Hello, I've actually talked about this particular au on my main blog before, but I thought I might as well do some further elaboration here. So, some stuff about Ineffable Spawn AU.
The basic premise of this AU is that the Swords are primal eldritch beings that have existed for as long as the Inpherno has, if not longer, and that they can create spawn with mortals + plus all mortals have innate eldritch forms that can be unlocked by repeated exposure to the eldritch. In general this AU takes a lot of calling cards from a horror podcast I'm really into called Malevolent (including the King In Yellow being a prominent character. Don't ask) and the works of Lovecraft, but isn't really a cross-over AU.
I guess I should start with some lore I suppose. So, the inpherno was created by the original old one, a being that is known only as Azathoth, or very, very occasionally as Linked Sword, as this was the gear it claimed. Azathoth made the inpherno, then each of the swords to rule over various primal elements across it. After many, many years, Azathoth created the spawns out of its own power, defined the lines that would become the factions, and bestowed each of these to its children, before it retreated into eternal slumber. Nobody, not even the gods, know of its whereabouts. And slowly, from the spawn, inphernals began to emerge, slowly building society - but within each of them dwelt a spark of their history with Azathoth, and from each of them a true power could be unleashed, and bonded with one of the old gods to produce a spawn. A being half-way between mortal and god, which would often become key members of the leadership of the growing regions and developing factions. In fact, the King in Yellow is one of these, creating and ruling over Darkage with an iron grip.
Other general worldbuilding stuff includes the fact that everything has a true name. All beings, all items, all objects have one - and to know something's true name is to control it, so many people are capable of commanding spawn by knowing their names (which is the case with Father Overseer and Scythe), or - in case of the eldritch specifically, owning a bone, horn or claw from their true form. Some beings are flippant with their true names, such as Ghostwalker or Memento Mori, or the previously mentioned Hastur (if yk yk)
There are also various sigils tied to the Watchers, the most prevelant being Doomsekkar's or the sigil of Amzerathoth, which is sigil that is used to trap eldritch beings, or keep mortal guises stable when worn. It is often stitched into clothing - especially cloaks and jackets. There are other sigils - Ghosdeeri's sigil being a sigil that protects the wearer and Dusekkar's being one that conceals them etc. - but I won't get into them now. Most spawn will have a mortal disguise they use to blend into society.
Now, onto each of the dieties, old gods, whatever, themselves. Now, each of these guys have like, twelve titles each, and every time I write about them, they gain more - so I'm just gonna include them all.
Firebrand, the Sun Bringer, Ruler of the Day, the Raging Inferno, the True Light, King of the Flame - Firebrand was given the command of the sun, lifting it into the sky and carrying it across the Inpherno every day to bring light across the realms. He didn't receive a region, instead gaining what would become Banlands, a region in the far south that he would rest in every night. He would later claim Crossroads from Ghostwalker, and rule over that area as its king. He is the most powerful of the old gods, with only his sister being able to go toe to toe with him. He is currently sealed away after the whole, Scorch incident. His spawn are often reptilian, with powers surrounding fire and light, their mortal disguises often appear intense and noble, with a fierceness behind their eyes that seems to always be present. (Valk and Dom are both Sun Spawn)
Icedagger, the Moon Bringer, the Icy Ridge Ahead, the False Light, Ruler of the Icy North, the Suffocating Frost, Azurewrath - Icedagger was given command of the moon, and carries it across the sky every evening to shed light through the darkness of night. He ruled over Blackrock, with his resting place being Mt. Azurewrath, which he is currently sealed under due to the efforts of the Korblox Administration. He is a lot weaker than some of his kin, owing a lot to his comparatively frail form. His spawn are often very spindly and fractiline, with powers surrounding ice and night affinity - their mortal disguises often having a fragility to them, with a quiet, unnerving nature, even if their personality clashes with such.
Illumina, the Dawn Bringer, Light of a New Dawn, the Light Bringer, It that Wakes the Day, Coming of the Future - Illumina holds command over the day, and would run ahead of Firebrand to announce the coming of his splendour. He holds domain over Lost Temple, but is often not seen there, preferring a nomadic lifestyle in a mortal disguise. Between their creator's disappearance, Firebrand's, and the civil war - they feel their goal is lost in life and are uncertain of their position within the old pantheon. Their spawn are often associated with fortune telling, light and music, often being very bird-like, with their mortal disguises often having a grace and undefinable beauty to them. They are also the least numerous of the various spawn, and to call oneself a Dawn Spawn is to command respect from others.
Venomshank, the Night Bringer, the Beast of a Thousand Bodies, the Sweet Dream, the Coming Dusk, the Eternal Army - Venomshank holds command of the night, as well as the Dreamlands, a place that can only be accessed through the dreaming of mortals, and where he mostly dwells, this realm is currently under the control of Hastur, his eldest spawn. Venomshank held domain of Thieves' Den, though he prefers to stay out of worship there. He is most known for his true form being comprised of the bodies of thousands of mortals - various followers he has gained throughout the years, all adopted as part of him. This functions like a colonial organism, where they work as a whole - while still being independent from each other. In Venomshank's case - it is due to his true form being too frail to support itself, so the mortals act like muscles to it. His spawn often posses multiple limbs or wings, an affinity to the arts and the night, and whose mortal disguises are often appear very serene, which exceptionally noticeable eyes. (Current Night Spawn include Medkit, Sword, Hastur, Herald of Tides, and Herald of Sleep)
Windforce, the Storm Bringer, Splinter of the Sky, the Untamed Tempest, the Oncoming Hurricane, the Ruler of the Winds - Windforce is the ruler of the skies and the weather - most notably storms. She holds command over Playgrounds, with a dedicated following which is the Splintered Skies. She is arguably one of the least caring about mortal relations, and while regularly break apart Playgrounds whilst flying through it. Her spawn often have many wings and long bodies, with powers associated with storms or wind, their mortal disguises often possess unnatural figure and overwhelming personalities. (Current Storm Spawn include Ban Hammer and Herald of Lightning)
Ghostwalker, Death, Momento Mori, The Coming End, the Being with a Thousand Voices - Ghostwalker is death. He is the collector of the souls of the fallen, gathering them into his form in a similar way to Venomshank - though in his case it works like a siphonophore. While in theory they can be separate, it is also impossible to separate them. He used to rule over Crossroads, or what would become it, but gave up the position for Firebrand. He and his spawn are the most powerful of any of the great old ones. He created the Watchers, his only spawn, who have their own realm and domain - a massive archive that constantly shifts and changes with need and contains the true name of everything to ever exist. (Current Death Spawn include the Watchers)
Darkheart, Darkness, The Beast That Consumes, It is Contrary to Belief, the Madness of Nothing, Oblivion - Darkheart was the last being Azathoth created, and rules over darkness and the things beyond human understanding. He moves between regions as he sees fit, terrorising mortals and producing spawn as he goes. In fact, his spawn are incredibly numerous being the most common type out of all of the lineages. They often have bizarre, non-sensical forms, and very wide and varied powers, if they have them at all, their mortal forms often have a strange viciousness to them, with their teeth often being very notable, and often having eyes that seem forever cast in shadow. (Current Dark Spawn include Scythe, Der Sandtmann and the Shadow of Glacier)
This is already long enough, so I'm going to add one more thing and leave it at that.
All spawn can at anytime they choose, claim a gear from the spawn, or change the gear they've claimed - as they aren't fully inphernal, they don't need it to survive. A gear mostly serves as something to better blend into society, and can often bring clarity to a spawn's identity outside of their parentage.
Lastly, Ineffable Spawn as a name is really fun to me. Ineffable is a word that describes things that are unable to be understood, and Spawn is a double meaning - both the Spawn - as in the place inphernals come from, and the Spawn - as in the beast created by the great olds ones.
Anyways, most info on the actual story I'm hoping to plot out with this can be elaborated on later if needed, or can be found on my main blog.
Thank-you for reading all of this btw. I know its really long (｡ᵕ ◞ _◟)
“Oh, boy! I can’t wait to read up on this neat AU! I sure hope my two favourite deities aren’t currently sealed away!”
Firebrand and Icedagger:
Regardless of my...personal preferences...I think this is really well thought out! If you, the average phightingaus follower, just skipped to the bottom (like I'm sure some folks here do), then seriously. I recommend scrolling back up and actually giving this a read through. It's well worth it!
Like- seriously. I love how you went really in-depth for every single deity. All in one post. I certainly couldn't do that, haha- and I especially like the fact that you can visually tell who's the spawn of who, just by their less...natural traits, I suppose you could say. And you did something not a lot of people do; you brought up some official(?) Roblox lore by tying in Korblox! There's so many ideas that can be drawn from older Roblox items, I swear.
Despite it only being a tiny detail in the sea that is this AU, I'd love to hear more. And not just about Korblox/other groups besides the general factions/church. You're cooking, Acer. And you didn't burn a thing!
