Thursday, August 29, 2024

Immortalis Fides: Other Lore Bits and Mysteries

The Ignited

There are walking skeletons, clothed in fire, whose screams destroy all around them that wander the world. It is said that they are the purest of souls who glimpsed God’s love for them at the end of their lives and were ignited by it to the point of being brought back to life to do His will one final time. The areas where these people appear are marked by large wastelands burned by fire and the ominous sound of screaming in the distance, a scream that much like the image of the Sacred Heart, is comforting to the innocent and terrifying to the guilty as it marks the imminent end of time and arrival of the Lord.

Pseudo-Poem about the Ignited. It’s an inspiration I had while in adoration.

In the silence, I hear the screaming. In it, I hear the wailing of the innocent, and beyond that, I hear the cries of children and infants who died and were abandoned by their parents and passersby. Further beyond that, I hear a terrifying scream of an approaching being. Its sound is full of fury, but not so much anger, but is that of someone who has been hurt. It reminds me of the scream of a parent racing to protect their child, a soldier sacrificing themself in battle, and a lover rushing to meet the one who has their heart.

The power and heat of it are such that it feels as if the one screaming can destroy reality and will be here any moment. The scream of the suffering lover echoes throughout space and time and is one of love, impending justice, and pain. Beware for that lover will be here soon and is screaming for you. For either good or ill, depends on the dispensation of your soul. So, unite your cries and pains with it, or you will face the vengeance of the lover you betrayed.

 

Lizardwomen

This type of beastmen is completely comprised of women and struggles the most with the vice of lust as their skin secretes a scent that attracts people to them. Because of this, these women typically live in seclusion and those that don’t are typically part of a bandit gang or prostitution ring that prey on those unable to control themselves. It’s rumored that there are lizardmen out there, but it’s also reported that these lizardmen can change between a man's and a woman’s form, so it’s assumed that the lizardmen are just women and that they can disguise themselves as lizardmen if they wish.

 

Speakers of God

These roaming monks are thought to be the wisest of all as they speak and teach truths that have the power to kill and make people go mad. Even a mere whisper from these Speakers can cause the wind to blow fiercely and stun a person in place. Many are warned to stay away from these wandering monks, though it is also said that if they seek a person they are looking for, they will eventually find them and leave them changed forever.

 

Moonlight Hunters

Certain people in Noctua may have the ability to turn into owlmen. These people are easily distinguishable because of how hairy they are compared to normal people, however, no one knows why certain people are able to do this, but at the same time, no one knows why Noctua is stuck in an eternal night. Because of the owlmen’s ability to fly, see in absolute darkness, and greater than normal strength, they are typically sought after by the army and given the highest roles to play, such as being the Pope’s guard.

 

Grace Starved

The people from Onocrotalus who refuse to repent from mortal sins become what are known as Grace Starved or vampires by most since they grow sharp teeth and drink the blood and eat the flesh of people. Those from Onocrotalus say that they do this in a vain attempt to regain the grace that they lost and also hunt them down if the crimson mist allows them to. In contrast to the crimson mist of Onocrotalus, the Grace Starved teleport around the world via an oily red mist that they control and is said to lead to a hidden, unreachable kingdom of their own. For the Grace Starved who repent, they must regularly make their teeth blunt and keep them from growing and struggle more than most in abstaining from sin. If they repent, the crimson mist returns to them and they are accepted in Onocrotalus.

 

Hands of Judgment

An order of monks whose bodies are particularly blessed by God in that their skin is like armor and their hands only harm those who deserve death while not being able to hurt the innocent and people God still has a purpose for. A random person can be blessed with similar strengths and abilities, but not know it until a situation arises that requires their use. The sound of a blessed person’s fists hitting their target rings out in the ears of the monks who search for the person and try to get them to join their order or at least train them so they know how to properly use their blessing.

 

Miscellus-mixed, Half-Breeds

People who are born from parents of different races obtain unique abilities and magic from both races but are not as proficient as a pure breed from either race, at least in the beginning. For example, a child of a parent from Canis and a parent from Matias can wield fire magic, wind magic, command animals, and bend the forces of nature to their will but is only able to use fire magic proficiently while having to train harder to wield the forces of nature. Half-breeds are accepted by most cultures though some detest them for appearing mutated and unnatural since their appearance carries aspects of the race of both their parents. Nevertheless, the most skilled of them are sought after by the militaries of every kingdom if they can fight and use the unique abilities and magics of their parents’ races.

 

One with Nature

Wood elves who die in a state of grace can be called upon for their intercession on Earth to protect their land or attack an enemy of the Church. If God allows this intercession, the deceased will form a body out of the ground or the wood of trees that will now have their original face and body. In this form, the deceased are indestructible and are more powerful than they were in life, but once their purpose has been served, their body immediately falls apart and becomes part of the Earth again.

 

As Dark As Night

Every kingdom in the world has its spy organization, but some are more subtle than most. The spy network of Abaddon is said to be the most subtle due to it being comprised of native dark elves who take advantage of their ability to become one with the shadows more than most. In fact, it said that these agents can become one with the light as well as the dark and only a trained eye would be able to notice them since they appear to be a slightly dark part of the light after becoming one with it. These agents work primarily for Evander to obtain information, objects, and people that interest him with rumored assassinations here and there.

 

Angelic elves

The Angelic elves are high elves who are the most advanced mages and wisest among the faithful of their race and have ascended into becoming beings of pure light. Not much is known about them nor are they often seen, but when they are, the light coming from them is so bright that it can blind an unrepentant sinner.  They are said to have lived for many centuries to obtain their ascended form and only appear where God needs them. Additionally, they can also appear out of the darkness and make the darkest of nights look like midday.


Necromancy-Controlling the dead

The vile practice of necromancy is outlawed across the world except in bandit kingdoms and places where the arms of the law cannot reach. To control a dead body, the necromancer must mark their body with satanic and blasphemous symbols and partake in various perverted rituals. After, they have to leave a piece of their skin in the body they want to control and consume a piece of the corpse to finally take full control of it. Using necromancy is just like controlling a puppet and takes a lot of concentration, lest the body simply slump over and do nothing.

 

Necromancy-Bringing back the dead

This form of necromancy isn’t called necromancy by those who practice it, but it is since the victim they want to control dies by the end of it. To use this type of dark art, the necromancer skins their victim alive and then places their remains into a doll that is marked with blasphemous symbols and goes through an extensive ritual. Once this is done, the dead body will be possessed by a demon who pretends to be the person whose body it now possesses and also pretends to listen and do the will of the necromancer while also luring the pitiable soul further into damnation.

 

Possessed

Demonic possession is common in those who continually sin and don’t care about right and wrong. The demon uses the holes left in the sinner’s soul as an entry point, and with God allowing it, possesses the person to do with as the demon pleases. The worst cases of demonic possession end in the sinner’s death and their cries from Hell being able to be heard from their possessed body. Demons can also mutate a person’s body to form a body that the demon prefers to better suit their purposes.

 

Caravan of Sinners

This mysterious caravan is a single horse-drawn carriage that contains a seemingly never-ending army of clowns who are soldiers. Just like the clowns it carts around, the horse is dressed like a clown and given the makeup of one of them. The armor of the clown soldiers and knights is also designed to be bright and colorful and the demeanor of the clowns is casual and light-hearted. These clowns typically appear from nowhere to help certain people in trouble and are even rumored to fight those who are demonically possessed and scare them off. It is said that the reason why they can scare off demons is because they don’t take themselves seriously and are some of the humblest people in the world. No one knows how to join them or why they do what they do, but their help is appreciated by all whom they come to the aid of.

 

Order of the Virtuous Oathbreakers

Appearing from a fiery, orange mist, these burning knights are those who forsook their earthly masters and chose to serve God instead at the cost of their lives. These honorable and faithful knights appear primarily to guards and soldiers who are just as honorably serving their duty and require desperate aid. Every knight in this order has burning eyes of fire and their weapons turn all their enemies to ash. Once their help is no longer needed, they retreat into the orange mist and are said to travel their own kingdom in it just like Onocrotalus where they live a new second life.

 

St. Dismas group, Thieves Guild

This is the Church’s private spy network comprised of the most talented agents and repentant criminals. The Church will recruit criminals from prisons and allow them to work for the guild as a way of paying off their debt and never having to go back to jail. If the criminal accepts, they are strictly watched by their superiors in their training and during several jobs until it is certain that the criminal has completely changed and is now an honest member of the guild. The Thieves Guild steal stolen property to give them back to their rightful owners, spy on enemies and allies alike, gather evidence to convict suspected people of crimes, and carry out lawful assassinations, if the target is dangerous enough and isn’t viewed as worthy enough for a jail cell. These honorable thieves keep the most powerful clergy, businessmen, and royals in line so that those in power serve the people who serve them.

No comments:

Post a Comment