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[h2]『 I n f o   D u m p 』[/h2][/center]
[hider=Lore][hider=The Beginning]The Age of Darkness, it began with eons of war amongst the titanic celestials in the endless Sea of Stars. Countless serpent coiled around galaxies and made nests, astral goliaths wielding hammers forged from asteroids and icy swords from comets sought to hunt those serpents and feed on the umbra that coursed through their veins. These shadow leviathans would be hunted, their skin clothing every warrior goliath upon each victory. And each leviathan that slew a goliath would bring a fresh astral corpse to their nests so that its snakelets could drink the twinkling blood from their veins. 

The war would see no end, and even as the last remnants of each race faced one another, no amnesty could be reached. As the last of these ancient races met their end, a long silence fell upon the universe and in that voidic erasure of sound and sight would the flickers of new life be made. Within the innumerable remains of these ancient creatures were the building blocks for what would become our Gods. And upon the first fiery breath of The Golden One,The Age of Light would begin.[/hider]

[Hider=The Foundation]Scholars believe that the first god’s life began when the bones of a leviathan drifted into an ocean of Goliath’s blood. Even after their lives had long been extinguished, the black bones caught back against the molten ether preventing them from dissolving into dust. Perhaps the countless souls of goliaths came to respect this serpent, though he was long gone from this world his very remains remained defiant to its enemy. Blood slowly formed into soft glowing flesh, heat cooled into a coat of incandescent scars, and what eventually came to be was something that was not neither leviathan nor goliath. The Golden One’s first breath sent an inferno throughout the Sea of Stars, illuminating every corner of reality.

The Golden One swam throughout the cosmos driven by curiosity and in search of purpose. He would first find the corners once claimed by the Goliaths, where moons held great forges and belts of asteroids were chiseled and chained together. The first dragon found many trinkets and treasures that caught its attention, weapons, tools, arts and measurements and reason. But what captivated him the most was an asteroid that reminded him much of himself, yellowish metal that glistened brightly in his own light. 

Eventually his interest would wane, but he did not trust that his coveted treasures would remain here should he leave. How could something exist if he were not there to perceive it? So the golden one struck a claw against his flesh and dripped his glowing blood upon a hammer left behind by the goliaths. As the primordial liquid touched stone and metal, the ethereal energy gave the hammer life, shifting the earthen elements into what would be known as Urt. She was just. as much a god as the Golden One, one much closer to a goliath than her father; with arms, legs, eyes, and ears, the shape of a humanoid. Urt thanked her father for giving her life, and asked the first dragon for purpose. “Protect my treasures, forge others.” A simple task for the first earthen god of creation, and when The Golden One departed she would begin to do just that.

The dragon sought further. Into the distant corners where his flames reached, but the light was just a bit dimmer. Here the Golden One felt something new, fear, the regions he once called home were long behind him and cold bit into his molten scales forming cosmic storms with each beat of his massive wings. But eventually he would find the deepest corners of the cosmos where the leviathans squirmed out from the abyss. The swirling liquid vortexes consumed the elements and spat them out as something new, ice into water, earth into dust. A great glowing spring sat at the center of the great leviathan nest, and the dragon’s curiosity drew him closer until eventually the Golden One decided to taste from the spring.

Knowledge of the Age before flooded the dragon’s mind, the all-hungering serpents and the all-conquering leviathans, the self-destruction of both, and the silence that followed. Drinking from the spring brought another new emotion to the dragon’s mind, sorrow, he lamented the mistakes of his ancestors. But to know the terrors of before his time, it was something that could never allow another being to learn. So the Golden One turned to the spring and unleashed a great flame that evaporated the very waters the serpents spent their lives protecting. But as that burning steam trailed off, regret filled the dragon’s mind and he struck a claw against his flesh once again to trickle his blood into the vapors of time. 

If Urt was a god born in the image of a goliath, Nos was a god in the image of a leviathan. He was an infinitely long spectral serpent of mist, and just as Urt did upon her birth Nos asked for purpose from his father. “Hide, and never show your face to any but me.” And with his task given, the god of water and time fled from the Golden One to be in constant avoidance of all life and being so he may never be found.[/hider]

[hider=The Realm][sup][i]The light of life. Everlasting.
The cornerstone of creation. Everstrong.
The flow of time. Everfleeting.
The First Dragon.
The Mother of Creation.
The Father of Time.[/i][/sup]

With the triune’s roles established the Age of Light would come to an end and the current era would begin. The Age of Man, so vainly claimed by humans, one of the many races which sprouted from the realms shaped by Urt. Though others rose and fell alongside the humans, it was the stories they weaved and the laws they wrote that would give rise to the first wars among the mortal races. Those wars would establish the heroes of our age, individuals with power to stand over others, closer to the gods than all others.

But what exactly distinguished that? What made someone more god-like than another? Who could determine such a thing? 

Five great wyrms, beings somewhere between gods and mortals. Though our realm is not their home, each claims regions of the land as their nesting and offer wisdom to mortals who are deserving of it. The wyrms are unanimously called The Sojourners, but each has a name said to have been gifted by The Golden One himself. To north is Nix, the largest of the wyrms with midnight black scales and burning red eyes. She claims the title of Nightbringer, and each of her breaths brings months of winter to her region making it mostly inhospitable to any but the hardiest of creatures. To the east is Styx, the smallest of the wyrms witb deep blue scales and pale white eyes. He claims the title of Soulseer, and legend has it that in his realm the dead are carried to the afterlife upon his back, the Cult of Styx worship this Sojourner as a god himself. To the west is Charon, twin brother of Styx with alabaster scales and bright blue eyes. He claims the title of Stormbearer, and the western realm knows the wrath of constant lightning strikes and torrential rains. To the south sleeps the fourth wyrm, Kerboros the three headed wyrm with mirror-like scales that shimmer with countless colors. They are not the largest, nor the strongest of the wyrms, but holding the title of The Keeper they are said to offer maddening wisdom to any who earn the Sojourner’s voice. 

The fifth wyrm, Hydra was challenged and defeated by a mortal hero and with the wyrm’s honor stained she fell into a long depression and it is said she disappeared from the realm and returned to where the wyrms traveled from. Most heroes of the realm take upon themselves great challenges from these wyrms and upon completing them, are granted a fraction of their power to wield and sway over their fellow mortals. To earn the title of “Hero” is the closest a mortal could achieve to godhood.. or at least that is what we originally thought.[/hider]

[hider=The Rift] The moon of our realm disappeared, and in its place a massive palace with fountains of liquid starlight and glittering clouds shined in splendor. And with this skycastle came what could only be described as “Gods”.. but they were not the gods we knew of. Pearlescent skin, glowing eyes, perfect beings with flesh as hard as steel, and they were formed in the shape of a human. These beings claimed to be “God Chosen” the first children of Urt who had been tasked with bringing order to The Realm.

The orcs, goblins, trolls, ogres, even the dwarves, all in collective agreement rejected these alien creatures and renounced any sort of claim they had to The Realm. Some humans looked to the chosen and saw opportunity, quickly bowing their heads in subservience to find a place in power only second to these beings. Other humans did not, they looked to their history and all of the progress their race had made, standing their ground to not bow and vowed to fight whatever status quo the Chosen wished to enforce. The leader of these Chosen, a long-haired wielder of lightning named Zeus openly stated that challenged their mission would be destroyed, and that the wyrms of The Realm would be first.

The Sojourners however did not leave the gold-encrusted caverns they called home. But in their stead, the mortal races of the realm who defied the Chosen would rise up in solidarity against the god-like creatures. Races that once hated eachother stood side-by-side and took arms against a common enemy. It was however, all in vain, as these Chosen held power far beyond what even the most skilled of sorcerers could muster. Zeus entered the realm of Charon and harnessed the storms to obliterate entire cities. Hades entered the realm of Styx and chained the dead into servitude, preventing any mortals from dying so they may wither in eternal servitude. Many fled to the north, the cold hellscape was protected by Nix who managed to slay many Chosen who were foolish enough to enter her realm.  

The war against The Chosen seemed to be coming to an end quickly, with the Age of Man ending along with it. But something unexplainable would delay that guaranteed victory. The castle that these Chosen originated from crumbled, white metal and marble shattered and fractured, hundreds of this god-like race eradicated in an instant. And in its wake a tear in the fabric of reality, with two black serpents covered in slit eyes slithering out. The portal now referred to simply as The Rift has not ushered in any more horrors, but thankfully the great serpents do not seem to have a scent for mortals and instead hunt the remaining chosen that still battle across the Realm.[/hider][/hider]

[hider=Races]Humans
Elves
Dwarves
Beastmen
Lizardmen
Kobold
Giants
Trolls
Orcs
Goblins
Gnomes
Fae
Centaur
Minotaur

[sup]Humans are the most plentiful race, but there are countless variants and subraces that each have their own cultures and unique traits that make them distinct from one another. I leave it to the player who decides on a less fleshed out race to develop it, and give them full permission and power to go ham in doing so.[/sup][/hider]

[hider=Places]
Eiskraun - The Glacial Tundras
Nichteben - The Umbral Temple
Bruina - Ursine Fjords
Limba - The Borderland

Fraktis - The Broken Mountains
Lebis - Styx’s Tear
Deisis - City of the Dead
Boris - The Desert or Salt

Acies - Eternal Battlefield
Vitas - The Storm Capital
Pasius - Storm’s Eye Isle
Fonys - The Forest of Lies

Porta - Merchant’s Bounty
Ciolta - Nos Crater
Goeta - City of Demons
Rota - The Mouth of the Realm

[/hider]

[hider=Arcana]Nobody knows when the first mage became aware of the ether flowing through their veins, or when the first spell was inked upon the pages of a tome. But over the years we have learned how magic works. Traces of celestial energy exist in all life, all rooting back to the blood of The Golden One. Some have it emerge at random, others cultivate the potential within themselves, many even cross bloodlines with mage in hopes that their offspring will unlock latent power. Regardless of how it arises, Magic is categorized as Major or Minor Arcana.

[hider=Major]XXI (The World) is the most common of the major arcana to appear in individuals. With this level of magic the caster is able to mold the material world to some degree. Constructing walls from the dirt beneath your feet, assembling a hammer from stone, it is the ability to create in its truest form. While novices of this arcana may only be able to create small cubes, spheres, simple shapes and tools, there are some highly skilled mages who are able to create weapons of war with this gift. [b]Ex: Earthbending, Ferromancy, Golemancy[/b]

XX (Judgement) is the least common arcana across the realm, and likely the most coveted. Mages gifted with this arcana are able to harness their ether and channel it into psionic abilities that effect the minds of others. Most are given access to things like simple illusions, sway over weak-minded individuals, and in rare cases telepathy. Skilled users of this arcana typically find themselves as faction spies or politicians. [b]Ex: Illusions, Telekinesis, Telepathy[/b]

XIX (The Sun) is the arcana of healing, granting its wielder the purest utilization of ether as they conjure golden light from their fingertips to reverse the weave of time and undo the blemishes of war. In most cases a mender exhausts themselves to pump as much ether into simple flesh wounds to slowly undo the damage. But powerful casters of this magic are able to regrow missing body parts, and even bring someone back from the dead. [b]Ex: Time Magic, Healing Magic, Immortality[/b]

XVIII (The Moon) is known as the arcana of transformation, and is seen as a curse rather than a blessing to most. This magic grants its heightened senses, enhanced strength, and an affinity for communing with bestial creatures across the realm. But along with this they slowly take on monstrous features as their mind slowly gives way for dangerous primal instincts. [b]Ex: Lycanthropy and other forms of bestial transformation.[/b]

XVII (The Star) is known as the arcana of knowledge. Those gifted with this classification are given some level of clairvoyance, whether it’s through dreams or sudden visions, the future or even the past are able to be glimpsed into. It is one of the more common arcana to obtain, but many that hold it don’t even know. Masters of this arcana are seers, wisemen, sages, holding greater wisdom only surpassed the Wyrms. [b]Ex: Scrying, Astral Projection, Foresight[/b]

XVI (The Tower) is the antithesis to the creation arcana, embodying the magic of destruction. Where a caster of World Arcana could turn a home into countless cubes, the furnishings would remain, and the people unharmed. To utilize the tower is a chaotic deconstruction that is difficult to control. Simple casting of this arcana tends to appear as holes in walls created by petty thieves, but masters can place their hand upon the walls of a castle and reduce it to dust. [b]Ex: Destruction Magic, Molecular Degradation, Disintegration[/b]

XV (The Devil) is quite unique amongst the arcana as those gifted with it aren’t able to cast magic in any facet. Instead their presence simply cancels out any magic from being convoked so long as their heart continued to beat. The range and strength of this erasure differs from individual to individual, but they are highly sought after by militaries across the Realm. [b]Example: Aura of Anti-Magic, extends into items you wield and domains you occupy.[/b]

XIV (Temperance) is found somewhere between the Devil and the Sun, this arcana grants the caster a bit of sway over other magic. Dispelling spears of stone, enhancing the destructive capability of a Tower’s destruction, and even sensing the illusions of Judgment. They are a jack of all trades when it comes to magic and are often employed by cities to help keep other mages under control. [b]Ex: Enhances, lessens, or dispels magic. Not quite as strong as anti-magic, but offers more in terms of support.[/b]

XIII (Death) is another arcana perceived by most to be a curse. Awakening the arcana of death forces the soul out of the mortal shell and the ether follows it to tether your spectral form to the physical plane. There are benefits to being a spirit that walks among the living; you can’t be harmed physically, you do not require food or water, you can fly.. and with time and training you can even possess the shell of another. [b]Ex: You become a ghost, but you do not pass on to whatever afterlife you were destined to.[/b]

XII (The Hanged Man) could be considered the worst case scenario when it comes to being blessed with an arcana. The body’s ether is incapable of manipulation through focus, incantation, or written glyphs, and instead must be released through the blood itself. The hanged man’s body quite literally becomes the weapon, their blood able to to crystallize and fire out like daggers, their skin able to harden like stone. But because of this your body slowly grows used to the pain as you wither away with every self inflicted wound. [b]Ex: Hemomancy, Fleshcrafting, Bone Manipultion, cases of vampirism are not uncommon.[/b]

XI (Justice) is another arcana often sought after by cities and military regimes. The word and will of this individual is absolute, and while a user of Judgment can “convince” someone born with Justice will “command”. Novices can tell doors to open or candles to ignore. Where as a master can order their arrow to “aim true” and it would most certainly land its mark. [b]Ex: Conqueror Haki, Willpower Imbuement, Too Stubborn to Die[/b]


X (Wheel of Fortune) is the simplest, but most unexplainable arcana of them all.. you’re just extremely lucky? [b]Ex: GM’s favorite.[/b]

IX (The Hermit) users are blessed with access to a dimension of their own, to hold, to trap, to hide. You wouldn’t think such a mundane ability would strike fear into the hearts of others, but there are legends about mages of this arcana stealing unveiling oceans of insects from their mage. At its most rudimentary level you may store your food, your belongings.. but it is said that this space can be shaped into a plane that could be lived and dweller within, entire cities hidden away by one single man. [b]Ex: Access to their own personal plane! Planeswalker![/b]

VIII (Strength) gives its wielder dominance over the forces of gravity, giving even the bleakest of talents the ability to fly and the most brilliant mages far more devastating effects. There have only been a handful of mages blessed with this arcana and all were feared among their generations. [b]Ex: Gravity Manipulation, Weight Manipulation, Flight[/b]

VII (The Chariot) is the sister arcana to The Hermit. Where the hermit hides themselves and the things they cherish away from the rest of their world, those gifted with this arcana are free to explore every edge of the realm. Some believe it is immeasurable speed, others think they are given sight to planar corridors that take you from one location to another. Whatever the answer may be, Chariot users are able to travel great distances in the blink of an eye. At early stages they can instantly send themselves where their eyes can see, while savants can travel anywhere their mind’s eye can perceive. [b]Ex: Teleportation of self and items wielded.[/b]

VI (The Lovers) is a strange arcana in that it will not awaken on its own, and requires another with this arcana to come into contact with them. When a pair of lovers make physical contact they are capable of “true sorcery” manifesting their ether into elements, shapes, raw energy, or spells combining all of these together. The difficulty in this is that the two lovers must be in sync to accomplish anything substantial, and without proper training they can do little other than weird light effects and harmless thaumaturgy. [b]Ex: If you and your partner work through your problems and find a healthy dynamic, you can be two halves of a wizard![/b]

V (The Hierophant) No recorded wielder.

IV (The Emperor) No recorded wielder.

III (The Empress) No recorded wielder.

II (The Priestess) No recorded wielder.

I (The Magician) is an arcana that has not been seen in thousands of years. To be born with this arcana places you at a level of power that draws the ire of the wyrms. You feel the ley-lines beneath your feet, you can see the natural ether in the air, you are a mage in its truest form and are capable of bending the laws of reality to your will. Some believe that those born with this arcana are executed before they can learn to truly master their abilities, others think that there are covens of magicians that work in solitude for the greater good. Who knows? [b]Ex: Access to magic at a universal level. The only thing holding you back is your own knowledge and potential.[/b]

0 (The Fool) is an arcana with seemingly no magical capability whatsoever. You become aware of the ether within yourself, and a voice in your head tells you to kill your loved ones, burn your granaries, and poison the wells, because none of it is real anyway. [b]You become aware of all realities, including the forum that your universe halfheartedly exists on. Oh no! You’re insane now![/b][/hider]

[hider=Minor]
These are all mystical artifacts scattered throughout the realm that allow individuals born without a major arcana to compel the ether out of your body into an outcome that is distinguished by the artifact itself. There are four variations of these minor arcana, and fourteen variants of those that hold very different effects. These effects are extremely specific, and rather than holding a broad range of effects like those of the greater arcana. 
[b]• Turning time from day to night.
• Making it rain.
• Turning copper into gold.
• Emitting the sound of a man screaming.[/b]

The Swords are all armaments of some sort; swords, spears, hammers, shields.

The Wands are tools that wouldn’t be seen as a weapon; chains, rope, a hoe, or even something like a shovel.

The Cups are mundane items; a chalice, furniture, a toilet paper roll, or even broken piece of mirror.

The Pentacles are typically jewelry or stones; a tiara, pendant, ring, or even just a big shiny rock.[/hider][/hider][hr][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220911/217b02723c8c6dfb4b36a77a8e9369b3.png[/img]

[sup][b]For the first time years the advance of these alien entities has faltered. It seemed as if all hope was lost as the almighty beings led armies of those who bowed to them, easily overpowering any who didn’t. Their campaign started from the western and eastern coastlines of the Realm, limiting the resources that the northern and southern territories which still resisted. Famine, in-fighting, and the enemy itself had pushed the rebellious regions to brink of destruction. But with the Rift’s appearance, and the abominations with a taste for false god blood gave those that wished to fight the break they needed.

The Umbral Order, an organization that has fables and boogeyman tales written about its members. They were once thought to be myth, and if the stories were true, whatever remnants existed were likely a shadow of the sect’s former glory. But with the arrival of these eldritch serpents, men in hooded robes of liquid shadow, and masks that stood where a head should be, began to appear in remote areas across the realm. Eerie, nightmarishly frightening as they were, each sought the aid of those with the courage to give their life to take back the Realm.

This leads the player characters to Goeta, a city along the southern edge of the Realm and one of the last hubs of culture and commerce that remains untouched by the spreading influence of the Chosen. Goeta has no rulers and instead is managed by a wealthy moguls who have purchased enough power form themselves. The players will initially be tasked with convincing some of these powerful moguls in the City of Demons to aid in the war effort against the Chosen. Some may be swayed with ease, others may require something in return, and some may have already aligned with your enemy.[/b][/sup]

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[sup][b]Embers to Ashes is primarily influenced by media like; Berserk, Black Clover, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy. There are themes taken from various forms of mythology with an overarching [Man vs God] thread following narrative from start to finish. While I’m not going to have flesh-eating plagues or fish men, I do intend on having some Lovecraft splashed in as well without muddying the thematic waters too much. The presentation will be meant to make characters who by their own standards are very strong still feel a weak against forces or far greater power, and the intent will be a hard journey to overcome the odds that are against them.[/b][/sup]

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[sup][b]I've taken a LONG break from purely text based roleplaying. Final Fantasy XIV took over my life for a long ass time, and while Island Sanctuary is my current time sink, I won't be progression raiding or roleplaying on Mateus for a while. So the purpose of this would be [if it gets up off the ground] to be my primary creative writing outlet for the time being.

GM posts would be weekly on Friday evenings after all of my grown-up chores are complete, and I'd be pretty lenient on posting speed so long as nobody is doing anything that would hold the rest of the cast up or prevent a major narrative moment from happening. That being said, this is still a major work in progress and I won't be fleshing this out any further unless an inkling of interest is garnered for something of this type.[/b][/sup]