasite. Host: The Original Soul. Shade: The undivine Parasite which latched upon the Original Soul. Amber: A state of Corrupted Mana which is utilised and created by the Parasite. Aknu’gul: The sentient force within the Shade Gem. Arun’Asna: The anarchic force that empowers and binds the curse of a Shade. Shade Father: A Shade that has learned how to manipulate and poorly replicate their own parasite within. Foretaker: The pinnacle of darkness. A being entirely suppressed by their Shade Parasite. Manipulation: The process of using Amber to create manifestations of objects. Imbuement: The process of infusing Amber into something in a non-physical form (spells, mana pools). Imbued Object: An object which has been imbued by the corrupted state of mana. The dark parasite birthed from Aegis; the corrupted, twisted souls which feature in both bedtime stories and the horrors which send shivers down the spines of mortal men. Iblees the Daemon; the chief purveyor of chaos in Aegis, bringing about doom and destruction where he willed it. As most of the Descendants were despised by the Daemon, some were kept as Iblees’ tools as the Undead. However, only one was cursed by Iblees to become the first Shade, Rilath Ilwindor. The Elf was taken into Iblees’ grasp, and his soul corrupted and converted from its original state into a bastardization of what it once was. However he was unlike all of those that would descend from him, as his soul was not its true form with the venerable demon leeching off of it. Rather Rilath’s very essence was corrupted and overtaken entirely by the Shade, making him by far one of Iblees’ most influential creations, or rather corruptions, in the world. Despite the disorder presented from the new abilities bestowed upon Rilath Ilwindor, he sought to spread the gift, and in turn the curse, to more than just himself. To achieve this, he used the Shade Gem, a black crystal imbued with the very essence of manipuation and birth of the Shade curse. It gave him the ability to birth new Shade parasites into the souls of the other descendants, continuing the line of the Shades. As a result, Iblees’ grasp over the Shades waned. Although he was the progenitor to the fiends, the mantle was passed on down from Rilath and then to those that succeeded the original Shade. Thus came the birth of the modern Shade parasite, as well as Aknu’gul. The endless clock of time drew on, its hands unwavering in their steady tick as the years went by. The daughter, Aknu’gul lay trapped within the Shade Gem, the source of all Shades’ power emanating within her crystalline cage. Tumult occurred beneath her reins, her children’s growth near stagnant and slowed. She was born with a gift of sentience that no other Shade Gem before her had held, and she ought to use her gift for the betterment of her beloved kin. So, she did… Thus Aknu’gul beckoned forth her first, the one known by many names. He was summoned to her, and she called him by his name, Calledos The Warlock… He came, and as was done in the past, an unholy ritual was performed. He took the sister of his, the woman Itiireae. The two went to the Mother Aknu’gul, and blood was shed from their forms -- not enough to kill, but enough to count. As it was in the birth, it was in the ascension. Aknu’gul’s form was imbued with an eldritch and cruel mixture of the boon of a Shade and Blood magic, and thus Aknu’gul became Arun’Asna, the Child of Tumult. The Shade Gem no longer suitable to hold the raw essence of Arun’Asna, she ascended beyond the physical plane. The birth of Arun’Asna however meant the death of Aknu’gul, the sentience known by the Mother lost to the world. In its place rose a greater means of power and growth for the Shades, as well as a change in the essence of the Parasitic Kin. Arun’Asna is differentiated from the current Shade Gem in which the physical presence of a gem matters less than the new non-tangible presence. While the Shade Gem and any possible other Shade Gems forged will remain within the world, their importance has been mitigated for two main purposes: preventing a monopolistic forbearance over all Shades, and to allow for a more centralized source of power that can not be uniquely replicated for Shades. Currently the Shade Gem technically hosts not only Aknu’gul, but also the connections of the Daeva to Aknu’gul, and the connections of all Shade parasites in existence. To create a new one would mean to provide ambiguity to the Gems, as the exact effects and descriptions of the purpose and connections of each Shade Gem aren’t fully outlined. In this case though, Arun’Asna remains a distinct entity as Aknu’gul is, being not an Aengudaemon but also beyond mortality and physical presence. Rather Arun’Asna is partially anomalous in existence, simply being at all times, but by no means sentient or godly. The Shade Gem, as well as any other created Shade Gems, now act merely as a conduit to Arun’Asna. Arun’Asna, as Aknu’gul has, bestows the Shade parasite’s Amber connection upon those afflicted with it. If a new Shade Gem were to be created, it would not mean the duplication of Arun’Asna’s presence, nor would it mean any division or multiplication of power. Instead it’d simply act as another possible tool for the Shades acquainted with it to interact with. Additionally, if a Shade Gem were destroyed, it would not mean the death or disconnection of all of the Shades, Shade Fathers, and Foretakers linked to that particular gem, but simply a severation of the specific abilities and interactions granted with the possession of a Shade Gem. So, the Shade Gem and any newly formed Gems still remain important, but the being of Aknu’gul has evolved into Arun’Asna, a less physically vital, less limited source for Shade magic. -- Arun’Asna, the Mother of Tumult -- The “death” of Aknu’gul brought about new unholy life, the death of one leading to the birth of another. The Mother of Tumult, Harbinger of Tenebrous, came into existence to become the disembodied source of power and desolation of the Shade parasite. As the Shade Gems linked those corrupted in the days of yore, Arun’Asna purloined such responsibility and power into herself, beyond physical form, yet by no means all powerful. The Shade Gem - as well as any additional gems formed - would still hold purpose, acting as the conduit through which Arun’Asna beckons and acts. However if a Shade Gem was destroyed, it would not mean the end of those connected to Arun’Asna, nor would it mean a debilitation of a Shade’s ability to utilize the boon. Any created Shade Gem now allows for the full fledged connection of a new Shade to Arun’Asna, as well as the removal of a Shade parasite from the soul. Other than that, the Shade Gems are not as vital to the existence of the Shade curse and only also serve the purpose of “broadcasting” to those afflicted with the Shade curse, an ability reserved for the Foretakers that effectively lets a message resonate within the minds of the Shades. A Shade Gem is finite in its capabilities, being difficult to make and only able to be in one place at once. However, Arun’Asna is not bound by such restrictions that the Shade Gems of the past were, nor the restrictions that Aknu’Gul was bound to. As in the past the Shades were bound to the physical presence of a Shade Gem to empower their parasites and to communicate with the Host, now Arun’Asna reserves that ability in a non-physical form that the Shade Gems are used to communicate with. However despite this distancing from the physical form, Arun’Asna is stronger than Aknu’gul, not to say that she will necessarily bestow such strength upon her children. Instead, this newfound power allows for a minor new array of abilities to be bestowed upon a Shade to be learned and discovered, as it also removes the limit held by Aknu’gul on the ones known as the Foretakers. Guides and Redlines Aknu’gul effectively “died” in a sense, removing the higher level of sentience from the Shade Gem and existence within it in place of a non-physical, non-sentient source for Shade magic. Any formed Shade Gem will no longer house an “Aknu’gul” of the sorts, but now act as a conduit to the disembodied power source, referred to as Arun’Asna. The cap on Shade Fathers and Foretakers is removed, although a soft cap will be implemented after some time has passed. Arun’Asna is not a sentient entity aside from basic instinctual action. If a player is removed or temporarily stripped of Shade magic OOCly, such as due to a blacklist, ban, or inactivity, Arun’Asna acts as the lore reason for their temporary or permanent disconnection or Amber connection removal. Arun’Asna is not housed within the current, nor within any Shade Gem that exists. Instead they are like air. You can’t see it, but it’s there. -- Shade Gems -- While not the booming source of power as they were before, a Shade Gem is still vital to the long-term well being of a Shade Coven. While the destruction of one will not surely spell out doom for those connected through it, it will hamper some of its benefits. The main purpose of a Shade Gem is connecting newly formed or Half-Formed Shades to Arun’Asna entirely, with the Half-Formed Shade parasite acting as a “trial” of the sorts with a neutered growth and skillset of a regular Shade. Furthermore, a Shade Gem can be used to send a message to all Shades, but only if the one doing so is a Foretaker. Aside from that, a Shade Father can use a gem if taught how to send a message to just their children. A Shade Gem cannot be moved unless done by a Foretaker in their tenebrific, dark form, as the Shade Gem automatically corrupts mana en masse around itself in a spherical radius into Amber, and rends control of this to protect itself if need be. If a Shade, Shade Father, or Foretaker is close to a Gem, the effects can be either beneficial or counterproductive. Any distance less than five meters in any direction results in the Shade’s Amber slowly seeping to the Gem, weakening the Shade’s control and ability to manipulate Amber. Additionally, within this range Amber cannot be claimed to be controlled. However, past this distance up to twenty-five meters away the Shade, Shade Father, or Foretaker experiences slightly more ease in controlling and converting Amber, with the closest and furthest expanses of this distance having a ten percent increase in efficiency, while right in the middle of this “sweet spot” the Shade will experience up to double the usual ability and ease when casting Shade magic. However this is not an excuse to carry a Shade Gem around constantly to buff magic, but rather to make protecting one of these rare objects significantly easier given the heavy implications it holds in the magic. Finally, Shade Gems are formed when an imploded void node forms a substance known as ‘Ore’, which then must be corrupted with Amber by at least two Foretakers or four Shade Fathers. Given the rarity of the substance, this process may be difficult to complete if not near impossible. Guides and Redlines Shade Gems can be formed by at least two Foretakers, four Shade Fathers, or a Foretaker and two Shade Fathers. Shade Gems are used to fully connect a Shade that is “Half-Formed” to Arun’Asna, letting the parasite grow to its full potential. Shade Gems corrupt mana around them into Amber passively. Shade Gems can be used as mass messaging systems, although this is not to be abused. Shade Gems can be used to connect and disconnect new Foretakers. A Shade Gem needs an MArt made to prove proof of knowledge on them, proof of creation, and documentation purposes. The current Shade Gem in existence that functions at time of this lore passing will have one made for it, and no other Shade Gem can currently be used as described. Shade Gems cannot be carried around to act as magic buffers, as it’d weaken the magic if too close and harms almost all beings that stay too close for too long. Only Foretakers can touch a Shade Gem for a long time, and even then it still pains them and is only to be done in their dark form. A Shade Gem’s destruction, while troublesome, is not to be immediately met with the disconnection of all connected Shades and Foretakers. Instead, only new fully fledged Shades can not be produced, nor can the messaging aspect of the magic occur. If a Shade Gem is destroyed, the connected Shades, Shade Fathers, and Foretakers will be automatically bound to the Shade Gem made most recent to the destroyed one. If no Gem exists, then a new one must be forged by the remaining Shade Fathers and Foretakers. If all Shade Gems are destroyed, then a Foretaker will not be able to revive after death until a new one is forged. This doesn't PK the character, but it does render it unusable until a new gem is made. Only three (3) Shade Gems can exist at once that function. However, spare gems can be prepared in case one of the preceding three is destroyed. Think of it like a pipe system where the water pressure runs too low if too many pipes are opened. The Parasite of Rancour is a being of raw Amber essence which comes to life within the soul and body of one afflicted with the Shade curse when one is bound to Arun’Asna. In almost all respects the same as the affliction upon the soul, the key difference lies in an innate physical presence within the host, not one that can be quantified, but one that can be qualified. Blood courses through a man’s veins, yet the drops cannot be counted; such is the existence of the Parasite of Rancour. Comparing where this existence of Amber within a host begins and ends is akin to marking where the oceans meet the shores. It has end, yet to determine such is foolishness. Rather it is understood and agreed upon that while marking this spot is nigh impossible, it exists all the same. Such is the Parasite of Rancour, the physical embodiment of a Shade within the form of its host. It is this being that allows for Amber to be materialized from a mere concept of mana into a physical tenebrific substance, and it is this substance that gives birth to almost all of the abilities that one afflicted with a Shade may come to bear, but all things have its beginnings, and all things must first be raised… Due to the parasite being attached to the host, the creature was able to feast upon the man or woman’s mana pool, letting its Amber convert the natural substance into more of the black potent ichor-like material. This allowed the host to use the Amber to their benefit and for the Shade to remain healthy. Yet, at the same time the Parasite latches its being to the soul of the host, corrupting the inherent nature of the man or woman and uses the host’s soul to influence the being in different ways. Guides and Redlines The Parasite of Rancour is not a fully separate entity from the Shade parasite, but rather just a name to label the existence of physically manifested Amber within a Host afflicted with the curse. This existence of Amber is what allows a Shade to corrupt more mana into Amber, and what allows a Shade to determine the quantity of Amber which will be physically manifested, This semi-physical presence of the Shade within the host also allows for abilities such as Remedial Healing and Ambercrafting to be possible, as it effectively links a Host and a Host’s Amber supply. To clarify, the Parasite of Rancour is not its own unique entity with an agenda separate from that of the Shade parasite and the host. Rather it is a clarifying term to describe a Shade parasite’s physical presence within a body as opposed to non-tangible presence within a soul. The parasite does not begin fully grown, rather taking time to grow and acclimate to the host’s body. As a result, one with the Shade curse can not use any of the abilities whatsoever at first, and must not only learn but also be eligible to learn certain abilities over time. -- Hatchling -- Throughout a Shade’s life, it grows through multiple stages of power. In the beginning of its life, the Shade is referred to as a hatchling. The hatchling is but a small parasite which has begun to grow on the soul itself of the Host, and the body begins to physically manifest small quantities of mana into Amber latent within the body, but none of this can be manipulated or used yet. The hatchling stage is considered the most painful stage of the process of shadedom. Due to the discomfort and pain the hatchling causes to the host, the person affected by the hatchling could experience multiple different issues with their body. Seizures, vomiting, mood swings, fainting, and minor hallucinations are not uncommon when a hatchling begins its growth process within a user. The hatchling has begun to grow and harness the users mana to create more amber, yet this amber is unuseable, only able to be drawn forth but not shaped into objects or used for the abilities of a common Shade. -- Shade Child -- The Shade has begun to vastly expand and grow within the host, yet it’s still a novice at learning how to cooperate with the body it resides within. The host will become more tolerant of the parasite within, yet every so often the side effects of a growing parasite will occur. However, the continual growth will expand until the child has reached its full growth. The user is able to manipulate Amber with the proper training and practice until they’ve mastered the usage of Amber and all of its uses. It is also at this stage that the host becomes mentally unstable and all the negative effects come into full force once the Shade has grown to its maximum size upon the soul. -- Shade Father -- The Shade Fathers are the ones whom have studied and learned about their parasite to the fullest extent. They’re able to instruct and transfuse new, growing Hosts and Shades. Their influence over those Shades beneath them holds great power, yet they are still not quite at the pinnacle of their nature. While the presence upon the soul is no stronger than a fully grown Shade, the ability for the host to utilize the parasite itself is greatly improved for those that have achieved this stage. As a result, this is not a stage naturally achieved over time, but also one achieved with great practice. Finally, one that has reached this stage can make a bastardized version of a Shade parasite on another’s soul. -- Foretakers -- The Daeva, or Foretakers, are entities who have undergone a transformation that yields the very fabric of their essence to the parasite. Their mortal body remains the same when not in their dark, tenebris form. However, when in their tenebrific form the Daeva is consumed by the parasite entirely. The Daeva are the pinnacle of both a Shade and its abilities. They can easily manipulate Amber at will and can convert new Shades through the transference of a parasite into a new host, which allows it to spread and grow within the host’s body. -- Physical and Mental Alterations -- When the parasite manifests within the body, its draw upon one’s mana pool causes the body to be impacted severely in many different ways. Physical weakness’ begin to develop, not to an extremely noticeable extent but the body does fall to fatigue every so often due to the Amber manipulating the mana within the host. Their movements become more jaded and sharp almost like they’re always on edge. Their mental state is quite similar, the parasite creates an uneasy and agitated persona within the host. A constant yet faint battle will always reside within the body of the Shade. In early hatchling stages, vomiting, nausea, and other similar side effects are common, yet the effects will begin to fade as the body and mind becomes attuned to the Amber developing within. Mental strain and similar attributes develop with the being who is cursed and takeovers still occur. However the occurrence is next to never in a public or crowded space, as even the parasite has some common decency to avoid ousting their true nature. Instead when in private the host may experience these effects where they are not at risk of being spotted or aided. -- The Shade Parasite & Unique Circumstances -- As with all things, there are usually exceptions or outliers to most rules or guidelines. For the Shade curse, a number of creatures or beings may not be affected in the same exact way as one another, and the abilities gained may manifest in varying ways as well, or in some cases not at all. Be it an inferior soul, or a soul entrapped within an object far from the conscious body, a Shade parasite can live, but with many stipulations and considerations to be kept in account. -- Inferior Souls -- Due to the intricate nature of the mind and spirit, the Shade curse does not affect all creatures equally or similarly. When the question of inferior souls - the souls of wolves, cats, parrots, or even snails - comes into play, the Shade curse affects such creatures and their souls differently. First, creatures with inferior souls are able to be afflicted with the Shade curse. Despite this, this does not make the animal a hyper intelligent killing machine, but rather causes various behavioral and mental issues for the animal. Due to the chaotic nature of the Shade parasite most if not all animals will begin to suffer from the most horrendous effects of the curse, experiencing seizures, hallucinations, and other maladies. After the gestation period however, the parasite would be able to easily purloin command from the beast, effectively replacing the beast’s animalistic instincts with its own. This will make once loyal pet dogs quick to disobey their masters or tamed horses to buck and kick at their riders. However one ought to not misinterpret this significantly more violent nature to be newfound intelligence or understanding, as the Shade infected animal would still be limited to its significantly instinctual mental capacity. Because of the relatively weak willed spirit of the animal, it is very unlikely that once the Shade parasite domineers the being’s mind that the original soul will ever muster the strength to rise against and reclaim control of its form, not that the animal would know any better of what has transpired anyhow. The effects would be similar for animals that have their mana pools corrupted into Amber but not their souls. Unlike fully cursed animals though, the animal will not remain in such a state as the impure corrupted mana flakes away and is replenished quickly over time. As a result, a dog for instance may suffer a seizure and whimper in fear for an hour but then just as quickly return to normal. As simple as it sounds, the challenge itself arrives when infesting an animal with a Shade parasite. While small animals are incredibly easy to contaminate with the curse, it gets significantly harder with larger animals. Horses and deer may struggle and try to flee, their instincts kicking in and sensing something is wrong with the corruption entering them. Even larger beasts, such as drakes and whales, would most likely flee or fight back resiliently against either being infected with a Shade parasite or even having their mana pools corrupted. This makes any effort to wreak havoc with larger animals hardly worth the effort, especially given that the animal would soon act sporadically and may just as easily seek to kill the one that cursed them even more than before they were tainted. So this renders it pointless to purposely curse larger animals for the sake of havoc and destruction - unless the source of this in question quickly flees - as it’d be a challenging task with little reward. In terms of abilities, an animal bearing the Shade curse does not exhibit anything remarkable as one with a superior soul may exhibit, such as forming tendrils with edged tips. However the animal does benefit minorly, as they will gain a minor form of remedial healing from any sickness or wounds they suffer. An example would be if a cat were to cut itself while fighting with another cat, the one burdened with the venerable demon would have faint traces of Amber close its wounds and begin to heal to a greater effect than if it were to heal naturally. However this ability is only so limited, as it is automatic and intrinsic to the creature when it is injured and can not be shut off for any purpose, giving away its true nature if the beast were to be injured. Furthermore, it will not stave off death, for most lethal wounds will be far too much for the parasite to remedy on its own. For simplicity’s sake, plants are unable to bear a Shade parasite. Furthermore, corrupting the latent mana in a plant will not produce any ill effects for the plant aside from any Druii attempting to commune with it. If a Druid attempted to commune with an animal with a corrupted mana pool, they’d be able to notice the animal was in a great deal of distress and suffering, the effect only increasing depending on how much of the beast’s mana is corrupted. If it were the case where the animal was infected with the Shade parasite entirely, then the Druid would be unable to commune effectively with the beast given the disruptive nature of the parasite upon the soul. Instead, akin to a mind mage entering the mind of a Shade, the Druid would almost if not always be met with horrid visions and screams the animal was enduring. Deeper levels of communion would cause nightmarish inflections upon the Druid, the chance for reprieve slim if at all possible for the animal and attuned Druid during the Communion. Guides and Redlines Animals can have their mana pools corrupted, giving them effects akin to that of a Descendant with corrupted mana, but more fitting to the nature of animals. Animals can be infected with a Shade parasite, although this parasite will as a result be significantly less intelligent and powerful than a Shade within a superior soul. Beasts infected with a Shade curse will gain a limited, minor form of Remedial Healing from the abilities of a Shade.. An animal with Remedial Healing can only survive marginally larger wounds than normal and not die. A slit throat will still kill a dog, but a punctured abdomen may not. Shaded animals cannot be tamed, trained, or otherwise utilized, making these mostly an ET tools. Cursed an corrupted animals can be aided by any holy mage or blight healing druid. -- Souls Housed Outside of the Body -- For Liches and Wights, there are some minor differentiations for how a Shade parasite affects the creature. Given that the parasite is a blemish upon the soul, and the soul is not encased within the actual form of the being, but rather externally in phylacteries. As a result, any attempts to purge the Shade parasite from the soul can not be done on the moving form, but rather only on the phylactery. Additionally due to the already corrupt nature of these objects and the souls they hold, holy magics would first destroy and damage them rather than purge the Shade parasite. Thus, purging the parasite of a Lich or Wight is nigh impossible, as the creature would first be killed, then be “saved” from the curse. When the phylactery of one of these creatures is destroyed or otherwise ceases to exist, so does the Shade parasite appended to the soul of the victim due to the severely limited state of the Soul following the destruction of its home. Furthermore, Liches and Wights are unable to achieve any transition into another creature from Shade magic, such as becoming an Aeshma. Liches will also experience one minor difference, which is that when in immediate danger of death or injury, the Shade parasite will not take over to ensure the wellbeing of the Host no matter what unless the skull has already taken some form of damage, as long as the damage is a crack larger than an inch or greater. Additionally, the ability of Remedial Healing is limited to defending just the lich’s skull, as a lich lacks other vital organs or parts that would be essential to survival. Wights suffer from a similar disposition, where they will not gain any benefit from remedial healing due to the non-mortal nature of a wight’s physical form. When husked however, they can choose to replicate this ability if they actively will it, but it is more exerting as it is less innate in the Shade parasite’s nature since it will not default to this behavior. Finally, as for the residual physical Amber in these beings bodies it is ingrained within their form, be it draughted, husked, or their regular selves. Guides and Redlines Liches and Wights can both be made Shades as well as use Shade magic, but with different effects than non-liches and non-wights. Liches will have their Amber innately resting within their skull primarily, and a Wight with it indiscernible spread throughout their form or husk. Liches and Wights still have the Remedial Healing ability at its basic state, but in a limited form. Liches and Wights must have their phylacteries present in order to be fully afflicted with a Shade parasite, not just the mobile incarnate of the being. Shaded Liches will only have Remedial Healing apply to their skull, other bones can be broken with no “threat” as far as the Shade parasite is concerned. Wights can only use Remedial Healing when husked, and must do so actively which diverts focus from other casting. Thus this is much less effective than a non-Wight Shade’s ability to use this passive ability. To turn a Lich or Wight into a Shade, the Foretaker or Shade Father must have the phylactery present to imbue the parasite upon the soul. Furthermore, for those that have died, then have been resurrected and become either a Lich or Wight, they must be re-Shaded as the parasite would not survive when the soul’s home dies. With great power over the malignant creatures known as the Shades, the parasitical hosts are permitted; Gifted with the corrupted effect of the soul. The Shades, the creatures of the old dark, are granted the ability to manipulate, generate, and mutate their twisted Amber. - Known to scholars as corrupted Mana, Amber is funneled from the parasitical creature which has latched itself to the body, mind, and soul of its victim. As the host draws from this corrupted reflection, they bring the capabilities of the Shade itself to the surface. -- Conversion of Mana -- Perhaps the most fundamental ability of the malign creatures, the conversion of Mana is the process of corrupting the mana inside, and outside, of one’s own mana pool to convert into Amber. The Parasitical Creature ensures that the corruption of the internal pool is a constant, and passive ability which enables the Host to draw from the power within; However, the corruption of Mana occurs when Amber comes into contact with it. Like a virus, the corruption spreads and infects. If this comes into contact with another entity, the organism of conversion will feel an impending sense of doom, dread, and fear, as their mana finds itself corrupted. - With the organism suffering from the latent Mana Corruption, the Amber produced may be further utilised by the Parasite, or the Host, as an extension of their preexisting pool of Amber. Should the malign creature corrupt another entity, their mana pool will also begin to taint and change into that of Amber; a further resource for the Shade to draw from. As the Parasite ceases in its corruption of another’s mana, the corrupted essence may remain within the target, however the clean soul will simply reject the tainted Amber and burn it away into dark flakes over time to replenish its harmless, normal mana. - Manifested markings of darkness may remain on the skin, though this is purely aesthetic. For inanimate objects, or inorganic sources of mana, Amber will remain within or upon the object, leaving darkened patterns, protrusions, or other aesthetic alterations to the object in question. Guides and Redlines The Shade can corrupt the Mana of others into Amber, and then use this newly formed Amber for their own benefit. The Shade passively internally converts their own Mana Pool, this enables them to innately draw from this in spells listed below. Mana Gems, Obelisks, and other inorganic sources of mana can be corrupted and converted into Amber to draw from. Anyone who comes into contact with Amber will feel a sensation of dread. - This includes other Shades. Due to the Shade innately converting Mana the Amber touches, Spectral beings are susceptible to Manipulated Amber, albeit to a lesser capacity as Aurum or their other weaknesses. It takes times to convert mana. More Mana = Lengthier time to convert. The same goes for rejection; More Amber in an organic creature = Lengthier time to dispel. The organic target of mana conversion does not gain or inherit Shadedom. Blemishes on the skin, or on objects, following corruption are purely aesthetic and cannot be used for anything of a practical purpose. Due to the corrupted mana pool, any spell cast from The Shade, or the corrupted organism, will be innately chaotic and difficult to control. (Note: Not impossible to control, but very difficult.) Also due to the corrupted mana pool, a non-Shade’s spells can possibly come out imbued with Amber as if a Shade were casting the spell. However this is situational, and will only last for the duration of the mana corrupted within them remains present. Corrupted spells are not inherently more powerful, and cannot go beyond the effects or redlines of that particular magic. A sense of dread and horror will settle in on anyone that is not a Shade that has their mana pool corrupted. This will last as long as Amber remains within their system. -- Amber Manipulation -- In order to aptly control the converted Amber within their pools, the Shades possess the ability to manipulate the corrupted mana within them. Manipulation of Amber may come in many forms, though in it’s more rudimentary and basic form allows the Host to create shapes, objects, and limb-like extensions which serve as a tool, or a weapon for the malignant creature. Through practice, the nature of Amber Manipulation can become almost like second nature, as though the corrupted Mana is part of their very body and are simply controlling it through muscle memory. Akin to the Voidal Art of Arcane Evocation, the Manipulation of Amber can very much be maintained in much the same way, albeit it holds a specific caveat; The controlled Amber must be connected to the Host in some physical fashion. Manipulated Amber can take on three physical states: Solid, Liquid, and Gas, and can be controlled in many imaginative ways. Left freeform to the user, the blackened substance’s density and temperature may also be manipulated. While the Amber may be manipulated with second nature, this does not inherently make it easy or quick to do so. Manipulating corrupted Mana takes time and focus. Controlling Amber from a distance will prove physically strenuous to the Host, and should their focus be lost or physical connection to the Amber be severed, the corrupted essence will simply flake away into black flakes unless it is quickly reclaimed through physical contact. - While its density may be altered, manifestations of Amber are not indestructible and are weak and susceptible to any material which affects spectral beings. Due to this, Aurum or any similar material will simply slice through crafts of Amber like a heated knife to butter - Additionally, due to the limb-like nature of Manipulated Amber, any damage sustained to the Ambercraft will cause physical pain and injury to the Caster if done by holy magic. Any Amber which finds itself affected by any form of Holy Magic or Fi’ will find itself limp and at a loss of control, the Host being unable to Manipulate the specific strand of Amber which has been affected. Guides and Redlines The Shade/Host is able to manipulate corrupted Mana in the form of Amber in a freeform method akin to how Arcanists manipulate Arcane Wisps. Formations such as tools, weapons, or objects are able to be created from this abhorrent corruption. Due to the Manipulated Amber being an extension of the Host’s body, line of sight and mobility are not required to cast. Shades are able to create an interesting array of objects from furniture, tools, sharpened points at the ends of their arms, or slippery surface on the floor which holds hardly any friction. A Shade may manipulate Amber in a Solid, Gaseous, and Liquid state. The Host may alter the temperature, density, and shape of their Manipulated Amber. While being injured and losing focus may lessen their control over the caster’s Amber, it will not cause it to disappear or cease control entirely. A Shade must emote a ‘tell’ when manipulating Amber. This can be anything from blackening of the skin, sullen eyes, darkened veins, or the typical ‘black eyes’. Any creation of Amber must be connected physically to the Shade, lest they simply flake into blackness unless control is seized. (First redline in Conversion of Mana). While Amber has no theoretical limit on how dense it can be made, mana is needed to manipulate Amber. As a result, while constructs denser than iron are possible, they are not feasibly done in large amounts as the amount of Amber needed to form such a dense construct and mana required becomes increasingly more difficult. Any Manipulated Solid Amber may only go up to 55°C and down to -65°C and can cause second degree burns/frostbite after a minute of direct contact. This is enough to cause damage from sheer exposure but not enough to cause lasting damage instantly, and making the Amber this temperature takes a fair bit of energy and time. Additionally, maintaining these temperatures grows increasingly difficult, making it practically impossible to do for more than a minute and a half. Any Manipulated Liquid/Gas may cause second degree burns/frostbite faster if at this temperature. Due to the Manipulated Amber being an extension of the Host’s body, usage of Amber is akin to physical exercise and can grow exhausting. Manipulated Amber may only be as malleable as it’s properties allow; A craft as dense as iron may not be flexed like rubber. It takes time and energy to funnel Amber into a more dense creation, and more corrupted mana will be used in the process. Amber is weak to the following: Aurum, Aurum-based Arcanium, Fi’ Magic, Alteration (Should one know how to ward Shade Magic), Holy Magic. When Amber is affected by the above, it simply goes limp and loses all control. If severed, it will flake away slowly. When Amber is damaged or severed by Holy Magic, the Host will suffer proportional pain in the section of their body in which the Amber originated. (Ex. One small amber craft originating from the palm being severed would harm just as much as a cut over the flesh). When manipulating Amber in it’s Gaseous and Liquid forms, it will only contain the same amount of mass it would in it’s Solid state. It’s properties may be manipulated in the same way. Amber can not be effectively manipulated past 20 meters. While these are general guidelines, they are not the final law for Amber manipulation. Other factors can affect the limits here, including proximity to a Shade Gem, a takeover, or some other external factor. In general, an “Is This Okay?” rule will be in place. If you have to think if you’re powergaming, you probably are. -- Amber Imbuement -- Manipulating Amber has its benefits of course, but the true horrors of a Shade can only be experienced in slight by others when Imbuement is done. Imbuement takes place in three scenarios, each with their own unique effects. The three scenarios that Imbuement occurs in are imbuing Amber into objects, imbuing Amber into other living organisms’ mana pools, and imbuing Amber into spells. The first case of Imbuement deals with the injection of Amber into objects and items, such as a sword, a glass sphere, or a stone pillar. When this is done, the object in question may take on more ominous appearances, such as tiny ebon fingers grasping back at a hand holding a sword’s hilt, or ghastly pitch-black faces reflecting out towards onlookers from a glass sphere. However, all of these effects are purely aesthetic and provide no actual benefits or downsides to the object, except in the cases outlined below. The Amber would have to be replenished every now and then as well, or it'd slowly flake away over time. The second case of Imbuement is the injection of Amber into magical spells, be them voidal or not. Imbuement is not forced whatsoever upon the Host, and the Host can cast perfectly normal, untainted spells if they so desire. However this is rendered null if the only remaining mana left in the mage’s mana pool is corrupted by Amber, be it one afflicted with a Shade or not. For example, a Host may willingly convert all of their regular mana to Amber, which will result in all of their spells cast to be imbued as well and bear the effects of imbuement. These effects are outlined below. The final case in which Imbuement occurs is when a Host utilizes their gift to corrupt another’s mana pool into Amber, just as the Shade passively does to their own. In order to do this, physical contact between either the Host and the victim, or the Host’s physically manifested Amber and the victim must be maintained, larger amounts of mana converted taking a longer time to convert. As the Host converts the victim’s mana pool, the Host can either draw forth and utilize this Amber in physical manifestation as their own tendrils, or can let this tainted mana settle and lay latent within the victim. When this corrupted mana is left within though, the victim would feel a sense of dread, growing more or less depending on the amount of mana converted. Additionally, the victim would automatically have the next few spells he or she casts be imbued with Amber, regardless of if they are infected with a Shade parasite or not. For instance, if a High Elf infected with a Shade converts the mana of a Wood Elf into Amber, and the Wood Elf casted an illusion spell later, the illusion spell would automatically act as it would when imbued. This effect will last as long as Amber remains in the mana pool of the victim, naturally replenishing with fresh mana over time. A fully corrupted mana pool would take a week OOCly to replenish with no additional casting performed. As a result, the only way to remove this corrupted Amber would be to either expel it by draining one’s mana pool willingly, or to wait for the corrupted mana to cycle out and be replaced by fresh, untainted mana, much akin to the digestive system passing on food. Do keep in mind this does not infect one with a Shade parasite, nor does it grant control or the ability to physically manifest this Amber, nor does it any other benefit of the Shade curse. This is merely a result of their mana being corrupted and left within as opposed to being extracted by the attacking Host. The following effects are caused when Amber is imbued into a spell of the respective magic type. -- Amber Imbuement In Spells -- Arcane Alteration: Transfiguration: Objects altered with the magic will hold a stygian, black hue to them for a while, such as staining a stone black or a stick emitting a faint dark aura. Wards and abjurations would visibly hold a dark grey or black shimmer, akin to powder floating in the air. Enchantments imbued with Amber are unchanged, but rather any mana gems that have their mana corrupted will hold Amber-imbued effects on the spells. Translocation: Objects that have been imbued with Amber become easier to store, can be stored for longer and can be withdrawn more easily. Additionally for half-translocation spells the visible distortion formed would be altered to be a black smog. In turn, these objects would cause a sense of dread due to the Amber imbued in the objects, varying dependant on how much of the mana is corrupted. So while casting may be marginally more effective, the caster must cope with any adverse effects from the Amber. Voidal Shifting: Shades are able to carry their manifested Amber with them as they shift, due to it being counted as ‘part’ of them. Additionally, shifting causes a black aura to permeate where the Shade has left. Telekinesis: Controlled objects gain a darkened shimmer around them, with black hues trailing the object. Arcane Illusion: Sensory Illusion: Capable of pressing darker and more dreadful illusions, the Shade can draw upon their reams of realistic Nightmares to create horrendous tricks of the senses. Additionally, as in the case of mental magic, the Shade parasite has a resistance to the magic due to the parasite’s constant presence in the host’s mind, and the parasite will attempt to ward off any effort beyond its own to affect the host’s mind. Mental Magic: When entering the mind of another, the host can at times be aided by the Shade parasite itself, resulting in a doubled attack from both the host’s abilities in conjunction with the horrors of the Shade joining in, notably the ones the host faces constantly. This can result in a Shade entering another’s mind easier, and can result in a greater defense when the magic is used on them. As in the case of attacking another mind, when defending from a mental intrusion the Shade parasite will prevent ease of access to the host’s mind. So, to invade the mind of a Shade, one must bypass any mental barriers or wards in addition to the horrors the Shade parasite inflicts on the intruder’s mind as well. Cognatism: The host suffers from a horrid trinity of minds: their own, the voidal horror within, and the cruel demonic parasite. When utilizing the magic, the voidal horror may have its gifts blocked out by the parasite at times in an effort to further weaken the host’s mental ability. Arcane Evocation: Fire: Evoked fire imbued with Amber will appear ebon and viscous, the flames flickering less quickly than usual. Additionally any evoked fire will no longer give off light, rather emitting a dense black smoke above where it forms. Alongside this, the hiss and crackle of a flame would be gone, in its place an austere silence formed as if sound was dampened near the flame. However this will not affect the fire in any other adverse or positive ways. Water: Ice, water and vapour are all darker in colour, appearing ink-like. Oddly enough, this evoked water is unable to conduct electricity, nor do things dissolve particularly well in it. Air: Evoked air will hold a dark hue about it, akin to coal dust floating in the wind. Earth: The created earth is dark and dry, and black crystals similar to the Shade Gem in appearance can be formed. Electrical: Evoked electricity is jet black, the cracks and hisses of heat emitting from the electricity removed in place of an eerie, unnatural silence in its place. Conjuration: Conjured creatures are stygian black even if they never were when studied. They bleed a dark ichor, and their bites send waves of dread through their victims with every mouthful. A terrible aura of black follows their movements, and they seem to hold a bizarre disobedience in them. An order to safely pick a infant up off of the ground may be ignored, the conjured beast opting instead to maim or maul the infant instead. Arcanism: Arcanism is made darker and more opaque, looking more like stone than it would glass. Celestialism: Incompatible. Soul Puppetry: Incompatible. Holy/Deity: Shamanism: Spirits can see the darkness in the Shade’s spirit, and thus normal spirits will avoid them like the plague. The older and larger the corruption on the soul, the greater the blemish on the Shaman's spirit. Xan Paladins: Incompatible. Ascended: Incompatible. Tahariae Clerics: Incompatible. Druidism: Incompatible to be made Shades. However if a Druid’s mana pool is corrupted for any purpose, then when they try to cast any druidic spell the various forces of nature would actively try to defend itself, ranging from vines lashing out at the druid to nearby animals attacking the druid. However this will quickly subside as a Druid’s mana pool would rapidly refresh the corrupted mana back into untainted mana. Runesmithing: Elements created may have the same effects applied to them as Evocation elements. Dark Magics: Necromancy: Lifeforce may be imbued with Amber to give its typical, dread-causing effects. Risen creations leave a flaking, dark trail in their wake, and they cause the same, fear-inducing effect on the targets they touch. Frost Witches: Manipulated ice may grow dark and ominous in appearance. Mysticism: Ectoplasm imbued with Amber becomes darker than usual, and all things that deal with this darkened Amber release the same, dread-causing effect. Blood Magic: Magics enhanced by blood magic are also affected by the Shade effects (if Amber is imbued). Thallassos: Brine controlled and imbued with Amber would appear more inky and stygian. Naz’Therak: Malflame imbued with Amber would add an additional dread-inducing effect on top of any abilities already caused by Malflame, as well as bearing a black, flickering outline around the neon colored flame. Strength of the Abyss: Incompatible. Voidal Feats & Artificery: Voidal Feeling: Using Voidal Feeling on Amber-imbued objects is slightly easier, as the Amber within the object slightly alters its physical makeup in terms of appearance and structure. However feeling with Amber-imbued mana will only prevent the caster from gaining proper knowledge, instead having their thoughts and information of the object being obscured or distorted. Voidal Displacement: Portals created with Amber-imbued mana would produce an overwhelming sense of horror and dread when used, regardless of who enters. In addition, the location of the portal would take on a more grim, unholy appearance. If the area is not kept clean, misfiring portals may deposit the victim in either much worse areas than normal, such as thousands of feet underwater, or stranded in the middle of a scorching desert, or much better, such as a few feet away, fitting the chaotic nature of Amber and a Shade. Atronach Forging: Atronachs created with Amber-imbued mana will take on the effects of their evocation’s alteration due to Amber. Additionally, any orders given may be slightly modified such as a Conjuration’s may be. Creatures: Liches & Wights: See Above. Strigae: Can be a Shade, no benefits/magic. Archon: Incompatible. Soulless Creatures: Incompatible. Soul Tree Druii: Incompatible. Frost Witches: Able to use Shade normally. Limited to 4 slot abilities. *Amber imbuement can be purged and cleansed with holy magics. -- Ambercrafting -- For those more well versed in corrupting mana and imbuing objects with Amber, a skill known as Ambercrafting becomes available to prospecting Shades. Put simply, Ambercrafting is materializing Amber and forming structures with it, whether it is something small like a stool, or something of more considerable size like a table or wall. In order to make abnormally large structures though, the additional effort of more Shades or corrupted mana from an obelisk for instance is required. Furthermore, these structures will provide no other benefit to a Shade, as they will no longer be moldable or reclaimable into their Amber pool after they are formed, making these structures slightly anomalous in their existence and creation. In short, Ambercrafting allows Shades to produce structures, furniture, and other similar things with a very literal dark and dreary aesthetic with not much other practical use, unless the intention is to scare. Guides and Redlines Shades can create Ambrific structures assuming they have enough Amber or assistance to do so. Structures can be small like stools and benches, or large like walls and bridges. Larger structures MUST have an appropriate “fuel source” such as a mana obelisk or close proximity to a Shade Gem. Ambercrafted terrain will not provide any combat or utilitarian benefit, such as attacking foes or performing household tasks. If the source of Amber for a structure is from a mana obelisk or gem, then if the corrupted mana in the source runs out the Ambercraft will begin to wither and flake away. -- Caliginous Healing: Remedial -- When one is afflicted with the parasite, the Shade does its best to ensure the physical well being of the Host. The Amber within the Host wards off disease and other biological miasmas, rendering the Host difficult to strike ill. Furthermore, the Shade and Amber will do its best to ensure the Host’s life is not jeopardized, be it either from another or the Host themselves seeking death. If the Host is harmed, the Shade will offer a very minor healing factor, albeit this is not done through ordinary healing and regrowth where needed, but rather done by Amber attempting to clot off and seal any wounds. For example, if the Host were to be stabbed in the leg, they would bleed regularly and heal regularly, nothing extraordinary occurring to stop such. However, Amber will flow to the wounded area and do its best to fill in any gaps in the flesh and body, not healing it but rather preventing further blood loss and damage. Furthermore, this healing factor is not going to save somebody that is going to die unless the Host immediately seeks further medical assistance, such as a trained surgeon or skilled alchemist that has some sort of healing salve. So if a Host is stabbed in the neck, the Shade will not be able to save them alone, but instead only ward off the inevitable for some time. In turn, one afflicted with a Shade is unable to be healed efficiently by various holy mages due to the unholy, dark nature of the Shade parasite. If a wounded person afflicted with the parasite sought out a cleric to heal a stab wound to their leg, not only would the process be much more slow and inefficient, taking at least three times as long to heal, but it’d also be horribly painful to the Host, to the point they might as well just let the wound heal on their own, assuming it is a non-lethal injury. Finally, the Host will automatically heal unless willed otherwise as to avoid exposing their curse. However if a Host chooses to negate their ability and dies as a result, such as a stab wound to the neck that could be saved if the ability is allowed, death in this case would constitute a willing one, and either the Shade will take over and force the ability to enable, or the Host would technically die of suicide. In addition to this ability, the Host will also be automatically taken over by the Shade parasite if they were to fall unconscious, although this wouldn’t be a takeover in the usual use of the word. Rather this is done as a security measure, in which the Shade parasite can speed up the process of regaining consciousness and will act to ensure the Host’s safety following this scenario. Upon ending whatever dangerous scenario they were in, the Host can easily resume control over the body, often with little resistance from the Shade in these cases. This is one of the few times a Host and Shade will ever truly cooperate, as it is a matter of best interests for the parasite and host. Guides and Redlines The Shade/Host will passively have Amber go to protect the Host from suffering from illness or blood loss, acting like a bandaging system of the sorts. The Shade will provide the Amber for this ability from the mana pool of the host, meaning if the Host’s mana were expended or none was converted to Amber this ability would be either weakened or entirely unusable. This ability can be useful to a Shade if they receive less severe injuries, as in and out of combat they’d effectively have a self-defense system of the sorts. If a Shade is rendered unconscious for whatever reason, and the host knew they were in danger last before passing out, the parasite can brute-force the body into awakening in order to do what it deems best for survival. Over time, a Shade can begin to fine tune the use of this ability more, either letting it act freely or not occur at will. This will not save the life of a Shade that would die from wounds of a severe nature, such as damage to the brain, heart, lungs, or other vital organs. If anything it will stave death off for a bit, making the process more torturous. This will also not save the life of a Shade with wounds that could be healed with intense care and skill, but will still rather simply stave death off to perhaps allow the Shade to find one that can heal them. Examples of these injuries are massive blood loss or other severe wounds of a lethal, yet non-immediate nature. A Shade rendered unconscious will not instantly regain consciousness, but rather will have an expedited time when doing so. Holy magics healing the Shade would be three times less effective, needing either three times as much energy from the healer or one-third the efficiency of healing. Holy magic healing would cause immense pain to the Shade. At first, a Shade is unable to prevent this ability from automatically occurring, making the first few injuries for a newly formed Shade dangerous to have occuring in a public setting, as it could reveal their true nature. -- Caliginous Healing: Active -- When a Shade further acclimates to its host, and the host begins to learn how to further manipulate Amber, the Shade can then begin to do a form of healing upon others, although not in the traditional sense. Instead of holy lights closing wounds or needles sewing flesh shut, an experienced Shade can force their Amber into another’s flesh to clot wounds, seal up holes in the flesh, or do other rudimentary surgical procedures without the need of tools, potions, or other medical devices. This is done by corrupting a small portion of the victim’s mana, but leaving the Amber the Shade formed severed off onto the victim’s wound or wounds, effectively sealing off the wounds and giving it a small pool of Amber to draw from as the wound heals. While it can not be used to prevent death, such as from a decapitated head, it can be used to shut wounds, hold broken bones in place, and other similar aspects. However this is offset mostly by two things: One, the Shade must know how to manipulate one’s own Amber to a fine extent to achieve this, including knowledge of controlling Remedial Healing, and two, the victim will have a dark, twisted discoloration around where the applied Amber is, as well as suffering from the maladies of a Shade curse to a much lesser degree. So while it is definitely by no means a replacement for a holy mage’s healing or a skilled surgeon, those of dark afflictions can go to those with a Shade for rudimentary medical care. Guides and Redlines This gives Shades an ability to use their Amber as more than just a tool to kill and more of a tool to either genuinely help another or perhaps goad them into a false sense of trust and reliance. While not able to stave off death and fix serious injuries such as damaged organs, things like bandaging and setting bones can be replicated with this ability. A Shade must fully understand how to control the ability Remedial Healing listed above before being able to perform this on themselves or others. It is practically impossible to ignore the downsides of this healing, being the discoloration, the minor version of the downsides of having a Shade parasite, and that the Amber will begin to flake away over time if a portion of the mana pool isn’t converted to “fuel” these basic remedies. Any holy mages seeking to heal somebody already “treated” with this method would first have to purge the Amber, then deal with any other injuries, adding to the difficulty of later adjustments to treatment. Those besides the Shade do not benefit from things such as resistance to illness or staving off unconsciousness as listed in Remedial Healing. Due to the unnatural method of “Healing,” this causes a fair bit of pain at the area this is used on. Akin to being stitched up by a needle and thread, the Amber effectively does a similar thing to this, causing the pain. --Strength of Night-- With the combination of Amber coursing through a Shade’s blood and body comes the added benefit of limited durations of increased strength. Just as Shades can manipulate their Amber to certain degrees to an extent, or as they can have their Amber heal wounds, so does this benefit the skilled Shades’ muscles and physical prowess. This is done passively, or subconsciously on an on demand basis. This is moreso limited to the ‘purists’ who have an uncanny knowledge when it comes to Amber manipulation. However just as wielding Amber comes with downsides so too does this boon. After its use it will weaken the Shade depending on the amount of increased strength and duration thus leaving the host more vulnerable to the horrid parasite. In some cases it can even damage the host’s physical body, as Amber forces its way en masse into the muscle, around bone, and beneath flesh. As a result, this increased physical prowess comes at the cost of physical pain and possible bodily harm. Guides and Redlines Shades can manipulate Amber in their bodies to bolster their strength to some extent. The more the parasite is allowed to envelop the host’s magical abilities, the greater these limits come. At the absolute most, the strength of a Shade can be doubled for short periods of time at high risk. To avoid changing strength of a character, a general guideline exists where small/weak races/players such as halflings and void mages can only be as strong as a human. Humans, Elves, and Dwarves can be somewhere between an orc and olog at most, and orcs and ologs can go just a slight bit beyond the strength of an average olog. Additionally, the "Rule of Stupid" applies. If you have to ask if it sounds unfair, it probably is. A Shade performing this ability risks tearing the flesh, muscle, tendons, ligaments, or other bodily parts around the area if pushed too far. The more Amber used in a specific area in concentration causes more pain as Amber forces its way into the area. At an absolute max, strength can be doubled with extreme risk for damage and injury. Generally strength can be bolstered by about a third of the host’s regular strength without causing any damage whatsoever. The ability can be maintained for around three to four emotes before the risk of damage increases, with each additional emote adding a 10% chance for damage occuring. (E.G. after 13 emotes severe damage would be impossible to avoid, at 7 it'd be a coin flip, et cetera). Any other physical weakness a Shade possesses, be it voidally sourced or otherwise, will not be removed. This ability will counteract it though, dependent on the intensity of the buff and malady. --Resistance to Mental Intrusion -- As the parasite ravages at the mind and soul of its Host, there rests a light amongst the darkness -- of course in a purely metaphorical sense. If a Mental mage were to attempt to enter the mind of one afflicted with a Shade parasite, the intruding mage would near instantly be overwhelmed by the torment occurring in the mind of the Shade, if not worse for the fact the individual can not acclimate to the parasite’s horrors over time as the Host has. While this will not hold back every single last mentalist, many can rely safely on just the Shade’s counterattack on the mental mage to ward off intruders of the mind. However, if this safeguard were to fail then the job of protecting one’s mind would fall entirely upon the shoulders of the Host, having to rely on other techniques to fend off the mentalist. Guides and Redlines Shades have an automatic defense against Mental mages trying to enter their minds, with near impenetrability for Mental Mages practicing for small amounts of time and at the beginning of their practice. Even higher tiered Mental mages will have considerable struggle entering the Shade’s mind, as not only must they cope with the normal harrows of the parasite but as well the parasite’s own desire to hamper the invader. This is not a one-hundred percent safeguard from mental magic, it will only hamper mental attacks to around half efficiency, assuming both the mentalist and Shade share similar developmental skill and time. This is not a toggleable ability, so even friendly minds attempting to enter will face these obstacles, although the Host may attempt to make this process slightly easier. --Ambered Weaponry -- Ambered weaponry is the art of manifesting a weapon into reality through the process of manipulating one’s Amber into an object of his/her choosing. Amber itself is at its pinnacle of strength when connected directly to the Shade manipulating it, and this is the extreme of controlling shape and density of Amber. As a result, the ability to shape Ambered weaponry is only available when the weapon is in direct contact with the Shade that is using the skill. Amber weaponry is a more structured form of Amber manipulation and is more taxing on the user due to the concentration and amount of amber being brought forth from the individual manifesting the weapon. In order for a Shade to shape and control their Amber in such a fine way, two things must first be achieved. First, the Shade parasite must be fairly matured, as the level of manipulation would be too strenuous on the parasite and host. Second, the Shade must also sacrifice the ability to learn and utilize a few other various arts in place of this ability. As a result of both the dedication to mastering one’s gifts granted by the Shade in tandem with the limitations of distance from the caster, weapons and other objects formed from Amber are able to surpass the regular limitation of Amber being as dense as Ferrum. Instead, Amber formed from this ability can in this exception be as dense as steel. However, making Amber this dense makes changing the physical structure of the Amber more difficult, resulting in longer times needed to alter the structure from that of a sword to that of an axe for instance. Guides and Redlines Shades can manipulate Amber in direct or near direct contact to their own flesh to go slightly past the density limits of the magic regularly held. Shades can make Amber as dense as steel if directly connected to themselves, and this over dense area cannot go further than 1 meter from the Shade or it’ll decondense to about the strength of iron. This uses more mana and effort than regular limitations of Amber. This is only to be used to make stronger weapons such as swords or knives of Amber, not to make the whole tendril or formation of Amber inherently stronger. -- Blanket of Darkness -- Among the many abilities of a fully developed Shade, there is one ability which is a coveted skill learned for protection or utility that Shades use to their advantage in situations where light and visibility would be better off gone for the Shade. While it may not be effective in all cases, this ability may be used well if done with careful consideration and deliberation. The Shade would draw forth from a large portion of their Amber and expel it from their own form with force, making a radius of up to four meters around the Shade completely enveloped in an ersatz darkness akin to a night with neither a full nor a new moon in the sky. In exchange for relinquishing a large portion of their own Amber that can no longer be controlled or reclaimed for use, the Shade creates a dyad of benefits. The first and most obvious is that within the sudden darkness, the Shade can obscure their actions and presence from those around them, including those within the unnatural folds of darkness. The second benefit of this is that this darkness can not be blotted out by fire or sunshine, instead requiring either holy arts or the degradation of Amber over time to remove this crepuscule. However, this ability can not be possessed by all bound to a Shade parasite, but only by those that dedicate a significant portion of their knowledge, time, and effort to understanding the Shade, Amber, and their limitations to near its fullest extent in not just the height of its power, but as well as its breadth. Guides and Redlines Shades can create a small sphere of unnatural darkness, unable to be blotted by sunlight or other natural light sources. Instead it must be removed either by an applicable holy magic, or naturally over time as Amber flakes away. Within this sphere those aside from the Shade are unable to see clearly, as if it were an almost pitch black night. If in a tight or constricted area, such as a hallway that is two meters wide, the excess distance that’d normally be covered in a sphere will instead travel down the length of the corridor or area. The Dark Form of the Foretakers would be accesssible in the Blanket of Darkness, even if done in daylight. Only the Shade that made the Blanket of Darkness will have clear enough vision within the area or outside of it looking into it, as only they are acclimated to their own Amber in such an intimate way. This ability is very draining on a Shade, meaning it is not to be used in all situations as a mere buff to hide their actions from their foes. At its greatest extent, up to one third of a Shade’s Amber would be used in this spell. Not all Shades can inherently learn this ability. Instead, those that sacrifice the benefit and gain of other magics are able to learn it as they utilize the parasite’s boons to a fuller extent. The Amber used in this spell does not form any walls, shields, or other impermeable structures. Instead it is effectively a veil from light and nothing else. -- Caliginous Flame -- A true nightmare for those of holy alignment that seek to combat a fully indoctrinated Shade Father or Foretaker, the ability to form a flamelike substance not quite unlike true fire, yet not quite the same either, the Caliginous Flame is a gift possessed by only those of the utmost skill, dedication, respect, and tutelage with utilizing the boons of the Parasite of Rancour. Composed of Amber and an ever so slight segmented portion of the Shade parasite itself within the caster, this fire formed holds no colorful hues and produces no light. Those that touched this ‘fire’ would not begin to have their body smoulder and burn, but rather the mana within their being would slowly begin to burn away, depleting it until just the faintest presence of mana remained in the person’s reserves. Regardless of whether the person afflicted by this spell is a mage or not, their mana would steadily flake away into nothingness as the combination of the parasite failing to burrow itself within the soul of the victim mixed with its own supply of Amber effectively converts the mana within into Amber, which just as quickly flakes away. While this will not expressly cause physical pain, a fair level of discomfort may occur as this process is an unnatural one. However, this ability alone will never kill as it will never fully deplete a being of mana, nor will it cause any level of physical harm that can even come close to killing. Instead, this ought to be used to severely hinder the target. Guides and Redlines Shades that are either a Shade Father or Foretaker can learn this ability, assuming they also meet the Tier requirements detailed below. Caliginous Flame will burn at any potent mana source, including people, animals, mana obelisks, and similar concentrations of mana. It will not affect plants, rocks, unfilled mana gems, or other things, akin to how a fire with too little fuel will not burn for much longer. Caliginous Flame will not produce light and heat, but rather will produce an eerie effect contrary to how regular fire works. Light seems to fail to reflect off of it by any means, and the area around it would have the sounds dampened, as if in a vacuum. This spell only lasts as long as mana is present in the victim's mana pool, meaning recovery begins the instant the last portions of mana drain away. Due to this ability sending off a small, yet regrowable, portion of their Shade parasite, only Shade Fathers and Foretakers can learn this ability, assuming other restrictions are met. Additionally due to the mixture of Amber and the fraction of a parasite, each time this ability is done a counter of one day is added to the caster, with five days being the most possible without causing permanent damage to one’s own soul and Shade. Each day that passes is equivalent to the cast off part of the Shade parasite regrowing. Using this ability will cause a bit of pain to the Shade, especially when done more than once. The Caliginous Flames can not be used to light anything on fire in the traditional sense, as the ‘flame’ only burns at mana sources, not the physical objects themselves. Holy magics can effectively stave off this ability. While this ability can burn away at mana rapidly, it will not convert it into Amber that can be utilized, nor will it occur instantly. It would most likely take a number of seconds to burn away the majority of a regular sized mana pool. This ability will never kill on its own. At most it will leave a foe unable to cast or feeling less good than usual. -- Shade Magic & Its “Tiers” -- A unique aspect of Shades is that the abilities and limits of what one can do with the magic are reliant on not just time passed and abilities learned, but now as well how many of a character’s magic slots are available. When learning to master their abilities, the Shade must first be checked for how much time has passed, as an underdeveloped Shade parasite would be unable to perform the more powerful aspects and feats offered through the curse. The second question considered is if the Shade parasite itself has the capacity to learn a new ability, which is dependant on how many other magics the Host has taken up in learning and practicing. For instance, a Shade practicing four other magics would be able to learn less of its parasite’s capabilities than a Shade practicing no magic aside from the fullest extent the curse offers. This effectively presents a tradeoff to those afflicted with the curse, whether to learn about the Parasite and cultivate it to its fullest potential, or to effectively neuter it of some of its more advanced gifts in exchange for other knowledge and utility. Below is listed a Shade’s Time-based abilities and development and the Slot-based abilities and development. -- Time Based, Tiers -- Tier “Zero” - The development stage of a Shade parasite. At this stage there are no abilities, only the growing presence of the being on the host’s soul. During this stage the Host’s mana begins to convert to Amber in trace amounts, and the presence of the parasite will cause maladies such as seizures, fatigue, vomiting, or nausea as the body acclimates to the Parasite of Rancour. This stage lasts one week from the birth of the Shade parasite. Tier One - The first time the Parasite will be able to do anything of considerable consequence. At this stage the Host will begin to be able to actually manipulate Amber to a poor extent. Alongside this, the Shade can corrupt mana into Amber, although this process is very inefficient even on themselves, let alone other objects and beings. Additionally, the Shade will receive the most basic of passive boons from the Shade parasite, including the resistance to disease, the difficulty of invading their mind, and the so-called “early awakening” from unconsciousness. The host’s mana pool at this stage will also automatically be at least one twentieth (1/20th) converted into Amber for use in Caliginous Healing and staving off illness. Finally, the Shade parasite is no longer considered a “Hatchling” anymore. This stage lasts two weeks until hitting Tier Two. Tier Two - The Shade at this point is now more matured, and the victim can now manipulate and corrupt Amber to a finer extent, albeit still with a fair level of inefficiency. Furthermore, this is the stage where a “Half-Formed” Shade is capped time-wise and skill-wise, requiring full connection from a Shade Gem to continue growing and progressing. A Shade can also imbue objects and spells with Amber at this stage. This stage lasts three weeks until hitting Tier Three. Tier Three - The Shade can begin to learn stronger abilities, namely being able to toggle the passive version of Caliginous Healing. Strength of Night can be learned now as well. Furthermore, Ambercrafting becomes possible, and weak forms of Ambered Weaponry are available as well. Entering the mind of the Shade at this point for a mentalist becomes significantly more difficult at this stage, and at minimum one fifth (1/5th) of the Shade’s mana pool at this point is automatically converted to Amber. This stage lasts six weeks until hitting Tier Four. Tier Four - The Shade is practically fully grown at this stage, and the host experiences a constant tug at their very soul from the parasite, be it positive or negative in nature. The Shade can begin to learn abilities such as Active Caliginous Healing and Caliginous Flame. Finally, the Shade can at this stage become a Shade Father, given understandment of their parasite to a deep level. This stage lasts eight weeks until hitting Tier Five. Tier Five - Truly an agent of darkness and tenebrific horror, a Shade at this stage is practically irrevocably attached to the soul of the host. Fully grown, the Shade can learn all of its abilities, and can be made a Foretaker if so willed upon the Shade. Manipulation of Amber comes significantly easier, as do the other gifts of Shadedom. There is no further progression for a Shade at this stage, aside from becoming a Shade Father or Foretaker if the opportunity arises and they take it. * These abilities are NOT gained automatically unless taught to the character or designated as not needing teaching. -- Slots & Abilities -- Unlike most magics, Shade magic can hold different abilities available to those that practice the boons granted by the Shade depending on how many other magics they practice. Akin to how Druidism has subtypes within itself, Shade magic has subskills that can be learned only at the cost of other beneficial arts, be them voidal or dark. While an independent application is not needed for these skills, they must be learned all the same and some can not be learned depending on how many magic slots are left “free” to use. For instance, a Shade that practices only Shade magic will be able to use all of the abilities below, assuming they meet the time requirements as well. However, a Shade that is also a Fire Evocationist, Water Evocationist, and Transfigurationist may only be able to learn some of the abilities below. One Slot - Shade, 4 Other Magics - Mana Corruption, Amber Manipulation, Mental Intrusion Resistance, Resistance to Illness, Caliginous Healing Passive (Weak), Amber Imbuement, Ambercrafting. Two Slot - Shade, 3 Other Magics - Mana Corruption, Amber Manipulation, Mental Intrusion Resistance, Resistance to Illness, Caliginous Healing Passive (Regular), Amber Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Non-fully fledged Shade parasite ability cap. Three Slot - Shade, 2 Other Magics - Mana Corruption, Amber Manipulation, Mental Intrusion Resistance, Resistance to Illness, Caliginous Healing Passive (Regular), Amber Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Strength of Night (Weak), Ambered Weaponry (Weak), Mana Pool → Amber Minimum 1/5th, Blanket of Darkness. Four Slot - Shade, 1 Other Magic - Mana Corruption, Amber Manipulation, Mental Intrusion Resistance, Resistance to Illness, Caliginous Healing Passive (Regular), Amber Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Strength of Night, Ambered Weaponry (Regular), Mana Pool → Amber Minimum 1/3rd, Blanket of Darkness, Caliginous Healing Active, Caliginous Flame. Five Slot - Shade, 0 Other Magics - Mana Corruption, Amber Manipulation, Mental Intrusion Resistance, Resistance to Illness, Caliginous Healing Passive (Regular), Amber Imbuement, Ambercrafting, Strength of Night, Ambered Weaponry (Regular), Mana Pool → Amber Minimum 1/2th, Blanket of Darkness, Caliginous Healing Active, Caliginous Flame, Foretaker**. *Note - To achieve any of the above, the time-based tier requirements must still be met. **Note - Foretakers must meet these requirements and those outlined in the section marked "Foretakers" Guides and Redlines Allows Shades to either practice many magics alongside Shadedom, only some magics alongside Shadedom, or be a “purist” that utilizes Shade to its fullest extent. Other magics are traded off for more powerful variants or additional abilities instead. No player is forced to take all five magic slots as Shade, nor are they forced to learn other magics. These abilities are NOT gained automatically unless taught to the character or designated as not needing teaching. Roleplaying the abilities unavailable to a character due to having other magics will be akin to roleplaying without a magic application accepted for the character in those abilities, additionally it will be considered powergaming as well. A MA is NOT needed to learn these abilities, aside from the regular Shade MA. However, they still must all be learned in roleplay, and can only be done so at the appropriate time restrictions and magic slot restrictions. A Shade with a TA can not teach an ability that they do not know. So, a “One Slot” Shade would have a tough time teaching a “Five Slot” Shade. The (Weak) denotations of an ability mean the ability or boon will at best be half as efficient as its best case scenario. -- A Curse Unimaginable: The Costs of Shadedom -- As all things are, the Shade curse is not just a basket of roses and sunshine for those afflicted with it. In exchange for the boon that can be extracted from the veritable demon, those afflicted with the Shade curse must live with the following maladies. -- Mental -- When the Shade parasite burrows into the soul of the host, it also burrows into the consciousness by extension. As a result, every living moment, be it waking or resting, the Shade parasite will be nagging and pestering at the host’s mind. At first, this pestilence is minor and can be compared to spending a day with someone you greatly dislike, but over time the irritation grows and becomes more intense and unignorable. What at first may start as faint whispers every now and then of words that may upset the host will turn more cruel and relentless, becoming a constant stream of negative thoughts. Minor frights when sleeping, be it dreaming of being chased or another thing feared, will eventually turn into night long terror. The faint sight of a shadowy being in the corner of one’s eyes will turn into full on hallucinations as the mind fails to distinguish the false from the real, slowly whittling at the mental integrity of the host. While some precautions can be taken to hamper these ailments, true cessation can never be done, leaving always at least the slightest whispers in the mind of those affected by the Shade. Guides and Redlines These effects get worse over time, starting off as minor annoyances and becoming full fledged life changers later on. Conversely, as time goes on the host can adapt to some extent in dealing with the parasite. The result is a lack of things such as permanent debilitation of the host due to the encroaching mental strain, or other side effects that would result for bland RP. After “Tier 3” or so, the downsides grow from whispers and some nightmares to include all of the maladies listed here. While help can at times be received, be it from a mental mage or cognatist’s enchant, the downsides can never fully be blocked out. -- Physical -- The physical changes in a Shade tend to be less encompassing, but are still noticeable and considered with those afflicted by the veritable demon. The most obvious is that those cursed will exhibit more gaunt, tired features such as bags beneath the eyes or sunken expressions, in addition to having growing jerky, erratic movements due to a mixture of the parasite’s harassment of the mind, and usual lack of sleep. While those are the most obvious, there are at times physical effects due to the Amber within a Shade affecting the body. Despite how much a Shade acclimates to Amber, Amber is an unnatural, twisted substance, and its presence within the host causes negative side effects at times. Some of these effects include nausea due to a mixture of the Shade parasite’s attack on the mind and Amber within, vomiting, seizures, or other maladies akin to the incredibly sick. While these consequences can never be fully avoided, the ever so often manipulation of a Shade’s Amber pool and expulsion of the sickly black substance can ease these symptoms off for a while if done in careful consideration. A Shade that does this must take care not to relinquish too much of their Amber too often, nor too little, as the body acclimates and adjusts to having Amber within it to the point where having too much will result in the ill effects listed before due to mass amounts, and too little resting within too often will result in the body and parasite’s intrinsic instincts gained from the presence of Amber, such as Caliginous Healing, to react poorly on the host, causing issues such as fatigue, weakness, and poor healing. So, one afflicted with the curse will experience a mixture of adverse consequences from both the toll the parasite itself takes on the mind and body indirectly, and a direct effect from the presence, or overdone lack of, Amber within the body. Furthermore, due to the inherently corrupt nature of Amber, if a Shade frequents around one or more persons for extended periods of time with little relapses of time in between being near them, then the Amber within a Shade can give a minor, nearly negligible effect of dread and irritability to those nearby. However, this would take extensive amounts of time with a Shade to begin to even be noticed. Guides and Redlines Those with the Shade parasite will experience downsides such as seizures, erratic motions, and tiredness. People that stay around Shades for long, extended periods of time may experience faint sensations of dread, irritability, or other weak versions of the maladies of a Shade and Amber. At the earliest, this would take around a month in RP. At the absolute most, around a year would have to pass before the effects are unignorable. While Amber can be expelled every now and then to mitigate these issues, they can never be fully preventable, and expelling Amber too much and too often can cause other issues. -- Magical -- Aside from the effects of imbuement listed above, those afflicted with a Shade parasite will always experience some level of difficulty in controlling their magical arts, be it voidal or not. This is due to the mental strain caused by the parasite, and the effect on the mage’s magic can be ranging from minor loss of control of their casting to greater issues, such as full out voidal disconnection, spell failure, or unintended results from the magic, such as forming a larger blob of ice intended for a water evocationist, or causing worse effects to a soul puppetry victim than desired. While these effects will never cause direct harm to the host, they can be devastating if they occur at the wrong time. Guides and Redlines Shades’ magics may be adversely affected, albeit not required to be in a damaging way to the host. These downsides can not be ignored, as they are often minor and inconsequential nine out of ten times. A Shade casting, say fire evocation, is not required, and is in fact advised against, doing things such as burning themselves or purposely doing what one may call idiotic or unreasonable things with the magic and claiming it is an effect of the Shade. The parasite is cruel, not idiotic. It won’t get the host killed for a quick laugh. -- Takeovers -- The most important thing that a Shade will do to is not only the above, but also the result of doing this constantly to the host. When the host’s mind is numb from sleepless nights, and their heart shattered from the overwhelming negative emotions, the parasite can strike at the mind with the intent to wrench control away from the host in favor of their own control. If successful, which can occur much easier when the host is emotionally or mentally vulnerable, the Shade will do two things: the first being whatever it so pleases depending on the personality of the Shade itself, and the second being whatever may further undermine the host’s core integrity, also dependant on the personality of the Shade and host. A Shade’s conception of the world is reflected as a corrupt version of the host’s, so a Shade parasite within the mind of a blundering, gentle hearted giant may use the large man’s body to crush the flowers the man so carefully grew, or kick a puppy that stops by the man’s house every morning, as while these things may not be seen as horrendous as say, murder, they fundamentally undermine what the host believes to be of value and of importance. So, a taken over Shade need not to be a stark raving mad lunatic that kills everyone they come across, and may very well be the opposite, especially if being the aforementioned lunatic would put the Shade at jeopardy. Additionally, one of these takeovers of the malicious nature will not happen in a public setting, say if the host was surrounded by a group of holy mages, or a public courthouse while on trial, as despite the ease the Shade parasite may have to take over, it would not bode well for the parasite to easily mark its presence within the host, as it may lead to future complications or issues arising. Instead, the parasite will do its best to perform these takeovers out of public sight, be it in the privacy of one’s own home, in an alleyway as opposed to the square in a city, or out in the mountains while the host enjoys a lovely hike. Furthermore, while most takeovers are malicious and harmful in intent and nature, there are times where a takeover can be beneficial, not in the sense that the Shade will go around handing out roses and hugs, but in the sense that it will be done for the preservation and wellbeing of the host and parasite alike. For example, if one afflicted with a Shade is rendered unconscious in combat, the parasite will perform a takeover to force the host to come to consciousness slightly quicker than if it didn’t interfere, or if the host is in mortal condition the Shade will take over to get the host out of danger and deal with any possible threats. The reason for this is double, one being that the parasite when not in control does not need to worry about things such as sleep and the downsides that it causes upon the host, and two that the parasite’s natural instinct gives it a slight edge in these situations as it tries to keep itself alive. However following one of these situations, the parasite can take over with malicious intent much easier, as it often will try to keep control past the situation. When a takeover occurs, the “tell” of a Shade will not occur unless the magic itself is actively being used. So, one that is taken over will not always have blackened eyes or veins, unless they are using or manipulating Amber. Furthermore, unlike in the past a Shade parasite will not have innate knowledge of all of the abilities available to the Shade, but only access to manipulating and converting mana into Amber without prior knowledge or tutelage on the matter. So, a Shade that never received a lesson can never cast, say, Blanket of Darkness, but is able to make tendrils and corrupt another’s mana into Amber. Furthermore, the ability of a Shade during a takeover is limited to the same restrictions that the host is, aside from being slightly more efficient in casting the known abilities due to the innate connection between Shades and Amber. Finally, when a Shade parasite takes over not all is lost. While troublesome, the host can do as the Shade did to them, and vie to regain control of their mind once more. This can be through something simple, such as getting the aid of many mentalists and cognats to relieve the strain and effort exerted by the parasite on the host’s mind so the host may once again take control, or long and arduous such as slowly rebuilding emotional and mental stability, then fighting back against the rancorous being within. However, this can only be done when the host actually possesses control of the body, making this significantly more challenging if not impossible to be done during a takeover. For the duration of this, however, the host will lack control of their body’s actual movements and actions, and will effectively be watching their body act without the ability to alter these actions unless they take control once more. Guides and Redlines Allows Shades to have either malicious or “beneficial” takeovers, the latter of which may lead to the former. A taken over Shade will have access to Amber manipulation and mana corruption even with no prior lessons in addition to the already present ability of Caliginous Healing. Shades that take over are minorly more efficient (5 to 10%) when controlling and converting Amber. This is not enough to turn a fight around entirely, but just a minor boost to encourage a Shade’s survival when in peril. Takeovers do not result in stant acquisition of “Tier 5” in the magic anymore, as many of the abilities still have to be learned. This is to prevent someone from having a takeover just to become stronger. A takeover won’t result in the Shade going “Grr, I’m going to stab a baby!” as this is not necessarily the intent of the parasite or the best way to undermine the host’s integrity. Instead, varied approaches can come to takeovers, be it subtle things such as the parasite slowly ruining the host’s relationships with abrasive attitudes, or more obvious such as kicking a puppy. Anything that underwhelms the values of the host will suffice. -- Masking -- The Shade parasite constantly seeks its own preservation, and as a result it will sacrifice its own short-term desires in favor of long-term survival. If the Shade or Host is aware that they would face doom from a holy mage, the parasite can mitigate its own presence within the soul to a minimal state, making the Host undetectable via holy magics, while at the same time giving up all benefits the magic has to offer, regardless of skill with the magic. This acts as a double-edged sword though, for a Shade cannot simply awaken and recess instantly, but rather are stuck in this recessive state for one week of OOC time, with an additional day required for the parasite to “reawaken” and unmask itself within the presence of the soul. Guides and Redlines Allows Shades to avoid effect from holy magic, akin to an Abyss Seed or draught of incite afflicted beings. This comes at the cost of any benefits Shade provides and is not to be used liberally. When masked, the Shade cannot unmask for one week minimum, with a small period of time required afterwards for the Shade to reawaken during which they’ll once more be vulnerable to holy magic. The downsides of the parasite remain, albeit slightly mitigated due to the Shade’s slightly weakened presence. If holy magics that would normally purge a Shade parasite are used on the Shade during this state, instead the timeframe for “awakening” would be doubled to two weeks from the original date, lengthening the time they’re in this state. For moderation purposes, a Shade performing masking must edit their description to include notice of the date of Masking and when Unmasking can be done. This is to prevent lying OOCly about being able to cast or not, with suspiscion being able to be checked by Game Moderators. -- Weaknesses to Other Magic & Things -- -- Holy Magics -- Due to the inherently corrupt nature of the Shade parasite on the soul, Shades are often weak to the holy arts, namely the arts of the Ascended, Paladins, and Clerics. Regardless, a holy mage’s magic will disrupt a Shade’s control over their Amber if surrounding the Amber produced, and will even sever and deplenish it if continuous contact is made between the holy magic and physically manifested Amber. If a Shade is struck by anything that harms a dark being, such as Aengul Fire, it will act regularly as it would on any other dark creature. Guides and Redlines Regular Druidic magic will not affect a Shade, unless in the presence of powerful artifacts such as the Aspect Stones. Shades are weak to holy magics, as they often deal with purging and cleansing of unnatural things, which the parasite and Amber both are. Holy magic will harm a Shade if it makes contact with them, and will sever or remove control over their Amber as well if contacted. -- Aurum -- While any living being that is stabbed by a golden knife is in for a bad time, Shades also face the maladies of gold affecting their Amber. While gold is not an instant destroyer of Amber, it is a material that is able to cut through Amber with much more ease than any other object, such as iron or steel. While more dense Amber structures and formations will cut with more difficulty, instead of it being akin to cutting through iron, it’d be more akin to cutting through flesh and bone, given that gold has a natural advantage over corrupted mana. Guides and Redlines Aurum is also a weakness to Shades, although it moreso applies to Amber than the Shade themselves, as regardless of whether the Shade is a dark being or not, a golden knife is still a knife. However, a brick of gold pressed onto a Shade’s flesh won’t cause harm. Aurum, especially Aurum weapons, can pierce, cut, and damage Amber much better than non-Aurum or non-Holy items. While Amber as dense as iron won’t be pierced by an iron-tipped arrow or cut by an iron blade, Aurum would do so, albeit not akin to a hot knife melting through butter. Instead, it’d be akin to cutting through flesh and bone as opposed to iron or steel. If the object of Aurum is not sharp, such as a brick or rod, it’d be like pressing an ice cube against hot metal, where it can melt quickly but not instantly. -- Curing The Parasite -- While it is incredibly difficult to cure a Shade parasite, it is possible. To keep things simple, the requirements for the number of holy mages will be listed below if the parasite is not being removed by the Foretaker that connected the Shade to the soul initially. Tier “Zero” - 1 T4+. Tier One - 1 T5 OR 2 T4. Tier Two - 2 T5. Tier Three - 2 T5 & 1 T4. Tier Four - Incurable by Holy Mages. Tier Five - Incurable by Holy Mages. Druids - Incompatible. A Foretaker can not cleanse the parasite of the host as well instantly, unless in special circumstances. The circumstances for this are either if the one afflicted wants the Shade purged and the Foretaker is willing, or if irreparable cause has occurred rendering the removal of the parasite pertinent (OOC blacklists/bans). Aside from this, one afflicted with a Shade is forced to bear the curse for the entirety of their life, given extremely rare exception. Finally, a being that has a Shade and then has their soul altered or damaged to certain levels will lose the parasite, as the parasite cannot survive on soul shadows or other temporary stages of a soul. Guides and Redlines Put simply, the Shade curse is not meant to be easily cured, if at all. This outlines the exact strength of how many Holy Mages would need to be present and casting to cure the Shade parasite, with restrictions later on as the veritable being takes root on the soul of the host too much to be removed with conventional methods anymore. While the Shade parasite is still a Hatchling, it can be purged with ease. The Shade parasite can NOT be removed by a Foretaker unless the player themselves wants the Shade purged OOCly, or the player has faced OOC punishment, such as a ban from the server or a magic blacklist, both of which must be long enough to warrant removal of the parasite. Druids can’t cure Shade parasites. If the player being cured does not give OOC consent and/or the character does not give IC consent, then the character will die instead of being purged of their Shade. After the Shade hits “Incurable” stages, only rare exceptions can purge somebody of the parasite, such as an event or other similar effect. If a character is permanently killed, then is revived, such as a Shade turned into a lich, then the Shade parasite on the soul is removed and the player must be re-shaded and restart learning the magic. The exception to this is direct change, such as if a player turned from a Shade into a Wight with no “PK” in between. The Foretakers of Tenebrous are the pinnacle of Shadedom. Long gone is the possibility of a cure for the parasite, as those that become a Foretaker surrender themselves entirely to the Shade parasite and serving the will of Arun’Asna, bound to ensure the continued existence of the tenebrific parasite within the world. However before one can even be considered for becoming a Foretaker, one must first become a Shade Father. -- Shade Fathers -- The Shade Father is one that has ascended beyond regular understanding of the Shade parasite into the realm of being able to manipulate the parasite itself to very minor extents. To become a Shade Father, one must be a Shade for a long while and learn from a Foretaker or another Shade Father how to manipulate the parasite within their soul, as well as how to section off small portions of their own parasite to bestow unto another. While this replica parasite will not be as strong as a true Shade parasite, the “Half-Formed” Shade will still be able to grow and progress until properly connected to the Shade Gems and Arun’Asna by a Foretaker. This renders the role of the Shade Father -- Or Shadow Mother for the women -- existent once more, yet not all-powerful in being able to create and forge new Shade parasites indefinitely. Additionally, as a Shade Father presumably takes on some higher level of responsibility within the Shade commune, those that become a Shade Father can also create Caliginous Flames as the ability requires a Shade to thoroughly understand the parasite. So, a Shade Father is anyone that learns to either create new “Half-Formed” Shades by replicating their own parasite through sectioning their own. Guides and Redlines Reintroduces Shade Fathers into the lore aside from just being mentioned with no explicit explanation as to what they do or what the role of one is. Shade Fathers can either become a Shade Father to cast Caliginous Flame, create new “Half-Formed” Shades, or both. Shade Fathers have no limit on how many can exist, aside from any limit set in RP by the Shade community if any at all. Shade Fathers aren’t inherently more powerful or necessarily able to control their Shade parasite. They can only manipulate the most basic aspects of the parasite for Caliginous Flame or creating new “Half-Formed” Shades. They do not have the ability to create fully formed Shades connected to the Shade Gems and Arun’Asna, nor are they inherently more powerful than other Shades aside from these two abilities. Shades can only become Shade Fathers if taught how to section their own Shade parasite, a challenging and slightly painful process as it requires intricate knowledge and practice with almost all aspects of the magic. This can only be taught by either a Foretaker or another Shade Father. -- Foretakers -- Also known to some as a Daeva, the Foretaker is one that has fully rendered unto Arun’Asna and the inherent will of force inflicted by the Shade’s existence as a whole. While not a conscious force, the inherent force of Arun’Asna is what overwhelms and drives a Foretaker’s abilities and purpose, and is not something that can be achieved by just any Shade. In exchange for mastery over the Shade parasite and Shade Gems, the Foretaker makes a sacrifice of varying impact, depending on the individual. While some may see it as an honor and blessing, others may see it as sacrificing a sense of humanity, as a Foretaker is bound to act as a guiding force of progress and growth amongst the Shades. Upon the surrender of the soul to Arun’Asna, the Foretaker’s soul will no longer reside within the host’s body, but instead taking residence within a Shade Gem, notably the one that was used to originally make the person a Shade. While the soul will be within the Gem, the Shade parasite itself shall have a much closer link to the intangible force Arun’Asna itself, causing a multitude of changes within the Foretaker. The most notable is the possibility for a Foretaker to enter something known aptly as the Dark Form, a form that the Descendant can take that quite literally turns their physical body of flesh and blood into an Amber-like substance in place of flesh, bone, and organ. While in this form, the Foretaker is not immune to all damage, but can still be harmed by holy magic, aurum, and other similar things that would effect Amber. If the Foretaker were to be injured by something not of that nature, such as a steel sword piercing flesh, or a mace cracking against them, then the Foretaker would still feel pain, albeit incredibly diluted and preventive from causing actual lasting harm, such as a broken bone or ruptured organ. Furthermore, a Foretaker in their dark form is able to manipulate the composition of their Ambrific self, akin to manipulating Amber that is external from themselves. While their dark forms can be manipulated like Amber, there are still restrictions on how they can manipulate their bodies. While the Dark Form has its uses, it also comes with its share of drawbacks as well. For one, a Foretaker in the tenebrific form will revert back to their mortal form if exposed to bright lights, such as that of a campfire or daylight. The exception to this is unnaturally formed light, such as that formed through fire evocation or sensory illusion for example. If a Foretaker had a blade embedded into where their heart would be, and then a bright enough light was shone upon the area, then the previously unwounded area would revert to flesh and blood, and the Foretaker could take damage as any other mortal may. So, one main disadvantage of the Foretaker is light. Even when not in their dark form, a Foretaker will be adverse to sunlight, as if it nauseated and sickened them due to the inherent aversion within when becoming a Foretaker. Another weakness suffered is Aurum, and the effects of this are similar to Aurum’s effects on Amber listed above. While a steel blade may pierce the dark form and cause minimal pain or damage, Aurum doing the same would result in not only immense pain, but also a faint burning sensation and the relapse of that particular area around the wound to exit its dark form, making mortal injury possible. Guides and Redlines Foretakers are only able to be made from a Shade Father. Foretakers can enter a “Dark Form,” quite literally a physical transformation from their regular selves into a being made of pure Amber-like substance, able to be manipulated to the same extent of Amber with a few minor restrictions. Foretakers can only change their physical size in Dark Form to be either half to double their regular size. In Dark Form, Daeva lack blood or organs. So, removing one part is not necessarily a death for a Foretaker, but it will still cause pain. While severely mitigated, other forces such as a mace or falling from a great height still injure a Foretaker in Dark Form, albeit considerably less and not with permanent damage. As a fairness clause, unlikely colossal amounts of damage, such as a building collapsing on a Foretaker, or a thanhic explosion occurring next to one, when in their Dark Form will result in at least total immobilization and control of the body due to severe force and effort, or at most “death” and remanifestation at the Shade Gem. This means where ridiculously large amounts of damage occur to a Foretaker, despite it technically not killing them they will be forced to allow their Dark Form to demanifest and reform at the Shade Gem. This would not count as a suicide, but rather keeps the lore consistent with other spectral or similar beings while not making them immune to cataclysmic force. Density must be taken into account, so a larger manifestation in Dark Form results in less density. The density of the form is limited to either half as dense as water, or the density of iron. Liquid and Gaseous manifestations cannot be done in the Dark Form. Light touching the Dark Form causes it to revert back to the regular form of the person, but only wherever light hits it. So, a torch light may only revert the face and torso while sunlight would revert it all. Only natural light or Holy Magic light can revert the form, not unnatural light such as voidally evoked flame. Dark Form must be utilized to move a Shade Gem from one location to another, lest the Gem overwhelm the Foretaker in question. For the sake of sense in RP, the time of day that it is when RP begins with a Foretaker is how the time will stay until both parties agree to progress time. This is due to the short length of time in a MC day an night. Aurum affects a Foretaker as regular objects would, so an Aurum blade will still cut and harm, even if in Dark Form. Holy magic also dispels and damages Foretakers, even in Dark Form. Foretakers have a natural aversion to sunlight and bright light sources, nauseated and pained when in its presence for too long, even when not in Dark Form. It takes time to enter and exit Dark Form, except in the case of light reverting a Foretaker back into their regular form. The Dark Form is not invincible or invulnerable, but it does have a fair resistance to most physical and some magical abilities and attacks. While a stab from an iron sword or blow from a wood club won’t kill or damage a Foretaker that much, large or catastrophic blows such as a building’s collapse or a fall from a cliff will incapacitate a Foretaker indefinitely. In these cases, a Foretaker is allowed to purposely demanifest and reform at the Shade Gem. This is to prevent unreasonable survival while being consistent with other aspects of lore. Darkness for the Dark Form must not be brighter than a moonlit night on a full moon, nor can it be achieved through methods such as going beneath the shade of a tree or wearing a suit of armor. In the brighest light a Foretaker can be in, being a fully moonlit night, then the ability to manipulate their Dark Form is severely limited. In the darkest of places, namely pitch black rooms that lack light, a Foretaker’s ability to manipulate their body is limited to as dense as iron. In cases that are somewhere in between, a general common sense limitation is in place, where the limit is somewhere in between the two outlined above. Aurum barriers or holy wards cannot be crossed in the Dark Form. If a Foretaker were to be “killed”, then their form would dispel into a black smog that would eventually disperse before reforming back at the Shade Gem they were originally connected to. As a result, a Foretaker can never truly be killed unless the soul were to be destroyed, which can only be done through the Shade Gems themselves, or through external unavoidable means that most likely will never occur. Furthermore, a Foretaker lacks a presence of lifeforce and mana within their own physical form, the lifeforce or mana needed to perform magics being granted and funneled to them on a need-by basis through the Shade Gems. In its place, Amber lays within the Foretaker en masse, with a half of their mana pool always converted into the sickly substance regardless of intent or desire to do so. So, a Foretaker would only be able to use half of their mana pool whatsoever before any spells casted would come out as imbued, while the other half would instantly be available for manipulation without delay. Furthermore, a Foretaker’s ability with manipulating Amber is unmatched by those that have not transcended regular Shadedom to this level. While the difference is not staggering and unfathomable, it is noticeable enough that if a Foretaker and Shade Father made battle, the Foretaker would win most times given all other things being equal. Guides and Redlines Upon death, a Foretaker remanifests at the Shade Gem that was originally used to bind the Shade Parasite to their soul. A Foretaker lacks lifeforce or pure mana naturally within their bodies, and this is granted to them through the Shade Gem connecting them to Arun’Asna on an on-demand basis. Foretakers are slightly better at manipulating and converting Amber than other Shades, to the point where there is a noticeable difference between a Foretaker and a fully grown, fully taught Shade. A Foretaker will cast non-Shade magics slower, due to the effort expended in the journey mana and lifeforce must make to reach them for utilization. A Foretaker will not remember the events of their death aside from the sensation, meaning a Foretaker that was beheaded won’t remember where, the executioner, or the crime, but they will remember the feeling of having their head removed. In addition to the benefits listed above, another key feature of a Foretaker is that they do not experience the continuous, endless onslaught of the horrors wrought upon those bound to a Shade parasite. The nights are sleepable, the days clear of whispers, and their will and body not in peril to the veritable force within. Instead, as the parasite and host’s beings unify in unholy dominion, the host will begin to take on more aspects of the parasite’s personality themselves. So, the gentle hearted giant mentioned before in the downsides of the Shade curse may no longer care for the fluffy animals he once loved, nor will the parasite necessarily drive him to harm the animals for its own benefit either. Instead, a varying, bastardized version of the two halves’ ideals, wishes, pleasures, and pains forms within the Foretaker, in essence replacing what they once were for the duration of their existence as a Foretaker. However, while significantly more comfortable with Amber and its presence, a Foretaker is still at some level who they once were, and they still experience the physical downsides not related to mental downsides of the parasite to a severely lessened extent. What may have occurred once every two months now occurs at most once a year, and even then may not be nearly as bad as it once was. Furthermore, while the Descendant form does not need to be maintained as rigorously as before their conversion into a Foretaker, when not in their Dark Form things such as sleep, food, and water are still needed, lest the Foretaker be weakened even when in the Dark Form. Guides and Redlines Foretakers no longer suffer the presence of the Shade parasite’s mental downsides within their mind, nor are takeovers a threat. The personality of the host and Shade combine to an extent, mixing various aspects of what the Foretaker will believe, enjoy, dislike, et cetera. While not nearly as pertinent, food, sleep, water, and other necessities of life are required infrequently by a Foretaker. If their regular body is not maintained, then they will still succumb to malnutrition. Finally, the process of making a Foretaker itself is arduous, as it can not simply be done at whim or quickly. First, the requirements to become a Foretaker are to be a Shade Father, as a mastery of manipulating the parasite is required -- although not a mastery over it entirely. Then, the preceding, already existing Foretakers must connect the newly inducted one. If there is a disagreement amongst the existing Foretakers, then a priority vote will occur, with a majority required in order to act further. The exact details of this “vote” will be detailed below. From this point, the one to be risen must be taken by the performing Foretakers to the Shade Gem that originally bound the Shade to the source of a Shade’s power, Arun’Asna. Then, utilizing Amber to channel forth the raw energy within the parasite and existent within the world beyond physicality, a connection is formed from the performing Foretakers, the Host, the Shade, the Shade Gem, and Arun’Asna’s metaphysical being through the Shade Gem, altering the soul of the Shade to encompass a hellish blend of the soul of the original, the parasite, and a more direct connection to the Shade Gem in question. After performing the unholy sacrament, which can easily take up to a day’s time, the newly anointed Foretaker of Tenebrous would have a month’s refractory period, in which they will be rendered ghastly ill and exhausted, as if their will to even exist slipped away from themselves. After adjusting, and slowly at first turning into their Dark Form for the first time, the Foretaker would then be able to resume life as it was, now transcendent to something greater than just the Shade parasite, assuming nothing went wrong during the ritual. In the rare case where there is no Foretaker in existence, then a combined effort of the existing Shade Fathers and Arun’Asna would be made to select one amongst the ranks of the Shades. Guides and Redlines Adds a more ritualistic approach to creating Foretakers, with the chance for failure. Allows for more than just one Foretaker to decide who becomes one, removing the effective monopoly on the role. The “Voting system” for this goes as follows. Each Foretaker is designated a position, being 1st, 2nd, 3rd… and so on, with each one having a “point” for themselves and each Foretaker below them. So, if there were three Foretakers, the 1st would have “4 points,” the 2nd “3 points,” and so on. When making a new Foretaker, the “vote” must be a majority number, so while not all preceding Foretakers are needed to make a new one, one cannot be made by one alone (unless there is only one in existence). Concerning how many Foretakers can exist at once, the existing cap of three is removed in place of greater restrictions on creating and removing those from this role. A soft cap will be determined, however, up to the general judgement of the Shade playerbase, the Lore and Magic teams, and those that interact with these creatures. If the ritual in creating a Foretaker fails, be it for any reason at any stage, then the attempted Shade Father to be ascended would be unable to utilize their Shade or its abilities for up to one week of real life time, depending on how far along in the process the ritual was when disrupted. This can range from being just a day, such as one acting Foretaker disconnecting themselves from the connection group, or up to a week in the cases such as the dark room where the Shade Father is first entering the Dark Form in being lit up. If no Foretaker exists on the server, be it due to the resignation of all existing ones with no replacement chosen, or a series of bans and blacklists, the existing Shade Fathers in consultation with the Lore Team can request that one is transcended to this role. The “heirarchy” formed when a Foretaker is connected can not be usurped unless a position is “switched” from one Foretaker to another, which can only be done with IC and OOC consent. However, this heirarchy is less rigid in its dominion over the Foretakers and Shades now. If a Foretaker were to be questioned in their loyalty to the Shades, ability to guide them, or any other stipulation, they can be removed from their power, reverting back to the role of a Shade Father. In order to do so, the connecting Foretakers, or equally numerous and established counterparts, must go to the Shade Gem used to link the Shade Father to Arun’Asna previously and reform the link of Amber and parasites, willing to purge the direct link between Arun’Asna and the Foretaker being stripped of their rank. Assuming similar time as creating one, success of this ritual would result in an incredibly painful severance of the entirely melded parts of the host’s original soul and Shade parasite, rendering them unable to use a Shade’s ability for a day of real time. From then, they will be put back to the abilities, benefits, and downsides of a Shade Father. Guides and Redlines Allows removal of inactive or other Foretakers that the general consensus is to remove of them. The “Voting system” for this is slightly different than creating a Foretaker, as stripping it should not be something entirely preventable by those that originally connected the Foretaker. As with creation, removal also requires a majority “vote” with the same weighted system described above. Removal must consist of all creating, or earlier formed Foretakers, meaning that the second cannot be removed by the third, nor the third by the fourth and fifth as acting members. While slightly more complicated, this prevents one Foretaker from stripping all of those below them of the rank, while also preventing a group of colluding ones from stripping those above them to purloin the roles for themselves. Removal requires the acting Foretakers to be in the presence of the same Gem used to link the degifted Shade Father. The process can be interrupted, as it requires a day in game to achieve. When the process begins, the player in question would have their character feel a deep disturbance within their very essence, although it cannot be ascertained directly as to what it is. While a Foretaker enjoys the liberty of being able to indoctrinate their own Shades at will, as well as the benefits of the Dark Form, they must adhere to certain guidelines, lest they face retribution. The ultimate purpose of the Foretaker is to aid and serve the Shade conglomerate, and appropriately they must act in such a manner that does so. While they do not need to bend over backwards to unreasonable requests, or do as they are told as if they were a slave, a Foretaker’s greater purpose is to ensure the continued survival, well being, and protection of the Shades as a whole. So, if a sufficient amount of action contrary to this occurs, a Foretaker may be stripped of their greater gift, being reverted to the role of a Shade Father. Guides and Redlines Foretakers are obligated to help any requesting Shade every now and then, assuming the request is related to the survival and well being of the Shade or Shades. An example of an acceptable request would be providing methods to guise oneself from a holy mage that recognizes the Shade, or intimidating somebody that knows of the Shades to stay quiet on the matter instead of informing the local guard force. An example of a deniable request would be killing an Ascended at a political meeting just because they're an Ascended, or helping to find their lost sibling. Foretakers are expressly prohibited from actively, consciously making decisions that would cause misfortune to befall the Shades. This is not to say a bad judgement call every now and then would be unallowed, but doing something such as revealing the identities of their kin, giving a Shade Gem to a Cleric, or acting purely in spite of another Shade can fall along these lines. If this code is violated, the other Foretakers are instinctively urged to hunt down and strip the other Foretaker of their gift. If they simply neglect to do so, then they themselves may face similar punishment as their target. This does not prevent a Foretaker from ever acting against an individual Shade, although this is a very rare exception. For instance, if one Shade is being attacked or revealed by another, the Foretaker is completely within bounds to incapacitate or kill the Shade infringing on this. However this does not mean a Foretaker can simply reveal a Shade’s identity for the fun of it, or kill another Shade for insulting them, or anything along those lines. Given all of the above, the last key piece of information of a Foretaker is the ability to fully indoctrinate a Shade parasite attached to somebody’s soul, be it their own child or another Shade Father’s kin. Without the presence of a Shade Gem, any Shade parasites formed on the souls of another will only be “Half-Formed,” being limited in ability, growth, benefit, and malady. When a Foretaker comes across one such Shade, they must bring them to a Shade Gem and bind them to Arun’Asna through the Gem. After this, they can progress as normal. If a Shade were to be removed for some reason, such as unfathomable actions (anything warranting an OOC punishment) then this can be done with the same Shade Gem used to connect the Shade. Guides and Redlines Shades can be connected without a Shade Gem, but are limited in their development. Any “Half-Formed” parasite can be made fully fledged with a Foretaker and Shade Gem. Removal of a parasite without OOC consent can only be done in the cases of extreme punishment, such as a permanent or indefinite ban, relevant magic blacklist, et cetera. This is not to be used as a tool to remove Shades someone dislikes. Writers: Tahmas, _Sug, & Fitermon. Previous Lore Writers: Tsuyose, Mephistophelian, ShadowGunX, & various others over time. Drafts and Aid: Fitermon, Tahmas, Shades. Cleric Input - Creete, Lynxy. MAGIC UPDATE 12/4/2018: Shades with TAs can now teach their students up to tier 5.

Overview Voidal Translocation is the art of constructing and deconstructing objects via their mana, effectively storing them in the void for later use. Additionally, at later tiers the mage can begin to half-translocate objets, effectively making rifts in mid-air that any non-living, non-voidal object that enters it to spontaneously appear at the other end of the “rift” formed. This allows for things such as magical bags of holding, avoiding encumbrance with voidal storage, and defense tactics with the magic’s half-translocation ability. Lore: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/88176-lore-magic-complete-void-translocation https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/150186-additionsamendments-for-void-translocation/ Abilities Translocation admittedly only has three abilities, putting things in the void, taking things out of it, and half-translocation. However, the usage of these abilities can be immense and critical during a mage’s life. Storing: The act of sticking an object inside the void. This requires knowledge on the amount of mana an object has, which can be taught by a basic translocation spell. Note, that when an object is sent into the void, it will be stored in the position or motion it was originally in. This means that if someone was to drop a ball and quickly translocate it, the ball will be moving in the formless void; unable to be broken and ready to be taken out. Receiving: By calling upon the mana inside the void, them age reshapes and reforms the object, effectively bringing them out of the void. They can control where the item comes out from, either making it appear in their hand, or having a flash of light appear above them and making a ball drop into their hand. Half-Translocation: By creating a singular or two rifts, one can cause part of an item to come out of said rift. While a mage can stick an item out of the void, this is generally used in combat scenarios, where a mage sets up two rifts; one receiving and one returning. The receiving rifts takes the area of the item that entered it, and the returning rift causes the item to exit. Storing: Kapi’s ears wiggled as the woman stared on at the sword in front of them, breathing calmly and intently. Her sword began to emit a faint purple glow at the tip, running down the length of the blade. As the woman’s ears twitched and wobbled, the sword began to vanish into nothingness, eventually being fed into the nothingness of the void. Retrieving objects… Kapi grinned, her ears beginning to twitch. A similar purple glow formed, shimmering in front of her. This time however, as opposed to vanishing the sword began to materialize out of thin air where it once was, the glow running up its length as the item reforged itself into existence from thin air. Half Translocation... Kapi stared on at the air in front of her, her ears twitching as they usually did when she cast. In front of her, a faint shimmer of the air, as if off of metal on a burning hot day, formed with purple distortions visible. Kapi took her sword firmly in her hand, another similar distortion forming two meters away. She stuck in the blade, and as it touched the first distortion it vanished. Instantly the blade’s tip reformed at the second distortion, as if the two meters between the rifts did not exist. General Progression Tier 1 - The mage at this stage will begin with connecting to the void as well as translocating pebbles, small trinkets, and other tiny objects. Tier 2 - The mage can now translocate a bit quicker, as well as begin to store objects of a larger size. Tier 3 - The translocationist can now store small living beings such as insects, as well as objects of a larger size no larger than their own body. Tier 4 - Larger objects are now possible, with significantly less energy being expended by the mage. Half-translocation can begin to be practiced, with a mage able to hold it for a number of moments before being too fatigued. Finally, animals the size of small birds and frogs can be stored in the void. Tier 5 - At this stage in translocation, the caster is practically an expert in the magic. They can translocate large objects such as massive desks and tables with effort, smaller ones with ease, and can form half-translocation portals easier. Finally, they are also able to store living beings such as frogs and turtles with significant ease, but no larger animals are possible. Red Lines Cannot translocate items you do not understand unless half-translocating. Cannot translocate items you do not see. Cannot half-translocate further than 4 meters from yourself, and the maximum distance between the two “halves” must be four or fewer meters. Cannot translocate large organic materials, such as humans. Birds and frogs are okay. Cannot translocate non-contained, moving liquids, such as water in a river. Cannot translocate fluidly moving gasses, such as noxious gas, but air would be translocatable. Cannot translocate certain energies, such as fire or light. Cannot translocate instantly, unless out of combat or the object is incredibly small (IE a wrench). It takes time to procure an object from the void, especially with the added stress of fighting. FAQ/Misconceptions Living organisms can be translocated, they just have to be small. People don’t teleport with translocation, that’s either voidal shifting or the planar dictate at work.

Overview Water Evocation is the art of drawing forth into the void to bring water into our world. To avoid confusion, the water evoked is not of our world, nor is it able to linger for very long (unless enchanted) but rather is a near perfect replica of the water of our world which is under the mage’s control for the duration of their spell. After evoking this water, the mage can then mold it, control it, and utilize it to their own benefit. Lore: Pending Abilities While this isn’t the only list of abilities possible with Water Evocation, these are a few examples of what a mage with this magic can do. Water Missile - Simply put, the mage makes a rather small mass of water, then fires it off at their foe. This can range from simply distracting to harming the foe, dependent on the force of the water and the skill of the mage. Note: Each example emote assumes a prior connection to the void has been made. After having spent one emotes evoking a small; amount of water... Stephen’s hand twitche at his side, and an apple sized mass of water gathered in front of him from thin air. The robber glared at Steven, uttering something about mystical abilities beneath his breath. Stephen’s hand twitched once more, and the apple sized orb of water fired off at the robber, splashing him right in the eyes. Ice Wall - The mage forms a wall of ice in front of them to shield themselves from incoming attacks, or fires this wall forth to strike their enemy. After having spent two emotes forming a blob of stretched out ice... Takari’s fingers twitched at his side, the mass of ice hovering in front of him. The swordsman stepped forth, thrusting his blade at the mass of ice between the two. Chunks of ice chipped away as cracks ran along the length of the mass, and Takari smirked. His hand twitched once more, and he uttered out calmly “You’re already dead…” “What?!” exclaimed the swordsman, and the mass of ice hurled forth, sending the man onto his back before the mass landed on top of his stomach, causing him a severe amount of pain. Steam Surge - The mage produces a large quantity of steam, and then sends this mass billowing towards the foe or foes, intending to burn and scald them while possibly ignoring armor or defences due to the gaseous nature of steam. After having spent two emotes forming a blob of hot steam… Stephen looked on at the armored man in the ring with him, huffing and sweating as the evoked steam shimmered in front of him. The armored assailant stepped forth, confident in his armor’s ability to protect himself. Stephen huffed heavily, his ears twitching. The mass of steam then shot forth at the armored man, hot gas seeping in through the cracks and holes in the helm and upper section of the armor. The assailant then let out pained screams as his flesh and eyes began to burn, droplets of water seen forming around his visor. Stephen waited for a moment longer, giving a satisfied sigh as the steam dissipated, his foe clawing at his helm desperately to remove it, the damage already done. General Progression Tier 1 - The mage at this stage will begin with connecting to the void as well as forming small masses of water. While the uses at this stage are nigh useless, it is a vital step in the learning process. Tier 2 - The mage can now begin to make water masses the size of apples and fists, and can move these blobs around at a fair enough speed to possible scare or distract someone, but not enough to harm seriously. Furthermore, the mage can control the temperature of the water to a small extent. Tier 3 - Masses of water the size of torsos and bodies can be made, the water able to be moved fast enough to possibly wind somebody with a strike to the stomach. The temperature can be controlled even further at this stage, and ice can begin to be formed of smaller quantities. Tier 4 - The mage can begin evoking steam and can evoke ice with much more ease, as well as making larger quantities of ice and water. However at this stage, steam is incredibly taxing if not impossible to do effectively, but ice can be used in large formations to defend or attack one’s foes. Finally, temperature control between freezing and boiling points comes easily. Tier 5 - At this stage, the evocationist is now a master, with steam coming with some more ease, enough to be used effectively. Red Lines Cannot evoke where you can not see. Cannot evoke what you do not understand. One must thoroughly study water prior to evoking. Cannot evoke anything aside from pure water. No mud, salt water, or anything else can be evoked unless in tandem with other evocations. Cannot control the water already existing in the world, only the evoked water. Cannot suffocate people with evoked water, nor can evoked water be used as sustenance as line of sight would be broken and the water is not true water, but rather a near perfect replica forged by the caster. Can evoke on the surface of one’s skin. Cannot evoke storms with just water evocation. Air / Electric evocation, and probably more mages, would be needed in tandem. Cannot make sharp, or fine shapes of water evocation, such as swords or armor. FAQ/Misconceptions Water evocationists cannot keep themselves alive with their magic in a desert as they can’t drink their evocation. Water evocationists cannot make steam as easily as ice or liquid water. Water evocationists can make mud if mixed with earth evocation.

Overview Air Evocation is the art of drawing forth into the void to bring air into our world. To avoid mistaking anything, this air is not of our world, nor is it able to linger for very long (unless enchanted) but rather is a near perfect replica of the air of our world which is under the mage’s control for the duration of their spell. After evoking this air, the mage can then mold it, control it, and utilize it to their own benefit. Lore: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/147936-air-evocation-lore Abilities While this isn’t the only list of abilities possible with Air Evocation, these are a few examples of what a mage with this magic can do. Air Missile - Simply put, the mage makes a rather small mass of air, then fires it off at their foe. This can range from simply distracting to harming the foe, dependent on the force of the air and the skill of the mage. Note: Each example emote assumes a prior connection to the void has been made. After having spent one emotes evoking a small; amount of air... Alan’s ears twitched idly as the ball of air formed in front of him, no larger than an apple. As the armed robber looked to him, holding his sword in front of himself. Alan’s ears gave another small twitch, and the mass of air rushed towards the robber’s face, the sudden rush of air against his eyes causing the robber to drop his guard, bringing a hand to wipe at his eyes. Given the opportunity to flee, Alan ran off. Air Wall - The casting mage continuously cycles air in front of themselves in a circular shape, effectively making an invisible shield in front of themselves to possibly fling projectiles off track. After having spent one emote evoking a medium amount of air... Riddsy’s finger twitched as the air in front of him began to form a large, cycling mass, continuing to circle around a few feet in front of him. The drunken bar attendee took the table dart from the table, taking aim at Riddsy. Riddsy’s motions did not cessate, the mass now sizable enough to give off a faint whisper in the winds it made. As the man threw the table dart at Riddsy, the air wall caught it, flinging it off from its course at Riddsy’s chest to the wall to Riddsy’s right instead. Tornado - Requiring a fair bit of effort and skill, the evocationist evokes a mass of air cycling in a tornado-like pattern, kicking up dust and dirt possibly, while also being able to confuse, distort, or render safe their foes and any lighter weapons or projectiles. After having spent two emotes evoking a large amount of air… Alan’s breathing picked up heavily, and the surge of air meters in front of him began to move rapidly, swirling and spinning in a funnel of winds. The two bandits shielded their faces, daggers gripped tightly in their other hands as they witnessed the magi’s power. Alan kept his gaze on the swirl of air, small grains of sand along the beach where the group stood kicking up and flying into the column of air. Scraps of seashells pelted the two stuck within the tornado, cutting and scraping their flesh. One of the bandits reeled his arm back, tossing the dagger at Alan in vain. The dagger traveled forth for a moment, before being flung pathetically into the sands below, the tornado continuing. Alan coughed, letting the harsh winds die down. Flying particles of sand came to a rest, the two assailants coated in fine yellow dust and bits of shell. The men looked at Alan in fear, fleeing. General Progression Tier 1 - The mage at this stage will begin with connecting to the void as well as forming small masses of air. While the uses at this stage are nigh useless, it is a vital step in the learning process. Tier 2 - The mage can now begin to make air masses the size of apples and fists, and can move these gusts around at a fair enough speed to possible scare or distract someone, but not enough to harm seriously. Furthermore, the mage can control the temperature of the air to a small extent. Tier 3 - Masses of air the size of torsos and bodies can be made, the air able to be moved fast enough to possibly knock someone back a few steps or fling aside arrows or thrown objects. The temperature can be controlled even further at this stage. Tier 4 - Small tornadoes and surges of air can be formed as the mage nears full mastery, with larger knockbacks of air possible. Furthermore, the temperature of the air can be made to be chilling to the touch or burning, although not able to cause permanent or long-term harm. Tier 5 - At this stage, the evocationist is now a master, with tornadoes coming with significantly more ease. Armored large foes can be knocked back onto their backs and thrown a few feet, and the temperature of the evoked air can be finely controlled to either quickly cool a foe or burn them enough to cause pain and discomfort, but again not with much lasting effect unless prolonged contact is held with the evoked air. Red Lines Cannot evoke where you can not see. Cannot evoke what you do not understand. One must thoroughly study air prior to evoking. Cannot evoke anything aside from pure air. No sand, dust, or particles can be evoked in the air unless done with another evocation. Cannot control the air already existing in the world, only the evoked air. Cannot suffocate people with evoked air, nor can evoked air be used to breathe at all, let alone underwater. Can evoke on the surface of one’s skin. Cannot evoke tornadoes of a full size, as it’d use far too much mana to do. Cannot evoke storms with just air evocation. Water / Electric evocation, and probably more mages, would be needed in tandem. Cannot make sharp, or fine shapes of air evocation, such as swords or armor. FAQ/Misconceptions Air evocationists cannot make people fly. Air evocationists cannot control pre-existing air. Air evocationists cannot make “blades” or other sharp, refined shapes like armor or knives. Air evocationists can make for good blowdriers when you do your hair in the morning!

Sorry that I like to PUT TIME AND EFFORT INTO MY PASSION, FLAM! >:T

oh baby Skyrim for Minecraft 2017

looks like it's a COOL addition. i hope the lt doesnt give it the COLD shoulder! Ha, classic! :3333333333333333 dorian is a bad manager

OH JEEZ!

sPaCe elVeS

THREIN SIGN - Threin the Golem

Name of Addition: Oscillatory Telekinesis Prerequisites to lean the magic: Tier 3+ Telekinesis Tier 3+ Transfiguration Taught Oscillatory Telekinesis by a teacher OR approved Self-Teaching Effects: Oscillatory telekinesis allows for one to alter the motion of an object unlike regular telekinesis, with one or few active points on the object having gravity act on it in a different way (such as making a metal marble float in mid-air, or rapidly fire off in one direction) and utilizes numerous, rapidly moving points all along the object, each of these “points” moving incredibly rapidly to and fro in opposite directions to produce a vibration usually undoable with telekinesis, as doing such to this extent would use too much mana. This alone will cause vibration effects, such as an iron brick acting like a phone set to vibrate, or a rod of metal tapped against a countertop to emit a soft hum. However, when this skill is practiced to a fine degree, a mage is able to make an object’s vibrations match its resonant frequency, or put simply, the frequency in which the object will “normally” move at, akin to pushing a child on a swing and using his current momentum to aid yourself instead of say, pushing the child forwards as he’s barreling backwards. While this is simple enough, the process of achieving this, and its effects on different materials, does vary greatly. Learning & Casting: To utilize Oscillatory Telekinesis, one must first be taught by a practitioner of the skill. Although it may be possible at times for a regular telekinetic to “discover” this skill, the nature of telekinesis makes this rare if not impossible for most mages. As stated before, Oscillatory Telekinesis functions off of making multiple “points” along an object to have the gravity of the object altered at those points, but unlike regular Telekinesis the alteration of these forces are not in one continuous direction, but rather fleeting rapidly and harmoniously back and forth. In order to spread out the small number of points present in regular telekinesis, the caster must first achieve a few things. First, they must be knowledgeable on the object they’re attempting to cast on, this aspect of the magic more like transfiguration than regular telekinesis where such is not required. However, this only applies in the case the caster is aiming towards vibrating the object at its resonant frequency. Second, the caster must be close to the object to begin, simply due to the fact that the closer proximity allows for the caster to more clearly see the surface and object itself, making it easier to “disperse” these many points about the object. After forming the points of motion, the caster is freely able to back up from the object, as long as a line of sight is maintained. Third, the caster must remain solely concentrated on this one spell, meaning one cannot have another spell at the ready, or begin preparing another one, as this technique is heavily exhausting and focus intensive. After achieving all of these requirements, the mage may then cast. When casting, the Oscillatory Telekinetic will only be able to vibrate the object either off rhythm, resulting in the object simply shaking about really fast, or they’ll be able to achieve the object’s resonant frequency if they’re well versed in the material of the object to the point of being able to observe this. While regular vibration will hardly do anything special, a mage making an object vibrate at its resonant frequency will result in a myriad of possibilities happening to the object, depending on the makeup of the object itself. What happens to certain materials will be covered below. Sample Materials & Resonant Frequency Effects: Glass - Will eventually crack, then shatter. Wood - May splinter, depending on the quality and smoothness of the wood. Cloth/Fabrics - Will begin to warm up rather quickly, nothing to the point of harm unless rubbing against itself as well. Harder to cast on due to its fluid like nature. Metal - Depending on the metal, it may either shatter if more brittle, tear if brittle and flimsy (such as aluminum would), or simply heat up a bit and vibrate rapidly if more malleable. Stone - May either just rattle around, or possibly crack or shatter if more brittle types of stone. Clay - When wet, it’d crumple and smoothen easily. When dry, it’d possibly crack, or shatter. Progression: Tier - Total Time Spent Learning - Limits T1 - 0 to 1 Week - Learning to vibrate objects. The mage is unable to vibrate objects at Resonant Frequency yet. Doing this is very fatiguing, and can only be done on objects up to three for a few seconds. T2 - 1 to 3 Weeks - At this point the Oscillatory Telekinetic can vibrate objects up to five pounds, and can begin to vibrate studied materials at their Resonant Frequency up to three pounds, but with no special effect aside from vibrating just yet. T3 - 3 to 6 Weeks - The Oscillatory Telekinetic can regularly vibrate objects up to fifteen pounds, and can vibrate materials at Resonant Frequency up to ten pounds. At this stage the telekinetic is able to cause objects to shatter, splinter, and crack. T4 - 6 to 9 Weeks - The caster can now vibrate objects up to twenty-five pounds, and can vibrate objects at Resonant Frequency up to twenty pounds, able to do this with less exhaustion. T5 - 9 to 12 Weeks - The caster is now able to vibrate objects up to thirty pounds, and can vibrate objects at Resonant Frequency up to twenty-five pounds, with significantly less exhaustion. Red Lines: Cannot cast on what you do not understand Cannot be done unless one is a telekinetic Cannot be done on things that telekinesis normally doesn’t affect Line of sight must remain while casting Object must start close when spell begins Very fatiguing, not viable to cast on large objects such as boulders. Must have some knowledge of oscillation and vibration in RP Teaching: Cannot be self-taught unless special conditions and exceptions are made, contact Fitermon to discuss this Teacher must both teach regular vibration and vibration at resonant frequency Must be at least 9 weeks into the magic to teach others Magic Slot: This magic would be a voidal feat, and will require a teacher to learn. Exceptions and allowances of Self-Teaching may initially be made to encourage the distribution of this magic. Note: For those looking to Self-Teach this magic, contact Fitermon to see if you'd be eligible to do so and hold certain understandings of the various concepts above in Roleplay. Credit: Fitermon for writing the lore. Genndy Tartakovsky for working diligently and beautifully on Samurai Jack for years and years. Scaramouche the robot, babe, for inspiration.

To those concerned with the direction of this rewrite, or the response given by any member of the LT as to why this will not simply be denied at the request of a few players, the rewrite will go through the Lore Team's LoreMag/MagicMag as any other piece does and be subject to evaluation, as any other piece does. If there was such a large concern with the direction of the magic, nothing prohibited others from stepping forth and speaking out, however waiting until a rewrite that displeases you is not the time to argue this. If this rewrite is passed, then it's a shame if you dislike what the magic may have become, but keep in mind that others have put their time and effort into getting this lore adjusted to fit what the LT deems necessary for the magic, while also remaining active in this magical community. If it is not, you can feel free to submit your own ideas or rewrites to the LT, assuming no work within reason is plagiarized or used without permission. Furthermore, assuming that a lone LT made the decision to allow this rewrite to undergo evaluation despite your concerns as if no other LT had a say or input on the matter does not really help or aid your case whatsoever, which will have no bearing on the acceptance or state of this rewrite as no sole member of the LT, from either sect, can solely be responsible for the acceptance or denial of a magic or any further additions, alterations, or clarifications. In short, despite any qualms you may have it does not support its denigration when there have been other active parties actually putting their foot forwards in any semblance of an attempt. Your ideas may hold ground, so they should've been submitted as their own rewrite previously, or should wait until this is either accepted or denied to be submitted. In addition, Delmodan did not alone did not claim your request as denied, but rather did it as the method of communication in lieu of the entire LT having to post, or having to wake up and get managers on solely for that simple purpose. If there is any possible issue of bias, an "Abstain" vote can always be held on any respective votes that this may influence.

Yes, they are playable, however I may post future additions or clarifications with approval to elaborate exactly what one would have to experience to travel from these islands to Axios. Maybe in the future.

The Meranesian Islands -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Beautiful beaches, dense jungles, hot summers, and relaxingly warm winters are all features of these islands. Far beyond the reaches of Axios and its inhabitants, the Meranesian Islands are a series of island chains that are inhabited by two primary people groups. These people groups are the Tuvati and the Tandu, with the Tuvati living further South and the Tandu to the North. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Tuvati People The Tuvati are a seafaring, tribalistic conglomerate of both Humans and Dark Elves, with the Humans forming the lower classes of society and the Mali’ker forming the upper classes, namely in governmental positions. Due to the long lifespan yet incredibly low fertility of the Elves, they established themselves as leaders to guide the short-lived, yet much more fertile Humans through each generation, forming an unusual culture of respect for the longevity Elves experience from the Humans. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Government The Tuvati tribes are a large confederacy of around seventy-five tribes, each led by a Mali’ker throughout each generation, dubbed the Annil’maln . Due to the respect Mali’Ker receive in the society and the slim numbers, women and men are treated as equals by the Tuvati people. The Annil’maln that lead the tribes all meet and discuss various issues, such as inter-tribal relations and struggles, trade, foreign influences, and other political issues that plague the tribe, effectively a council of the sorts. Beneath each tribal lead are two Humans selected by the Annil’maln, called the Medi’valah. The Medi’valah are responsible for interpreting and expressing the desires, issues, needs, and problems the Human Tuvati face that may seem inconsequential or non-important to the jaded, aging Annil’maln. Due to the long lives of the Elves, the issues and problems that Humans face are sometimes akin to how one view’s a dog’s issues and lifespan, short and inconsequential in many respects. The Medi’valah aids in bypassing this racial and temporal difference between the two different species, effectively making the Annil’maln the long term factor and the Medi’valah the short term factor in terms of the tribe’s direction and goal. When foreign, non-native threats come to the people of the Tuvati islands, the Medi’Valah form a more formal and strict position above the council to organize the tribes into one pseudo-nation to ease military duties for the nation. It is only during this time there is ever one official “ruler” of all of the Tuvati people with full authority, and even then it will try to be avoided if possible. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Culture The Tuvati people live relatively simple lives, with most neighbors sharing with one another, and a large portion of their lifestyles revolving around the ocean and sailing. Given the short distances between islands, the Tuvati are in almost all cases skilled sailors to the point of being able to travel alone. Since most do travel between islands alone and quickly, the use of wind boards has grown common amongst the Tuvati people to cross the distances between the islands. Tribes usually hunt together, most of the hunting being done aquatically, such as spear fishing, or herding sea creatures into bays and coves to surround them and herd them onto shore. This is not only done for sport, but also for social purposes as various fish scales and sea creatures’ teeth will be used in various pieces of jewelry that act as currency for the Tuvati people. For example, one of the main tribal interactions held between the Tuvati is the exchanging of such currency as a dowry for engagement. If a suitor wishes to wed out of his or her tribe, he or she must gather a variety of seashells, dolphin teeth, and fish bones and fashion them into a large strand of jewelry, akin to a scarf of assorted shells. Tribal disputes are settled either through similar payment, or through a ritualistic spar, where the first to draw blood is to submit on whatever the issue at hand was. If further disputes result from any disagreement on what the price for reparations should be or the validity of a spar then tribal wars usually break out, although these wars are less so wars then they are harassing skirmishes, with the tribes doing things such as capsizing rivalling boats, destroying gathered shells and dolphin teeth, or in more violent cases starting fist fights with one another. These disputes tend to go on until either the Humans find reach a compromise or solution to the original issue, or the Dark Elves leading the respective tribes step in, holding the experience of having lived many lifetimes of a Human. The Tuvati dress appropriately for their environment, in ways many may consider immodest as all that is usually worn are undergarments of simple nature, such as a cloth wrapping around a woman’s chest or a loincloth at one’s nether regions. Because of this custom, most of the exposed body is covered in tattoos of tribal patterns, each specific to a tribe. One can easily identify a different tribe and where they live along the island chain by the tattoos adorning their flesh. Despite most tattoos being simple tribal identificators, some bear special purposes, such as public marking of a heinous crime, or detailing one as an esteemed member of the tribe. Upon wedding into different tribes, the groom and spouse are both marked with the tattoos of the opposite tribe, with the original’s tattoos being done in a different color to allow one’s origins to be traced. These tattoos are usually done in white or black, with white being much more common and black left for weddings, crimes, leaders, and esteemed members of tribes. Finally, jewelry is very common among the Tuvati as well, many adorning necklaces, bracelets, earrings, or rings forged from shells, fish bones, textile plants from the jungles on the islands, or fish teeth. Gems and other precious stones are rare and few, the only really valued one being pearls. When one may cherish an emerald necklace, a Tuvati tribesman would throw it away in exchange for even a semi-decent pearl. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- History The recent history of the Tuvati people consists of three main notable events, the Taori-Maheta Dispute, the Tandu War, and the Great Expansion. The Taori-Maheta Dispute In the early fifteenth century, the Tuvati tribes were much larger, fragmented into three federations of tribes. These federations were the Taori, Maheta, and the Tuvu. The Taori were ran by both Humans and Mali’ker, unlike the other tribes which held a much more contemporary model of government. The Maheta held a government more like the modern Tuvati system, with the Mali’Ker as tribal leaders and the Humans as advisors to the leaders. The Tuvu were even more similar to the modern version of government, with practically no communication throughout the leaders of the tribes to form a semblance of government above the tribes, while the Maheta at least had the more powerful tribes domineer the smaller ones beneath them. The Taori and Maheta tended to clash with one another, be it over fishing rights in an area, rejecting the custom of tattooing brides and grooms from other tribes in each other’s general area, or of laying claim to the same islands as their own land. Eventually this powderkeg burst with a sudden assault on bordering Maheta islands, in which the raiding Humans in the Taori tribes killed all of the Mali’ker present on the islands raided and inducted by force the survivors into their own people, painfully disfiguring the flesh of any that bore the tattoos of any tribe beneath the Maheta cluster. This event came to be known as the Taori Raids to the Maheta people. As a result, the Maheta took up arms and prepared for scuffles greater than the cultural norm, ready for war. In the summer of 1409, two notable leaders in the Maheta cluster came forth, Telros and Elrys Maheta. Telros and Elrys were closely related due to their two separate tribes sharing various maternal links every few generations as a sign of lasting trust between the two, and thus cooperated easily. When the two heard of the Taori Raids they quickly sent their Human advisors throughout the Maheta islands to other tribes, gathering the support of other Maheta tribes to rally against the Taori. As the Taori continued their occupation of the closest bordering islands, and raids on the next closest islands, the two leaders organized a small army, using fishing spears, weighted nets, and various other unconventional weapons to fight off the Taori. Beginning with night attacks, the Maheta used bioluminescent flora and fauna in the waters to safely sail to the occupied islands on the bordering rim to their West, and retook them from the Taori. To ensure the Taori were kept off guard and disorganized, the Maheta continued their nightly advances West into Taori territory, quickly cutting through any form of resistance on the islands, often injuring and wounding their foes, but not killing. As the casualties increased for the Taori, the Taori leadership began to have their people produce true weapons of war, such as spears meant to kill other Descendants instead of fish, boats meant to transport and protect large groups as opposed to one or two windboarders, and camouflage improvised from leaves, bark, and vines from the inner jungles of the Taori islands. The best equipped and well trained soldiers were sent to the Eastern front to stall off any Maheta attacks at night, and the populace was evacuated from the coastal huts and bungalows to the increasingly dense jungles on the islands, leaving the only options for any Maheta raiders to be engaging the Taori directly, sailing North through neutral Tuvu territory, or sailing South into deep ocean waters to circumvent the Taori military. Ultimately, Telros volunteered to lead the Maheta raiding parties through the Taori line, resulting in the Battle of the Southern Chain, the significantly better equipped Taori picking off Maheta windboarders as they approached allied shores, then wiping up the few remnants that made it to shore alive easily. Following the failure and death of Telros in the Battle of the Southern Chain, Elrys saw the rather futile nature of using fish hooks and nets against spears and javelins, and adopted a similar militarization effort to the Taori cluster, resulting in both sides being similarly equipped along their bordering islands. For the next two years, up until 1411, a stalemate was occurring just along the Eastern borders of the Taori islands, any attempts to break past the Taori or Maheta lines being met with a mixture of thrown spears, javelins, harpoons, and other various weapons accompanied by spearmen taking out those that managed to actually touch land. Despite each attempt at advance being a failure, not many died, with only around six thousand dead over the couple of years as the already small population didn’t take many risks unless the possibility of success was offered. Elrys saw that there was no true benefit to the war after these two years passed, and offered the Taori tribes the option for a temporary ceasefire until fair reparations could be made for the losses the Maheta faced, given a fair number of Mali’ker were slaughtered and the Elven curse did not bode well for replacement of those lost. Reluctantly the Taori cluster accepted, the Tuvu from the Northern Islands coming to occupy the taken islands from Taori and Maheta control to ensure neutrality as the Tuvu held no ill will to the two tribes. This ceasefire was to be dealt with over whatever period of time was needed to satisfy both warring parties, but however it was cut short on the first day of the year 1412 by a foreign foe. The Tandu War On the day dawning a new year, the discussions for peace between the Taori and Maheta, led by a conglomerate of tribe leaders and Elrys Maheta respectively, was interrupted at dawn from Tuvu tribesmen, reporting of attacks in the Northern Islands. Further investigation revealed to Elrys Maheta and the Taori leadership that the center of the Tuvu populace, Tuvu-viti was taken over by the foreign Tandu to the North on the Grand Continent. Responding quickly, the Maheta and Taori sent scouts north to Tuvu-viti, all of who did not return. From what the Tuvati could gather, their northern neighbors were seeking to expand their sphere of influence into the islands, and they didn’t seek to do so peacefully. The Taori leadership, realizing the dire situation, surrendered to Elrys Maheta under the condition that the Taori would not be subjugated beneath the Maheta, but accepted to tolerate the Maheta and Tuvu government styles. Elrys agreed, and immediately went about organizing a defence against the Tandu armies. Given the militarization due to the civil war, his efforts were not futile, and the Tandu were contained on the Tuvu islands to the North, rendering control past Tuvu-viti impossible for the Tandu. The Tandu occupying Tuvu-viti were effectively surrounded, supplies from Rajat-Khat being cut off by sea and any efforts to forage in the jungles limited by Taori-Maheta soldiers, along with any brave Tuvu that resisted against the occupation. Left at a crossroads, the Tandu military leadership in the city organized a defensive and offencive force, giving command of each to two Tandu nobles. With eight-thousand Tuvati sieging the city, and ten-thousand at the Tandu’s disposal in the area, a plan was made by Elrys Maheta to besiege and stall the Tandu while reinforcements came from the South, pressuring the Tandu into a retreat and surrender of the invading army. The siege went on for three weeks before at night the attacking Tandu sections broke off, spearheading an assault through the South-Eastern line of Tuvati troops, the better equipped army easily smashing through the unsuspecting tribal forces. Elrys Maheta heard of this, and ordered a retreat to hold the two strips of land running South along the island, the Eastern flank much more disorganized and scattered about. However the retreat was not done effectively enough, and the Tandu army continued to march South towards the coast of the island, almost holding complete control over it. The Taori-Maheta forces on the island were effectively left with the option to contain the island, or with more risk contain the city and advancing army, and Elrys Maheta finally decided after some deliberation to retreat and hold off the Tandu until reinforcements arrived. Opting to wait it out, Elrys and his armies stood their ground in the South-Western lands of the island. The Tandu armies approached both the Northern and Eastern fronts of the remaining Tuvati, ready to push them off of the island entirely. Fishhook met talwar, and blood met salt as the opposing forces fought, each side suffering numerous injuries and casualties. As it would be, lady luck proved to be a cruel mistress to the Tuvati, the desperately needed reinforcements arriving just as the soldiers on land began to flee and rout, fearfully parting from their lines and brethren back to their boats, making their way to the seas once more. The Tuvati watched on from the safety of their rafts, boats, and canoes on at the advancing Tandu, along with their respected leader Elrys being surrounded and quite literally shoved off of the land into the waters, a naval landing near impossible to effectively pull off in time. As this moment came into existence, so it stayed, the war another standstill for the Tuvati as their navy held the seas connecting to the rest of the archipelago, and the Tandu held the Northernmost island, preventing safe travel to their homeland to the North. Albeit a stale, and sudden ending to the war, it proved vital for the survival of the Tuvati people, surely unable to stand against the Tandu were it not for their naval capabilities and knowledge of their homelands. The Great Expansion Years passed, the Tandu holding their conquered lands, and the Tuvati returning to their usual ways, with little to no change aside from bitter memories and regretful losses. However, many Tuvati grew bored of this idle, complacent lifestyle, and abandoned their homes for the foreign great beyond that waited past their continents. Many took up their possessions and sailed, either heading off to the South and East into the blue horizons, North to settle amongst the Tandu, or head past the snow white mountains, or West to try to surpass the Grand Continent and the Grand Desert, many dying save for the few that braved the torrid sands, blazing winds, and salty air. As the Tuvati travelled, their traditions travelled ahead of them. This resulted in some cultures adopting part of the Tuvati culture themselves, causing certain races to take up the art of tribal tattooing, or sailing, or a closer relation between Humans and Elves. Ultimately, as the Tuvati travelled, their culture did, and the event known as the Great Expansion has begun, and continues to this day. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Geography The Meranesian Islands are a tropical paradise, each island mostly similar in environment. The coasts along the North of most islands are coated in silky smooth sands, and the Southern edges littered with coral, seashells, and tiny pebbles. If one headed further inland, they’d come across a consistently raising canopy, eventually shadowed by dense jungle and flora. The Northmost island is unique with its rather large inlet into a bay, a vital source of food and water for the people living there. Fish, crabs, lobster, jellyfish, sea stars, and a vast assortment of seafaring creatures linger in these areas, especially dolphin. The relative closeness of the islands allows for easy trade and travel, given one is adequately equipped to do so of course. In addition to this, many sandbars litter the coasts of the islands, further aiding in this process, as well as the cultural developments of naval capabilities. Finally, the rather calm weather makes life on the islands a simple and relaxed one, at least compared to the harsh deserts to the West, ravenous mountains to the North, and expansive oceans to the South-East. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A lone Graven lost in a forest laugh hysterically. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- No."

but moogle

Alright, got a TON of feedback, thanks for the input/clarifications/et cetera guys! If the LT can deny this @ poster's request that'd be great.

If fire is the magic spell, aura is the smoke. It's just visible when done, especially with magics such as voidal shifting which leaves a cloud of aura behind.

Too many people to quote, so gonna clarify a few things... 1. I am by no means an Eshtael expert, so all the constructive feedback works. Eshtael exists, but there is no lore for her, and I've received multiple conflicting reports of her/his/its existence, purpose, personality, accomplishments, involvement in aengudaemonic history, et cetera. The issue, of course, is there is no written down lore to refer to that is written for Eshtael uniquely, hence this piece's submission. As for the Aengul's basic principles, such as being the Aengul of Balance, or existing, that won't change unless I'm given EXTREME evidence and support of otherwise. Stuff like personality, involvement, power, et cetera, I want to be improved. Going "Aspects do this," honestly isn't helping much with refining it. Going "I think X was more of her personality," or "She did Y and Z, not A B C" does help, however. Regardless, keep on posting that good feedback, and any written, accepted, confirmed resources containing Eshtael with more than just one or two sentences of her would be great!

Alignment: True Neutral Symbol: Balancing Scales Color: White Ancient History: The Aengul Eshtael is the patron of Balance; her purpose to ensure balance in the realm, be it the ongoing contention of light and dark, or the number of births to deaths. Despite being the Goddess of Balance, Eshtael’s personality at times can reflect a fiery, passionate one fervently defending what she holds dear. It was Eshtael who approached the council of Aengudaemons and stood against Dragur’s reckless, foolish actions, and it was her who convinced the council to go forth against Iblees. She led the Aengudaemons into Aegis, and she stood firm as she passed her judgement against the Daemon Iblees. With her power and fury against them, she entrapped Dragur and the Dragonkin in ivory chains that would form the landmarks of the realm, her preciously loved balance having been disrupted by the reckless immortals. Despite all of this, she is only considered a moderately powerful Aengudaemon, being a Lower Aengul. As a result she is significantly less influential on the world in its current affairs and state, although it is believed that she controls the destiny of mortals, all to ensure the preservation of balance. She is an orderly Goddess, finding joy and felicity in things that are balanced, purposeful, and stray away from tumultuous and purposeless natures. Eshtael does not inherently desire order within it of itself, but rather purpose within such things. For instance, the parasite known as a shade would be severely frowned upon as the shade seeks to cause chaos for the sake of chaos, while a necromancer draining life may not be rebuked for draining life in order to survive, as there is a larger objective at hand here. A nation leader that seeks to go to war to restore the balance of power in the realm would be more respected by Eshtael than another king declaring war purely for the sake of the chaos and unbalance it brings. Essentially, she believes not in the struggle of good triumphing evil, or light quenching dark, but rather in balance between both, striving for balance and purpose in action and nature. However not much is known of Eshtael and her actions after her conflict with Dragur and the other Dragonkin, leaving the Aengul lost knowledge to most. -Eshtael, leading the Aengudaemonic Council against Dragur & Iblees into Aegis Modern History - Aengudaemonic Remembrance: As the years drew on with no significant or noticeable intervention or interference of Eshtael, chances of her return seemed slim if not nonexistent entirely. The waning memory of the Aengul meant her waning power in result, making such silence threatening to her. Because of this, Eshtael’s return to the realm and common knowledge may occur, be it subtly through the prayers of those who follow and worship her, or more palpably, perhaps manifesting among the Descendants. Either way, each result could prove to influence the course of the world in many ways, be them minor and insignificant to most, or drastic and severe to all. Personality: Appropriately so, the Aengul of Balance is heavily concerned and supportive of the idea of balance, regardless of what either side of a situation may be. As a result, Eshtael does not necessarily care for good triumphing over evil, or vice versa, but rather cares for the insurance of a gray zone in between, preferring equal benefit and loss of both. She would not be the kind to simply let anyone to go and do as they please willy nilly however, as she is also supposedly the Aengul that determines the fates of mortals, coming from her passion for things to have and aim towards a purpose, be it achieving a great feat, improving the world, or even simply surviving, as long as it is done with a solid purpose and not simply for its own intrinsic reasoning. For example, a thief stealing from an old man would not be ridiculed by Eshtael if he were stealing in order to survive, but may be judged if he were robbing the old man simply for the sake of robbing him. Despite this, Eshtael ultimately would value balance above purpose, so if one were to act on the pretense they’re creating balance, she would see this as sufficient purpose as it upholds her main value. Credit to: Meguzara, HeeroZero, Aerialkebab, CharlietheGuy, BrandNewKitten, and Zarsies, for ideas and general input. Fitermon & Elad, for writing the lore. MiniSpigot, for creating the skin. Various artists for making some awesome art.

They do have consciousness now, or at least atronachs do to avoid making them too boring and robotic to play. They still have to obey, but are more sentient.

Then the same would have to be argued for atronachs, or golems, or various other creatures that gain some level of consciousness, yes? If they'd be too strong without this, then think of some other way to balance it out, but don't just make ones that honestly wouldn't make much sense.

Two main questions in terms of its upsides and downsides, why do holy magics have any special effect on it? If they're voidally based, there wouldn't be any inherently dark, corrupted nature to it, given there is no tainted magic or soul present. Furthermore, why do all dark arts seem to have no effect? A necromancer, I can see, but a shade should be able to simply produce tendrils and tear through it, or a dark shaman able to open a rift in the earth and crush it, yes?