#the entropy deity

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Revisiting Thermodynamics for a Chemistry tutoring gig, and I am plagued by Loki thoughts, as I deem Loki the Entropy Deity.

To reach equilibrium, a state were forward and backward reactions cease, is to die. Living systems depend on chemical reactions to live. Cells are locked in a constant fight against equilibrium by consuming energy and releasing what isn't stored or consumed as heat. And as such, the universe moves to state of increasing entropy.

I think that's how Loki is associated with Life and Death.

[madamrynodm]

"What is entropy but chaos purified? Chaos in harmony"

My warforged cleric, Alo (E109-5)

[somerobotvex]

some lil animated pfps for the artfight profiles of Prosperity and Entropy :]

mayhaps i shoulda spent that time updating Entropy's ref instead as it's not great rn but hey i have... *looks at calendar* ...four days...

[monstersdownthepath]

Deity: The Sea of Teeth

(Pic source: Craig Spearing, though it doesn’t seem to be on his site anymore and exists only as reuploads)

Chaotic Evil God of Endless Hunger

Domains: Chaos, Death, Destruction, Evil, War Subdomains: Demon, Entropy, Catastrophe, Cannibalism, Blood Favored Weapons: Bite Symbol: Fangs surrounding bones, stars, and/or planets. Sacred Animals: All gluttonous animals. Sacred Colors: N/a

The Abyss is deeper than any being could possibly comprehend, stretching an unknowable distance into the chaos beyond what sane beings consider the relative safety of their reality. Whether it has an end or a bottom is a mystery none have yet solved, as the deeper one goes, the more they must grapple with the knowledge that the hundreds of layers occupied by the foulest sorts of demons are merely the surface level of the Abyss, the safest environs a mortal of this cosmos can exist in. To venture into the Abyss is taxing enough, but to delve deep into the Outer Rifts, where the primordial qlippoth and beasts even stranger roam, is something few can withstand for longer than fleeting moments. It is easy, though not entirely accurate, to compare the demon-occupied Abyss as something akin to the levels of the ocean where the sun still reaches. It is dangerous, laden with hazards and predators which may end the life of an explorer... But the Rifts? If one were still comparing the Abyss to the ocean, the Outer Rifts are depths where sunlight cannot reach, where the pressure is so intense that even steel buckles and crumbles, where the cold is so penetrating that nothing can defend against it, and where life as we know it simply cannot survive.

But like the ocean���s darkest depths, there is still life to be found, alien and strange. Predating even the eldest of the gods, the qlippoth crawl and slither and skitter in endless varieties and maddening shapes. From tiny insects to the great, demigod-level Qlippoth Primordials, qlippoth span across every branch of existence, forming grotesque and twisted mirrors to the biospheres found all over creation, all living and eating and dying and transforming. It is a great, eldritch ecosystem, where even worlds must feed.

And with the imprisonment of Rovagug, it has lost its apex predator.

Ask any zoologist what happens to any ecosystem in which an important predatory force is removed and you will receive a similar answer; the prey gorges itself until it starves, reproduces until there is no more room, and the cycle of life comes to an abrupt and terrible halt as the links in the chain give way one by one. In extreme cases, the entire environment is destroyed by the unbalance. While it’s true that the Abyss has no shortage of predatory creatures all willing and able to consume one another, none of them work on the scale that Rovagug did, devouring and destroying entire landscapes and worlds at once to keep the growth of the Abyss itself from becoming too dangerously rampant. 

But now that he is gone, the balance is upset, and the invasive species that is demonkind has done more harm than good as the natives of the Rifts experience an apocalyptic collapse. Unfortunately for the cosmos as a whole, from the deepest depths of the Outer Rifts a new apex predator has risen to fill the vacuum.

It has no name, but it has many titles; the Sea of Teeth is the most common one, but it is also known as “the Devouring God,” “the Black Well,” “Hadal,” “the Consuming Cascade,” “the Final Tide,” among others and their many variations. It is more location than creature, as though an entire layer of the Abyss has shuddered to terrible life and apocalyptic hunger, branching titanic tendrils throughout the rest of the plane to consume all which falls in its shadow. To those that know if its existence, it is hunger unimaginable, a ravenous force that depletes and destroys everything it crosses. It does not just settle for the twisted flora and fauna, but the very landscape itself is chewed apart, and when there is no matter left it drinks up the local quintessence until the fabric of the layer frays and collapses. It constantly sends tiny tendrils of its matter throughout the Abyss to hunt for new rich feeding grounds, the smallest and weakest of these ‘roots,’ pinpricks of its essence that emerge through tiny portals it gnaws in reality, take on the shape and strength of Shoggoths with the Savage Mythic Template. Because of the immense power of these tiny specks of the greater Sea, it rapidly overtakes any stretch of the Abyss which doesn’t contain any creature or force capable of combating its searching limbs, but any layer with such defenses enjoys some level of safety from the greater Sea. Slaying the roots causes the limb from which they grew to recoil slightly, slowing its spread into a particular layer and allowing them time to plan for the next incursion.

The irony of the Abyss finding itself besieged by a threat which spreads across multiple planar layers and which requires constant, combined efforts to fight back against is lost on many demons. And it is indeed demons which find themselves at the fore of the Sea’s attacks; the Sea is indiscriminate in its feeding frenzies, consuming all in its path with no regard for the qlippoth it technically shares kinship with (with the sole exception being the Iathavos, the only being which it ignores entirely), but much how like animals of Golarion will flee an impending natural disaster hours before it happens, qlippoth seem to possess an innate sense of when and where the Sea will strike, assuring only the injured, the slow, the ill, the foolish, and the foolhardy are actually devoured. Why and how they preternaturally know when it will arrive is a secret they have not shared, and likely never will. 

It is believed that no fewer than six entire Abyssal layers have already been entirely consumed in the short few centuries that the Sea has been known to mortal scholars (and perhaps many before anyone even realized it was there), several dozen are actively besieged by its reaching limbs, and hundreds more are being inspected by its roots. Any normal plane which hosted such a force would quickly be rendered lifeless and barren, but the sheer size and repulsive fecundity of the Abyss assures no such catastrophe will occur, and even if the “shallows” of the Abyss were to be depopulated entirely (an impossible task in and of itself, even for a god), the Sea would simply retreat into the deeper Rifts to continue its feast in unknowable lands until the shallows recovered and regrew, just as a roving predator does when prey is exhausted in one area.

... But this relieving truth has yet to be uncovered, and will likely not be known for several millennia. In the current times, a mere few centuries after its emergence, the Sea is spoken of by doomsayers and prophets as an existential threat of cosmic magnitude, threatening the entirety of existence as it’s known. There are many who believe that the Sea’s emergence is a sure sign that the Abyss will soon be destroyed, devoured utterly down to the last demon larvae, and demons as an entity in the universe will completely cease to exist. These same thinkers and madmen are divided on what, exactly, this would cause in the Great Beyond as a whole; some posit that the removal of the tumor that is the Abyss will usher in a profound universal transformation in which certain breeds of Evil can no longer exist, while others think the Abyss itself will transform into an entirely new Neutrally-aligned plane! The implications of this transformation is, itself, a topic of conjecture and debate. Planar scholars from all corners of creation have driven themselves to fevered frenzies trying to imagine what a universe without demonkind would look like, whether or not demonic power would simply emerge in a new form elsewhere... and whether or not an end to demons as they’re currently known warrants aiding the Sea of Teeth in some way.

Any mind pondering the possibilities of the Sea destroying the Abyss itself must, of course, answer the inevitable question of “what happens afterwards?” Perhaps it will consume itself or starve to death! Perhaps it will slink back into the Outer Rifts, finally satisfied that it has killed every last demon. Perhaps it will pupate into something worse... Or perhaps, once the Abyss has been consumed, the Sea will rush to fill the empty roots left behind which will connect it to a thousand new feeding grounds, swelling further to break down the shorelines of all creation and bring about the end of all things.

Whatever the truth is, the Great Beyond will have to wait and see. There IS one absolute truth that can be shared with whomever is reading this, though: Despite what doomsayers scream of what will happen were it to drink the Plane of Water, inhale the flames of Creation’s Forge, or invade the Ethereal Plane to consume the thoughts and dreams of mortals, the Sea of Teeth does not work towards such apocalyptic goals. It does not plan its assaults, it does not consider the consequences of its actions, and it does not dream of the endless banquet waiting for it just outside the walls of the Abyss.

It, in fact, does not think at all.

----- Obedience and Boons -----

Many cultists, madmen, studious Outsiders of every shape and description, and scholars of every species and alignment all ascribe different reasons and motivations to the Sea’s actions, whether it be divine rage against demons, a rampage to eventually free Rovagug and prove that he is truly the lesser evil when compared to the unseen powers in the deeper Rifts, the incarnate form of the Abyss’ predilection for predation and parisitism turned horribly self-destructive, the incarnation of hunger as a concept, or maybe even the herald of the end times... but the truth is truly right in front of them, described in the first section of this very article: The Sea of Teeth is a hungry beast which has found a stretch of uncontested land, and has begun to gorge itself on a population that has few true defenses against an invasive species.

Though it is indeed divine, it is still essentially a simple-minded predator driven entirely by instinct. It is a form of life which operates on a scale that a common mind struggles to envision, but it serves a function that is familiar, almost mundane, and its presence in the Great Beyond is unfortunate happenstance, not an apocalyptic omen. Any ‘meaning’ to its rampage or claims that it is acting towards some unfathomable goal are pure conjecture, the product of minds desperate to establish a pattern or see some divine truth where a mundane truth would suffice. A hungry wolf which devours a farmer’s sheep is not some punishment for his failure or some insatiable, sadistic beast torturing him because he cannot fight back... it’s a hungry animal, any mythologizing or anthropomorphizing is the fault of the farmer, not the wolf. 

This truth, however, is beyond most creatures in the cosmos, to whom the Sea is an incomprehensibly threatening force of annihilation. To them, it is whatever they want it to be, whatever they project, and often whatever they fear it is, as it has no desire (or even ability) to answer questions about itself. It has unintentionally gathered numerous cults in its name--doomsday and otherwise--all led by powerful figureheads who’ve achieved some divine contact with it... or at least contact with a figurehead which worships the Sea, in some bizarre and indirect form of faith. There exists a ritual one can use to connect to the Sea and gain some of its power at the cost of becoming perpetually ravenous, a ritual used by many to achieve positions of power in the budding cults of the Sea of Teeth, up to and including becoming divine fronts in and of themselves... which inadvertently makes them beacons for spells such as Commune attempting to reach the true Sea, further muddying the waters about its supposed goals and desires. Undoubtedly, one of the most famous of these figureheads is Chormilg, the Thousanth Tooth, a powerful Nyogoth Cleric/Exalted of the Sea of Teeth (CR 18/MR 6) which claims to have hatched from one of the Sea’s teeth after it broke itself against the heart of a forgotten deity, and thus is the literal mouth-piece of the god. Chormilg is the closest thing to a true leader that the disparate cults of the Devouring God have, and is currently the highest authority in the Sea’s faith, acting as the deity’s proxy, AND the reason many believe the Sea’s hunger to be primarily directed at demons, as Chormilg itself despises demonic life.  

The largest cult to the Sea is the one founded by Chormilg, known as the Salgurat, an Abyssal word translating to “Ebon Maws,” a cult devoted to capturing and consuming demons and their mortal fanatics, as well as making regular, organized sacrifices to the Sea of Teeth to empower it in the hopes of accelerating its growth through the Abyss. Some smaller cults grow from gatherings of heretics among the faiths of Thuskchoon, Jubilex, Cyth-V’sug, Zevgavizeb, and other great and ancient beasts of the Abyss, who believe their former deities to be the offspring of the Sea and have thus chosen to serve the “Progenitor Maw” or “Hunger’s Father” out of respect. Other cults have many reasons for their worship, such as Creation’s Eclipse, a cult of daemons and their maniacal mortal followers hellbent on finding ways to help the Sea enter Creation’s Forge and snuff it. Some of these smaller factions even have benevolent, though misguided, hopes for a universe without the Abyss, Whatever the case may be, any follower of the Sea are as varied as the morsels it consumes, coming from all over the universe.

The Obedience ritual to serve the Devouring God is a lesser form of the Shores of the Sea of Teeth occult ritual, and both of them have the same effect at different intensities: It convinces the Sea that the creature undertaking the ritual is actually a part of itself, and so it sends a tendril of its essence and a spark of its power into the creature, often physically mutating them. This offers the creature not only supernatural might, but some protection from the Sea’s appetite, with many audacious beings--Chormilg included--nesting within the god’s churning body, believing themselves favored by the horror due to their faith and devotion, unaware they’re doing the mystic equivalent of dabbing an ant colony’s scent upon themselves to avoid being torn apart by the swarm. The Sea has no loyalty to anything but its own stomachs, any power it offers given only through unintentional trickery or divine reflex, but it is nonetheless a power that any creature--regardless of alignment--can tap into, should they know how... and should they brave the consequences. 

As a true deity, the Sea of Teeth can grant Boons to any creature taking the Deific Obedience feat, but it does not possess a dedicated Prestige Class such as Feysworn or Diabolist. Boons are typically gained slowly, achieved at levels 12, 16, and 20, but by entering the Evangelist, Exalted, or Sentinel Prestige Classes as early as possible, they can be obtained at levels 8, 11, and 14 instead. While normally a deity as ambivalent as the Sea would grant only one set of Boons, the fanatic devotion of countless beings and the fear of infinitely more has created a potent psychic impression upon it, allowing it a full three.

Obedience: Spend at least 30 minutes meditating on the sensations of hunger while surrounded by circle of ritual objects made of materials harvested from creatures you’ve killed and consumed portions of. At the conclusion of this meditative period, eat anything you have available--preferably portions of creatures you’ve helped slay in the last 24 hours--until you’re full. Benefit: You become permanently afflicted by the Oracle’s Hunger curse the first time you perform the Obedience ritual, and the curse cannot be removed by mortal magic. For 24 hours after performing your Obedience, your total Hit Dice is treated as your Oracle level for the purpose of determining the intensity of your curse; failing to perform your Obedience causes your curse to weaken, treating only half your Hit Dice as your Oracle level for the purpose of the curse. If you are already an Oracle, for 24 hours after performing your Obedience, your Oracle level is treated as 4 higher for determining the intensity of your new Hunger curse.

------ EVANGELIST ------

Boon 1: The Preview (Sp): Gain Grease 3/day, Hold Person 2/day, or Spiked Pit 1/day.

Boon 2: Titanic Appetite (Ex): The gnawing hunger in your belly drives you to eat anything you can get your hands on, trusting your connection to your god to protect you from the consequences. You become immune to the effects of all ingested poisons and diseases, and cannot be sickened, nauseated, or cursed by items, food, or creatures you eat. You can digest and draw sustenance from any matter you can consume. Any bite attacks you have ignore the first 5 points of Hardness when damaging objects, widening your potential palate.

Boon 3: Crushed by the Depths (Sp): Once per day, you can focus the power of the Sea onto your foes, allowing it to reach across space and devour them utterly. You may use Implosion once per day as a spell-like ability, but you may target even incorporeal or gaseous creatures with it, and if the target succeeds the saving throw against the effect, they still take 10d6 points of damage. When you target a creature with this ability it possesses a unique visual effect: a phantasmal, protean mass envelops the target and crushes inwards. Any creature killed by this ability is entirely consumed; any nonmagical items they possessed are also destroyed, and magic items fall into their former space.

------ EXALTED ------

Boon 1: A Bite of Everything (Sp): Gain Adhesive Spittle 3/day, Allfood 2/day, or Dispel Magic 1/day.

Boon 2: Ravening Form (Ex/Sp): Your connection to the Sea of Teeth deepens and more of its essence flows into you. This connection twists your body in incomprehensible ways, granting you the constant benefits of 50% Fortification and the Compression universal monster ability. In addition, once per day as a standard action, you may undergo a horrifying but thankfully short-lived surge of vitality as tendrils of the Sea’s matter slither through your body to restore you, gaining the benefits of the Regeneration spell.

Boon 3: Whirlpool of Teeth (Sp): Once per day you may open a portal leading directly to the Sea of Teeth to send entire pieces of the world to your god, in effect casting Maw of Chaos as a spell-like ability. The spell is altered in the following ways: Each round at the start of your turn, all creatures and unattended objects within 40ft of the Maw are automatically pulled 10ft closer to the Maw before it makes its CMB check (potentially allowing it to pull a target twice in one round); this summoned Maw lasts an additional +3 rounds after you stop concentrating on it; and you are unaffected by any of the Maw’s effects, though you may not enter its space. 

------ SENTINEL ------

Boon 1: Soften the Meal (Sp): Gain Ray of Sickening 3/day, Blindness/Deafness 2/day, or Ray of Exhaustion 1/day.

Boon 2: Slavering Jaws (Ex): Your teeth sharpen to frightening and deadly points and your jaw can distend to repulsive and terrific effect. The bite attack gained from your Hunger curse becomes a primary natural attack which deals damage as if you were two size categories larger (2d6 for a Medium creature). The bite attack ignores 5 points of Hardness or Damage Reduction and is considered a magic weapon. Finally, due to the horror your mouth has become, you gain a profane bonus to Intimidate checks equal to your Strength modifier, and you may make an Intimidate check as a swift action against any creature within 30ft when you confirm a critical hit against another creature with your bite attack.

Boon 3: Hole in the Universe (Ex): Your stomach becomes an extradimensional space which partially intersects the Sea of Teeth. The bite gained from your Hunger curse gains the Grab and Swallow Whole abilities if they did not already have them, and you may attempt to swallow any creature of your size or smaller that you have grappled. Your extradimensional stomach may have any number of creatures or objects of any size swallowed at once. Creatures and unattended objects within your stomach take 6d6 bludgeoning and 6d6 Acid damage each round. Extradimensional spaces (such as Bags of Holding) cannot be opened while within you, but otherwise do not interact with you in a destructive way. If a swallowed creature deals enough damage to cut free, instead of creating a hole, the pain forces you to regurgitate all creatures and objects in your stomach at once; you are nauseated for 1d6 rounds and cannot use Swallow Whole for 1 minute after.

[monstatron]

THE HARBINGER OF THE APOCALYPSE

The Ekanox is a peternatural concept derived from unknown cosmic origin. The Ekanox’s existence is spontaneous. From whatever equilibrium it originated from, it was outcasted from that plane of existence. It is not a deity, organism, or creature. The only word that comes close to defining it is a metaphysical, peternatural cosmic birthed from cosmic entropy and spontaneous equilibrium.

The Ekanox had created the Pestilence as it’s mimicry of it’s observations of life on Earth, however, much like itself, it serves no real purpose. The Ekanox is constantly moving when it is awake from it's long hibernations. Due to being a physical entity, this leaves it vulnerable, meaning that it can be destroyed. There is no known way to destroy the Ekanox.

full ekanox design woohoo!! this is the… “concept” responsible for the flesh-apocalypse on earth.

it is not a deity, god, organism, or anything comprehensive, hence why i refer to it as a concept. which delivers a sense of irony considering that it is physical, but is simultaneously indestructible and incomprehensible. ouchie…….

[worldbuilding-tomfoolery]

This was SUPPOSED to be just a few jotted worldbuilding character notes. Oops

The god of destruction unsexy maintenance

You had your gods of creation and destruction. Basic stuff. At first, the wrecker was down with their role. It was cool and edgy and powerful to make big things come down. It was easier to destroy something than construct it, and that... dissatisfied them. In time, even the gifts and the edgy disciples couldn't shake this ick inside the god of destruction.

One day, the wrecker's prize paladin completed her greatest conquest: a holy war, waged across planes and up mountains to reach the maker's own fortress. Millions had been slain to blaze the path, and she still had Creation itself to reckon with.

The battle was long, and you cannot kill a god someone still believes in, but eventually the paladin won. She exhausted the maker and sequestered it deep inside the mountain. Then she sent up a prayer, dedicating her next action to her own god. She didn't know they had been watching the whole time.

Next, the paladin set out to unmake the maker's palace. A mere burn or wrecking ball wouldn't do. This was her -- her god's -- greatest achievement. To do it justice, the fort needed nothing less than disintegration, atom by atom.

The wrecker revealed themself for this. They made a show of casting about for their sibling, feigning disbelief it was gone. They put on their best Badass God voice and boomed approval. They sat in Creation's throne, shifted in it. Of course the thing wasn't comfortable. It wasn't one of their tailor made mounts, and they were in one of their most exciting moments.

They were. They were so excited. That must be the name of the worm that had grown in their belly, now writhing in their chest. It felt like that because they were the god of war and destruction! It must be good.

Two things happened at once. A breeze came through one of the breached walls, knocking down an intricately balanced tower. A spinner-bug crawled onto the wrecker's limb. As they raised another to crush the creature, a thought hit them with the breeze. This being would die on its own, given time. All things would. They did not need help to pass into the Void of All. Entropy would do its patient work.

They were no god of destruction. They had no domain. All they could be was a hastener of something that didn't need help. And for what?

The deity turned their raised limb out, toward the paladin. "Stop," they commanded. She had just begun her ruinous work: a few bodies of matter destroyed. "Your task is finished. I thank you, truly, for your service."

It was sincere. Though it would shame them in future, without such dramatic events, the god of wreckage and ruin would not have realized the truth of it. They would not have found what they really wanted.

They dismissed their paladin, adding her lost time and confusion to the tally of awful things for which they needed to atone. Once they were alone, they took stock of the rubble.

Not many patron saints of construction workers out there.

First, they set to restoring their sibling's home. Arguably, the god itself was of greater importance. But sequestration was the closest to death or sleep a god could get, and the wrecker had ruined so much of Crea's. They wanted to give it a nice place to come home to, at least. So they rebuilt the fortress, as best they could, atom by spinning atom.

Then they fetched their sibling. Creation, rightfully angry, nearly smote the other on the spot. The wrecker, now its ally, only laughed. "Please do. Your powers undermine what I was. I don't want to be what I was."

They explained to Crea their plans, and their new domain.

"Can a god even do that? Change domains?" it asked.

"Is someone going to stop me?" countered the once-wrecker.

Thus began the siblings' journey as partners in existence: it the creator, and they the one who would maintain those creations. It was often solitary and decidedly unsexy work. Not many mortals worshiped the guy who fixed your plumbing. That was okay. The worm was gone, and the work was good.

They would find tricks for encouraging self-maintenance; many of their tinkerings literally came to life. But for the most part, it was just constant, tedious, honest, satisfying work. That was the nature of fighting entropy. It was boring. It was the best work in the world.

Who wanted to be a war god when you could keep things beautiful, and functioning, and alive!

[darkcacaocookieandfriends]

can we get some burning spice cookie headcannons???

Sure! Apologies for the late response. I had to catch up on some lore. That being said, I have some interesting thoughts. A lot of them are based on my personal thoughts on his element as this isn't the first god of destruction I've written, and others are based on the inspiration he's drawn from and how the culture surrounding that deity view his element, because I think it's worth noting and is important to the introspection I'm going to lend.

Entropy is very much something Burning Spice is founded on. In the grand scheme of things, it is needed to create the circle of destruction and creation. Without his element, a great imbalance is caused. However, no matter how much he destroys, he himself can never witness creation through destruction as destroying him destroys an intricate balance put into place. He is a force feared, yet needed and even essential. Destruction clears the path for something new, but in witnessing this he knows that he himself will never one of those things. Because he is doomed to a life of ending others. A life of crumbling all before him to dust, forced to carry the knowledge of all he does for eternity.

He, much like his element is ever-lasting, immortal as long as there is something that can be destroyed. In knowing this, he holds a type of envy towards those who are finite. Those who have the joy and wonder of experiencing life anew. Those who can live in ignorance of bliss, without the knowledge of all that has come to pass, without carrying everlasting malice built up in the wake of all he's come to know. Cookie born a new are lifted of all that corrupt. Cookies born anew are free from the chains of malice and hatred. They are allowed to have free spirits and granted new experiences - all that he can never rid himself of.

Destruction exists as long as there are things to destroy. When all has been destroyed and nothing else exists, only then will he lose purpose.

"I wonder...what will it take to destroy me?" I've seen people analyze this line and interpret it in different ways. I see it in a bit of a different light. I feel the element of destruction works in two ways ultimately - destruction consumes and will eventually consume him, or the other outcome of his own demise may be that he's destroyed until there is nothing left to destroy and his element becomes useless by partisan. Therefore, he would succumb to the thing he hates - boredom and stagnation.

I feel these are two outcomes he knows well. Destruction pushes towards change through creation, but when he succumbs to his own element or fizzles out from being obsolete, will he too finally get a chance of creation? Or will he simply fade away until one who succeeds him will take his place? * That being said, I feel Burning Spice has a sense of immortality as long as there is use for his element. He will exist to lay waste to what he sees as the world's imperfections and destroy them so that the world may be reshaped through creation. Stagnation produces the mundane, the droll and the peaceful. Things that cause the cycle to wane or die out, things that threaten the abolishment of his element and all that he is...and what purpose would he have, if not to destroy? If not to plunge the world into chaos?

That being said, destruction is needed for change and advancement. If cookies fall into peace, they stagnate and Earthbread never advances. His element is needed for the great progression of all things - no matter how hated and feared it is.

I feel this is why these things bore him.

I'm sure I'll expand on these things and they may be subject to change when more comes out about him but these are what I'm going to lend my portrayal to for now.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What’s the Gallifreyan belief on other immortals? I don’t know if any of the Professors at the Institute have ever heard of The Mechanisms, a crew of immortal space pirates, one of whom. The Toy Soldier, is familiar with the Doctor enough to have attempted to give advice, and I’m curious what the general view / information to know about the crew in the Whoniverse. Plus, if you havent heard of them, now you have : D - D

How do Gallifreyans regard immortals?

Interesting question! To understand Gallifreyans' stance on immortality, we need to look at their complicated history with the Menti Celesti and how this might have shaped their view of other powerful beings.

💀 The Menti Celesti: Gallifrey’s Ancient Deities

Long ago, before Gallifreyans became the masters of time, they worshipped the Menti Celesti—god-like beings representing primal forces like Time, Death, Fate, and Life. These beings were actually Eternals, immensely powerful, but still another species. At that time, Gallifrey was ruled by the Pythia, a mystical leader chosen by the Menti Celesti.

When Rassilon came into power, Gallifrey underwent a dramatic shift. The Time Lords abandoned the worship of the Menti Celesti in favour of science and temporal manipulation. This led to the overthrow of the Pythia, but in her dying moments, she cursed the Gallifreyans with sterility—a devastating event that forced the society to rely on Looms for reproduction. The Curse of the Pythia left a lasting mark on Gallifreyan culture, no doubt creating a deep distrust of deities and external control.

Fast-forward to modern Gallifrey, and worship of the Menti Celesti has become controversial. Many Time Lords see them not as gods but as just another species that once manipulated a more primitive Gallifrey. Some may even feel that Gallifrey was betrayed—first by being used, then by being cursed when they rejected the old ways.

🧙‍♂️ Gallifreyans and Immortals: The Ongoing Debate

So how would Gallifreyans view The Mechanisms or The Toy Soldier? Based on their past with the Menti Celesti, many Gallifreyans might suspect them as nothing more than another group of immortals trying to hold power over lesser beings—something the Time Lords learned to resist.

Having said this, they would probably still be curious—how do these immortals maintain their status? How do they manipulate time, if at all? Would they pose a threat or be a valuable ally?

🏫 So …

Gallifreyans have a complex relationship with immortals, and it seems far to say that they're probably 'cautiously curious'. When it comes to new immortal groups like The Mechanisms, Time Lords would definitely be wary but still interested in what makes them tick.

Related:

📺|🧶👶What is looming and how does it exist alongside natural reproduction?: Overview of looming and its place alongside natural reproduction in Gallifreyan society.

💬|👥⏲️What are Gallifreyans’ thoughts on entropy?: How Gallifreyans see and fight the concept of entropy.

💬|⏰🕯️How does religion work on Gallifrey?: Overview of the history and perception of religion throughout Gallifrey's history.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[leggerefiore]

Entropy

cw: giratina volo, pokehybrid au, volo centric, 3333 words,

pairing: Volo/Reader

summary: Volo escapes from his banishment and plans to forcibly usurp the powers of Arceus. Sadly, he finds himself played in a trap by the deity with a certain human sent to stop him and his own feelings.

-----

It was a lonely existence that he lived.

He lived in shadows, in a corrupted, distorted world that was unlike the one he could only observe from a distance.

Why was he banished here, unable to interact with others, you may ask? Well, the Renegade pokemon had perhaps made a certain creator deity a bit too mad with his violence. Still, Volo could not help but feel anger for his situation.

Cogita – Arceus – Whatever the damn deity wanted to call herself today, banished him to this world and prevented his reentry into the one he observed. Sure, he had foolishly attempted to stand against her and take her power as his own, but her own strength and that of Dialga and Palkia sent him here and left him. He felt his blood boil the longer he watched humanity through his empty glances.

Hisui, the land in which Arceus supposedly first made, had caught his attention for numerous reasons. It was where his first violent outburst had happened. The blond sighed.

Was this envy? Desperation? Did he want the deity that had created him and then refused to take responsibility for him to be forced to lay her eyes on him once more? He was lonely, he knew.

His long wings, shadowy and like tendrils, swished behind him as he moved. He wished to leave this place. It was both his home and his prison, but he was tired of being locked inside. Centuries of isolation could weigh heavily upon even an immortal being like himself.

His eyes landed upon the clans of Hisui, led by the two that had helped seal him. More rage bubbled up inside him. There had been enough of him waiting around.

An attack called forth from him, slashing the very fabric that tethered the space and time of where he was trapped and into the other world. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then… there was everything. His body forcibly shifted in this world, wings fusing together into a singular entity and his ridges along his neck sealing into the pale flesh underneath. He gasped in a breath. Icy winds lashed around his as chilled water fell from the clouds. He tried to flap his wings, but he had not yet adjusted to his new form. The ground grew closer and closer…

And he crashed.

Volo laid on the muddy ground, eyes peering at the sky distantly. The portal slowly closed, leaving him where he was. He felt exhausted. Everything around him was too distant for him to gasp on to. His eyelids felt like lead as they slowly began to close.

Suddenly, however, a weight crawled onto him. He opened his eyes from the surprise to see a small pokemon had got onto his chest. The pokemon was egg-like and let out a small chirp, nuzzling into him. Confusion rushed through the dragon's mind. Carefully, he reached a hand out to touch the pokemon. It rubbed its cheek against his skin.

Volo felt completely awake.

A smile spread across his lips.

He had made it.

Arceus could no longer restrain him, and he would usurp her power for certain this time.

~

Time passed, Volo entirely managed to hide his features that gave away his true nature, both physically and psychologically. A merchant's guild had taken him in and employed him, much to his luck. He easily became a friendly face among the humans of the Galaxy Team and the clans. A travelling merchant who preferred to spend his time staring at ruins and artefacts rather than selling things.

He felt lucky.

His disguise had given him a perfect opportunity to go to the temple that lied at the peak of Mt. Coronet and begin his plan.

Once again, he unleashed his move and tore a rift in space and time above all of Hisui.

He watched as a poor sap was pulled through from some other place and time in the world. There was little reason for him to seek after the by-product of his destruction, however.

Over the coming days, he watched as the populace of Hisui became aware and frightened of the looming portal hovering above their lands. The person who had fallen through his portal had not a single a memory of what had happened to him before waking up in the frigid lands of the north most icelands. A certain pokemon of the lake had made sure of that.

He watched as speculations went wild, but not one dared to involve him. Volo escaped any suspicion of foul play by his friendly yet distant nature as a merchant.

Soon, the portal would force the clan leaders to act and try to stop the portal, lest it pull them in itself. Dialga and Palkia would fail, he knew. This trap of his design was impossible to stop otherwise.

That was what he thought, but then something he never could have expected came forth.

Arceus sought to spite him by bringing out a human to stand against him. Taken from out of space and time, falling through a portal similar to his own. He encountered them carefully, observing how they acted. They were nearly as confused and lost as the person he had accidentally brought through his own portal. He even challenged them to a battle to observe their capabilities there.

Needless to say, they easily beat his low level Togepi. He could feel their potential and pondered how to stop them before they became too much of an issue for him. There was something that he noted as they spoke to him, however. A twinkle of trust in their eyes toward them. He could not understand it himself, but any opportunity that bared itself to him would be exploited.

The legendary would set out to become your trusted ally. His friendly demeanour was obviously a welcome change to the harsh looks and suspicious glances of the Galaxy Team. He felt smug as he watched you head out to do your tasks, keeping an eye on you from a distance. Even scaring you once, much to your obvious distaste. You gave him a glare, but he offered you catching advice and an amicable grin.

It was only after you truly quelled a raging Noble, another side effect of his plan, that he realised that you would truly become a problem if he did not stop you. Volo felt frustrated Arceus would spite him with such an odd and cruel punishment. He felt even more mortified when you presented him a plate of Arceus.

… But Volo was no idiot. If his first plan failed, having a backup would never be a bad idea. You had a plate. A plate he knew very well could call out Arceus from her realm.

Poor you just had to be dragged into this by a cruel deity.

Volo's continued monitoring involved battles and attempts to dissuade you from your actions or helping you to the best of his abilities. It was most unfortunate that these involved your random bursts of bright smiles or blissfully ignorant words.

It was only after he found you utterly dejected after being banished from Jubilife when you had just helped everyone with their nobles that he realised something. A strange feeling had been beginning to bud within him for a quite a while. You were pitiful, truly. Brave and reliable, but pitiful. An outsider forced from your home by a deity to fulfil its job since it refused to play its game. When he called out to you, he watched as you turned to look at him, completely deflated. Even the clans had denied you assistance in your grave time of need, fearful of Team Galaxy.

He wanted to laugh at how pitiful the gods of time and space had proven themselves to be. Softly, he laid a hand on your shoulder and promised to take you somewhere for you to stay.

His campsite was certainly lacking, but it was not as though he could take you to his true home. Then you would be fully aware of how easily he was playing you. A pokemon from the team had appeared not long after you settled down. He shook his head at the action. If they truly cared for you, why would they have allowed your banishment? Volo understood your situation with ease. Which is why he decided to go with his second plan completely now. He was well aware of the plates you had collected through your journeys.

That is why he helped you mend the very disaster he had started. Gathering the power of the lake trio and using the red chain to stop Palkia and to stand beside her to stop the frenzied Dialga. He felt annoyed, watching from a distance, but amazed that you had the willpower to stand against the very people who wished ill-will upon you and stand alongside legendaries regarded as deities so easily.

Of course, he remained out of sight and away from them for good reason. One glance at him from either of those two would blow his entire cover completely away. Even disguised as a human, they would recognise him. He did not miss the glance back they would give back to his general area when he stood out too much.

Volo felt something when he watched Dialga embrace you after snapping him out of his frenzied state. Rage poured into his heart. Something about you made him want you all to himself, just as pitiful as you were during your stay in his camp. His plans were to keep you at his side after he stole Arceus's power for his own.

He would just have to convince you now, to help him with his next plan. After all, gathering the plates now on his own would be useless, as he only had a single one in his possession. Besides, he found himself oddly entranced with the idea of spending time with you.

Of course, you eagerly agreed, clearly happy to spend more time with him and wanting to know more about the mysteries of Hisui, too. Volo easily led you around the region, searching for the item required for his next plans. An unintended side effect of his plan unfortunately arose as he spent more and more time with you.

Hi chest tightened when you smiled at him, leaned against him during colder nights, hugged him after a difficult battle, or said such sweet words to him. There was no time to second guess himself at this point. He was too far into his plan to lure out Arceus once more to snatch you away and hide you in his dimension for all eternity, but, he supposed, if this plan failed, he would do just that.

Somewhere in the middle of his hunt with you, a familiar woman appeared before him and you while searching for information on the final plate he needed. Her grey eyes identical to his own, and an ancient, primordial energy swirled around her. He bit his tongue, knowing better to play her in her own domain. She just sighed and shook her head at you both. You tilted your head at her sudden appearance in the village.

“… Volo,” her voice was filled with heavy disappointment, “Have you learnt nothing?” Your gaze went between them curiously.

“Mistress Cogita, how rare to see you,” he forced a smile on his face to continue playing his part, “You know very well how deeply I love to learn about Hisuian legends and myths more than anyone.” As if he had not watched them develop over time from his prison as her unwanted child. She shook her head.

“You haven't then, I suppose,” her attention shifted to you, “He hasn't been too awful, has he?” You shook your head and turned to him with a sweet grin.

“I… I really like him, actually,” your voice was soft, “Doing all this with him has really made me see how much he loves his hobbies…” Cogita's eyebrow raised curiously.

“… I see,” she turned away from them both and gave one last look over her shoulder, “The Pixie Plate is in the Ancient Retreat. You know the place well, Volo.” With that, she walked out of the village and disappeared.

You looked at Volo curiously. He sighed and made up a story about her being his grandmother. They were distant, and that is why he never mentioned her before. You believed it easily. Assembly much easier than you would have believed her to be, the very being you were working towards summoning.

When he told you the story of Giratina, himself, as you walked to the remote location of the location given to you both by Cogita. Your brows pressed together as you listened to him carefully. In the end, he wondered what your opinion of the situation would be. You stopped dead in your tracks and hummed.

“If Giratina was unwanted, why would Arceus make it then?” you asked him curiously, “… You make it sound almost personal, actually. Do you sympathise with Giratina, Volo?” He froze, too. How astute were you? He supposed his bias was not hidden.

“I do,” he said plainly, “I believe Arceus should have taken more responsibility for its creation rather than banishing it. You should know all too well how cruel banishment is.” You were the stunned one this time. Your eyes went to the ground, but your hand grabbed his own.

“I do, Volo, I do know,” you told him, “But… I suppose I can understand why Kamado did, too… I don't know. Is Giratina still banished even after all this time?”

“… Yes,” he said simply, “I'm hoping it will make its appearance at the Temple of Sinnoh after we obtain all the plates.” You nodded but kept your hand locked with his. Stepping to his side, you leaned against him.

“Well, maybe after freeing Giratina from its banishment, it will understand why it happened,” you wondered aloud. Volo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Still, the feeling of being so close to his goals, and you, made him elated.

~

The time came as Volo stood in his true form at the destroyed Temple of Sinnoh. Cold winds lashed at his skin as he stared intently at the sky where his portal once reigned. You were going to arrive soon. How would you react to this truth? Anger? Rage? Dare he even consider… Acceptance? Either way, you two were about to stand opposed. He could already tell that you would not support his urge to create his own, better world than this one.

As much as he had come to care and even… love you. He knew you could not support this, not as Arceus's chosen one. His brain had been a mess since that horrid portal spit you out and laid you before him.

“… Volo,” your voice was soft as he turned to face you. Your eyes were not wide but rather red and glossy. No words had to be said, you understood it all at a glance. “… You were behind it all, weren't you?” you decided to ask the question which held the weight of the world.

“Of course,” his eyes grew cold, but he would still try to have you see his side, “This world is cruel. Ruled by an apathetic deity who would rather banish a being she created rather than take responsibility for him. She is only intervening now as a means to preserve her power. I will create a new, better world.” His hand reached for the pokeball of the first being that had greeted him in this world. You shook your head and imitated his action.

The battle was intense. Volo had not shown you his true hand until now. Battling was something that came naturally to him, especially in a moment where everything lied upon his victory. You were no pushover, either, obviously experienced in your own way. Even after you defeated his last pokemon on his team, he refused to accept it.

If he…

If he lost, he would be banished again. Left in complete and utter isolation and only able to observe distantly.

He would lose you.

In his madness, Volo himself took to battle against you as Giratina, both of his forms employed. Still, even despite the harsh adversity of going against someone as physically strong as he was, you managed to rip victory from his hands.

He fell to his knees. Rage and terror brewing heavily with him. Sadness creeping in from the edges. You breathed heavily, watching him for any more unpredictable actions.

Nothing came.

A hand rested on his shoulder as light poured too brightly behind him.

“… Volo, that is enough,” Cogita's voice was harsh yet pitiful, “I do not hate nor do I consider you unwanted. I simply do not trust you to interact with humans and pokemon of this world without harming them.” You gasped at the sight of her, thoroughly different from the dark clothing she had worn in her human disguise.

You stood up tall.

“Please… Don't banish him alone,” you begged her, “Don't banish him at all… I'll watch him. So, please.”

She gave a curious glance at you and shook her head with a sigh. “Volo… You claim you love them, do you not? Why not protect the world they so love, then?” she questioned him. His head remained low.

You had been through so much pain, just as he had at the hand of Arceus. You were kindred spirits, but you had her favour while he did not.

“… Would you even allow me to come and go into this realm as I pleased,” he wondered? Cogita gazed down at him intensely.

“Of course, if you swear to quit causing problems,” she knelt down and softly brought a hand to comb through his hair, “I do care for you and want you to be happy despite what you believe me to be. Why do you think I even bothered to let you do all of this?” He froze from both her words and the unexpected affection.

You smiled down at him. He felt stuck. If he denied everything Cogita had said, he would be banished back into the Distortion World with no hope of ever escaping, and you would be let here alone. If he agreed, he did not know what to do.

“Fine,” he relented, “… Just don't expect me to be like those two.” Cogita laughed, unexpectedly.

“I never expected you to be like Palkia and Dialga in the first place,” she stood herself and him up. Her eyes, now glowing green, turned to you, “I will hold you to your words to watch him.” You nodded.

You walked over to carry him on your shoulder as you took him from her, his injuries from the battle still needing to be tended to. She watched you both with curious eyes.

Before she left, Cogita leaned into your ear and whispered that Volo was truly her favourite of the three before disappearing into the clouds above. You understood her feelings entirely as you watched the blond man barely keep himself on his feet.

“I love you, Volo,” you told him plainly as you headed back towards the nearest base camp, “I didn't want you to be alone again… I didn't want you to be banished from this world.”

He was silent for a moment after your confession. Closing his eyes, he soaked in the feelings that the words brought him.

“I love you, too,” he managed to get out.

Sadly, despite your love, he was still a wanted criminal in Hisui for the whole nearly destroying the world thing, so he had to return to his dimension for the most part. On the bright side, you could visit him and get away from the stresses of your Survey Corps duties.

[syntaxaero]

Would love to know more lore about Stratus and their lance weapon. Are they a soldier? What's their designation as an angel mean in your lore? Who of your other sonas can they beat?

YAY I GET TO INFODUMP ABOUT THE MOST LORE DENSE CHARACTER/SONA OF MINE (THEYRE SORT OF THE GLUE THAT HOLDS ALL MY CHARACTER LORE TOGETHER) So! Hmm wheres the best place to start?

What is an Angel?

Angels can be described as soldiers, or trained specialists who serve The Creator (I don't exactly have a permanent name for them currently, but I usually call them "Big Median". 'Normal' Median is actually one of Many Medians that are essentially just. Tiny Instances of The Creator.) Their primary objective is to combat and keep Entropy (The Creator's opposite, ultimate adversary) under control, ultimately preventing Entropy from destroying every single one of The Creator's universes.

Anyone can become an Angel, though that is up to The Creator's decision. As a part of this contract, Angels receive a portion of The Creator's power, typically in the form of a halo and weapon, and the ability to hop between universes, to do as The Creator commands!

What is Entropy?

Figured I should maybe include this, since they're sort of the driving force behind the creation of Angels.

Essentially, at the start of The Creator's Realm (or multiverse, whatever you wanna call it), The Creator had severed Entropy, one single being at the time, into countless pieces, limiting Entropy's power to the best of Its own ability. However, all these fragments have formed into souls and beings all of their own.

These beings, Fragments of Entropy- or Deities/Gods of Nihility as they're sometimes called-, can have GREAT power, though their power can only grow through the destruction of mana (through converting it into an anti-mana that only Entropy can wield.) Although each of these beings are essentially born from Entropy, and reincarnate once defeated, they are still independent beings, with their own unique bodies, thoughts, and desires. Aurex is one of these beings. He is capable of endless destruction. However, for no known reason, he doesn't appear to thirst for said destruction.

What can Angels do?

The typical Angel is generally capable of slaying one of these nihility gods all on their own, with relative ease. They receive a ton of training, and report back to The Creator during missions. In terms of power scale, they surpass mortals and gods (dragons capable of using elemental manas), and are on par with Demons (Dragons made by The Creator to maintain the afterlife of each universe. They're actually good guys!).

Some Angels do use elemental manas, if they were capable of doing so before becoming an Angel, but most are trained to use pure "divine" mana, and sheer physical force (hence the weapons!). They can travel at multiple times the speed of light, are protected from any and all poisons, illnesses, and most weak attacks. They can only really be hurt by particularly powerful gods, nihility gods, demons, other Angels, and of course The Creator Itself.

So, what about Stratus?

Well, the exact specifics about what led Stratus to becoming an Angel aren't exactly clear. The Creator doesn't speak Its motives. Though, Stratus does have an innately strong ability to detect manas of both divine/standard types and anti-mana, and even more peculiarly, the ability to directly influence mana itself- capable of borrowing it from other beings. As such, Stratus is one of the most powerful Angels, and popular among the Angels--

Despite their strengths, The Creator simply tasked Stratus with keeping Aurex alive- only because if Aurex is killed, his reincarnation would likely go on a destructive rampage like all the other Fragments.

Ultimately, Stratus is the most powerful of all my characters. Only The Creator or a fully powered up Aurex (/Entropy itself) would really be capable of defeating Stratus, at their theoretical strongest.

anyways all stratus really does, since they're chilling with aurex, is worldhop to try out tons of different foods-- cloudbeasts are naturally silly critters and stratus is a particularly food-obsessed one!!! once in a while stratus may be called in to assist other angels with handling a Fragment of Entropy, or universal anomalies, but most Angels can handle their assignments without much issue.

:3

Feel free to ask specifics, or if you'd like more clarification on something!!!

[astrstqr]

𝓔𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀 dr ∯ ‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‏‎𓏸𓈒 ‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‎ ‏‏‎‎ ‏‏‎‎☆‏‎

soo really this is just a run down of my etherea dr.

a brief history lesson if you will (it’s not lol)

ok , first things first : this dr is heavenly inspired by the Elder Scrolls series so some elements are taken from that and with the help of chat gpt lol. soo lmk what you think !

⭒ ﹒Early ETHEREAN Era ˊ˗

- Before time there existed a the Primordial Abyss, a realm of infinite. Two opposing forces resided: Magnar, the embodiment of equilibrium and harmony, and Solunis, the embodiment of entropy and flux. From the collision of these cosmic energies emerged Aeon and Myriss. It is belived that during the birth of Aeon and Myriss also came the Nexus of Genesis where they both lived.

- The Voidborne, also known as the “first ones” was the first attempt Aeon and Myriss made to create life. The Voidborne appeared as fractured spirits with their bodies unstable and being pulled through time. Thus Aeon created Chronothos, the deity responsible for time, began his inexorable march, shaping the ebb and flow of existence into a structured continuum. This temporal lattice provided a framework upon which the spirits could inscribe their will and shape.

Together Aeon, Chronothos, and Myriss created the realm Eldari which floats in the void of Magnus which sits in the Nexus of Genesis. Along came the mortal plane called Solnaris, the planet upon which Etherea and the mortal races reside.

- Because Aeon, Chronothos, and Myriss physical shape is two powerful they could not observe Etherea closely they create the Celestial Pantheon, a council of divine beings who brings order and shaped to the world of Etherea. Each deity contributed their unique powers and gifts to the creation of the world, imbuing it with life, magic, and purpose. (more on them later)

- The Celestial Pantheon gathered to discuss the fate of Etherea. They looked upon the vast expanse of creation, seeing the beauty of the land, the sea, and the sky, but they felt that something was missing.

And so, the Celestial Pantheon along with Myriss resolved to create a new race of beings, one that would embody the virtues and aspirations of their divine creators. They gathered the elements of creation—earth, water, air, and fire—and infused them with the essence of their divine power.

From the earth, they shaped the form of man, sculpting bodies of clay and flesh with skilled hands and loving care. They breathed life into their creations, awakening them from the slumber of clay and igniting the flame of consciousness within their souls.

From the waters, they bestowed the gift of emotion and intuition, filling the hearts of humanity with empathy, compassion, and the capacity for love.

From the air, they whispered secrets of wisdom and knowledge, inspiring humanity to seek truth, to question, and to aspire to greatness.

And from the fire, they kindled the spark of creativity and passion, igniting the flame of ambition and the desire to shape their own destiny.

Thus, humanity was born, a race of mortals blessed with the divine gifts of the Celestial Pantheon. They walked the earth as children of light and darkness, bound by the threads of fate and destiny, yet free to forge their own path in the world.

- The Pantheon created different realms. From these emerge races, each originating from a distinct realm. (more on them later)

- The insidious machinations of the Void Lords, malevolent beings of darkness and chaos who coveted the power and beauty of Etherea. With twisted desires to unravel the fabric of reality and plunge the world into eternal darkness, the Void Lords sought to subjugate all life to their will. As their influence spread like a creeping shadow across Etherea, it drew the attention of the Celestial Pantheon, guardians of order and creators of the world. Sensing the impending threat, the divine beings rallied their forces and prepared for war against the encroaching darkness.

- Etherea's fracturing due to The Celestial War, the races of men experienced a gradual divergence, each fragment of the world fostering its own unique societies and cultures. No longer bound by the constraints of a unified landmass, they embarked on separate paths of development, shaped by the resources and challenges of their individual fragments.

Distance and geographical barriers naturally arose between these disparate civilizations, fostering a sense of independence and self-reliance. Communication and travel between the fragments became arduous endeavors, requiring great skill and determination to navigate the treacherous waters and rifts that divided them.

As the centuries passed, the once-shared traditions and languages of men began to evolve independently in each fragment, giving rise to a rich tapestry of dialects, customs, and belief systems. Trade and interaction between these distant civilizations became sporadic, limited to rare encounters and fleeting exchanges.

- In the aftermath of The Great War that fractured Etherea, the very fabric of reality was left in turmoil, giving rise to a phenomenon that would forever alter the world: magic. Born from the chaotic energies unleashed during the cosmic conflict, magic manifested as a potent force, suffusing the land with its ethereal power and granting mortals the ability to wield supernatural abilities.

At first, magic was wild and unpredictable, its untamed energies coursing through the fractured landscapes of Etherea like a raging storm. But as civilizations emerged and ancient knowledge was rediscovered, mortals began to study and harness the arcane arts, unlocking the secrets of magic and bending its power to their will.

end of the Early Era …

[zofi-persson-quotes]

Gods of the Outernet (updated)

The Outernet used to be ruled over and protected by a Pantheon of Deities composed of the five Primordial Gods, twelve Gods, four Minor Gods and one Demigod. 

They acted as Guardians of the Outernet, rarely interacting with its inhabitants save for the Primordial of Energy and Creation and his child, but still their presence was known enough for temples in their honor to be erected and scriptures about them to be written.

But that was until 2000 years before the present day, where something came from a still unknown place, known as Elk’rokyl, The Great Evil, even if its real name was lost to time, everyone but its allies were too scared to even utter it. It was a Devourer of Worlds, a being of pure Entropy which only objective was to absorb the Gods of one world, consume said world and then move to the next one

The moment It came to the Outernet It immediately started to attack every God It came across, managing to absorb them into Its body to gain their powers, so they're still there, prisoners with It. It managed to do so thanks to the ones that worshiped it, especially the leader of said worshippers, the Traitor of Tir na nOg, Silver.

But two Deities weren’t taken prisoners, Abner and his child, Seran and that was only because they took a mortal form long before the Great Evil came, so they were more protected.

But the real reason why they weren’t absorbed was because they met their end through death; Seran was murdered by Silver’s hand due to being seen as an obstacle, while Abner lived for some more weeks and managed to seal away The Great Evil in the Nothingness between the Dimensions, but was left weakened by the sealing and then murdered by Silver and their allies.

Now, there weren't any more Gods on the Outernet.

Two millenniums passed like that.

Then, something happened… and a new Divine Spark was ignited.

Primordials

They are the first Gods, the one responsible for the creation of the Outernet, and have the greatest powers and authority over the whole Dimension.

They have glowing Ichor flowing in their veins instead of blood

It’s incredibly rare for Overlords to have the elements of the Primordials, and if they do they won’t be able to use a lot of the spells even if it’s their main element. Energy and Creation are especially rare, with no recorded users in around 2000 years since the Primordial who ruled over those Elements died. 

But, curiously, recently some Overlords were born with those Elements…

Here are their names and Elements:

Abner, Primordial God of Energy and Creation (he/him)

Kiran, Primordial Goddess of Darkness and Light (she/her)

Aika, Primordial Deity of Time and Space (them/he)

Karasi, Primordial Deity of Life and Death (them/she)

Nihil, Primordial Deity of the Void and Destruction (they/them)

Normally the Primordials were the most detached from the mortals, but one of them, Abner, found Himself greatly fascinated with mortals, especially the Overlords. So, around 14.000 years before the present, He assumed the form of an Overlord to mingle with the mortals he so loved.

He became King around 100 years after His descension in the Mortal world, after the Overlords entered in a period of crisis, so he stepped up as his God self, saving the species and ending up crowned as their God-King, protecting them with four powerful Overlords he had chosen, and even creating a son who was part Overlord at one point. That until the Gods’ Fall and his ultimate death. 

God-Children

There are four God-Children, Deities created by Primordial Gods. They respond to their parents and have higher authority than normal Gods

They have pale glowing Ichor flowing in their veins instead of blood

Those are their names and elements:

Mehr, Minor Goddess of the Sun and Kiran’s daughter (she/her)

Aibek, Minor God of the Moon and Kiran’s son (he/him)

Moros, Minor God of the Abyss and Nihil’s child (them/he)

Mirai, Minor Deity of the Continuum and Aika’s child (he/she)

Gods

There are in total 12 Major Gods, which were tasked to watch over the elements that weren’t under the Primordials’ dominion.

They have Ichor that doesn’t glow flowing in their veins instead of blood

Some of them had only one Element, while others had multiple elements

Those are their names and elements:

Vestja, Goddess of Fire and its sub-elements (she/her)

Aalto, Deity of Water and its sub-elements (he/she)

Zora, Goddess of Earth, Metal, Crystal, Sand, Dust and Glass (she/her)

Rangi, God of Air and its sub-elements (he/them)

Aspen, Deity of Nature and Animals (they/he)

Strela, Deity of Electricity and Technology (she/he)

Maibe, Goddess of Gravity and Stars (she/them)

Afeni, Deity of Healing (he/them)

Enyde, Goddess of the Astral Plane, Dreams and Nightmares (she/her)

Sage, Deity of Mind (they/them)

Blythe, Deity of Emotions (she/him)

Naiche, Deity of Illusion and Guise (they/them)

The Demigod

There was only a single Demigod in history: Seran, the Prince of Tir na nOg and Abner’s child and heir. Unlike the other God-Children he was partially mortal, Overlord specifically, and had the same main Elements as their father, but could also learn a lot more Elements due to being part mortal

He had glowing Ichor that had some red speckles flowing in their veins instead of blood, making it useless in creating Ichor-based things

He was murdered at 15 by the Traitor, Silver, but is it said that his spirit still exists in the mortal plane, and that the young Demigod became a Vengeful Spirit

[hexlix]

LOKI

god of entropy and chaos ; the second oldest deity in the setting behind the god Arcturus. Ex-spouse to the god of order, Hades, and dam of the moon and sun, Hati and Sköll. Loki in ancient times had the propensity to treat mortals as playthings to pass the time, and is very warlock prone

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplay Ramblings: New Elements part 2

(art by global99 on DeviantArt)

Incorporating the New Elements

So, I went over the new elements in brief last time, but let’s take a further look at them today and talk about how you can work to help implement them into your games and settings. Obviously the writers at Paizo have done the work of writing them into the Lost Omens setting already, but there’s still some legwork to be done nevertheless when running the game in First Edition. So without further ado let’s get into it!

So let’s talk metal!

Prior to Rage of the Elements, metal was, at most, just a refined subset of earth. After all, where does metal come from? You dig it out of the earth, of course.

However, that’s not what metal is like in the original Wuxing interpretation, for while metal is extracted from the earth, the act of purifying and crafting it is a heavenly act, while it is also associated with death and grief, especially appropriate given the ease at which metal can be crafted into tools of death.

This isn’t to say that metal and earth have no connection, far from it. In fact, this association is explained in lore because Ayrzul the Fossilized King, the more sinister of the two lords of earth, actually broke into the realm of Laudinmio, elemental lord of metal as chemistry and and crafting, and stole from her several aspects of metal that he took and made his own, particularly poisonous and radioactive metals. The Sovereign of Alchemy was so upset about how her gifts were used she fell into an angst-coma where she remains unto this day, hopefully with someone snapping her out of it soon.

In any case, neither traditional elementalism nor Wuxing fully encompass what metal is as an element in the context of Pathfinder. So let’s explore those aspects. There is the Wall, which reflects metal’s density and strength; the Blade, which evokes it’s capacity for dealing death; the Conduit, which reflects metal’s ability to channel all manner of energies through itself, and the Spoke, representing how it can be shaped so readily into all manner of shapes, be they simple tools or the most complex mechanisms.

However, there is also an aspect of death and finality to metal beyond the sharpness of a sword or the velocity of a bullet, and that is for all it’s wondrous creations and their durability, they cannot last forever. Whether it be by oxidation, corrosion, or simply the stresses of time and repeated use, all metal eventually breaks down. Sometimes the remains can be salvaged to create new wonders, and sometimes it is beyond all but the most omniponent mages and deities to recover. Either way, even being nearly infinite, the plane of metal will one day succumb to entropy and rust, and be little more than a wasteland. But that is so far off into the future that even the Starfinder setting will be a distant memory by then.

All said, Metal is the element of creativity, strength, and inevitability, for wonders arise and wonders fall, and every moment before the end it worth experiencing, and who knows, maybe something else will rise up later?

As far as environments go, the plane of metal is pretty much exactly what you’d expect, landscapes made up almost exclusively of metallic elements with little non-metallic elements to go around. Forests of twisting silver crystals, mountains of iron, seas of quicksilver and glaciers of gallium barely holding their solidity, all of which is contained within the inside surface of a functionally infinite metal sphere. You’ll even find more mechanical environments in the places where civilized elementals live, forged from the world around them, as well as deserts of rust as things are slowly broken down by time and the careful guidance of the elementals that rule over that specific aspect.

Speaking of which, metal elementals typically embody two different poles of metal in aspects, either embodying the specific properties of metals, such as the liquid mercurial and zuhra genies, the magnetic and electical powers of pelogoxes and living lodestones, or even the quasi-supernatural properties of skymetals and other exotic fantasy metals with the likes of the skymetal strikers or abysium horrors. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum are the elementals of metal as it breaks down, like rust scarabs, nanoshard swarms, oregorgers, and even the massive ramshackle melomachs. Among the most influential are the elemental lords, Laudinmio, whom we already mentioned, and Ferrumnestra, the Lady of Rust, who rules over and guides the decay of metal and makes room for the new when things have outlived their purpose.This list is hardly comprehensive, but there’s a lot of clever ideas that go into them.

Meanwhile, let’s take a look over at wood!

In Wuxing, wood is not just trees, but also covers air itself, which is a pretty impressive connection to make in a time before people understood exactly what oxygen was or the role that plant life has in the ecology of the entire planet. However, wood is also associated with growth, as well as frustration and anger, but also more positive emotions like kindness and generosity. It’s an element that feels a lot, which makes sense that it’s the one element that is made out of living material.

Of course, the idea of wood being an element is incompatible with western elementalism as they typically see living things, all living things, as being made up of elements, not being one themselves and certainly not existing by drawing upon other elements. To western elementalism, if something has to draw upon three whole other elements to even exist (earth for nutrients, water and air for important chemical processes), then it can’t be an element.

Not so with Wuxing, in which all the elements feed into each other, propping one up while undermining others, which makes wood make more sense in that context.

But what is Wood in Pathfinder? Simply put, it is verdant growth and potential cultivated by wisdom and discipline. Plants are grown and planted deliberately, trimmed back when they would crowd out other plants, and the very environment is shaped and carved, as are many of it’s denizens, from the living wood, always taking care not to needlessly kill even as homes are carved from trees on a truly colossal scale. Which isn’t to say that it lacks danger, for though discipline remains a core part of the plane, so does strong emotion, leading to plenty of furious or dangerously passionate creatures that might turn violent attention onto neighbors and visitors alike.

When I say that the Plane of Wood is cultivated order, I don’t just mean that the denizens put some effort into keeping their neck of the woods clean and pretty. I mean it’s a fundamental part of the plane. The whole plane is fractal in nature. While in theory the bottom border of the plane sinks it’s roots into the waters of the Plane of Water, everything is plants growing on plants all the way down and all the way up, from planet-sized trees with contienent size trees to country sized tress and you can see where I’m going with this. While these plants often don’t literally resemble the plants on the next largest tier but in miniature, they can, and it all keeps going down, potentially infinitely, but like all planes, perhaps not literally. As such, one can walk across a vast field which is just a mile-thick fungal mat stretched between two colossal branches, or walk around a massive tree city where streets and roads have been carved from the “dead” wood of the tree, leaving the living layer mostly untouched to keep growing and thriving. Seasons and time of day are partially determined by region and the bioluminescence of colossal plants a truly unfathomable distance above or below oneself. For that matter, in addition to plant matter familiar to denizens of Golarion, there are examples of plant life from potentially every planet across the universe as well as exotic fare that can only really exist on this plane. Of course, some environments are more hostile than others, such as the fungal denizens of the Nightwood or the areas suffering from the blight caused by Ayrzul (yes, him again. Turns out he’s pretty much an asshole to everyone).

And speaking of which, let’s talk denizens. Now some may wonder aloud what makes a wood elemental from your garden-variety plant monster, and the answers a little complex, but it boils down to how cultivation defines them. On the one hand, sure, some wood elementals are essentially mobile fruit or plant creatures such as moss sloths, pine pangolins, or harvest regiments, but others are shaped by careful cultivation, such as living groves, which the art of which expressly references the daisugi technique of Japanese logging, applying bonsai techniques to full-size trees to create perfectly straight logs. Others, however, are carved or grown into shape, such as carved beasts, painted stags, snapdrakes, or event the mighty twins of rowan, all of which are carved into shape from otherwise immobile wood (often with a still rooted base) and breathed new life into them by the rituals of either the Kizidhar genies or Shumunue, the Carved Lady of Mimicry herself, who represents wood as an art medium which imitates life as well as the ways that plant life draws in animals as pollinators or occasionally prey. Meanwhile, her counterpart is Verilorn, Custodian of Oak and Ash who presides over all agriculture, cultivation, and forestry. The two once worked together, but have grown apart in the eons of the planes isolation, to the pain of both.

And so now that we know all this about these two planes, we can actually get to the point of this entry and talk about integrating them within the pre-Second Edition setting and your own setting!

Firstly, let me gush a little about how these two new planes, which bring the elemental planes up to a whopping 6, defying both the assumptions of Wuxing AND Western elementalism in one fell swoop (not to mention all the others) also proceed to take the same basic concept of environment (i.e., being entirely made out of their element with barely any intrusion from the other elements barring those mixed-element outliers) and elevating it. Even without the illustrations from Rage of the Elements book, you can imagine an infinite fractal forest or a vast curved plane of gleaming metal and find that beautiful and awe-inspiring, and heck, they did a decent job of elevating the concept of the original 4 as well for that matter.

With that focus on elements returning and mixing, it’s also worth noting that not only are these new elements mixing with the old ones as they regrow into their old positions, but in their absence the other planes mixed as well. While it will take countless eons for them to be re-slotted in, no doubt also outstripping the cosmic era of Starfinder, eventually air and water will be mostly cut off from each other as will water and earth, but those vast areas of air-cooled ice and churning mud will never really go away.

But how will this affect your games? Well obviously if you never touch on it, it won’t, but if your 1e games want to touch on the elemental planes either directly or indirectly, it will. For the Lost Omens setting, perhaps metal and wood elementalists are gaining more respect and recognition outside of Tian Xia as anything more than a novelty, and maybe in the face of having two new pairs of elemental lords that don’t share the presumed dichotomy of good and evil will make planar scholars rethink the effects of how mortal assumptions about aspects of certain elements actually shaped the behavior of the beings that ruled them.

In a more general setting sense, having metal and wood be elements in your setting may change the sorts of environments your characters might encounter beyond the borders of the map. If they find a place where the element of wood is strong, they might think they stumbled onto some remote noble’s garden with how orderly it is until something like plants growing plants clues them into it being not quite natural, or maybe dwarves and other miners in your setting try to cultivate an elemental nexus of metal to turn a location into a motherlode of ore and valuable metals, and so on.

I’ve talked a lot about the new elemental planes in this one, but trust me, it’s all going to be very useful for the next two entries, and I hope you’re excited to see where that takes us tomorrow, starting with how character options change in a 6-element system!

[y-rhywbeth2]

In a recent post you mentioned that nowadays, Myrkul covered death by natural causes.

Once again, I'm curious what Myrkul gets out of the Absolute hoax. Not a lot of natural death happening there.

The first time I played, the Lord of Bones seemingly held power over necromancy, given his contribution to the plot. But that's mostly Velsharoon's job, isn't it?

Could Myrkul use the Absolute's power to steal divine influence from Velsharoon? Is that even something he wants?

Moreover, would Velsharoon care at all that Myrkulites were raising an army? Considering he serves Mystra, would he have known / been alarmed by undead brains getting implanted with Netherese-powered atheism tadpoles?

I'm laughing at the idea that Velsharoon, who is listed as one of Jergal's enemies, might have been the first whistleblower against the Dead Three's shenanigans. (Also possibly the result of Kressa's necromancy getting repeatedly foiled by the first True Soul being a Deathstalker of Bhaal who just wouldn't stay dead.)

Not a damn clue. Myrkul's current domains are entropy, age, the elderly, death by natural causes, funerals, and he is basically patron god of the undead. If we were establishing an undead empire of sapient undead and powerful necromancers, that would likely further Myrkul's goals and his priesthood would ally themselves with necromancers and the unliving to guide them - it'd also be something Bhaal would be on board with, although Bane's going to insist on putting his brand name on a few hundred if he tries that. I don't see any alhoons in this mind flayer army though.

(While there has been some brief mention of one temple planning to conquer Calimshan (literally or metaphorically, I'm not sure), his lot aren't a military order and Myrkul doesn't direct his worshippers to rock the boat without cause because he doesn't have the follower numbers to waste.)

I would assume he's looking to recover his power by revisiting his mortal adventuring days (it worked the first time). He's a thousand-year-old former Greater Power and Lord of the Dead who has lost almost all of his offices to younger powers, forcing him to borrow a portfolio from Bhaal; Kelemvor is god of the dead and has the funeral industry covered (and Jergal serves the office of the Fugue Plane, so that's a potential 'ally' lost for Myrkul). Velsharoon ascended and became patron of necromancers and is associated with the undead. Most of Myrkul's worshippers are coming from humans, and the current generation of humans associates those deities with 'his' domains. He's also not in a great position to run off an pick a fight with Kelemvor, as far as I can see.

(I can also understand why Bhaal took this path... And why are you here, Bane??)

Considering that necromancy and undeath aren't heavily involved in the squid army, I don't think it concerns Velsharoon much past perhaps not wanting Myrkul to gain power, although it's also been said that Velsharoon writes Myrkul off as a has-been who should be put in a retirement home, so he might not be paying attention.

While Velsharoon encourages lichdom and undeath amongst his followers he also apparently doesn't care that much for undead, who are just tools and his necromancers tend to brand those under their control with his holy symbols as a flex. Myrkulytes who revere the undead as holy very much do not appreciate that, and as such Myrkul apparently has custody of the undead after the Second Sundering and they like him significantly more. (Hard to say what's going on with Velsharoon right now though, because he's not on the list of deities for the Faerûnian panthon rn (although it sounds like he's still around).

As for Mystra:

'While he professes service to Azuth (and through him, Mystra), Velsharoon actually encourages his followers to kill followers of these deities when they have a chance in order to vaunt his own power.' - Magic of Faerûn

If there's a way for him to gain standing from whistleblowing, maybe, but I don't think he bothers to communicate anything useful to her most of the time.

-

Strangely I actually root for Myrkul to win here, as Old Lord Skull is the more sympathetic of the evil monsters. Aside from just generally having more style; Both gods are revered by necromancers, and their priests aid necromancers and try to get them to follow their god's teachings on the topic. Velsharoon is patron of necromancers (= undead are tools and servants. Surrender to death is Bad), Myrkul the undead (= the undead are those who have entered the holy state of death, their continued power of the living is proof of death/Myrkul's might and is holy and we should aid them in their goals. And taking a comforting stance to the dying with accepting that death is natural, not to be feared and inevitable is Right and there's (hopefully) a better place for you far from the suffering and trials of life).

[cuubism]

this is the hob-immortality-mechanism anon again, I just read the fic you wrote with dream having to stop hob from dying and I absolutely ADORE it <333333333

also: from hob's perspective, it's going to seem like it's just luck, right? the way he sees it, it just so happens that nothing actually manages to kill him. and then he finds out that luck is actually his Stranger his friend Dream.

also also. hob isn't aging, right? so what if, to win the bet with Death, Dream went to Father Time and bargained with him to spare hob, and THAT'S why hob isn't aging...

hob is definitely going around just thinking he's the luckiest motherfucker on the planet. "wow, how convenient that that piano falling out of a ten story window miraculously swerved and didn't hit me!" dream, sweating, holding up the piano: HOW CONVENIENT INDEED

oh god yeah Dream must have gone to Time as well XD "Father listen. our relationship is terrible. but i Must. Not. Lose. will you spare Hob Gadling from aging?" Time: all this has happened, will happen, is happening Dream: great. thanks. incredibly helpful as always Time: mortal aging is not a perception of time itself but simply a matter of entropy and decay Dream:...oh so it's CHAOS i need to go talk to, why didn't you just say that up front?

dream running around calling in favors with all sorts of deities around the world...

dream, to hob: do you even know how much debt i owe now because of you. i owe Delirium a flying unicorn for when she staved off your utter madness when you were homeless for like fifty years. for preventing you from aging, I owe Chaos a psychic storm, a little afraid to know what she's going to do with it. I owe the Thames the end of the Industrial Age for saving you from drowning-- hob: wait the Thames is a person? dream: --do you have any idea how hard that will be to accomplish? and i owe Despair a lifetime's supply of chocolate for preventing me from tearing MY OWN hair out chasing you around, AND-- hob: .......dream why? dream: had to take care of my pet human obviously dream: do you think they sell pet human insurance you're very expensive