morpheusing
ангел мести
The lore of this world is simple enough, although a little strange. According to legend, the world is a seed that fell from the tree that's two fruits are the sun and the moon. After the seed fell, the Anmutgeist - the ancient keepers of the tree - came down bathed in light and began to walk the world and shape life on its surface. One Amnutgeist - one named Hersteller, who was powerful and beautiful above all the rest - took the earth's clay in his hands and created man, leaving him to bake in the sun and harden his skin, meaning to keep him safe from the beasts' terrible claws.
However, the seed detested the Amnutgeist's presence and spawned the Erderasse, powerful forces of nature that began to hunt the Amnutgeist and their creations. Hersteller saw these creatures rise and was shocked by their hideous form. As one came to try and destroy him he took a stone and shaped it into a sword, striking down the beast that came for him. However, the Erderasse had cut his leg open with its claw, and Hersteller was wounded. He took man by his arm, leading him to a cave to be safe, for man's skin had not finished hardening. Hersteller lay poisoned, dying slowly. He made more life in that cave, desperate not to leave this world empty. Just before he died, Hersteller breathed life into man as his final act, pouring knowledge and wisdom into him. As man stared down at Hersteller's body through new eyes and understood, taking his bones and making a blade that could cut through stone, flesh or root.
Man left the cave and wandered the world, slaying any beast that stopped him and fleeing from Erderasse that hunted him. One day, man came met an Erderasse that spoke to him.
"Man," it said, its voice flickering with an unknown heat, "what do you hold?"
"It is death." Man said, raising his sword.
"What does it do for you?" The Erderasse inquired.
"It gives me claws longer than any beast in the wild, for I have no hide to protect me." Man replied.
"And what of life?" The Erderasse prodded. "Do you carry it too?"
"I have been given life by Hersteller, but it is not a thing I have." He responded, beginning to wonder.
"Would you like to?" The Erderasse asked, stretching out its claws.
"I do not know how." Man answered, realizing how little he knows.
"Man, Hersteller gave his breath to give you thought, and his bones to give you strength." The Erderasse stated, truth ringing in its words. "But he did not give you love, and he did not give you warmth. Man, are you lonely when you walk? Are you cold when shadows fall?"
"I am often lonely in my walks, for I have none who share them. I have no warmth at night when I sleep and shiver in the cold." Man said, feeling a dull pain in his chest, recognizing it as the pain of not having. "Can you give me these things?"
"I can." The Erderasse claimed, digging its claws into the earth and shaping the dirt into Woman. It reached out and cut Man along his palms, forever leaving marks on his hands. It poured its magic into her and smiling as she opened her eyes and saw Man. The two embraced and rejoiced, glad to have company with each other. Turning back to the Erderasse, Man spoke again.
"You have given me love, but you spoke of warmth? How can I be warm when all is cold?" He asked, hopeful for the gift. The Erderasse smiled again and raised its arm, cutting its paw on Man's blade. It raised the wound to the sky and dripped three drops of blood onto the ground, Fire springing from the stained dirt.
"Take this Fire," The Erderasse said, "It will keep you warm. Skin the beasts of the wild when you kill them, and dry their skins with the Fire. Those too will keep you warm and protect you. Now go, Man, and remember my gifts."
So Man went on, Woman by his side, and explored the world with his wife. When they settled, Man loved Woman and she birthed three children.
And so Man prospered through the gifts of the Anmutgeist and of the Erderasse.
As Man's seed spread across the lands, the war waged on between the Anmutgeist and the Erdrasse. They fought long and hard, and their fury often destroyed Man's seeds' works. Long did Man's seed bear this, but after much time they cried out, tired of life in fear. Man, who had lived longer than any of his seed, took up the bones of Hersteller once more and armed his seed with the stones of the earth fashioned after his own blade, marching out into the wilds and chasing out the Anmutgeist and Erderasse. As he continued to fight, driving them from the land he met the Erderasse that gave him Woman and Fire.
"Why do you hunt us, Man? Have my gifts failed you?" It asked, wounded by Man's holy blade.
"Your gifts have let me live and my seed to grow." Man answered, a tear rolling down his face. "My sons tire of destruction. They beg me to drive you from this land so they no longer have to fear."
"What of Fire? And of Woman? Have they forgotten?" It cried, afraid for its brothers.
"I will remind them. I wish to not destroy you or your brothers, for you have been kind." Man sobbed, preparing to return to his sons. "Tell your brothers that they must hide, and that if they will avoid my seed that they will be safe here."
"I will do this, Man." The Erderasse resolved. "I will take my brothers and we will hide ourselves where our power belongs. If we do this, will we be safe?"
"Yes." Said Man, and it was so.
After the Anmutgeist had been driven from the land and few remained, the Erderasse were hidden and the seed of Man were pleased. And so life continued, although the seed of Man continued to fear and hate much of the Anmutgeist and Erderasse.
Magic is a peculiar subject, and here even more unusual than typical. There are two types of magic here, and neither can be used by anyone. Both types of magics - being dubbed Natural and Holy magics - can only be inherited by those from either an Anmutgeist bloodline or an Erderasse one. Any person who has these bloods in them is marked with a highly symbolic sign somewhere on their body that shows what their magical affinity and are known as Hälften. The symbol can be any size and on any part of the body, and for those who bear it they must constantly hide it for fear of being persecuted and hunted down. However, should they become known, they have less to fear then most as their strength, endurance and senses are all slightly better than the average human, but not enough to make TOO much of a difference.
When identifying an Anmutgeist's descendant it has been often noted that they are, in every case, incredibly beautiful or otherwise attractive. More powerful ones have a sort of warm and comfortable aura. The
To each There are three types of Anmutgeist that you can be related to and so have powers related to:
1) Kriegers: These are the "avenging angels" of Kernheim, and much of their magic focuses on amplifying physical attributes. Those descended from them increase the sensitivity of their senses, increase their strength remarkably, amplify their natural flexibility, enhance their reflexes, and in some cases consciously change their body temperatures.
2) Jäger: The watch-dogs of the Anmutgeist, the Jäger are tasked with the sacred duty of pursuing those who do evil and dispensing justice. The magic given to them focuses on themes such as knowledge and sight. Those descended from them can gain the powers of illusion, clairvoyance, light generation or some telepathic abilities.
3) Arzt: Natural healers, the Arzt tend to the wounded and grieve with those who weep. To them is given the duty of ensuring the health of all who they contact. Their magics are based on supporting all they stand by. A descendant may have the ability to regenerate tissue, cure illness, bolster another's endurance, temporarily remove the sensation of pain or enhance another's own abilities.
Identifying and Erderasse Hälften is a difficult task, unless you can find their mark. Unlike those with Anmutgeist blood, these Hälften typically have more obvious marks and so wear odd articles of clothing to keep it concealed. They have very few differences between their appearance and the common man, however, and so are hard to spot (especially with all those kids thinking it looks cool to pretend to be an Erderasse Hälften). They do tend to physically seem to be similar to their Erderasse ancestor, however. More powerful ones also seem to give off an aura of fear and awe. Any descendant will have only one power, to generate and manipulate their natural element. Natural Erderasse all have some reptilian features. There is no official count of how many Erderasse types there are, but some common ones are as follows:
1) Fire: Pretty self explanatory. These Erderasse command the force of flame and thrive off of heat alone. Physically they are lean but they also have a remarkable amount of muscle and typically appear like a cross between a lizard and a lion.
2) Ice: Another classic. These Erderasse tend to live in frigid tundras and are commonly VERY powerful as they are not brash like many Fire Erderasse and so live long and grow in their power. Physically they look like massive dragons made of jagged crystalline structures that are quickly revealed to be ice. When void of this, they are typically small blue salamander like creatures that sport rough scales that poke out.
3) Lightning: Lean mean running machines, these falls are all about moment and freedom. If they aren't moving, their dead. They are incredibly slender and often look like a thin Chinese Lung type dragon with an excess of fur making a mane and bright colorful scales shinning in the sunlight. A classic trick that their descendants use is to stimulate their muscles with their own power and enhance their strength.
4) Wind: Much like the Lightning Erderasse, these beasties are free flying, fun loving speed demons. Hardly ever seen, they float freely as two legged feathered serpents spanning up to 50 yards long around the world in the jet-streams, enjoying their life and occasionally dipping lower to snack on a couple birds or fish.
5)
Acid: Hostile, corrosive beings, these Erderasse are more likely to destroy your house than engage in small talk. How a woman ever got one in bed is beyond me. Either way, they are typically lanky and sickly looking bird like creatures with patchy spots of feathers and scales.
6)
Steel: These guys are freaky. They are impervious to most kinds of attacks and so have each lived longer than any other Erderasse out there except for the First. Their long life has lead to them learning to work as units, and together have created not only the Steel Order with humans, but have made their own library and university, although no one enters unless they have Steel in their blood. Nobody any time recent has ever seen one of them in person, and the Steel Order is so secretive that nobody - and I mean NOBODY - knows exactly what they are capable of. Legends say that they can replicate almost any other Erderasse's powers and some myths even say they can copy the Anmutgeist. These are not a playable type.
7)
Water: A dangerous breed, these Erderasse know no restraints and are never bound to one emotion. A shifting, changing mass of emotion and raw power, these beings frighten all who see them. In their natural state they resemble a spiny, scaled eel with massive wings protruding from its long back.
8)
Stone: Any descendant of these that is found is killed. QUICKLY. Brutish, mindless beasts these goliaths pay no heed to the damage they cause, and when angered destroy everything in their paths. They encase themselves in stone and dirt and are often mistaken for small hills - or if they are especially large, massive hills. In fact, Kalkberg is unwittingly built on top of a sleeping Stone Erderasse, and no that isn't part of the plot. Under their armor, a Stone Erderasse looks a bit like a scaled bear.
Kernheim itself is very much similar to our own world, although it is in fact much larger than Earth and its continents even more isolated from each other. Additionally, parts of the land have been twisted and changed by the magic that saturates those places. A few important locations that you might want to know are as follows:
1) Kalkberg:
This will be our main town, a city built into and past the face of a massive cliff facing the sea, nestled in the Eastern region of the continent. Its open ports are available to all and its economy is booming since the age of industry began. It has gathered a reputation for hosting the continent's greatest inventors, scholars, thinkers and business leaders all in one place. It does, however, have a darker more sinister secret known only to the powerful and illustrious
Lüftenmensch
family...
2) Lui-Lui-Lanka:
While not many other continents are known by the natives of the landmass Körper (our home continent), the great island nations to the South are no secret. Among them is the favorite for traders and tourists alike, the powerful and beautiful archipelagic
Owatuu-Lo'a.
The island series is lead by a series of chiefs who congregate on the center island (
Lui-Lui-Lanka
) to decide the nation's business. Heading them off, however, is the Great Chief and speaker for their gods:
Opa-Pati
.
3) The Steel Order:
As mentioned before, very little is actually known about the Steel Order. What is known is that the long before any other person besides the parent of a Steel blooded child are aware of the newborn's abilities, a representative comes from the Steel Order and collects the child, often also bringing the parent along with them. They go to the West a ways, where the Iron Pillar stands and the Eye of the Earth rests, watching the world in silence. None have gained entrance unless they are of the Blood.
4) The Weide Fields:
While not very widely known, the Weide Fields just West and above Kalkberg are rumored to be the hunting grounds of a Fire Erderasse. So pervasive is this idea that many of the city's common folk tales involve this Erderasse snatching little children or a couple cattle and taking them back to there to eat. A couple of the city's older citizens will enthusiastically tell you ghost stories in which they are chased by a lanky cat as tall as a hunting dog with fur like fire and eyes that burn like coal, only to escape by running past the fabled Oak tree and have it stop there and watch them. Nobody really believes it, but people still avoid that tree.