#anikiaun reference guide

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Ianva Foresight, Intuition, Prescience

The linear time of the physical realm is something even most anikiaun cannot safely circumvent - with the exception of Ianva. A lover of conversation, summoning her is simple - requesting she actually use her powers is a hostage negotiation. Due to her chosen appearance and easy way with conversation, rumours that Ianva used to be human have swirled for as long as her appearances have been recorded. Ianva enjoys and encourages such rumours, making references to her ‘old life’ frequently - how exactly anyone becomes an anikiaun is something neither she nor the rumours are clear on, and the common inconsistencies between all her stories are the greatest proof against the theory.

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Erasmus Revenge, Passion, Sacrifice

A swarm of deformed and decayed cherubs, Erasmus selects a person to make use of her ‘divine fire’ - an immensely powerful, destructive force that inevitably exacts a deadly toll on the user, slowly burning them to a husk.

It is no secret that Erasmus loathes her own nature. She believes that mortal thought has the greatest influence on anikiaun - more than anikiaun can influence the physical world - and that she, specifically, has been warped into an inherently deadly force through human fear of vengeance and hatred. She chooses victims carefully, targeting humans she finds especially contemptuous; she enjoys watching them slowly destroy themselves in their newfound power. Rarely, she discovers someone she considers truly in need of her aid; she approaches as gently as she can, explaining the full consequences of her ‘help’; she mourns their eventual deaths fiercely. Rumour persists that Erasmus maintains a ‘graveyard’ of her undeserving victims, hidden somewhere on Earth - anyone who did find such a place would likely face her full wrath.

For all her philosophical differences, Erasmus, like most known anikiaun, seems driven to interact with the physical world, and to primarily focus on the individual she is currently attached to. She seems not to care for anybody else, however innocent, that may be caught in the fires of her targets. Some even fear that her true nature is to rebel for the sake of rebellion - that if human opinion shifted and she became a less lethal force, she would respond by becoming even more violent and aggressive.

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Sleipnir Curiosity, Creativity, Innovation

Other anikiaun consider Sleipnir a flighty, reckless individual - by human standards, this means she can single-mindedly pursue a project for centuries at a time. Most recently, Sleipnir has studied the development of human societies - specifically residing in England since the time of the Danelaw. Supposedly this influenced her current appearance and name, although reports of a serpentine anikiaun exist throughout history, with scales reflecting the ‘age’ of technology at the time. Little is known about Sleipnir’s personality and motivations aside from what other anikiaun claim - a notoriously unreliable source of information. Sleipnir herself has, since the 14th Century, supposedly resided within the bloodline of the Redhand family (a name not recorded before this fateful occurrence) and has no conscious will in the outside world. Though stereotypically a family of ‘touched’ eccentrics and obsessives, individual Redhands are as varied in attitude and interests as any human being.

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Beartrap Humiliation, Inevitability, Mechanism

An adept dreamwalker, Beartrap is rarely seen physically - most often sighted instead by lucid dreamers or those wandering others’ dreams. Supposedly, she sees herself as a great artist, whose ‘performances’ challenge the self-assured. In truth, her lack of care for who she targets, nor the level of shame they experience in her nightmare scenarios, makes her potentially quite dangerous - a single attack upon the particularly anxious can cause significant damage to their wellbeing. Even if a target is not so susceptible, she has been known to spend weeks on end haunting an individual, probing every possible mistake and insecurity. As such, if you can guard against her attacks, it is recommended you do so.

Beartrap is named for her appearance when spotted ‘behind the curtain’ - a floating mass of scrap metal and mechanical parts, more-or-less humanoid, topped with a rusted beartrap mouth. On the rare occasions Beartrap does physically manifest, she does deign to take a roughly human shape - but keeps the beartrap.

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The Pall Regret, Depression, Guilt

Too weak to manifest physically, the Pall attaches herself to the psyche of a mortal, appearing in the magical world as a literal black cloud over their head. This cloud grows larger the longer she is left undisturbed, shapes suggesting a body occasionally visible within the largest manifestations - implying the cloud itself may be a disguise for whatever is underneath.

Victims of the Pall face a barrage of intrusive thoughts - at first rare and in response to stimuli, but quickly increasing in frequency. At first taking the blame for their own mistakes, the victim’s regrets become more irrational as the Pall increases in size, warping flaws and dissatisfaction into moral failings. In as short a time as a week, severe depression can set in and become permanent in the victim, even if the Pall is later banished. Once she has chosen a victim, she rarely leaves of her own will, and those who suffer one attack must be monitored for the rest of their life, as she will attempt to return and re-attach herself.

The Pall does not - perhaps cannot - speak, and shows no interest in communicating with mortals. She seems to hold a special hatred for Salleritt - invocation of the Incubus’ name is the easiest way to force the Pall to flee. At the same time, those who consort with the Incubus must be particularly on guard for the Pall, as she targets them at a far greater rate than anyone else.

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Soldat Beau War, Aggression, Preparedness

Though Soldat has never harmed a mortal in recorded history, she is still regarded as the most dangerous anikiaun currently active in the world. She specifically targets leaders, governments, admirals, generals - goading them into pre-emptive aggression against supposed threats, urging the necessity of outgunning one’s opponents. Her rate of success is uncertain, as targeting pre-existing tensions is easy for her; and strange encounters with a giant warmongering spirit are rarely officially recorded.

In occult circles, Soldat Beau is known as a particularly honest and straightforward anikiaun, though she has little time for conversations with the curious that do not involve her ‘projects’. She has never knowingly appeared in any form other than her usual giant, ape-like appearance - she claims to refuse to disguise herself so that the logic of her arguments is not obscured.

As an anikiaun that exclusively ‘corrupts’ the powerful, rumours of a partnership between Patron and Soldat abound - urban legends of secret experiments and research into a magical superweapon have persisted in one form or another for the past century. Soldat Beau denies these rumours completely.

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Salleritt Lust, Dreams, Curiosity

Perhaps one of the most powerful known anikiaun, we are lucky that the Incubus is also the most benevolent. Many occultists consider Salleritt trustworthy - in part because, compared to other anikiaun, reports of ‘encounters’ are both more numerous and very effusive on the part of the mortal.

That said, Salleritt has no qualms preying on the unsuspecting. According to her, she needs to interact with the physical realm - something contradicted by the claims of most other anikiaun, that they choose to do so - fortunately, her predation occurs solely in dreams. Constructing worlds and situations straight from the mortal’s own subconscious, most never realise an outside entity controls their visions. Lucid dreamers, on the other hand, can get a nasty surprise when their dream starts manipulating them right back.

Salleritt’s ‘true’ appearance is rare to see, since she much prefers to speak from within the dreams she creates. Some claim to have summoned her from within the magical realm and witnessed a vast sea serpent, equivalent in size to Sleipnir - typically this is moments before they are swallowed up and awaken in their own beds, in a state of confusion. Still, it is all we have to go on.

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The Lighthouse Summoning, Ritual, Disruption

Appearing in run-down and abandoned places in the middle of densely-populated cities, the Lighthouse disguises herself in thick layers of ragged clothes, her face obscured. Despite this, her tendency to stand motionless in alleyways, doorways, and other lonely and liminal spaces draws the notice of the local homeless, who quickly avoid the area out of fear.

The Lighthouse can stand in one spot for months at a time, but eventually - typically at night, or during particularly stormy days where the area is devoid of humans - she sings. Once she has begun, she will not stop, the song lasting anywhere from five to fifty minutes, even if mortals begin to notice and gather. The majority of witnesses describe the Lighthouse’s song as just that - song, albeit wordless. A minority instead experience the sound of monotonous chanting, screaming, or even white noise.

After the song is completed, the Lighthouse disappears. Spiritual activity in the area is enhanced for several months afterwards, with weak spirits normally incapable of physical manifestation appearing. Such entities being unfamiliar with the physical world or its inhabitants, minor instances of backlash, random attacks, and other strange occurrences are frequent. The Lighthouse has never to our knowledge appeared and sang in the same area twice.