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lifeaftr_mods) wrote2017-07-01 07:27 am
Non Playable Characters
The Storyteller
story_teller | CONTACT
The most influential god on the archipelago, and guide to all who enter it.
If one word could be used to describe the Storyteller, it would be 'eccentric'. Unlike most Deities, they'd much prefer to interact with characters where possible. Understandably so, as they draw their very power from the well of creativity that creatures such as yourselves are infamous for indulging. During your stay, the Storyteller will lend a greatly willing ear to every tale of survival you weave for them.
Having no permanent physical form, the Storyteller's appearance may vary entirely from one interaction to the next. Most commonly, they assume the appearance of an animal with one or two peculiarities to delineate it from an everyday beast, such as a pair of antlers. However, the Storyteller is never violent, and always recognizable by the gray leather-bound tome carried with them at all times. Mysteriously, the sun-bleached pages of this tome are always empty, never seeming to fill with words.
Often quick to allude to writing techniques and story devices, the Storyteller is a curious and powerful creature, apt at imparting sound advice and willing to work with characters as they seek to discover why they were brought to the islands - and by whom. While the Storyteller is unable to interfere directly in the lives of mortals, they hope to assist characters traverse LifeAftr so that their stories may be brought to a proper conclusion.
They are something of a white blank page, in some respects; they will reflect what is written upon them.
The Avatar of Balance
Uncovered on the dichotomous island of Monsun, the Avatar of Balance tends to take the shape of a pair of very large, floating koi fish, one white and one black. They tend to speak in tandem, though their words may often diverge from one another. However one may try, it will be impossible to discern one entity as separate from the other - neither twin speaks only the "good"
or the "bad," as we would know it.
The Avatar of Balance has a great deal of associations and titles. Some call them Gemini, while others refer to them as Res Bina. Still others know them as Glas. They are heavily associated with certain symbols: the koi fish, the yin and yang, the monarch butterfly, a set of scales, and the pink larkspur flower, to name but a few.
Far less of a pathos-driven creature in compared to the Storyteller, the Avatar of Balance is just as helpful as they are unhelpful. Every word of good advice comes with one of poor foresight, and every compliment is paired with an insult.
The Avatar of Bliss
The island of Ziziphus, while mantled with a peaceful exterior of peaceful woodland and flower-speckled meadows, hosted a complicated root system that wound back to an origin point in the island's wooded central area. The Avatar of Bliss was the most "physical" avatar for islanders to encounter, as the force of their energies allowed them to assume a far more tangible form than the rest. Their shape was that of a large, plantlike bulb; it was through the "roots" of that bulb that their vines could extend into Ziziphus's landscape and ensnare their prey to capture them in fabricated fantasy dream-worlds, from which they could feed on the resulting, manufactured "happiness." The fact that these fantasies would inevitably drain and kill their prey did not matter.
Grotesquely large, folds of Bliss's plant matter formed a sagging, smiling face that fell between tiredly deep-set and eerily content. Bliss was a slow speaker, frequently distracted, having learned to value their own pleasure above all else. If something was not immediately useful to furthering their own euphoria, they would not care to pursue it. They more or less existed in a state of perpetual squalor, surrounded by their own dead and decaying plant matter.
The Avatar of Bliss was known by a smattering of varying titles: Rapsho, Scioli, or the Sweet Bloom were common epithets. They were also associated with a variety of abstract symbols: the sweet pea, the bluebird, and an ingot of gold, as well as their trademark vines.
In mid-May of 2018, the Avatar of Bliss attempted to suction all of Ensō's islanders into fueling their perpetual euphoria indefinitely, and paid a grim price. Upon their death, the island of Ziziphus crumbled into the sea, and was lost forever.
The Avatar of Harvest
thankgods | CONTACT
The avatar based on the island of Nuidan is known by many names: Oko, Churnpeg, Demetus, Jarilo, though they prefer the title of Harv. This deity prefers the form of a sheepdog, but is associated with a variety of other symbols: a slab of crystalized amber, the white cups of a lotus, a bright green frog. Hardworking, amiable, and always busy on something or another, the Avatar of Harvest is generous to those who work hard and has little patience for those who do not. Their single-minded dedication to getting things done means that procrastination and laziness - or that which they perceive as such - is faced with a lack of tolerance that borders on the vindictive.
Harv was instrumental in facilitating various upgrades to Ensō, from an additional farming islet to improvements to the islanders' housing. In exchange for the hard work of those who volunteered to take on various maintenance tasks on Nuidan, Harv was more than willing to reward islanders with equipment, fields of crops, and more. Personal skill and aptitude is seldom an obstacle, as far as Harv is concerned; as long as one tries their hardest, they are more than deserving of approval and recompense.
The Avatar of Justice
thankgods | CONTACT
The avatar located on the island of Maati prefers the title Anbaki, but they are known also by a variation of titles: Tyreg, Utag, the Iron Will. They assume the shape of a golden eagle, though they're slightly larger than your average bird. Their temple can be found at Maati's heart. While it seems a fairly simple thing, built of iron and copper, it also bears repeating sigils of varying colors, inlaid periodically across the exterior and carved from differently-colored variants of jasper. These same sigils could be found engraved on the doors that were mounted at each point of Maati's seven-pointed star shape. Twined about the metallic construct, woven neatly throughout the composition of the building, several chestnut trees rear out into the sky. And everywhere you look, the symbol of the eagle can be found - fanning wings, hooked beak, outspread talons - carved into the walls, in the form of simple ornaments mounted on ledges and peaks.
Despite being the avatar of justice, Anbaki is surprisingly gentle, and in practicing endless neutrality, are also straightforward to a fault. Thus, Anbaki would end up putting islanders through a series of Trials, each tailored to their faults and flaws. They genuinely believed the Trials to be critical in allowing the islanders to better themselves. Their form of justice lies not in punishment, but in redemption.
The Avatar of Celebration
The avatar of the island of Io is the one who embodies celebration, and all the euphoria associated with it. They don't particularly prefer any of the many titles they've accrued over time - Eleu, Octliq, Abaachal, Yiril, the Agave Tempest, or Kasii - but Eleu seems to be their go-to. Their shape is one of a large swarm of honeybees, though they can be accessed by addressing just about any of the multitudes of honeybees found drifting all over Io.
Their temple is a bright, extravagant affair of marble and rubies, heavy with grapevines entwined all along the exterior. The courtyard of smooth marble flagstone is lined by ripe fruit trees. Inside, the air is rich with the scents of fermenting grapes and honey, mingling not unpleasantly with the scent of incense. The temple's interior has been furnished with rich, dark wood, lending it a heady, intimate demeanor. There are plenty of places to sit and lie down, due to an abundance of rugs, throw pillows, and assorted cushions of every shape and size. The Standing Stone at the temple's heart is almost, but not quite, hot to the touch. It won't burn on contact, but it's clear that the presence here is very, very strong. The smoky scent of incense blends with images that card rapidly through one's mind as they cross the threshold into this place - the fuzzy, striped yellow-black of a honeybee, the rich and warm tones of a carved ruby, a fat wad of purple grapes, dripping with condensation.
Easily made boisterous and practically radiating delight and ecstasy, this is a god that wants nothing more than to enjoy themselves, and see that everyone else enjoys themselves as well. They treasure the act of discovering what people might do to unwind or cheer themselves up, and is very open to learning and discovering new ways to relax and enjoy oneself. They are willing to try just about anything at least once. They can enjoy meditative silence for relaxation equally with loud drunken parties, and so on. As someone who treasures happiness and contentment, Eleu is more than willing to accept compromise if it means making people happy.
The Jormun
aftrnpc | CONTACT
The Jormun are native to the dark-lit regions of the seafloor of LifeAftr, and are apparently quite widespread. The particular group that characters encountered was located on the island of Chol, upon which they had established a rudimentary encampment in preparation for the death and rebirth of LifeAftr's sun.
While their appearance may be startling to some, the Jormun are a generally helpful species. Large, diverse, and powerful, they boast a great deal of physical strength in addition to some rudimentary magics.
The leader of one particular faction, known to most as Munin, maintains peaceable, diplomatic relations with most land-dwellers thanks to their help on Chol.
The People of the Standing Water
The true name of these people seemingly unknown, the people of the Standing Water are located on the island of Ai'tuoh, which is predominantly covered in their rigid, gray city.
Strict and law abiding, the people of the Standing Water have zero tolerance for violations of their laws within the city walls, and militia monitor the population often to take those violators into custody and punishment - purification in the Standing Water. Previous interaction with the people of Ai'tuoh saw an almost complete deconstruction of their conformist society, along with a destruction of a not insignificant proportion of their city. Despite this, there remain at least three allies among the people of Ai'tuoh, where Ensō's population is concerned: the militia-turned-traitor Mari Zalin, her younger sibling Ninth, and the enigmatic, pragmatic barkeep Arl Kenning.
But thus far, none of them have contacted those on Ensō since.
ARUM-25
A broken-down, overgrown automaton found on the abandoned, hospice island of Umui. An untold number of their fellows perished due to the deadly illness known as "the Overgrowth," which affected both the organic population and the synthetic nurse-bots that were constructed to assist them.
ARUM-25 was the sole remainder of their kind, the only one not to have succumbed entirely to the Overgrowth that overtook practically all other life on the island, though they were certainly in poor condition after so much time on their own. With the help of several characters, ARUM-25 was able to recover much of their processing and mobility. However, with the restoration of their memory circuits, they found that they would be as susceptible to the Overgrowth as the rest of their fellow automatons; it was only their creator's foresight and final acts in removing those circuits that saved them from the same fate. Worse, their programming rendered them unable to do away with the illness as adventurers could.
Upon this realization, adventurers were faced with a grim choice: either remove the restored memory circuits so that ARUM-25 could perpetuate in amnesiac isolation, or allow ARUM-25 to keep their memories and be consumed by the Overgrowth, which was their preference. In the end, they elected to power ARUM-25 down instead. The automaton now remains dormant on Umui, which has halted the progress of the Overgrowth.
The Roaka
Natives to the island of Cahypdo, the Roaka are a delightfully friendly folk somewhat reminiscent of treants, though they happen to be slightly smaller than your average ent. With heights ranging from six to twelve feet in their prime, their bark-like skin is more biologically comparable to the plates on an armadillo's back than actual plant matter.
Similarly to the Jormun, the Roaka vary wildly in their general appearance. Some are reminiscent of willow trees, their bulky, barky shapes streamlined by draping curtains of moss, while others have more recognizable facial features. Some are swathed with glorious crowns of flowers, some are massive, log-like swells of wood that may as well be rooted to the earth, and others are twiggy and thin. The only common thread seems to be their extraordinarily natural appearance, and the way one might be forgiven for mistaking them as part of their surroundings at first glance.
Skilled farmers and cultivators of the land, the Roaka delight in the simple, renewable resources their island has gifted them; resources they're more than willing to share and trade for when asked. Eggs and fish are also staples of the Roaka's diet, though you'll find no other types of meat gracing a Roaka's table.
While they're certainly friendly enough, it seems that the Roaka know little about many species outside their own, save for the local fauna. Indeed, they know of very little outside of their island. Cahypdo is all they have known...for who can say how long.
( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )