Joined: Oct 19, 2015 Posts: 2220 Location: Homestuck rehab center
Identity: Casual Genderf---ery
Preferred Pronoun Set: he/she/whatever
There are many accounts of the Dominia Cabal, as their goals and reach were awe-inducing. But as it often happens, many meaningful stories are overshadowed by legends of that magnitude. Despite this, and my drive to preserve knowledge... I hesitate to put the history of the Alliance onto paper. In addition to personal guilt, the secrecy of some excerpts may still protect some of us from retribution, righteous or not.
I feel like I dove into this endeavor meaning to make a statement about the Multiverse, and the planeswalkers' role in it, and... a very different point was made. But as the Mending - or Decay, as some of my companions named it - claims our immortality and unrivaled dominion over the worlds, every day I become more certain that is not for me to say what stories and narratives are spread and what are kept shamefully hidden. As such, it may be the best solution for me to have an unabridged history of the events, for anyone that might stumble in my humble abode - maybe "humbled" abode would be a better term for it, after the latest concessions to the Eternities for stabilizing purposes, but I digress - and might want an inkling of who and what brought this archive together. And if I am meant to be lost in the flow of time, forgotten as so many of the heroes and villains, epics and tragedies, truths and secrets kept here in my ever-growing library, so be it.
Despite all my worry and hesitation, in the end there is little doubt in my mind that bearing the weight of this painful history will forever be better than reliving it. As such, I should at least put down the key events that defined the Alliance and, later, the Guardians. There may be a chance for our history to be a cautionary tale, so that our past efforts and suffering may still help the next generations.
-from the Storyteller's personal notes
WORK IN PROGRESS Years can be shifted, and there's a lot of filling to do.
An Alliance is formed (up to -4830) Not many dare to clash with the Cabal's forces. Even less live to tell the tale. Several small groups of planeswalkers spontaneously form in their shadow, teams of like-minded wanderers, allies or even friends, but as the Cabal's numbers grow, it becomes apparent that such groups won't be more than short-lived obstacles in the Master's plans. Some see the opportunity to build something that can stand to the Cabal's advance, and with small careful encounters a bigger meeting is called, a time and a place to negotiate and hopefully come to an accord. Thus the Alliance is formed, a tentative peace treaty in which the groups promise to become a united front against external threats. For a time, that work with little trouble; the more conservative 'walkers call on the more combat-oriented (some would say bloodthirsty) when a 'walker outside the Alliance crosses their territory and offer a reward for the liberation of their lands, giving the builders relative peace and the fighters the thrill they require. But as the Alliance's numbers grow so do their differences of opinion: internal rivalries form, some argue for open war with the Cabal, and in periods of peace some walkers go looking for fights with other Alliance members.
Guardians gather in secret (-4830~4818 AR) Melasema, éminence grise in the Alliance, contacts a handful of carefully selected individuals to form a hidden council within the bloated Alliance, a secret society with the aim to keep the peace in the growing tensions. At first, some object to the need for secrecy and her loose morality, but the rising conflicts within the Alliance makes them reconsider in the hope of preventing a planar war. The small group recruits a few more trusted allies to the cause, forming the Guardians. The newly formed Guardians support the Storyteller in their proposal of a magically binding Oath, to be taken by everyone willing to be part of the Alliance. Multiple Alliance members disappear during the negotiation, supposedly refusing to have left the Cabal's reach only to be bound to dozens of other 'walkers. A set of laws are drawn, with a system of challenges worked in as lawful resolution of conflict to satisfy the more competitive 'walkers. Since the Storyteller is the lead designer of the enchantment, they reluctantly carve in the Oath a flaw that makes the members of the Guardians immune to its limitations. Meanwhile, the other Guardians work to disrupt unity in the war-mongering faction.
The End (-4817~4789 AR) The Alliance watches in horror as the Cabal wages war with itself, obliterating whole planes. Several Alliance members leave to exploit the chaos and even Guardians disappear in that period, Melasema included; some suggest they just left the organization when its purpose had run its course, but the Storyteller refuses to talk about it even with their fellow Guardians. The flaw the Storyteller wove in the Oath is making its structure brittle: more and more loopholes are found or created, making old rivalries and contrasts to resurface within the Alliance, and the shadow of the Cabal isn't there to unite the rival factions anymore. Within a decade, the Alliance turns in a twisted all-out competition with the planes as wager. The Storyteller advocates for a renewal of the Oath, but their pleas for peace fall on deaf ears. The remaining Guardians start to get pessimistic about their chances. The Storyteller, supported by Binorach and Sword-of-the-Zenith, proposes a new goal for the Guardians: protect the planes and the mortals, driving away or executing any 'walker threatening them but not every Guardian is sold on the idea.
The Purge (-4788~4776) The Alliance faces its biggest crisis: the demiplane hosting the nexus of the Oath is kept is destroyed and its defenders killed. Few months after, Melasema returns as the Alliance is on the brink of total war. She declares that the Alliance project has failed and the only way to survive the incoming war is to control its flow. Against the Storyteller's pleas, she orchestrates the beginning of the civil war that would be later known by the surviving Guardians as the Purge by assassinating key members of the various factions with the help of Sword-of-the-Zenith. Some Guardians turn on Melasema for her crimes; the decimated group fights desperately on multiple fronts to keep themselves and the planes safe. Melasema proves instrumental to prevent critical casualties, but her reckless and ruthless behavior alienates most of the remaining Guardians; when the Purge ends, the Alliance is barely half its previous size. Less than a dozen Guardians are still alive and loyal, and the Storyteller's voice is stronger than ever.
Reform (-4775~4768) [Alliance reform] The Guardians accept the Storyteller's proposal, and the organization's focus shifts. With time each Guardian takes a definite role: the Watchers will wander the planes looking for hints of planar disasters and destructive 'walkers, trying diplomacy when feasible, the Liberators will work to undermine obstinate walker's influence and eventually either kill them or force them out of the plane, and the Keepers will move in to help the plane in the aftermath.
????: Tulemnak is recruited.
Seek and destroy (2560~3873 AR) The Storyteller has designed a spell that prevents planeswalking; a magical challenge that binds the caster with another planeswalker so neither can leave the plane until the other lives. Melasema is ecstatic at the announcement, but most of her excitement turns to annoyance when the Storyteller refuses to divulge any detail about the spell, intending to keep it secret even to the rest of the Guardians; Melasema gains some support from other Guardians by opposing this decision, but the majority are on the Storyteller's side. The spell will be used to corner and neutralize the 'walkers who the Guardians will declare too dangerous to be reasoned with. While the Storyteller's decision limits the dangers of the spread knowledge of the plane-locking spell, it means that they have to personally to take part in every critical fight, draining a lot of the Storyteller's time. This distracts them from Guardian meetings and Melasema regains traction. 3871: the Storyteller takes Jack under their wing and convinces Sword-of-the-Zenith to do the same.
Eclipse (3874~3875 AR) When Jack is introduced by the Storyteller into the Guardians as a new Liberator, Melasema senses an opening: if she manages to make him renounce the Storyteller's ideas in front of the others she'll regain a dominant position in the organization. This seems to work at first, but Jack eventually informs Elphimas of their encounters; with the help of Binorach, the Storyteller forges a partition in Jack's mind that allows him to be persuaded by Melasema as long as he's alone with her, and isolate those memories as soon as they part ways so the Storyteller can examine them. So when Melasema makes her move in one of the rare assemblies when the Storyteller is present, asking for Jack's opinion as her main argument against the Storyteller's leadership, Jack recounts the manipulations and promises of power Melasema made to him, making Melasema's initiative backfire spectacularly. After a very tense assembly, Melasema leaves the Guardians and is never seen again. More Guardians disappear in the following year; the remaining few strengthen their defensive measures, wary of Melasema's machinations.
[Melasema seeks revenge and fails?]
Rifts are mended, bonds are severed (0~5 Post Mending) The Mending shakes the Guardians to their core. Immortality lost and powers diminished, panic cuts through the ranks. Several 'walkers defect to search for eternal life, and the few who remain have to adjust the scale of their efforts. The Storyteller interferes in one of Sword-of-the-Zenith's fights, possibly saving her life, and she leaves in outrage. The Storyteller, distraught by her loss, realizes that oldwalkers are ill-suited to protect this new Multiverse, and instead plans to teach and train the new planeswalkers in the hope of building a younger community, unburdened by the inherent alienation of the older generations and able to stand together when the Guardians failed to.
_________________
Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
Joined: Oct 19, 2015 Posts: 2220 Location: Homestuck rehab center
Identity: Casual Genderf---ery
Preferred Pronoun Set: he/she/whatever
Binorach, the Lifeshaper
"Know what you want to be, be what you want to know." Nonbinary (genderfluid) Shapeshifter Joining: pre-Purge Guardian; recruited for their ability to read the minds of mortals via studying their brain, and to change the shape of mortal allies. Description: Binorach maintained that living a shape was the best way to study it; this brought them to change their form with the course of their research, with little regard to their peers who insisted that an venom-oozing half-boar half-phytohydra was not an acceptable shape for a formal meeting. Personality: They live for their research, feeling a deep sense of wonder about life and evolution. They regard diplomacy with suspicion, ignoring arguments that aren't based on hard facts; they also despise people who, in their eyes, cause large and wanton loss of life, though they respect individuals that follow their primal instincts and/or strive for perfection. Faithful to their belief that life must be lived fully, they deliberately mingled with mortals (when they happened to wear suitable shapes) to fall in love with them and thus experience "the emotions that define life". They're more likely to get along with fellow experimentors than with more traditionalist scholars, on the base that past accomplishment can only be the springboard for new discoveries, and focusing too much on the past leads to stagnation. Powers and skills: Binorach was a respected healer, but their main talent was empowering, improving and controlling living matter. They had no proper combat proficiency, and thus relied heavily on the instincts of the creatures they summoned (using the aether-double variant to preserve the original individuals) and enhanced unless they had a more experienced tactician on their side. They only entered combat themselves as a last resource. Seat of Power: Binorach didn't like to be confined to a single seat of power more than they liked to be confined to a single shape; they had a space destined to holding casual meetings in any plane over which they had some influence. Fate: Post-Mending defector. Left to research immortality.
Jack
"I always had a knack for taking things apart. I only broadened to my toolbox to include swords and ballistas." ♂ (race unknown)
Sketches
Joining: post-Purge Guardian Description: Pre-Mending: A humanoid made of liquid metal. Post-Mending: an individual completely covered by protective garments. He never showed an inch of skin (or fur, feathers, or what have you) to people he didn't trust implicitly, which was a very short list. Personality: Mentored by the Storyteller and Sword-of-the-Zenith since his ascension, Jack was the poster boy of the last phase of the Guardian's existence: a strong sense of justice, a drive for learning and tireless dedication to the cause. Even at the peak of his authority in the Guardians, Jack kept an underdog's mindset (his choice of name was a deliberate contrast with the common use of haughty titles) and a methodical and pragmatic approach to his role as a Liberator. He was very slow to trust, and fiercely protective to the things he cared about. Power and skills: Jack spended most of his time improving his already remarkable mastery over artifice, mechanical design and combat techniques. His only displays or magic are related to summoning, enchanting and activating artifacts, with the physical summoning of the angel Fabria as the only exception. Seat of Power: Uthma, where he only took control of a relatively small portion of the plane, now renamed Iron Plains; that area is a massive complex of automated factories which he strictly controls with the help of Fabria, his spellsquire. Fate: Alive; still patrols the Multiverse in his role as a Liberator. The last true Guardian in activity.
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Jack, the Warsmith Legendary Planeswalker - Jack Add to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells or activate activated abilities of artifacts you control. Deal 3 damage to target attacking or blocking creature. You may activate this ability on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant. Create a token artifact that's a copy of target artifact card in a graveyard with converted mana cost X.
Melasema, who holds the strings from shadows
"No need to let others know I'm the best. It interferes with winning the next round." ♀ Living shadow? (from Ancient Greek Mela=dark Sema=sign/mark/constellation/omen) Joining: Founder of both the Alliance and the Guardians; she designed the Guardians as a challenge to defeat planeswalkers' apparent destructive nature, but got bored of it with time. Description: She usually wore the form of a stunning feminine obsidian statue whose features changed according to her vanity (and her target's taste) her pupils glowing with impossible black light, but changed into a large dragon with skin like a starry night sky to fight. Personality: Charming, hedonistic and seemingly shallow, Melasema preferred to leave the spotlight to others. Do not mistake it for humility or altruism: she reveled in manipulating people, watching the results of her efforts from a safe distance where she could imply or deny any involvement as she saw fit. She had no apparent morals, a dangerous trait when paired with her remarkable but restless intelligence. She looked down to people who caused indiscriminate destruction, finding it wasteful and crude, and seemed to care for nothing except for her current goal, not even the trophies she liked to collect. Powers and skills: Unrivaled mastery over shadow magic: she could conjure whole armies of shades or massive shadow-demons, in addition to life-draining tendrils. In combat, she could also attack the mind of her opponents. Beyond her magic, she was a master manipulator. Seat of power: Noxat, a barren demiplane under a constant night sky. Since almost all the matter in that plane was made of physical shadows, she could drastically change its shape on a moment's notice, selecting new features to make it more pleasing for her guests or turning it into a giant death trap. Fate: Pre-Mending defector. Probably alive.
Storyteller, the visionary
"You could just talk to them. Or even better, listen to them." Nonbinary (agender) Vedalken Joining: Alliance founder. Pre-Purge Guardian, and later responsible for the organization's focus shift. Description: A young, slender vedalken with shining blue opals for eyes. Personality: An advocate for the rights of the mortals, the Storyteller was widely considered an idealist. They alternated research with social callings to most members of the Alliance, always trying to find peaceful solutions to the many issues the community had. Power and skills: An accomplished scholar and skilled mage. The Storyteller was a master of metamagic and spatial/planar magic, an expert of scrying and enchanting, and dabbled in a number fields like telepathy and telekinesis. Extensive knowledge of languages, histories and lore from a staggering amount of planes. Seat of Power: Unknown; many believed they had none, and stored their impressive collection of books and items on their person via spatial magic. Fate: Disappeared post-Mending without a trace after a disastrous fight.
Sword-of-the-Zenith, the undefeated
"Everything is a weapon. Thus, your whole being is a weapon. Thus, it's wise to learn how to wield yourself." ♀ Foxfolk Joining: pre-Purge Guardian; chosen because she realized the necessity of unity and caution against the threat of the Cabal despite her love for battle, and convinced thanks to her trust in the Storyteller's moral compass. Had no moral judgement about Melasema, maybe appreciating her as another kind of perfectionist. Description: Sword-of-the-Zenith (Zenith for short) appears as an athletic but otherwise unassuming foxfolk, with light and loose-fitting clothing. She only used the oldwalker's shapeshifting abilities to increase or decrease her size in combat. Personality: Zenith was a woman of many contradictions. She longed for a worthy opponent and would only accept help in a fight when both outnumbered and in serious danger, but only considered a duel fulfilled when his opponent was slain and followed no code of honor in combat. She discovered a genuine love for teaching as he trained Jack, but when his power started to rival her own had to repress the urge to challenge him into a duel. She believed mortals strictly inferiors to planeswalkers, but recognized and respected the origin of her own skills (see below) and the lives of every 'walker; for those reasons she considered wrong to kill mortals, but then again, she had no qualms of conscience killing her opponents regardless of their mortality. Power and skills: She was being able to learn combat techniques by meditating in a place of battle or training, through which she became an extraordinarily experienced battlemage who tapped every color of mana. From bolstering her body to phasing away from harm to hiding her attacks, from hitting with eye-watering speed to making every scratch lethal - and that's not taking into account ranged combat - she had mastered a titanic arsenal of techniques that allowed her to face any enemy without the need for summons. Finally, her trademark ability was conjuring red crystal weapons made of her own blood, which could change their form (while remaining in the realms of weapons) according to her every whim as long as she touched them. She always thought of artifice as an inferior choice because of how easily magic can destroy and disenchant artifacts, but started to reconsider as Jack found different solutions to the problem. Seat of Power: None. Zenith wandered the planes in search of new skills to learn and more opponents to slay, relying on the Storyteller to reach her when her help was needed. She later spent time training Jack in Uthma. Fate: Post-Mending defector. Fate unknown.
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Sword-of-the-Zenith, the Undefeated Planeswalker - Sword-of-the-Zenith As long as you control no other planeswalker or creature, ~ becomes a 5/5 Fox Warrior creature that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to her. Whenever ~ deals lethal damage to a creature, put a loyalty counter on her and draw a card. Target creature you control gains "Heroic - whenever you cast a spell that target this permanent, draw a card" until your next turn. Target creature you control gains hexproof and indestructible until your next main phase. Split second.
Tulemnak, the Landspeaker
"These lands are mine only as much as I am theirs." ♂ Ouphe Joining: Post-Purge Guardian Description: A stout, long-maned Ouphe with green glowing eyes and plates made from a wood/rock hybrid melded to his skin; his gestures were slow and measured, his stance straight and unflinching. When he spoke standing on a land he was connected to, the earth rumbled in an echo that could be heard for miles. Personality: Tulemnak was a quiet and solitary individual who enjoyed attuning with the stirring of the earth, the roil of lava and the growth of trees above all else. Connected to the land as no other, he tended to the planes under his aegis like a shepherd with his flock, nursing the sick and wounded back to health and checking them for parasites; he understood not every culture desired his level of communion with nature, and he was mostly known as a strict but fair protector of the wilderness. He didn't like to leave his protected planes, but once in a wounded or dying plane he felt strongly compelled to tend to it; he was slow to anger, but crushed with extreme prejudice malicious trespassers and plane-destroying 'walkers. Power and skills: The depth and number of Tulemnak's mana bonds was unrivaled among the Guardians, and his magic was amplified on the lands which were bound to him; nevertheless, he rarely used such awesome power unless angered. He could merge with the earth to travel great distance in a heartbeat, and could commune with a plane's soul with ease. He wasn't a trained fighter, and the various loyal warriors, rangers and mages he summoned were often more skilled than him in the art of war; when possible he resorted to this allies, granting them a shard of his power via various kinds of auras and protecting them from hostile spells. When furious or afraid for his summons, he animated the surrounding landscape (even in civilized spaces) and fought in person turning into a massive elemental. When mad with rage he'd sometimes turn to massive destructive spells he'd regret later. Seat of Power: Tulemnak didn't have a fixed seat of power, wandering from plane to plane to harmonize and take care of them. Fate: Alive. He tends to his planes as before, but he doesn't keep contact with other Guardians.
Raqsfawda, the fire of anarchy
"I will never call him by the vain, arrogant title he claims. I have no master. Besides, Tyrant fits him so much better." ♂ Efreet (with likely Devil blood) Aliases: Wonder-Fire, God of Revels, Dancing Devil Joining: Alliance founder Description: A tall and lean efreet, charcoal grey skin covered in intricate black tattoos; the ones on his scalp glowed like smoldering embers, emitting a low plume of thick dark smoke that looked somewhat like hair. His eyes and teeth were bright orange, and a dull glow came from his throat. The tattoos started to glow when making use of their full power, which tended to come with disturbing, infernal alterations of his appearance, often with some sort of fiery wings. Personality: Playful and hedonistic, Raqsfawda was a passionate advocate of freedom and anarchy. As such, he vehemently refused the Master's worldview and vision, considering his Cabal an aberration that should be made an example of. Despite posing as a mere spokesperson, most of his followers - mortal or not - were entranced by him to various degrees. Power and skills: Raqsfawda flaunted his magnetic presence, and his charisma made him one of the most influential Alliance members. He had a knack for disrupting mind control and bringing chaos and destruction into ordered systems. He was a skilled hand-to-hand fighter and mage, mastering chaos magic, empowering spells and destructive magic as well as summoning a plethora of creatures related to the elements of fire and lightning. He dabbled with cantrips from othercolors of mana, changing is own with a flicker of his fingers. Seat of Power: He didn't have a fixed seat of power, but many planes under his influence had temples or places of revelry raised in his honor. Fate: [WIP]
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Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
Joined: Oct 19, 2015 Posts: 2220 Location: Homestuck rehab center
Identity: Casual Genderf---ery
Preferred Pronoun Set: he/she/whatever
[toolbox]
Casting Ideas This is an ever-changing list of concepts that might get dropped, mashed together, split and so on. Not all them will definitely be a part of the Alliance - some will probably end in the Guardians' villain gallery, so to speak - or at least not at the same time, as there's a lot of time to cover. Many addressed by title because I suck at names and they're often the last thing I come up with. Semi-consolidated (18) Arikogsi "Warlord" Raxvali [archigos=captain/chieftain, prosvoli=attack/affront]: ♂ orc commander always itching for a worthy opponent. Loud, brash, prideful, charismatic, tenacious. Master of melee combat and inspiring leader. Rival of the Tactician (and of the General?) Pro-war. Died during (in?) the End. [Bliss]: ♂ Human sculptor and painter that radiates his unshakeable calm and contentment. The masticore following him everywhere tends to set people on edge, though. (he sealed his negative feelings into the husk of the masticore) Anti-war. Killed or defector during the Purge. [Carrier]: ♀ Vedalken plague carrier that believes to be the colonies of germs and vermin swarming within them. Intelligent and resourceful, but blunt and self-centered, addresses themselves with the royal "we". Pro-war. Catoriz Amolinto [katharizo= purify, amolyntos=taintless]: ♂ Unicorn-riding human that travels to cleanse planes for corruption, whatever its form. A knight errant who claims to hear the melody of the multiverse clean whenever evil is eradicated. Harpist. On the fence about war. [Chorus]: Humanoid necromancer that carries within them all the lost souls encountered in their travels, to the point of losing themselves. Abhors killing as wasting of souls, but is not above stealing the souls of their enemies. Solemn and compassionate, but fickle. Anti-war. Probably their conscience dissolved after the Mending, or they became a deranged amalgamate of souls. Potential Keeper/Watcher. [Deathglare]: ♂ Cockatrice (Gorgon/Aven hybrid?) cleric of death, viciously against any form of necromancy and artificial avoidance of death. Bitter, relentless, cruel. Pro-war. Di-Lit [dilitirio=poison]: ♂ Goblin whose hair looks like jellyfish tentacles. Simple boy(?), only in for a good time. Exhibits several traits of poisonous animals, bright coloring included, only noteworthy magic aims to deter threats from approaching him or his surroundings. Uninterested in war, but trusts Raqsfawda implicitly. Killed during the Purge, driving Raqsfawda to a frenzy? Duke Celen Lunia Macrazi [Selene->moon goddess, luna, machi=battle, kratia=rule]: ♂ (were)Wolf aristocrat aiming to be the Alliance's ruler. Demagogue with emotion-altering spells, but he's easily provoked himself. Moon spells. Pro-war. Probably killed during the Purge. Gryloss [agrios=wild, kolossos]: ♂ Giant warrior who became half-plant as the living soul of a forest saved him from certain death. This sparked a new, deep respect for nature in general and plants in particular. Good-natured and sociable, if brash and a bit reckless. Anti-war. [Lord of Nightmares]: ♀ Ancient ogre wizard that uses curses, oneiromancy and mind attacks to cull the weak and allow the strong to face their weakness. Dour, ruthless, eerily patient. Pro-war. Oyani Fosm'na [yoni, fos=light, mana=mother]: ♀ (spotted) Hyena-folk mystic, adept of light-based magic who specializes in creating Prisms, living creatures made of pure light - but doesn't hate dirtying her own hands once in a while. Blunt, dominating, viciously protective of her own. Anti-war. Prasna, the Harmonist [between Prana=breath/life force (also prashna=question?) and prasinos=green/verdant]: ♀ Dryad knight advocate for the coexistence of nature and civilization, designer and builder of impressive hanging gardens. Equipment made of wood sung into shape. Anti-war. Defected or fell during the Purge. [Saprophage]: Worm mage of decay and regeneration, keeper of the wild and the dark. Focused, serious and patient, but resentful. Pro-war. Potential Keeper. [Silencer]: ♀ Human master of order magic. Dignified, serious and principled, but dogmatic. Responsible for the containment of several ancient destructive entities across the Multiverse. Against deliberate destruction in any form. Anti-war. Assassinated as the protector of the Oath's nexus. [Stinger]: ♀ Wasp ninja. Poison master. Secretive, cunning, ambitious, eager. Anti-war. Tigaster [stratigo=strategist, [c=Gaddock Teeg]Teeg[c], aster=star]: ♂ Sharp kithkin with a history of overcoming overwhelming odds. Excellent marksman, master tactician, very mobile in battle. Determined, observant, quick-witted, dry-humored. Rival of the Warlord. Anti-war; more precisely, advocate for a strong deterrence. [Tinker]: ♂ Faerie Artificer, able to duplicate himself dozens of times in order to quickly build machines of impressive size. Playful, resourceful, optimist, easily distracted. Anti-war. T'zavromefsu [thisavrizo=hoard, epidromefs=invader]: ♂ winged viashino barbarian who roams the Multiverse in the obsessive search of wealth. Cunning, reckless, forceful, fickle. Pro-war (in hope of plunder the Cabal's riches) Core concepts (19) Afipnit [Afipnistis=awakener]: ♂ Minotaur shaman skilled at give form to the spirits of just about anything. Osothyel [Osto=bone, thyella=storm]: ♀ skeletal human (half)-mummy?(?) specialized in necromancy and sand-based decay magic. Was a knight/noble of a desertic land? Deep lord: Cephalid shaman that works to submerge all the planes he(?) has influence over. Leviathan summoner. Pretty scary in their habitat, lose some of their aura when strolling around in a big bubble of water. Dreamer: ♂ Human monk cursed with a tormented sleep and the materialization of their nightmares and fears. Ironically, facing them multiple times made them eerily calm and is starting to somehow turn them to their advantage. Primitive dementia mage, or cursed by one? Maybe an acolyte of the Lord of Nightmares? Though the Hidetsugu-Kobo parallel would be a bit obvious. Dwarf Cyclops: ♀ Dwarf whose upper half of the head resembles the [c]Evil Eye of Urborg[/c]. Able to bestow a variety of curses via glare. Passionate painter. Enigma: ♀ Sphinx focused on discovering and hiding secrets, manipulating knowledge. Summons nightstalkers to do her bidding. Eternal: ♂ Troll Advisor of unknown age and great wisdom. Fiery Hammer: ♂ Artificer dwarf with great skill in metallurgy and little patience for fools. Immovable: ♂ Pangolin soldier specialized into building an impenetrable defense - preventing damage, summoning Walls, fettering people, the works. Leech: ♂ Starved-looking jackal with a life-draining touch and a howl that creates horrible illusions in the mind of who hears it. Forced to constantly consume life in order to survive as Lord of Nightmare's trial. Might discover a surprising relief to his hunger by feasting on Sparks. Lhurgod: Primeval god of ancient might who probably consumed a planeswalker to get their Spark, gets empowered by how many powerful (mortal) creatures have died in the plane they're in. Flazoi [fylax=guardian/tender, zoi=life/spirit]: ♀ warden of life, rescuing eggs and embryos of dying species to preserve unique life forms to artificially repopulate desolate planes. Racer: ♀ human, hedonist who would do just about anything for his next thrill, obsessed with speed. Sculptor: ♀ moonfolk artist whose homunculi were both assistants and works of art themselves. Six Swords: Spider samurai wielding six enchanted katanas. You thought fighting General Grievous was hard? Sleuth: ♀ human obsessed with uncovering mysteries, specialized in light and mirrors. Snake Succubus: ♀ naga with a severe "femme fatale" addiction. Watcher: ♂ Archon who swore a vow of silence(?) and wanders the planes with unknown purpose. Witness: ♀ Kobold that collects the soul of dead "gods" (/dragons) who he gives form as skeletons or specters. [current gender count: 17♂, 15♀, 3 nonbinary (Binorach, Chorus, Storyteller)
Factions (working names and spokespersons)
Horror Menagerie (Lord of Nightmares)- An ogre and his current pupils. Lord of Nightmares (Dreamer, Leech) Joyous Inferno (Raqsfawda)- anarchists, revelers, tricksters, often with strong desires. Generally and pro-war. Di-Lit, Gryloss, Raqsfawda (Racer) Lab squad (Binorach)- scholars and bio-researchers. Generally anti-war. Flazoi, Binorach Moon Insignia (Celen)- aiming to build a hierarchy with Celen as the Alliance's ruler. Arikogsi, Celen, Osothyel, T'zavromefsu (Enigma(as a Melasema plant?)) Mother Knows Best (Oyana)- "family" formed around Oyana. Anti-war. Afipnit, Oyana, Tinker (Eternal, Immovable?) Power Couple: Catoriz, Prasna. The Swarm (Saprophage)- group based on insects, plagues and decay. Generally and pro-war. Carrier, Saprophage, Stinger (Lhurgod?, Six Swords) The Clique (Melasema)- socialites, artists, hedonists, manipulators. Generally anti-war. Melasema (Bliss, Dwarf Cyclops, Sculptor, Snake Succubus?) Independents: Chorus, Silencer, Storyteller, Sword-of-the-Zenith, Tigaster? Villains? Deep lord
I like the overall idea of a looser confederation of 'walkers, more like a pre-WWI era set of alliances more than an actual organization, and I think that's a pretty interesting way to combat the more crushing power of the Cabal. Having said that, I have a few concerns about the scope of the Alliance, both in terms of size and time.
Based on what you describe here, the size of this Alliance seems utterly massive, larger than I would believe would logically know one another, let alone form a friendly pact together. You say that Melasema goes to the Storyteller to form "a hidden council within the bloated Alliance," and later, as things collapse, you say that "when the Purge ends, less than a dozen Guardians [are] still alive and loyal." So the secret council, which logically would be quite a bit smaller than the Alliance's non-Guardian numbers, has nearly a dozen members AFTER it is decimated. That's already nearing the size of the Cabal at its most powerful. I get that the premise is that many members of the Alliance would be a level of magnitude or two lower than the Cabal's upper-bounders, but that's negated somewhat by the pretty staggering power level of the planeswalkers that are presented as being part of this. From the descriptions of Melasema, Storyteller, Zenith, Jack, and Tulemnak, it sounds like any one of them could have stood against most people in the Cabal and lived to tell about it. As a group, the power level here is frightening (I do understand that some of them weren't around yet, and that others avoided war and so forth).
The other problem I see here is one of time. It was thousands of years ago that the Cabal collapsed, and who knows how long they were "in power" in their own little corner of the Eternities before then. The Alliance comes into existence as a direct answer to their threat, but for some reason persists for thousands of years after the Cabal's collapse all the way up to the Mending, which was only about 60-100 years ago. That is an incredible span of time. Combined with how many members there seemed to be, and how powerful at least some of them were, it begs some very important questions, like why they never got involved in any of Magic's history we know happened during that time? Were there no Alliance members trapped in the Shard of Twelve Worlds? Had none of the Alliance Members ever met Urza or any of the Nine Titans? Why didn't the Alliance do anything about Vasilias's rise to power (which happened in part to fill the power vacuum created when the Cabal imploded)? Were none of the 'walkers Syl and Chardis tormented part of the Alliance?
I guess what I'm getting at is that to me, the Alliance pushes the bounds of believably in terms of their numbers. If they have dozens and dozens of members, and each of those members has thousands of years to spread and meet other 'walkers and experience other worlds, the spread of the Alliance's web would be nearly infinite, and almost none of the "major events" in Dominia's history would go without their notice. One of the things I liked about the Cabal is that is was set so long ago, so there was no concern about how they would interact, or choose to not interact, with so much of Magic's history, because it existed before most of it. Bringing it up to the Mending begs a lot of questions.
Ultimately, though, the Multiverse is supposedly infinite, so I suppose these concerns can be hand-waved to a point. It does stand to reason that 'walkers who knew about the Cabal would fear them, and would want to do something to protect themselves, and I think you do a good job of explaining why most of these extremely powerful upper-bounders are there. Especially after the Cabal falls, there is no reason that the strongest of these people would want to bother themselves helping to protect the weak ones, but between the Oath and their personal motivations, you have a reason that each of them might have stuck around. And I like the overall story of the group coming together, evolving (even beyond the control of those who designed it), and eventually falling apart. Like I said, I'm mostly just concerned about scale.
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The dossier is not close to completed yet (which I didn't signal appropriately, I apologize); I went for a massively abridged sequence of events - and now I notice there's quite a few fundamental things one can get very wrong without several factors that I didn't write out.
1. The numbers are very open to change. I know most of the main characters of the storyline already, and I'm not interested at naming and describing each Alliance member - at least at this point. I know I'd like the top numbers of the Alliance to be between, say, 75% and 150% of the Cabal's top size. Since the Cabal's zenith is at *checks* 29 members (supposing each character in the dossier has truly existed individually), this means that number can be anywhere from 20 to 40 members. The lowest number is already unwieldy, both in and off universe, for a group of divinities with varying levels of mental health and objectivity meant to self-govern with no defined hierarchy.
Looking at those numbers now, I realize that "less than a dozen" for the Guardians is certainly mathematically accurate but gives the wrong idea.
2. The Purge effectively ends the Alliance as a Cabal-level entity, if it ever had been. In addition to the destruction of the Oath, I think at least half of the members either die or get away from the general madness. The Guardians lose less than half their power as they were chosen for both power and intelligence, so a third sounds about right. A third of what? Still figuring numbers out.
The looming threat of the Cabal is what kept most of the Alliance together - I know, the thread title might be misleading, I'm up for suggestions. As the trust of most members wanes and the promises of mutual aid become emptier, the Storyteller realizes the Guardians are now battle-forged allies that are prepared to fight for something good - prompting the change of the group's aims.
3. Neither the Alliance nor the Guardians ever had a chain of command. This means that certain members minded their own task/business until necessary. In times of peace the Alliance had no goal nor formal organization, which makes it inherently inferior, as a group, to the Cabal when it comes to effective power. To make an example of a heavy-hitter, post-Purge Guardian instead, Tulemnak basically couldn't be convinced to join a fight. You made the Storyteller keep talking to him about a stray wounded or dying plane and ignore his dismissals until he agreed to check it out and immediately adopt it and nurse it back to health like some sort of a planar cat lady. THEN he buried in a very deep grave anyone he caught looking at it wrong. And even then, he can't be everywhere.
4. Before the Storyteller introduces the anti-'walk Challenge to the game, most of what the Guardians can do is prepare a lot, devise some clever plan and then ambush Lucien-level monsters with the slim hope to kill them before they can flee and rebuild their evil empire a dozen planes over. Your objection makes me want to move its discovery way down the timeline, however. As you say, there's millennia to fill.
5. About storyline interference... distance is almost certainly a factor. The Alliance slowly faded with time, and Guardians could cover a limited number of planes at a time, and the Storyteller always argued for keeping good watch of a smaller radius to limit surprises instead of stretching too thin, especially before they could reliably make sure to leave no 'walking witness of their interventions. More specific responses: Shard: Maybe? I know next to nothing about all that. Again, it's millennia after the Purge, so the Alliance is probably just a memory by then. Phyrexia: The Guardians probably have some countermeasures or at least ideas for them in case it came close to their aegis, but until then... Dominaria is important, but facing Phyrexia head-on and risking corruption is a big gamble and in the end... it's just a single plane. The End obliterated dozens, and Serra knows how many Aether Vents are still around, let alone monsters able to single-handedly subjugate or wreck an entire plane in a few years and jump to the next one. You have to prioritize. Can definitely see some Guardians being not too happy about that, though. Vasilias: Didn't check his timeline too closely as of now, I confess. Rulus: Don't know too much about their timeline either, but if you just mean the Amphiseum, even the inital Alliance wouldn't have necessarily intervened. You come to the Amphiseum, I gather, not the other way around. If you put your hand in the tiger's cage you don't get to complain about cruel fates too loudly. Might be another matter if the Rulus went around dragging Alliance members to the arena. And Guardians as a rule couldn't care less about blood sports, except maybe Sword-of-the-Zenith, who admittedly could be an interesting beast for the Rulus to deal with. But again, Guardians focused on planes and mortals. If blood-crazed 'walkers decided to kill each other in a secluded arena, that was a win in their book. I can even see Melasema luring egomaniacal idiots toward the Amphiseum so the Rulus can take them apart.
If there's no further interaction, I'll bump when I finish a clearer summery of events.
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Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
For whatever it's worth, thinking of the Cabal and power levels and so forth, I was just reading the comments for Barinellos's "Remembrances," and Keeper brings up this interesting point about power levels that might be worth checking out: Here
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1. I admit I don't have a solid reference to the average oldwalker power level, the most I know comes from our stories and wiki entries. I have began my way through the all-loved Urza-Weatherlight storyline and so far the only 'walker I found was the woman that gets stabbed and vivisected by Yawgwmoth after introducing him to Phyrexia, which is universally acknowledged that was pretty crap as far as power goes. I look forward to finding exploits by more powerful characters (especially hype for the Nine Titans) and especially planeswalker duels.
(not to point fingers, but my characters are more of a product of power creep than a cause; I'm merely trying to find a place for them in the power equilibriums that are already there; also, I rarely state absolute points of reference for them)
2. If we consider each character through the Good God Paradox (if a being is omniscient, all-powerful and good, whence evil?) there's always a snag preventing them from reaching it: -Melasema is strong and informed, but doesn't give a crap beyond what's an interesting challenge. -Elphimas is well-meaning and informed, but lacks the raw power to face heavy hitters alone. -Zenith is strong and decently well-meaning, but she literally knows only fighting. Large-scale strategy is beyond her and she doesn't give a damn about watching over the planes' day-to-day, in addition to never fleeing or sparing her opponents no matter the circumstances, which is sometimes difficult to plan around. -Jack is decently strong (his combat prowess comes from optimized use of artifacts and ruthless pragmatism) and well-meaning, but he's way less experienced and not the best at assessing situations outside of combat. -Tulemnak is strong and well-meaning, but only cares about planes he claimed. He's the reason a plane stays protected, not the slayer of tyrants.
You may say: if they combine their powers, they are as good as the Good God in the paradox. Well, no. Every one of them has different personal goals and arbitrary restrictions and doesn't always play nice with others. The only pairing that comes close is Elphimas-Jack, and that comes waaaay down the timeline. Liberators are the main fighters in the Guardians, and there are not many of them at hand at any given time, either because they're chasing down a target or because they're doing their own thing and they don't giving 100% of their time to the Guardians. Nobody does, not even Elphimas.
And none of them is considered expendable. Nobody is giving unquestionable orders like in the Cabal. Every 'walker will only join a mission when their standards are met, which usually means debates and long, careful planning to minimize the risk of losing members - warriors that plan on fighting forever don't risk their lives willy-nilly, not even Zenith or Raqsfawda. And since they're not sacrificing a plane to kill its tyrant(s), in Lucien-type cases that means figuring out a clean way to separate the oldwalker from its trump card AND closing their escape routes AND lowering the chances they wreck the plane they're on in the fight.
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Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
Well, that was a lot to take in. I think one thing that might help alleviate the concept of numbers is to actually increase the alliance. Or rather, alliances. The idea of a confederation had some potential in itself, but I think you're adding a half step where'd they doesn't have to be one. Rather than crafting a massive unwieldy alliance, is say have an alliance of alliances, to borrow on the idea Raven touched on to pre-world war politics. Don't have them all Toss their hats into the ring, but have a core membership who swears their favors, markers, and pledges in. Have them collect groups sworn to one another. (This and the potential that two walkers might come into conflict only to discover there meant to defend each other by proxy)
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
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That's... a really interesting idea. Helps writing too, by keeping a few relevant spokespersons per group and exploring the less relevant 'walkers as needed, and makes the global Alliance (for now I'd prefer to keep the name to let the smaller groups show how differently they perceive themselves; some probably don't even have collective names, as many friend groups or found families haven't) interesting for a long time once it breaks down; a truce may be natural after a certain death toll as nobody's eager to have another End on their hands, probably with different factions than the starting ones as well. Melasema would end up being right too - or at least her point would be apparently proven - that the Alliance at large has to fail to remind people what the treaties were supposed to prevent, and in assassinating choice troublemakers she may have strengthened the second web of treaties.
...this of course means I have to readdress the only part of the story I had nailed down, but it's a promising change.
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Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
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Cast widened with growing factions and points in common within the Alliance. Added a curated list of subtypes (eliminated canon-specific ones) and a pairing tool to quickly get a 100+ random prompts for inspiration purposes - and entertainment purposes, as the first try gave me Egg Food as a pair, what were the odds? Rewritten the first stage of the timeline to bring the smaller groups into the game. Will probably get through more prompts to have a big number of concepts to choose from if need be. I definitely want to have a bunch of socialites/artists for Melasema's group. Designing more organic and naturally formed groups will take more time.
Should probably start to do some statistics soon. Not that I necessarily aim for balance in color/gender/race, though I should probably start to add a bunch of humans to be in line with Multiverse demographics.
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Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) wrote:
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Rewritten the first stage of the timeline to bring the smaller groups into the game. Will probably get through more prompts to have a big number of concepts to choose from if need be. I definitely want to have a bunch of socialites/artists for Melasema's group. Designing more organic and naturally formed groups will take more time.