JadeGreen17
Chimeric Spirit
Entry 1: The world from a 'muggle's perspective
The world of Nightmare Hunter is an alternate earth governed by five meganations with their capitals being the five great cities. The tesseract runes will be explained in a later entry.
Arcadia-
Arcadia is the theocratic city state built in a location near to that of Paris on the real world map. They control most of Europe, part of the middle east and even parts of west-central Asia. The city is also built similarly to paris with the spokes-of-a-wheel style of design surrounding a central cathedral tower that is nearly two miles tall. The entire city is built of a combination of roman and gothic architecture made of white cement. A vast majority of the land outside of arcadia is used for farming and there are not very many large cities within their territory.
Nearly everyone in Arcadia is a follower of nexicisim; a religious doctrine that teaches that humans are perfect and that evil beings known as Nex who are the cause of all suffering and misdeeds in the world, and refer to any supernatural creatures as such. (They would also eliminate them with extreme prejiduce.) If your character hails from Arcadia then there is a chance they would be a Paladin of Arcadia, someone who is by their standards, a model citizen and would be willing to take up arms to protect the city from threats both mundane and supernatural.
Chespake-
Chespake is built (you guessed it) in the Chesapeake bay. The city's name is a misnomer however; a mispronunciation of Chesapeake. (Chess-Pa-Kay). The city is built on numerous small islands and landfills within the bay. The city has an art-deco architectural style mixed with various gauges of canals. The city is known to be a melting pot and a world of opportunity; but also crime ridden, polluted and overpopulated in parts. Chespake governs all of north and south america, which is divided into a confederacy of loosely associated states each with varying cultural identities.
The areas governed by Chespake are primarily linked with railways. With only a few major cities throughout the world, travel within countries is often done via rail, and travel between countries is often done via airship, airplane or boat. Though automobiles exist, road networks (this applies to everywhere in the world, especially outside of the five major cities) are far less maintained and robust as they are in our world The areas outside of Chespake used for a wide mixture of things; mining, farming, logging and there are numerous small towns and reservations outside of the area.
Northwind-
Northwind is a city built into a mountain a mere 10 degrees latitude from the north pole. Skyscrapers jut out sideways from a sheer cliff face in a city that is faced with near perpetual winter. (These sideways-facing skyscrapers sometimes referred to as Sidescrapers) What would drive people to live in such inhospitable conditions? Thorium. The atompunk-esque world of Nightmare Hunter is actually very well off at least in terms of energy production, and Northwind is the source of around 50% of the world's Thorium, equating to almost half the world's energy production.
Northwind controls greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and most of northern Eurasia. They also control some islands in the south atlantic and technically antarctica is also considered under their jurisdiction. Though the city attracts the toughest of the tough, miners seeking their fortunes, the city is also known to produce the nuclear-powered airships and long range radio communication equipment like nobody else in the world can. The city is also home to textile manufacturers and a surprisingly vibrant arts community.
Ridosi-
Built in what would be modern-day Korea, the vast majority of Ridosi is overshadowed by a massive volcanic mining complex somewhat resembling an oil rig that caps a volcano looming over the city. Minerals are pumped up from the volcano, processed and refined into metals on the spot, while simultaneously keeping the pressure in the volcano's magma chamber down. Ridosi is the largest city on the planet, and the most technologically advanced. Most of the city is made up of metal-clad dagger shaped skyscrapers.
The nation built around the city of Ridosi is by far the most militaristic of them all. In this world, the comparatively low population of the earth (Only around 1 billion) and the wide spacing of the five major cities mean war has seldom occurred and weapons technology never developed to the same degree that it did in our timeline. (This explains why a number of characters may still use swords and bows, as gun technology for the rest of the world never advanced past the flintlock pistol.) However Ridosi manufactures WWII level battleships and Tanks, along with machine guns and hand grenades. The culture is also highly militarized with both men and women required to put in a minimum number of years of military service.
Golden Rock-
Built into Ras Dejen and the surrounding foothills in Africa; the city is built around an underground lake. The city is one of the oldest cities on the planet; considered by many to be the first of the great cities to be properly founded. The city has a strong focus on education and healthcare and is home to some of the longest lived and best educated people on the planet. A portion of the city is beneath a massive underground planetarium dome that projects the sun, stars and moon and reflects the time of day. The dome is purely mechanical and has been in operation for more than 500 years.
Golden Rock governs Afirca, Part of India, and the continent of Mu. The surrounding land is used primarily for farming, livestock, and the occasional mine or logging camp.
Notes on technology and stuff:
Less advanced:
-Automobiles (mentioned.)
-Weapons Tecnology (mentioned.)
-Plastics. Rarely used and not very high quality materials.
-Medicine. Basic antibiotics and vaccinations but less understanding of diseases.
-Computers/Internet. Computers exist but are bulkier and less powerful. The internet is only available in major cities. Integrated circuit not invented.
-Cell phones. An emerging technology.
-Space Travel. A few satellites have been put into orbit but little more than that.
More advanced:
-Holograms. Monochromatic blue due to only one type of crystal known to work. Still very rarely seen and expensive. Someone with a holographic phone has a LOT of money to burn.
-Nuclear Power. Thorium breeder-based. There are nuclear powered trains and airships.
-AMPs. Advanced modular prosthetics. Used to replace limbs. Very similar to automail from FMA. The only body part unable to be replaced is eyes.
The entire southern half of the world is covered in the shadow of Evernesi, the leakage of a higher multi-dimensional plane with an entrance at the tip of south America. This area is less inhabited than the north and contains no great cities. Supernatural activity is heightened there and boats and airships have been known to go missing. Basically; its the Bermuda triangle on uber-steroids. I'll go more into detail about what Evernesi itself is like in a later entry.
Entry 2: Nightmare Hunter Weapons
Most hunter weapons follow a theme of being compacted, formed of metal leaflets and extending out via enchantments. (If you know the sword-pen from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie thats exactly what its like) So more than likely instead of carrying a huge-ass sword on their hip, your character just carry a sword handle and the blade would extend out with the click of a button. The weapons are made of damascus steel and coated with silver. The silver coating does need to be periodically replenished.
The reason most weapons fold and unfold like so is that Hunters are both peackeepers and only fight when there is no alternative. They want to appear nonthreatening and weapons that can be concealed and then activated quickly are the way to do this.
Weapons are awarded when one goes through the book of trials. Though almost any weapon can be received; save for gun-like weapons. Some of the more common weapons to be received are:
-Bow staff. A literal hybrid of a bow and a staff, it is an extending rod that can function as a staff. There are variants of it that can become a spear, haliberd, scythe, or double bladed pike. The second transformation will cause the rod to bend and two halves of a bowstring to shoot together from either end and it functioning as a bow. This weapon tends to be awarded to more conservative fighters, though it is also the most commonly received weapon and considered by contemporaries to be the signature weapon of the order.
-Combat Gauntlets. Gauntlets containing three weapons: An expanding magical shield made of metal leaflets just like the swords I described earlier, a small crossbow, and a small assassin's creed style hidden blade. This weapon is only ever awarded on second or third attempts at the book of trials, never the first.
-Zero-Friction skates. Ice skates that work on every surface. Enchanted with alchemy, they freeze the water as the wearer passes over it. Never awarded on first pass through the trials, and generally awarded to characters favoring agility and avoidance of conflicts. The skates also fold into boots.
-Strength gauntlets. Big runed stone gauntlets that make you really strong. Not my most creative idea.
Despite the complexity of the weapons, both physically (with their mechanical folding and unfolding capabilities) and magically (being enchanted to great effectiveness against entities), some have managed to reverse engineer these weapons and create their own without the use of the book of trials. Though these replicas are never quite as good as the originals, they give the user the option of customization.
Through the use of alchemy, a few specialized single use weapons can be created. Mist pellets create a vapor of pure water, doubling as a smokescreen and burning vampires and witches. Flash pellets can stun most enemies as well as replicate sunlight, burning vampires. The flames of hatred can also be attributed to pellets.
Entry 3: Tesseract runes
These are placed in various Hunter sanctuaries and temples and link these locations, offering a means of travel between these sanctuaries. Or as the Blindfolded man would go on to describe them:
"Mystical shapes made of eight cubes,
Connecting the world like magical tubes."
Tesseract runes link to a hub in a cave in Iceland. You will always go through this hub as tesseract runes are 'dumb' and can only link two places. They can be activated by any hunter with the Blindfolded Man's blessing by standing in the rune and saying "Tesseractus."
So far as Hunters know, Paladins do not have access to such a system and must travel conventionally.
Entry 4: Lycanthropes
Lycanthropy cannot be surpassed with drugs. This comes a bit close to making it seem like there is some science to the supernatural phenomenon, when it should remain mysterious. (Funny as in other areas I do make the magic more well understood like technology) It would also imply if you could suppress lycanthropy then another more potent drug could presumably be developed to cure it, which would be breaking the lore.
Lycanthropy varies. I simply allow for multiple different strains. Three different strains have been identified
~A complete transformation strain that causes the user to become feral and retain their form at all times, but yields the most powerful beast form.
~A full-moon based strain that can be controlled with practice but the transformation itself cannot be prevented.
~and the most easily controlled use-at-any time strain, which with practice and meditation is very utilitarian at all times, but yields the least powerful beast form. (But it's still very powerful, at least 60-70% as powerful as a fully feral wolf)
I suspect Floodwater's character may have a hybridization of Strains 1 and 3 (makes sense within the lore, since he was attacked by a pack of wolves that might have been made up of members of multiple strains.), with 1's beast form and 3's transformation rules, with the highly feral and uncontrolled behavior only becoming an issue upon transformation. So you could possibly do a similar thing with your character.
Your character can be a lycanthrope. The order will accept you.
Entry 5: Vampires
Vampires have a slight speed, strength, durability and endurance advantage, progressing with their infection. It would never be as much as a transformed lycanthrope that was similarly progressed. They can regenerate when they feed, or if they have fed recently, otherwise they will not heal. Human blood is the best to feed off of as it increases these powers the most, but also affects the progression the most. Animal blood increases vampiric powers but less so.
The vampire's outward appearance and behavior is linked to their mental state, similar to lycanthropy. In that a vampire that surrendered themselves completely to their condition and went full psycho embodies hyper-vampiric traits; ghostly white skin, huge fangs, rapid and powerful transformations, where as a vampire that was more in control of themselves would less so embody both the appearance, advantages and disadvantages of vampirism, and could have a more normal appearance. This means that it would be possible for a highly progressed vampire to begin to revert (but never fully) to become more human-looking, and lose their vampiric if they regained their sanity.
Feeding habits be a factor in the progression of their vampirism, with feedings on human blood progressing it faster. Age is of minimal consequence. Feedings often have a strong mental impact, slowly causing said vampire to slowly lose themselves with each feeding. Feedings would be required over long timespans (months). Though animal blood would satisfy, human blood would be better. Vampires that did not feed would more or less begin to wither and lose vampiric traits, and eventually expire.
Inevitably I a vampire will lose their sanity, simply due to the fact that feedings are required, but it would be over timescales greater than a human lifespan. That said vampires essentially have two choices; die from lack of feedings, or give in to insanity from too many feedings. Though vamps are technically immortal they will usually succumb to one or the other.
The Hunter order has a blood substitute potion that is even less tasteful and satisfying than animal blood but provides a humane way for vampires to feed.
Religious symbols from the real world do not have any affect on supernatural beings as real world religions are not present in this verse. Stand-in might be the nexicist symbol of faith. (A ring with six spikes, two longs spikes going straight up and straight down, and four smaller spikes at forty-five degree angles). The Hunter dreamcatcher used to capture demons is also extra effective when used to capture vampires. Though I imagine these artifacts only being effective if the vampire is less than sane.
Running water/pure water/holy water I would imagine would have similar effects to sunlight. Painful and weaking their powers, but not lethal except after very prolonged exposure. More painful for more progressed vampires.
They do not need invitations to enter a place. This is considered a myth within the lore. Perhaps there was a famous vampire or vampire cult in the past in this world who lived by this rule; only feeding on those foolish enough to let them in. Perhaps this was the lawfully evil code of Dracula himself.
The garlic thing is also a little silly. People turned vampires who liked garlic as a human are repulsed by it, as they would any other food they didn't like, but it has no real ill effects. This also brings up the question of vampires eating regular food; They can, but it provides no sustenance.
Impalement kills vampires; sure. That makes sense.
Silver, which coats hunter weapons, and is in most lore, including this one, an effective means against all kinds of supernatural creatures, is dangerous. Wounds made with silver blades and bolts would be accompanied with searing pain and slowed regeneration. Vampires are still vulnerable to conventional injuries and while having slightly more durable bodies, can die the same as any normal human. Silver blades would only be a hazard if the weapon actually cut them. In the event that a vampire is simply in proximity to or holding, the weapon would have no ill effects to the weilder.
Another advantage of vampires is not needing sleep.
Their animal transformations are their bread and butter and really what puts them on par with lycanthropes, With the cloud of bats being a fast mobility type maneuver. Very early on in creating the lore; I established that vampires traveling as a cloud of bats are vulnerable to attack. If an attack (arrow, blade, spell) hits one of the bats, the part of their body that bat corresponded to badly injured or straight up missing when they reformed into a humanoid form. Though this portion could be regenerated if the vampire survives the attack and subsequent injury. This is some of the oldest information available to Nightmare Hunters as some of the first enemies they were frequently forced into conflict with were vampires.
The snake form also the only form in where vampirism is contagious. Vampires that feed in humanoid form cannot spread their condition, though they can kill their victim if they simply feed so much that the victim dies from blood loss. Feeding while in the snake form is also the fastest way to progress the condition, and can also spread the condition to anyone bitten. (Including animals!) I think this is only fitting as the snake's 'venom' is what spreads vampirism.
Also, this may come as no surprise to you, but you cannot be both a werewolf and a vampire. Having one condition keeps you safe from the other. Atlantean blood also protects you from both. Another reason why all these groups are considered useful to the hunters.
Speaking of blood; vampire blood is black and tar-like. Vampires have black gums, tongues and blood vessels in their eyes. This coupled with their pale skin and fangs are the the telltale signs of their conditions.
The hunter order has the means to reverse these conditions if acquired. This requires that the person infected themselves be banished and captured to the mystical dreamcatcher, then the dreamcatcher is exposed to sunlight before the stone below the webbing is shattered. The person will re-emerge, cured of their condition. This must be done within the first 24 hours of the condition being spread to them to work, though. The paladins have no such similar ritual though, nor do they know of the blood substitute potion.
Your character can be a vampire. The order will accept you as well.
Entry 6: The Paladins of Arcadia
There is no Hunter headquarters in Arcadia, or any major city. The Paladins of Arcadia and the Nightmare Hunters aren't exactly on good terms either. Though they fill the same role; the Paladins believe in exterminating all supernatural creatures while Hunters are actually peacekeepers who sometimes rely on negotiation and only fight when necessary. (The Paladins would never allow a Werewolf or Vampire into their ranks) Because of these dissonant philosophies, the two don't get along very well either. It may sound like it should be the other way around based on their namesakes but its not. Flaunting hunter armor in Arcadia might not be the brightest idea either. You won't be arrested and put to death for being there, but you'll certainly get some dirty looks and less-than-preferential treatment with the paladins guarding the city.
Also there is official Nightmare Hunter Armor. It's a slick bluish gray set of brigandine armor, with lots of buckles and straps and black padding underneath. Very fantasy-rouge-anti-hero looking. And it's generally worn under a dark colored cloak, and has a signature dreamcatcher-web engraved silver belt buckle. But the armor is hardly a uniform many hunters choose to personalize their armor or simply don a different suit.
This kind of reflects the difference between the Hunters and Paladins too. The Paladins are known in every Great City as protectors of Arcadia. Hunters are a very downlow organization. Their hideouts are small and they generally prefer to do their work quietly. The organization is small and prestigious, contrast the Paladins who are much more out in the open about their work.
The Hunters and the Paladins also represent two types of storytelling. Paladins represent traditional fantasy storytelling; viewing things more black and white. In there eyes there is a dedicated villain or villains that are the source of all the world's misdoings. (That is literally the foundation of their whole philosophy, and they are literally knights in shining armor after all.) The Hunters represent a more modern style of storytelling in where things are more shades of gray, more morally ambiguous, and conflicts are often more complex and neither side is never really wrong. (Their armor is also gray in color to reflect this.)
However, In this setting neither philosophy is inherently wrong. Paladins might go out of their way to kill a werewolf clan that would otherwise coexist peacefully with the world; but at the same time there are times the Hunters have attempted to make peace with beings and failed. This is a world where demons exist, and some of these demons are manifestations of pure evil.
When I introduced the character Tuce, the one armed drummer; and a seemingly weaponless hunter, what I intended to imply was that she went into battle and used her calming song to soothe agitated spirits to where they could be negotiated with. but obviously, she was missing an arm, so it probably didn't work as well the last time she tried it, meaning that some spirits cannot be reasoned with and are simply malevolent.
Entry 7: Arcadia: City of Man
The paladins also represent Arcadia's stagnation. Though the city is beautiful it is stagnant while the rest of the world is significantly more modern. The level of technology and feel of the world to be roughly that of the early 1900's, though it is a bit scattered. Arcadia's military are referred to as paladins, and fight primarily with swords, bows and the likes. The other four Great Cities all have semi-modern militaries with primitive guns, tanks, grenades and ironclad ships. This is particularly true of the ridiculously-ahead-of-their-time military, who have weaponized airships with comparable durability and firepower to a world war 2 naval battleship.
I also feel as though I should spill the beans and tell you that the five great cities are based off of the five classical elements.
Chespake- Built in a bay=Water.
Northwind- Built on a cliffside= Air.
Golden Rock- Built inside a mountain= Earth.
Ridosi- Built on/around a volcano= Fire.
Arcadia- Built around a temple= Atheir/Spirit.
Entry 8: Chakra Spirits
The seven Chakra Spirits. Your character can have a Chakra spirit if someone does not already have that one.
There is also the matter of the seven chakra spirits. (Bizzare as the reference to the seven chakras is the only major real-life reference in a world that is otherwise make-believe. They reference the seven chakras and are loosely based on them but even have their own meaningless fantasy names) There are 7 in the world, and they reincarnate when the previous holder dies, so if somebody's character already holds a spirit, nobody else can use it. In the story this world is from, 4 of the 7 spirits are taken by 'canon' characters. But I'm just going to pretend the canon characters of this verse don't exist and open up to new possibilities. Of course your character doesn't have to have a chakra spirit.
Chakra spirits tend not to awaken until one's teenage years. Seeing as one cannot be accepted into the Nightmare Hunter Order until reaching the age of 14, you could lobby to have your character first contact their slumbering spirit in the beginning of the story. Chakra spirits generally reveal themselves to their bearer when they face a conflict pertinent to their purpose.
Rikkan (Root Chakra) - An aggressive spirit who encourages the bearer to be violent. Grants the user regenerative abilities similar to those of an atlantean, but faster acting. Not quite wolverine level regeneration, but regeneration and a very high pain threshold.
Serago (Sacral Chakra) - A playful, childlike sprit who will encourage the bearer to play tricks and manipulate others to your benefit, but frowns upon physically hurting another. Allows the bearer to seduce members of the opposite sex (or homosexual members of the same sex).
Mittik (Solar Plexus Chakra) - A very quiet and submissive spirit that will submit to the will of the user. Grants the user the ability to change their physical appearance at will to be that of humans or large animals, though the shapeshifter will retain yellow eyes.
Bitala (Heart Chakra) (TAKEN) - A spirit that when unlocked will take on human form; that of the idealized lover of the bearer. Bitala's personality varies from incarnation to incarnation based upon the lover that the bearer imagines, but Bitala's "true" personality is level headed, calming and kind.
Kitano (Throat Chakra) - A very talkative, high energy spirit who likes to get to know who his current incarnation is. Speaks very informally to whoever is the bearer. Encourages spontaneity and open mindedness. The bearer gains the power to project any sound from their mouth, and to instantaneously create drawings and marks on empty surfaces.
Ateria (Third Eye Chakra) - A calm, level headed spirit who encourages meditation and thinking before doing. Grants the user the powers of empathy, mind reading, premonitions, and oneiromancy.
Magahaki (Crown Chakra) - Magahaki and the bearer act as one. Magahaki exists as the bearer's own subconscious mind and the two are intertwined. Magahaki's personality is similar always that of the bearer. Magahaki does not grant the bearer any known powers, aside from being able to transfer any lesser chakra spirit from one person to another without them being reincarnated, and to subvert a lesser chakra spirit's powers.
Entry 9: Atlanteans
Atlantis is considered the lost 6th great city of the world in this verse. Atlanteans are brown-skinned and dark haired, and tend to be very tall. They have increased strength, intelligence and reflexes, and extended lifespans that follow something of an S-curve. (They grow to mature age/young adult, slowly stop aging for a few hundred years, then continue aging at a normal rate to an elder before death.) They can also slowly (over the course of weeks or months) regrow lost limbs and organs, and are completely resistant to diseases or illness. Their only shortcomings are poor tolerance for cold climates and inability to process preserved foods.
Half-breed atlantean-humans are possible. They retain all of the qualities of atlantean but (since one parent is human) could have a much more varied appearance. Though in much the same way one breeds a horse and a donkey and gets an infertile mule, half breed atlantean humans are infertile and cannot procreate.
Atlantean blood protects one from the effects of vampirism and lycanthropy.
Entry 10: The Blindfolded Man
The Blindfolded Man is the closest thing to a name the mysterious and eccentric leader of the Nightmare Hunter order truly has. He seldom explains why he does the things he does and it's impossible to fathom how such an order can function with such a disconnected leader. Despite his unassuming appearance of a dwarf man in a tophat with pale skin and razor teeth, he masks his true power and is in fact a very powerful being from the plane of Evernesi.
His bizarre nature is only capitalized by a curse put upon him by a former Paladin of Arcadia; believing him to be an incarnation of Nex, but being unable to completely kill him, the witch instead tried to stop him from communicating and spreading his ideals to mankind. However even that more focused curse was not fully effective on him. The Blindfolded man cannot speak to man traditionally; and he circumvents this by singing what he wishes to communicate in rhymed verses. In essence, he's unable to talk, but nothing's stopping him from singing.
Those who have met with the man enough, will know that he is good hearted, and enjoys acting bizarre and playing tricks. Tricks on his allies are often relatively harmless fun, while those planned for his enemies slightly less so. But why is this being; who should be a demon; so supportive of humanity? What is his motivation for creating an order built around acceptance and universal peace; surely he must be hiding an ulterior motive...
The BFM has a wide range of demonic powers most of which are not known even to the most esteemed members of the order. His only known abilities are:
-He can teleport between locations without the use of a tesseract rune.
-He can sense potential initiates and their conflicts, though he sometimes has help members of the order.
Entry 11: Dreamcatchers
Said in Native American lore to catch bad dreams in the web and allow the good ones to pass through. In this world, they are actually a functional magical artifact; and one that gives the Hunters their namesake no less. These artifacts have the ability to capture, purify, and free the souls of all manner of supernatural beings.
However, beings must often be weakened to be influenced by the catcher. When sufficiently weakened in standard combat, their physical form will convert to energy and they will be pulled into the webbing. The catcher must then be exposed to the sunlight for the passion or misgiving keeping the departed soul bound to the plane of earth to be burned away and the soul freed.
As stated, these can be used to reverse the effects of lycanthropy and vampirism on one; but it requires the breaking of the Lightstone, which is very rare, effectively rendering the catcher useless.
Entry 12: Alchemy and Magic
A number of forms of magic and alchemy exist in the Nightmare Hunter world. The magics are difficult to define. Some consider it alchemy; as it is understood as well as science in places, while others consider it true magic; as unlike alchemy, it does not respect the laws of equivalent exchange. Many believe the various magical forces to be imprints of shadows on our world from powerful extra-dimensional beings from the plane of Evernesei. This list is not comprehensive, there are more.
The Flames of Hatred~ Drawing on a person's hatred and anger, the flames of hatred can be summoned. These flames are always a deep red and can be incredibly powerful proportionate to one's anger; minor irritation can summon massive fireballs and they are an extremely dangerous magical ability to possess and can be difficult to control. They can also be summoned and fueled through runes to create flames that can last for weeks without 'fuel'.
Force Magic~ Used primarily to construct Nightmare hunter weapons, this form of magic, always summoned Via small runes engraved on the inside, it is used to generate mechanical energy to extend and retract concealed Hunter weapons. This magic seems to be associated with metal and can also be applied to make a weapon lighter to a user and heavier to the recipient, or to create weapons that can return to the users' hand.
Tesseract Runes~ The only known operational network is used by the Nightmare Hunter Order. They are a complicated type of rune to create, however they can act as a portal transporting people and objects between two locations. The ones used in the Nightmare Hunter Order's tesseract network are voice-activated.
Lightstones~ Lightstones are diamond shaped stones used for a variety of magical purposes, primarily within the Nightmare Hunter Order. They seem to possess unlimited energy though are somewhat fragile to physical damage. They seem to have the ability to contain pocket dimensions as well. Some believe that these stones are not magical at all, but rather some kind of incomprehensibly advanced technology from an ancient civilization.
-The Lightstone in the Tesseract hovel is gold, provides a bright light, and presumably manipulates the gravitational field keeping the earth and moon models in the correct positions.
-The Lightstone on the book of trials is Green, Blue and Purple, with its coloration. The stone has a great variety of powers and appears to be sentient.
-Hunter Dreamcatchers have Red Lightstones that seem to play a role in capturing monsters.
Alchemy~ Alchemy tends to revolve around equivalent exchange and matter transmutation. It is very difficult to preform properly and few people have 'the gift'. Some of the easiest transmutations to preform create specialized Nightmare Hunter weapons including bombs, arrows, crossbow bolts, etc. (See Entry 2), the Mist Pellets, Flash Pellets, Flame pellets (Utilizing the Flames of Hatred).
Roughly speaking,
Mist Pellets are created by compressing a large amount of water( say a bathtub's worth) into a tiny pellet of ice-like material via alchemy.
Flash pellets are created by absorbing sunlight into porous stone via alchemy. Pumice stones are enchanted to appear jet black and left in sunlight until they slowly turn a light gray. Through this process they absorb several days worth of sunlight which they can then release very quickly.
Flame pellets are created similarly to flash pellets. They are porus stones that can absorb large quantities of the flames of hatred, then release them at a later time.
Ice pellets are created as a by continually drawing alchemical energy from a pellet creating an energy deficit. (Basically a reverse philosopher's stone.) When the seal is broken, it draws in thermal energy from all around supercooling the surrounding area.
Alchemy can also be used to brew potions with specialized properties. Many of these potions are simply complex chemical mixtures that must be created with alchemy. They must be made by certain mixtures of certain plants because these plants contain the correct quantities of certain elements to create the mixture.
The only two known potions are a healing potion and a blood substitute potion created for vampires within the Order to humanely feed.
Animation Magic~ True necromancy is impossible. Once one's soul has departed; it cannot be returned. However, it is possible to reanimate a once-living body as a thrall or zombie. Artificial bodies can also be animated. This is considered to be a much more advanced form of force magic that imbues the body with some degree of intelligence and sentience.
Entry 13: The Book of Trials
The book of Trials is a book used by the order to try for new initiates. The book functions as a magical portal to a pocket dimension that will be configured to be a trial that the book believes is suited to test an aspect of the initiate that may be most in question with the order's values. While the trial is underway, those on the outside will be able to read the book of trials and hear of the trial in real time.
When the trial has completed; the book will award the initiate with a weapon forged in the main chamber of the Western Hunter temple.
Entry 14: Evernesei
Evernesei is an alternative plane of reality, whos' inner workings are vaguely understood. It appears to be the source of all magic in the world. Some say that Evernesei is a dreamworld; but in reality it is a world that is comprised of both matter as well as the collective thoughts and feelings of all the beings in the world. In essence, it is between the real world and the imagined world inside ones head.
Because of this the plane is comprised of both physical matter and laws as well as thoughts, feelings and emotions, the environment can sometimes react to the emotions and thoughts of the people nearby. Yet godlike control of the plane by a single entity is not possible as the plane is influenced by the thoughts and feelings of all simeltanieously.
Near the portal, it is known that Evernesei seems to mirror a dark and contorted version of earth where everything is mirrored. (East is west, west is east. North is south, south is north.) In this portion, people have occasionally noted their shifting to and from the mortal plane of earth without passing through the portal, creating a shadow effect on earth where heightened supernatural activity occurs.
Journeying farther from the portal yields very strange terrain; floating continents, strange structures constructed by lost civilizations and alien creatures and spirits. Evernesi is much larger than earth.
Entry 15: General Ground Rules
This is less about the lore of the world and just a couple of general ground rules I keep in mind when writing both this RP and the actual story.
-No Time travel. Since there are some powerful magical beings, its no question that time travel abilities would eventually come up. Time travel always causes a mess of plot holes and general weirdness in a story, therefore I have stated that time travel is not allowed in the story.
-No bringing characters back from the dead. It's implied that death is a one-way-street in this series. Despite the fact that it is a supernatural series, there is no true necromancy. Characters' bodies can be reanimated and imbued with a personality similar to the one they had before their departure, but there is no such thing as true necromancy. It is for similar reasons that characters cannot be reverted from vampirism or lycanthropy except under special circumstances, as especially for the former, you are often considered to be dead already. This is because I simply think characters being brought back to life is a cop-out.
This rule is also circumvented via the sparring arena in the Hunter Temple. However this is because when entering the arena, the person entering has their soul/essence/whatever 'saved' in a lightstone while fighting through a projection of their body.
-(Almost) no references to real world religion and spiritual doctrines. This also gives me an opportunity to build each religion around a different and unique ideal or way of thinking, and avoid the controversy of using real-world religion. There are a few that made it in there when the story was first getting off the ground, however. Generally my rule is that whenever I add anything new it has to be wholly original. A character could use a phrase like "Oh god" since some of the religions have the concept of god(s), but couldn't use the lord's name in vein because christianity doesn't exist in this world.
-Monstrous transformations are based on one's mental state. This rule applies to Vampires, Werewolves (One Wendigo) and basically any monster that was at one point human. A person who gives into the madness of a monstrous form will appear more monstrous while one that is more sane and in touch with their human side will appear more human while still having some qualities of their monstrous form. To me this is just an interesting concept that a being's mental state is reflected in their outward appearance and ability.
-Guns are rarely, if ever used by Hunters and Paladins. Kind of for the same reason guns aren't used in Harry Potter, even though they exist in the 'muggle' world. They just make things seem a whole lot less magical and fantasy like, and I'm personally.
-Also I don't play to some of the misconceptions of fantasy. Although the weapons are a bit fantasy at times; I generally adhere to these principles for the more realistic side of medieval combat:
-Strong characters are needed to take powerful shots with bows. Bows have actual draw weight. Weaker characters may still have bows or crossbows that fire magical arrows to balance them out.
-Heavy armor does not slow characters down. Generally if heavy armor is made well; like Paladin armor, it does not slow one down, but does mean that movement is more physically draining and you get tired a lot faster.
Entry 16: Gradisim
Gradisim is the second major religious/spiritual doctrine in this alternate earth after Nexicisim. The doctrine teaches that there are two gods of opposing elements. The religion is heavily focused around binaries and dualities, teaching people that life and the world often contains things that oppose one another. Because of this the religion is Bitheistic and two major gods. Nunala and Rigarte.
Nunala is a goddess of wind, water, ice and storms who's domain of power is the sea. She is frequently portrayed as a large blue and white sea serpent with a dragon like head (sometimes multiple heads) with many many horns and ornate scales creating complex patterns all over her body, and large fins. She is portrayed in the holy text, the Gradion, as a very serious and staunch figure.
Rigarte is the god of fire, lava and rock, his domain of power is deep below the ground and within volcanoes. He is frequently portrayed as a large humanoid made of black and gray stone with a cauldron-like head containing magma that spills over to create his facial features. Contrasting Nunala, Rigarte is brash and relatively loose; sometimes being something of a comical figure in the mythology.
The story of the Mythology starts off when a universal entity called Eno entity split itself into Nunala and Rigarte. Nunala was a fraction of the entity that wanted things to remain the way they are, while Rigarte wanted to create something new. This caused the entity to become conflicted and divide into the two gods. Nunala trapped Rigarte in a massive ball of water. Rigarte tried to break free by boiling the water with Magma and created the undersea terrain and the first land on the earth.
For awhile the two gods were in conflict. But the scripture tells of how as the world they created became more complex, the two slowly formed a friendship and began to work together to create and manage their increasingly complex world. The scripture and moral dilemmas become more complex and nuanced, leaving them intentionally more open to interpretation meaning there are several interpretations of this religion. This was partly meant to help indoctrinate young children into the religion; starting their education with simpler stories toward the beginning and working their way up to the more complex ones, but is also a metaphor for life in that how it becomes more complex and nuanced as time goes on.
The story ends with Rigarte becoming the sun and Nunala becoming the moon. Due to the lack of scientific advancement at the time, it was thought that the moon was made of ice.
The religion has two primary sub-groups. One is very traditionalist, while the other treats the religion very new age and open to interpretation.
Unlike Nexicism which is practiced almost soley in Arcadia and surrounding territories, Gradisim is practiced in scattered sectors all over the world.
The world of Nightmare Hunter is an alternate earth governed by five meganations with their capitals being the five great cities. The tesseract runes will be explained in a later entry.
Arcadia-
Arcadia is the theocratic city state built in a location near to that of Paris on the real world map. They control most of Europe, part of the middle east and even parts of west-central Asia. The city is also built similarly to paris with the spokes-of-a-wheel style of design surrounding a central cathedral tower that is nearly two miles tall. The entire city is built of a combination of roman and gothic architecture made of white cement. A vast majority of the land outside of arcadia is used for farming and there are not very many large cities within their territory.
Nearly everyone in Arcadia is a follower of nexicisim; a religious doctrine that teaches that humans are perfect and that evil beings known as Nex who are the cause of all suffering and misdeeds in the world, and refer to any supernatural creatures as such. (They would also eliminate them with extreme prejiduce.) If your character hails from Arcadia then there is a chance they would be a Paladin of Arcadia, someone who is by their standards, a model citizen and would be willing to take up arms to protect the city from threats both mundane and supernatural.
Chespake-
Chespake is built (you guessed it) in the Chesapeake bay. The city's name is a misnomer however; a mispronunciation of Chesapeake. (Chess-Pa-Kay). The city is built on numerous small islands and landfills within the bay. The city has an art-deco architectural style mixed with various gauges of canals. The city is known to be a melting pot and a world of opportunity; but also crime ridden, polluted and overpopulated in parts. Chespake governs all of north and south america, which is divided into a confederacy of loosely associated states each with varying cultural identities.
The areas governed by Chespake are primarily linked with railways. With only a few major cities throughout the world, travel within countries is often done via rail, and travel between countries is often done via airship, airplane or boat. Though automobiles exist, road networks (this applies to everywhere in the world, especially outside of the five major cities) are far less maintained and robust as they are in our world The areas outside of Chespake used for a wide mixture of things; mining, farming, logging and there are numerous small towns and reservations outside of the area.
Northwind-
Northwind is a city built into a mountain a mere 10 degrees latitude from the north pole. Skyscrapers jut out sideways from a sheer cliff face in a city that is faced with near perpetual winter. (These sideways-facing skyscrapers sometimes referred to as Sidescrapers) What would drive people to live in such inhospitable conditions? Thorium. The atompunk-esque world of Nightmare Hunter is actually very well off at least in terms of energy production, and Northwind is the source of around 50% of the world's Thorium, equating to almost half the world's energy production.
Northwind controls greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and most of northern Eurasia. They also control some islands in the south atlantic and technically antarctica is also considered under their jurisdiction. Though the city attracts the toughest of the tough, miners seeking their fortunes, the city is also known to produce the nuclear-powered airships and long range radio communication equipment like nobody else in the world can. The city is also home to textile manufacturers and a surprisingly vibrant arts community.
Ridosi-
Built in what would be modern-day Korea, the vast majority of Ridosi is overshadowed by a massive volcanic mining complex somewhat resembling an oil rig that caps a volcano looming over the city. Minerals are pumped up from the volcano, processed and refined into metals on the spot, while simultaneously keeping the pressure in the volcano's magma chamber down. Ridosi is the largest city on the planet, and the most technologically advanced. Most of the city is made up of metal-clad dagger shaped skyscrapers.
The nation built around the city of Ridosi is by far the most militaristic of them all. In this world, the comparatively low population of the earth (Only around 1 billion) and the wide spacing of the five major cities mean war has seldom occurred and weapons technology never developed to the same degree that it did in our timeline. (This explains why a number of characters may still use swords and bows, as gun technology for the rest of the world never advanced past the flintlock pistol.) However Ridosi manufactures WWII level battleships and Tanks, along with machine guns and hand grenades. The culture is also highly militarized with both men and women required to put in a minimum number of years of military service.
Golden Rock-
Built into Ras Dejen and the surrounding foothills in Africa; the city is built around an underground lake. The city is one of the oldest cities on the planet; considered by many to be the first of the great cities to be properly founded. The city has a strong focus on education and healthcare and is home to some of the longest lived and best educated people on the planet. A portion of the city is beneath a massive underground planetarium dome that projects the sun, stars and moon and reflects the time of day. The dome is purely mechanical and has been in operation for more than 500 years.
Golden Rock governs Afirca, Part of India, and the continent of Mu. The surrounding land is used primarily for farming, livestock, and the occasional mine or logging camp.
Notes on technology and stuff:
Less advanced:
-Automobiles (mentioned.)
-Weapons Tecnology (mentioned.)
-Plastics. Rarely used and not very high quality materials.
-Medicine. Basic antibiotics and vaccinations but less understanding of diseases.
-Computers/Internet. Computers exist but are bulkier and less powerful. The internet is only available in major cities. Integrated circuit not invented.
-Cell phones. An emerging technology.
-Space Travel. A few satellites have been put into orbit but little more than that.
More advanced:
-Holograms. Monochromatic blue due to only one type of crystal known to work. Still very rarely seen and expensive. Someone with a holographic phone has a LOT of money to burn.
-Nuclear Power. Thorium breeder-based. There are nuclear powered trains and airships.
-AMPs. Advanced modular prosthetics. Used to replace limbs. Very similar to automail from FMA. The only body part unable to be replaced is eyes.
The entire southern half of the world is covered in the shadow of Evernesi, the leakage of a higher multi-dimensional plane with an entrance at the tip of south America. This area is less inhabited than the north and contains no great cities. Supernatural activity is heightened there and boats and airships have been known to go missing. Basically; its the Bermuda triangle on uber-steroids. I'll go more into detail about what Evernesi itself is like in a later entry.
Entry 2: Nightmare Hunter Weapons
Most hunter weapons follow a theme of being compacted, formed of metal leaflets and extending out via enchantments. (If you know the sword-pen from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie thats exactly what its like) So more than likely instead of carrying a huge-ass sword on their hip, your character just carry a sword handle and the blade would extend out with the click of a button. The weapons are made of damascus steel and coated with silver. The silver coating does need to be periodically replenished.
The reason most weapons fold and unfold like so is that Hunters are both peackeepers and only fight when there is no alternative. They want to appear nonthreatening and weapons that can be concealed and then activated quickly are the way to do this.
Weapons are awarded when one goes through the book of trials. Though almost any weapon can be received; save for gun-like weapons. Some of the more common weapons to be received are:
-Bow staff. A literal hybrid of a bow and a staff, it is an extending rod that can function as a staff. There are variants of it that can become a spear, haliberd, scythe, or double bladed pike. The second transformation will cause the rod to bend and two halves of a bowstring to shoot together from either end and it functioning as a bow. This weapon tends to be awarded to more conservative fighters, though it is also the most commonly received weapon and considered by contemporaries to be the signature weapon of the order.
-Combat Gauntlets. Gauntlets containing three weapons: An expanding magical shield made of metal leaflets just like the swords I described earlier, a small crossbow, and a small assassin's creed style hidden blade. This weapon is only ever awarded on second or third attempts at the book of trials, never the first.
-Zero-Friction skates. Ice skates that work on every surface. Enchanted with alchemy, they freeze the water as the wearer passes over it. Never awarded on first pass through the trials, and generally awarded to characters favoring agility and avoidance of conflicts. The skates also fold into boots.
-Strength gauntlets. Big runed stone gauntlets that make you really strong. Not my most creative idea.
Despite the complexity of the weapons, both physically (with their mechanical folding and unfolding capabilities) and magically (being enchanted to great effectiveness against entities), some have managed to reverse engineer these weapons and create their own without the use of the book of trials. Though these replicas are never quite as good as the originals, they give the user the option of customization.
Through the use of alchemy, a few specialized single use weapons can be created. Mist pellets create a vapor of pure water, doubling as a smokescreen and burning vampires and witches. Flash pellets can stun most enemies as well as replicate sunlight, burning vampires. The flames of hatred can also be attributed to pellets.
Entry 3: Tesseract runes
These are placed in various Hunter sanctuaries and temples and link these locations, offering a means of travel between these sanctuaries. Or as the Blindfolded man would go on to describe them:
"Mystical shapes made of eight cubes,
Connecting the world like magical tubes."
Tesseract runes link to a hub in a cave in Iceland. You will always go through this hub as tesseract runes are 'dumb' and can only link two places. They can be activated by any hunter with the Blindfolded Man's blessing by standing in the rune and saying "Tesseractus."
So far as Hunters know, Paladins do not have access to such a system and must travel conventionally.
Entry 4: Lycanthropes
Lycanthropy cannot be surpassed with drugs. This comes a bit close to making it seem like there is some science to the supernatural phenomenon, when it should remain mysterious. (Funny as in other areas I do make the magic more well understood like technology) It would also imply if you could suppress lycanthropy then another more potent drug could presumably be developed to cure it, which would be breaking the lore.
Lycanthropy varies. I simply allow for multiple different strains. Three different strains have been identified
~A complete transformation strain that causes the user to become feral and retain their form at all times, but yields the most powerful beast form.
~A full-moon based strain that can be controlled with practice but the transformation itself cannot be prevented.
~and the most easily controlled use-at-any time strain, which with practice and meditation is very utilitarian at all times, but yields the least powerful beast form. (But it's still very powerful, at least 60-70% as powerful as a fully feral wolf)
I suspect Floodwater's character may have a hybridization of Strains 1 and 3 (makes sense within the lore, since he was attacked by a pack of wolves that might have been made up of members of multiple strains.), with 1's beast form and 3's transformation rules, with the highly feral and uncontrolled behavior only becoming an issue upon transformation. So you could possibly do a similar thing with your character.
Your character can be a lycanthrope. The order will accept you.
Entry 5: Vampires
Vampires have a slight speed, strength, durability and endurance advantage, progressing with their infection. It would never be as much as a transformed lycanthrope that was similarly progressed. They can regenerate when they feed, or if they have fed recently, otherwise they will not heal. Human blood is the best to feed off of as it increases these powers the most, but also affects the progression the most. Animal blood increases vampiric powers but less so.
The vampire's outward appearance and behavior is linked to their mental state, similar to lycanthropy. In that a vampire that surrendered themselves completely to their condition and went full psycho embodies hyper-vampiric traits; ghostly white skin, huge fangs, rapid and powerful transformations, where as a vampire that was more in control of themselves would less so embody both the appearance, advantages and disadvantages of vampirism, and could have a more normal appearance. This means that it would be possible for a highly progressed vampire to begin to revert (but never fully) to become more human-looking, and lose their vampiric if they regained their sanity.
Feeding habits be a factor in the progression of their vampirism, with feedings on human blood progressing it faster. Age is of minimal consequence. Feedings often have a strong mental impact, slowly causing said vampire to slowly lose themselves with each feeding. Feedings would be required over long timespans (months). Though animal blood would satisfy, human blood would be better. Vampires that did not feed would more or less begin to wither and lose vampiric traits, and eventually expire.
Inevitably I a vampire will lose their sanity, simply due to the fact that feedings are required, but it would be over timescales greater than a human lifespan. That said vampires essentially have two choices; die from lack of feedings, or give in to insanity from too many feedings. Though vamps are technically immortal they will usually succumb to one or the other.
The Hunter order has a blood substitute potion that is even less tasteful and satisfying than animal blood but provides a humane way for vampires to feed.
Religious symbols from the real world do not have any affect on supernatural beings as real world religions are not present in this verse. Stand-in might be the nexicist symbol of faith. (A ring with six spikes, two longs spikes going straight up and straight down, and four smaller spikes at forty-five degree angles). The Hunter dreamcatcher used to capture demons is also extra effective when used to capture vampires. Though I imagine these artifacts only being effective if the vampire is less than sane.
Running water/pure water/holy water I would imagine would have similar effects to sunlight. Painful and weaking their powers, but not lethal except after very prolonged exposure. More painful for more progressed vampires.
They do not need invitations to enter a place. This is considered a myth within the lore. Perhaps there was a famous vampire or vampire cult in the past in this world who lived by this rule; only feeding on those foolish enough to let them in. Perhaps this was the lawfully evil code of Dracula himself.
The garlic thing is also a little silly. People turned vampires who liked garlic as a human are repulsed by it, as they would any other food they didn't like, but it has no real ill effects. This also brings up the question of vampires eating regular food; They can, but it provides no sustenance.
Impalement kills vampires; sure. That makes sense.
Silver, which coats hunter weapons, and is in most lore, including this one, an effective means against all kinds of supernatural creatures, is dangerous. Wounds made with silver blades and bolts would be accompanied with searing pain and slowed regeneration. Vampires are still vulnerable to conventional injuries and while having slightly more durable bodies, can die the same as any normal human. Silver blades would only be a hazard if the weapon actually cut them. In the event that a vampire is simply in proximity to or holding, the weapon would have no ill effects to the weilder.
Another advantage of vampires is not needing sleep.
Their animal transformations are their bread and butter and really what puts them on par with lycanthropes, With the cloud of bats being a fast mobility type maneuver. Very early on in creating the lore; I established that vampires traveling as a cloud of bats are vulnerable to attack. If an attack (arrow, blade, spell) hits one of the bats, the part of their body that bat corresponded to badly injured or straight up missing when they reformed into a humanoid form. Though this portion could be regenerated if the vampire survives the attack and subsequent injury. This is some of the oldest information available to Nightmare Hunters as some of the first enemies they were frequently forced into conflict with were vampires.
The snake form also the only form in where vampirism is contagious. Vampires that feed in humanoid form cannot spread their condition, though they can kill their victim if they simply feed so much that the victim dies from blood loss. Feeding while in the snake form is also the fastest way to progress the condition, and can also spread the condition to anyone bitten. (Including animals!) I think this is only fitting as the snake's 'venom' is what spreads vampirism.
Also, this may come as no surprise to you, but you cannot be both a werewolf and a vampire. Having one condition keeps you safe from the other. Atlantean blood also protects you from both. Another reason why all these groups are considered useful to the hunters.
Speaking of blood; vampire blood is black and tar-like. Vampires have black gums, tongues and blood vessels in their eyes. This coupled with their pale skin and fangs are the the telltale signs of their conditions.
The hunter order has the means to reverse these conditions if acquired. This requires that the person infected themselves be banished and captured to the mystical dreamcatcher, then the dreamcatcher is exposed to sunlight before the stone below the webbing is shattered. The person will re-emerge, cured of their condition. This must be done within the first 24 hours of the condition being spread to them to work, though. The paladins have no such similar ritual though, nor do they know of the blood substitute potion.
Your character can be a vampire. The order will accept you as well.
Entry 6: The Paladins of Arcadia
There is no Hunter headquarters in Arcadia, or any major city. The Paladins of Arcadia and the Nightmare Hunters aren't exactly on good terms either. Though they fill the same role; the Paladins believe in exterminating all supernatural creatures while Hunters are actually peacekeepers who sometimes rely on negotiation and only fight when necessary. (The Paladins would never allow a Werewolf or Vampire into their ranks) Because of these dissonant philosophies, the two don't get along very well either. It may sound like it should be the other way around based on their namesakes but its not. Flaunting hunter armor in Arcadia might not be the brightest idea either. You won't be arrested and put to death for being there, but you'll certainly get some dirty looks and less-than-preferential treatment with the paladins guarding the city.
Also there is official Nightmare Hunter Armor. It's a slick bluish gray set of brigandine armor, with lots of buckles and straps and black padding underneath. Very fantasy-rouge-anti-hero looking. And it's generally worn under a dark colored cloak, and has a signature dreamcatcher-web engraved silver belt buckle. But the armor is hardly a uniform many hunters choose to personalize their armor or simply don a different suit.
This kind of reflects the difference between the Hunters and Paladins too. The Paladins are known in every Great City as protectors of Arcadia. Hunters are a very downlow organization. Their hideouts are small and they generally prefer to do their work quietly. The organization is small and prestigious, contrast the Paladins who are much more out in the open about their work.
The Hunters and the Paladins also represent two types of storytelling. Paladins represent traditional fantasy storytelling; viewing things more black and white. In there eyes there is a dedicated villain or villains that are the source of all the world's misdoings. (That is literally the foundation of their whole philosophy, and they are literally knights in shining armor after all.) The Hunters represent a more modern style of storytelling in where things are more shades of gray, more morally ambiguous, and conflicts are often more complex and neither side is never really wrong. (Their armor is also gray in color to reflect this.)
However, In this setting neither philosophy is inherently wrong. Paladins might go out of their way to kill a werewolf clan that would otherwise coexist peacefully with the world; but at the same time there are times the Hunters have attempted to make peace with beings and failed. This is a world where demons exist, and some of these demons are manifestations of pure evil.
When I introduced the character Tuce, the one armed drummer; and a seemingly weaponless hunter, what I intended to imply was that she went into battle and used her calming song to soothe agitated spirits to where they could be negotiated with. but obviously, she was missing an arm, so it probably didn't work as well the last time she tried it, meaning that some spirits cannot be reasoned with and are simply malevolent.
Entry 7: Arcadia: City of Man
The paladins also represent Arcadia's stagnation. Though the city is beautiful it is stagnant while the rest of the world is significantly more modern. The level of technology and feel of the world to be roughly that of the early 1900's, though it is a bit scattered. Arcadia's military are referred to as paladins, and fight primarily with swords, bows and the likes. The other four Great Cities all have semi-modern militaries with primitive guns, tanks, grenades and ironclad ships. This is particularly true of the ridiculously-ahead-of-their-time military, who have weaponized airships with comparable durability and firepower to a world war 2 naval battleship.
I also feel as though I should spill the beans and tell you that the five great cities are based off of the five classical elements.
Chespake- Built in a bay=Water.
Northwind- Built on a cliffside= Air.
Golden Rock- Built inside a mountain= Earth.
Ridosi- Built on/around a volcano= Fire.
Arcadia- Built around a temple= Atheir/Spirit.
Entry 8: Chakra Spirits
The seven Chakra Spirits. Your character can have a Chakra spirit if someone does not already have that one.
There is also the matter of the seven chakra spirits. (Bizzare as the reference to the seven chakras is the only major real-life reference in a world that is otherwise make-believe. They reference the seven chakras and are loosely based on them but even have their own meaningless fantasy names) There are 7 in the world, and they reincarnate when the previous holder dies, so if somebody's character already holds a spirit, nobody else can use it. In the story this world is from, 4 of the 7 spirits are taken by 'canon' characters. But I'm just going to pretend the canon characters of this verse don't exist and open up to new possibilities. Of course your character doesn't have to have a chakra spirit.
Chakra spirits tend not to awaken until one's teenage years. Seeing as one cannot be accepted into the Nightmare Hunter Order until reaching the age of 14, you could lobby to have your character first contact their slumbering spirit in the beginning of the story. Chakra spirits generally reveal themselves to their bearer when they face a conflict pertinent to their purpose.
Rikkan (Root Chakra) - An aggressive spirit who encourages the bearer to be violent. Grants the user regenerative abilities similar to those of an atlantean, but faster acting. Not quite wolverine level regeneration, but regeneration and a very high pain threshold.
Serago (Sacral Chakra) - A playful, childlike sprit who will encourage the bearer to play tricks and manipulate others to your benefit, but frowns upon physically hurting another. Allows the bearer to seduce members of the opposite sex (or homosexual members of the same sex).
Mittik (Solar Plexus Chakra) - A very quiet and submissive spirit that will submit to the will of the user. Grants the user the ability to change their physical appearance at will to be that of humans or large animals, though the shapeshifter will retain yellow eyes.
Bitala (Heart Chakra) (TAKEN) - A spirit that when unlocked will take on human form; that of the idealized lover of the bearer. Bitala's personality varies from incarnation to incarnation based upon the lover that the bearer imagines, but Bitala's "true" personality is level headed, calming and kind.
Kitano (Throat Chakra) - A very talkative, high energy spirit who likes to get to know who his current incarnation is. Speaks very informally to whoever is the bearer. Encourages spontaneity and open mindedness. The bearer gains the power to project any sound from their mouth, and to instantaneously create drawings and marks on empty surfaces.
Ateria (Third Eye Chakra) - A calm, level headed spirit who encourages meditation and thinking before doing. Grants the user the powers of empathy, mind reading, premonitions, and oneiromancy.
Magahaki (Crown Chakra) - Magahaki and the bearer act as one. Magahaki exists as the bearer's own subconscious mind and the two are intertwined. Magahaki's personality is similar always that of the bearer. Magahaki does not grant the bearer any known powers, aside from being able to transfer any lesser chakra spirit from one person to another without them being reincarnated, and to subvert a lesser chakra spirit's powers.
Entry 9: Atlanteans
Atlantis is considered the lost 6th great city of the world in this verse. Atlanteans are brown-skinned and dark haired, and tend to be very tall. They have increased strength, intelligence and reflexes, and extended lifespans that follow something of an S-curve. (They grow to mature age/young adult, slowly stop aging for a few hundred years, then continue aging at a normal rate to an elder before death.) They can also slowly (over the course of weeks or months) regrow lost limbs and organs, and are completely resistant to diseases or illness. Their only shortcomings are poor tolerance for cold climates and inability to process preserved foods.
Half-breed atlantean-humans are possible. They retain all of the qualities of atlantean but (since one parent is human) could have a much more varied appearance. Though in much the same way one breeds a horse and a donkey and gets an infertile mule, half breed atlantean humans are infertile and cannot procreate.
Atlantean blood protects one from the effects of vampirism and lycanthropy.
Entry 10: The Blindfolded Man
The Blindfolded Man is the closest thing to a name the mysterious and eccentric leader of the Nightmare Hunter order truly has. He seldom explains why he does the things he does and it's impossible to fathom how such an order can function with such a disconnected leader. Despite his unassuming appearance of a dwarf man in a tophat with pale skin and razor teeth, he masks his true power and is in fact a very powerful being from the plane of Evernesi.
His bizarre nature is only capitalized by a curse put upon him by a former Paladin of Arcadia; believing him to be an incarnation of Nex, but being unable to completely kill him, the witch instead tried to stop him from communicating and spreading his ideals to mankind. However even that more focused curse was not fully effective on him. The Blindfolded man cannot speak to man traditionally; and he circumvents this by singing what he wishes to communicate in rhymed verses. In essence, he's unable to talk, but nothing's stopping him from singing.
Those who have met with the man enough, will know that he is good hearted, and enjoys acting bizarre and playing tricks. Tricks on his allies are often relatively harmless fun, while those planned for his enemies slightly less so. But why is this being; who should be a demon; so supportive of humanity? What is his motivation for creating an order built around acceptance and universal peace; surely he must be hiding an ulterior motive...
The BFM has a wide range of demonic powers most of which are not known even to the most esteemed members of the order. His only known abilities are:
-He can teleport between locations without the use of a tesseract rune.
-He can sense potential initiates and their conflicts, though he sometimes has help members of the order.
Entry 11: Dreamcatchers
Said in Native American lore to catch bad dreams in the web and allow the good ones to pass through. In this world, they are actually a functional magical artifact; and one that gives the Hunters their namesake no less. These artifacts have the ability to capture, purify, and free the souls of all manner of supernatural beings.
However, beings must often be weakened to be influenced by the catcher. When sufficiently weakened in standard combat, their physical form will convert to energy and they will be pulled into the webbing. The catcher must then be exposed to the sunlight for the passion or misgiving keeping the departed soul bound to the plane of earth to be burned away and the soul freed.
As stated, these can be used to reverse the effects of lycanthropy and vampirism on one; but it requires the breaking of the Lightstone, which is very rare, effectively rendering the catcher useless.
Entry 12: Alchemy and Magic
A number of forms of magic and alchemy exist in the Nightmare Hunter world. The magics are difficult to define. Some consider it alchemy; as it is understood as well as science in places, while others consider it true magic; as unlike alchemy, it does not respect the laws of equivalent exchange. Many believe the various magical forces to be imprints of shadows on our world from powerful extra-dimensional beings from the plane of Evernesei. This list is not comprehensive, there are more.
The Flames of Hatred~ Drawing on a person's hatred and anger, the flames of hatred can be summoned. These flames are always a deep red and can be incredibly powerful proportionate to one's anger; minor irritation can summon massive fireballs and they are an extremely dangerous magical ability to possess and can be difficult to control. They can also be summoned and fueled through runes to create flames that can last for weeks without 'fuel'.
Force Magic~ Used primarily to construct Nightmare hunter weapons, this form of magic, always summoned Via small runes engraved on the inside, it is used to generate mechanical energy to extend and retract concealed Hunter weapons. This magic seems to be associated with metal and can also be applied to make a weapon lighter to a user and heavier to the recipient, or to create weapons that can return to the users' hand.
Tesseract Runes~ The only known operational network is used by the Nightmare Hunter Order. They are a complicated type of rune to create, however they can act as a portal transporting people and objects between two locations. The ones used in the Nightmare Hunter Order's tesseract network are voice-activated.
Lightstones~ Lightstones are diamond shaped stones used for a variety of magical purposes, primarily within the Nightmare Hunter Order. They seem to possess unlimited energy though are somewhat fragile to physical damage. They seem to have the ability to contain pocket dimensions as well. Some believe that these stones are not magical at all, but rather some kind of incomprehensibly advanced technology from an ancient civilization.
-The Lightstone in the Tesseract hovel is gold, provides a bright light, and presumably manipulates the gravitational field keeping the earth and moon models in the correct positions.
-The Lightstone on the book of trials is Green, Blue and Purple, with its coloration. The stone has a great variety of powers and appears to be sentient.
-Hunter Dreamcatchers have Red Lightstones that seem to play a role in capturing monsters.
Alchemy~ Alchemy tends to revolve around equivalent exchange and matter transmutation. It is very difficult to preform properly and few people have 'the gift'. Some of the easiest transmutations to preform create specialized Nightmare Hunter weapons including bombs, arrows, crossbow bolts, etc. (See Entry 2), the Mist Pellets, Flash Pellets, Flame pellets (Utilizing the Flames of Hatred).
Roughly speaking,
Mist Pellets are created by compressing a large amount of water( say a bathtub's worth) into a tiny pellet of ice-like material via alchemy.
Flash pellets are created by absorbing sunlight into porous stone via alchemy. Pumice stones are enchanted to appear jet black and left in sunlight until they slowly turn a light gray. Through this process they absorb several days worth of sunlight which they can then release very quickly.
Flame pellets are created similarly to flash pellets. They are porus stones that can absorb large quantities of the flames of hatred, then release them at a later time.
Ice pellets are created as a by continually drawing alchemical energy from a pellet creating an energy deficit. (Basically a reverse philosopher's stone.) When the seal is broken, it draws in thermal energy from all around supercooling the surrounding area.
Alchemy can also be used to brew potions with specialized properties. Many of these potions are simply complex chemical mixtures that must be created with alchemy. They must be made by certain mixtures of certain plants because these plants contain the correct quantities of certain elements to create the mixture.
The only two known potions are a healing potion and a blood substitute potion created for vampires within the Order to humanely feed.
Animation Magic~ True necromancy is impossible. Once one's soul has departed; it cannot be returned. However, it is possible to reanimate a once-living body as a thrall or zombie. Artificial bodies can also be animated. This is considered to be a much more advanced form of force magic that imbues the body with some degree of intelligence and sentience.
Entry 13: The Book of Trials
The book of Trials is a book used by the order to try for new initiates. The book functions as a magical portal to a pocket dimension that will be configured to be a trial that the book believes is suited to test an aspect of the initiate that may be most in question with the order's values. While the trial is underway, those on the outside will be able to read the book of trials and hear of the trial in real time.
When the trial has completed; the book will award the initiate with a weapon forged in the main chamber of the Western Hunter temple.
Entry 14: Evernesei
Evernesei is an alternative plane of reality, whos' inner workings are vaguely understood. It appears to be the source of all magic in the world. Some say that Evernesei is a dreamworld; but in reality it is a world that is comprised of both matter as well as the collective thoughts and feelings of all the beings in the world. In essence, it is between the real world and the imagined world inside ones head.
Because of this the plane is comprised of both physical matter and laws as well as thoughts, feelings and emotions, the environment can sometimes react to the emotions and thoughts of the people nearby. Yet godlike control of the plane by a single entity is not possible as the plane is influenced by the thoughts and feelings of all simeltanieously.
Near the portal, it is known that Evernesei seems to mirror a dark and contorted version of earth where everything is mirrored. (East is west, west is east. North is south, south is north.) In this portion, people have occasionally noted their shifting to and from the mortal plane of earth without passing through the portal, creating a shadow effect on earth where heightened supernatural activity occurs.
Journeying farther from the portal yields very strange terrain; floating continents, strange structures constructed by lost civilizations and alien creatures and spirits. Evernesi is much larger than earth.
Entry 15: General Ground Rules
This is less about the lore of the world and just a couple of general ground rules I keep in mind when writing both this RP and the actual story.
-No Time travel. Since there are some powerful magical beings, its no question that time travel abilities would eventually come up. Time travel always causes a mess of plot holes and general weirdness in a story, therefore I have stated that time travel is not allowed in the story.
-No bringing characters back from the dead. It's implied that death is a one-way-street in this series. Despite the fact that it is a supernatural series, there is no true necromancy. Characters' bodies can be reanimated and imbued with a personality similar to the one they had before their departure, but there is no such thing as true necromancy. It is for similar reasons that characters cannot be reverted from vampirism or lycanthropy except under special circumstances, as especially for the former, you are often considered to be dead already. This is because I simply think characters being brought back to life is a cop-out.
This rule is also circumvented via the sparring arena in the Hunter Temple. However this is because when entering the arena, the person entering has their soul/essence/whatever 'saved' in a lightstone while fighting through a projection of their body.
-(Almost) no references to real world religion and spiritual doctrines. This also gives me an opportunity to build each religion around a different and unique ideal or way of thinking, and avoid the controversy of using real-world religion. There are a few that made it in there when the story was first getting off the ground, however. Generally my rule is that whenever I add anything new it has to be wholly original. A character could use a phrase like "Oh god" since some of the religions have the concept of god(s), but couldn't use the lord's name in vein because christianity doesn't exist in this world.
-Monstrous transformations are based on one's mental state. This rule applies to Vampires, Werewolves (One Wendigo) and basically any monster that was at one point human. A person who gives into the madness of a monstrous form will appear more monstrous while one that is more sane and in touch with their human side will appear more human while still having some qualities of their monstrous form. To me this is just an interesting concept that a being's mental state is reflected in their outward appearance and ability.
-Guns are rarely, if ever used by Hunters and Paladins. Kind of for the same reason guns aren't used in Harry Potter, even though they exist in the 'muggle' world. They just make things seem a whole lot less magical and fantasy like, and I'm personally.
-Also I don't play to some of the misconceptions of fantasy. Although the weapons are a bit fantasy at times; I generally adhere to these principles for the more realistic side of medieval combat:
-Strong characters are needed to take powerful shots with bows. Bows have actual draw weight. Weaker characters may still have bows or crossbows that fire magical arrows to balance them out.
-Heavy armor does not slow characters down. Generally if heavy armor is made well; like Paladin armor, it does not slow one down, but does mean that movement is more physically draining and you get tired a lot faster.
Entry 16: Gradisim
Gradisim is the second major religious/spiritual doctrine in this alternate earth after Nexicisim. The doctrine teaches that there are two gods of opposing elements. The religion is heavily focused around binaries and dualities, teaching people that life and the world often contains things that oppose one another. Because of this the religion is Bitheistic and two major gods. Nunala and Rigarte.
Nunala is a goddess of wind, water, ice and storms who's domain of power is the sea. She is frequently portrayed as a large blue and white sea serpent with a dragon like head (sometimes multiple heads) with many many horns and ornate scales creating complex patterns all over her body, and large fins. She is portrayed in the holy text, the Gradion, as a very serious and staunch figure.
Rigarte is the god of fire, lava and rock, his domain of power is deep below the ground and within volcanoes. He is frequently portrayed as a large humanoid made of black and gray stone with a cauldron-like head containing magma that spills over to create his facial features. Contrasting Nunala, Rigarte is brash and relatively loose; sometimes being something of a comical figure in the mythology.
The story of the Mythology starts off when a universal entity called Eno entity split itself into Nunala and Rigarte. Nunala was a fraction of the entity that wanted things to remain the way they are, while Rigarte wanted to create something new. This caused the entity to become conflicted and divide into the two gods. Nunala trapped Rigarte in a massive ball of water. Rigarte tried to break free by boiling the water with Magma and created the undersea terrain and the first land on the earth.
For awhile the two gods were in conflict. But the scripture tells of how as the world they created became more complex, the two slowly formed a friendship and began to work together to create and manage their increasingly complex world. The scripture and moral dilemmas become more complex and nuanced, leaving them intentionally more open to interpretation meaning there are several interpretations of this religion. This was partly meant to help indoctrinate young children into the religion; starting their education with simpler stories toward the beginning and working their way up to the more complex ones, but is also a metaphor for life in that how it becomes more complex and nuanced as time goes on.
The story ends with Rigarte becoming the sun and Nunala becoming the moon. Due to the lack of scientific advancement at the time, it was thought that the moon was made of ice.
The religion has two primary sub-groups. One is very traditionalist, while the other treats the religion very new age and open to interpretation.
Unlike Nexicism which is practiced almost soley in Arcadia and surrounding territories, Gradisim is practiced in scattered sectors all over the world.
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