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[Iituem]

Previous:  | Current: In which the original post is made. | Next: In which Lvantha Talaoia is born.

There is world where magic is real, where the gods do battle with the lives of men.  There is evil on this world, and evil is a real, tangible thing, but there is also good.

A terrible force has risen in this land, a font of darkness that threatens to cloak the world in destruction and chaos once more.  Yet amidst the darkest, most terrible of places hope still springs.  From this hope, from the desperate prayers and pleas of the meek, good converges on a single point.

A form arises, beautiful and terrible, whose glory is beyond the human mind's power to encompass.  Instead, men will see an approximation-

Namely: (Wings, brilliant skin, writhing tentacles, a glowing light?  Anything else?)

Your form compresses instantly into a more manageable one, a human clad in simple white robes.  You fall to your knees on the muddy ground.  You try to speak your name.  It glides effortlessly off the tongue you wear, but fails to fully describe its beauty.  Despite the limitations of your human vocal chords, fresh blades of grass and small flowers sprout from the mud around your knees as you speak your name-

Which is: (Anything you please!  Probably vowels over consonants.)

You dig your fingers into the wet dirt, trying to overcome the horrible pain of mortal form.  As you slowly regain coherence, you become aware of blood streaked into the mud.  You look up and take your bearings.  You can feel everpresent low-grade evil around you, spite and malice, greed and pride and cheap, petty violence.  A place that truly needs your help.  You find yourself in-

Somewhere Evil: (A battlefield?  Near a small, spiteful village?  A bandit camp?  A dark shrine?  A torture keep?  Somewhere else?)


Now this blatantly is a rip-off of Demonhood, but I'd rather call it an homage to NUKE's work.  This is the reverse of Demonhood; you are an angel.  This actually is a quest of redemption, and you earn bonus points for creating order and bestowing benevolence.

But since this is the Bay12 forums, also for smiting the s--t out of evil at every turn.  Remember that you are good, not nice.  You can get away with plenty of 'means' so long as the 'ends' turn out alright.  Being essentially an inversion of a demon, you will have many of the same powers - how you use them should be different.


Chapters

In which Lvantha Talaoia is born.
In which our valiant hero is blocked by a wooden gate.
In which a forceful suggestion is employed.
In which faith is found, doubt exercised.
In which the first luxpanap is created.
In which a company is slain, a necromancer deposed.
In which the gods are praised, retribution exacted.
In which redemption is offered, souls given form.
In which a temple is discovered, desecration abhorred.
In which food is considered, good men found, evil men reputed, wards examined.
In which slaves are rescued, overseers overthrown.
In which unconditional surrender is accepted, an amulet destroyed, an amulet forged, armies trained, mines improved, resistance impressed, castles fortified.
In which spies are captured, spies brainwashed, mercenaries discouraged, armies spotted, wards broken.
In which sacrifices are made, armies routed, victories obtained, negotiations entered.
In which a new town is reached, information gathered.
In which rudeness is spoken, parley denied.
In which youth is restored, fealty reminded.
In which paltry recruits are inducted, a site is considered, faith is scouted and dreams invaded.
In which dream counsel is given, an army is set to march and children are whispered to.

Peasant: 1 Str, 1 Mind.  1 hp, 6 morale, 1 mobility.
Spearman: 2 Str, 1 Mind.  1 hp, 10 morale, 1 mobility.
Maceman: 3 Str, 1 Mind.  1hp, 10 morale, 1 mobility.
Swordsman: 4 Str, 1 Mind.  1hp, 12 morale, 1 mobility.
Zombie: 1 Str, 0 Mind.  1 hp, non-morale, 0 mobility.  Undead fight to the death, but at half strength without a clear power source.

Luxpanap: 3 Str, 2 Mind.  2 hp, 12 morale, 1 mobility.  +3 Str vs demons/undead.
Armed Luxpanap: 5 Str, 2 Mind. 2 hp, 12 morale, 1 mobility.  +3 Str vs demons/undead.

Shade: 0 Str, 1 Mind.  Cannot be attacked physically save by silver or desecrated weapons, cannot physically attack.  Special Attack: Haunt - Drives victims insane or inspires terror.  Invisibility.
Greater Shade: 0 Str, 2 Mind.  Abilities as Shade.

Angelic Glossary
or, things which Lvantha is aware of.

Lvantha was born with a certain amount of a priori knowledge which reveals itself automatically when things are encountered.  Other things she must learn herself.

Angels: An entity composed entirely of pure Good, formed out of the good thoughts in the minds of men.  Have distinct forms and personalities, potentially great physical and mental powers, and rely on mortals for support and sustenance.  Angels can gain power from worship and hope, from destroying evil souls, from artefacts and from age.

To Lvantha's knowledge, there are no other angels in the world, but there once were.

Children: Innocent, often noble young mortals of weak body and mind.  Abstracted to 2 children = 1 adult where possible.  Children are precious.

Cults: Organised groups of demon- (or angel-) worshippers.  Vary from groups of mortals serving entities personally to complex multi-tiered pseudo-religions that span nations and have their own personal armies.

Demons: An entity composed entirely of pure Evil, formed out of the evil thoughts in the minds of men.  Have distinct forms and personalities, great physical and mental powers, and prey on mortals.  Demons gain power from worship and fear, consuming mortals, artefacts and age.

To Lvantha's knowledge (based on mortal information) all demons were killed in a great war centuries ago.  She has felt a wave of great evil once, and is concerned about its potential source.  Others might be aware of more, but Lvantha's knowledge is limited.

Dolrael: Dorael is a god. He is often called the god of earth. He is commonly portrayed as a bear, and stories say he controls earthquakes. (see GODS)

Fere's Pike: A small village at the heart of a cluster of small villages, notable for having an actual palisade and for the temple to Tokchoko at its heart.  Was saved from necromancer attack by Lvantha and the temple reconsecrated to Tokchoko.

Ferrun: A minor market town in the same region as Fere's Pike, about a mile from the river Faire.  Formerly governed by Sir Townsend of Fairbridge, currently under the thumb of Sir Braithe, a vassal of the necromancer Lord Thrane.

Ferrybridge: A small city on the Faire, downsteam of Ferrun.  Ruled by Lord White, the nominal master of the nearby region.  Said rule is presently being contested by the necromancer Lord Thrane, likely by force of arms.

Followers: Followers are willing mortals who might follow a demon out of fear and desire for power, or an angel out of respect, hope, a desire to do good or again for power.

Gods: Powerful entities beyond mortal (and perhaps angelic/demonic) ken.  Mortals worship them.  They exist and sometimes use their power, but are infamous for their apathy towards non-worshippers (and even towards worshippers).  Faithful and learned priests can call on a small portion of a god's power through rites and deliberate invocations.  Gods as a whole are morally neutral - they encourage Good or Evil respectively depending on their particular aspects, but the actions of their followers are more important on the mortal scale.

To Lvantha's knowledge, the gods remain distant from the day to day affairs of the world.  They were involved to an unknown extent in the last great demon war.  Unlike mortal supposition, angels are not compelled to serve gods.  There are twelve gods.

Humans: Mortals.  Often doomed to the hand of fate.  Some take control of their own fate, though.  Preyed on by demons and to a lesser extent by angels.

Jilganheim: A god, commonly depicted as a weasel.  Symbol is a swirl of bright colours, rules over chaos, inspiration, trickiness and madness.

Lesser Angels: Lesser angels are like regular angels (see ANGELS), but lesser.  They have independent personalities and are composed of pure Good like other angels.  They serve under other entities and may be bound into service, usually to other angels.  Being angels, service through loyalty and respect is preferred, but magical means exist to bind and command an angel (just as they do a demon).  Power can be exchanged between a lesser demon and superior, usually as a form of deliberate sacrifice from one to the other.  Sometimes this can be treacherously less deliberate, especially as a punishment or reward for betrayal.

Lord Thrane: Necromancer-Lord, possibly heading the army attacking the settlements along the river Faire.

Lord White: Nominal ruler of the region surrounding Ferrybridge.

Luxpanapi: Humans blessed by Lvantha with strength, beauty and a set of ethereal wings capable of damaging the undead.

Magic: Beyond the powers available to angels and to demons (necromancy, when used by mortals), mortals have their own kinds of magic available.

Lvantha does not know much about mortal magic, beyond the fact that some are capable of employing demonic magic in the form of necromancy at risk to their bodies and souls.

Manna: A wonderful substance that allows an angel to survive without feeding off mortals.  May be of divine origin. (see SUSTENANCE)

Necromancers: Mortals capable of wielding Evil magic in the form of necromancy.  Typically able to reanimate and sometimes communicate with the deceased, to varying levels of effectiveness.

Slask: A god, commonly portrayed as a wolf.  Symbol is a wolf's head, rules over forests, violence and murder.

Sustenance: Demons and angels both feed off mortals to survive.  Demons are rather hungrier about this, consuming body and soul both.  They often get powerful boosts to their physical might because of this.  Angels can either gain sustenance by burning the souls of the wicked and deriving energy from this, or by draining the life force from willing victims followers.  Over a large enough scale, this effect drops from being horribly deleterious to all but unnoticable.

The more powerful demons and angels get, the more they need to eat.

Tokchoko: A god, commonly portrayed as a lizard or a golden man.  Symbol is the sunsign, rules over light and trade.

Utran'Vitran: A god, commonly portrayed as a carrion crow.  Symbol is the crow, rules over war and survival.

Wizards: Mortals capable of wielding the elemental magics of the world.

[ansontan2000]

Man will see a halo glowing in the air.

Our name is Lvantha Ksurdas

We shalt find thyselves in a small spiteful village.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

We are female, look perfectly human, generic angel looks. with big white wings.

Our Name: Aomoau Talaoia

We start in a wilderness, near the ruins of an ancient city haunted by spectres and other nasty things

[ansontan2000]

How about a comprimise?
We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have big white wings.
Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
We will start near a town, as we will be MUCH more able to convert some grudges to our cause than spirits of evil.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

1) We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have big white wings.
2) Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
3) We will start near a small village, that is currently attacked by a  necromancer and his undead forces ( we need start near something evil, and town is too big, I quess)

[Gamerlord]

1) Grey eyes and grey wings.
2) What ^he^ said.
3) "    "    "    "    "

[Shootandrun]

1) We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have wings that appear to be made of white light.
2) Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
3) We will start near a small village, that is currently attacked by a  necromancer and his undead forces.

Generic wings are boring.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

1) We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have wings that appear to be made of white light.
2) Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
3) We will start near a small village, that is currently attacked by a  necromancer and his undead forces.

Generic wings are boring.

Agree

[ansontan2000]

1) We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have wings that appear to be made of white light.
2) Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
3) We will start near a small village, that is currently attacked by a  necromancer and his undead forces.

Generic wings are boring.

Agree

[mcclay]

1) We will be a female angel, look perfectly angelically normal, and have wings that appear to be made of white light.
2) Our name will be Lvantha Talaoia
3) We will start near a small village, that is currently attacked by a  necromancer and his undead forces.

Generic wings are boring.

+ 1

[Knave]

Namely: (Wings, brilliant skin, writhing tentacles, a glowing light?  Anything else?)

Am I the only one who thinks beautiful writhing tentacles would make for an awesome angel? 

[Iituem]

Previous: In which the original post is made. | Current: In which Lvantha Talaoia is born. | Next: In which our valiant hero is blocked by a wooden gate.

In the quaint village of Fere's Pike, a man is having nightmares.  He is in the field again, sword wet with blood and bodies slumped around him.  A thick mist covers the ground.  One of the bodies twitches.  He stabs it quickly with his sword.  Another shifts, then another.  Soon, the bodies are clambering to their feet, clawing at him.  They have faces, faces he recognises despite how bloodied and broken they are.  A mother, a father.  Strangers, men he killed for coin or for fun.  They shamble towards him and the man screams, running from the horde as best he can.

This time, the dream is different.  He stumbles upon a pool in the murk of the battlefield, cloudy with mud but with a strange shimmer to its surface.  He looks up; the skies are black and starless, no moon shines this night.  Then he sees a body beneath the water, glowing softly.  Fearing another monster, he points its sword at it, looking over his shoulder.  The horde approaches, slowly but inevitably.  How far can he run?

He looks back to the body in the pond.  A woman.  A living woman, drowning!  For a moment he forgets his terror and reaches into the pond with one arm.  A slender hand grasps his wrist and pulls, not pulling him in but trying to get out.  He drops the sword and grabs her wrist, pulling with both arms.  With an effort, he gets her arms out of the water.  Behind him, he can hear the bodies wail and scream.

The woman grows heavier with each step backward the man takes.  Her silver haired head slumps as he drags her from the pond, mud smearing across her white gown.  She murmurs as she emerges from the pool.

"Lvan," murmurs the woman.  The man looks away from her.  The corpses grow closer.  Behind him, the clouds seem to part - moonlight strikes their decaying, terrible faces.

"Tha."  The moonlight grows brighter and the man's grip falters.  He could let go.  He could abandon this girl and flee before the monsters reach him.

"Tal."  The man's grip tightens and he gives one last heave before his hands slip and he lands on his back on the ground.  Above him, the woman stands tall, blazing with bright light.  Silvery tendrils seem to writhe from her back.

"Aoia."  The woman extends her arm and the brilliant tendrils from her back shoot forward into the chests of the dead.  The man stares in wonder and horror as the corpses are suffused with bright light, then seem to burn away with brilliant silver flames.  When the last of the bodies is gone, the tendrils snap back to the woman and merge together into a pair of white, luminous wings.

The light fades, further and further until only the wings and the woman's eyes remain lit.  Then the woman spreads her arms and the wings become tendrils again, jutting forward into the man's chest.  He feels a brilliant and terrible white fire burning through him and, for a moment, witnesses in full horror every vile, every malicious, every evil thing he has ever done.


The man shocks awake.  Cold water runs down his body.  A comrade stands over him, a bucket in his hand.  The man leaps up, grabbing the arm of the fellow soldier.  He looks into his eyes, sees the dread and guilt mirrored in them and speaks:

"Lvantha Talaoia."

The soldier steps back in alarm.  A strange name.  A celestial name.  Of angels he has heard, but only in bedtime stories and dull, empty sermons.  Of souls being put to the fire of their own misdeeds he has heard, but only in stories.  Of beings striking vengeance down upon the ambitious he has heard, but only in stories.  But now he feels it - the true horror of his world.  The fact that every human spends their life ducking under the blows of the raging forces of good and evil, trying to seize what they can from the war-torn land.

And now the war has come here.


Lvantha Talaoia contemplates the village beyond the blood-soaked field.  The villagers fought a battle here - some of the broken weapons and possessions still litter the ground.  The bodies are gone, and only a few shallow graves mark where some were given the dignity of burial.  The gates on the thin village palisade are shut tight and tents mark a small camp outside the walls, along with a large pile of bodies.

Lvantha Talaoia has dreamt of dreamers, and they of her.  She has been filled with a sense of sorrow - they a sense of guilt, forboding and perhaps even regret.  She does not know.  But if they do not, she will make them.

She shall presently

- Gain access to the village openly, via the gates.
- Sneak into the village.
- Investigate the camp as a human traveller, openly or by sneaking in.
- Camp outside both and search the dreams of those in the camp and village.
- Do something else.

Name: Lvantha Talaoia
Strength: 10 manpower
Mind: 10 menminds

Followers: 0 (Willing mortals - follow you for power, out of duty or a zeal for good.)
Slaves: 0 (Unwilling mortals - Criminals, prisoners or those whose souls have been burned clean and left all but mindless.)
Servants: 0 (Beings under your command - be they mutated mortals or lesser angels.)

[Ukrainian Ranger]

Gain access to the village openly, via the gates
She is not some demon scum to hide in shadows

[mcclay]

We should camp outsie and search dreams. We should also ask ourselves if the name The Tall Man means anything.

[Shootandrun]

Gain access to the village openly, via the gates
She is not some demon scum to hide in shadows

Agreed.