As the Faceless Prince steps into the world, their domain sprouts behind them, and the sounds of distant commerce and research can already be heard from its edge.
From a distance, the Faceless Prince's plane appears almost to be a golden forest. Approach proves this impression... not entirely incorrect, but far from complete. What appeared from a distance to simply be golden trees are, in truth, towering spires of many intertwined metals, each one home to countless of the faceless Tradesmen that call the Auric home - and yet still, they are trees, sprouting branches and leaves at their uppermost levels, albeit still titanic relative to the scale of any mortal, just as with the rest of each structure.
Each Spire is practically a city unto itself, a bustling place where Tradesmen make their homes and ply their crafts. A description here is as useful as a name elsewhere; ask for the Ivory Seamstress or the Ebony Bookbinder, and your quarry will soon be found. Look not for faces, but the outfits worn, for each is unique, and they change seldom if at all.
From the winding streets, listen for the cries of wares being hawked. Listen to what is sold, listen to the prices. Luck and skill, charisma and prowess. Faces and names, fates and pasts. Anything can be bought here, if can pay the cost. Anything can be sold here, if you're willing to part with it.
Climb higher, higher, and higher still. Reach the branches, reach the leaves. Here in the canopy is where the libraries reside, here is where knowledge is kept, studied, traded. Look at the leaves; each one is inscribed. Where the wood of these skyscraping trees is made of gold, copper, steel, tungsten, the leaves are paper, papyrus, leather, clay; they are the medium of writing in all its forms. Each leaf is a book, a study, a story, a secret. Anything can be learned up here, if you are willing to take the time - and many scholars are.
Such is the nature of the Auric, and such is the nature of the Faceless Prince.
Name: Tradesmen
Affiliation: The Faceless Prince
Class: Plane-bound Outsiders
Traits:
+ Trade of all: The Tradesmen are capable of buying and selling literally anything, though not every Tradesman is willing to buy or sell everything. You still have to go looking for a suitable seller or customer.
+ Scholastic traditions: Tradesmen are scholarly and love knowledge; most are experts in their chosen fields, knowing nearly all there is to know about them.
- Mundane: Ultimately, the tradesmen are no greater in arcane or physical power than a typical mortal.
- Plane-bound: Being tied specifically to the Auric Spires, Tradesmen cannot be summoned outside of it.
Description: Faceless humanoids made of various, typically valuable materials. They are all referred to by material and profession, but each one also has an identifying outfit setting them apart from the rest.
They look out across the world.
Rather empty at the moment, isn't it. But there is nothing to be done for it, regrettably; now is a time for more ethereal workings, I suppose.From a pocket deep with their robes, the Faceless Prince pulls out a golden coin, which they easily cleave in two; each half twists, reforming into a pair of silver coins. The first is tossed away with a regally casual, yet thoroughly deliberate, toss, whereupon it enters orbit around the Disc.
Name: Gild
Type: Small moon
Description: A relatively small satellite orbiting the world; it is made primarily of silver, though it is also covered by a thin layer of ice. It is thin compared to its diameter, rendering its shape similar to that of the Disc.
The other coin, however, is held in the Prince's hand - and promptly crushed. Liquid silver seeps out of their fist, before coalescing into a humanoid form of its own.
Name: The Argent Emissary
Affiliation: The Faceless Prince
Class: Archangel
Traits:
+ Charismatic: As the manifestation of the Faceless Prince's will, the Argent Emissary was made to talk to and convince others. Few could be fully unswayed by a debate with the Emissary.
+ Martial excellence: Although it is not their primary purpose, the Emissary is a highly capable military commander, and given command of capable combatants, they can direct victories against hypothetically-superior forces.
- Lack of personal prowess: Although they are competent enough at combat, with power beyond any mortal and maneuverability beyond any Creature, the Emissary would be hopeless in any fight with other Archangels or the gods, as they are specialized in more of a support role.
Description: Faceless like the Prince they serve, the Argent Emissary is formed primarily of quicksilver. Typically, they wear an understated but highly tasteful black-and-white ensemble, but when summoned to command in combat, they are typically seen wearing foreign armor and bearing some signifier of high military rank.
At that, the Faceless Prince removes their book of lore from their side, and unclasps it; the tome flies open by itself, pages fluttering. Suddenly, it calms, settling to a single page, whereupon the text begins to glow. The page then lifts itself out of the book, folding upon itself, folding,
tearing, still glowing, until ten distinct shapes present themselves and settle to the ground.
Name: Pages
Affiliation: The Faceless Prince, the Argent Emissary
Class: Angels
Traits:
+ Observant: The Pages are excellent observers, taking in information and easily remembering it to be relayed to whomever requires it. Little escapes their sight.
+ Skilled combatants: Although they are in very good physical shape, the Pages' combat skill derives more from their sheer skill in wielding their weapons of choice, as well as their excellent coordination.
- Awkward at interaction: No Page is good at interacting with others, although each manifests it somewhat differently. One is shy, another all too talkative, yet another outright hostile. No matter the cause, Pages are best kept away from situations where they need to talk to mortals.
Description: Faceless paper soldiers, each Page is slightly unique, wielding a different type of weapon and covered in a subtly different arrangement of glowing runes. Each is winged, and wears a set of relatively light armor, although the latter is mostly an affectation; their runes and speed do more to protect them from hits than any armor they wear. One and all wear a feathered tricorne hat, and each one's feather is in a different color.
After the departure of the Emissary and Pages, the Faceless Prince turns back toward their fellow divinities.
Although there is little to be done with the world as things stand, we may still decide its broad form, as well as the nature and function of our commonly-held plane. Does anybody have any matters they believe should be considered in the design of these locales?
I, for one, believe that it may be sensible to restructure the world-disc in such a way that the Eye does not have unobstructed line of sight across its entirety. A spherical world might be suitable, or perhaps a cloud of islands.
Note: the golden coin was my Trade Act, the silver coins were the pair of generic Acts acquired from its division, and the page from the book of lore was my Knowledge Act. Just so we're all clear.
Author
Topic: Panopticotheon IC: Turn 8 [10/10] (Read 23874 times)