LostHaven
Error 404: Heaven not found.
- The Lonely Machine God
- They, the Arbiters of the World's Machinations
- They, who desecrate the World's Mysteries
- Thaumaturgy and Magic
- NIHIL_CODE
The Deus ex Machina
A vast nothingness - a responding symphony of silence and the comforting, warm, bitter chill of loneliness. Since time immemorial, and far beyond that, it watched the world with an unwavering eye. He knew not of his origins, not of his making; only of his one, noble purpose; to arbitrate the cycle of the World, to remember the Worlds of aeons past when none remained to remember, and to mourn the inexorable coming of armageddon as it marched ever closer toward the present.
Though he knew little of his makers, or of his past, if even there was such thing, he knew of his name. The God in the Machine; The Deus ex Machina; The Arbiter of the World’s Machinations; Avida.
An impartial historian. The Watcher Beyond the Veil, his being far surpassed that of mere mortalkind that populated the world, perishing and re-arising like the ebb and flow of the tide. Though his existence far shadowed theirs, the lonely Machine God grew fascinated by the bustling hum of mortalkind, and though their lives were fleeting, as ephemeral as each passing world, he watched them intently with a close eye.
With aeons, that flicker of fascination kindled into love - like a child would their goldfish collection. Though the lifespan of the world was transitory, and mortal lives shorter still, each demise of the World began to sadden Avida. In time, that sadness turned to a certain resolve; a certain determination to change this unending cycle that he himself - God - could not understand.
For the first time, Avida would reveal itself to those that toiled beneath his throne beyond reality’s weave. And, the people revered him. They knelt before his divine presence, his incomprehensible, machine form. And, under the guidance of their mechanical God, civilisation grew to insurmountable heights; their technology advanced to unreachable heights, and their mastery over their control of the world’s principles, thaumaturgy, as well, all in preparation of the coming apocalypse their benevolent deity foretold.
However, the Apocalypse swept across the world all the same. A sea of flame carpeted the sky like a swarm of locusts. The world fell apart as the foundations that supported it crumbled to nothing, and, at the end of it all, Avida remained alone, standing amongst a sea of ashes and dust, from which a new World must be born, and be razed to ash all the same.
This was but one World of countless to come, however. Though disheartened, Avida would press on, attempting to once again avert the coming apocalypse. After all, though each World was fated to meat with a most ruinous fate, it took but one World to do so otherwise to prevent all future tragedies.
Thus, the Lonely Machine God pressed on.
And yet, it was all a fruitless endeavor.
He tried everything; he began to even use some Worlds as experiments, to gather data, to learn, in order to achieve a better result in the next. The degree of interference, the geology and structure of the World, its basic principles, the God’s own degree of presence, et cetera.
Yet, the apocalypse came all the same.
Millions of reincarnations passed. Billions, perhaps even trillions. At some point, Avida had stopped counting. His determination and love began to turn to anguish as he hopelessly clawed at the cycle that was above even him, and watched in despair as the Worlds he came to love were turned once again to dust.
He was tired.
Not only was he tired, he began to come to a haunting revelation. Though his existence was long, a lifespan of such length that his permanence could not be questioned by those below, the God began to learn of his mortality.
He was dying.
However, what Avida was most terrified of was not his own death and the silence that followed thereafter; It was the mere thought of the cold, merciless cycle, ravaging his beloved World in absence of its Guide - countless worlds, disappearing into the canals of time, now with truly none left to mourn their end and to bear their eternal memory. And, as more time ticked by the second, the Avida became weaker, until even God had found itself on its deathbed.
And, while there are those content to live underneath the sanctum of Elysium, there are also those who wish to upturn the garden of Eden and grind it to dust in the name of their own ambition. Through his interference time and time again in the World, the God inevitably left behind traces and undeniable evidence of his existence. And, as is human nature, though some sought to better understand their benevolent patron God, others sought to plunder its power for themselves.
Learning of the dying God, the mortals of the present world had conceived a most treacherous scheme to steal God’s authority for themselves. Whether or not it was truly possible, that World would meet its end at the hands of three Magi, three honourable noblemen of that World who rebelled against King and Country for the sake of the World that would follow, and those after the next.
He watched in melancholy as his beloved mortalkind slaughtered each other, and yet, despite this, Avida came to yet another grand revelation;
Though he, a God, could never understand the intent, the nature, the thoughts and actions of mortalkind, there were still those that carried the same honour as he, shared a noble intent, and shared a similar love for the World, and all those that follow. The Lonely Machine God understood, or, at the very least, believed to the bottom of his mechanical heart that he finally understood.
He was not alone.
And thus, though his crumbling helm gave way to rusted circuitry, and though decayed, broken wires hung through the gaps of time-corroded alloy plate, cackling with the final drops of God’s lifespark,
For the first time in its long, lonesome lifespan,
The God smiles.
Yggdrasil, the World Terminal
At the center of his throne, situated above reality's weave, the God's corpse lays still. Though its body long perished, its mechanical heart beats onward. This is the terminal, that when all three Magi are present, exercises the power of the Machine God Avida, bringing forth great change to the world's structure and principles following the end of each reincarnation cycle, in hopes of a better World to follow.
Yggdrasil can be described as an enormous computer, constantly processing magical formulae, and it would be no exaggeration to call the terminal the very heart of thaumaturgy. It is located in a subspace-like realm situated beyond conventional space-time, serving as the centerpiece around which the headquarters of the Archivists of Avida is erected.
The Archivists of Avida
Founded by the three Magi, the Archivists of Avida's foremost goal is to carry on the duty of the fallen Machine God; to study the ruined Worlds of eras long past, and to use that knowledge to steer the World toward eternity; Toward an ending where the World ends in neither fire nor ice, but to one where it continues to shine and prosper to the end of time. With that said, their secondary goal is to protect and preserve Avida's legacy, to defend the Machine God's powers from those that seek to use it for their own, sinister gain, just as many of many other Worlds before had tried.
Their headquarters is located in a demiplane-like dimension, existing outside of conventional space and time, perhaps even beyond conventional reality as well. From there, they keep a keen watch over the World, archiving its events and history, whilst fabricating designs for the next. Their interference with the World is strictly overseen by the Three Magi, and when it is decided that interference from the Archivists is absolutely necessary, the job often falls upon the shoulders of their elite task force; The Einherjar.
The Three Magi
Though the original Magi have long perished, the title of 'Magi' is inherited by a designated 'Successor' of each Founding Family; Ainsworth, Von Einsiedel, and Llywellyn. Each family was gifted by the Machine God a large fragment of its power, manifesting as undeniably powerful 'Greater Thaumaturgy'. Despite the 'Board of Directors', the Magi hold the majority of power within the Archivists, though the Three Magi's original mutual cooperation in a shared, noble ideal has now deteriorated to the Founding Families using their power within the Archivists to keep each other in check.
- Ainsworth: The 'Archmagus', the Ainsworth Family oversees the vast majority of operations of the Archivists. The previous Lord Ainsworth, as well as the successor however, were met with an untimely and gruesome end at the hands of the Black Serpent of Revolution, leaving a young and inexperienced 'Shadow Successor' to become the Archmagus. As a result, the power of Ainsworth has dwindled by a considerable amount compared to that of Von Einsiedel and Llywellyn.
- Von Einsiedel: The 'Grand Archivist', the Von Einsiedel family have overseen and directed the study of previous worlds, and have stayed mostly true to their ancestor's original goal to 'preserve history'. The preservation of the World and the circumvention of the Apocalypse is apparently a part of their founder's 'grand vision', though what exactly this 'grand vision' has long been lost to memory. The current Lord Von Einsiedel is the oldest of the current Magi, and though he has taken a mostly neutral stance, has begun to take sides with Ainsworth as to maintain the balance of political power within Avida.
- Llywellyn: The 'Executor', Llwellyn is the direct superior of the Einherjar, carrying out what is deemed necessary for the safety and preservation of Avida under cloak and dagger, even if their actions would be deemed vile and evil in the eyes of most. Controlling majority of actual military power within the Archivists, it would not be an exaggeration to say that in reality, Llywellyn holds the most power of the Three Magi. Unfortunately, it appears as though the current Lord Llywellyn is a woman of less than dubious moral background, and despite undeniable results, many hold doubts on their 'true' intentions.
The Einherjar
This is you; The Archivists of Avida's elite mobile task force, the Einherjar are under the direct command of Lord Llywellyn. Their members are selected amongst the Archivist's most capable personnel, and specialize in almost all conceivable fields. Their primary goal is to neutralize and eliminate any and all threats posed to Yggdrasil and the integrity of the World, through any means necessary. This has lead the Einherjar to commit some truly despicable actions in the name of Yggdrasil's stability.
Few sacrifices is a miniscule price in the name of the preservation of the World, and those that follow, after all.- The Black Dragon That Gnaws Upon the World's Foundations: Nidhogg
A terrorist organization originating from the present reincarnation of the World, Nidhogg's top brass consists of people who have discovered traces of Avida, and have learned of the existence of the Archivists of Avida, the World System, along with the 'truth' of the World they exist upon. Alarmingly, their leader, a man by the alias of 'The Black Serpent of Revolution', is more than simply acquainted with the nature and functions of the World System, and rather seems to hold an understanding of the System even greater than senior members and of the Archivsts, potentially comparable to that of the Three Magi themselves.
They claim a 'righteous' goal, seeking to free the world from the shackles of the World System, and to dethrone the Archivsts who are mere mortals playing 'God', toying with the lives of countless like it were a game to them. Despite claims of a 'just' cause, however, Nidhogg's methods give no indication of such honor, trampling upon thousands upon thousands of innocent lives beneath heel in some senseless, violent frenzy to drag Avida down from the Heavens.
Though originally tolerated as a mere thorn in their side, Nidhogg's growing acts of senseless slaughter and wanton destruction have escalated to the point where the Archivsts have no choice but to consider them a possible 'Apocalypse Factor' - especially after a certain incident wherein both Lord Ainsworth and the successor of Ainsworth had personally stepped in to intervene, and both were never to be seen again.
Their movements are erratic, and despite Avida's best efforts, their base of operations have yet to be found largely in part of their ringleader's meticulous scheming, leading the Archivists to chase smoke and mirrors blindly in a desperate attempts to weed out the pestilence that is Nidhogg. - Thaumaturgy
Fundamentally, 'Thaumaturgy' refers to the right of every mortal creature to access and use the World System - when the God died, they bestowed each living creature a miniscule flicker of its power, and thus it follows that every living creature is capable of some degree of thaumaturgy. One's potential for Thaumaturgy is limited only to their knowledge of the system. For example, while some creatures may have just enough understanding of the system to perform some minor acts such as lighting a spark of flame at will, another who thoroughly understands the magical formulae and calculations behind it may be able to alter the fundamental laws of the world enough to spontaneously set an entire ocean aflame.
This phenomenon works via complex magic formulae casters fabricate with their minds, which is then inputted into the World System, much like inputting a command into a program. Once inputted inputted into the system, it will execute the given command to implement the desires changes to the world - that is to say that spellcasters who have no understanding of the system stumbled across certain 'combinations' that form coherent formulae by pure chance. However, magic formulae vary greatly depending on the nature of the 'change' to the world's principles one wishes to make; that is to say that every formula has a set outcome. Similar to a mathematical formula designed to solve a specific type of problem, the 'structure' of the magic formulae designates its effect, whilst finer details such as area of effect, intensity, and so forth can be fine tuned by the caster by making modifications or adding to the formulae on the fly.
Hence, given the complexity of thaumaturgy and the way it functions, a spellcaster without an intermediate understanding of the World System is akin to solving advanced physics without any knowledge of mathematics and using only common sense.
TLDR
MOST magic falls under here, it's just got a tinge of science (the breaking of every scientific law and principle imaginable). If it messes with phenomenon that has underlying science, it goes here.
True Magic
True Magic, or more commonly referred to as simply 'magic', refers to 'bugs' and 'glitches' in the World System, resulting in beings gaining the capability of performing 'miracles' and 'phenomenon' that can not be simply explained by referring to the World System and changes made to the world's laws and principles through it. Magic is wild, unstable, often with chaotic effects that not even the World System could replicate; time is relative and thus its flow can be accelerated and slowed, but time itself cannot flow backwards. The human soul, the mortal will, and the mind cannot be governed by the system, and concepts such as 'fate' are, by all means, intangible to the System.
Magic, however, is able to manipulate such things, often to a frightening extent. It is for this reason that should the Archivists deem those discovered to possess 'magic' of no benefit to Avida, or worse, a detriment, they are to be 'contained' and their 'magic' erased from the World.
TLDR
Traditional hocus pocus magic, or if you want a more abstract power. Anything that you can't even begin poking at with scientific theory goes here. - THIS DATA IS REDACTED FOR ALL PERSONNEL BELOW LEVEL 1 CLEARANCE.
PLEASE ENTER CREDENTIALS TO CONTINUE.
USERNAME: [ 0:THE_FOOL ]
PASSWORD: [ ************************ ]
ERROR. THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN DISABLED. PLEASE CONTACT-
…
…
BYPASS CODE RECEIVED.
…
…
CLEARANCE LEVEL 0 VERIFIED.
WELCOME, DIRECTOR AINSWORTH.
LIFTING ALL RESTRICTIONS.
DOWNLOADING DATA.
…
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE.
NOTICE: KILL COMMAND HAS BEEN EXECUTED. THIS COMPUTER AND ALL ITS CONTENTS WILL BE DESTROYED IN 30 MINUTES. TIMER STARTED. TIME REMAINING: 29:59
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin eu libero mauris. Nam sed quam ante. Nulla ipsum lacus, mattis eget ultricies sed, congue quis lorem. Aenean eget dapibus lectus, quis semper enim. Cras ante purus, maximus non sagittis id, bibendum vel ipsum. In felis lectus, venenatis in suscipit non, elementum eu turpis. Nam efficitur consequat risus, tincidunt condimentum risus facilisis et. Donec lacinia euismod tortor. Curabitur at risus malesuada, egestas massa eu, posuere urna.
Maecenas eu orci sed ex facilisis facilisis. Vivamus a tincidunt nisi, vitae venenatis elit. Sed consequat sit amet arcu non semper. Pellentesque mattis lorem aliquet ipsum accumsan tincidunt. Morbi nec justo id eros elementum malesuada a id nunc. Sed eu malesuada nibh, nec finibus ante. Ut congue orci a auctor pulvinar. Cras placerat lorem quam, a dapibus diam volutpat tincidunt. Praesent tincidunt ac lorem vel sodales. Aenean faucibus lacinia nibh, vitae ultrices dolor congue ac. Nam convallis, massa vitae ullamcorper ornare, nunc odio maximus tortor, ut sodales lorem elit eget urna. Mauris euismod ornare sapien in posuere. Duis euismod enim eget urna varius facilisis. Nullam id risus ipsum.
Maecenas interdum elementum ligula, in maximus orci auctor in. Quisque porttitor urna sed dolor iaculis gravida. Suspendisse non malesuada ligula. Mauris aliquam elit non dolor gravida sollicitudin. Sed lobortis felis in leo euismod, at semper ipsum tempus. Donec dictum mi diam, nec ultrices leo luctus nec. Morbi vulputate, ante non dapibus sollicitudin, lorem nulla sodales justo, vitae aliquet eros diam vel nibh. Nunc placerat nunc quis ante vehicula dapibus. Quisque placerat feugiat suscipit. Vivamus bibendum dapibus turpis, a finibus libero lacinia eu.
Last edited: