#crystalline souls and earthen spirits

[aurallyaddison]

me now: i am well-adjusted and had a good childhood and i am currently working through all of my issues and have no more to uncover :)

me at 11: this is my sona she is a dragon who was born a with super rare mutation (shes like a prophetic guardian) but her aunt the queen is a racist eugenicist (because of the lingering influence of a corrupt leader a generation or so ago) so she was exiled and thrown off the cloud cover she lived on and she died FOR REAL but she came back because her soul was split into five parts from the moment she was conceived and each individual part was inside of another creature who died unfairly so they could live again

(inhale)

so the first is a cat who lives on an island which is also a warrior cats parallel universe except each of the four clans here specialize in harvesting certain resources and his clan is a miner clan where they find cool jewels and minerals but somewhat recently a new deputy has entered the clan and made it so that all miner apprentices are fitted with a band on their wrist that shocks them and makes them feel pain whenever their mentor feels like it and theyre forced to work inhumanely for so long and so badly that everyone forgets that this was never how it worked before (plus the leader is like totally hypnotized and mind controlled) and so this guy is trained by the deputy but after hes named a full miner he turns tail and runs to the closest neighboring clan because he sees the deputy is too power hungry and also the medicine cat advises him to but hes caught and killed on the spot

(inhale)

and so the next one is this wyvern whose egg gets mixed up in a landslide aboveground (wyverns live in subterranean caverns) and shes technically part of the highest and most powerful caste of her society (the moment she hatched she found an opal and hung it around her neck with her natural magic thats how it works) but she never learns this because she is raised by the most vicious group of dragons on the surface and abused and treated horribly and she can only eat because she lives in a hole in a cliff facing the sea and she teaches herself to fish and she is forced into combat training she does not want to do and is too young/small/weak/pacifistic/insecure to safely take part in and so one day she is called to do some fighting and she is deliberately matched against the biggest guy in the group who knocks her off the stump they fight on killing her instantly

(inhale)

and so also more recently i made this cat who because of the nature of her magic and an intrinsic property of her spirit her communitys corrupt leader sees her as a threat so she uses her power to send her out into the forest to fetch something after making her drink Potion Of Attacked By Incorporeal Shadow Monster and so when shes attacked it weakens her spirit enough that she is willing to drink another potion she finds without questioning it except this time the leaders assistants didnt realize that the poison they added was only deadly to non-dragons and it actually increases dragons lifespans and also if someone has a piece of a dragons soul inside them like this cat does it makes them immortal so she actually dies for like a second but then comes back and runs away to live in a cave just outside of where the leader can sense her and takes in the handful of other cats who are targeted as found family (also the other ingredients in the potion made it that so instead of being invulnerable her wounds turn into something depending on the magic they have so like hers turn into new body parts and her friend jades wounds turn into jade and emerald)

(inhale)

this one isnt as fleshed out but basically shes a fox who is killed by her brothers friends because they dont like her but the collars given to her and her brother by their mom allow them to persist after death as unique half-alive-half-dead versions of themselves and also astral project even when theyre still alive and those who possess the collars can talk to one another discreetly without others seeing either so at first she just follows him but then she decides to get revenge and kill the friends who attacked her which makes her brother scared and want nothing to do with her anymore but it was so easy she could do it again and nobody would ever know and so she becomes super corrupted by power and kills a bunch of people (including her brother i think) and she finds a friend who understands her sort of and ignores the killings at first but then she gets fed up and yells at her and cries and claws her collar off not realizing what would happen which is that the foxs wound that caused her death is exposed and she bleeds out and dies for real this time

(inhale)

and so this one was collaboratively written with a friend of mine using paper cutouts of our respective ocs and roleplaying with them and so basically theres this fennec fox whos making the trek to a sacred site to fully receive her magic and one night she digs a burrow to sleep in and when she wakes up for some reason shes in a different universe and is seen by this winged black wolf and her little sister and they speak a different language but her necklace translates it for her because it does and anyway the wolves are on the run and the fennec wants to get home and they might have a way to do both in the world's capital so she begrudgingly accepts and so they journey together through perilous conditions and the fennec starts to warm up to them and they actually connect but right at the end of their journey the little sister is killed so the fennec and the wolf return alone and the fennec gets her full magic and they bury the little sister near an oasis and mourn her and i think the fox goes off on her own and is caught off guard by an ambush and killed

(heavy panting)

me now: haha kid thats cute. :) that wasnt plasmas friend though that was her girlfriend

[dailycharacteroption]

Creature Corner: Outsiders (Elementals) part 1

 Overview

 The whispering of wind, the crackle of flame, the immovable presence of stone, the gurgle of a stream… the elements are combined and mixed together to form all that is material.

Of course, that belief is pretty archaeic nowadays with the understanding of atomic elements, but the idea of these forms of matter being fundamental building blocks is a classic one, as are the entities that embody these elements.

Indeed, welcome to the final set of entries on the broad creature type of outsiders, in which we cover elementals!

Fundamentally different from other types of outsiders, which are typically made of quintessence, these elementals are either formed from material matter, or perhaps, represent the blurring point between soulstuff and atomic substance as we know it.

 Multitudes of cultures have all had mythical spirits of the elements in their stories across the ages, but the first time that such beings were categorized together as a group that embodied the four classical elements was Paracelsus in the 16th century, who described these being as somewhere between mortal creature and bodiless spirits, namely nymphs/undines, sylphs/sylvestris, pygmies/gnomes, and salamanders. You may notice that many of these names are used in Pathfinder and other rpgs for fantastical creatures, some retaining their connection to the elements, some not. It is said that followers of Paracelsus and similar orders that shared belief in such beings would actually choose to remain celibate in hopes of wedding an elemental, therefore gifting it with it’s own soul through their union. (Yes, that is real. Teratophilia is much older than the internet, I assure you.) Though one does wonder how such a belief would interact with polyamory and the like…

In any case, these elemental beings would inspire plenty of fantasy writers, and elementals as we know them now would appear in the novels of Michael Moorcock and in D&D and beyond, taking on their modern appearance as animate masses of the element in question, many being vaguely humanoid, but others being more fluid or even taking the shapes of other living creatures.

Indeed, the basic Pathfinder elementals do fulfill that image quite nicely, each elemental taking on a form that suits them, but still having the same basic stats by size. However, Pathfinder also has four mixed-element elementals: ice, lightning, magma, and mud, a fifth element “aether” elemental, and wood and metal elementals on the way in 2nd edition’s upcoming Rage of the Elements book. The former of those four falling in line with the old Planescape setting’s quasi- and para-elemental planes, while the last three coming from the idea of the fifth element and of eastern Wuxing elementalism, respectively.

Another common denizen of the inner planes are mephits, those oddly imp-like beings that are made from various combinations of the elements, and have distinctive, often somewhat comical personalities based on the nature of that element. Best not to underestimate them though, for while they are small fry, several have proven capable of attaining great personal power.

The classic civilized beings of the elemental planes are the various genie races, all tall, imposing beings that resemble humanoids, but are very much creatures of their element. While their societies vary by type, they are typically imperious beings capable of incredible power, including their ability to grant wishes. It is that power that often causes greedy mages to bind genies to their power, so even the most benevolent kinds of genies tend to be wary of mortals.

Of course, there are plenty of other elemental beings living on these planes, such as the masters of storm and wind known as the anemos, the dwarf-like and hardy azer, the structure-bound ahkhat, the electrical comozant wyrd, the invisible aerial servants and invisible stalkers, crystalline crysmals, the barely-tangible belker and mihstu, the earthen mudmen and sandmen, fiery magmin and salamanders, the golem-born ozimat, the harbor-blessing portunus, and so on. Some of these beings are natural denizens, though some arise purely from the actions of powerful spellcasters as well.

 The elements and the beings that are made from them may seem simple at first, but they have a surprising amount of depth even with that theming. Even still, elementals are clearly very different from other outsider types, their existence marked not by morality, but by composition. Because of this, they can have a much wider variety of alignments without “breaking the rules” and becoming risen/fallen beings. This means that there are a lot of stories you can tell with them as friend or foe.

 That does it for today, but we’ve only scratched the surface. First, we’ll talk about how elementals can be allies.

[hiraeth-wayfarer]

Hiraeth Creature #718 - Apri

"Hiraeth is a land of nomads, and while many are looking to leave their footprints in the roads ahead, some find the journey before them as a daunting, lonely challenge. Beneath the crossing routes of Hiraeth, even more paths open up underground in the expansive realm known as the Undercroft. While many associate the tunnels that lead downwards as rocky caves, the Undercroft covers many biomes, often acting as a strange reflection of the land above it. The variety of landscapes mixed in with the Undercrofts swallowed ruins and crystalline walls makes for many surreal vistas. In underground forests and glades, creatures live with the stone children of the Eathern Maiden who ensure the balance is kept, similarly to the spirits who act as forest guardians above. Not all of these beings are strict custodians, such as the kindly Apri.

Though the Apri are small in stature, they can be seen from afar as wispy glowing lights. Their tails carry a flittering flame, though it doesn't burn to the touch unless the Apri is angry. Apri are fond of company, and often rest in forests and ruins, spending time telling stories with the little critters who are initially attracted by the glow. They keep together in a friendly congregation, almost looking like lit-up candles left at a holy place when they sit around and talk to one another. Apri give off a warm, calming aura that runs deep through the body if held in the palm of one's hand, acting as a perfect seat for these tiny sprites. This feeling soothes the mind and creates tranquility in the soul, though for other being of stone, it can be much more important-- the natural aura of the Apri mends stone, and being one of the Earthen Maiden's children, they are called upon whenever needed. Many Apri have seen vicious battles and have lost friends over time, so they take as much time as they can bonding with each living thing that is willing to unwind with them."