Trumm’Lordak
The Eidolons and their Tomes:
The archaic art of Trumm’Lordak, as it is called in the tongue of the Dwed, was and remains a scarcely used art for only those with the greatest of love for their beards. In the eyes of those of the Trumm’Lordak the beard, like the sword for a master swordsman, is an extension of one’s own body in the form of a limb. The exact origins of this art remain a mystery by and large, being as that the texts which put into great detail the workings of the spirits who bestow their essence into these bearded scions have been lost to war, hatred and ignorance.
What remains is often described as a story of beauty. The grand majesty of bestowing life unto something otherwise mundane. The beings from which the life is sired are shrouded in great mystery, described in tomes, those which act as vessels for their spirits, as The Eidolons. These spirits are anything but great deities, a far reach from the masses of aengul-daemons which bestow upon their most faithful their unique magics. They are quite simply described as zealots, desiring but to continue the cycle of their life-giving magic from one willing and able to the next. No ill intent, no grand design, simply the repetition of their will, the birth of a new limb. The vessels which bestow this life unto those who meet the prerequisites are found oft at random, scattered about the world and appearing quite suddenly with little to no explanation. On rarer cases however, those who presently practice the art of Trumm’Lordak will actively seek out these tomes to pass along their abilities to those disciples interested in their way of life. Regardless of which occurs a number of requirements must be fulfilled before the spirits will find themselves willing to deem the individual worthy of their blessing. They must foremost possess a well-groomed beard whose length meets or exceeds their waist. Secondly, they must possess a innate desire and love for their beard, and through this love fulfill the well-groomed demand within the foremost requirement. Thirdly, and finally, the individual must be of weak physical condition respective of their race. Weak, not in being ill or starving, but weak in that their muscle mass was never actively developed.
The tomes themselves usually appear plain and old, as if left neglected in whatever place they were found. The leather wrapping will appear faded, stained and dusty. The text on the pages written in a language unknown and untranslatable, best labeled as gibberish. A minute will pass as the spirits contained within survey their visitor, formulating their decision as the sixtieth second ends. At this point in time the book with either remain forever mundane lest touched by another, or will begin to glow a bright yellow-white light. Exactly three seconds will pass before a spirit could be witnessed leaving the tome and entering into the beard of the individual holding the tome. While this process is taking place, that is, from the moment the book is picked up, the individual will be struck immobile, overcome with paralysis. Once the spirit, which appears like a tiny humanoid of indiscernible gender, has fully entered the beard the illumination will fade and the tome will crumble into dust that dissipates from existence before it hits the floor.
At first, the individual will be struck with an overwhelming sense of total calmness that will stick with them for twenty-four IRL hours. This calmness aids in clarity in thought and action, however it will provide no serious benefit in combat beyond a slight aid in the shirking of unease or fear. This calmness will not aid in the coping with Shade magic, nor any other negative effects caused by magic of any kind. In addition to the calming effects, the affected individual will find themselves overcome with realization of bringing into the mortal realm an Eidolon of their own beckoning. If this individual, within this twenty-four IRL hour period, takes hold of any empty book they will find themselves compelled to write. This compulsion can be resisted and is by no means an overpowering feeling. Those who choose to give into the feeling will find themselves writing in a language they themselves do not understand, and after an hour long IRL period, a new tome will have been created. Once the ink has dried and the tome is closed it will start to glow a yellow-white light for six seconds before the light fades. This tome can be given to anyone who meets the prerequisites to bestow upon them the blessing of limb-life. Once done once this process can be repeated once more before the understanding of how to forge these tomes is lost within the individual’s mind forever. At the end of this period of calmness the individual will return to their usual feelings, and will be greeted by an unfamiliar and indescribable familiarity with a third arm-like limb. Their mind will find itself able to manipulate their beard as a whole, acting as if it were a limb they had known since birth, permitting full manipulation limited but by the length of the beard.
In the event that the beard is removed totally, that is they are clean shaven, the spirit will flee the individual’s body, striking them forever unable to manipulate their beard. As if struck with amnesia, they will have lost all motor capability in the manipulation of any beard they might grow in the future. However, if the beard it cut but not clean shaven, the spirit will take a back seat to rest and recuperate from the extreme trauma of having its home all but decimated. This extreme trauma will never cease its plaguing of the spirit, and from that point on the individual’s manipulation of the beard will become difficult, like trying to use an arm with a bone once-broken that never healed properly.
Obtaining a Tome:
See the description of tome creation above. Additionally, random tomes may be found anywhere in the world, on rarer occasions appearing in populated areas. These tomes may be given out as loot in events or made as the objective of events themselves. Bear in mind that despite the random appearance of these tomes their appearance is rare and should not be commonplace.
Emoting:
Trumm’Lordak, or simply beard-manipulation in the common tongue, has an extremely simple process of emoting. The beard has no special properties, it needs no tell nor does it possess any inhuman strength or metamorphosing capabilities. Therefore, it can be manipulated like any other limb, primarily to be used like one might use an arm. The individual hairs of the beard cannot be manipulated, requiring the user to wrap the end of the beard around objects to lift them.
Redlines:
This is not a Magic, this is a Feat. Therefore, it does not take up nor can it ever take up any magic slots.
The strength of the beard is limited to that of the user’s own strength. In the event that the beard is nearly totally cut off, but the user is not cleanly shaven, the beard’s strength will forever be half of the user’s own strength. It will be halved again and again every time this occurs until its strength is all but nonexistent. If this occurs five times the spirit will be cast out as if the user had become clean shaven, rendering them forever unable to re-obtain this feat.
In the event that the user’s beard is removed and they are cleanly shaven they will forever become unable to possess this feat.
The individual who picks up one of these tomes must be a natural race capable of growing a beard. The beard’s length must reach or exceed the individual’s waist. They must possess a true and genuine love for grooming and body care, and must have been and desire to continue to take good care of their beard. Finally, they must be physically weak or frail by their race’s standards.
The spirit does not communicate with the user nor does it provide to the beard any form of sentience. The spirit cannot be contacted by any means, and cannot be cast out by any magic. The only way to totally remove the spirit is to cut off the beard and become clean shaven.
If the tomes that provide to the individual who touches them the spirit’s life are destroyed by an outside force during the sixty three second process, the process will be stopped and the tome will crumble into dust that will fade out of existence before it touches the ground. This does not render the individual who destroys, or the individual who was holding the tome, unable to obtain this feat.
The understanding of how to forge a new tome is something that comes without explanation, like an illuminating vision. It cannot be taught and the user cannot put into words an explanation for the language they are writing. They simply know it as that of The Eidolons, and that it will bring another into this world a spirit to bestow its gift upon the worthy. After creating one within the twenty-four hour IRL period of time, the understanding will remain within the individual till their spirit is removed or one more tome is created.
Written by: Lukariatias
