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Stitia, Plane of 13 Deaths (RPG Style Saga/My First Saga)
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The priest places you upon a mythril slab in the center of a chamber.
“Hm... I see several marks from where the arrows of his quiver impaled the man in his back. Other than that, there appears to be no signs of werebird markings. Very well. We shall carry on the healing. Open the skylight!”
Suddenly, the roof of the chamber you are in begins to open. The slab begins to rise. The Moon of Catastrophes is high in the sky as the sun makes its exit, hiding behind the horizon. A group of clerics make their way up a staircase, and it’s apparent that you’ll be healed on the rooftop as the slab continues its ascension with you upon it.
“Oh Zythl, oh Nohel, oh Sprot and Sith. Oh Faer and Conse, may this man you be with.”
The clerics are on the rooftop with the priest. As the priest holds a divine scripture in his hand, the clerics raise their decorated staffs, and they begin to glow with a holy light.
“Oh angels above, give this man your power, so he can survive his darkest hour.”
The staffs glow greater as their lights join into one, a shining light cast down upon you.
“Underneath your righteous rays, protect this creature for all days.”
You begin to feel powerful. You bones seem to be bending back into shape as your spine stretches out and- uh oh.
“May your blessing rain upon this hall. Give us life and- GODS SAVE US ALL!”
Something feels off. Your back won’t stop stretching and bending. And yet you feel fine, as if all of this is supposed to happen. An overwhelming power swells within you, and yet, you are calm. That is, until you realize you aren’t in control. You look at your hand, and it isn’t you own. Talons. Feathers. You have a feeling the attack on the Duskwood may have been the biggest mistake you’ve ever made...
“KAAAAAAAAAA!”
“Drat! We’re too late! He’s already healed! Run and inform the Night Guard immediat-“
It’s too late. Lycanthropy takes over your mind and your body. Talons impale the priest as he meets an untimely death. Vengeance, violence, and the very essence of death have been personified. You are a werecrow.
Uncontrollable Lycanthropy
The Moon of Catastrophes makes it difficult to live a desirable life as a lycanthrope. Without a way to control yourself, you will not be able to take any actions at night. That Werebird you saw last night doesn’t have this problem, so perhaps you may want to find out who they are...
I know what to do.
Arne’s Insight
Dead bodies litter the rooftop as you fly into the woods. You are aware of what’s going on, but have no way to control yourself. A gentle voice hears your mind’s cries, and answers it.
“So... this is very unexpected, and yet, I somehow figured this would happen. I’m Arne... former Light Diviner, before my recent actions. I see you’ve met Verth. This was a serious case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. My father Ysa was right. There were plans for the Duskwood to betray you. However, I recently did a fact check, and... given the recent circumstances, they’ve decided to surrender against you.”
Surrender? The elf know no surrender, and yet, this is the son to the man that told you of this betrayal, and sign after sign, was right.
“I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but... please do. The man you fought was Verth Odbar. He had no intentions of this. He intentionally struck you so this wouldn’t happen. And yet... as fate would have it. He’s currently coming to help you, as we speak. He hides a secret that will save your life, and your humanity. If you accept this partnership, great things could happen. And yet, if you refuse, while you could take this secret as your own, you will likely face certain doom.”
@ElMagici A demonic servant flies off into the distance. He witnessed every moment of the vampire’s demise. It was evil, pleasingly so to him. So, without question, he obeys your order and flies back towards the ziggurat.
@ASubtleGhost Can’t you ever have a moment of peace? Yet another creature flies above, and this time you waste no time as you prepare to kill it, as it descends onto your ziggurat. You hold your spell. The collar around this demon’s neck is incredibly familiar. An obedience collar. It must be a slave, but why is it here? You demand to know one good reason not to kill it now.
“Goodest sire. I am a mere slave to the Oklein bloodline. I watched your killing. How you reduced that wretch to a measly stone! That beast has been harassing my master... she would like to thank you for dealing with our ‘pest problem’”
This should make me the main threat, however that isn't enough, I need a tool with reach so they don't escape.
Once I'm identified as the main threat, this Harpoon's single shot will impale them if they try to stop me, It also works to close gaps if they try to maneuver around me.
Lastly, my servants will be given these hooks to immobilize those who try to stop me, cling onto the wagons if they attempt to escape and gives them some reach from a safe distance, we will trap them with us, either they surrender their wagons or die with them.
Note: Resourceful was supposed to be active if the creature is fighting, blocking or being blocked but I couldn't fit it in the small text, so I simplified it to nerf it and make it easier to understand. Ignore the word Resourceful.
I take things of Chance very seriously. If I don’t have a reliable, truly randomized object I can use for chance, I use RANDOM.org
Much to the horror of Verth, all it took was one kick to end the fight. His plan was executed perfectly, but he never accounted for the power boost brought on by the Moon of Catastrophes. When he first learned to control his powers, Verth diligently rehearsed using his shin to kick a target with talons facing towards him, as to not infect the target. However, this time was different. His enhanced power and lack of control not only caused the human's spine to completely break in half but for Verth's talons to unintentionally dig into his opponent's back. What should've been a simple means of incapacitating his opponent has turned into something far worse. To make matters worse, a strange spirit took the man away before Verth could examine the damage that had been done. But he may not need to see the wounds he made after all. All it took was one look at his talons for Verth to realize that he had made a terrible mistake.
"No...NO....NOO!" Verth shouted, spotting a huge pool of blood covering his foot. He drew the blood of this stranger. Which could only mean one thing. "...There's going be two of us now..." Verth scolded himself, immediately taking flight and flying full speed towards the general direction of the spirit. He had to exert as much energy as he could to catch up, because there were certainly lives at stake. Not to mention the fact that the spirit was taking Verth's former opponent straight into Ystheria. Wings flapped harder than they have ever had before as Verth darted through the air like a speeding missile in an attempt to reach the spirit's destination before she can.
But it was far too late. Reverting to his human form, as to not draw unwanted attention, Verth arrived at Allschurch to a bloodbath. The corpses of several priests littered the rooftop, blood dripping down onto the marble floors of the cathedral. Verth became short of breath at the sight. This could've been his family. Or Uvras. He had to track this man down before it came to that. Verth's suspicions were confirmed when he saw black feathers on the roof's floor, ones that were much darker than his own. He picked one up and stowed it in his bag. After collecting some samples of the blood and some more feathers, Verth ran back into the forest and flew back to Delvad on a frenzied search for the new wereraven. Verth only had two choices to solve this problem: figure out a way to retain the man's humanity or remove this new threat permanently. Verth preferred the former, as he could use some help in eliminating Layre and the other lycanthropes of Delvad. Only time would tell what it would come to as Verth spotted the other wereraven flying in the distance.
You put Reggie’s body onto the table. You go to begin an autopsy, when you notice a few of your tools are in disrepair. Quite ironically, you find a bag full of surgical tools among Reggie’s belongings that seemingly have never been used. At least you could say he came prepared. Before you begin, you summon even more of your ephemeral chains, this time to anchor Reggie’s spirit. The Cursed Rebirth can’t take its toll if there’s no soul to place in the vessel.
You begin by gathering as much of Reggie’s blood as possible. Fresh blood is highly scarce, especially since it goes bad so quickly. You manage to find a crystal of Everwinter* amongst his things, and use it to cool a container for the blood to be refrigerated in. Such a luxury it is to be able to preserve this man’s blood while it’s fresh. You almost wish this would of happened sooner, but you don’t.
You extract anything you could make use of, and observe the body. He’s been infected for what appears to be... only a day. The infection barely made it into his system... is that really what killed him? You try to look for any signs of anything else, but find nothing apparent. This... is unsettling, to say the least.
As you go to cover up your work, you realize you forgot to remove Reggie’s mask. You place it on a different table. It could be useful. Using some of the things you gathered to make another attempt at the cure, Reggie’s body should be the perfect thing to test it on...
Action Phase - Challenge One
The potion is ready. All preparations are made as you pour the magic potion into the most infected cavity of Reggie’s body, and pray that it works.
You wait for a moment, and realize that the unthinkable is happening. The infection is actually starting to clear! You had added a bit of a very strange, glowing reflective rock you’ve never seen before, just out of curiosity. Now more curious, you decide to grind it a little and spread the shavings onto another infected portion, and this segment also begins to become uninfected. This is groundbreaking! This stone seems to be capable of curing the plague! You immediately rush to put it in your most secure lockbox, and it’s a good thing you did.
You lie, resting in bed, hoping to get some sleep this time. You made a potion right before bed that should ward off any nightmares that plague your sleep, but the dream you had last night haunts you, so you brew another potion, this one for anxiety, and go to sleep.
...
...
...
*CRASH*
Perhaps the calming agent worked too well. You fall out of bed as you go to investigate the sign of the disturbance. You find nothing, except a trail of black oil, and Reggie’s spirit missing...
You follow the oil to find a strange figure, armed and carrying Reggie’s spirit away.
// (Challenge coming pretty soon. Being dragged off this thing)
@KorandAngels I am sorry to everyone I haven't gotten to yet. I have a priority system for responses. Right now you're a tad ahead of some people, and I'm trying to prioritize encounters.
@EnvyReaper Got it! I'll be checking this every so often through the weekend.
Character
A powerful demon capable of absorbing any living thing's life force directly, Draundr is a powerful asset for the Coven of Aranis, a powerful group of Triskaidians that reside in Padetra, near the upper-right corner of it, everyone is supposed to perform their duties for the Coven, Draundr's is to provide a fresh source of lifeless organic material for his fellow Coven members, and he is content with it.
Draundr, also has other uses with his power, he can store life essence and put it into other organic objects, this makes him able to raise the dead, but he would need to use a lot of organic material if he ever were to hope to summon a legion.
Lucky Charm
Although Draundr is capable of storing life essence really well, the only way he is able to absorb it in the first place is due to this amulet, its amazing properties allow him to gather up and use life essence as a tool or a weapon.
Event
Darna, Aranis's Left Hand was found with nothing but their skeleton fully intact near the Padetra-Woewedt border, no matter what Draundr tried, they couldn't resurrect Darna, even if he would become a skeleton.
If I can remember, I’ll make a district diagram, showing every city, district, major area, etc.
"Surprises within surprises ! These days are quite out of the ordinary, for sure. Why exactly does Mastiffa send you, maggot ?" hissed Xataxji at the messenger's face.
The scion recoiled, the demon's slightly acidic spittle stinging his face. " As I said, m-my Mistress of Oklein, o lord Xataxji, simply wants to express her gratitude for dealing with a troublesome enemy of hers."
"Very well. let's see what she has to say about all this." The demon snapped his clawed fingers, and starting mumbling a series of complex incantations. Answering his signal, two dozen armored undead knights emerged from the depths of Xataxji's ziggurat, and surrounded their master, as he finished his half-whipered chant. A deep purple circle surrounded them, and started glowing and pulsing.
The messenger started backing away, but Xataxji grabbed him by the collar. "You're coming with me."
"Bu-"
In a blinding flash, they were gone.
Only to reappear on the front porch of the Oklein Manor.
Xataxji dropped the servant on the cold cobblestones, who was swivelling his head aroud with a bewildered look on his face.
"Well ? Am I supposed to ring a bell like some delivery man ? Summon your mistress for us. She has some explanations to deliver."
While the servant scrambled to the manor, Xataxji signaled his soldiers to form a seemingly decorative formation aroud him, as if they were there only for the purpose of decorum. The formation was of course anything but decorative: Xataxji knew very well that the recieving ends of infernal contracts like the Oklein bloodline didn't hold demons like him in their heart.
@ElMagici Xataxji requests a meeting with Mastiffa Oklein in order to get explanations concering the vampire incident, and clarifying the situation in Padetra, and Stitia in general. Also, with the dimishing power/influence of the godly beings of Stitia, an opportunity for the rise of a new power presents itself. (Indeed, Xataxji and his peers have always considered the Six to be a major pain in the back)
@ElMagici “Mastiffa! Urgent news!” Two armed guards are rushing towards you, weapons drawn. "A d-demon just appeared in front of the building. They have soldiers!"
Now’s really not the time for armed combat. Seriously! Can anyone leave you alone? Setting up a business isn’t exactly easy. "M-m-Madame!~" The guard you sent us scurrying to your throne. "There’s a mean looking demon outside! He wants to speak to you!" Company? In the Oklein Manor? You really didn’t prepare for this. Where’s the Earl Grey tea? And the caviar?
Will you accept a meet with the demon?
(Right now, characters cannot be killed, but you are allowed to do things such as let yourself in, attack, or anything else you think of)
Due to sheer Triskaidian population in Padetra, encounters are very likely, and the supernatural are becoming restless.
Great... another spirit, but this one is tangible. You feel it reeking with the air of death. “So... you are the one who wishes to disrupt the cycle? To interfere with the gods? This spirit has places to be, and mortals like you have no reason to treat them like pets.”
You promised Reggie you wouldn’t bring him back to life. But if this spirit carries out her duty, it’ll happen anyways. You feel obligated to stop her.
You try to conjure more chains, but your chaining magic seems to have reached its limit for now. You’ll need to fight. Make a permanent card other than an enchantment that can deal with the spirit. You can submit up to three cards this way. The average score of the entries will used to determine effectiveness. This time, spell effectiveness will be judged mainly by how balanced the card is, but you will still be judged on if it would feasibly do anything.
• 3 points for proper rarity
• 3 points for fittingness
• 4 points for response to threat
• 10 points for card effect and balancing, excluding rarity
• Remember. You can’t submit a card you’ve already submitted, and you’ll lose five points if your card is not new.
• GOLDEN RULE - NO PLANESWALKERS
This time, as the maximum score is 20, you will miss if your score is less than 13. Misses will not cause significant harm to you at this point in the Saga.
@EpicBoss99 You try to close the distance to the werecrow, but he disappears, cloaking himself. You can faintly see his outline moving through the forest air, and try to keep a bead on him. Thankfully, you are faster, and are able to catch up.
You will have three actions. You can use them to either attack (nonlethally) or grab Vryx. Attacking will make Vryx 15% easier to grab, and may cause them to be unable to fly, neutralizing them. A successful grab will neutralize them instantly.
Choose up to three actions total, in order of execution. The chance of success is shown below.
- Attack (50% chance to hit, hit has 50% chance to instantly neutralize the opponent. No miracle chance. A successful hit adds +15% to grab success chance. Has 25% chance to injure Vryx on neutralization.)
- Grab (25% chance to hit plus 5% miracle chance. 10% more likely to hit with each attempt. Instantly neutralizes opponent.)
The Next Day
You meet Kia back in your teaching room, and notice she's even more excited than usual. You ask to see her assignment, and she pulls out a scroll. That's a lot more than you expected her to write. She goes into detail on how Miana invented writing for the sole purpose of easing the burden of knowledge. How her invention remarkably changed how teaching works, not just in the mortal, but in the divine. How she made divine scripture possible.
She discusses how Hearu perfectly embodies the Divine Arbiter; in a time of extreme violence, when even gods warred against each other, she stayed true to the ideals of peace, sacrificing herself for the good of the masses. For the people of Stitia, in the name of the gods, so that she may ease the burden of all.
She goes a little off track in her summary of Ari, but it's still satisfactory. This is some great work. She may graduate in no time.
You can afford to leave the temple today. What will you do today?
- Next lesson (Virtues)
- Fieldwork
- Investigation on the Cursed Rebirth
"Normally, we would go on to your lesson on virtues, but I did say that we'd do some field work next."
There are three lessons you could start with. Choose one simple lesson.
- Etiquette (You will stay in Hitcherald for this lesson.)
- Spells (You will go to Racrion for this, as you'll cause the least damage to surroundings if anything goes wrong.)
- Partol (Go to any area of your choice, and demonstrate what aid angels can provide)