“… Is it still not ready?” spoke a hysterical man. “The elixir of eternal beauty that I so desire…”
An emaciated man shrouded in shadow replied with a hoarse voice. “You ask the impossible. Why not call forth a demon and ask him for the potion?”
“But that is where sport lies—driving sane men mad. If you could have anything you wanted at any time, that would take the thrill out of life. I’ve tired of all the death, destruction, and gore. The blood of virgins, the urine of babes, the innards of black dogs…. I am sick of these things. Even this blood, made by the artifice of humans… Ahhhh! Is there nothing to save me from this intolerable boredom? No special ritual, no amusing spectacle?”
“If we were to be found out… If our activities came to light, certainly you and I would pay the ultimate price…”
“Do you think I care? Surely the king and his researchers have tired of hunting wizards and alchemists by now. They are absorbed in their wars and fighting. So pitiful. They rush to death without tasting true beauty or the joys of life. Enough. Let us be off. The Black Sabbath commences tonight…. You and I are to become tools of the dark and taste the limits of sanity. That is… as long as you do not provoke my wrath.”
It was a time of swords and sorcery, when monsters still walked the earth, a time of confusion and chaos. The king of Hardland had initiated a revolution. He led his kingdom to embrace things industrial, and abandon the magical arts and the worship of Nature… Wielding the power of technology, did thus become the world’s most powerful nation, Hardland was renowned as the Kingdom of a Thousand Years.
In order to usher in this age of revolution, however, culture and tradition were sacrificed. Sorcerers, wizards, and alchemists met with unpleasant fates, finding themselves banished from the kingdom, or imprisoned, or worse. This sudden change spawned a backlash among the nobility and aristocrats, driving many to embrace the dark arts. These arts flourished away from the eyes of authority.
Clandestine meetings of secret societies dedicated to the occult held the Black Sabbath…
\\Keep your age to no more than 18 since there will be a period of 10 years from the prologue to actual story. It will be this age + 10 for your real age//
Character Sheet Name: Age: Race [See Below]: Magical Prowess [See Below]: Why your character is interested in magical arts: Bio: Any Extra Info.: Races Demons: Demons are very powerful magical creatures that were once originally human, though, through centuries of perverted transformations and by delving too far into banned arts the demon has been created as an entity no longer recognizable as anything related to humans. They are not—I repeat, they are not—the stuff of biblical stories and have NO relation to anything biblical or dangerous in any way relating to biblical stories. The average lifespan of a demon is close to half of a normal human, the magical power raving inside eventually consumes their being. Demons specialize in the darker, forbidden side to the arts.
Humans: Of the three races of Hardland, Humans are the weakest in magical power, but they live the longest and are of a cunning, constantly evolving mind. Humans are able to work each field of magic, restricted and otherwise forbidden easily and equally, though not nearly as those that specialize in such arts like the demons with forbidden arts or the angels with the holy side. Humans live approximately 75 years of age.
Angels: Angels are also very powerful creatures also once known as human, but, like the demons, they too thrived in magical communities. But unlike the demons, angels sought out purity in their work and worked with the more accepted side to the arts such as healing, barrier casting, holy attacks, etcetera.
Magical Prowess’s Sorcery: The study of Nature, sorcery, like the other two magical branches, require two things in order to cast their spells. One is the knowledge, the level of experience required through rigorous learning to cast the spell; this is the same for all branches of magic. The second requirement depends on the environment and what it supplies. One cannot cast a fire attack if all around the user is ice. Knowledge of the periodic table of elements is helpful, but not required.
Witchcraft: The second branch of magic is the calling forth of ancient deities known only as gods, goddesses, and demi-gods. Each god has a limit to their power, except for the Five True Gods of each of the five elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Holy, and Dark) -+ See Below for the full List of Gods and the Five True Gods the rule everything +-
To call forth a magical deity to attack through you in either a physical avatar-like state or with an abstract form of attack like a kamehameha attack from DBZ a chant is used; it is only natural that the stronger the deity, the longer the each chant is spoken. And the weaker the spell and deity, the shorter the chant. Henceforth the stronger the deity the longer the chant goes into other posts. The max posts that a chant can go through is four, with the caster in a very vulnerable state. Here is an example of a chant that can be used:
Darkness beyond the twilight,
Crimson beyond blood that flows,
Buried in the flow of time.
In thy great name,
I pledge myself to darkness.
Those fools who rise up to oppose us
Shall be destroyed by the power
That you and I possess.
DRAGON SLAVE!
In addition to deities, those of the witchcraft cult have scrolls for an instant spell. Though these spells are FAR weaker than their deity counterpart, they are very helpful in a pinch.
Alchemy: This branch of magic uses the basic rule of equality: Give exactly what you take. If you fail to give exactly the same amount that you take of any substance than you shall pay a terrible price, depending on the Alchemy done and on the skill level of the user. Just think Full Metal Alchemist for this branch.
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~ Deities Used for Witchcraft and the Amount of Posts needed for the Spell to be Cast ~
// One Post Chant Deities \\
AGNI ~ Fire God
AMON ~ Ancient Egyptian Deity – later on identified Sun God
Pallas Athena ~ Goddess of the City, Education/Science, and War
Phoebus ~ God of Sun, Truth, Music, Healing
Artemis ~ Goddess of Wild Things, Hunter-in-Chief
Aphrodite ~ Goddess of Love and Beauty
Ares ~ God of War
Enyo ~ Lesser Goddess of War
Hephaestus ~ God of the Forge and Fire, Workman to the immortals
Hestia ~ Goddess of Fertility
Eros ~ God of Love
Persephone ~ Goddess of Spring [Season], Underworld through Hades
Demeter ~ Goddess of the Earth
Pan ~ God of Flocks, Sheep
Selene ~ Goddess of the Moon
// Two Post Deities \\
Notus ~ South Wind
Eurus ~ East Wind
Pontus ~ God of the Deep Sea
Triton ~ Trumpeter of the Sea
Ate ~ Goddess of Mischief
Eris ~ Goddess of Discord
Maia ~ Goddess of Flowers
Hypnos ~ Goddess of Springs [Water]
Nike ~ Goddess of Victory
Peitha ~ Goddess of Persuasion
Hecate ~ Goddess of the Crossways, the Dark Side of the Moon, and Magic
Tyche ~ Goddess of Fortune
Poena ~ Goddess of Punishment
Nemesis ~ Goddess of Revenge
Hespera ~ Goddess of Dusk
Morpheus ~ God of Dreams
Vanaheimr ~ God of Holy
// Three Post Deities \\
Zeus ~ Lord of the Sky, Gods, and Thunder, also Rain-god, Cloud-gatherer
Hera ~ Protector of Marriage
Poseidon ~ Ruler of the Sea
Hades ~ God of the Underworld and Precious Metals
// Four Post Deities \\
Álfheimr – True God of Earth
Hel – True God of the Forbidden (Dark)
Phosphor Lucifer – True God of the Holy
Niflheimr – True God of Water
Muspellheim – True God of Fire