The problem with Qaf, as presented, is that he is terrible for a collaborative storytelling game. Isolation, ignoring things, never seeking aid? Terrible for story and the social contract.
I've made some small modifications to make him a better fit for the story:
Qaf, The Heaven Violating Spear
Once, before mortal minds grasped onto concepts of time through aged fingers, Qaf appeared unto the Wyld. Qaf was as infinite as the Realm Unshaped and from the first sought its beginning and end, striking out as a brilliant white line against the roiling mutable madness. In their travels, the other Primodials found him, a clear direction in an unreadable shifting realm. They shared with him the Shining Answer, a place/concept or thing that must have started all of this and set into motion the events of their existence. Intrigued, Qaf joined them and offered to be their guide, foraging into the unknown for the birth of the Universe and inso themselves. Qaf was possessed of the Shining Answer - even when the conflict with the Unshaped had eased to a gentle wave, no longer threatening to sweep them away, as the others lay down worn and tired and seeking peace and recuperation…Qaf sought on. Creation was build around him, his unbending will and impossible hunger for understanding forming the Axis Mundi, his Joten the spine of a fledgling cosmos all their own. When the gods, who dwelt upon the pile of dirt and dust that gathered about him, what would come to be known as Mount Maru, rebelled – he was far away still, seeking the answer.
As the Primodials became Yozi, when the king of their kin entered bondage and crawled within himself, the gods looked upon Qaf who stood as a shimming spire to pierce into the realms of heaven and beyond. Though Qaf had not raised a hand in the grand conflict, though he had not given council or curse, and though he had only held all of creation about him with every rock and quake that threatened to sunder it – the victors looked upon him and sneered. In him they saw weakness, dependence and something that would always be beyond them. Many questioned how Creation could continue to exist without Qaf, what would it be without the celestial pole? Others asked, how could they cast away and seal something without limits, as even the Endless desert was only bound in half to the prison – her hands grasping and felt in places of desolation. In the end they bent him so that his beginning and end converged, thus and then we was banished into a realm where there were no sights and no wisdom to be found, only still blank infinity. No longer could he seek the shining answer, no longer could Qaf study and learn from the infinite vistas of the Wyld – now he had only himself as the path. If the Shining Answer were to be found, it would be within himself.
On 'Portals of Black Nacre':
Though Qaf knows the truth will only be found in himself, he still seeks perspective, thus did the Portals of Black Nacre grow up like windows of night gazing out on his brothers and sisters. Though they are shaped, though the world outside is a pale comparison to the blurred infinities of yesteryear – Qaf prizes his portals above all things he yet possess. Not because he believes there is truth out there, but because what is outside can help one to understand what is within. Each is a lesson, a lesson to be learned again and again, as each grows in turn.
Qafian Urge (The Urge to Enlighten)
Qaf wishes his chosen to discover lost secrets, study other realms of existence, immortalize lessons, uplift the worthy that seek them out and finally master themselves. Qaf also wills it's choosen to eradicate distraction, throw down those who quit the path, and find answers to impossible questions. A stone cannot know enlightenment, for it is empty and blind, only through the accumulation of knowledge and personal growth can the path be taken further.
Qafian Acts of Villainy & Torment:
Qaf seeks enlightenment above all, above freedom, and above joy. When the chosen forces a student to overcome harsh trials, torments and mutilation in the pursuit of enlightenment – Qaf is pleased.
To step from the path of enlightenment is to lose the light from your eyes and know only helplessness, fear and loss. While under torment, the chosen is filled with a great dread that they have lost their way, desperate to find their path again. Many chosen beat themselves to cleanse their bodies, others purge their systems of filth, and some isolate themselves in dark chambers of hidden torments to attain focus at any cost. Further, those that fall under the pupil keyword are also affected by their master's torment through the poison welling up in their spiritual link, and seek to reaffirm their path similarly.
Qaf Charm Seeds:
· Immortalizing moments of one's life for meditation and the deep lessons to be found in such events
· Trial and punishment, but also reward if the itinerant is successful (given to others)
· Gazing through portals of nacre -> Study others to learn about the self in relation (I am like/unlike the observed)
· Carrying your teachings and being in those who you've taught
· Being the Axis Mundi, become the center of attention and focus through personal magnetism. rather than loud and overt action
· Enlightenment of others, beyond simply opening their eyes to their essence (suite of powerful training charms with high costs and difficult trials)
· Refusal to quit/give up upon one's motivation/urge/declared quest
· Transcend physical bounds, allowing one's will to buoy one up
· Building of monuments, of learning/enlightenment/beauty and personal meaning/moments
· Bending of Space
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Then the most important seeds, the ones that will be woven through the whole of the other charms:
"You have power over those you have taught & you may ignore the existence of the ignorant"
This will take the form of the Keywords: Pupil and Ignorance
Pupil - Will activate on those learning from the Infernal/Akuma and provide several benefits to the student but also controls to the master.
Ignorance - Will activate to those who refuse "challenges" from the Infernal/Akuma and will combo with other charms, better allowing the PC to ignore those of lower spiritual worth.
Still working on this, obviously, but I do have some ideas and hope to have something written before the game next Tuesday.
