I think you mean role instead of rule here.
This is looking really good. It was a fun time Photomajig!
Gods of Chaos: a Riot God Quest
- Thread starter Photomajig
- Start date
-
- Tags
- god quest riot quest
I think you mean role instead of rule here.
This is looking really good. It was a fun time Photomajig!
Yeah, the Magic. I am glad, and also worry for your long term mental health, because gee golly did a lot of different Magic systems and types get made.
Solar, Lunar, Shadow, Elementals, Vigor, Shaping, a bunch of ones based around Narrative, more that I can't remember the name of, and all the specific magic effects that messing around with one particular location can cause.
Thank you, and good luck.
Solar, Lunar, Shadow, Elementals, Vigor, Shaping, a bunch of ones based around Narrative, more that I can't remember the name of, and all the specific magic effects that messing around with one particular location can cause.
Thank you, and good luck.
The World: Shaping
- Location
- Finland
Shaping
The Art of Evolution
The Art of Evolution
Shaping is the magic of altering flesh, blood and bone. This biomantic Art was first taught to the Deep Algals and has come to define their culture to a considerable degree. It allows for its users to radically alter their forms, biologies and appearances over time, even to the point of transcending their original race and origins.
The Deep Algals hold the greatest mastery of the Art and refuse to teach outsiders. Their use of Shaping is carefully formalized and regulated to avoid Abomination - the creation of cancerous, ever-growing Shapings which escape the control of their Shapers and consume them. Other races utilizing Shaping have far less skill with it, but also far fewer safeguards against Abomination. Among the Lowland Myridna, Shaping is known as the 'Breeder's Art' for its key role in domestication and cultivating livestock breeds.
Uses
Shaping allows for extensive changes to bodies and biologies. The Deep Algals have utilized it to graft themselves mobile bodies, additional limbs, air-breathing lungs, resistance to disease, faster healing, armored flesh, alternate means of communication, new senses, false appearance, symbiotic connections to other creatures such as Leviathans and much more. It can be used to grow reservoirs and amplifiers for other magics in one's body as well. Shaping even offers a yet-to-be-tried pathway for interspecies reproduction and the spread of Elemental Bloodlines between races.
Limitations
Shaping always carries the risk of Abomination. The greater the changes, the bigger the risk. Abomination means a cancerous change in the Shaping, taking it out of the Shaper's control. When Shaping themselves, even master Shapers are usually overcome quickly if they provoke Abomination. They turn into mindless beasts of warping flesh and constant mutation, driven to feed on any available biological matter to sate an endless appetite for growth. Entire Algal settlements have been lost to rampant Abominations.
Some of these Abominations have eluded destruction and still roam the dark places of the seas, growing larger and stronger all the while; rumors speak of rarer Abominations born of Myridna livestock which are similarly unaccounted for. Occasionally Abominations retain their ability to Shape others as well, which always results in further Abominations.
Shaping requires time and sustained effort. It handles rapid changes poorly, as Shapers attempting to shift in the midst of combat have found to their dismay. Attempting to push Shapings at such an accelerated rate is almost guaranteed to result in Abomination. It may be within the power of masterful Shapers, but most Deep Algal masters would rather die than risk it.
Rituals and Symbolism
Deep Algal ritual Shapings stress order, purity and restraint. Shapers may only wield their magic when given ritual permission and in the strictly ordained ways. Mistakes are not tolerated and may see the offending colony banned from any further use of Shaping for their lack of control. Shapings are usually undertaken in places utilizing mystical architecture principles of containment, confinement and limitation. Whenever possible, any Shaping is overseen by a council of master Shapers - providing both practical and ritualistic oversight for the one performing the actual magics.
For the Myridna, a bloodied shepherd's crook is always a central implement in rituals, representing the Shaper's power and guidance over life - the Deep Algals rarely use tools and would in any case consider this a symbol of arrogant presumption, if they knew about it. Individuals dabbling in Shaping elsewhere may utilize things of nature, such as saplings, rings of soil, fertilized eggs or other symbols of nature and life in their work.
Gods
Brusoil is the God of Shaping and thus its most significant patron. Their whispers carry knowledge of Shaping to eager ears across Creation. Shapers revere Brusoil for their gifts, but recognize that Brusoil cares not how far a Shaping goes. Thus, Lazat, God of Order, is usually called upon to guard rituals against chaos and Abomination. Deep Algals consider Brusoil and Lazat brothers or divine balances for this reason - both needed for an ordained Shaping, with an equal place reserved for their effigies and priests in rituals.
Other deities are rarely involved in rituals of Shaping. Kronals is sometimes given offerings to protect against the unwanted consequences of Abomination or failure. Prose may be honored in their aspect of Metamorphosis. Some Shapers hold Fiel as a patron and involve him in their rituals; others may bring in the High Moon Holder as God of Magic for the same reasons. Shapers who are not ordered Deep Algals may also call upon gods such as Ikari and Vanti as creative forces as well.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
That's an emergent relationship I didn't expect but makes total sense!
Sir_Travelsalot
Never wakes up tired.
- Location
- At Home
I'm mildly surprised that the Heart of Song isn't ever invoked with Shaping, given how it is often used to pursue some manner of improvement or moving closer to the Shaper's perception of an ideal form.
- Location
- USA
the Heart of Song was the goddess of beauty, music, and architecture right? Maybe once shaping becomes more common. It doesn't seem like many are using shaping for beauty yet.
- Location
- Finland
Good catch, I'll include that on the wiki.
That is definitely an area where the Heart of Song might be involved, yes. I'll add a note about it to the wiki.
- Location
- Finland
Few can hope to master both Arts, but they would be very dangerous together. A Shaper could create a reservoir of Vigor magic in their body and cultivate Vigor normally in order to have a vast reserve of Vigor to channel into their already Shaping-augmented body. Vigor cannot morph the body, but if it's already transformed by Shaping, it'll empower the new form just fine. Since Shaping can't be safely done fast enough for it to matter in combat, but Vigor can be used to strengthen parts of the body instantly, Vigor is a very effective way of covering that weakness for a Shaper. But Deep Algals don't really use Vigor much - Shaping can produce similar effects and is already familiar to them, after all.
If a body brimming with Vigor triggers Abomination, well... You'll probably want to be far away from them when that happens.
Npt170
Primordial god of order
Man that would make for a lot of great forbidden techniques for both hero and villains to use.
- Location
- Space
Looked back on some of my thinking for the Elemental Mandala and wrote some stuff, hopefully at least some of it will be helpful for the elemental magic writeup.
The most basic elements of the Elemental Mandala, putting aside all complex illustration and the precise measures that establish its sacred geometry merely lays out the elements themselves and the interrelations between them. The elements are divided into five groups of three elements, four of which are set in direct opposition to one of those other four groups. The four are the dichotomies of Light and Dark and Life and Death, while the fifth are the bounding elements of Space, Time, and Void.
These bounding elements are beyond the reach of mortal spell craft, though some word exists of some divine works bound to the form of mortal men and beasts which utilize their energies. None of these three elements has any particular primacy over the others, but for the purposes of diagramming it is convention to place the Bound of Space as the base of the outer triangle. The placement of Time and Void is a matter of some debate, both discussion of the temporality of Life and Death and the intrinsic link between the mathematical concepts of zero and infinity both embodied by Void making symbolic links unclear. Regardless, these two bounds are collectively to as the Lens of Time and Void, as the two are generally placed together in very nearly all tessellations of the basic triangle.
The first dichotomy is between the Elements of Light, being Metal and Lightning and the Elements of Darkness, being Earth and Wind. This dichotomy is very much influenced by its relation to the bounding element of Space, Darkness occupying the wide base of the triangle near to space while Light occupies the narrow point. This influence is quite clear from their secondary elements: Metal and Lightning being both directly comparable to and minuscule in comparison to the vastness of Earth and Wind. Yet this difference in size should not be mistaken for a difference in power, for does not iron split the earth and lightning split the sky? Both metaphors are significant in some tessellations of the basic triangle, wedges of Light splitting regions of darkness being very common. This alignment is believed by some to be the reason for the existence of the Abyss, unmatched by any similar realm associated with the element of Light.
The placement of the Element of Wind in this dichotomy is an occasional source of confusion for new students. How indeed did Darkness come to be associated with a transparent substance? The answer is that it isn't, Wind (known in some Baolian traditions as Current) is present on the Mandala as a force rather than any form of matter. Its underlying nature is as the force of unseen movement, that which is so shrouded as to hide itself from sight while also shrouding all beneath it through the movement of clouds, of dust, of bodies within the waves dragging them to the lightless depths.
The second dichotomy is between the Elements of Life, being Wood and Fire and the Elements of Death, being Water and Ice. As indicated by their bounding alignments, both are intrinsically temporal and intrinsically ephemeral: Life at once fleeting and encompassing the whole span of one's experiences, Death at once a momentary change and a never ending state. Wood, Fire, Water and Ice are similar, all being eternal in by some perspectives and ever shifting by others. The elements of Life and Death are opposed, but also flow into one another, fire and ice extinguishing one another but also existing together in the natural cycle of seasons, water drowning wood in excess but also being necessary for its growth, trees wood drinking water but also protecting it with its shade. The Lens of Void and Time laying between the two has many possible meanings, from the death of old life clearing the way for new over the course of years to the inevitable passage of living things into death over time to the death and rebirth of self in the moments between moments of experience cycling uninterrupted from the day ones eyes first open to when they last close.
The Element of Ice is another common source of confusion, though a more minor one. Again, it appears on the Mandala as a force rather than a substance and represents elemental cold. Of course, this is not nearly so significant in practice as its proximity to the Element of Water still makes the physical substance of ice a common tool for the element's wielders.
These bounding elements are beyond the reach of mortal spell craft, though some word exists of some divine works bound to the form of mortal men and beasts which utilize their energies. None of these three elements has any particular primacy over the others, but for the purposes of diagramming it is convention to place the Bound of Space as the base of the outer triangle. The placement of Time and Void is a matter of some debate, both discussion of the temporality of Life and Death and the intrinsic link between the mathematical concepts of zero and infinity both embodied by Void making symbolic links unclear. Regardless, these two bounds are collectively to as the Lens of Time and Void, as the two are generally placed together in very nearly all tessellations of the basic triangle.
The first dichotomy is between the Elements of Light, being Metal and Lightning and the Elements of Darkness, being Earth and Wind. This dichotomy is very much influenced by its relation to the bounding element of Space, Darkness occupying the wide base of the triangle near to space while Light occupies the narrow point. This influence is quite clear from their secondary elements: Metal and Lightning being both directly comparable to and minuscule in comparison to the vastness of Earth and Wind. Yet this difference in size should not be mistaken for a difference in power, for does not iron split the earth and lightning split the sky? Both metaphors are significant in some tessellations of the basic triangle, wedges of Light splitting regions of darkness being very common. This alignment is believed by some to be the reason for the existence of the Abyss, unmatched by any similar realm associated with the element of Light.
The placement of the Element of Wind in this dichotomy is an occasional source of confusion for new students. How indeed did Darkness come to be associated with a transparent substance? The answer is that it isn't, Wind (known in some Baolian traditions as Current) is present on the Mandala as a force rather than any form of matter. Its underlying nature is as the force of unseen movement, that which is so shrouded as to hide itself from sight while also shrouding all beneath it through the movement of clouds, of dust, of bodies within the waves dragging them to the lightless depths.
The second dichotomy is between the Elements of Life, being Wood and Fire and the Elements of Death, being Water and Ice. As indicated by their bounding alignments, both are intrinsically temporal and intrinsically ephemeral: Life at once fleeting and encompassing the whole span of one's experiences, Death at once a momentary change and a never ending state. Wood, Fire, Water and Ice are similar, all being eternal in by some perspectives and ever shifting by others. The elements of Life and Death are opposed, but also flow into one another, fire and ice extinguishing one another but also existing together in the natural cycle of seasons, water drowning wood in excess but also being necessary for its growth, trees wood drinking water but also protecting it with its shade. The Lens of Void and Time laying between the two has many possible meanings, from the death of old life clearing the way for new over the course of years to the inevitable passage of living things into death over time to the death and rebirth of self in the moments between moments of experience cycling uninterrupted from the day ones eyes first open to when they last close.
The Element of Ice is another common source of confusion, though a more minor one. Again, it appears on the Mandala as a force rather than a substance and represents elemental cold. Of course, this is not nearly so significant in practice as its proximity to the Element of Water still makes the physical substance of ice a common tool for the element's wielders.
- Location
- Finland
Looked back on some of my thinking for the Elemental Mandala and wrote some stuff, hopefully at least some of it will be helpful for the elemental magic writeup.
The most basic elements of the Elemental Mandala, putting aside all complex illustration and the precise measures that establish its sacred geometry merely lays out the elements themselves and the interrelations between them. The elements are divided into five groups of three elements, four of which are set in direct opposition to one of those other four groups. The four are the dichotomies of Light and Dark and Life and Death, while the fifth are the bounding elements of Space, Time, and Void.
These bounding elements are beyond the reach of mortal spell craft, though some word exists of some divine works bound to the form of mortal men and beasts which utilize their energies. None of these three elements has any particular primacy over the others, but for the purposes of diagramming it is convention to place the Bound of Space as the base of the outer triangle. The placement of Time and Void is a matter of some debate, both discussion of the temporality of Life and Death and the intrinsic link between the mathematical concepts of zero and infinity both embodied by Void making symbolic links unclear. Regardless, these two bounds are collectively to as the Lens of Time and Void, as the two are generally placed together in very nearly all tessellations of the basic triangle.
The first dichotomy is between the Elements of Light, being Metal and Lightning and the Elements of Darkness, being Earth and Wind. This dichotomy is very much influenced by its relation to the bounding element of Space, Darkness occupying the wide base of the triangle near to space while Light occupies the narrow point. This influence is quite clear from their secondary elements: Metal and Lightning being both directly comparable to and minuscule in comparison to the vastness of Earth and Wind. Yet this difference in size should not be mistaken for a difference in power, for does not iron split the earth and lightning split the sky? Both metaphors are significant in some tessellations of the basic triangle, wedges of Light splitting regions of darkness being very common. This alignment is believed by some to be the reason for the existence of the Abyss, unmatched by any similar realm associated with the element of Light.
The placement of the Element of Wind in this dichotomy is an occasional source of confusion for new students. How indeed did Darkness come to be associated with a transparent substance? The answer is that it isn't, Wind (known in some Baolian traditions as Current) is present on the Mandala as a force rather than any form of matter. Its underlying nature is as the force of unseen movement, that which is so shrouded as to hide itself from sight while also shrouding all beneath it through the movement of clouds, of dust, of bodies within the waves dragging them to the lightless depths.
The second dichotomy is between the Elements of Life, being Wood and Fire and the Elements of Death, being Water and Ice. As indicated by their bounding alignments, both are intrinsically temporal and intrinsically ephemeral: Life at once fleeting and encompassing the whole span of one's experiences, Death at once a momentary change and a never ending state. Wood, Fire, Water and Ice are similar, all being eternal in by some perspectives and ever shifting by others. The elements of Life and Death are opposed, but also flow into one another, fire and ice extinguishing one another but also existing together in the natural cycle of seasons, water drowning wood in excess but also being necessary for its growth, trees wood drinking water but also protecting it with its shade. The Lens of Void and Time laying between the two has many possible meanings, from the death of old life clearing the way for new over the course of years to the inevitable passage of living things into death over time to the death and rebirth of self in the moments between moments of experience cycling uninterrupted from the day ones eyes first open to when they last close.
The Element of Ice is another common source of confusion, though a more minor one. Again, it appears on the Mandala as a force rather than a substance and represents elemental cold. Of course, this is not nearly so significant in practice as its proximity to the Element of Water still makes the physical substance of ice a common tool for the element's wielders.
That's amazing, thank you!
A little late to see this but- that says some funny things to me, seeing as this is just an innate characteristic of the Lineals' development.
The World: Umbrals
- Location
- Finland
Also found on the wiki here.
The Umbrals
Umbrals are pale creatures with gaunt frames and hunched postures. An Umbral appears to stand at roughly 150 cm tall on average due to their hunched backs, but are actually quite a bit taller. The pale skin of the Umbrals is hypersensitive to sunlight. This leads to Umbrals favoring dark places such as caverns and ravines, ascending to the surface only at night. Umbrals are mainly herbivorous, preferring Dandreble Fungi and other edible fungi and cavern life.
Umbrals are blind, but have extremely keen hearing, smell and sensitivity to tremors. This allows them to form an image of the world around them without sight. Umbrals can be very vulnerable to aerial threats, since their senses do not give them a good idea of the sky.
Umbrals are innately empathetic and in tune with their peers, though these senses are not so strong with other species. Umbrals pair off for life after extended courting and cohabitation, a period in which both partners seek to uncover any discordant traits in their chosen mate. Umbrals grow quickly and become adults after around six years. Physical and mental decline begin at around fifty, and few Umbrals live beyond seventy years.
Umbrals live mainly in the Clouded Lands and Stromhiem.
Culture
The nature of Umbrals as empaths makes their communities exceptionally close and loyal when all members can conform, but causes harsh shunning to those who provoke negative feelings in the kinship-group. Traditionally, such aberrants were exiled, a practice which could lead to derangement in the abandoned individuals if they could not find a community that would accept them. Exile is now rarely practiced, with exchanges of aberrant Umbrals between different communities more common.
Umbral communities are largely insular and wary of outside influence. The Umbral language is often not even used around non-Umbrals. Their traditions are often kept from outsiders.
Umbral cave painting serves both a ritualistic and a creative purpose. Their main appeal is not visual. The paints used are derived from Dandreble Fungi, with a thick texture and a strong smell that allow Umbrals to touch and smell the art rather than see it. Umbral music is diverse and prizes harmony, with many instruments working towards one perfect composition. Umbrals also greatly value cooking - the more aromatic, the better. Meals are vegetarian and heavily spiced, with most traditional dishes using Dandreble Fungus. Cave painting, music and cooking are considered to be the Three Sacred Arts among Umbrals.
Many Umbrals still live simple, primitive lives. They dwell in caverns and use stone tools at most, avoiding contact with the outside world. The only large settlement they possess is Chujang, a divinely inspired deep-hold used as a meeting place and neutral ground. These Deep Umbrals are rarely seen by individuals from other races. The major groups of Umbral civilization are, however, the Hollow Umbrals, the Stromic Umbrals and the Hiver Umbrals.
Religion
Umbrals worship the Ember in the Deep, the Heart of Song, Fiel, Kronals, Loppu Sinfonia, Azrull and the High Moon Holder most of all. Worship is always accompanied by music tailored for the god in question. Ritual sacrifices are cast into pits consecrated for each god. The Three Sacred Arts must be represented, with a different priest devoted to each of them. Hollow Umbrals favor the Hollow God and YORCTOL as well. Vathys, Dri the Paranoid, Katha the Many, the Teller of Tales and the Forgotten God are important deities to both Stromic and Hiver Umbrals.
Hollow Umbrals are Umbral tribes once bound to the service of the Hollow King. After the King's destruction and the collapse of his empire, Hollow Umbrals have divided once more. Hollow Umbrals have developed stronger muscles and more robust physiques over time. Their empathetic sense is also somewhat muted when compared to other Umbrals - a necessary development after being forced together by their master in great numbers heedless of discomfort.
Hollow Umbral society is martial, unsentimental and hierarchical. The world is perceived as a might-makes-right battleground where the survival of one's community must be put before all else. Outsiders cannot be trusted and can be cheated without consequence. This does not imply that Hollow Umbrals are any less communal and tight-knit within their own communities. Hollow Umbrals have a deep sense of tradition and legacy - each Umbral is expected to keep careful track of their ancestors and remember their deeds in times past.
Opinions of the Hollow King and the long years under his rule vary. Some loyalist tribes, often descendants of Umbral legions in the King's armies, continue to revere and even worship the Hollow King. Others value their independence and consider the Years of Service shameful and wretched. A great many views fit between these extremes. No-one denies, however, the impact of the Hollow King had on them.
Hollow Umbral tribes tend to have one strong leader and a hierarchy of warrior elites. Many Hollow Umbrals live under the rule of Skrayt, Human or monstrous warlords, but many have seized independence and guard it with great zeal.
Hollow Umbral settlements tend to be located in shallow caverns, or be dug into soil or hacked into cliffsides. These lightless labyrinths confound any foes or beasts that seek entry. Hollow Umbrals work copper and bronze for tools and weapons. They tend to wear little clothing with the exception of bronze cuirasses for battle. Hollow Umbrals favor elemental magic for war and everyday use. Lunar magic is also utilized, but solar magic is feared and hated as the power of the terrible Sun.
Stromic Umbrals:
Stromic or Desert Umbrals are native to the continent of Stromhiem, having migrated there through the Caverns from the Clouded Lands. This migration was only possible through the use of Shaping to fashion filters against the deep world's noxious gases from Slimes. Stromic Umbrals are somewhat less sensitive to sunlight, with darker grey skin, and more adapted to heat and low humidity.
Stromic Umbrals value learning, wisdom, compassion and community. They are extremely proud of their past as pupils of the Two-Headed Sphinx and its kin. Sphinxes retain an important role in Stromic culture, though most Sphinxes have abandoned Stromhiem in the wake of the Black Plague. The love Sphinx have for riddles and puzzles has been adopted by the Umbrals, who consider a good riddling contest one of the greatest pastimes ever invented.
The Black Plague devastated Stromic populations and culture. The Court of the Two-Headed Sphinx was abandoned and the Sphinx itself left infirm and despondent. If the Two-Headed Sphinx still lives, deep within the Court, no-one knows. The Umbrals avoid it as a tainted, taboo place. The survivors fragmented and resettled around the continent, or fled through the Caverns to new lands. Ruins of Stromic cavern-settlements still fill the deep places of Stromhiem.
Stromic tribes tend to be led by small councils of learned elders. They also care for the spiritual and bodily purity of their charges. Ritual purifications and bathing are central to the Plague-ravaged people. The elders recite their accumulated wisdom and histories of the tribe to the rest of the tribe on each ninth day, from nightfall to just before the break of dawn. Through this, it is hoped that the wisdom of old will not be forgot. Stromic Umbrals use their own script to inscribe their language, which is read by touch instead of sight from stone or clay slabs.
Stromic Umbrals continue to utilize slime-filters to explore the Caverns. Slimes are farmed for this purpose. Shaping is otherwise not in widespread use, but the secretive Cavern-exploring deep rangers do teach it to new recruits. Stromic Umbrals value the magic of the Moon, shadow magic and elemental magics. The Elemental Bloodline of Light Crafting has spread among the Stromic Umbrals; it is considered a shameful curse, hidden and repressed out of discovery. Only exiled outcasts dare use it, with nothing left to lose.
Umbrals of the Hive Coast have inhabited its hives, caverns and burrows for generations. They descend largely from outcasts welcomed by Queen Imsamrta are part of the multiracial melting pot of the region. Perhaps as a result, Hiver Umbrals have evolved to be more social, stress-tolerant and tolerant of differences. They are also somewhat smaller and shorter than other Umbrals.
Hiver Umbrals have traditionally lived under the Sea-Ant Queens, but the devastation of the Hive Coast by war and plague have left many of them independent or aligned with new powers. Regardless, veneration of the Queens and their wisdom is at the heart of Hiver beliefs. Hiver Umbral populations suffered in the devastation, but less than those of surface races as the underground offered some refuge from infection and attacks.
In the Hives, Umbrals live and lived in subterranean levels. The role of Umbrals in hives varied, but most tended to mushroom pits in underground levels fed by the hive's night soil. While some outsiders consider this kind of work low and filthy, it is a proud duty for the Hiver Umbrals. Others served as subterranean guards, fighting secret wars under the soil against hostile Umbrals, Iktai and other monstrous foes. Like Skrayt sky-wardens, these darkblades dentify strongly as the Hive Coast's first and last line of defense, its Shield of Civilization.
Hiver Umbrals have extensive familiarity with other races and cultures. Their own traditions and culture have been influenced by Sea-Ant, Skrayt, Baólian and Human practices. Ethos of collective responsibility, hard work, humility and loyalty are powerful among the Hivers. Nevertheless, they also value imagination, creativity and personal expression. Other Umbrals often find Hiver takes on the Three Sacred Arts to be twisted or even heretical, as they integrate surface cuisines, compose variations on Baólian shanties and Skrayt sky-songs, and utilize a wide range of ingredients and dyes beyond Dandreble Fungus.
Hiver Umbral communities rely on leaders appointed by their Queens or other rulers; for independent groups, priests are favored as chosen of the gods. Loyalty and obedience to the leader is expected, but just the same the leader cannot cause discord within the group or they will be swiftly cast out.
Hiver Umbrals hold the ascended Sang-Pa in great esteem. The Day of the Unmade is a festival of mourning for the divine Sang-Pa's fall at the hands of the maddened Architect, held in early autumn. Outsiders are not allowed to witness the proceedings. No work is done on the day and no Umbral will speak to an outsider until sunrise.
Hiver Umbrals are familiar with a great variety of magics thanks to the White University of Wisdom. Shadow magic and elemental magics are favored, but they are also learned in ritual magic of Artistry and Theatrics, sigils, Dramaturgy, and a widespread understanding of magical theory. Hiver Umbral mages tend to have studied in the University itself.
The Umbrals
Umbrals are pale creatures with gaunt frames and hunched postures. An Umbral appears to stand at roughly 150 cm tall on average due to their hunched backs, but are actually quite a bit taller. The pale skin of the Umbrals is hypersensitive to sunlight. This leads to Umbrals favoring dark places such as caverns and ravines, ascending to the surface only at night. Umbrals are mainly herbivorous, preferring Dandreble Fungi and other edible fungi and cavern life.
Umbrals are blind, but have extremely keen hearing, smell and sensitivity to tremors. This allows them to form an image of the world around them without sight. Umbrals can be very vulnerable to aerial threats, since their senses do not give them a good idea of the sky.
Umbrals are innately empathetic and in tune with their peers, though these senses are not so strong with other species. Umbrals pair off for life after extended courting and cohabitation, a period in which both partners seek to uncover any discordant traits in their chosen mate. Umbrals grow quickly and become adults after around six years. Physical and mental decline begin at around fifty, and few Umbrals live beyond seventy years.
Umbrals live mainly in the Clouded Lands and Stromhiem.
Culture
The nature of Umbrals as empaths makes their communities exceptionally close and loyal when all members can conform, but causes harsh shunning to those who provoke negative feelings in the kinship-group. Traditionally, such aberrants were exiled, a practice which could lead to derangement in the abandoned individuals if they could not find a community that would accept them. Exile is now rarely practiced, with exchanges of aberrant Umbrals between different communities more common.
Umbral communities are largely insular and wary of outside influence. The Umbral language is often not even used around non-Umbrals. Their traditions are often kept from outsiders.
Umbral cave painting serves both a ritualistic and a creative purpose. Their main appeal is not visual. The paints used are derived from Dandreble Fungi, with a thick texture and a strong smell that allow Umbrals to touch and smell the art rather than see it. Umbral music is diverse and prizes harmony, with many instruments working towards one perfect composition. Umbrals also greatly value cooking - the more aromatic, the better. Meals are vegetarian and heavily spiced, with most traditional dishes using Dandreble Fungus. Cave painting, music and cooking are considered to be the Three Sacred Arts among Umbrals.
Many Umbrals still live simple, primitive lives. They dwell in caverns and use stone tools at most, avoiding contact with the outside world. The only large settlement they possess is Chujang, a divinely inspired deep-hold used as a meeting place and neutral ground. These Deep Umbrals are rarely seen by individuals from other races. The major groups of Umbral civilization are, however, the Hollow Umbrals, the Stromic Umbrals and the Hiver Umbrals.
Religion
Umbrals worship the Ember in the Deep, the Heart of Song, Fiel, Kronals, Loppu Sinfonia, Azrull and the High Moon Holder most of all. Worship is always accompanied by music tailored for the god in question. Ritual sacrifices are cast into pits consecrated for each god. The Three Sacred Arts must be represented, with a different priest devoted to each of them. Hollow Umbrals favor the Hollow God and YORCTOL as well. Vathys, Dri the Paranoid, Katha the Many, the Teller of Tales and the Forgotten God are important deities to both Stromic and Hiver Umbrals.
***
Hollow Umbrals:Hollow Umbrals are Umbral tribes once bound to the service of the Hollow King. After the King's destruction and the collapse of his empire, Hollow Umbrals have divided once more. Hollow Umbrals have developed stronger muscles and more robust physiques over time. Their empathetic sense is also somewhat muted when compared to other Umbrals - a necessary development after being forced together by their master in great numbers heedless of discomfort.
Hollow Umbral society is martial, unsentimental and hierarchical. The world is perceived as a might-makes-right battleground where the survival of one's community must be put before all else. Outsiders cannot be trusted and can be cheated without consequence. This does not imply that Hollow Umbrals are any less communal and tight-knit within their own communities. Hollow Umbrals have a deep sense of tradition and legacy - each Umbral is expected to keep careful track of their ancestors and remember their deeds in times past.
Opinions of the Hollow King and the long years under his rule vary. Some loyalist tribes, often descendants of Umbral legions in the King's armies, continue to revere and even worship the Hollow King. Others value their independence and consider the Years of Service shameful and wretched. A great many views fit between these extremes. No-one denies, however, the impact of the Hollow King had on them.
Hollow Umbral tribes tend to have one strong leader and a hierarchy of warrior elites. Many Hollow Umbrals live under the rule of Skrayt, Human or monstrous warlords, but many have seized independence and guard it with great zeal.
Hollow Umbral settlements tend to be located in shallow caverns, or be dug into soil or hacked into cliffsides. These lightless labyrinths confound any foes or beasts that seek entry. Hollow Umbrals work copper and bronze for tools and weapons. They tend to wear little clothing with the exception of bronze cuirasses for battle. Hollow Umbrals favor elemental magic for war and everyday use. Lunar magic is also utilized, but solar magic is feared and hated as the power of the terrible Sun.
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Stromic Umbrals:
Stromic or Desert Umbrals are native to the continent of Stromhiem, having migrated there through the Caverns from the Clouded Lands. This migration was only possible through the use of Shaping to fashion filters against the deep world's noxious gases from Slimes. Stromic Umbrals are somewhat less sensitive to sunlight, with darker grey skin, and more adapted to heat and low humidity.
Stromic Umbrals value learning, wisdom, compassion and community. They are extremely proud of their past as pupils of the Two-Headed Sphinx and its kin. Sphinxes retain an important role in Stromic culture, though most Sphinxes have abandoned Stromhiem in the wake of the Black Plague. The love Sphinx have for riddles and puzzles has been adopted by the Umbrals, who consider a good riddling contest one of the greatest pastimes ever invented.
The Black Plague devastated Stromic populations and culture. The Court of the Two-Headed Sphinx was abandoned and the Sphinx itself left infirm and despondent. If the Two-Headed Sphinx still lives, deep within the Court, no-one knows. The Umbrals avoid it as a tainted, taboo place. The survivors fragmented and resettled around the continent, or fled through the Caverns to new lands. Ruins of Stromic cavern-settlements still fill the deep places of Stromhiem.
Stromic tribes tend to be led by small councils of learned elders. They also care for the spiritual and bodily purity of their charges. Ritual purifications and bathing are central to the Plague-ravaged people. The elders recite their accumulated wisdom and histories of the tribe to the rest of the tribe on each ninth day, from nightfall to just before the break of dawn. Through this, it is hoped that the wisdom of old will not be forgot. Stromic Umbrals use their own script to inscribe their language, which is read by touch instead of sight from stone or clay slabs.
Stromic Umbrals continue to utilize slime-filters to explore the Caverns. Slimes are farmed for this purpose. Shaping is otherwise not in widespread use, but the secretive Cavern-exploring deep rangers do teach it to new recruits. Stromic Umbrals value the magic of the Moon, shadow magic and elemental magics. The Elemental Bloodline of Light Crafting has spread among the Stromic Umbrals; it is considered a shameful curse, hidden and repressed out of discovery. Only exiled outcasts dare use it, with nothing left to lose.
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Hiver Umbrals:
Umbrals of the Hive Coast have inhabited its hives, caverns and burrows for generations. They descend largely from outcasts welcomed by Queen Imsamrta are part of the multiracial melting pot of the region. Perhaps as a result, Hiver Umbrals have evolved to be more social, stress-tolerant and tolerant of differences. They are also somewhat smaller and shorter than other Umbrals.
Hiver Umbrals have traditionally lived under the Sea-Ant Queens, but the devastation of the Hive Coast by war and plague have left many of them independent or aligned with new powers. Regardless, veneration of the Queens and their wisdom is at the heart of Hiver beliefs. Hiver Umbral populations suffered in the devastation, but less than those of surface races as the underground offered some refuge from infection and attacks.
In the Hives, Umbrals live and lived in subterranean levels. The role of Umbrals in hives varied, but most tended to mushroom pits in underground levels fed by the hive's night soil. While some outsiders consider this kind of work low and filthy, it is a proud duty for the Hiver Umbrals. Others served as subterranean guards, fighting secret wars under the soil against hostile Umbrals, Iktai and other monstrous foes. Like Skrayt sky-wardens, these darkblades dentify strongly as the Hive Coast's first and last line of defense, its Shield of Civilization.
Hiver Umbrals have extensive familiarity with other races and cultures. Their own traditions and culture have been influenced by Sea-Ant, Skrayt, Baólian and Human practices. Ethos of collective responsibility, hard work, humility and loyalty are powerful among the Hivers. Nevertheless, they also value imagination, creativity and personal expression. Other Umbrals often find Hiver takes on the Three Sacred Arts to be twisted or even heretical, as they integrate surface cuisines, compose variations on Baólian shanties and Skrayt sky-songs, and utilize a wide range of ingredients and dyes beyond Dandreble Fungus.
Hiver Umbral communities rely on leaders appointed by their Queens or other rulers; for independent groups, priests are favored as chosen of the gods. Loyalty and obedience to the leader is expected, but just the same the leader cannot cause discord within the group or they will be swiftly cast out.
Hiver Umbrals hold the ascended Sang-Pa in great esteem. The Day of the Unmade is a festival of mourning for the divine Sang-Pa's fall at the hands of the maddened Architect, held in early autumn. Outsiders are not allowed to witness the proceedings. No work is done on the day and no Umbral will speak to an outsider until sunrise.
Hiver Umbrals are familiar with a great variety of magics thanks to the White University of Wisdom. Shadow magic and elemental magics are favored, but they are also learned in ritual magic of Artistry and Theatrics, sigils, Dramaturgy, and a widespread understanding of magical theory. Hiver Umbral mages tend to have studied in the University itself.