BasiliskVeranda
80s Trash
OF BLACK WATERS
LORE AND IMPORTANT INFO
World Name: Seldona
'Black Waters': Common term referred to in folklore text; means a great sickness that reshapes the world into magic, misery, and monsters.
Tybalt: Writer of helpful, deus ex machina-esque letters to aid the crew. Often wrong/misinformed.
See next tab for INTRO LETTER This will set the scene for our communal world building RP.
SETTING THE SCENE
I wish to express in this letter one simple declaration: we are fools. We are fools, and we are sorry.
As I write this, I know I am the next to fall.
Deep within the mines off of the sleepy, remote village of Claerview, there lived a legend of rare stones and a rarer sickness. A sickness that breeds other sicknesses. A sickness of black waters. Don't bring back what sparkles, it is a pretty death. This, the old women of Claerview said. And how did they know?
Stories, folklore, and fairy tales. No one is to explore, the entrance barred for good reason. We should have listened, and yet we went as adventurers are apt to do, seeking tales for our own children to tell for years to come.
After constant digging and costly ventures, we hit what we thought to be the end of the whole place. No real treasure to be found, but a flat bedrock with black water up to the calves, and some odd looking glyphs. Jeremy pocketed a few stones; they were but obsidian and ruddy quartz. No real treasure. None came to sickness. The bird of warning made no cries, and nothing was foul enough to warrant concern.
But it was foul, and it followed. It followed, and the weeks since have seen small gurglings of what we wrought.
Fletcher is dead. He died in a pool of his own blood, eyes scooped out of his head. The culprit was his elderly mother.
Kelis is dead. She died traversing the Ferrow Bog, which is home to not much else but frogs. I found her top half in a tree, and the other fused within a large stone.
Jeremy, the light of our troupe, is dead. The youth erupted via a crash of lighting, as made apparent by the scorched marks and debris about the field.
Agatha is dead. Her illnesses was the kind that seeps from the mouth. It just wouldn't stop. I locked her away to prevent the spread. She is now a heap of tar.
I do not write this to let it be known that I know I am to die. To die by sabotage from geriatric, black-watered nightmare, freakish storm, or plague-curse.
I write this to let anyone who may read this know, that this was our fault. It was our fault, and I am sorry.
I also write this because, I feel, that I am the one meant to write what I see taking shape. For why else would I still draw breath, as the others were to die so fitfully?
The months that followed proved more potent. I suspect I am here to tell you this, most of all:
Our world is changing; people who were clear-eyed have snapped at the smallest of slight, killing those around them. I know of a woman who swears she saw a slack-jawed creature erupt from the black waters of a small pond and shuffle her young son away to the world beyond. I couldn't possibly hope to catalog everything I've learned and seen, but I shall try.
I shall try, perhaps, even after death, to do this service. It is the least I can do for damning us all.
I suspect, you who may be reading this, shall now be seeing things fantastical and horrifying. I suspect you shall see what we wrought, and what we wrought was bound to happen eventually, or perhaps, had happened long before.
I shall not see the final culmination of this evil, this I know. I was dead the minute I stepped foot in those mines. And I damned a whole world to die alongside me.
—𝕿𝖞𝖇𝖆𝖑𝖙 𝖂𝖞𝖓𝖓 𝖁𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖆𝖘
IMPORTANT PLACES
Claerview/Claerview mines: The origin of the 'Black Waters' .
Now abandoned by people, and filled with nasties. Possible once-ancient ruins location, or site of illicit rituals. Very remote.
Medreen — Town everyone starts in.
Medreen has a bar with an attached inn, a blacksmith who has no business making weapons, an herbalist who is about as useful as a turnip, and a diminutive keep where the lord lives with a handful of guards/staff. The people are unprepared to deal with the monster, as they haven't had strife for years.
The Forest of Truth — The forest between Medreen and Amstead.
An old folktale exists that states the misty forest makes people speak their greatest fears, and then confront the illusions of them. This wasn't true until a few years ago, as it's an old wive's tale. What the forest actually does is pull from travelers' worst insecurities, fears, and detriments. Then it conjures doppelganger-esque illusions, that can be seen by any and all. The specters mingle, and may confront those not of their visage, often appearing as comrades only to spit word-venom and cleave hearts in twain. What it takes to move beyond this forest is no less than cooperation, and swallowing what broken scraps of ego one has left. No monsters, but you'll need to make camp in the middle, because it's large.
Amstead — A slightly larger town with the same amenities as Medreen, where an old, blind soothsayer named Bob (yes) lives.
Important for the beginning quest. I don't want to spoil anyone for the moment.
Lenny's Glen — Named for a moron who fell into the narrow, but shallow valley, and recently resurrected as a ghoul.
Important, no spoilers, sorry! Also unsure we'll go here.
Tallis — The biggest city in Seldona.
Think: brothels, inns, herbalists, armorers, blacksmiths, scummy peddlers. Tallis is governed by the royal family of Tallis' namesake, and all of them are dumb/entitled/annoying/terrible.
NEW LOCATIONS!
Aurov Swamp — Named after Chief Aurov, who was the overseer of the nearby land centuries ago.
Date is unsure, but the oral history recorded tells of the Chief’s wife who went mad and disappeared into the nearby forest. The area became a swamp, and was thus named after him. Located close by Claerview mine (a few hours north) Surrounded by a dense fog and near impenetrable, thick swamp water. Creatures alike cling to this location and you’d be surprised by whatever you find within it. Probably could kill you.
The Tomb of Crows— A dusty maze-like tomb. Can only be accessed by getting swept up by The Mother of Crows.
The underground tomb is large, cavernous, filled with sand, and confusing. Since it can only be accessed via transportational magic, which sucks people into the earth and pops them back out again, leaving will deposit travelers to the exact spot they were removed from.
There exists two major rooms: where Crow Mama does her weird morning yoga routine, and where Crow Dad has his guards around him, just chillin' on his throne of bones. There are no traps, but it is crawling with bugs and large, flightless demon-crows, and the atmosphere is dry and oppressive. The quickest exist exists through an illusion.
Without the Eye of Ravens, one would need to make their way through a literal sand-walled maze to exit. Y'all want dehydration? You got it.
Elven Ruins —Located within The Forest Of Truth, difficult to access and shrouded in mists.
The columns were the only complete thing, everything else had worn and crumbled - their decay the only marker of time in a place of uncounted days. What was left stood in spite of itself, defying gravity in its precarious way. Yet, this place, kept secret by the trees, harbored the history that echoed within the walls. It is rumored that this vast skeleton belonged to the once grand city of Elvhenan, the seat of the Ancient Elvhen Empire. Though many archeologists have tried to gain access to the site, there seems to be a great and troubling darkness that has called this forest home making travel into the ruins almost impossible.
THE UNIVERSAL CONSTANT
White magic, black magic, blood magic, summoning, healing, conjuring, elemental magic—you name it, it now exists in Seldona, when before it was either obscured or the stuff of folklore.
There is a catch to all magic, however: The Law of Equivalent Exchange.
To cast a simple fire spell for example, you need a spark/flame.
In order to heal a very injured party-member, you might just have to sacrifice a life.
The strength of the magic directly relates to what you must exchange for it, and if you can exchange anything at all.
Example: you're in an icy cave; casting fire for warmth will not be easy without already having a flame. The elements will be working against you.
Failure to exchange the correct price when using something powerful results in unforeseen, often damaging consequences: loss of limb, life, spell goes crazy, etc.
Now that the world of Seldona has gotten its own dose of magic, monsters, and mayhem, there are many ways to access it.
You can find power in the smallest of places; blessed earth, sacrificing small things, taking strength from the trees. You can find power in texts thought useless, but are actually powerful scrolls. Power can come from emotions, but only if the spell wields emotions.
Enchanted artifacts exist, and many of them come with their own 'constant' (or catch) as well.
Otherworldly beings also they have their own Price for the power they wield. For example, Vel's requirement of always having to tell the truth when asked the right question. Just because a creature/monster uses magic, doesn't mean it doesn't suffer for it.
GODS/RELIGIONS/MAJOR FIGURES
Will add more eventually, also include pictures at some point (sorry, soon!). Feel free to suggest 'Gods' or other important figures.
The below information is not required reading/knowing; but if you'd like to draw inspiration/reference, please do.
Keep in mind that lowkey Gods are not real, but they could potentially be spirits or creatures, or even just ideas.
GODS OF ALCURAN RELIGION
The Seven
Major Two
Lamperos – Bringer of light and the god of daytime. The Light god is personified as wise and the most knowledgeable amongst the gods. The humans praise the god for this reason and for the development of their species over all others.
Skotadi – Bringer of darkness, rest and the god of night-time. The darkness god is personified as the most powerful and strong of the gods. The humans both fear and respect this god. This god is also praised as giving the humans vitality and the determination to keep going.
Minor Five
Thalassa – As well as giving humans the water to drink and nourish their crops this god is also praised for providing emotion and bringing bonds amongst each clan. Water is the god of temperament and rationality. They are the bridge that allows humans to connect with one another.
Fortia – God of the Seldonian fires that keep the world warm both over and underground. They are also the passion that also progress when logic is not needed. Fortia is the step further than water that allows love and hate to harbour in humans and create relationships beyond functionality. They are also the god of mortality, and praised for allowing humans to be thankful of the life they have.
Vronti – The god of absolute judgement. They are praised for creating the law and order that exists in Seldona. To keep the people on track, to help the gods and one another, as well as punishing the immoral. They also create the thunderstorms that exist in Seldona, a reminder that the gods are all powerful and above the humans.
Edafos – The god of practicality. They are praised for creating the land that the humans walk on and all the materials that exist on there to help create and develop society even more. They are the god of craft and construction and praised for being a part of how the humans live today in terms of the technological advances.
Anemos – The god of Winds and the air humans breathe. Praised for giving hope to the humans and providing faith during unknown times. Humans consider this god the most mystical as it creates and sustains them in ways they cannot see. Though they don’t fully understand the concept of air they know that something exists that creates the winds.
Children of the Seven (Lesser gods)
Solar – The son of Lamperos and Skotadi. He was the original body of the sun until he was cast down to Seldona for bearing a child (something no child of the seven is supposed, or able, to do). When the Light god (Lamperos) died at the end of the twilight years they replaced their son as the sun, the body becoming the second sun, the last gift to their loyal humans. Solar is the god of the sun.
Lunar – The daughter of Lamperos and Skotadi. She was the original body of the moon until she was cast down to Seldona for bearing a child (with her brother). The god of Darkness (Skotadi) replaced her as the body of the moon at the end of the twilight years when they died, the last gift to the humans. Lunar, along with her brother and daughter, became the first immortals on Seldona. She is the god of the moon.
The Seer – the only known daughter of two of the children of the seven. The seer has lived her whole life on Seldona, and never been able to go to the heavens. Humans have met someone who almost fits the description of the woman during many eras of the world, and many have opinions on who she really is. In the most contemporary generations many speculate that the high priestess is embodied by the Seer once she ascends. The Seer has had pockets of cults here and there, and people praise her for various reasons. The two most prominent beliefs about her are that she can predict the future and that she has the abilities of both her grandparents. How much of this is true is of course all down to faith.
Atmos – god of Rage and Lust, son of Fortia and Thalassa. Atmos was a god who was unable to control his emotions since both his parents were in many respects opposites in so many ways. When he came down to Seldona for the first time he unleashed a tsunami from the raging sea hitting Ashdown and wiping out half of the city. The sea was then thought of as the god’s home on Seldona and many feared even trying to cross it. Many prayed to him for safe passage, and to be kind on their journey, when crossing large bodies of water, especially the Raging Sea off the coast of The Dales.
Aquis – Thalassa, in anger of their son, made a daughter to try and calm her brother or stop him if he couldn’t be reasoned with. The humans, especially those that worship Fortia, argue that the Water god didn’t create a daughter on their own and instead asked Fortia to help create another child. Either way the consensus among all those of Alcuran faith is that Aquis went down to Seldona and challenged her brother. He refused to calm himself so a great battle ensued for many days and nights. Whirlpools emerged all along the coast of the Raging Sea. During those days no human was safe going near the sea. Eventually Aquis managed to beat her brother and trapped him in the sea he loved so much. With Atmos at the bottom of the sea it still rages on and many are too afraid to still travel its very choppy waters for large amounts of time, but at least the threat was dealt with. Aquis is the god of Tranquillity and Absence.
Pumex – god of war and weaponry. He is the son of Fortia and Edafos. Many of the humans worship him before a large battle and thank him for the progress in warfare that exists in the world of Seldona. More modern scholars in the Lorwyn region say that his contribution in the first Great War of the Dales was one of the worst things to ever happen to them. Pumex made it so much easier for humans to kill one another with his ideas for swords, bows and spears. Some argue that Pumex’s idea was to show how horrible true chaos could be and that violence is something no one should want to do, but his foolish plan completely backfired having too much faith in the corrupted humans.
Pagos – god of murder and theft. She is the daughter of Anemos and Fortia. Despite being a god of such seemingly negative things she is one of the gods that has had the most interaction with humans in a positive way. The most famous story is the redemption of Mardale. Pagos came down from the Heavens after watching the onslaught of the Mardale by Ashdown of the Northern Dales. She murdered the beloved but weak-willed leader of Mardale and stole his face. Using the love his clan had for him, and her own ingenuity, she managed to push Ashdown back and stop them from conquering the city.
Ammos – god of Joy and performance. Daughter of Anemos and Edafos. She is also known as the creator of theatre. Music, singing and the like existed in stories before the mention of Ammos but theatre only seemed to start with mentions of her. She was the one who appeared in a performance based on the argument of the seven high monks in the Grand Temple of the Seven. The time when they apparently locked themselves in the temple for seven days and nights leaving without resolution of the problems they had going in. Since nobody knew what was said in the chambers during those days many interpretations exist but it is still a format that exists in present times during theatre plays.
Skoni & Pulvis – Gods of Destruction and Carnage. Twin sons of Edafos and Anemos. They lived in the Heavens for many years but slowly grew sick of not being considered great gods. They came up with a plan and tricked their parent gods when the twilight years started, to become advocates of their teachings on Seldona. Over the years they each became the leaders of Ashdown and Wistar and started a war with one another. Edafos and Anemos were not impressed with their children and demanded they stop, but Skoni and Pulvis didn’t. They tried to send Ammos to sway her brothers hearts’ but the two were insistent on bringing chaos to Seldona, even in the already turbulent times. Edafos, with little other choice, had Pumex, master of all warfare, oppose them. Pumex first faced off against Skoni, god of destruction, who had taken control of the Ashdown, and managed to beat him, without killing any of his followers. He was quickly sent back to the Heavens. People in Ashdown were so impressed, despite losing a strong leader, that they allowed Pumex to become their leader in the inevitable upcoming battle. One the battleground Pumex challenged the leader of Wistar to a one on one battle. Pulvis, the god of Carnage, couldn’t help but accept the challenge but lost to the Great War god. Pumex then sent Pulvis back to the Heavens. Before the war could continue Ammos joins her half-brother and calmed the two factions making sure they broke up the war and once again became neutral.
Imber – God of Order and Necessity. Daughter of Thalassa and Vronti. Imber has always been the right-hand of Vronti. Where Vronti is the judgement that strikes down the wicked, she is the order that helps try to prevent it. She is the person who brought down the laws from the Heavens, passing them onto the humans and inscribing them into the temple of the seven. Imber is also the mortal enemy of Vindemia, her younger brother. The two have never engaged in physical combat but being opposites, they often have conflicts in other ways. Vindemia causes disorder and Imber must sort out his messes. Most of the crimes that Vindemia creates are only superficial, in the grand scheme, but they have been thought to cause several problems around Seldona. Vindemia once convinced the leader of Lorwyn to drink, be rowdy and cause chaos (we’re talking 500 years ago), instead finding peace with their neighbouring regions. It took Imber a decade to convince her brother to stop. Only when he realised that his “play things” were starting to dwindle in numbers.
Vindemia – God of Disorder and Merriment. Son of Thalassa and Vronti. Despite what he represents as a god Vindemia is very intelligent. He and his sister, Imber, often debate and argue over many things. During the time of the Twilight years, where trying to regain order was most paramount, Vindemia took control of Mardale and offered it as a paradise for all those that wished to escape from the fighting in the mainland and get drunk all day and party all night. The five minor gods were unimpressed with the city being in that state and sent Imber to regain order and get control back. Imber struggled against her brother for many days and nights. Eventually, after trying many ways, she used one of his tricks against him and made an alcoholic drink so powerful that it knocked him unconscious. Vindemia found himself back in the Heavens when he awoke. The first thing he did when he awoke was find Imber and tell her that he managed to corrupt her, just a little bit, and that made losing the city worth it!
Temero – God of Poisons and Death. Daughter of Vronti and Fortia. Temero is also the god of passing, or rather the god that chooses who passes on. With the death of a human their spirit becomes one with the natural elements of the world, and in returning to this raw form they can be closer to the gods. Temero is the ever-busy god, who works closely with her parents, Vronti and Fortia, Judgement and Mortality, to determine whether humans are worthy of such an honour. Most humans are, even ones with minor crimes, so long as they stay true to the gods and overall help the progression of Alcura. Those that go against this are killed by Temero. The most common type of death these humans have are being poisoned. She enters through their dreams and inflicts them with a poison that will kill them during the next day. The victims are put into an ever-sleep where they feel nothing and become nothing. After the Heavens were sealed when Vocivus attempted to re-enter them, Temero was supposedly one of the only gods to stay on the mortal plain, doing the work of her parents, even without their help.
Vocivus – God of the Void and Nothingness. Child of Skotadi and Vronti. The major god, Skotadi, went against one of the most sacred rules that the seven ever devised for themselves and had a child with a minor god. The intention of this union was to create what Temero would later become but instead they created the bridge between the major and minor. Another god of a pure element that did not exist in either Heavens or Seldona. This impossible eighth element could only manifest itself into nothingness. It consumed everything around it and almost destroyed both plains. Darkness, with its mistake, called upon the help of Light to deal with the problem. The two major gods struggled to contain the problem but eventually managed it. They created the third plain, higher than the Heavens, and it became known as the Void. The void is said to be where Temero’s victims go, a place where nothing exist, or ever will.
The Seven are unable to leave the heavens as they’re too powerful so their children were created to help as bridges between the gods and humans in the ancient times.
King Leon — The legendary monarch of stories.
Think: King Arthur, more or less. It's said that the seed of Leon would once again unite Seldona.
UPDATES/CURRENT QUEST
Currently the cast has managed to fall into a trap set by the CROW QUEEN, which leads them to the below Tomb. This is the perfect time to get your character involved, as we've completely bypassed the Harpy Quest, and the location is large and who knows who managed to find their way in.
If you're a newcomer and want to get started, please check out the deetz below, and either PM Saboona or BasiliskVeranda if you're confused about how to break into the current setting/scene.
THE TOMB OF CROWSThey fell, as ethereals from heaven, into the pit of despair. Yet it was not fire that they found—brimstone, or the coldness of the underworld some described it to be—but sand. It cascaded in waves of burnt umber yellow, lilting betwixt columns of dark, obsidian stone.
The walls themselves were, at times, that same stone. Or, as plates of sand seemingly pressed into perfection. Strange symbols cropped up in engraved circles, and while some parts seemed barren and filled with dry earth, others seemed dark and damp.
Beyond all the shifting corridors there lived a maze; made equally of sand, and strange, black obelisk-like objects. Clearly, this was a Tomb, in the strictest sense of the word.
An adjacent, hobbled library with various instruments situated itself neatly near the maze; so many offerings to be seen, but not much worth except tools to work the alchemists' crafts, and literature written in a tongue so foreign it seemed profane.
Some rooms were filled with free-form bones as if armies were felled and stuffed where crevices lived. Other rooms and further walls had sleeping corpses; adorned in yellowed cloth and fit snugly in golden caskets.
Beyond all that lived a sound. A sound of metallic boots to scuffled, pressed-sand floors, or obsidian-slick tiles where applicable. Soldiers marched, from head to toe in black crystal and metal. Beyond all that lived more sounds; flightless, festering crow-like monsters that were more reptilian than avian. The noisy chatter of skittering, flesh-eating scarabs, infesting what they could find to burrow within, also made up the cacophony.
The worst of all these sounds was the wailing of the Mother of Crows; her hacked-up speech in garbled multi-tongues and screams of emotions were sandstorms in her dusty kingdom. She lives within the Maze's core, and beckons with her liar's tongue, felling walls to twist victims to meet the foot of their destruction.
The King? Well, ailed as he is, rests far from her maze, surrounded by guards of black, upon floors of black...ever encumbered by his woman's wailing. He loves her so; and yet she has made a monster of herself, and of him.
No sunlight creeps through, although torches find purchase, which means oxygen is available by either natural or prenatural means.
There may very well be a small pond or inlet of a river, however the mud may very well have taken it all. All life within these walls is of the dry sort. Fantastical mushrooms, of course, crop up within the folds of damp walls, where the water above this tomb finds divination downwards. They may poison and may tip, and are not for eating.
This is The Tomb of Crows; a black-winged mother rules its machinations, beckoning to drive her victims to madness if they manage to catch her ear. Her blindness does not stop her from devouring the foolish. For it's quite hard to escape when one's own companions seek to assail them.
Walk quietly, young travelers. Walk quietly, and keep your lights low. Hide in the shadows, dodge to the rooms, and you might yet escape the great below.
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