#lorebending

[mithrasisgay]

“One Asura sinks with it, another pays to get it back”

Meet Helia, Bog Body, Swamp Monster and one of the few asuran sirens to date. Helia died trying to recover an artifact from Miochan marches, and from her violent, watery death arose a spirit that took form, and thus proceeded to feed on both krait and hylek.

swamp cryptid that hoards artifacts and smells like death

[lolahbajhiri]

The will, the vessel, and the debt

I’m what they call power-adjacent, a bit of an obscure way of saying that I like to be in proximity to, but never take power of my own. I’ve spent a lot of time with Luther Aldric, enough to rival that of his own wife. I could bury him with his secrets, but not without burying myself for the lengths I went to to keep them. That’s the tradeoff, isn’t it? I can bask in force strong enough to shape the world for better or worse, but I consequently can’t escape it.

I always knew this day was going to come, but I had foolishly envisioned it as being my choice. I had orchestrated a plan far bigger than myself using my ties with the Annelise and Katarina, had tried to encourage the pieces around the chessboard in the ways I’ve learned from my masters. I put the lockbox in the right hands and waited for the man with the machine in his head to act on its precious contents. The risks were never zero, but the situation was bursting with promise that maybe, just maybe I could pull this off.

Unfortunately, the student has not yet become the teacher; as a matter of fact, I still have a lot left to learn. When I showed up to Luther’s office that day with a fresh report of shipments arriving coming and going from Radz-at-Han for both his tidy little drug empire back in Eorzea and even more shit his treasure-hoarding wife was plotting to somehow pack into their comically overflowing manse that teetered between opulence and complete gaudy excess, suffice it to say that I was not prepared for the orders he sprung upon me.

“You’re going to kill Ezen.”

If I looked shocked, I prayed to the gods it didn’t show. I felt every muscle in my face lock up in an effort to preserve the nonchalance with which I entered. Of course I said yes, what other option was there? I didn’t dig this hole hugging my employer’s enemies into submission, that’s for goddamn sure, and Ezen had the weighty bollocks to try to assassinate Luther a second time all by himself. As if once hadn’t gotten us into this mess to begin with. Unbelievable, this man.

So what did I do? I tracked him down, of course. I look different now, move differently. I took my time, I prepared thoroughly, I pulled every string I could reach out and seize to get home unannounced and start the hunt. I staked out his home in Ul’dah shared with the priestess for far too many days before I finally made my move. I followed him at a distance, unrecognizable, and it wasn’t five minutes into the chase that he turned around and just announced in front of the gods and all that he knew I was there.

“Hello, Lolah.”

“Hello, Ezen. Let’s keep walking. No need to stop on my account,” I called back cheerfully, as though this were planned, as if this were a casual stroll between two friends who hadn’t been separated by time, distance, my own faked death, and loyalties I’m going to have a fuck of a lot of trouble explaining. “Come on, don’t tell me I was obvious.”

He didn’t budge. Instead, he held his ground and stared me down with one eye, the other covered strangely by a length of black cloth. “I knew you were going to be here today and I know why you’re here.”

“Don’t tell me someone tipped you off.”

“I saw you in my dreams last night,” he said almost distantly. Something wasn’t right about him; he seemed both there and not-there. “Luther sent you to finish what he started.”

It’s tempting in such a situation to completely lose your cool. To be caught out at whatever dirty deed you’re up to and throw caution to the wind, go all in on a hapless gamble. But the truth was far more complicated. There were a thousand questions in the face of just what the hell saw you in my dreams meant here, but it was most important to stay the main course. I could hear the moment threatening to fly past me with every second I said nothing.

“Technically a right answer, though not the right answer,” I finally conceded. “I’ve got some time to get the job done, so there’s no need to rush it. But you do need to die.” I paused, then tacked on, “At least, you’ve got to appear to die believably enough that I can usher along some other machinations.” Come on now, you didn’t really think I was going to do it, did you?

I owe Ezen my life, not just technically, but...sort of literally. It was at Luther’s beckon that he waded down into the River to pull me out of its deathly grasp with Inika and the vessel Lolah, herself. For months, I slept in his bed when the nightmares were too vivid, when I was held hostage to fear that if I went to sleep, I’d be back there. I was given purpose again, had life and direction breathed back into me by the Khotgor priest himself. I threw myself into his service out of love and gratitude alike. It was the absolute least I could do, and to kill him after racking up this insurmountable debt—well, it’s completely fucking unconscionable, you see. I don’t have many, but trust that the scruples I do possess are ironclad.

“I wasn’t sure,” he began, and I froze in place. He must have known, right? He must have understood that my return to Luther was complex, but that I still knew who had carried out his will in the end. “But I actually have to kill you, Carisa.” His hand went to his blade and my blood ran cold. That name. I was surely dead.

(⏣ Ko-fi ⏣)

[nouru-vi]

Open your eyes Wonder my world Breathe and arise It is your turn Wake up my child Cold as a stone The warmth of life I shall grant you [ x ]

My newest character, Nexxai! Buckle up, because this is going to get lore-bendy, long and edgy.

The creature calling herself Nexxai is a unique entity in the shape of an asura, born of magic. Her “father” was an Inquest scientist, who had a grand scheme of creating fully autonomous, sentient necromantic constructs - effectively, life from death. Initially, he only built one, the future Nexxai. She is technically a super-advanced flesh golem, with asuran-level intelligence and self-sufficiency based on life force. She had not been fully indepent when “born”, though, and had no proper self-awareness, identity, or gender. After the construct had gained consciousness, its creator spent some time teaching it and preparing it for the separation. His plan entailed pouring almost all of his own life force into it within a short while, and simultaneously slaughtering a large number of subjects to continually replenish life force for himself. The scheme worked, up until his creation involuntarily absorbed both his life force and the replenishment, resulting in his death.

The disoriented and distraught entity was soon found by other Inquest members, who were unaware of its exact nature, as the late scientist had kept the project completely secret, even from krewe members. Starved of life force, it soon killed a careless researcher, and was rewarded with confinement. It was referred to as “Necromantic Subject Eleven” and, in good Inquest fashion, not treated as a person or even a sentient being. It’s probably a good thing it was emotionally underdeveloped at the time.

Eventually, the construct escaped, and began interacting with the world proper, gradually learning more about it, as well as the people in it. Over time, it started thinking of itself as a person, and identifying as feminine. She had never been given a name, but she knew she resembled an asura, so she decided to give herself a name befitting one: out of the first sounds of Necromantic Subject Eleven, she created the blend word Nexxai.

While outwardly indistinguishable from a “real” asura (at least when clothed), Nexxai bears more resemblance to Risen in terms of function. She has no internal organs apart from a respiratory system used for speech and a brain where her life force and consciousness are anchored. She cannot eat or drink, but feeds only on life force, which keeps her body from deteriorating. She can also use it to regenerate rapidly, including lost limbs if there is also physical material to work from. This also means she can only be killed through a rapid and complete disintegration of her brain, otherwise she’s able to regrow all lost parts. She has good eyesight, hearing and sense of smell, but her tactile senses are numbed, and she only has a very basic sense of taste (her jokes can also be tasteless and morbid, but that’s not what I mean here), as she has no use for physical nutrition. She does sleep, but only her mind needs it, her body doesn’t. Lack of internal organs means she has no output orifices either, nor genitalia. There’s just nothing there.

Though Nexxai did “inherit” plenty of knowledge from her creator, it was less than what the average sylvari gets from the Pale Tree, with the exception of specialized knowledge on necromancy. She has especially had a lot to learn in terms of social interaction and morality, having had no innate morality herself, which is not surprising considering the identity of her “father”, the only source for the base components of her mind. She now knows that acts of crime trigger hostility from society, though she doesn’t feel real, visceral guilt over anything of the sort. Ironically, the only thing in her past that feels wrong to her (and will likely lead to psychological problems) is having caused the death of her creator, something which she had no control over.

As a person, present day Nexxai is surprisingly normal, considering. Though she has taken on an asuran image and mannerisms, she has never really tried to integrate with their society, drifting towards small and multicultural communities instead. She has made a few friends, has made learning more about the world her purpose, and even developed a (morbid) sense of humour and a fashion sense. Though she usually sounds pretty deadpan (huehue dead), she is actually quite content with her existence, and pretty accepting of her body and her undead and artificial nature (though she doesn’t like thinking about it too deeply).

Nexxai has also inherited almost all the necromantic knowledge and power of her creator. Her deeper connection with necro magic makes her a terrifyingly powerful reaper.