Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
A fun read. Is the extremely casual mass murder because he's being effected by having too many black lands, or is that just the way he is?
Adventures in Artifice (MTG/Multi)
- Thread starter yinko
- Start date
The Grey Mage
Certified Team Flare Hater
- Location
- Parallel Universe 43-j
I really like this story.
Curious Whimsy
(Verified Poet) (Verified Insane)
- Location
- Georgia
Sooo, i just read all of that in my email before realizing i what i was doing. Anyway, Good vader wannabe. The deal must always be altered!
- Location
- ROB's House
Hahaha, this is too great, that bit with erasing the tower was a lovely way to solve his problems 
Wondering why he hasn't gotten a blue land. Isn't he out at sea currently?
Wondering why he hasn't gotten a blue land. Isn't he out at sea currently?
- Location
- US
Part of it is certainly because it's an incredibly detached way to kill. Like pressing a button to launch a missile, he's just creating a situation where the sea is doing most of the killing for him. Part of it is because they wanted what he had, part of it is because he's getting pretty detached. And part of it is because he's just that way.
If he were actually that casual, he would have killed the ship's crew once he got his blue land, and then replicated them. But he didn't because he's not quite that pragmatic just yet.
He can't write the local language. Plus, they scouted out the tower before risking their own lives. So that probably wouldn't have worked.
He just got one blue. He was never in an area sufficiently blue enough to count. I've been counting only the named areas on the map as important enough to really count as whole lands. So far at least, that may be different for other planes.
Weero
Taijiquan Initiate
Isn't that basically the green deck M.O.?
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
Well yes, but normally you have to put a bit more effort and mana in to get a 21/21 trample on the field than just surviving long enough.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
hmm...what can you do with one blue Mana....
- Location
- US
Is Rush of Ice depicting an Eldrazi getting frozen? Arcanium wings look like a whole bunch of paper talismans just slapped together.
By the way. The reason for why I described the leviathans the way I did was
Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
Well, that's not horrifying at all. What film / TV series are those from?
- Location
- US
No clue. Just an image result for 'Lovecraft Leviathan'.
There are hundreds of populated little islands on the Thousand Isles. If that were an option he would have more blue mana in a month than he could spend in a lifetime. It's a bit of a nerf, but one that agrees with the approach I was already using. Which is to have lands be the territories given names on the map.
Part of it can be seen from a lore perspective as well, as not every field and village is important or old enough to count. For the most part, the islanders live where they do because they can't leave, not because its where they want to be. The islands they live on may not even have individual names.
SkySkimmer
I use hugs for evil.
- Location
- US
While having to restart every time would be interesting, it's not something I'm interested in this time. I also don't think it has any basis in the lore. Like the comics they posted on the website a few years ago, when one of the new planeswalkers showed up in a new world, they could still use all their old magics just as well as before.
Nicely done. All credit to Andrey Filimonov I guess.
Krazyfan1
Worrying for the future.
- Location
- Australia
THE map?
what if one map has named an area another map didnt?
could he make his own map and name everything?
- Location
- US
The map I'm using. Also why it will change a bit for other planes, where things are labeled differently.
Pretty much my take on it as well. For some sci-fi type planes, there may well be entire worlds that have no lands at all, because no one's ever cared about them.
I'm about to double post. Chapter's up.
The Trees have Eyes
- Location
- US
Can there be a place more similar to Innistrad? No clue, never been there before, hopefully never will. If anything, it looks like what vampire movies make out Transylvania to look like. Or that area from WoW with all the Worgen.
…I'm just describing a rat-king of a trope aren't I? Everything's so interrelated and interconnected that it's like my grandfather's attempts at plumbing.
Also not a euphemism.
What should I call myself this time? Hmm
"Hey, what is Mossovy known for again?"
"Being fucking depressing, shapechangers and demon hunters."
"If they've got hunters then they must have demons. Unless they just do it for the chicks… could be like Diablo though, in which case they'd do it for the dudes. I don't judge. Marriage is a man's market right now, women have to stay completion, just being willing to put out's not enough."
"Why can't they just do it to conquer a persistent evil? Supposedly there are a fair number of demons abouts. Never seen them myself, not stupid enough to leave the port and wander into that hellhole."
"Oh please." I scoff "When has a demon hunter ever been doing it for civically minded purposes? They just like to look dark and mysterious, with a bunch of tight leather that chaffs in all the wrong places. They're rockstars in this place, and when was the last time a rockstar went into it for the music? Never!"
"Ummm. I've never seen a demon, but I've seen plenty of demon hunters in my time. They aren't much to look at. Mostly just grubby and suspicious people that hang around in odd places."
"Ooooh, so basically local Inquisition expys. That's alright then. A little inquisitorial investigation never hurt anyone… Yup."
I step off the boat and turn back to the captain. There's the persistent flinch again, the expectation of sudden death.
It's actually really funny to look at.
"You know. You might think of writing a tell-all book about this experience. 'Under the Dread-Lord's Yoke: A captain's tale' it'd be a best seller. Just make sure to get the characterization right. If in doubt then just crank up the evil till it seems like too much, then double it."
His face took on the appearance of just having swallowed a gargle blaster. Brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick. Blew his fucking mind with the idea of exploiting traumatic experience for crude sensationalism.
My work is done here. Turning around I walk dramatically off into the mist.
At least, I assume I do. It's pretty hard to tell without someone else's perspective to aid things a bit. I mean, the visibility is pretty bad, but generally things that contrast a bit with the mist will stay visible for a lot longer.
I just casually roll into town distractedly. Mostly by the fact that I have an irritating song stuck in my head.
Just looking for something vaguely diverting when I see a congregation of people seated on the ground. Jackpot! Crowds are almost interesting. Unless it's a salesman giving away free samples.
"What next?" I hear an old gruff voice
"The Tale of Origins!"
"Ingvar the Cruel"
"No, Bellinger the lustful and bloody!"
"What?! That tale's pure smut, this is a childrens' story time."
"How dare you. I grew up on my mother's knee hearing that story. Here you are claiming it's inappropriate."
"And what about the smirking prick at the back?" Is he pointing at me?
Ah, it seems he is "While gore fests may be kind of fun on occasion, I'd much prefer to hear the Tale of Origins."
Mostly because the ethnic groups based on Europe all originated from western Essos, even if many of them migrated to Westeros over time. So what was a bunch of vaguely European looking people doing here?
"In the before time, in the long-long ago. Our ancestors lived far to the east. There they were ruled over by a cruel and bloody family of tyrants. The Snarks!" The crowd booed appropriately. "The Snark tyrants hated anything that could threaten their power, they killed magic wherever they found it, even their ancient allies.
"One of their foes was known as Ulmund the Clever at the time. He had been defeated in battle, his sons and allies killed, his daughters kidnapped to be toyed with at the tyrant's leisure. But he escaped, gathered up the other fallen foes of the evil Snarks and set about to find the right opportunity for revenge.
"Eventually it came to pass that one of the tyrants had a love for the sea. He wished to sail west to expand his empire and prove his cruelty to all peoples of the world. Seeing their chance the gathered foes of the Snarks infiltrated his fleet.
"After many months of travel the point arrived, if the ships did not turn back at that point they would be forced to continue, possibly forever more, all dying aboard.
"At this point the evil Ban Snark was poised to turn back, for he was a coward. That is when Ulmund struck. He used his magic to slay his foe's spirit and command his body. Thus the ships were led forth long enough to seal their fate.
"In time, they did reach a new land. But under Ulmund's cunning each promising new land was rejected to the crews. After many, many, such rejections the crews grew so angry that they slew the visage of their tyrant and set ashore in these lands.
"Their foe more than just slain, but discredited to his followers, Ulmund and his allies came forth and banded with the local Mensk mages to give the rest of the tyrant's true followers as feed for forests with their blood.
"Such a union of blood shed bound out two peoples into one forever more, blood and magics becoming neither yet one. As always we can only hope that Ulmund's ancient foes and their line have been extinguished forever more. As per his plan."
Then the entire congregation repeated in unison "As per his plan", it's kind of creepy actually.
So… Kind of obvious I think. Bran the Shipwright made it to Essos, but got what he deserved in the process. Quite a bit of propaganda, and mutation of whispers going on there, obviously, but the gist is there. I doubt any of the steps presented were anything close to as smooth as the story indicates though.
A bit of it shows through, Bran to Ban, Stark to Snark, attempts to make him seem more malevolent at every turn, or more silly depending on the story being told and its tone.
Makes me wonder if the mythical 'snarks' of the north were always an insulting term for the ruling family, or it was just an adaptation for convenience. Lese majeste laws can be like that.
The last bit probably explains why Bran the Burner happened too. Way too stupid to be real otherwise. Though I'm not quite sure why the family would still exist, maybe some hidden history, a son or bastard that discovered the situation and used it to kill his way to the top, taking the name and titles for himself and burring the past.
I'm convinced. This mist isn't primarily water. It's far too hazy. Most importantly, the whole area is incredibly grimy.
This situation kind of reminds me of looking at the haze over pine forests during high summer. The sun heats up the oils in the needles and they float in the air creating a bluish tint to everything. Except here the material that's in the air is persistent and dense.
I hate doing this. Touching evergreens is always disgusting! I just know I'm going to have my hand covered in sap for the foreseeable future now, and I doubt they have good enough soap to break this down.
Gently, gently. Don't break open any of the pustules on the surface.
It's a bit similar to what I thought. A plant-based pesticide like that tree that they would plant around fields to ward off insects in tropical climates. I forget the name… Neem! That was it.
These things are basically just more irritating forms of Neem, that also produce a natural monoculture, create a perpetual hazy fog, and look unnaturally creepy.
No way these weren't created. Maybe when the First-Men got off the boat they tried to do the old rituals with the new forests and caused some kind of odd mutation. The way that the story teller mentioned the two magics being blended made it sound like whatever was produced was not just the best of each half but rather some totally new mutation of the older systems.
That'll be nice. Once I can find one of the local magic users.
Are these fuckers hiding or something?
"Hello? I was wondering if you could help me. My name's Hostanes" mythically the first man to provoke demons "I just arrived a few hours ago, I've long since heard of the wonders and terrors of Mossovy and wished to see it for myself. To that end, do you think you could, possibly, direct me towards a shapechanger, or even a demonhunter?"
After scarring three children into pissing themselves in terror, I learned that smiling in public was not cool.
Or maybe they just something against the way I smile. Might be a bit of both, but I bet my first guess was at least a bit accurate, because everyone keeps a fairly bland look most of the time.
Hopefully the old granny I'm talking to this time won't be as flighty.
"What you want one for?" She spits at my feet and I practically gag. I don't mind blood, but the other bodily fluids are just gross.
Swallowing down my reaction
"The truth is, where I'm from there are a lot of demons and creatrues that haunt the night. A few years ago a ship passed through that told rumors of Mossovy, a land supposedly filled with shapechangers and demonhunters. When we heard that we had hope for once. If you have those that hunt demons and other problems similar to us, then you must surely have methods to combat them. Please. Even if it turns out to be nothing, just finding some of these will tell us if we must look elsewhere for the answers."
"Why say one thing and then tell me you were lying. 'the truth is' bah! If you're going to beg like a dog for scraps then don't be so indecisive about it." So pity isn't going to work…
"You want me to get down on the ground and beg? I'll do it in an instant if you'll give me what I need."
She looks considering at me, damn bitch is actually considering it. "Sit… No, not like that, on the chair like a person! Tell me about what your enemy's are like."
I got this.
"The most obvious are the weres, men that take bestial form at night. Some say they have the minds of beasts as well, but I have my doubts, for no mere beast can be as brutal as some of the slaughters I've seen perpetrated. They hang their kills in the boughs of homes and sacred trees, to cause even more fear in their neighbors.
"Then there are the blood-fiends. They have the shape of men, but lust only for human blood. Many travelers have been murdered under suspicion of being blood-fiends. The fear is to the point that trade has been deeply affected.
"The last major group are not obvious monsters like the last two, but rather the Cult of the Great Turtle. Which exposes people to plagues and then releases them into towns and cities as a way of sacrificing the largest possible population to their foul god."
"Wow. You're proper fucked. Still, I can somewhat see you're reasoning. I suppose I can take some time out of my day."
"…Let me guess. You're some old badass demon hunter, long since in retirement?"
"Demon hunters never retire boy! I'm just taking a well deserved break till the next outburst happens."
What do you do, hobble over and whack them with your cane, gum them to death?
"I've hunted possessed shapechangers twice. They don't much like to advertise themselves, but you can generally tell one by the way they move and by their eyes. They've got a bit of their beasts still in them, even when they're not in their form. I don't know if the same is true for your 'weres', it might depend on what magics support the change.
"Unlike your beasts, the shapechangers aren't restricted by any specific time or anything like that."
"How do people become shapechangers? It might be similar to how weres came to be. None of the ones we've caught have been able to or willing to answer when put to the question."
"As for how the magic came about, it's probably tied into the Origin times. Individually however, it's well known, and also much of why the path is so unpopular. They first must have a beloved animal companion, closer to them than their family, and then they must cut its heart out and eat it.
"I've heard that this allows the animal's spirit to reside within that of the shapechanger's, and by merging spirit with spirit, the form of the man is taken over by that of the animal. Of course, due to the way that they come about, it is very rare for any shapechangers to have more than one animal form, as forming a deep enough bond becomes more and more difficult with each new form. In fact most of their first forms are either gained as a result of taking advantage of an accidental death, or because the parents want a shapechanger in the family and grooms their child's relationship with an animal without telling them of the planned result."
"It indeed seems possible that these could be similar magics. Perhaps someone found a way to imbed a souls of beasts into that of regular people. That's just random conjecture though."
"I had similar thoughts myself. Demons have some passing similarities with what you've said about blood-fiends also. They are intangible beings that take possession of a person's body, devours their spirit and then impersonates them while causing any number of evils."
"Do these demons gain the memories of those they've possessed?" Like the Youma in Claymore
"Of course. That's much of what makes being a demonhunter so difficult."
"You think that the blood-fiends could be some kind of demon, wearing the bodies of those they've killed?"
"It's possible."
"How do you defend against them then? I mean, if anyone could be a demon in disguise, and they presumably have some advantage over humans in a fight, then how do you keep people safe?"
"Look up. See the rafters? Those ward off demons. Most houses have something like these, though not quite as complete." I touch the pillar of the house, the carvings are all the entire framework, and the house is set off of the ground so that the bottom is similarly protected. "Still, that won't keep out a possessed body, just the bodiless demons. To help protect the towns we carve open the trunks of the trees encircling them, and stuff in the bodies of the possessed, still alive. The aura of dying demons is what you see permeating the areas around the towns as mist and fog. The demons are leached by the trees, drained till they have nothing left and are only thus destroyed.
"Much like how the smell of rotting meat wards off most animals, so too this aura helps to scare off most demons."
Interesting. I had thought that the mist was purely a type of oil, but the tree I examined also didn't have any sort of large incision either. I'll have to look around again.
"What do they want? For them to continue attacking even after so much, are they mindless?"
"No. Not mindless, but they don't think as men do. That is one of the ways to tell them apart, they may have all the memories of those they take, but being human is entirely an act to them, they seem to have emotions but not always the same ones as us. Nor does what makes sense to us make similar sense to them.
"I once saw a sculpture done by a demon, I won't tell you what they were made from, I think you can make a fair guess yourself. I asked it why it would make such a thing, it claimed it was trying to approach perfection."
"You'll have to give me more details. I'm picturing some non-objectivist monstrosity here."
"It was made of people."
"Ahhh." Sounds like the start of a Macabre artistic revolution. Are these demons just a bunch of hard core art lovers?
Damn that sounds cool.
…I'm just describing a rat-king of a trope aren't I? Everything's so interrelated and interconnected that it's like my grandfather's attempts at plumbing.
Also not a euphemism.
What should I call myself this time? Hmm
"Hey, what is Mossovy known for again?"
"Being fucking depressing, shapechangers and demon hunters."
"If they've got hunters then they must have demons. Unless they just do it for the chicks… could be like Diablo though, in which case they'd do it for the dudes. I don't judge. Marriage is a man's market right now, women have to stay completion, just being willing to put out's not enough."
"Why can't they just do it to conquer a persistent evil? Supposedly there are a fair number of demons abouts. Never seen them myself, not stupid enough to leave the port and wander into that hellhole."
"Oh please." I scoff "When has a demon hunter ever been doing it for civically minded purposes? They just like to look dark and mysterious, with a bunch of tight leather that chaffs in all the wrong places. They're rockstars in this place, and when was the last time a rockstar went into it for the music? Never!"
"Ummm. I've never seen a demon, but I've seen plenty of demon hunters in my time. They aren't much to look at. Mostly just grubby and suspicious people that hang around in odd places."
"Ooooh, so basically local Inquisition expys. That's alright then. A little inquisitorial investigation never hurt anyone… Yup."
I step off the boat and turn back to the captain. There's the persistent flinch again, the expectation of sudden death.
It's actually really funny to look at.
"You know. You might think of writing a tell-all book about this experience. 'Under the Dread-Lord's Yoke: A captain's tale' it'd be a best seller. Just make sure to get the characterization right. If in doubt then just crank up the evil till it seems like too much, then double it."
His face took on the appearance of just having swallowed a gargle blaster. Brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick. Blew his fucking mind with the idea of exploiting traumatic experience for crude sensationalism.
My work is done here. Turning around I walk dramatically off into the mist.
At least, I assume I do. It's pretty hard to tell without someone else's perspective to aid things a bit. I mean, the visibility is pretty bad, but generally things that contrast a bit with the mist will stay visible for a lot longer.
I just casually roll into town distractedly. Mostly by the fact that I have an irritating song stuck in my head.
Just looking for something vaguely diverting when I see a congregation of people seated on the ground. Jackpot! Crowds are almost interesting. Unless it's a salesman giving away free samples.
"What next?" I hear an old gruff voice
"The Tale of Origins!"
"Ingvar the Cruel"
"No, Bellinger the lustful and bloody!"
"What?! That tale's pure smut, this is a childrens' story time."
"How dare you. I grew up on my mother's knee hearing that story. Here you are claiming it's inappropriate."
"And what about the smirking prick at the back?" Is he pointing at me?
Ah, it seems he is "While gore fests may be kind of fun on occasion, I'd much prefer to hear the Tale of Origins."
Mostly because the ethnic groups based on Europe all originated from western Essos, even if many of them migrated to Westeros over time. So what was a bunch of vaguely European looking people doing here?
"In the before time, in the long-long ago. Our ancestors lived far to the east. There they were ruled over by a cruel and bloody family of tyrants. The Snarks!" The crowd booed appropriately. "The Snark tyrants hated anything that could threaten their power, they killed magic wherever they found it, even their ancient allies.
"One of their foes was known as Ulmund the Clever at the time. He had been defeated in battle, his sons and allies killed, his daughters kidnapped to be toyed with at the tyrant's leisure. But he escaped, gathered up the other fallen foes of the evil Snarks and set about to find the right opportunity for revenge.
"Eventually it came to pass that one of the tyrants had a love for the sea. He wished to sail west to expand his empire and prove his cruelty to all peoples of the world. Seeing their chance the gathered foes of the Snarks infiltrated his fleet.
"After many months of travel the point arrived, if the ships did not turn back at that point they would be forced to continue, possibly forever more, all dying aboard.
"At this point the evil Ban Snark was poised to turn back, for he was a coward. That is when Ulmund struck. He used his magic to slay his foe's spirit and command his body. Thus the ships were led forth long enough to seal their fate.
"In time, they did reach a new land. But under Ulmund's cunning each promising new land was rejected to the crews. After many, many, such rejections the crews grew so angry that they slew the visage of their tyrant and set ashore in these lands.
"Their foe more than just slain, but discredited to his followers, Ulmund and his allies came forth and banded with the local Mensk mages to give the rest of the tyrant's true followers as feed for forests with their blood.
"Such a union of blood shed bound out two peoples into one forever more, blood and magics becoming neither yet one. As always we can only hope that Ulmund's ancient foes and their line have been extinguished forever more. As per his plan."
Then the entire congregation repeated in unison "As per his plan", it's kind of creepy actually.
So… Kind of obvious I think. Bran the Shipwright made it to Essos, but got what he deserved in the process. Quite a bit of propaganda, and mutation of whispers going on there, obviously, but the gist is there. I doubt any of the steps presented were anything close to as smooth as the story indicates though.
A bit of it shows through, Bran to Ban, Stark to Snark, attempts to make him seem more malevolent at every turn, or more silly depending on the story being told and its tone.
Makes me wonder if the mythical 'snarks' of the north were always an insulting term for the ruling family, or it was just an adaptation for convenience. Lese majeste laws can be like that.
The last bit probably explains why Bran the Burner happened too. Way too stupid to be real otherwise. Though I'm not quite sure why the family would still exist, maybe some hidden history, a son or bastard that discovered the situation and used it to kill his way to the top, taking the name and titles for himself and burring the past.
I'm convinced. This mist isn't primarily water. It's far too hazy. Most importantly, the whole area is incredibly grimy.
This situation kind of reminds me of looking at the haze over pine forests during high summer. The sun heats up the oils in the needles and they float in the air creating a bluish tint to everything. Except here the material that's in the air is persistent and dense.
I hate doing this. Touching evergreens is always disgusting! I just know I'm going to have my hand covered in sap for the foreseeable future now, and I doubt they have good enough soap to break this down.
Gently, gently. Don't break open any of the pustules on the surface.
It's a bit similar to what I thought. A plant-based pesticide like that tree that they would plant around fields to ward off insects in tropical climates. I forget the name… Neem! That was it.
These things are basically just more irritating forms of Neem, that also produce a natural monoculture, create a perpetual hazy fog, and look unnaturally creepy.
No way these weren't created. Maybe when the First-Men got off the boat they tried to do the old rituals with the new forests and caused some kind of odd mutation. The way that the story teller mentioned the two magics being blended made it sound like whatever was produced was not just the best of each half but rather some totally new mutation of the older systems.
That'll be nice. Once I can find one of the local magic users.
Are these fuckers hiding or something?
"Hello? I was wondering if you could help me. My name's Hostanes" mythically the first man to provoke demons "I just arrived a few hours ago, I've long since heard of the wonders and terrors of Mossovy and wished to see it for myself. To that end, do you think you could, possibly, direct me towards a shapechanger, or even a demonhunter?"
After scarring three children into pissing themselves in terror, I learned that smiling in public was not cool.
Or maybe they just something against the way I smile. Might be a bit of both, but I bet my first guess was at least a bit accurate, because everyone keeps a fairly bland look most of the time.
Hopefully the old granny I'm talking to this time won't be as flighty.
"What you want one for?" She spits at my feet and I practically gag. I don't mind blood, but the other bodily fluids are just gross.
Swallowing down my reaction
"The truth is, where I'm from there are a lot of demons and creatrues that haunt the night. A few years ago a ship passed through that told rumors of Mossovy, a land supposedly filled with shapechangers and demonhunters. When we heard that we had hope for once. If you have those that hunt demons and other problems similar to us, then you must surely have methods to combat them. Please. Even if it turns out to be nothing, just finding some of these will tell us if we must look elsewhere for the answers."
"Why say one thing and then tell me you were lying. 'the truth is' bah! If you're going to beg like a dog for scraps then don't be so indecisive about it." So pity isn't going to work…
"You want me to get down on the ground and beg? I'll do it in an instant if you'll give me what I need."
She looks considering at me, damn bitch is actually considering it. "Sit… No, not like that, on the chair like a person! Tell me about what your enemy's are like."
I got this.
"The most obvious are the weres, men that take bestial form at night. Some say they have the minds of beasts as well, but I have my doubts, for no mere beast can be as brutal as some of the slaughters I've seen perpetrated. They hang their kills in the boughs of homes and sacred trees, to cause even more fear in their neighbors.
"Then there are the blood-fiends. They have the shape of men, but lust only for human blood. Many travelers have been murdered under suspicion of being blood-fiends. The fear is to the point that trade has been deeply affected.
"The last major group are not obvious monsters like the last two, but rather the Cult of the Great Turtle. Which exposes people to plagues and then releases them into towns and cities as a way of sacrificing the largest possible population to their foul god."
"Wow. You're proper fucked. Still, I can somewhat see you're reasoning. I suppose I can take some time out of my day."
"…Let me guess. You're some old badass demon hunter, long since in retirement?"
"Demon hunters never retire boy! I'm just taking a well deserved break till the next outburst happens."
What do you do, hobble over and whack them with your cane, gum them to death?
"I've hunted possessed shapechangers twice. They don't much like to advertise themselves, but you can generally tell one by the way they move and by their eyes. They've got a bit of their beasts still in them, even when they're not in their form. I don't know if the same is true for your 'weres', it might depend on what magics support the change.
"Unlike your beasts, the shapechangers aren't restricted by any specific time or anything like that."
"How do people become shapechangers? It might be similar to how weres came to be. None of the ones we've caught have been able to or willing to answer when put to the question."
"As for how the magic came about, it's probably tied into the Origin times. Individually however, it's well known, and also much of why the path is so unpopular. They first must have a beloved animal companion, closer to them than their family, and then they must cut its heart out and eat it.
"I've heard that this allows the animal's spirit to reside within that of the shapechanger's, and by merging spirit with spirit, the form of the man is taken over by that of the animal. Of course, due to the way that they come about, it is very rare for any shapechangers to have more than one animal form, as forming a deep enough bond becomes more and more difficult with each new form. In fact most of their first forms are either gained as a result of taking advantage of an accidental death, or because the parents want a shapechanger in the family and grooms their child's relationship with an animal without telling them of the planned result."
"It indeed seems possible that these could be similar magics. Perhaps someone found a way to imbed a souls of beasts into that of regular people. That's just random conjecture though."
"I had similar thoughts myself. Demons have some passing similarities with what you've said about blood-fiends also. They are intangible beings that take possession of a person's body, devours their spirit and then impersonates them while causing any number of evils."
"Do these demons gain the memories of those they've possessed?" Like the Youma in Claymore
"Of course. That's much of what makes being a demonhunter so difficult."
"You think that the blood-fiends could be some kind of demon, wearing the bodies of those they've killed?"
"It's possible."
"How do you defend against them then? I mean, if anyone could be a demon in disguise, and they presumably have some advantage over humans in a fight, then how do you keep people safe?"
"Look up. See the rafters? Those ward off demons. Most houses have something like these, though not quite as complete." I touch the pillar of the house, the carvings are all the entire framework, and the house is set off of the ground so that the bottom is similarly protected. "Still, that won't keep out a possessed body, just the bodiless demons. To help protect the towns we carve open the trunks of the trees encircling them, and stuff in the bodies of the possessed, still alive. The aura of dying demons is what you see permeating the areas around the towns as mist and fog. The demons are leached by the trees, drained till they have nothing left and are only thus destroyed.
"Much like how the smell of rotting meat wards off most animals, so too this aura helps to scare off most demons."
Interesting. I had thought that the mist was purely a type of oil, but the tree I examined also didn't have any sort of large incision either. I'll have to look around again.
"What do they want? For them to continue attacking even after so much, are they mindless?"
"No. Not mindless, but they don't think as men do. That is one of the ways to tell them apart, they may have all the memories of those they take, but being human is entirely an act to them, they seem to have emotions but not always the same ones as us. Nor does what makes sense to us make similar sense to them.
"I once saw a sculpture done by a demon, I won't tell you what they were made from, I think you can make a fair guess yourself. I asked it why it would make such a thing, it claimed it was trying to approach perfection."
"You'll have to give me more details. I'm picturing some non-objectivist monstrosity here."
"It was made of people."
"Ahhh." Sounds like the start of a Macabre artistic revolution. Are these demons just a bunch of hard core art lovers?
Damn that sounds cool.
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Jackercracks
In a British accent
- Location
- England
Metal.
It would be fairly worrying that the planeswalker thinks like that, but so far he hasn't even pretended to have morals so it's more likely to be amusing down the line. I wonder if this story qualifies for a comedic sociopathy tag.
- Location
- US
The way you edited the quote gives the wrong impression.
Is how it's supposed to be. But, it's also true that he doesn't really care. Given that he was just hanging out in a place that makes half of their stuff out of prisoners and slaves, and most of the best buildings he's seen are made with ritual sacrifices, that's not really very surprising.
Does this mean that once the walker leaves the ASoIaF plane and all of its death, suffering and sacrificial magic he may take such things a bit more seriously than his current flippant attitude?
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
In all honesty, he seems rather well adjusted for a primarily Black Walker.
- Location
- US
His attitude isn't a response to his environment. Different environments will just require a different set of lies.
Considering he doesn't wipe out cities on a whim, or have any plans to conquer the world. Yeah.