No Goblins Allowed :: [Plane]Ellysium

When the world was young, there were many on Ellysium. Many peoples, many races. For a time, it seemed peace would overcome, but a heart of evil beat within the shadows of Ellysium. Darkness rose to engulf the plane.
One by one, the lights of life were extinguished, swallowed by the darkness, as each tribe fell, entire peoples were wiped from the world, their very memory lost to the darkness and time.
From the blood and ashes of the lost, a tree grew.
A tree of power that coursed with magic and purpose, grown from their sacrifice and nourished by the souls of the fallen. The tree was tremendous and existed in the physical realm as much as the celestial.
Finally, its branches coursing with the souls of the lost, the tree bore five fruits. This was the rise of the angels.
The fruit of Strength was the first to descend and the Flight Cherubim came into being, created to hunt in the darkness so no enemy could hide from them.
The branch of Valor was next to drop its gift. The Host Seraphim rose, a shield so that peace may stand, a sword that might strike chaos down.
The fruit of Passion bore the Ophanim Chorus, a magnificent force that shone so brilliant that it burnt the dark places to nothing so that the shadows could find no haven.
From the fruit of Wisdom, the Hashmallim Sphere drew their power. Their sight cast to the future so darkness would ever take root to rise again.
And lastly... the Zabaniyahim fell from the branch of Devotion, given stewardship over the past so it would not torment the present.
-Excerpt from the First Book of Tanaphel, Verse 1:16

In the distant ages, Ellysium was a world torn by barbarism and dark sorceries. In those time immemorial, terrible forces threatened the birth of order and civilization upon the plane. Villages were burnt, and what few cities existed were ransacked endlessly, and at every turn, those who sought only to establish some form of order were beset. The raiders and hordes held sway upon the plane and the wilds were threatened by terrible beasts that roamed the land. It was a time of terror and chaos which never knew peace. However, very suddenly, the balance of the world shifted. People rose after death, turned into guardians through the magics wrought by a great meta-spell cast at the beginning of this new age. The natives of the plane call it... Mass Effect. (Wait, no sorry, wrong game.)

The spell became known as “The Rapture.” The meta-enchantment chose those it felt worthy, and instead of dying, it caused a transcendence of the mortal frame. The ascension of the soul to an angelic state. Each of the angels bear a different virtue, and those virtues determine what sort of angel a being became upon ascension. Valor for white, Strength for green, Passion for red, Wisdom for blue, and Devotion for black.

The angels were designed to eliminate the destructive elements of the ancient barbaric cultures, and in some ways, they excelled at their purpose. This meant... genocide.

Species were hunted to total extinction by the angels, all traces of their existences wiped from Ellysium.

However, this was all long long ago, and people have forgotten the being which cast the Rapture or even when. The original need for the spell has even been lost. People now cannot remember a time when the angels were not present, and so they believe the angels have always been there. They have lost their origins and society does not remember the times of darkness.

All the people of Ellysium now know is that the angels ruled peacefully for long ages. Ellysium knew prosperity and serenity until the balance of power changed irrevocably and the forces of the very heavens themselves turned upon each other, throwing the plane into a violent civil war.

The Five Powers were torn apart after centuries of balance.

The Angels make war upon themselves.

Seraphim, The White Host

Called “the Shining Ones” Seraphim have flawless skin, unmarred by age or injury. They were crafted to destroy the ancient demons and devastate armies as shock troopers and the main force of the angelic powers. They imbue their weaponry with mana, causing them to become far more destructive than normal and capable of acting like sorcery itself.

The Seraphim are masters of form, creating armor and weaponry of brilliant ornamentation, however all other forms of art elude them. When they attempt sculpture or painting, their creations come out lifeless and dull. It is thought that the rapture does something to the way they perceive the world that prevents them from expressing themselves and is the one thing that they genuinely yearn to recapture from their former existence. Art commissions are the single major indulgence that the Seraphim pursue.

The Seraph make their own armor, and it's the only form of bloodless art that they can indulge in (they are expert combatants after all, which is an art.) The blacksmiths are graced with some form of whatever creative drive the mortal possessed, but they can only seem to express it while creating objects like this. Not every Seraph is capable of this, but artists who rapture end up only able to work metal into coldly beautiful armaments. The Seraphim symbols are recognizable throughout the world, the eagle and the serpent, and feature prominently in their work.

The Seraph are the best weaponsmiths in the world. Silver, steel, and gold are forged together in ways that make the metal like cloth. Runes decorate their armor, which is often built to resemble half plate when in full battle regalia. The only armor that all Seraph wear are their helms, ornately carved half masks that obscure their blazing golden eyes, though it does nothing to impair their sight. Their physical features, such as hair and skin color, are as they were during life. Their title “Shining Ones” is derived from their wings, six white wings whose feathers are made of light itself.

There are three ranks within the Seraph Host. Wardens and Soldiers make up the lowest Choir, Generals and Judges make up the second Choir, and The Sarim, the lords, make up the Highest. The lord of the Seraphim is called the Magnus. As a militant culture, the only way to ascend through the ranks is to earn that right by combat. Minor duels are common as a way to gain small degrees of influence, but it isn’t until an angel has claimed many victories that he may challenge a higher tier than himself. To rise, another must fall. Duels between two different ranks are an event of some import, and many witness these influential fights. The Sarim may not be challenged by a lower rank and only a duelist of sufficient notoriety can be appointed to the rank of the lords when a vacancy opens within their membership.

The Seraph act as the governing body of the plains, with many of the Council of Lords that the Magnus surrounds himself acting as the lords in the individual kingdoms. The Judges act as judiciaries in criminal cases brought forwards to their attention and the Wardens contain what criminals the constabulary catch.

The prisons are self sufficient, possessing only one rule: You must work for what you need to survive.

The soldiery of The Legion beholden to the White Host is as follows: Soldiers, Knights, Archons, Angels. A branch of the Legion, soldiers known as the Order of Cano, act as a peacekeeping force. They are charged with policing the populace and upholding the laws given to the principalities by the seraphim.

The Magnus

Hashmalim, The Blue Sphere

Called “the Witnesses” They have no wings, but instead a halo of lightning that crackles around their heads at all times. The lightning springs from their glowing eyes and circles their head. They dress with shimmering cloth of constantly flowing water which pools in wafting mists about their feet, and they are born aloft by clouds which carry them. In times of battle, their robes froth and turn to dark clouds which burn with their electric aura. Though a member of the witnesses might come from any walk of life, their new forms are thin and ethereal, their skin becoming pale and their limbs delicate. In the case of the vedalken ascendants, a second set of arms will manifest.

The Sphere are responsible for the creation of the ancient glyphs which serve as the language of angelic magic, with which they cast spells and record their history. It is very common to see this language, used exclusively by the angelic, writ upon the armor of every sort of angel.

The Hashmalim are the seers of the angels, their Sphere charged with guiding the future as well as seeing the present. The Hashmalim don't just make predictions of the future, they determine how to manipulate events to bring the most desirable future to fruition. It's divination with a bloody edge. Their influence is limited though, for they don't have a perfect view of the coming events beyond their control. Their prophecies in that regard amount to vague impressions of enemy tactics, but there are far too many moving pieces for them to be able to decipher the full realization of that which they desire.

With their influence outside their kind well known, it bears the question of how the Hashmalim govern themselves. It is not by merit, but by influence. How much can they manipulate events to their favor? They are very political animals, trading in backrooms and trying to manipulate the vedalken. To do so, they have created tiny winged homunculi and shared the secret of their creation with the vedalken, to mask the influence they exert.

The first lord of the Hashmalim was known as (Metatron) Enochel, who was responsible for the creation of the angelic script. There are several powerful angels in the Sphere in the current time. Domiel, Azazel, Lahliel, and Cassiel.

One of the major members of the current hasmalim is Azazel. Unbeknownst to any living thing on Ellysium, it was from him that the war sprang. He was the one who saw the vision of the angel’s end. Secretly, he was a goldsighted vedalken, but disguised this fact with magics.

Zabaniyahim, The Black Dominion

Ophanim, The Red Chorus

Cherubim, The Green Flight

Seraphim consider the Hashmalim to be lesser angels, while Hashmallim hold equal disdain for the haughty Seraphim. The only time their disagreements are put aside is in dealing with the Zabaniyahim, who have been the least active members in the war by far. This seeming quiet has driven the Seraphim and Hashmalim both to paranoia.

Cherubim have an intense rivalry with the Seraphim. Very competitive amongst themselves, the Seraphim's martial nature causes many of the Cherubim to feel challenged, owing in part to their bestial nature. The Seraphim, for their part, seem somewhat oblivious to the combative nature a Cherub adopts when they interact.

Ophan and Seraph share respect between each other, but all angels are wary of the Ophanim's fully realized power. That is why all angels agreed on specific laws by which they would conduct their war, so the Ophan would never utilize the destruction that they were forged for.

The Cherubim, Hashmalim, and Ophanim are the most common allies in the war, though they rarely are allied to more than one faction at any given time and there have been times in the past when these alliances were broken, usually over concerns of one of the factions gaining too much influence.

There is one last "faction", if you could call it that, composed of individuals who have become rogue angels. These angels bear disgraced names instead of the proper "el" or "il" suffix. Instead, their names have been tainted and end with "en" or "on".

The Angelheim Fortresses

The Angelheims (Landtype Lair) are the spiritual center of the angel's world. Every angel travels to their angelheim at least once in their life.

Cherubic Angelheim: The Tree of Life “Da’as”. Giant winding trees wrapping around a massive hollow space, multiple enormous redwoods growing together to form the Cherubim fortress. Gigantic leaves form lakes and large spaces in the branches provide light.

Seraphic Angelheim: The Radiant Bastion “Ketheres”. A crystalline structure which floats within the sky. The construction is of magical quartz. It is decorated in the specially forged metal cloth that the seraphim are known for and is the seat of the Magnus. Wild Griffins often flock to the immense structure, and their presence is looked at with equal parts affection for the noble beasts and irritation for their infestation.

Ophanic Angelheim: The Obsidian Cathedral “Tiferes”. The Ophan hollowed out a mountain and reshaped it, creating an enormous fortress of obsidian carved by the very molten rock they channeled. It is home to the chamber of the Voice where their people connect to the heartweft and listen to the music of the flames.

Hashmallim Angelheim: The Twilight Pools “Y’sod”. The angelheim is an enormous artificial island, massive stone pillars and tiers built together, held together by bridges and aether itself. The walls and domes of the angelheim are made from solid water, drawn from the surrounding oceans. At the center is a gigantic courtyard where a magnificent whirlpool churns. When the Hashmallim call their congress, the whirlpool becomes the amphitheater in which they meet, the swirling waters calming into a solid construction.

Zabaniahim Angelheim: The Gate of the Dominion “Malkuth”. An ethereal and dark place whose entrance is masked by the largest waterfall on Ellysium, the place where the rivers in the darkness pool. It is said that Malkuth is not entirely in this world, caught in some place between the void and the material plane. There are those who believe that Malkuth is beyond the reach of any but the dead, a space where time itself is meaningless.

Races

Humans: Primarily white, though found in green also. Most live in towns and cities, except the green where they live in clans and develop a specific territory as theirs. No matter what angelic lord they bear allegiance to, Humanity does not see differences in themselves, therefore, despite the war, commerce and cultural exchange has not diminished in Humanity's quarters.

Goliath (Giants): The Goliath revere the old ways as well as paying allegiance to the Cherubim. They live in the large redwoods forests present in the western lands but have been found on the distant islands as well, though they are far from common. Most Goliath are thick browed and have even thicker muscles. They mark themselves with tribal tattooing, denoting their bloodline as well as their history.

Goliath worship the old goddess Binah, the soul of the World and mother of history. She is not the creator of the world, but the source in the world from which all creation stems. She is the distaff counterpart to the old god Chokmah, whom the blue worship as the god of knowledge and the keeper of creation.

The Goliath revere those with silver hair and though they are born rarely, they are considered to have been touched by Binah and are able to hear the voice of the forest. Not all druids have silver hair, but almost everyone with silver hair becomes a druid.

Gorgon: the gorgons move away from the monstrous depiction that magic has tied them to. They have heavy ophidian features, but don't have the thick tentacles sprouting from their head like other gorgon. Ornate scaly patterns around their faces, fangs and snake tongues, dark black hair on all of them, yellow snake eyes, noses a bit flatter than normal and claws.

Thicker scales turn up in other places on their body, but the scales are smaller on their faces. They have a very well developed sense of both taste and smell, though their sense of sight and hearing is mildly diminished.

Flamekin: They have flaming obsidian androgynine bodies of smooth stone with feminine faces. Atop their face is an ornate and unique outcropping of stone which they refer to as a “crown”. Golden orange flames flicker from their shoulders, necks, and heads and can cover the entirety of their bodies in moments of great stress. They are born beings, which is strange to many. Though most belong to the Ishim guilds, many have retreated to join with the Principalities.

Vedalken: The most striking physical feature of the vedalken are their eyes. Physically, the vedalken are tall and slender, almost ethereal, and their eyes are large and clear. They have no sclera and two pairs of eyelids, a clear inner lid and an exterior one. Their eye colors generally come in tones of blue, green, or violet, but rarely, a vedalken child will be born with gold eyes. This is unfortunate for the child, because only a life of hardship will await them. Golden eyes are amongst the most enduring taboos the vedalken possess. Their skin is a pale blue ranging from being as dark as a muted indigo to as light as the blue of the sky. They have no body hair at all, but they often decorate their skin with inks that emulate the facial hair of the other races, usually as a means to communicate more effectively with the others. Some of the Vedalken are secret worshipers of the black angels, a clandestine sect of assassins who believe their visions can only be realized through the darker paths.

The Veldt Principalities

The Principalities are the largest occupied territory in the world and the primary source of developed agriculture.

Foundation of the Veldt

Cities and Regions

The human capital, Virhad, is the main merchant and travel hub for all the principalities, owing its prominence to the numerous crossroads that it was built upon. Resting in the central northeast of the western continent, it connects to virtually every other significant city on the continent. However, despite being the capital, it is not the military seat of power for the Principalities. The combination of the military and mercantile power, while making it substantially harder to assault, would also make it too tempting a target in a long scale campaign. The lack of a major military presence is reconciled by two primary factors. The first is the substantial company of the Cano Order, peacekeepers, that police the city. The second is the highest population of Seraphim outside Ketheres. They occupy the central fortress palace that was built in the name of the emperor prior to the seraphim coup. It has since been expanded upon greatly to accommodate its winged occupants. Within those walls, the Seraphim handle the logistics of making the Sarim’s proclamations a fact in an empire the size of the Principalities.

Military Capital- Located on the Eastern continent, the enormous headquarters of the Legion stands as the daunting and imposing slab of civilization it is. Here, soldiers are trained in vast numbers, and the officers handle the immense work of running a military the size of the Legion. This city is the nerve center for the might of the army, but it also serves as the living quarters for many of the families of the high officers. Of course, such a high concentration of people requires an equally complex infrastructure and the city has a substantial civilian population to accommodate the military’s presence. The city isn’t as monolithic as it would first appear though, as it is in fact a multitude of smaller forts and barracks scattered throughout the city. Many refer to (insert name here) as the Eastern Capital.

Port Albean- The single major port city in the Principalities is located on the eastern coast of the western continent along the Chayot Gulf. Other port towns exist, but none bar this one, can really compete with the monopoly of the Vedalken Republic’s ports on each side of the gulf.
Seats of the Sarim- Other cities of which the only note of real importance is the presence of the angelic lords that occupy their temple castles. More than half of them are located on the Western Continent.

Spirituality

The Green

The history of the Goliath can be tied to metal, and they believe that Copper is the most sacred metal. You see, while the Goliath use iron in their weapons, they have an ancient love for copper, a metal which shares much of their history. The reason why it is so revered, is the fact the metal has an affinity for green mana. This conductivity is important because when paired with their rune magic, it makes their copper works indestructible.

Once they began experimenting with Iron, they found the most effective forges to smelt down and shape the iron ore were the volcanic areas near their original home. They called these volcanic pits, An Fuil de Binah, or "The Blood of Binah" and so they began a tradition of forging weapons in the heat of the earth. Indestructible copper vessels are used to hold the ore as it is melted in the heart of the magma and then poured into the casts where their weapons and such are made.

The Goliath do not believe in agriculture in the same way the humans do, tilling fields and scarring the natural world, but instead, they have developed a culture dedicated to stationary gathering. They take the fruits of the land, and promote the return growth of what they take. They do this with their magic, delivered to the ground in each enchanted raindrop called from the sky by the druids.

Many of the fissures they build their towns around are not naturally occurring, but were actually called into being by the Cherubim for the Goliath who wished to settle rather than wander. The Cherubim have also been known to divert rivers, slowly but surely to better serve the town. The Cherubim look at this as a natural way to shape the world around them so that it does not destroy Binah's body.

Much of the many towns and cities the goliath actually have are built in stone instead of wood.

Cities and Regions

The Goliath Schism

For thousands of years, Goliath society was built on a foundation of tradition. Stories were passed down through oral tradition, and the elders were the political power, although the Goliaths themselves were far from political. The elders served mostly as a backbone for tradition, as well as arbiters for any who might violate the conventions of tradition. The words of the Elders were not law, certainly not in the way humans would understand them, but rather more akin to a father's commands to a small child. Over countless centuries, the reasons behind certain behavioral traditions were lost, but the Elders carried on the teachings of these traditions with a zeal equal to that of their predecessors. To even question the words of an Elder was to be a disobedient child in the eyes of the Elders, and most of the Goliath society.

Eventually, though, as the Elders lost their connection to the source of their traditions, certain members of Goliath society felt they were losing their connection with the Elders. The Elders had always been looked upon as father figures, and so society found it upsetting that they were losing that connection with them, almost like a child who ages to find his father's mind slipping away. So, in an effort to recapture the connection with the elders, certain fragments of society tried to delve into the depths of history, not to defy the Elders, but rather to rediscover the foundations of the traditions they clung to.

The Elders, however, viewed this in quite a different light. To them, this was an act of defiance, perhaps even an attempt to circumvent the Elders entirely. Naturally, they didn't all feel that way, and some Elders praised and even participated in the journey of past discovery. The most stringent traditionalists amongst the Goliath also opposed this new movement, but quite frankly, most people didn't care one way or the other. Many didn't even feel the subtle disconnection of the Elders in the first place.

Generations passed, and the division between the traditionalists and the historians grew increasingly, but slowly, greater. They were still one another's neighbors, friends, even brothers and sisters, but they were growing apart. Just as the Elders had eventually lost their connection with history, so too, ironically, did the historians lose their connection to their original mission. Their charge changed from discovering the origin of the Elder's tradition to discovering the origin of any tradition. Eventually, the historians became more. They became researchers, theorizers, scholars, perhaps, in a rudimentary way, academics.

Goliath society had begun to change, shifting, ever so slightly, away from a nomadic lifestyle to a sort of occasional-sedentary one. Some Goliaths, especially the smiths or the stone-masons, settled in pretty much one place. Most of the others would wander for a while, settle in one place for a while, and then wander again when the wanderlust grabbed them. The historians were more or less the same in this regard, wandering when they felt the need to research or map or dig something up, and settling down for a few seasons when they didn't. Of course, for the historians, the more they found and the more they wrote, the harder it became to travel around. This led to the founding of the Great Library, which was part library, part museum, as it contained everything that had been written by the historians (that had survived traveling through rain and heat and so forth), as well as any physical relics they may have stumbled upon.

The founding of the Library infuriated some of the Elders who believed it was a mockery of the oral tradition the Goliaths valued so highly. Others, however, felt it was an excellent way to keep tradition alive, and still more people, including a few more of the Elders, joined the historians. It was at this point that actual tension began to arise between the two factions of society, though initially, these problems were minor. Historians began actively trying to settle near the Library, and for longer periods of time, consequently (though unintentionally) monopolizing the local food supply, though no Goliath ever went hungry because of this. Slowly, over the course of two or three generations, the historians were firmly entrenched in the city. Traditionalists were still as welcome as always, but it didn't always feel that way.

All of this movement away from tradition and toward history began to worry the Elders who held strongly to tradition. Finally, these Elders made a conscious decision to expand their own influence and exert more formal authority. The Goliath had many celebrations throughout the year, but had two which were considered major, held in Cathair de'an Sinsear. Both of these were festivals in honor of Binah and Chokmah together, and were celebrated at the Summer and Winter Solstices. The Elders had recognized that while both factions still worshiped both deities, the historians were beginning to identify with Chokmah in their search for wisdom and secrets, and the Elders wanted to use that to reign them in. Therefore, at an Elder's council, it was decided that the festivals would no longer be dedicated to both. Instead, the Summer festival would be dedicated to Binah, whereas the festival of the Winter Solstice, when traveling was made more difficult, would be dedicated to Chokmah.

The Elders designed this to discourage the historians and their ilk, because they knew the Chokmah festival would have far fewer attendees than the Binah celebration. Unfortunately for them, their plan backfired, because although fewer Goliaths did attend, it began to foster the very division the Elders were trying to quell. It also provided a forum for the historians to educate and convert some of the traditionalists, who came just for the celebration, as they had done every year before anyway. After several years, as the division between the two festivals grew wider, the Chokmah festival was moved from Cathair de'an Sinsear to the Library city, and a few years later, the Library itself was rededicated to Chokmah.

The Event

The bulk of Goliath society was caught in the middle of these increasing tensions. Most of the people still vehemently revered the Elders and the traditions they represented, but the Goliaths were also naturally curious people, and the historians offered much to sate that curiosity. Finally, an event occurred of such monumental significance that neither side could possibly ignore it. It was nightfall on the Festival of Chokmah, the Winter Solstice, when the sky burned with the path of a falling star, which crashed with sickening impact into the ground near the edge of the great forest. Trees and grass alike where charred in a wide trail to the spot the massive rock fell, and below it, the cavernous ruins of some long-forgotten city below the ground.

The naturally curious Goliaths investigated, and the historians were quick to act. They sent nearly every researcher and digger they could to the site. On their first dig, they recovered a sizable piece of the star, as well as several artifacts from the mysterious, buried ruin. The ruin was only partially accessible to them, but they had recovered a few things, including three strange books made of stone, written in an unknown language. These relics they brought back to Chokmah's library to study them and try to decipher them. As for the piece of the star they recovered, they viewed it as a gift from Chokmah, an arrow sent to point them toward wisdom and discovery.

When the Elders learned of this event, they knew it would cause massive problems. They did not know what the star was, or what the mysterious ruins were, but they believed no good could come from it. They immediately ordered that no Goliath could go near the area again, until the Cherubim could fix the damage that had been done. This upset many people, including the traditionalists, who were, once again, naturally curious and wanted to know the truth about the star and the ruins. But the Elders demanded it be left alone, and the traditionalists reluctantly obeyed. The historians obeyed as well, at least for the time being, since they had much to study before returning anyway. For a short time, they were contented with studying the relics they had claimed.

Until, that is, the Elders came, in full force, to the Chokmah library and demanded the historians hand over everything they had found, especially the piece of the star. The historians told them that star was sacred to Chokmah and his followers, and they refused to give it up. The Elders argued with the metaphor: "If an arrow pierces the heart of your mother, do you gauge the arrow out and keep it as a trophy?" but the historians would not budge. Finally, the Elders offered a compromise. They said if the historians gave up the star willingly, they would not only be allowed to keep the other relics, but also they would be allowed another foray into the mysterious ruins.

After much deliberation, the historians agreed, and handed over the star. The next day, they set out on their second dig, knowing that they could just take another piece upon their arrival. To their horror, when they arrived at the site, the landscape was almost completely different. In the short time they were gone, the Cherubim had already done their work, and the site was gone forever. Realizing that the Elders had likely known about this, they quickly returned to their city, but when they did, they found their library in shambles, the mysterious relics either smashed or gone.

When the historians confronted the Elders back at Cathair de'an Sinsear, the Elders were unapologetic of their actions. They said it needed to be done, for the sake of tradition. This, of course, enraged the historians, and, surprisingly, many of the traditionalists, as well, who saw the deceit of the Elders to be far beneath their dignity. The historians, and those who shared their outrage, left the Green immediately, never to return.

The Sheo Lowlands

The gorgons occupy the Sheo Lowlands.
As a group they are able to live underground, though it has been some years since they chose to do so, instead choosing the swamps and rice fields as their home. Their diet consists primarily of fungi, fish, and vegetables and fruit that grow in the shallow waters of their home, such as cranberries. Most of the gorgons are farmers, broken up into small villages far removed from the capitals of their people located in those ancient caves of their origins.

The gorgons are well known healers and sangromancers, and are known as Blood Alchemists. However, the alchemists are also known for the strong poisons they are capable of developing. Sangromancy is the most widely used magic in the lowlands, but it is not the only kind.

The Necromancers, are the alternative to the alchemists, a monastic sect that only a relative handful of gorgons pursue despite their major influence both in global politics and the defense of the race. It is the sect who deal with the ossuaries of old and the Sentinels. Oddly enough though, they aren't part of the Zabaniyahim church, which doubles as the gorgon government, despite being a major military and social force for their people and living in closer proximity to the Zabahiyahim. In better times they would be searched out for their skills to create monuments from the fallen so that people can pay respect for all time, and this has given them a demand that is vital to their people.

The Gorgon, meanwhile, turn all their dead into the very foundation of the caverns that acted as the cradle of their civilization. They animate the bodies using necromancy, tell the zombies to climb atop the existing walls of statues and form giant pillars/walls where they are then turned to stone. In times of emergency, they awaken the petrified dead to fight for them. These beings are known as the Sentinels. However, in the times since the war began, they have been animating the dead that once stood frozen. Zombie statues generated as the fighting force of the Zabaniyahim which spares the sparse gorgon population from the worst of the fighting.

The Flamekin and Gorgon have a very close relationship. The Gorgon can't turn their own to stone, but every other race is vulnerable to their gaze which puts an enormous strain on what cultures can interact with them without taking appropriate measures (which usually means the gorgons have to be blindfolded) which are extremely demeaning. So, hence why they have such a flourishing relationship with the Flamekin.... because their bodies are already made of stone.

Cities and Regions

The Ishim Ranges

The Ishim ranges and the far reaching plateaus on the other side of the continents are the homes to the flamekin. It is from here that the guilds of the flamekin dictate that which the flamekin of the Ranges do, though their rule does not extend to those who have chosen to leave either the heart of their hegemony or the colonies that fringe it. The flamekin are formally ruled by whichever guild currently has the most power socially. The Martial guild has held sway for a long long time now. Other guilds include the Harper Guild, the Crystal Guild, the Iron Guild, and dozens of other more minor guilds. (The Harper Guild is half musicians half messengers). Ranks in the guild demonstrate social standing, but not every flamekin is in a guild as there are a lot that just function as service for the guilds.

The flamekin are known for being artisans of Golems. They breathe the flame of life into the form. It helps keep the populace from having to go to war in the same numbers as the others since most of them are not members of the Martial Guild, no matter how much their membership has risen in the past years. (red artifact creature golem. Blaze counters.) Lastly, the flamekin are known for using crystalline weapons that are harder than steel and hold a sharp edge that is far more deadly than metal. They forge excellent steel, but sell it to other cultures rather than make weapons of it.

Flamekin families are nuclear rather than clan based. When Flamekin fall in love, they take a ritual that is their equivalent of making love. They embrace and their flames mingle, and the flames are the expression of their soul. When the flames combine, it forms a new "ember" if you will, within one of the two parents. This ember grows and the stone in the Flamekin's body begins to swell until it eventually reaches a critical mass. At that point, the excess stone (and actually quite a lot of the parent's stone) slags off. It's a very painful and arduous process and probably the closest the flamekin ever get to illness. Eventually, the stone has to grow back.

The slag forms an ovoid geode and incubates for some time until at last the flamekin child breaks free.

Flamekin biology is quite strange to the other races. For one, their diet is composed entirely of sand and minerals. Their torso has two primary cavities, a "stomach" where the sand is melted and spread to the rest of their bodies, and a heart/lung chamber that is a very porous latticework where the "heart" of their flame exists. Flamekin see in both visible light and infrared at the same time.

The heartweft, the flamekin believe, was a gift from the ancient god Chesed who, according to their doctrine, was the one who planted the seed of the Tree of Life in the dark times before the world. It was his last act before he departed from the world.

The cities of the flamekin are carved directly into the sides and interiors of the mesas and plateaus of the Isshim ranges. Hallways run across the outer faces, spiraling inward into interior tunnels. The halls split off into quarters and suites where the flamekin keep their businesses and homes.

The hallways are illuminated either by fiery crystals and sunlight during the day hours. Almost every surface of the mountain interiors is decorated with the mosaic tiles that make up their ornamentation, and there are many travelers who come from far and wide to tour the flamekin settlements just for the beauty of their sculpted homes.

Cities and Regions

The Archipelago Republic

The distant islands of the east and their coastal trading posts are ruled by the mercantile and marine power of the vedalken.

The vedalken are by nature nocturnal and have extremely powerful eyesight which makes night like day to them, but evolution has provided them a way to cope with the brightness of daylight. The inner lid of their eyes was originally meant to keep their eyes safe while underwater, but it has since proven a beneficial adaptation in the daylight as well.

Because of their powerful sight, the vedalken can see stars that a human's eyes are unable to perceive; the night sky is not a blanket of darkness to their eyes, but a wondrous dome of streaking colors dotted throughout by brilliant pinpoints of light. Their eyesight is so adroit that they can see deep into the waters of the ocean and are able to see currents of the winds moving in the sky and seas moving beneath. This makes them some of the foremost sailors, as well as able to make the incredibly detailed and accurate star charts they are known for.

Vedalken are not very adept hand to hand fighters, as their physical constitution is not as developed as others. However, they are absolutely unmatched as archers and are able to do minor divinations in the process of aiming to increase their accuracy. The invention of the crossbow has elevated their martial capabilities to a magnitude greater than what they could accomplish before, and has seen a resurgence in national defense.

The taboo of the golden eyed vedalken is tied to a prophecy, one made a long long time ago. People are no longer even sure what the prophecy was at this point, but all that has come down through the ages is that they are the source of misfortune. Popular theories about what they are supposed to mean will of course range from just bad luck to the end of the vedalken race itself. The major commonality in the taboo should always have something to do with change though, because there's nothing that scares a group so secure in itself than change.

So the goldsight vedalken reap the fruits of some unknown destiny they never asked for.

Cities and Regions

Wastelands

The physical manifestation of the Rapture spell and the source of its continued existence, these enormous gemstones are composed of pure crystalline magic. Their existence has been lost to time, if many ever knew of them to begin with. Precious few modern angels know anything of the sephirot at all, and even fewer suspect what they are. They are a closely guarded secret by those whose knowledge gives them some shape of these enchantments’ significance, and their known locations are hidden from but a handful of individuals in any glory. Most of them are lost, but there are records which suggest their possible locations, but few are brave enough to seek the lost anchors of angelic creation.

The Elder Angels

I'll have to read through this again to refresh my memory, but this was pretty much the first M:EM project I helped out with. So, yay, memories!

Here's a random and only tangentially related question. Considering Wizards doesn't seem to allow either, if you could only have one, would you want male angels, or female demons?

Yes, the angels. As a Christian who actually reads the Bible, the stupid baby Cherubs have annoyed me for years. While this world obviously lacks some other Biblical qualities, it is quite refreshing to see someone get the imagery right. There is a reason the first thing most angels in the Bible say is: "Do not be afraid"...

Here's a random and only tangentially related question. Considering Wizards doesn't seem to allow either, if you could only have one, would you want male angels, or female demons?

Fun art history fact: they're imported from the Romans, and shouldn't be called Cherubs at all--they're Putti!

I need to read through all of this. I'll try to... soon.

What kind of locations do you need? Since I'm suffering perpetual writer's block on the big story I'm working on, I might as well do some small writing for you...

I was thinking of writing something for the Vedalken, but I just wanted to know if you have a specific idea of what kind of islands make up the archipelago. Are they volcanic, or coral, or something else, or do you not care?

Actually, after some research, I would like it to be a combination of both. There's a very simple reason, too: a coral atoll on top of a volcanic crater could form a near perfect circle, which makes a neat connection with the fact that the blue angels have halos.

Also, I sort of picture this circular wall with a single opening which leads to the port, which is in the center of the city. Would that work for you?

Author:	Barinellos [ Wed Oct 08, 2014 9:06 pm ]
Post subject:	[Plane]Ellysium
So, this is a bit of a review for those who haven't seen the world for a while, or for those who are new to it. The entire premise of Ellysium was to utilize the iconography and imagery found in abrahamaic religious texts, mostly shying away from the more generic pop culture interpretations of what an angel is and in general play around with another concept: Five Mono-colored Angelic branches. To give an idea about the aesthetics that went into this world, it was primarily a combination of Celtic and Mediterranean, instead of the more classical middle centuries anglo-saxon or italian baroque imagery. Technologically they are just past medieval levels, but the angelic rule caused a technological plateau. The Tree of Life When the world was young, there were many on Ellysium. Many peoples, many races. For a time, it seemed peace would overcome, but a heart of evil beat within the shadows of Ellysium. Darkness rose to engulf the plane. One by one, the lights of life were extinguished, swallowed by the darkness, as each tribe fell, entire peoples were wiped from the world, their very memory lost to the darkness and time. From the blood and ashes of the lost, a tree grew. A tree of power that coursed with magic and purpose, grown from their sacrifice and nourished by the souls of the fallen. The tree was tremendous and existed in the physical realm as much as the celestial. Finally, its branches coursing with the souls of the lost, the tree bore five fruits. This was the rise of the angels. The fruit of Strength was the first to descend and the Flight Cherubim came into being, created to hunt in the darkness so no enemy could hide from them. The branch of Valor was next to drop its gift. The Host Seraphim rose, a shield so that peace may stand, a sword that might strike chaos down. The fruit of Passion bore the Ophanim Chorus, a magnificent force that shone so brilliant that it burnt the dark places to nothing so that the shadows could find no haven. From the fruit of Wisdom, the Hashmallim Sphere drew their power. Their sight cast to the future so darkness would ever take root to rise again. And lastly... the Zabaniyahim fell from the branch of Devotion, given stewardship over the past so it would not torment the present. -Excerpt from the First Book of Tanaphel, Verse 1:16 Ellysium's History In the distant ages, Ellysium was a world torn by barbarism and dark sorceries. In those time immemorial, terrible forces threatened the birth of order and civilization upon the plane. Villages were burnt, and what few cities existed were ransacked endlessly, and at every turn, those who sought only to establish some form of order were beset. The raiders and hordes held sway upon the plane and the wilds were threatened by terrible beasts that roamed the land. It was a time of terror and chaos which never knew peace. However, very suddenly, the balance of the world shifted. People rose after death, turned into guardians through the magics wrought by a great meta-spell cast at the beginning of this new age. The natives of the plane call it... Mass Effect. (Wait, no sorry, wrong game.) The spell became known as “The Rapture.” The meta-enchantment chose those it felt worthy, and instead of dying, it caused a transcendence of the mortal frame. The ascension of the soul to an angelic state. Each of the angels bear a different virtue, and those virtues determine what sort of angel a being became upon ascension. Valor for white, Strength for green, Passion for red, Wisdom for blue, and Devotion for black. The angels were designed to eliminate the destructive elements of the ancient barbaric cultures, and in some ways, they excelled at their purpose. This meant... genocide. Species were hunted to total extinction by the angels, all traces of their existences wiped from Ellysium. However, this was all long long ago, and people have forgotten the being which cast the Rapture or even when. The original need for the spell has even been lost. People now cannot remember a time when the angels were not present, and so they believe the angels have always been there. They have lost their origins and society does not remember the times of darkness. All the people of Ellysium now know is that the angels ruled peacefully for long ages. Ellysium knew prosperity and serenity until the balance of power changed irrevocably and the forces of the very heavens themselves turned upon each other, throwing the plane into a violent civil war. The Five Powers were torn apart after centuries of balance. The Angels make war upon themselves. Seraphim, The White Host Called “the Shining Ones” Seraphim have flawless skin, unmarred by age or injury. They were crafted to destroy the ancient demons and devastate armies as shock troopers and the main force of the angelic powers. They imbue their weaponry with mana, causing them to become far more destructive than normal and capable of acting like sorcery itself. The Seraphim are masters of form, creating armor and weaponry of brilliant ornamentation, however all other forms of art elude them. When they attempt sculpture or painting, their creations come out lifeless and dull. It is thought that the rapture does something to the way they perceive the world that prevents them from expressing themselves and is the one thing that they genuinely yearn to recapture from their former existence. Art commissions are the single major indulgence that the Seraphim pursue. The Seraph make their own armor, and it's the only form of bloodless art that they can indulge in (they are expert combatants after all, which is an art.) The blacksmiths are graced with some form of whatever creative drive the mortal possessed, but they can only seem to express it while creating objects like this. Not every Seraph is capable of this, but artists who rapture end up only able to work metal into coldly beautiful armaments. The Seraphim symbols are recognizable throughout the world, the eagle and the serpent, and feature prominently in their work. The Seraph are the best weaponsmiths in the world. Silver, steel, and gold are forged together in ways that make the metal like cloth. Runes decorate their armor, which is often built to resemble half plate when in full battle regalia. The only armor that all Seraph wear are their helms, ornately carved half masks that obscure their blazing golden eyes, though it does nothing to impair their sight. Their physical features, such as hair and skin color, are as they were during life. Their title “Shining Ones” is derived from their wings, six white wings whose feathers are made of light itself. There are three ranks within the Seraph Host. Wardens and Soldiers make up the lowest Choir, Generals and Judges make up the second Choir, and The Sarim, the lords, make up the Highest. The lord of the Seraphim is called the Magnus. As a militant culture, the only way to ascend through the ranks is to earn that right by combat. Minor duels are common as a way to gain small degrees of influence, but it isn’t until an angel has claimed many victories that he may challenge a higher tier than himself. To rise, another must fall. Duels between two different ranks are an event of some import, and many witness these influential fights. The Sarim may not be challenged by a lower rank and only a duelist of sufficient notoriety can be appointed to the rank of the lords when a vacancy opens within their membership. The Seraph act as the governing body of the plains, with many of the Council of Lords that the Magnus surrounds himself acting as the lords in the individual kingdoms. The Judges act as judiciaries in criminal cases brought forwards to their attention and the Wardens contain what criminals the constabulary catch. The prisons are self sufficient, possessing only one rule: You must work for what you need to survive. The soldiery of The Legion beholden to the White Host is as follows: Soldiers, Knights, Archons, Angels. A branch of the Legion, soldiers known as the Order of Cano, act as a peacekeeping force. They are charged with policing the populace and upholding the laws given to the principalities by the seraphim. The Magnus Formerly an angel by the name of Votumal, he was ranked within the lowest ranks for most of his existence. It seems it simply pleased him to remain as such. This preference was disrupted when the Sarim came under direct fire during the third campaign. Despite his menial position, his power distinguished him in battle beyond any of those of greater rank. He slew several prominent angels of the enemy armies. For his prowess, he immediately gained a seat on the diminished Sarim. During the next battle, the previous Magnus sacrificed himself to ensure the rest of his angelic cadre would survive, but rather than run, Votumal took up the Magnus’s sword and slew the four generals of the opposing army. By taking up the sword, he was committing heresy of the highest order, but even the other members of the Sarim were reluctant to press the matter. Votumal willingly gave up the sword and tried to turn his back on the war as penitence, but the other members of the Sarim denied him the luxury, offering both the sword and helm of the Magnus. Understanding that there were greater obligations than his own pursuits, Votumal relinquished his name and history and took up the powers and responsibilities of the Magnus. Hashmalim, The Blue Sphere Called “the Witnesses” They have no wings, but instead a halo of lightning that crackles around their heads at all times. The lightning springs from their glowing eyes and circles their head. They dress with shimmering cloth of constantly flowing water which pools in wafting mists about their feet, and they are born aloft by clouds which carry them. In times of battle, their robes froth and turn to dark clouds which burn with their electric aura. Though a member of the witnesses might come from any walk of life, their new forms are thin and ethereal, their skin becoming pale and their limbs delicate. In the case of the vedalken ascendants, a second set of arms will manifest. The Sphere are responsible for the creation of the ancient glyphs which serve as the language of angelic magic, with which they cast spells and record their history. It is very common to see this language, used exclusively by the angelic, writ upon the armor of every sort of angel. The Hashmalim are the seers of the angels, their Sphere charged with guiding the future as well as seeing the present. The Hashmalim don't just make predictions of the future, they determine how to manipulate events to bring the most desirable future to fruition. It's divination with a bloody edge. Their influence is limited though, for they don't have a perfect view of the coming events beyond their control. Their prophecies in that regard amount to vague impressions of enemy tactics, but there are far too many moving pieces for them to be able to decipher the full realization of that which they desire. With their influence outside their kind well known, it bears the question of how the Hashmalim govern themselves. It is not by merit, but by influence. How much can they manipulate events to their favor? They are very political animals, trading in backrooms and trying to manipulate the vedalken. To do so, they have created tiny winged homunculi and shared the secret of their creation with the vedalken, to mask the influence they exert. The first lord of the Hashmalim was known as (Metatron) Enochel, who was responsible for the creation of the angelic script. There are several powerful angels in the Sphere in the current time. Domiel, Azazel, Lahliel, and Cassiel. One of the major members of the current hasmalim is Azazel. Unbeknownst to any living thing on Ellysium, it was from him that the war sprang. He was the one who saw the vision of the angel’s end. Secretly, he was a goldsighted vedalken, but disguised this fact with magics. Zabaniyahim, The Black Dominion Called “the Wardens” The Zabaniyahim are grim figures bearing 8 enormous raven wings upon their backs. Their cloaks are made of the darkness itself and hoods obscure their heads completely. Ornate glistening scales armor their body like stars on the night sky and their robes prevent any sight of the being within, leading many to believe they have no flesh at all. They wield lances of shadow that pierce the ethereal. They control the catacombs, a series of rivers that flow throughout a system of caves that generate the darkest mana on Ellysium. The bodies of the honored dead were stored in catacombs near the surface in better times. The Zabaniyahim were originally sired to quell the restless dead. They bound the spirits and ran the strongest of them through the crucible that the rivers create, reshaping them into the fierce warriors known as specters. It is believed that the memories washed away by the flowing crucible all collect and pool somewhere far below the world, a darkness that the Zabaniyahim draw from in times of terrible strife. A secret sect of vedalken known as the “Cult of Night”, necromantic assassins that kill by binding the spirit of their victim, ripping it from their target’s bodies, worship them. The Cult of Night is the primary way the black angels have engaged in the war, going about their mysterious purpose and shaping the war in subtle ways from the shadows. The current queen of the Zabaniyahim is Serazel. Ophanim, The Red Chorus Called “the Emissaries” they were created to destroy massive areas of the lands that resisted the new order. They are flaming angels whose bodies are almost entirely made of fire. At the center of the elemental angel's body is a great crystal bust, the only remnants of their mortal remains. While flamekin are obsidian, the ophan are made of pure beryl, their chest, shoulder, and face floating within the burning flame. They are swathed with hovering rings of the purest gold that bear verses of the Books of the Tree of Life in the angelic language. The rings wrap their bodies and a multitude of “eyes” decorate their twin wings, which resemble the tail of peafowl. The red gorgon who become Ophanim turn to stone under their own power, which burns from within and breaks, the crystal shattering the hard dull stone on the outside. They are notable ophan for retaining long tendrils of crystalline hair, very distinct from the almost masklike appearance of the flamekin ophanim's head. The ophanim leader is called the Voice of the Ophan and sits at the center of a great empathic link, a heartweft, which allows the Voice to read the feeling of every ophan in existence and determine the will of their kind by the consensus they reach. It's a direct and odd form of democracy, because every member’s vote is cast with their hearts and everyone's opinion is heard by a single being, though the interpretation of this will is given by the speaker as their leader. The ascension ritual is performed when the Voice takes an ember of the flame of each Ophan into themselves causing the bearer to turn from an elemental into a higher state, an incarnation. Specifically forbidden by the rules of war of using the full extent of their power on populated areas because of the sheer devastation that they would be capable of. Cherubim, The Green Flight Called “the Strong Ones”, they possess the talons of a bird, hooves and horns of a bull, face and body of a human, and mane and fangs of a lion. Their four wings are striped with the plumage of a raptor, most often a falcon or hawk. The Cherubim were created to be hunters, used to slaughter the dragons and hydra as well as dealing with the Ogres and Trolls when the Seraph were besieged. In the modern day, the Cherubim are the keepers of The Green. They have taken to communing with nature and altering the landscape so that the energy of the land can flow with the most potential. As part of this, they support the Goliath and the humans of the forests, to establish a balance in the natural world with their actions. At times, this means transforming the terrain to support the towns in The Green better, at others it means limiting the impact the societies have on their surroundings. The cherubim are believed to have a closer relationship to Binah, the world's spirit, than any other race, and many of their philosophies and methods seem to indicate a closeness to nature. Their magics are a unique form of geomancy, believed to be bound by both the laws of the heavens and earth, as opposed to the simpler geomancy only concerned with the path of the land. Seraphim consider the Hashmalim to be lesser angels, while Hashmallim hold equal disdain for the haughty Seraphim. The only time their disagreements are put aside is in dealing with the Zabaniyahim, who have been the least active members in the war by far. This seeming quiet has driven the Seraphim and Hashmalim both to paranoia. Cherubim have an intense rivalry with the Seraphim. Very competitive amongst themselves, the Seraphim's martial nature causes many of the Cherubim to feel challenged, owing in part to their bestial nature. The Seraphim, for their part, seem somewhat oblivious to the combative nature a Cherub adopts when they interact. Ophan and Seraph share respect between each other, but all angels are wary of the Ophanim's fully realized power. That is why all angels agreed on specific laws by which they would conduct their war, so the Ophan would never utilize the destruction that they were forged for. The Cherubim, Hashmalim, and Ophanim are the most common allies in the war, though they rarely are allied to more than one faction at any given time and there have been times in the past when these alliances were broken, usually over concerns of one of the factions gaining too much influence. There is one last "faction", if you could call it that, composed of individuals who have become rogue angels. These angels bear disgraced names instead of the proper "el" or "il" suffix. Instead, their names have been tainted and end with "en" or "on". The Angelheim Fortresses The Angelheims (Landtype Lair) are the spiritual center of the angel's world. Every angel travels to their angelheim at least once in their life. Cherubic Angelheim: The Tree of Life “Da’as”. Giant winding trees wrapping around a massive hollow space, multiple enormous redwoods growing together to form the Cherubim fortress. Gigantic leaves form lakes and large spaces in the branches provide light. Seraphic Angelheim: The Radiant Bastion “Ketheres”. A crystalline structure which floats within the sky. The construction is of magical quartz. It is decorated in the specially forged metal cloth that the seraphim are known for and is the seat of the Magnus. Wild Griffins often flock to the immense structure, and their presence is looked at with equal parts affection for the noble beasts and irritation for their infestation. Ophanic Angelheim: The Obsidian Cathedral “Tiferes”. The Ophan hollowed out a mountain and reshaped it, creating an enormous fortress of obsidian carved by the very molten rock they channeled. It is home to the chamber of the Voice where their people connect to the heartweft and listen to the music of the flames. Hashmallim Angelheim: The Twilight Pools “Y’sod”. The angelheim is an enormous artificial island, massive stone pillars and tiers built together, held together by bridges and aether itself. The walls and domes of the angelheim are made from solid water, drawn from the surrounding oceans. At the center is a gigantic courtyard where a magnificent whirlpool churns. When the Hashmallim call their congress, the whirlpool becomes the amphitheater in which they meet, the swirling waters calming into a solid construction. Zabaniahim Angelheim: The Gate of the Dominion “Malkuth”. An ethereal and dark place whose entrance is masked by the largest waterfall on Ellysium, the place where the rivers in the darkness pool. It is said that Malkuth is not entirely in this world, caught in some place between the void and the material plane. There are those who believe that Malkuth is beyond the reach of any but the dead, a space where time itself is meaningless. Races Humans: Primarily white, though found in green also. Most live in towns and cities, except the green where they live in clans and develop a specific territory as theirs. No matter what angelic lord they bear allegiance to, Humanity does not see differences in themselves, therefore, despite the war, commerce and cultural exchange has not diminished in Humanity's quarters. Goliath (Giants): The Goliath revere the old ways as well as paying allegiance to the Cherubim. They live in the large redwoods forests present in the western lands but have been found on the distant islands as well, though they are far from common. Most Goliath are thick browed and have even thicker muscles. They mark themselves with tribal tattooing, denoting their bloodline as well as their history. Goliath worship the old goddess Binah, the soul of the World and mother of history. She is not the creator of the world, but the source in the world from which all creation stems. She is the distaff counterpart to the old god Chokmah, whom the blue worship as the god of knowledge and the keeper of creation. The Goliath revere those with silver hair and though they are born rarely, they are considered to have been touched by Binah and are able to hear the voice of the forest. Not all druids have silver hair, but almost everyone with silver hair becomes a druid. Gorgon: the gorgons move away from the monstrous depiction that magic has tied them to. They have heavy ophidian features, but don't have the thick tentacles sprouting from their head like other gorgon. Ornate scaly patterns around their faces, fangs and snake tongues, dark black hair on all of them, yellow snake eyes, noses a bit flatter than normal and claws. Thicker scales turn up in other places on their body, but the scales are smaller on their faces. They have a very well developed sense of both taste and smell, though their sense of sight and hearing is mildly diminished. Flamekin: They have flaming obsidian androgynine bodies of smooth stone with feminine faces. Atop their face is an ornate and unique outcropping of stone which they refer to as a “crown”. Golden orange flames flicker from their shoulders, necks, and heads and can cover the entirety of their bodies in moments of great stress. They are born beings, which is strange to many. Though most belong to the Ishim guilds, many have retreated to join with the Principalities. Vedalken: The most striking physical feature of the vedalken are their eyes. Physically, the vedalken are tall and slender, almost ethereal, and their eyes are large and clear. They have no sclera and two pairs of eyelids, a clear inner lid and an exterior one. Their eye colors generally come in tones of blue, green, or violet, but rarely, a vedalken child will be born with gold eyes. This is unfortunate for the child, because only a life of hardship will await them. Golden eyes are amongst the most enduring taboos the vedalken possess. Their skin is a pale blue ranging from being as dark as a muted indigo to as light as the blue of the sky. They have no body hair at all, but they often decorate their skin with inks that emulate the facial hair of the other races, usually as a means to communicate more effectively with the others. Some of the Vedalken are secret worshipers of the black angels, a clandestine sect of assassins who believe their visions can only be realized through the darker paths. The world by domains The Veldt Principalities The Principalities are the largest occupied territory in the world and the primary source of developed agriculture. Foundation of the Veldt Some time ago, after years of autonomy following the rise of order, the kingdoms of the veldt fell to a reckoning. The largest and most powerful kingdom of the plains was sundered by a war of succession. Several of the surrounding kingdoms favored different members of the royal family for the inheritance of the throne and pledged the loyalty of their people. The candidates pushed, each with a claim to the crown and backed by the power of their neighbors. Armies were raised. Threats were made. With the lines drawn, and a precious few kingdoms trying desperately to stay neutral, the lands once again darkened under the banners of war. The enormous kingdom split and the nobility turned against one another. The skies wept and the land bled as battles tore the once peaceful and prosperous land. It was not the first war, but it was by far the greatest war that the plains had known since the ancient times. It did not go unnoticed. The Seraphim became aware of the conflict, and judged none demonstrated the qualities needed for sovereignty, and by their acts of violence, they forfeit their right to rule. The angels of the Bastion descended and in a swift and brutal coup, seized control of the veldt kingdoms. The aristocracy was stripped of their lands and angelic lords were installed in their place. The war came to an end, and their actions ensured no such war would ever take place again. The wounds of the principalities began to heal and with a unified hand guiding the veldt, they were led to a new era of prosperity. But not every kingdom supported the new regime, and with little recourse, many abandoned the veldt altogether, craving a freedom that the Seraphim denied them, no matter how much peace they promised. Those few kingdoms who did not become embroiled in the war left the idyllic hills for the shaded forests and a new life guided by the Goliath. Their way of life changed, but they found a peace different from the one they left. Cities and Regions The human capital, Virhad, is the main merchant and travel hub for all the principalities, owing its prominence to the numerous crossroads that it was built upon. Resting in the central northeast of the western continent, it connects to virtually every other significant city on the continent. However, despite being the capital, it is not the military seat of power for the Principalities. The combination of the military and mercantile power, while making it substantially harder to assault, would also make it too tempting a target in a long scale campaign. The lack of a major military presence is reconciled by two primary factors. The first is the substantial company of the Cano Order, peacekeepers, that police the city. The second is the highest population of Seraphim outside Ketheres. They occupy the central fortress palace that was built in the name of the emperor prior to the seraphim coup. It has since been expanded upon greatly to accommodate its winged occupants. Within those walls, the Seraphim handle the logistics of making the Sarim’s proclamations a fact in an empire the size of the Principalities. Military Capital- Located on the Eastern continent, the enormous headquarters of the Legion stands as the daunting and imposing slab of civilization it is. Here, soldiers are trained in vast numbers, and the officers handle the immense work of running a military the size of the Legion. This city is the nerve center for the might of the army, but it also serves as the living quarters for many of the families of the high officers. Of course, such a high concentration of people requires an equally complex infrastructure and the city has a substantial civilian population to accommodate the military’s presence. The city isn’t as monolithic as it would first appear though, as it is in fact a multitude of smaller forts and barracks scattered throughout the city. Many refer to (insert name here) as the Eastern Capital. Port Albean- The single major port city in the Principalities is located on the eastern coast of the western continent along the Chayot Gulf. Other port towns exist, but none bar this one, can really compete with the monopoly of the Vedalken Republic’s ports on each side of the gulf. Seats of the Sarim- Other cities of which the only note of real importance is the presence of the angelic lords that occupy their temple castles. More than half of them are located on the Western Continent. Spirituality Religion is an odd thing in the Principalities. While at one time, the occupants of the land worshiped the god Gevurah, the old god fell out of favor well before the Seraphim rose to become the aristocracy. Without a doubt though, the angelic nobility has had a profound effect on the practiced religion on the veldt. Organized worship has dropped away, while blessings of luck or guidance are asked of the specific provincial lord when needed. The former temples scattered throughout the principalities were restored and expanded to serve as the housing for the newly ascendant Sarim, who rule from their ancient castles. Invoking the Magnus is saved for the most dire of situations or serious of occasions. The Green The history of the Goliath can be tied to metal, and they believe that Copper is the most sacred metal. You see, while the Goliath use iron in their weapons, they have an ancient love for copper, a metal which shares much of their history. The reason why it is so revered, is the fact the metal has an affinity for green mana. This conductivity is important because when paired with their rune magic, it makes their copper works indestructible. Once they began experimenting with Iron, they found the most effective forges to smelt down and shape the iron ore were the volcanic areas near their original home. They called these volcanic pits, An Fuil de Binah, or "The Blood of Binah" and so they began a tradition of forging weapons in the heat of the earth. Indestructible copper vessels are used to hold the ore as it is melted in the heart of the magma and then poured into the casts where their weapons and such are made. The Goliath do not believe in agriculture in the same way the humans do, tilling fields and scarring the natural world, but instead, they have developed a culture dedicated to stationary gathering. They take the fruits of the land, and promote the return growth of what they take. They do this with their magic, delivered to the ground in each enchanted raindrop called from the sky by the druids. Many of the fissures they build their towns around are not naturally occurring, but were actually called into being by the Cherubim for the Goliath who wished to settle rather than wander. The Cherubim have also been known to divert rivers, slowly but surely to better serve the town. The Cherubim look at this as a natural way to shape the world around them so that it does not destroy Binah's body. Much of the many towns and cities the goliath actually have are built in stone instead of wood. Cities and Regions The largest city of the Goliath is Cathair de'an Sinsear, where the elders of each clan come to meet in the ancient halls. The city is the single largest mercantile center in all the Green, and what marks it as such is the numerous ancient pits where the art of metallurgy took its first strides. It is nestled in the foothills of the Ishim mountains, butting right up against the flamekin territories. Much of the population of the city is transitory, as the Goliath are naturally prone to wanderlust. While some bands of druids and nomads exist, there are also numerous stationary towns wherever there are fissures in the earth for them to forge with and rivers to slake the forests and their own thirsts. The Goliath Schism For thousands of years, Goliath society was built on a foundation of tradition. Stories were passed down through oral tradition, and the elders were the political power, although the Goliaths themselves were far from political. The elders served mostly as a backbone for tradition, as well as arbiters for any who might violate the conventions of tradition. The words of the Elders were not law, certainly not in the way humans would understand them, but rather more akin to a father's commands to a small child. Over countless centuries, the reasons behind certain behavioral traditions were lost, but the Elders carried on the teachings of these traditions with a zeal equal to that of their predecessors. To even question the words of an Elder was to be a disobedient child in the eyes of the Elders, and most of the Goliath society. Eventually, though, as the Elders lost their connection to the source of their traditions, certain members of Goliath society felt they were losing their connection with the Elders. The Elders had always been looked upon as father figures, and so society found it upsetting that they were losing that connection with them, almost like a child who ages to find his father's mind slipping away. So, in an effort to recapture the connection with the elders, certain fragments of society tried to delve into the depths of history, not to defy the Elders, but rather to rediscover the foundations of the traditions they clung to. The Elders, however, viewed this in quite a different light. To them, this was an act of defiance, perhaps even an attempt to circumvent the Elders entirely. Naturally, they didn't all feel that way, and some Elders praised and even participated in the journey of past discovery. The most stringent traditionalists amongst the Goliath also opposed this new movement, but quite frankly, most people didn't care one way or the other. Many didn't even feel the subtle disconnection of the Elders in the first place. Generations passed, and the division between the traditionalists and the historians grew increasingly, but slowly, greater. They were still one another's neighbors, friends, even brothers and sisters, but they were growing apart. Just as the Elders had eventually lost their connection with history, so too, ironically, did the historians lose their connection to their original mission. Their charge changed from discovering the origin of the Elder's tradition to discovering the origin of any tradition. Eventually, the historians became more. They became researchers, theorizers, scholars, perhaps, in a rudimentary way, academics. Goliath society had begun to change, shifting, ever so slightly, away from a nomadic lifestyle to a sort of occasional-sedentary one. Some Goliaths, especially the smiths or the stone-masons, settled in pretty much one place. Most of the others would wander for a while, settle in one place for a while, and then wander again when the wanderlust grabbed them. The historians were more or less the same in this regard, wandering when they felt the need to research or map or dig something up, and settling down for a few seasons when they didn't. Of course, for the historians, the more they found and the more they wrote, the harder it became to travel around. This led to the founding of the Great Library, which was part library, part museum, as it contained everything that had been written by the historians (that had survived traveling through rain and heat and so forth), as well as any physical relics they may have stumbled upon. The founding of the Library infuriated some of the Elders who believed it was a mockery of the oral tradition the Goliaths valued so highly. Others, however, felt it was an excellent way to keep tradition alive, and still more people, including a few more of the Elders, joined the historians. It was at this point that actual tension began to arise between the two factions of society, though initially, these problems were minor. Historians began actively trying to settle near the Library, and for longer periods of time, consequently (though unintentionally) monopolizing the local food supply, though no Goliath ever went hungry because of this. Slowly, over the course of two or three generations, the historians were firmly entrenched in the city. Traditionalists were still as welcome as always, but it didn't always feel that way. All of this movement away from tradition and toward history began to worry the Elders who held strongly to tradition. Finally, these Elders made a conscious decision to expand their own influence and exert more formal authority. The Goliath had many celebrations throughout the year, but had two which were considered major, held in Cathair de'an Sinsear. Both of these were festivals in honor of Binah and Chokmah together, and were celebrated at the Summer and Winter Solstices. The Elders had recognized that while both factions still worshiped both deities, the historians were beginning to identify with Chokmah in their search for wisdom and secrets, and the Elders wanted to use that to reign them in. Therefore, at an Elder's council, it was decided that the festivals would no longer be dedicated to both. Instead, the Summer festival would be dedicated to Binah, whereas the festival of the Winter Solstice, when traveling was made more difficult, would be dedicated to Chokmah. The Elders designed this to discourage the historians and their ilk, because they knew the Chokmah festival would have far fewer attendees than the Binah celebration. Unfortunately for them, their plan backfired, because although fewer Goliaths did attend, it began to foster the very division the Elders were trying to quell. It also provided a forum for the historians to educate and convert some of the traditionalists, who came just for the celebration, as they had done every year before anyway. After several years, as the division between the two festivals grew wider, the Chokmah festival was moved from Cathair de'an Sinsear to the Library city, and a few years later, the Library itself was rededicated to Chokmah. The Event The bulk of Goliath society was caught in the middle of these increasing tensions. Most of the people still vehemently revered the Elders and the traditions they represented, but the Goliaths were also naturally curious people, and the historians offered much to sate that curiosity. Finally, an event occurred of such monumental significance that neither side could possibly ignore it. It was nightfall on the Festival of Chokmah, the Winter Solstice, when the sky burned with the path of a falling star, which crashed with sickening impact into the ground near the edge of the great forest. Trees and grass alike where charred in a wide trail to the spot the massive rock fell, and below it, the cavernous ruins of some long-forgotten city below the ground. The naturally curious Goliaths investigated, and the historians were quick to act. They sent nearly every researcher and digger they could to the site. On their first dig, they recovered a sizable piece of the star, as well as several artifacts from the mysterious, buried ruin. The ruin was only partially accessible to them, but they had recovered a few things, including three strange books made of stone, written in an unknown language. These relics they brought back to Chokmah's library to study them and try to decipher them. As for the piece of the star they recovered, they viewed it as a gift from Chokmah, an arrow sent to point them toward wisdom and discovery. When the Elders learned of this event, they knew it would cause massive problems. They did not know what the star was, or what the mysterious ruins were, but they believed no good could come from it. They immediately ordered that no Goliath could go near the area again, until the Cherubim could fix the damage that had been done. This upset many people, including the traditionalists, who were, once again, naturally curious and wanted to know the truth about the star and the ruins. But the Elders demanded it be left alone, and the traditionalists reluctantly obeyed. The historians obeyed as well, at least for the time being, since they had much to study before returning anyway. For a short time, they were contented with studying the relics they had claimed. Until, that is, the Elders came, in full force, to the Chokmah library and demanded the historians hand over everything they had found, especially the piece of the star. The historians told them that star was sacred to Chokmah and his followers, and they refused to give it up. The Elders argued with the metaphor: "If an arrow pierces the heart of your mother, do you gauge the arrow out and keep it as a trophy?" but the historians would not budge. Finally, the Elders offered a compromise. They said if the historians gave up the star willingly, they would not only be allowed to keep the other relics, but also they would be allowed another foray into the mysterious ruins. After much deliberation, the historians agreed, and handed over the star. The next day, they set out on their second dig, knowing that they could just take another piece upon their arrival. To their horror, when they arrived at the site, the landscape was almost completely different. In the short time they were gone, the Cherubim had already done their work, and the site was gone forever. Realizing that the Elders had likely known about this, they quickly returned to their city, but when they did, they found their library in shambles, the mysterious relics either smashed or gone. When the historians confronted the Elders back at Cathair de'an Sinsear, the Elders were unapologetic of their actions. They said it needed to be done, for the sake of tradition. This, of course, enraged the historians, and, surprisingly, many of the traditionalists, as well, who saw the deceit of the Elders to be far beneath their dignity. The historians, and those who shared their outrage, left the Green immediately, never to return. The Sheo Lowlands The gorgons occupy the Sheo Lowlands. As a group they are able to live underground, though it has been some years since they chose to do so, instead choosing the swamps and rice fields as their home. Their diet consists primarily of fungi, fish, and vegetables and fruit that grow in the shallow waters of their home, such as cranberries. Most of the gorgons are farmers, broken up into small villages far removed from the capitals of their people located in those ancient caves of their origins. The gorgons are well known healers and sangromancers, and are known as Blood Alchemists. However, the alchemists are also known for the strong poisons they are capable of developing. Sangromancy is the most widely used magic in the lowlands, but it is not the only kind. The Necromancers, are the alternative to the alchemists, a monastic sect that only a relative handful of gorgons pursue despite their major influence both in global politics and the defense of the race. It is the sect who deal with the ossuaries of old and the Sentinels. Oddly enough though, they aren't part of the Zabaniyahim church, which doubles as the gorgon government, despite being a major military and social force for their people and living in closer proximity to the Zabahiyahim. In better times they would be searched out for their skills to create monuments from the fallen so that people can pay respect for all time, and this has given them a demand that is vital to their people. The Gorgon, meanwhile, turn all their dead into the very foundation of the caverns that acted as the cradle of their civilization. They animate the bodies using necromancy, tell the zombies to climb atop the existing walls of statues and form giant pillars/walls where they are then turned to stone. In times of emergency, they awaken the petrified dead to fight for them. These beings are known as the Sentinels. However, in the times since the war began, they have been animating the dead that once stood frozen. Zombie statues generated as the fighting force of the Zabaniyahim which spares the sparse gorgon population from the worst of the fighting. The Flamekin and Gorgon have a very close relationship. The Gorgon can't turn their own to stone, but every other race is vulnerable to their gaze which puts an enormous strain on what cultures can interact with them without taking appropriate measures (which usually means the gorgons have to be blindfolded) which are extremely demeaning. So, hence why they have such a flourishing relationship with the Flamekin.... because their bodies are already made of stone. Cities and Regions The Ishim Ranges The Ishim ranges and the far reaching plateaus on the other side of the continents are the homes to the flamekin. It is from here that the guilds of the flamekin dictate that which the flamekin of the Ranges do, though their rule does not extend to those who have chosen to leave either the heart of their hegemony or the colonies that fringe it. The flamekin are formally ruled by whichever guild currently has the most power socially. The Martial guild has held sway for a long long time now. Other guilds include the Harper Guild, the Crystal Guild, the Iron Guild, and dozens of other more minor guilds. (The Harper Guild is half musicians half messengers). Ranks in the guild demonstrate social standing, but not every flamekin is in a guild as there are a lot that just function as service for the guilds. The flamekin are known for being artisans of Golems. They breathe the flame of life into the form. It helps keep the populace from having to go to war in the same numbers as the others since most of them are not members of the Martial Guild, no matter how much their membership has risen in the past years. (red artifact creature golem. Blaze counters.) Lastly, the flamekin are known for using crystalline weapons that are harder than steel and hold a sharp edge that is far more deadly than metal. They forge excellent steel, but sell it to other cultures rather than make weapons of it. Flamekin families are nuclear rather than clan based. When Flamekin fall in love, they take a ritual that is their equivalent of making love. They embrace and their flames mingle, and the flames are the expression of their soul. When the flames combine, it forms a new "ember" if you will, within one of the two parents. This ember grows and the stone in the Flamekin's body begins to swell until it eventually reaches a critical mass. At that point, the excess stone (and actually quite a lot of the parent's stone) slags off. It's a very painful and arduous process and probably the closest the flamekin ever get to illness. Eventually, the stone has to grow back. The slag forms an ovoid geode and incubates for some time until at last the flamekin child breaks free. Flamekin biology is quite strange to the other races. For one, their diet is composed entirely of sand and minerals. Their torso has two primary cavities, a "stomach" where the sand is melted and spread to the rest of their bodies, and a heart/lung chamber that is a very porous latticework where the "heart" of their flame exists. Flamekin see in both visible light and infrared at the same time. The heartweft, the flamekin believe, was a gift from the ancient god Chesed who, according to their doctrine, was the one who planted the seed of the Tree of Life in the dark times before the world. It was his last act before he departed from the world. The cities of the flamekin are carved directly into the sides and interiors of the mesas and plateaus of the Isshim ranges. Hallways run across the outer faces, spiraling inward into interior tunnels. The halls split off into quarters and suites where the flamekin keep their businesses and homes. The hallways are illuminated either by fiery crystals and sunlight during the day hours. Almost every surface of the mountain interiors is decorated with the mosaic tiles that make up their ornamentation, and there are many travelers who come from far and wide to tour the flamekin settlements just for the beauty of their sculpted homes. Cities and Regions The Archipelago Republic The distant islands of the east and their coastal trading posts are ruled by the mercantile and marine power of the vedalken. The vedalken are by nature nocturnal and have extremely powerful eyesight which makes night like day to them, but evolution has provided them a way to cope with the brightness of daylight. The inner lid of their eyes was originally meant to keep their eyes safe while underwater, but it has since proven a beneficial adaptation in the daylight as well. Because of their powerful sight, the vedalken can see stars that a human's eyes are unable to perceive; the night sky is not a blanket of darkness to their eyes, but a wondrous dome of streaking colors dotted throughout by brilliant pinpoints of light. Their eyesight is so adroit that they can see deep into the waters of the ocean and are able to see currents of the winds moving in the sky and seas moving beneath. This makes them some of the foremost sailors, as well as able to make the incredibly detailed and accurate star charts they are known for. Vedalken are not very adept hand to hand fighters, as their physical constitution is not as developed as others. However, they are absolutely unmatched as archers and are able to do minor divinations in the process of aiming to increase their accuracy. The invention of the crossbow has elevated their martial capabilities to a magnitude greater than what they could accomplish before, and has seen a resurgence in national defense. The taboo of the golden eyed vedalken is tied to a prophecy, one made a long long time ago. People are no longer even sure what the prophecy was at this point, but all that has come down through the ages is that they are the source of misfortune. Popular theories about what they are supposed to mean will of course range from just bad luck to the end of the vedalken race itself. The major commonality in the taboo should always have something to do with change though, because there's nothing that scares a group so secure in itself than change. So the goldsight vedalken reap the fruits of some unknown destiny they never asked for. Cities and Regions Wastelands There are several wastelands on the face of Ellysium. While wastelands are a natural part of many planes, these defy all explanations that scholars have tried to formulate. The most perplexing thing about these shared wastelands is the locations in which they appear, spread far far away from each other with no sign of tectonic activity or commonality other than the state they currently share. No natural event, such as drought or famine caused this condition, nor even the more fantastic events, such as astrological occurrences, seem to explain the deadlands. Whatever terrible event in prehistory that caused the very death of these lands also caused the wastelands to be the most haunted areas on Ellysium. Wraiths infest the land, strange and twisted creatures that defy all living appearance.* Even while the spirits are not manifest, the event has left a dark stain on the psyche of the world. People avoid staying in these lands as much as possible and when the spirits manifest, they have known to become actively dangerous. The only reason, besides the academic curiosity posed by the mysteries of the land, is a type of rare glass/stone that only occurs in the boundaries of these wastelands. It is commonly believed the two are linked, but no explanations are forthcoming. The stone, popularly called wispstone, is a cloudy pearlescent dark crystal that becomes a clear chocolate color when cut or a pearlescent gold when polished. It gets its name from the numerous ghosts and mindless wisps that populate the deadlands. *Even the normally thorough angelic archives seem strangely silent on what might be the cause. The Rapture’s Anchor: The Sephirot The physical manifestation of the Rapture spell and the source of its continued existence, these enormous gemstones are composed of pure crystalline magic. Their existence has been lost to time, if many ever knew of them to begin with. Precious few modern angels know anything of the sephirot at all, and even fewer suspect what they are. They are a closely guarded secret by those whose knowledge gives them some shape of these enchantments’ significance, and their known locations are hidden from but a handful of individuals in any glory. Most of them are lost, but there are records which suggest their possible locations, but few are brave enough to seek the lost anchors of angelic creation. The Elder Angels At the heart of the Sephirot are the beings known as the Elder Angels. They were the prototype creations, living enchantments, that were meant to defend the world, but they were flawed and lacked what was needed to protect. They only understood destruction and the purging of what they saw as flaws in the world. So they were sealed inside the gems, and the spell was reforged to transform the dead into the new race of angels using the Elders as a rudimentary blueprint. By transforming the dead with the Rapture, it gave the newly created angels a sense of what was missing. Humanity. (It also changed their form slightly to be more human, as opposed to the more bestial/eldritch Elder Angels.) And so the failed experiments were sealed away and they were incorporated into the future, still useful to their maker. But they are still alive. They are still aware. So, there we have the revised information I've been working on for the past while. I really tried to streamline a lot of the info that was already there, edited some of the way the info was worded, and made some changes that I think work better for the world at large. The primary thing that I lack now is significant locations. I am unsure how much more work I am willing to put into creating locations, but I am opening creation up for everyone to contribute if they want to. The naming conventions I've established for the various factions are: Red: Hebrew White: Italian Blue: Roman Green: Celtic and lastly Black: Southeastern Asian

Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
I'll have to read through this again to refresh my memory, but this was pretty much the first M:EM project I helped out with. So, yay, memories!

Author:	Barinellos [ Sun Oct 12, 2014 2:45 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
RavenoftheBlack wrote: I'll have to read through this again to refresh my memory, but this was pretty much the first M:EM project I helped out with. So, yay, memories! There are probably some things that won't match with what you remember since I've done some alterations to make it a little more rounded. As far as most of the information goes, I'm pretty solid on where I am with it all, but as I said, I'm eager to see what other things people might be willing to add. Foremost this means locations that anybody would like to create, but in general, there are some notably absent locations as it is, so I'd kind of like it if people felt open enough to fill in those important locations as well. I think I've put enough information out there that anybody that was interested would feel comfortable enough creating that sort of thing.

Author:	Heliosphoros [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Ah yes, I remember this one. Still stands as one of my favourite M:EM created worlds, not in the least because I like monstruous biblical angels.

Author:	Aaarrrgh [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Yes, the angels. As a Christian who actually reads the Bible, the stupid baby Cherubs have annoyed me for years. While this world obviously lacks some other Biblical qualities, it is quite refreshing to see someone get the imagery right. There is a reason the first thing most angels in the Bible say is: "Do not be afraid"...

No Goblins Allowed http://862838.jrbdt8wd.asia/

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Author:	RavenoftheBlack [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Here's a random and only tangentially related question. Considering Wizards doesn't seem to allow either, if you could only have one, would you want male angels, or female demons?

Author:	Heliosphoros [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
RavenoftheBlack wrote: Here's a random and only tangentially related question. Considering Wizards doesn't seem to allow either, if you could only have one, would you want male angels, or female demons? Male angels. They have no excuse after making female archons.

Author:	KeeperofManyNames [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Aaarrrgh wrote: Yes, the angels. As a Christian who actually reads the Bible, the stupid baby Cherubs have annoyed me for years. While this world obviously lacks some other Biblical qualities, it is quite refreshing to see someone get the imagery right. There is a reason the first thing most angels in the Bible say is: "Do not be afraid"... Fun art history fact: they're imported from the Romans, and shouldn't be called Cherubs at all--they're Putti! I need to read through all of this. I'll try to... soon.

Author:	Barinellos [ Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:49 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Aaarrrgh wrote: Yes, the angels. As a Christian who actually reads the Bible, the stupid baby Cherubs have annoyed me for years. While this world obviously lacks some other Biblical qualities, it is quite refreshing to see someone get the imagery right. There is a reason the first thing most angels in the Bible say is: "Do not be afraid"... To which most responses are "BWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAH!" RavenoftheBlack wrote: Here's a random and only tangentially related question. Considering Wizards doesn't seem to allow either, if you could only have one, would you want male angels, or female demons? Male Angels seem to be doable without any issues. The more worrisome side of the coin would be the literal demonization of female sexuality. Let's face it, if they're aiming for female demons, it is very likely they'll be succubi. KeeperofManyNames wrote: Fun art history fact: they're imported from the Romans, and shouldn't be called Cherubs at all--they're Putti! I need to read through all of this. I'll try to... soon. Yep! And despite the imagery often associated with cupid, they had very little in common with Eros. As a side note, even though I consider this world close to complete, it's still open to suggestions and completely public to add locations since... I really need some key locations in certain quarters of the world. Oh, and Helio, sorry I didn't thank you sooner for the compliment. I appreciate it and I really need the boost right now, so it is well timed.

Author:	Aaarrrgh [ Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:23 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
What kind of locations do you need? Since I'm suffering perpetual writer's block on the big story I'm working on, I might as well do some small writing for you...

Author:	Barinellos [ Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:41 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Aaarrrgh wrote: What kind of locations do you need? Since I'm suffering perpetual writer's block on the big story I'm working on, I might as well do some small writing for you... I would love that! The locations that I have right now are the Angelheims, major locations for the Veldt Principalities (The Capitol, Military Capitol, and Largest Port), the Funerary Catacombs for the Gorgons, and the Goliath capitol. Either the Flamekin Mesa cities, Human green cities, or the Vedalken ports could use the most development. At the very least they all could use capitols of their own there. Feel free to do pretty much anything though. White is pretty well rounded so it doesn't need much.

Author:	Aaarrrgh [ Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:39 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
I was thinking of writing something for the Vedalken, but I just wanted to know if you have a specific idea of what kind of islands make up the archipelago. Are they volcanic, or coral, or something else, or do you not care?

Author:	Barinellos [ Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Aaarrrgh wrote: I was thinking of writing something for the Vedalken, but I just wanted to know if you have a specific idea of what kind of islands make up the archipelago. Are they volcanic, or coral, or something else, or do you not care? I hadn't thought too much of it, but I think after is said and done, a coral chain seems more interesting than a volcanic chain. This is a good question to ask, helps me think of the world in ways that I didn't consider.

Author:	Aaarrrgh [ Sun Oct 19, 2014 1:43 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Actually, after some research, I would like it to be a combination of both. There's a very simple reason, too: a coral atoll on top of a volcanic crater could form a near perfect circle, which makes a neat connection with the fact that the blue angels have halos. Also, I sort of picture this circular wall with a single opening which leads to the port, which is in the center of the city. Would that work for you?

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Author:	Barinellos [ Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:36 am ]
Post subject:	Re: [Plane]Ellysium
Aaarrrgh wrote: Actually, after some research, I would like it to be a combination of both. There's a very simple reason, too: a coral atoll on top of a volcanic crater could form a near perfect circle, which makes a neat connection with the fact that the blue angels have halos. As long as it is very apparent that there isn't any further seismic activity. Quote: Also, I sort of picture this circular wall with a single opening which leads to the port, which is in the center of the city. Would that work for you? That bit seems a little much to be honest. More, I'd sort of prefer to avoid the image of walled cities on Ellysium, in part because that's an aesthetic that more fits Phostus. (but to also emphasize the difference in regular cities and the white prison colonies.)