(I need you all to get ready for the biggest yap you have ever seen because I realised I could fit all of His lore into a single post and I am lazy lol)
(Also just thought I’d give another warning, Orpheus’ lore does have horror in it, specifically body/Eldritch horror and a mention of suicide, if any of these things make you uncomfortable, I understand your comfort is more important than my silly oc)
- Back before humans existed on Esperia, there were only gods and titans.
- For Orpheus’ lore specifically I want to include a titan
- One who specifically ruled over the domain of Knowledge, Curiosity and Wonderlust
- And I think I want this titans name to be Merlin (or at-least the name most people used)
- Before humans started popping up in Esperia Merlin was practically bored to death, he already knew everything there was to know about Esperia
- Until humans started showing up,
- It didn’t take long for The titan Merlin to become enamoured by these humans
- He thought that there was nothing more to learn about Esperia, but these people proved him oh so wrong
- The way I want this titan to work is that when someone learns doing this thing does this thing, he gains that knowledge (example: if someone were to learn how to dye fabric the titan would also now know how to dye fabric)
- Soon this titan would descend to Esperia, to walk among its inhabitants
- And he didn’t realise just how beautiful it was from down there…from its wildlife to its environments…to its people, this titan was beyond in love with this place now, only coming back to his godly court or to discuss something with another god/titan
- (I like to imagine it was mainly dura)
- I also want this titan to have been depicted with silver hair, and a halo
- …The same halo Orpheus wears now
- I want this halo to keep the titan together so to speak, I want it to be that the knowledge this titian holds is far too much for his mortal disguise, so he wears this halo, to keep his mind from gaining too much knowledge
- And if any mortal were to see the titans true form, it would be too much for that mortal, (something something infinite knowledge crushing a humans mind who saw his actual form so on so forth)
- I also want the titan to be the one to discover that mortals could tap into the power of the leylines
- And so merlin, started teaching the people of Esperia how to wield this strange new power
- Thus causing him to be revered by mortals all across esperia
- Merlin would continue travelling Esperia helping people whenever he could
- People would start telling tales of the “powerful magister Merlin”
- …However there was something brewing in the background….like a pot of boiling water about to spill
- Some of the other gods had felt their power waver, feeling discarded by their own followers (classic god stuff) had decided to make contact with something bloodthirsty
- Something ancient…something forgotten…something that’s born from the deepest abyss
- The collaboration of the jealous gods and…this thing resulted in the birth of entities the likes of which no one could comprehend (here are some things I’m taking inspo of off :) )
- And soon these monsters would descend upon Esperia, and wreak havoc the likes of which no one has seen
- The type of chaos hypogeans could only marvel at
- This resulted in the first divine war (I’m basically switching out hypogeans for eldritch horrors yayyy!! :DD )
- The conflict between Esperia and these monsters was intense and deadly
- merlin was there on the front lines too of course, how could he not be?
- But, the titan had the ability to know things, to gain knowledge just by asking a question and *not* have to wait for an answer
- He knew when Esperia couldn’t take much more of this war, when everyone was on their last legs and it seemed like these entities they fought so hard against were going to win
- But Merlin couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen he couldn’t bear the thought of it
- Merlin would lead these creatures and the fallen gods away to his divine domain, and trap them there by sealing away his realm from anyone in the outside world, cutting off any and all ways of entry
- But how did the titan and the Celestials of his divine court get to travel between Esperia and Merlin’s domain?
- Well, I’m toying around with the titan having a archive that doubled as a place of worship for some of his followers, with an intricate teleportation circle carved into the floor
- Which acted as a gateway for the titan and the Celestials to their heavenly realm
- Merlin decided he was going to lure these monsters away, distract them with a worthwhile target…himself
- Not the magister merlin, but rather his true form, the Titan Merlin
- Fortunately enough, what was probably years on the battlefield was a perfect opportunity to learn about these entities
- From countless encounters, Merlin had discovered the monsters were attracted to light, like moths to a open flame
- So, the titan dedicated as much of his time away from the front lines creating a spell
- One that could create enough light for the monsters to be unable to not follow
- This….is how the spell starshower was created
- What was more of a perfect distraction than the sky being full of shooting stars?
- Once the titan perfected the spell he went and said his goodbyes to the people he fought with (mostly his celestials)
- Of course few had caught on to his plan and made countless objections, saying that there *had* to be a better way
- There wasn’t, not in the titans eyes
- And in his eyes it was worth it, not only would it protect Esperia, it would give his divine realm a good use (which at this point he had almost been completely abandoned)
- And then the day finally came, the day the titan would save the people of esperia a final time
- He had his Celestials scout the perfect spot to cast the spell he created
- The Celestials tried one final time to get the titan to change its mind
- Which fell on deaf ears
- The titan in his true form took one final look at the world he came to love so dearly, looked back at the Celestials he had cherished so dearly, muttered one final goodbye to both of them, and flew across the entire world of esperia, dragging shooting stars across the sky with him
- Merlin had made sure to gather most of the monsters before luring them into the temple
- Making sure all of the monsters he dragged over Esperia with him would follow him through the teleportation circle, he used his magic to lock the doors behind them, before activating the circle just as all these monsters were about to attack, dragging them all through the portal into his domain, and then closing that gateway too
- He did it! The titans plan had worked!
- Now, he had to pay the price for it.
- He was far too outnumbered against these entities
- The titan was soon ripped apart by these monsters, causing his magic and power to be realised
- But, due to the fact that he sealed himself away from Esperia with seemingly no way back his magic couldn’t go and merge with the leylines, it was left adrift in his domain mixing with some of the monsters and the foul substances that caused them to exist
- Merlin died in his own domain, but it was worth it
- Because he had sealed the monsters away from the people he cared for
- And that’s all that mattered to him
- Many of his celestials didn’t know what to do with themselves, some traveled, some talked about his many deeds often being believed to be fables and stories…and some simply disappeared, often either trying to go back to their old home or sadly killed themselves
- And after the war was officially over, dura, in honour of the fallen titan of knowledge, started the arcane council and had chosen to go by the name Merlin, which would soon be passed on through thousands of years and generations to come
- In a strange and oddly fitting way
- thousands of years later, some time after the second divine war
- When esperia seemed like it finally had a moment of peace
- Wandering the world all on his own seemingly always chasing the horizon, with no goal, no clear destination, just endlessly wandering the world
- This travelers name is Orpheus Stirling
- What was once a previously a promising student of the serene Lyceum was now wandering the world alone to no end
- Due to this…strange itch in the back of his head
- But this itch wasn’t just a hunger to explore the world, no, this itch did something else to him
- This strange feeling in the back of his head eroded his memory over time, making him forget who he was, who his family were, his hometown, where he studied, *everything*
- (What I’m currently playing around with right now is that this itch which seemed to be a urge to go see the world was a cleverly disguised curse placed on him by Cyran back in their days in the Lyceum) ((for reasons I’m still figuring out, remember, this is one ginormous wip))
- And the only thing that seemed to scratch that itch was to just endlessly travel the world
- Going wherever roads took him, never having a proper home, this became the norm to him
- Travelling to the point the idea of settling down felt wrong to him
- “I’ll put down my roots when I’m dead” to put it in his own words
- And for a while, that’s how he lived, wandering the roads and pathways, until he finds some settlement, helps out when people need it/handle the occasional odd job, before leaving without a word
- Orpheus was travelling, like he usually was until there was a storm,
- Causing Orpheus to look for the closest shelter he could find,
- Leading him to discover the noble tavern/mystic house
- At first it seemed normal until he caught a glance outside and-
- Orpheus was taken aback by the strangely beautiful creature he almost didn’t see what rested behind her, a gorgeous field, filled to the brim with wildflowers of such lovely colors and variety, Orpheus stared for so long he almost seemed lost in there, only to be caught of guard by-
- The sudden interruption caused Orpheus to flinch, without wanting to waist any time to explain himself he turned around to see a red-headed woman with green eyes, no older than 22-23? Maybe?
- Orpheus’ attempts to apologise and explain himself soon turned to quiet mutters by the end of his sentences
- Luckily it was met with kind reassurance and gentle explanations
- (I like to imagine in the noble tavern there are these doors that are basically portals to the noble tavern in all the places we go in game, so I’m making it canon here lol)
- All that Orpheus could seem to muster after the small conversation was a quiet “…oh…” and a slight nod
- (I suck a writing dialogue could you tell?)
- And soon Orpheus would come to learn that this red-heads name is Dolly
- I think at this point there would be no other patrons in the tavern, leading to dolly and Orpheus talking to one another after that small interaction
- Which would then peak the curiosity of miss Circe magnolia, the proprietor of the noble tavern and talented mage, causing her to join in their conversation
- Once both dolly and Circe learned of Orpheus’ life and his amnesia the both of them insisted on him staying here, atleast until he finds somewhere to call his home
- At first Orpheus wanted to decline, he felt like he’d only be a burden to the both of them
- But with the way they were both looking at him with such concern and worry
- It did not take long for Orpheus to fold
- “Just a few days” he thought he, “I won’t be here for long this is fine, I’m fine, it’s fine”
- But soon days would turn to weeks and weeks into months
- Okay so maybe that whole “just a few days” thing was a lie
- Truth be told Orpheus loved his time here, it was nice to have a roof over his head, proper meals, being able to get back into old hobbies, having People he can talk to about almost anything
- He never realised what his life was missing until now
- Of course not everything was perfect, he had to deal with creepy patrons sometimes, he felt a little trapped at times due to not travelling like he used to….and he was still stuck with dealing with his amnesia curse
- The curse had its days, one day everything seemed fine the next Orpheus would struggle to recall what he had done yesterday
- He felt terrible about it
- But both dolly and Circe were there for him when it got that bad, to help him up when he fell, to be a shoulder to lean on
- Orpheus was incredibly relieved to have them both by his side
- However, dolly and Circe could tell being stuck in one place (despite that place literally being able to move) was getting to him, the way Orpheus would spend more time outside “getting fresh air”, having atleast one part of his body moving at all times, how he would stare out the window, lost in some daydream
- It didn’t take long for Circe to propose the idea of Orpheus going on his travels again, however she made painfully sure he would come back to them both
- “You’re stuck with the both of us now, whether you like it or not <3”
- Orpheus almost had to make a *vow* with how many times Circe was making sure he’d return
- And after his journey, he did
- And soon it became almost a routine, Orpheus would start to feel that urge rise, he would go off, often scouting ahead of the noble tavern, making sure there were no hazards they should stay clear of, and then he’d come back before homesickness would kick in
- And on rare occasions, he would come back with someone he met on his travels, souls who at the time didn’t feel like they had a purpose in their lives,
- (Now, do I have all their backstory’s properly written out? No, do I have their names and colours that represent them? Yes!)
- These are the others Orpheus would drag back with him to the mystical house/noble tavern
- Resulting in the creation of a lovely little found family :))
- And for a while everything was just really good, Orpheus finally had people he could talk to, to trust, to actually *know* and cherish
- Orpheus had gotten the urge to travel again, he wasn’t planning on being gone for a long time, he was only going to travel to a small village they passed by while moving the mystical house, it wasn’t that far at all really, maybe two days of travelling? (Which to Orpheus seemed like nothing)
- He’d only be gone for a week and a half at most
- Once Orpheus reached the small village, it didn’t take long for him to realise something was…off
- It was small things at first, things that could be written off a while after it happens
- The way the town’s people were always whispering about something, looking at a certain direction from the village with worry…
- It wasn’t until Orpheus learned about the 5 missing people that the worry he felt was truly starting getting to him…
- it was the only thing this village seemed to be able to talk about
- “Have you heard? Another person went missing…” “I heard they were eaten”
- But to say his curiosity wasn’t peaked would be a lie…
- I didn’t take long enough for him to find out where this building the villagers were whispering about’s location
- “Just in the forest not far from here, you go down a path there and you should end up in a clearing, that’s where you should find it”
- That’s what the baker said at-least…
- And sure enough, he found it
- A massive structure abandoned for years and years by now, covered in dust and rubble with small patches of grass and moss starting to grow on it
- Looking at it closely, it seemed to be some sort of temple? Or some place of worship…
- Orpheus peered through the now broken down doors, he would’ve been able to see inside if it wasn’t for how the sunlight was hitting the doorway
- If he wanted to take a closer look…he was going to have to step inside…
- And so, like a moth to a candle, like a naive fish to an anglerfish’s lure
- Orpheus closed his eyes…took a deep breath in
- the place was far different from what Orpheus first imagined…
- What first seemed like a place of worship also seemed to double as…a library of some kind?
- That’s what it seemed like anyway
- Multiple bookshelf’s lined the hall he found himself him, multiple tapestries and murals would decorate the walls where those bookshelves did not rest, piles of books lay in stacks all around, discarded, candles that had long since melted away were perched on top of bookshelves and seating areas that were now collecting dust,
- And looking up there was no visible ceiling, instead Orpheus was silently greeted by rows upon rows of balconies and railed walkways holding up even more bookshelves and seats,
- This place was built to house an infinite amount of knowledge
- And Orpheus was enamoured by it
- He would love something like this in the mystical house
- Wonder filling his eyes, he immediately took towards one of the bookshelves, almost completely abandoning his past weariness of this place and the dangers it could hold…
- quickly but quietly approaching one of the bookshelves his eyes scanned for anything that grabbed his interest…
- Only to find out the book he grabbed was in a language he’s never seen before….
- Oh well, theres an entire ocean of books here, there’s bound to be one can read
- As Orpheus delved deeper into the abandoned temple, he started hearing…something
- There were people here…muttering to each other about something
- Using one of the many bookshelves to hide behind Orpheus peered around the corner to find a group of people
- a group of adamant syndicate grunts
- Seeming to be lead by a figure dressed in dark robes, clutching a staff
- Looking at the mysterious figure…there was something achingly familiar about him…but Orpheus just couldn’t place it
- Five people all with they’re hands bound and behind their backs
- These were the missing people the villagers were talking about
- It wasn’t until the familiar figure seemingly triggered a strange portal on the floor Orpheus knew he had to stop them and…whatever *this* is
- Orpheus acted fast darting across the hall towards the hostages but somehow managed staying out of sight
- It wasn’t until he had undone the ropes the hostages had been untied and Orpheus had dragged them all to their feet the adamant syndicate grunts had noticed
- Orpheus quickly rushed all the captured villagers straight to the front door, quickly casting a shield spell to prevent any spells to harm or hinder any of the runaway captives
- Making sure every villager was out before making a run for it himself
- And just as he was about to reach the doors, they were shut on him…
- Turning back to the hall he found himself surrounded by the syndicate members
- Before being knocked out…
- When he woke up he found himself being dragged down the hall of the temple
- Looking over his shoulder, he saw that same mage again…this time chanting in a strange foreign language…
- Only to then see the rift in the floor grow
- …that’s when Orpheus started to panic struggling against the grunts tight grip on him only for it to be futile
- And before Orpheus was tossed into the portal…the mage said something to him
- Sadly Orpheus couldn’t hear much of it due to his spiralling mind
- But he does remember one phrase…
- And then like a rock being tossed into a pond, Orpheus had vanished into the portal…
- That’s what it felt like at-least
- He could feel the air rush past him as he descended
- And then…he saw it the world he was forced into finally came into sight…
- for the first time in thousands of years…someone had entered the titan merlins domain
- Unfortunately he wasn’t alone
- Orpheus’ fall was broken by debris and rubble
- Looking around he knew he wasn’t in Esperia anymore…
- Rising to his feet he felt this quiet unease around him
- Like there was something staring at him
- This place, *wherever* this place was or is
- The first minute of Orpheus time in this place was spent trying to stop his mind from spiralling
- …until he heard something…
- Something low and guttural
- Orpheus’ rather rough landing woke up something
- He had to start running
- And he did, picking the exact opposite direction and not stopping until he couldn’t hear it anymore
- Orpheus was now in a desperate fight for his survival and freedom against horrid creatures beyond anyone’s comprehension
- Almost always overexerting himself and his magic
- The very few times Orpheus wasn’t using his magic in fights were spent running like hell
- Or praying to any and all gods he could think of…Dura, Misarte, *any god* that Orpheus could think of…
- Only to have them ignore/not hear his prayers
- Orpheus would come across a new environment and a new threat with it
- He would try to fend off the monster, either killing it or becoming too exhausted to
- And have to move due to any other creatures hearing him
- This strange almost personalised hell was endless
- He just wanted to go home
- He just wanted to see his friends again…
- Orpheus had stumbled across what looked to be a large body of water or something that resembled it anyway
- With no boat and not being able to see the edge of the water, he realised he couldn’t walk around nor sail across
- …he had to go through it whether it ment swimming or hopefully walking through it
- As Orpheus started to move across the water he started lowering his guard…
- Luckily the water only seemed to be quite shallow
- Until the water behind him started…bubbling
- Only for a clawed hand seemingly made out of the same material Orpheus was trudging through silently rose out of the body of water
- And quickly latched onto Orpheus’ ankle
- Orpheus gasping at the sudden feeling quickly spun around to face what had grabbed him
- Only to see nothing but the claw latched onto him
- And soon more and more of the same hands rose and grappled him one after another
- Until they started dragging him down into the murky waters below…
- Orpheus tried to struggle out of the hands to no avail
- Only for Orpheus to vanish underneath the water…
- That’s all Orpheus’ mind could seem to think about…
- *He was drowning, this is it*
- Until he spotted something through the dark water
- It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness…but he could make it out
- A ribcage, but this didn’t belong to a human
- This ribcage was far bigger than anything he’s seen
- letting his eyes wander up the spine of the colossal skeleton reaching the collarbone and then…the skull
- Jaw unhinged…stuck in some sort of pained expression…
- And then he spotted it a rotting eyeball, staring straight at him
- Orpheus head started to spin
- He was so confused…his mind going from question to question faster than his mind was able to keep up with
- What is this place? What are these monsters? Why did *he* have to end up here?
- His mind was starting to spiral again until these questions were answered…
- Orpheus was stunned how did he-
- And then new answers came to him…flooding his mind until he could hardly think straight
- Until all he could do was shriek in pain
- (Remember when I said that if any mortal were to look at the titan Merlin their minds would be crushed underneath what they saw/ancient knowledge no mortal should have? Yeah) (that paired with corruption that could turn a sheep into a terrifying monster and most likely a titans blood? yeah I don’t think this would go so well)
- And with every new answer and flash of pain, his body would change, his bones would snap and crack into new shapes, flesh quickly warping around those bones
- Slowly becoming like the monsters he fought so hard against…
- And it was excruciating
- Under the gaze of the rotting, forgotten titan, Orpheus could only think one coherent thought quickly being drowned out by all of the forgotten history, languages and ugly truths
- He had to get out of here. He had to leave.
- Quickly thrashing against the hands that had dragged him under here in the first place, he struggled to the top of the water
- Powering through each painful new piece of knowledge that had embedded itself into his mind
- Until he reached the surface gasping for air as he pulled himself to the other side of the water, the simple goal that caused this
- Orpheus tried to drag himself to his feet…
- …only to collapse under the weight of every piece of mind-crushing knowledge he gained
- Orpheus was now on the ground, skin pale and shaking like a leaf…turning into a terrible creature, flesh and bones still shifting and snapping into new shapes
- However, Orpheus gained a terrifying piece of knowledge just then…
- he wasn’t alone…there was ~~something~~ *someone* watching him
- Quickly raising his head to look at his surroundings he tried to find where this lone audience member stood
- And surely enough he found them…
- A tall figure dressed in tattered and stained robes with a strange halo floating around their head…Orpheus could faintly here the magic thrum from it
- All the two of them could do was stare at each other for a moment…
- Until, Orpheus through gritted teeth and horrific pain asked
- “Are…are you going to kill me?”
- And…after another silent moment, the figure shook their head
- And after that, Orpheus asked another…
- “….whats *happening* to me?
- Orpheus couldn’t make eye contact with the mysterious silhouette after that question…
- Orpheus quickly looked up to see the figure standing beside him now, speaking in an oddly gentle tone…
- Looking at the strange person now, Orpheus could see what his underneath the off-white hood…
- A mangled face rested beneath it, jaw permanently resting in a pained expression, a slash across their twisted neck with strange tentacles peaking out from the wound that would writhe and shiver when they talked
- Before Orpheus could get to lost in the mangled features the stranger spoke again
- “Seeing ancient gods would cause anyone to go mad, and with what these monsters are made out of…” the cloaked person pauses, looking out towards the body of “water” that now rests still…stagnant. “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened…”
- “So am I just….supposed to accept this?” “become a monster?”
- “….” The stranger didn’t answer.
- Orpheus couldn’t speak…he really was going to die
- Gritting his teeth again Orpheus looked at himself, seeing every exposed bone and nerve ending shift and twitch…feeling every wave of pain wash over him
- “there’s something I could do for you…”
- Orpheus eyes filled with hope as he turned back to the figure
- He couldn’t help but sputter on about how he’d do anything, letting his desperation and want for survival blind him entirely
- The cloaked stranger used that desperation to their advantage…
- Asking multiple times if he was sure he’d do anything
- Orpheus still blinded by the sliver of hope for his freedom said “yes” over and over to the point were the word almost lost its meaning
- The stranger looked down at Orpheus…they looked guilty, like they didn’t want to do what they were about to
- Orpheus’ was now struggling to keep awake now feeling his lower intestines starting to unravel and twist itself into a new shape, his eyes were starting to water
- The stranger asked one final time stressing how much responsibility this promise holds…
- Orpheus however wasn’t able to hear their words only looking up and wheezing out a final “I’ll do it….i promise…please”
- A solemn, slightly sad nod came from the stranger, and then they slowly raised their hands, casting a spell
- At this point the exhaustion of everything was starting to really takes it’s toll on Orpheus, he was on the brink of unconscious…
- Even he saw a strange light form on the ground around the stranger, his eyes still remained heavy…
- The light in the ground that surrounded the cloaked individual slowly trickled down until it fully formed around Orpheus
- The sigil of the arcane council…
- Orpheus only realised then what he had agreed to
- He was now Merlin, first seat of the arcane council…
- And there was nothing to he could do about it. He agreed to this
- Wheezing, Orpheus looks up to the mangled stranger…this was Merlin
- *the* Merlin…turned into a mangled echo of who they used to be…
- And then the symbol dissolves back into the ground…Orpheus is now the new Merlin…he doesn’t know how to feel about that…
- “It will take sometime…but you will inherit me and every past Merlin’s memories…out experiences will be you own, whether they are good or bad…I am sorry” the mage couldn’t help but apologise
- “This next step will hurt, but I’ll try to make it quick.”
- Slowly raising one of their hands they cast another spell of Orpheus one that undoes all of the transformation he went through
- Like a video being rewinded, Orpheus started to feel all of his bones snap back into place, feel his flesh warp into their rightful shape and his intestines neatly being put back into their rightful place and positions, it was excruciating…but he was human again (or looked to be at the very least)
- The magister then came and keeled down next to Orpheus, speaking as they did
- “I need you to ask yourself if there is a way out.” “You’ll be fine, trust me.”
- “A way out?….” The idea never occurred to Orpheus, might as-well try…
- Pushing past all of the painful whispers of long forgotten knowledge, Orpheus tried to think over all the noise trapped in his own head
- A vision appears painful but clear in his mind, a teleportation circle similar to the one he was thrown into, far….but reachable
- The vision left as quickly as it came, leaving Orpheus gasping and coughing up some strange inky substance…
- Feeling light-headed he tried to steady himself by holding his head in one of his hands, only to discover he was now wearing the halo Merlin was a moment ago
- Looking up, they see the magister sitting, looking out over the inky water
- “You know where to go?” The mage asks, not looking at Orpheus
- “Good, I wish you luck then.” The magister replied slightly forcing the optimistic tone in their voice
- “That’s it?….no piece of advice or…anything?” Orpheus asked
- The mage let out a gentle hum at the question, until they simply said “keep moving forward, you are a very stubborn soul…don’t change that, no matter what anyone says”
- “oh… And keep that halo on…” they added, “thats whats keeping you human, take it off…and you will become something rather similar to the abominations you’ve faced here…”
- All Orpheus could bring himself to do was nod slightly
- Slowly rising to his feet he took one final look at the mage who saved him, still seated next to the dark waters
- Quietly muttering a thank you to them he slowly turned and started the long trek to the teleportation circle
- As he left one final sliver of knowledge seeped into his head, this one not hurting as much as the other pieces of info
- The mage who saved his life, Merlin’s actual name is…Eurydice
- after a difficult and long journey to the teleportation circle
- Sneaking past vast monsters and making it past strange and confusing pathways and buildings
- Orpheus found himself in the middle of what was once some sort of structure…made of what would’ve been pristine marble
- Walking through the colossal archway he was greeted by a vast room
- The space was oddly reminiscent of the temple Orpheus was in before he ended up here…
- Bookshelves, melted candles, books with pages that look like they would crumble to dust at any moment
- Looking towards the ceiling Orpheus could see a giant moon astrolabe
- Orpheus could faintly see the broken parts that would’ve completed the astrolabe on the ground,
- Resting on top of an intricate pattern on the floor…
- The teleportation circle, he found it
- Orpheus almost didn’t notice how fast he approached the circle, swiftly dragging and clearing away the astrolabes debris he was able to get a better look at the magic circle
- (So, how do I want this magic circle to work, I’m currently thinking that it’s carved into the floor, and you have to cast a spell into this magic circle, but not a specific one more like you have to cast a spell that will fill up the carved lines, and once all the groves are filled up with magic the circle will activate! That’s what I’m thinking for now anyway)
- While I think it wouldn’t take a lot of energy to do I think it would take a while to complete
- But to Orpheus if it meant his freedom so be it
- Slowly draining his magic into the groves, Orpheus made sure there wasn’t anything near by, he doesn’t really want a repeat of the last time he let his guard down
- It was about halfway of the circle being complete he started hearing something…
- Looking over his shoulder he couldn’t see anything in the large archways he came through…maybe it wasn’t as close as he thought? Or maybe it just didn’t notice him
- …until he felt something drip down onto his face…
- Looking up Orpheus saw a horrific being, a mass made of limbs and body parts meshed together all in a colossal cacophony of flesh and bones
- And then it hit Orpheus, this wasn’t like the other entities he saw before…
- The ones he was used to were rail thin often as dark as the abyss, this was fleshy…
- And that’s when it clicked, Orpheus wasn’t the first person to get thrown into here…and this was what happened to them…
- Looking at it now he could barely make out entire people, a noble woman, an old man, a young wilder lady and so so many more…
- Even a few children were scattered across the entity…
- Orpheus could feel the bile rise in his throat…he quickly ripped his gaze away from the creature, only to now realise it wasn’t attacking him…
- Orpheus train of thought was swiftly cut of by thousands of whispers, all belonging to each and every person that was apart of the monstrosity
- All collectively whispering one thing to Orpheus
- To join them all, to be apart of them
- Orpheus couldn’t think straight until the mass of flesh slowly extended its hand to him still coaxing him to join them telling him he’s home now, that he doesn’t need to fight anymore
- Orpheus reached towards their extended hand, all of the pairs of eyes looking at him expectingly…
- And quickly swatted away the monsters hand shouting that this wasn’t his home, that this isn’t where he belonged
- He was going to get out
- This sparked a long and intense fight between the two
- The entity was desperately trying to grab Orpheus and fuse him with themselves, to make him apart of the monstrosity
- While Orpheus was basically treating the situation as an endurance test, casting the occasional spell at the entity, while leading it to crash into any nearby wall or pillar, and then using that brief moment of the monsters recovery to pour more magic into the carving on the floor to get the magic circle to activate as soon as possible
- Of course it wasn’t so smooth for him
- He had been scratched multiple times, gripped so hard he’d have bruises and at one point got tackled to the ground
- By the time Orpheus got the circle to activate he was incredibly wounded, coughing up blood as he fell through the circle, he looked back to see the multiple faces the monster was made up off all twisted in anger and anguish a cacophony of screaming rang out at him to not leave them
- But it fell on deaf ears
- And Orpheus fell through the circle
- The one that would take him back to Esperia, take him back home.
- Orpheus found himself in the temple he found before he was shoved into the hellhole, violently gasping for air only to be cut off by coughing more blood up
- He was kneeled over the circle that sent him there in the first place, it didn’t take long for Orpheus to realise this and he swiftly staggered away from it only to fall to his knees again in the blind panic
- Quickly catching his breath he looked up ahead of him, and all scattered thoughts were hushed by what he saw…
- The Outside world of Esperia…all plant life painted in a slight blue hue under the night sky…a beautiful starscape
- Orpheus barley processed his situation until he was outside the massive doors, taking everything in
- He could feel the stinging of tears in his eyes
- ….and then a thought came to mind, one that soured the mania that coursed through him
- ….how long was he in there for?…
- For the short amount of time the thought was in his head for it plagued Orpheus
- It didn’t take long for him to push all of the exhaustion and pain to the back of his mind and sprint as far as he could get to the mystical house
- It wasn’t long until Orpheus was sprinting through the village either, sprinting through empty streets, making rough turns, he even crashed into a few things in his almost panicked haste
- Thankfully the mystical house seemed to have moved a lot closer to the village, resting just past the outskirts Orpheus had spotted Giga, sleeping
- Stars above he must’ve worried them so badly if they had gotten this close to the village
- He could faintly see golden light shine through the windows, someone must still be awake
- Before he could process it he was opening the door to the noble tavern
- When he stumbled in, the place was empty, no patrons and dolly wasn’t behind the counter either
- Orpheus stared at the empty establishment for what felt like a lifetime
- “Orpheus?” A voice echoed
- Orpheus turned in the direction the voice came from, and up on the higher floor gripping the railing was one of his found family members
- Having a look of shock that soon stemmed into worry as they caught sight of all the wounds Orpheus had collected…
- All Orpheus could do in that moment was cough up more of his blood before offering a weak smile before letting the exhaustion finally catch up to him collapse to the floor
- When Orpheus woke up, it was dawn, the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon enveloping the mystical house in sunlight
- When he looked at his surroundings he noticed he was lying down at one of the noble taverns sofas, it wasn’t the first time he’s fallen asleep there and it won’t be the last
- Looking down at himself Orpheus immediately noticed that most of his wounds were healed, while the other less severe ones were covered in bandages
- It wasn’t long until one of his family members noticed he was awake
- Cue Orpheus found family members immediately tackle hugging him to the sofa
- Orpheus would eventually tell them all what had happened, thankfully due to the proof he had (the halo, and being able to summon the first seat of the arcane councils sigil, they believe him)
- The next few months were mainly Orpheus trying to recover from his experience and wounds while having his found family almost always around him
- and a few months later is when the game would take place :))
(Anyways yeah that’s his lore! Thank you for reading it!! :DD I’m sorry it’s so long)
