Mescaffier

“ Remove the chains of life and space, and let the spirit soar. Let these mortal arms embrace the life that haunts before. ” The Ventriloquist Origin Explanation Tier Progression Tier 1 – The Novice The Ventriloquist cannot create their own Puppets to maneuver yet, but may practice crafting their shells and gaining a better understanding of manipulating their movement. Time is also spent on finding proper materials; tough, and hardy woods for Combat Puppets, and flexible & easily carved wood for Manipulative Puppets. A Tier One Ventriloquist, once figuring out the basics of crafting shells, can begin experimenting with how both sects can be made. - Tier 1 solely consists of the Conjurationist studying and dissecting different types of wood, as well as testing out making their Combat Anchors. - Tier 1 lasts for two weeks Tier 2 – The Adept Begins at 3 Weeks The Ventriloquist is now able to manipulate their puppet to a limited degree, though its movements tend to be rigid – especially so for Combat Puppets. They gain the ability to learn the spells: Creation, Movement - Puppets that the Conjurationist can make are fairly rudimentary and beginner. They break more easily and exhaust more mana due to the mage not yet having found their own proper shorthands. - Tier 2 begins at the third week of FA acception Tier 3 – The Master Begins at 6 Weeks The Ventriloquist is a master at their art and can practice all spells at maximum efficiency, so long as they know how exactly to cast them. They gain ability to learn the spells: MArt creation, Manipulation - Puppets become more advanced and durable, and the Conjurationist has now discovered their own shorthands and tricks of the trade. - Arcane Puppetry takes 8 Weeks overall to master. Ventriloquist's Puppets have wooden, porcelain, or similarly lightweight shells, typically in humanoid form, that contain a body within to provide movement. While Combative Puppets look quite unbecoming with their jagged appearance and shaky movement, they're fantastic for … As their name implies, combat, and are often used as more sturdy and intimidating bodyguards of the mage. On the other hand, Manipulative Puppets specialize in the manipulation of their body and the creation of flesh, sinew, bone, plant fibre, or other materials that can be created by Conjuration atop it. Though they cannot fight, they're often used by performers and roadside merchants to peddle their wares and keep a watchful eye on who browses their shop. Though both types of Puppetry are vastly different, they do share some similarities. THE ANATOMY Each puppet contains a corpse of a once-living being (including descendants, halflings, and beastmen races such as Hou-zi), whose heart is removed and replaced with a Puppet Anchor. Afterward, the body’s bones are discarded and it is then encased in wood, porcelain, or a similarly lightweight material to serve as its husk. When being controlled, the Conjurationist connects to the Anchor Jing which then summons the needed bones, ligaments, etc. for it to move. Puppet anatomy is detailed further below in the subsects, though typically both types retain a human-like stature. What dictates what a Combative puppet and a Manipulative puppet is lies within their construction. Combative Puppets are made from hardwoods such as Maple, whilst Manipulative Puppets may only be made from softwoods or light materials such as Porcelain or Clay. It also lies within their Anchors: Combative anchors will be more rudimentary, while Manipulative will be more complex. THE HEART Within each Puppet is an ‘anchor’ of sorts, which the creator of these puppets connects their mana to in order to focus upon it and control them. It is a Jing object; technically, an offshoot of Beastmelding which summons bones and ligaments within the puppet upon activation for the Mage to control. They sit in place of where the body’s heart would be, and circulate mana through it and to the bones that allow the Conjurer to move them. They’re quite durable, but when put under relentless attack will break. Puppet Anchors must have a shell made of any kind of metal (save for ones that might destroy the husk or prevent mana from flowing, such as a Boomsteel core or Thanium core respectively), with a focus crystal in the center. As long as this crystal is not shattered, the Puppet can be controlled. Combative Puppets anchor shells can take 5 slashes / 3 bludgeons before the metal walls are broken. Manipulative Puppets anchor shells can take 3 slashes / 2 bludgeons before the metal walls are broken. WEAKNESSES Combat & Manipulative puppets are incredibly vulnerable to magickal and natural flame (excluding Malflame; they do not possess souls). For Combative Puppets, the puppet will completely burn to a crisp and turn to ash after 3 emotes of being lit on fire, destroying the item. Manipulative Puppets would do the same in 2 emotes. This can be circumvented with some processes like Athins treating, wearing fire-retardant clothing, or in Manipulative Puppets’ cases, conjured flesh atop their shell which is not naturally as flammable as the shell itself. Manipulative Puppets are especially weak to Thanium. If in a 3x3 radius to refined Thanium, whatever changes or minute tricks the puppet was casting would immediately fizzle including any conjured flesh or plant fibre. Within 2 Pierces/Bludgeons/Slashes/etc of a Thanium weapon, both Combat and Manipulative puppets would irreversibly turn to ash and be destroyed, leaving only their core. Alongside this, both types of Puppets are inherently weak to Conjuration Abjuration. Should such a spell hit a Puppet, it would begin Condensing and be unable to be used the rest of the interaction. Warding affects the Puppets like how a Ward would affect an enchanted item, becoming like an iron shield to them. STORAGE In order to store a puppet, they must be condensed into a ball or rectangle in order to be carried. These objects can in turn be stored in a voidal pocket should the Mage not wish to haul them or carried by Transfiguration’s Alter Position. Larger puppets over 5 feet 5 inches must condense into a rectangle, to be carried like a backpack or suitcase. Large Puppets take 4 Emotes to activate, and 3 to Re-Condense. Smaller puppets 5 feet 5 inches or below can condense into a sphere or something similar to a nesting doll, and placed inside of a satchel or hung upon a belt. Small Puppets take 3 Emotes to activate, and 2 to Re-Condense. REDLINES: ITEM EXAMPLE All puppets require an ST-Signed mechanical item to represent their existence. As such, here’s an example of a Small Manipulative Puppet: ‘A small, foot-wide orb of wood. When activated by its maker, it unfolds over the course of 2 emotes into a Halfling-sized puppet made to look like a bipedal rat with coarse, uneven fur and unblinking marble eyes. Its joints lack fur and instead shine like metal, and oddly stinks of rot. [Arcane Puppetry; Small Manipulative Puppet bound to TreeSmoothie’s persona, Serthekhur. Refer to Arcane Puppetry for redlines and lore.]’ POSSESSABLE HUSK Uniquely, some Puppets can be made not to simply host a corpse, but a ghost. Using the same process of obtaining a fresh body and placing it within a husk, the Conjurist can either co-enchant or enchant the Anchor themselves so that they need not be near it to perpetually fuel the conjured bones and ligaments. These puppets, fueled by Enchantments, can only be a maximum of 7 feet tall regardless of type and must visit a Mana Obelisk or the mage themselves once every 2 Weeks to refuel the enchantment before it runs out. The Ghost possessing that Puppet, using the Enchantment, will be able to puppet their new husk fairly smoothly. The easiest of either to make would be Combative; for it has no extra bells or whistles. However, if attempting to create a Manipulative Puppet to be possessed, it should be noted that it will not retain any ability to cast Manipulation or change its features. As such, typically when a Manipulative Puppet is to be made for a ghost, is for its unique appearance and nothing else. The anchor of a Possessable Puppet remains mostly the same; however, on the inside of the regular metal shell is contained a much thicker shell of Magegold or Arcanium. The Anchor, rather than always running, will also have a Trigger Word for it to activate and re-summon the bones and ligaments. Perhaps the main reason why a ghost would wish for a Puppet husk; being that the ghost is tucked away within not just a corpse, but a wooden shell as well, is that it is not hindered by an aurum line or someone holding a golden trinket in their face. Crossing over Aurum lines or being within proximity to Aurum will simply make the Ghost slightly uneasy, and it is only until an Aurum weapon breaches the shell and strikes at the corpse inside will they feel pain from the metal. REDLINES: GENERAL REDLINES: Combat Puppetry Puppets who have been built to specialize in combat are made to take hits and deal them. Though they may have some unique properties, they'll almost always take the form of an average humanoid capped at 7 feet in heigh. Their vital area will always be their chest, where the Ventriloquist's strings of mana leech into the anchor within the corpse inside. A Combat Puppet may only stray from its caster: 15 Feet (5 blocks) [Tier 2] 30 Feet (10 blocks) [Tier 3] In and out of combat, the Puppet may be activated in: 3 Emotes if Small, 4 Emotes if Large. Large Puppets have the strength and capabilities just short of an Uruk, while Small Puppets have the strength and capabilities of a Human Knight. Being that they're incredibly hardy and tough, these Puppets are also quite slow due to being weighed down. They may only move 6 blocks per emote, and may only take these amount of hits in its vital area before breaking and turning to dust/having the shell in that area broken off- 3 Blunt Hits / 2 Slashes / 3 Pierces [Tier 2] 5 Blunt Hits / 4 Slashes / 5 Pierces [Tier 3] These Puppets, while being less aesthetically pleasing than their counterparts and having more restrictions, are still somewhat freeform. They may have animal heads, paws, et Cetera though must still possess a humanoid-ish body though may not explicitly need a head or limbs, and has a maximum of 4 arms, 4 legs, and 3 heads. REDLINES: _______________________________________________________________ Manipulative Puppetry Manipulative Puppetry is an art, a supreme form of entertainment rather than further combative skill. These Puppets are quite fragile, sacrificing use in combat for versatility and their ability to change shape. A Manipulative Puppet may be created to stand up to 9 feet tall/long, and can tend to look more otherworldly or animalistic than their Combative counterparts; for example, a puppet with the lower half of a centipede. If attempting to make a puppet as large as 9 feet, the body inside would simply walk upon stilts, rather than actually requiring an obscenely tall Uruk or Elf. Their shells can be made of any lightweight material, though more can be added atop it (like summoned flesh or moss). Their Anchor will always be in their chest. A Manipulative Puppet may only stray from its caster: 27 Feet (9 blocks) [Tier 2] 54 feet (18 blocks) [Tier 3] In and out of combat, the Puppet may be activated in: 2 Emotes if Small, 3 Emotes if Large. Large Puppets have the strength and capabilities of a weak Human, while Small Puppets have the strength and capabilities of a t5 Voidal Mage. Being that they're so fragile, even using a puppet to block may very well destroy the shell its caster worked so hard to perfect. They are quick and agile, however, and may move 9 blocks per emote. They may only take these amount of hits in its vital area before breaking and turning to dust/having the targeted limb lobbed off: 1 Blunt Hit / 1 Slash / 2 Pierces [Tier 2] 3 Blunt Hits / 2 Slashes / 3 Pierces [Tier 3] Uniquely, at T3, the Ventriloquist can cast their voice through the Manipulative Puppet’s to make it speak. Whilst doing so, their own mouth may slightly twitch or be frozen in place (such as the Mage being stuck with a toothy grin) until done speaking. Speech done through the puppet will always sound very scratchy and ‘glitchy’, as though being played through a broken speaker or repeating record. [Example: “Hello! Welcome to the Cirque Circus!” would instead be, “Hel-O⅂⅂ƎH! Welｃｏｍｅ to the Ciᵣqᵤₑ Circus!”]. These puppets are incredibly free-form and truly, their only limit is height and the materials it can be made out of. If a Manipulative Puppet is made to look like a regular Descendant/Humanoid race, they will look noticeably ‘off’ and zombie-esque; clearly differentiating them from true life with features such as gray, sagging, and/or a quilt-like look to the flesh, or in the case of beastmen, oily, ratty, and discolored fur. REDLINES: Creation [Non Combat - Freeform] COMBAT PUPPETRY & MANIPULATIVE PUPPETRY Once at Tier 2, the Ventriloquist must obtain a freshly deceased body of a Descendant, Halfling, or Beastman and remove its bones and ligaments, alongside its heart. Then, must create the Jing for the Puppet Anchor, place it in the cavity, and lay it within the shell that they wish for the Combat Puppet to have. Once closing it, the mage then simply needs to connect to the Anchor and test to see if it works. Once the bones have been conjured, the Ventriloquist draws their mana forth to 'force' it into the husk – more or less akin to Jing. These bones disappear once the ritual is complete and the corpse inside becomes unrecognizable of whoever died beforehand. Once the mage wishes to activate the puppet for use, they merely must focus upon activating the pseudo-Jing to recreate the bones. REDLINES: Activation [Tier 2 - C/NC] COMBAT & MANIPULATIVE [3 emotes - 1 connect, 2 cast, +1 Cast for every additional Puppet] In order to activate, one must focus upon the macabre body within the shell(s) and connect to the void. The pseudo-Jing will activate within the next 2 emotes akin to a Bound Jing, forming the bones and invisible strands for the Ventriloquist to puppet them by. The amount of puppets which can be activated at once are as follows: T2: - 3 Non-Combative, 1 Combative, or a Mixture of either T3: - 4 Non-Combative, 2 Combative, or a Mixture of either REDLINES: Movement [Tier 2 - C/NC] COMBAT & MANIPULATIVE Once summoned, the Conjurer must focus upon which bones and ligaments they’d like to move, contract, or release. Essentially it is the same as regular Conjuration, but demands slightly more focus and precision of where and how the limb or the body itself will move. Combat Puppets may move 6 blocks an emote; Manipulative Puppets may move 8 blocks an emote. REDLINES: Manipulation [Tier 3 - NC] MANIPULATIVE The very thing Manipulative Puppets are made to do; impress & entertain. A Manipulative Puppet may rapidly shift faces, cough up small Conjuration summonables (like blood, teeth, small insects, etc), levitate up to 2 blocks in the air, and other small feats of their summoner’s Conjuration akin to how a Descendant with an Atronach limb might summon small amounts of that limb’s element. REDLINES: Arcane Puppetry seemed like a really interesting magic to me, and I had a whole lot of free time to write. I feel like the reintroduction of this as a feat underneath Conjuration would bring a lot of fun Entertainer RP which Conjuration was written to produce, and give the magick and its mages an overall more dramatic/fun feel. This feat can suit folk who simply want more hands while running a caravan, or someone performing a large puppet show; it can be used across many different fields. Arcane Puppetry isn’t explicitly meant for Combat (in fact, I was tempted to toss them being combative) - hence why they’re quite weak. I just think the concept is neat 😀 I imagine this being used mostly in circuses or story-telling, or if your character also has no friends, and would rather make them themselves! TreeSmoothie - Writing Mika1278, Apotolofo, MeteorDragon, ClassyNewt, EduardC11 - Consultation Xerxes_XIII - Original Concept Changelog

A war-torn Dame watched from the ground as Cloudbreaker was taken from the sky and dragged with the worm as it burrowed ... Deeper, and deeper. She fell to her knees, letting out some ungodly screech as the ground shook one last time. It was gone, but for how long?

[!] An ancient-looking tome sits in your hands, evoking a faint chill from each yellowed page. Some of its words, odd and blocky looking, burned and blinded your eyes as though written in blazing fire - and as you continued to scan over its cover, you found paragraph upon paragraph in common. The ravings of an Occultist, it seemed. [A fair majority of the tome is written in Blackspeech, and has OOC translations in bright red text. Blackspeech’s lore can be found here.] [ AL’LEJU ] [ ZU’BURZGERN-KA ] SCRIBED BY [ AL'PROTTIRC-LURRIS ] SOCIETY OF THE WEEPING GATE PRELIMINARY INVOCATION [Thee I invoke, The Betrayer. Thee, that rule the hells with an iron talon; Thee, that rule over fire and brimstone. Thou art the feller of all Holy, Thou didst weave the Five Planes from ash. Thou art our Majesty, Thou art our Infernal Lord; Thou hast conquested each Plane, Thou didst prove Man as weedy and damfool. I am the Hierophant, unto whom you didst bewitch me with thy spirits, thy mysteries, thy empowerment. Hear thou me, for I am thou illicit priest/ess.] Write the sigil of upon a sheet of papyrus, in a mixture of ¼ Descendant Ash and 2 Measures of Descendant Blood – preferably, your own or one of your same race. Extend it to rest upon your forehead, as you chant His name and face North if the Month of ꘐ, or South if the Month of ꗂ. INVOCATION OF [Drazhana] [I invoke thee, the Wicked and Powerful, Pentacle of Dread, Lady of Bats, Who dwellest in the bowels of Moz Strimoza – Be my guiding light, tempered by the flame of foreboding, Come thou forth, and follow Me: upon the Earth: on dry land, or in the Water: of whirling Air or of rushing Fire: and every Spell and Scourge of Iblees, may be obedient unto me!] [Goetia] THE ART OF GOETIA Demonology; Occultism; Goetia. This practice goes by many names, and lumped in beside other ‘Ill Practices’ such as the Soul-Shepards and bewitching Frost Maidens; but such an art isn’t so obtuse or dumb. Demons, as they are, are Human just as you and I are. They reflect our very nature, yet so many are quick to deem them the opposite of Us. We are Demons, and Demons are Us. As such, by delving into this practice, you become not like the soul-slaving Maleficar nor the Magi who weave undeath into life, but a King among his People. A Baron with his Fiefs, a Captain among his Soldiers. Practitioners of Goetia understand this phenomenon and crown themselves as the master of their fate unlike those making themselves pigs to be slaughtered by their masters. We are Free, and you can be, as well. IBLEES, the Great Prince. The Great Prince, the ‘Betrayer’. He commands an unfathomable amount of Legions and typically appears as an amalgamation of Bat, Crow, Goat, Cat, and Snake; other times, depicted as a behemoth of Human descent with leathery skin and limbs made of ember. He can maketh thee a Devil, or grant thee Spiritual knowledge. Present upon ꘐ [Ixli; Bûrzgraz], and only pays homage to grand rituals with his sigil imparted. DRAZHANA, the Bat. The Lady of Dread. She ruleth 95 Legions and appears as a grand Bat with wings of interwoven cosmos, which if one looked within would be granted the boon of flight. She teacheth about warfare and espionage, and has the ability to cause fissures in the earth and tears in the sky with a beat of one wing. This Seal one should wear upon thou left arm, and a ring of ivory upon thine right 5th finger. TICHAR, the General. A steadfast ruler. He is a Duke of Drazhana’s realm who ruleth 45 Legions and appears as a behemoth made of warped flesh and viscera, with two large melting wings. He speaketh with a hoarse voice of many: sometimes three, sometimes hundreds. He teacheth strategy and imparts wisdom upon the Practitioner, and answereth truly to questions to Human nature. This seal one should have carved upon an area of flesh, and an anklet of twigs upon the left leg. NAMYA, the Scout. Namya, a Marquis of Drazhana’s realm who bears the likeness of a half-serpent woman donning Rokodra, and holds an infinitely long parchment in one hand of all those under Drazhana’s rule. She discoverth things and spawn familiars into the realms to feed her knowledge of those beneath her. This seal should be placed upon an altar. MALGN, the Soldier. A great Earl of Drazhana’s realm. Malgn looks akin to a bull-headed drake with three tails, who exhales a black fog at will. He Burns and Ignites where he walks and can only be called upon the Month of ꕫ, where he will impart knowledge of all to Come upon the Practitioner. This seal should be placed at one’s feet and no higher. [!] On goes the list of many, many demons of lesser importance and varying powers. [Spellweaving] ᓵᔑℸ ̣ ᔑꖎᒷ!¡ᓭ|| - Catalepsy Take a bull’s head and memorabilia of your Chosen and place it at your feet, alongside the seal in the month of ꕫ, facing the Sun. Anoint one foot with the blood of a cow and lay the tail of a snake upon your right, as you bring your hands upon the bulls head. Smear its blood along your forehead as you chant these words; “I invoke thee who art in the void air, terrible, invisible, almighty, soldier of soldiers, dealing destruction and making desolate, O thou that hatest an enemy. I call thee inflict catalepsy, cause failure and turn to ash this opponent”. Burn the bull’s head alongside the memorabilia, and leave the sigil of Malgn drawn upon parchment where such ritual took place. Soon, the target should be afflicted with rigid movement and slower thought, followed by a seizure or great loss of consciousness. ∴ᔑ∷↸╎リ⊣ - Protection With a handful of a snake’s scales, set them and a mixture of rosemary, lavender, salt, and ashes within a vat of hot water. Draw your blood and draw the seal on the container’s side. Enter the hot water and sit within it, soaking the mixture into your skin, your flesh, your soul. After all added ingredients have settled to the floor of the container, exit and scrape away the remnants of the seal, dropping it into the water. When one speaks ill of you, approaches with hostile intent, or wishes to double-cross you, you will feel a hint of malice toward them in your mind; and simply the feeling of betrayal. ↸𝙹∴リ⎓ᔑꖎꖎ - Downfall Using a scrap of Descendant flesh the same race as your target and an artistic depiction of them, draw the seal upon a sharpened bone of a fowl and stab it through the depiction. Shed your tears upon it and then utter, “I invoke thee who dwellest in the sea of dread, who flies among the wyrms and fights an infinite war. I call thee in desperation, in tribulation, through woe and sorrow to drag this target into your depths and to annihilate him wholly”. Draw an ‘x’ mark upon your palm and smear your blood upon the bone, before gathering the ritual into a cloth bag to deposit beside a graveyard. The target will find their fate to alter, woe to overtake them, and tragedy to chase them wherever they step. ᓭᔑᓵ∷╎⎓╎ᓵᒷ - Sacrifice Upon a living creature, scrawl the Sigil of upon the stomach, the seal of upon the throat, and the seal of upon the temples. Speak the Preliminary Invocation as you close their eyes and cut linearly along all three seals, from the first to last, before beheading them and collecting the liver in a jar. Burn the corpse and offer their being and soul to the Dreadlady as thanks. [!] On goes a list of odd spells with incredibly specific rituals, ingredients, and chants. AL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAGOETIAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KAAL’LEGUZU’BURZGERN-KA ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ∴ᒷᔑꖌ ᔑ∷ᒷ ᒲᒷᔑℸ ̣ , ᔑリ↸ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭℸ ̣ ∷𝙹リ⊣ ↸𝙹 ᒷᔑℸ ̣

A woman read over the paper, again and again, her pale eyes scaling each word and sentence for some misunderstanding. She felt her stomach churn and she fell to the floor in a pathetic, trembling heap as she tried to hold her sickly frame up from the floor -- to no avail. Puke dribbled from her chin as she retched, clinging onto the counter beside her with both hands to prevent herself from trying to end it there and then. Her dagger clattered to the floor and she kicked it aside, screaming pleads through her gritted teeth; "No. No. NOT AGAIN! PLEASE, NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!"

No letter. Dame Viktoriya beadily stared at the servant that'd told her, and asked them to repeat what they'd said again as though she didn't believe it. "I vas going to risk my LIFE by going into Kivdrona for him. Into Karkosa, to save his ass. He really had nothing to say?" hissed that woman as she veered her head back to spit on the ground. Her fists bunched and shook until her knuckles whitened, on the verge of tears as she muttered, "Wote'er. This isn't te' first time this has happened. Ne'er get attached to no Nephilim, boy." And with that, she went back to her academy to spend a few more restless nights sulking on her own.

I think it's a very interesting concept, but the lore itself seems quite short and underwritten. With some more development, this'd be very cool!

this is amazing!!!

The Citadel's headmaster trembles in her boots at the thought of Evocations rights activists. They were too strong.

"AAAAAH!" some woman screams, throwing down the paper. "WHY IS TE' IMAGE MOVING?"

[!] A peculiar tome is circulated throughout Almaris, allegedly originating from within the Principality of Lurin. Published by the Citadel of Hexenstadt ________________________________________________________________________________________________ DESCENDANT-KIND: bipedal, featherless & furless, cursed creatures who inhabit the material world. From humans, short-lived and aggressive, to elves, immortal and barren, descendants' internal structures are rather simple and similar. Across the four races, most organs remain the same; differing perhaps only in amount. This study seeks to delve further truly into how their bodies work to aid in our Life Evocationist brethren's studies, longpig-consumer's fine cooking, and ... All macabre topics in-between. Descendant Flesh is often an array of colors between snowy whites, to earthen brows, and coal blacks (aside from Orcish skin, which is an entirely different affair). It can commonly be infected with dirt and sickness, resulting in wells of pus and blood on the surface, and when cut can become easily infected. In contrast to other creatures (including Orcs), descendant skin is malleable and very easily cut through. Orcish flesh, however, is leathery; it is much tougher to cut and requires more strength than what most Voidal Magi could muster -- however, when cut, these wounds take longer to heal and almost always scar over in a pigment slightly lighter than their skintone. Orcish skin is also sometimes striped or spotted, peculiarly. Flesh is what holds firm Descendants' organs. With a lack of flesh, the Descendant's musculoskeletal system will struggle against the body's internal organs and eventually give in to their weight, and let me tell you, hanging up all TWENTY TWO feet of someone's small intestines ... It's tedious. The Citadel's findings on how Descendants may perform once rid of their flesh are as follows. All test subjects were conjurations, not truly living individuals. Spare us thy pitchforks and torches! HUMANS: Survived for three days. The human's intestines ruptured the layer of muscle and quickly caused its demise. URUKS: Survived for an astonishing six days. I theorize it was their rage that empowered them -- the adrenaline from it, surely. However, it was their stomach that ruptured the Orc's muscle. It was also on the verge of death by hypothermia, it seems their flesh acts as an insulator of sorts due to its thickness. DWARVES: Survived for four days. The dwarf died of sepsis, as some remnant hair stuck on tiny, tiny muscles; arrector pili, which control how a descendant's hair stands (when one gets 'goosebumps'), somehow grew backwards into the organs and transferred outside contaminants inwards. ELVES: Survived for two days. The elf seemingly died of two things, its circulatory system desperately attempting to scab over the entire body to prevent breeches, and dehydration. The elf out-performed all other test subjects in resisting hypothermia, seconded closely by only dwarves because of their small, hardy mass. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Don't ... Lose your skin.

nub wae tabby got mod, I've only seen the dude bother & troll people on discord redemption arc?? Anyways 60th and Twandhi are swag

Somewhere, an elf still feigning as a human sips on tea as she watches the sun set. "I vonder how Cain is, these days."

Sprites, they seem fun to do an event with but they cant do anything, people will kill you because Tiny (and/or rare alchemy ingredients), doomed if you enter combat what-so-ever on the flipside, Orcs & Hou-zi are my faves

A woman blankly stares at the flier, gradually more and more horrified. "The Xannites and Azdrazi are ... A wee bit too inte' this. I say ve get rid of them both."

Much needed, +1

um ackshually I am 1/13th demon . . . so I have wings and 3 ft long horns and demon magick!!!😡 Thanks for the clarification!

I like the rewrite, specifically the addition of the whole soul thing; I just feel like it gives them more depth than the past submission, emphasizing that they're devils and not reskinned descendant with horns. Big +1 One question, I may have glossed it over if it's already answered there: What happens if a devil were to have children /w a regular descendant? I recall a pretty big family of elves from Rosenyr saying they had tails & horns from a single cursed child parent, but I also recall ST saying no traits are passed on regardless. Could there be some kind of middle-man (no horns/wings/etc, but blatantly odd or twisted features), or is it more of a 'they have to have a completely tainted soul, not partly, to inherit any of the traits'?

@Apollonous Viktoriya waves a fist in the air as she reads the paper. "My horse, it must have also been drugged! Why else wouldn't et valk straight?"

the safety team... Gave the page a read, and honestly, it's great it's there now. Should have been there much earlier, but something's better than nothing, I can only hope that this might prevent grooming from happening as much as it does currently.

A bat wings down from the heavens, a parchment held within its unusually toothy maws. It reads ... "Congratulations, prospective student! You have been accepted. A grand opening will occur soon once the Citadel's staffings are in order. Please prepare tuition payment for any class(es) you have applied for. - Headmaster V. DeNurem." @Crevel@wowj @Islamadon The same messenger visits Dahlia not long after. "Greetings, prospective teacher. We have hired an Arcane Professor already, though if you'd like to assist as a co-professor, you may. Please send word back within the next few saint's days and we can add you to the roster. - Headmaster V. DeNurem." @alexmagus