Void Weavers

You don't have to play a human if you don't want to! Well - certain limitations notwithstanding, of course. All details related to canonical species or highly specific ethnic groups are to be found here.
Forum rules
Please note that currently, most available documents will be posted in short-form, if not in telegraphic structure. Given enough time, I'll replace each and every short-form document with a more thoroughly researched and written entry. For now, you'll only have the bare-bones info required in order to get started.
- LEAM
Post Reply
User avatar
IamLEAM1983
Site Admin
 

Posts: 3707
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
Location: Quebec, Canada

Void Weavers

Post by IamLEAM1983 »

- earliest single moment in history has to be Creation itself. Emergence of Space and Time
- triggers physics as we know them and pushes back areas that *don't* obey physics into theoretical spaces no known species is able to tap into. Not even with the most cutting-edge scientific expertise
- Quantum Physics, for instance, involves tapping into the spaces where physics stop applying. It never involves *looking* into these spaces or exploring them. There's a good reason why
- every sapient species in this universe deeply, instinctively knows NOT to try and explore the Far Reaches - whatever it is that's beyond Faerie. Even the craziest of all ghosts knows it, the most ruthless of all demons knows it
- there are some things NOBODY is meant to explore or know... Not even God's closest lieutenants.

- for instance: was God around before Creation? Did he come into being *because* the Universe was created? That's something no stretch of physics could possibly answer
- there's a theory, however, that states that God was around *before* Creation - and that he wasn't alone.

- so what's out there? Probably antagonistic principles of Creation that obey laws of physics, Space or Time that differ from our own.
- things that USED to have Creations of their own. Did God usurp them to create our universe? Did He betray them? Nobody could possibly know
- some people think God did do something to anger these other principles. He took something away from them. He took *power* away from them. Why?
- Again - God isn't talking

- what *is* known is that these antagonistic principles are PISSED. Angry on a scale no mortal or supernatural mind could possibly comprehend
- they see Creation and hate it with every fiber of what we'll call a being for lack of a better word

- there's talk that outside the boundaries of our universe, there's cosmic lymph of sorts. Leftovers from other rules, other places, other times and spaces that Used to Be
- we can't survive there. We can't even pretend we'd be able to *exist* there. We're not attuned to them, we're not made *of* them
- drop the strongest of all immortals into the seas of the Far Reaches - it'll die. No matter how strong that person has become, it *cannot* survive outside of the boundaries that define organic life as we know it

- the catch is, some of the former gods found ways to cheat the Creator. They're creators themselves, and they remember doing it with other lifeforms and other rules
- Amaxi the Many-Armed and Her Brothers are just one group out of incalculable numbers. Most are dead themselves, or don't care anymore. Unfortunately for us, those we call the Others still do care...

- there's no easy archeology or fossil record to show how Void Weavers came into being. Few people have ever studied them
- all that's known is that the Others took something of Creation - squids and octopi, in this case - and twisted it, very early into the phylum's formation, millions of years ago
- before dragons came, before the angels even found the time to visit Earth, the Void Weavers were there, in the oceans' depths.

- records are hard to obtain because their entire structure is based on Non-Euclidian thought
- we tend to assume even dragons found out how to think logically, defined sense and nonsense over the course of their light-speed evolution. That every sapient species does.
- this never applied to the Weavers. They embraced a complete lack of mathematical logic, they developed the intelligence to revere destructive and chaotic randomness
- somehow - against all odds - they formed cultures based on this. They became sentient while defying what makes sentience possible in the first place
- because of that, nobody in the surface world's traditional sciences can create a record of their history or their culture
- their tongue, the Black Speech, is not only impossible to articulate for most of us, it's actively noxious to the average surface-dwelling mind
- their religion and culture both follow the same principle. Chaos, death and destruction *will* uplift them, in their belief system
- they don't fear death, disease or personal injury. They don't fear promiscuity or licentious behavior. They don't fear excess. Why?
- because their physical form is meant to be an insult to the White God. Their religion is a conscious offense, and their spreading it to the surface world is their weapon

- as a result, Void Weavers evolved as extremely intelligent and cunning predators. Unpredictability comes naturally to them, and they still can adapt to more common thought patterns
- master necromancers and practitioners of fairly abhorrent and defiling practices. Very good at twisting foreign flesh into something it was never meant to be
- very good at twisting foreign minds out of shape - either insidiously or in more overt and aggressive ways
- they laugh at the idea of surface-dwelling cultures giving their cult a name, but we call the basis of their faith the Void. They worship everything we aren't
- we're the ones who call their holy tomes the Black Books. We don't know how many there are, how the collection is organized, or how to tap into these tomes' knowledge the way the Weavers can
- they're helping us, though - pushing translated editions of the Black Books throughout history because they know the material is dangerous, powerful and insidious.
- they know someone who's desperate or greedy enough will give it a try. It's in our nature, immortal or otherwise, and they see us as weak and afraid

- so where are they? Everywhere, technically. Hiding behind masks of flesh they prepare using special rituals and regular sacrifices. Fairly unnatural damage is the only thing that would break the spell and reveal their true selves
- masked Void Weavers smell human, think human, feel human and register as human to every single piece of tech we've ever designed. They can even pass blood tests and X-Rays

- where are they from, specifically? All sorts of undisclosed islands around the globe. South Pacific, near Thailand or Japan. Hawaii. Bimini. Dots of land near the Orkneys or just out of reach of Rhode Island borders
- islands meant to be ignored, forgotten - unless they want you to find them. You don't find their shores unless you've been Called. Satellite and radar doesn't work. GPS doesn't work. Islands the Others cut off from the rest of the world
- if you're not lucky, you've been captured by them or their thralls. Then you *will* find one of their islands...

Dalarath
- these islands are special. They all have a small lake or pond near the center. Every so often, those ponds open up and become channels to the Weavers' high seat of power - Dalarath
- Dalarath isn't anywhere near the surface. Some deep-sea cave hidden at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Really deep and very close to planet's mantle
- warmth and light comes from lava flows. Ponds and lakes of sulfuric acid. Gigantic mushrooms and cave-dwelling species we'd consider impossible or plain alien

- it's their one and only city, and it's big enough to make New York feel like a small town. Hundreds of millions of them.
- their name comes from their abilities. Master mentalists. They can guide matter with their mind, coax it into anything they need it to be. Anything from entire neighbourhoods for Dalarath to clothes, fineries, etc.
- being so deep, they're familiar with how minerals and precious or rare metals are formed. Even the lowliest member of their prelacy is going to be awash in conjured wealth
- essentially, what we consider as being marks of wealth is just plain incidental beauty for them, as easy as it is for them to create

Weaving the Void
- they manipulate antimatter on a conscious level. This allows them to pull atoms together or force them apart
- essentially emulates telekinetics and allows them to lock attackers in bubbles of suspended physics. Guns don't fire because the gunpowder doesn't go off, etc.
- atoms pulled together can create nano-scale versions of just about any weapon. Technically "invisible" blades, gun-like effects, sources of concussive energy
- then can also "thicken" air around themselves so projectiles are slowed enough for them to become non-lethal
- one effect at a time, though. Augurs have some latitude, but everyone else can be overwhelmed fairly easily

- also involves manipulating flesh of others. Can be overt (War Forms) or discrete (locking biological clock and biochemistry into seemingly eternal slumber)
- can't alter themselves, but Augurs tend to be "naturally" altered by their incurred otherwordly gratitude. Will appear unfazed by extreme morbid obesity or remain unusually active despite severe physical impediments

Walking the Void
- refers to dreaming. All sleeping Void Weavers in higher ranks of religious order travel to the Far Reaches in spirit
- they go to the Darkhallow, a keep located on an island off the coast of Darkest Winter
- lucky few meet with an aspect of one of the Others, but they mostly use their off-time to hold conferences as needed
- explains their tremendously fast adaptation rate and how difficult it is to shake them en masse
- some of the Called sometimes join in, but it's fairly rare

- even traitors keep Walking the Void in their sleep. They can't be harmed or forced to talk, but it still makes for an unpleasant experience
- you're a squid and you're sticking to the far corners of the Darkhallow, or you want to be alone with books and reference material? You've got something to hide or you're plotting something...
- still a useful place. Darkhallow isn't constrained by petty mortal laws, so physics can adapt as needed.
- traitors have managed to hide entire mansions within the bigger keep, entire libraries
- the more twisty the corridors, though, the more the other visitors will suspect something is up

- schemers spend a lot of time sleeping as a result. Augurs try and cut off entire wings for their own use and add on corridor after corridor. Traitors do very much the same
- the trick is to make the dream-route so twisty the other squids or their Called servants wake up before finding you out

- it's rare and it takes a lot of effort, but you *can* completely cut off a section of the Darkhallow for your own use
- this is less useful, though, as it becomes the only chunk of the Far Reaches you can travel to. You're barred from everywhere else
- cutting yourself off gives you more control, though. You're no longer stuck to the core structure's "Marine Lovecraftian à la Gothic". You essentially gain admin rights of your own little chunk
- the Darkhallow has middens and torture chambers, though... If you're there, then, your body's asleep, maybe unable to wake up, and your mind is in Hell, figuratively speaking

- ex: Chauncey. In the Far Reaches, he's managed to turn his cell into a mansion within the bigger mansion. He's locked away and nightmare creatures will get him if he opens his doors...
- ...but while in there, he's managed to stockpile a *ton* of Void Weaver secrets and to spend centuries studying

- in practice, this means Weavers only have to take a snooze to gather more mind-rending knowledge. The trick is you need the other person's approval, though, or you have to be really good at sneaking around...
- distances and complexity shrink when two dreamers are close to one another. Friends or coworkers or family.

- Walking the Void allows them to "hack" their way to new skills to a degree. You don't wake up with a clear and conscious knowledge of what you've picked up. It's fragmented, haphazard and hard to piece together
- process can take several days for basic skills, weeks or months to a few years for anything from technical aspects to lifelong career skills

- can also be used to dilate time subjectively. If you fall asleep in the Darkhallow, you wake up there again, but on a deeper level. Fall asleep within your own dreams a few times in a row, and you can turn five minutes into five hundred years
- the deeper you go, though, the less stable the Darkhallow becomes for you, and the harder it is for you to bring your earned skills to your conscious mind
- artificially aging your conscious mind and waking up in a relatively young body can be a difficult experience, even for them

- squids who push this too much usually end up cracking

Flesh Masks
- involves sacrificing a surface-dweller that's going to serve as the "template" and preparing a mixture. Composition is closely guarded. Human or anthro tallow is suspected to be main ingredient
- mixture is then diluted in a deep tub of water.
- Void Weaver steps in for a few minutes, then out again
- Tallow and other ingredients will harden, even as corresponding hair will grow and blood will flush the new "skin"
- fairly long-lasting replacement for veils, two weeks per dose, and sacrifice is only required once
- effect is falrly resilient. Human shell will respond to sunburns, frostbite, temperature shifts, etc. in a realistic manner
- small injuries will be reproduced adequately. Cuts, bruises, etc.
- thermal scanners, cameras, EMF detectors, X-Ray machines will all be fooled
- severe injuries will disrupt the mask's intended effects and allow for it to decay quickly
- tentacles are the first things to poke through, usually

Society
- they only have one rule. One guiding rational precept. Look out for Number One. Entire culture rewards greed, ambition and treachery. Considered as one of the normal means for politicial or social gain

a) The Augur
b) Chamberlain
c) Oracles
d) Arbiters
e) Prelates
f) Chattel
g) Abominations
h) Covert Agents - Speakers

a) The Augur
- speaks directly to the Others and brings Their will forth
- is still naturally encouraged to favor personal ambitions, seeing as this keeps you active - and alive
- regularly embodies the "best" of Void Weaver ethos. High intellectual flexibility, largest basic mental capabilities, greed, lust, gluttony, sloth, etc.
- can directly receive the Others' favor for heightened resistance to morbid obesity, superhuman cardiovascular strength, sustained physical capability, etc.
- is also the first one to be judged by Them. Could lose their favor in a heartbeat
- has to watch out for inevitable treachery from Chamberlain
- can live elsewhere, provided a pool of some kind allows for travel and communication

b) Chamberlain
- advises the Augur on religious and political matters
- formally discouraged from claiming to be little more than a servant, but treachery is the only way to the next rung
- tends to represent more intellectual forms of corruption. Greed, ambition, wrath
- usually malnourished because of their own single-minded focus, as sickly as Augurs are grossly fat
- is in turn advised by Oracles, who are very likely to try and assassinate or impeach him

c) Oracles
- Dalarath is divided in dozens of smaller boroughs they call Chapels
- each Chapel reveres a different Other or a different combination of Others
- Oracles are born as such and have nothing to fear from Arbiters. Usually sons of other Oracles or of the Augur
- they have absolute power over Arbiters
- with several hundred thousand people under their control, they tend to feel like the base prelacy's most direct line to the Others
- most have a fairly large amount of power
- more physically diverse. They lack the energy or time to devote themselves to marks of their stature, so most aren't *disgustingly* fat or thin
- they still have local eating privileges, so eating disorders are still encouraged.
- is this involves anorexia or certain forms of bulemia, discarded food isn't redistributed to Arbiters and Prelates - it's left to rot, offered to the Void

d) Arbiters
- no species will tolerate suffering forever, even if it's socially encouraged
- bottom rungs of Void Weaver society can be extremely violent.
- Arbiters are essentially judge, jury and executioner rolled into one. Dissension is not tolerated
- essentially Void Weavers dedicated to preserving the Void's worship - at whatever cost. Skills refined for excessive pacification or murder
- crime isn't really a concept that applies. The only thing that they have to enforce is a lack of heretical behavior
- Heresy includes doubting of the Void's promised oblivion, of the Weavers' task
- or attempting to contact the outside world for purposes other than corruption

e) Prelates
- bottom-rung Void Weavers. Their only purpose is to pray, to maintain the Others' awareness of their faith
- beyond that, they're base-line reproducers
- being unisex, they're known to instigate top-bottom relationships quickly and aggressively
- love never plays into partnerships. Strength and viability of potential spawn is the only thing that matters
- as a species, they quickly know which clutch of eggs is going to be fruitful. The others are used as a high-protein base for food

f) Chattel
- usually sea-dwelling sapient sorts. Mac Loch, selkies, fin-men, or captured crew from claimed vessels
- luxury slaves for lucky Prelates, handmaidens and butlers. Usually extremely abused
- used as a source for genetic diversity, as Void Weavers can still procreate in a recognizable manner
- Oracles and Agurs will take anthro, theriomorph or human wives on occasion
- again, love rarely plays as a factor, though Weavers can have favourites
- usually worked to the bone, unless they're part of a harem of sorts. Dead ones are dropped in acid pools or reused to create Abominations or War Forms

- War Forms: former slaves twisted both physically and mentally into utterly lethal instruments. Very rarely sentient.

g) Abominations
- sometimes created to serve as specialized helpers or house-mates, if sentient. Can be oddly revered or held in consideration
- if not sapient, will usually be put to work to widen Dalarath's cavern, to fish or to mine

h) Speakers
- covert agents who have left Dalarath to seed Void cults or bring about new versions of the Black Books on the surface
- Augurs or Oracles can double as Speakers, if they want or need to

- Dalarath also depends on its islands' local communities. South Pacific pirates who corral people, demand ransoms for some and send others to the city
- remote fishing communities who sequester or capture anyone who ventures close
- decayed coastal fishing villages, etc.

Being Called
- you're Called if your personal history and personality is suitably criminal and/or degenerate. Seems wide, but very few people have ever been Called in history
- Call is usually seeded by a Speaker who spots worthy sorts

- the Call involves recurring dreams and nightmares, guiding visions and voices all controlled by the Augur
- individuals can take decades to put the pieces together, even as their sanity starts to crumble. It can be a long, long time before they find their way to a fitting island
- locals know how to spot Called. The Speaker psychically "brands" the person with something the surface cultists are trained to feel
- the Called are usually being hand-picked to lead another coastal or island community, another portal to Dalarath
- involves a careful balance of insanity and affected stability, a marriage of surface-dwelling skills and faith of the Void
- most importantly, involves a sense of restraint

- the Weavers know Order has its champions. The best way to make sure the Called succeed is to make sure they understand Chaos as a goal - not something that can be attained on a terrestrial level
- the more insidious the chaos, the more hard it is to pick out, the more they value it. Raw mayhem goes nowhere very, very quickly
- the squids are utterly ruthless at dispatching problem-causing surface-world emissaries. The last thing the Weavers need is the Others' favor slipping, islands being discovered and Dalarath invaded

Traitors to the Cause
- sometimes, a member of the chattel gets wind of certain formulas, or a member of the Prelacy snaps
- seen as forgiveable weakness, but outstanding acts of corruption are needed to reassert your position as one of the Faithful
- what's rare but still does happen is Prelates escaping. Sometimes with their "family" (partner and hatchlings)

Ex: Anton Azardad wants *everyone* to be free of the Others - but he's willing to put test subjects and guinea pigs through utter Hell to find a way to give humans and anthros Void Weaver abilities
- may lead to conspiracies, casual murder, abuse. He'll do absolutely anything, so he's not that reccomendable
- his only limits come from the fact that he's more a handler and a scientist than a fighter. He'll indoctrinate people to carry out assaults for him, though, if need be

- not always to serve Order, though. Some Prelates just have different theories on the use of Chaos and on the Weavers' place before the Others
- some do, though. Living cut away from the Void is very hard for them. Their cultivated contempt means they know jack squat about surface world
- some Speakers turn to the enemy, sometimes. Augurs living abroad have never failed the cause, not in all of the species' history

Cults
- discretion is paramount. Not quite like our cults in the last run
- they can take several forms. Escort services, modern-day pirate gangs, various businesses and firms
- high-functioning humans and anthros are preferred to drooling zealots. Unproductive zealotry is frowned upon

- unfortunately, surface minds can only take so much Void Weaver authority
- even if you're really conservative and careful, messing with your people's minds starts an irreversible chain of mental decay
- sooner or later, even your best and most stable cronies fuck up. You need to dispatch them.

ex: Guild of Makers, Tako Studios, Dr. Azardad (he implanted Three), George Gammell

- considering, standard practice involves "opening them up" with Black Speech only once in a slow and controlled exposure to nuclear chaos

Cult Burnouts
- what happens when you've been touched by a squid's mind too often
- similar to Renfield Syndrome, but *much* more aggressive. Deadly actions are almost guaranteed
- everything falls apart, except for the desire to please your Void Weaver master

- cult burnouts are easy enough to spot: typically incredibly filthy, usually smelly, wild-eyed, malnourished, dehydrated. Tendency to refuse food or drink
- incoherent, prone to babbling. More than enough reason for squids to terminate them, as they could blab Cult secrets to police
- their final, most aggressive displays are usually lethal and usually end up undermining the cult's plans. Not enough coherence left to take cult survival or goals under consideration
Post Reply