Dusphoros
From Seattle Nwod
Contents |
[edit] A Ruler Broken
The area in Arcadia which now houses Dusphoros was a relatively simple kingdom in the times before. Its ruler, a True Fae whose name is no longer remembered, ruled it happily (for it, anyway). At one point, however, he acquired something very unique, you see: a magic-user from a strange island in the Real gifted the Fae with a piece of Quintessence - the very essence of magic. The Fae became enamored with its new toy, and its kingdom slowly grew to represent it's imaginings of the realm where the Quintessence came from. At one point in time - those magi who know of this realm say it occurred as the Ladder shattered - the fae lord himself shattered into five separate beings, each representing a path which the magic of the Fae Lord's toy channeled itself through.
[edit] A Utopia Gone Wrong
Dusphoros is an amalgamation of various Greek styles mingled with the mad designs that come from the mind of a True Fae. It is divided into five areas, with a huge cathedral which houses the Quintessence which shapes the realm. Each area has a different flavor to it, and each is ruled over by one being that sprung from the original Fae Lord.
[edit] The District of Thorns
The District of Thorns consists of buildings that seem to have been grown from marble than carved from it. More so that usual, time flows oddly in this district, and the residents of the area find themselves drawn to others with little rhyme or reason, their fates tied together by the whims of Skolops, the ruler of the district.
Skolops appears most often as a figure split down the middle. On its left side it is a man in the prime of his life – young, strong and virile; on the right it is a wizened old woman, her skin wrinkled and worn. It wears the garb of an oracle, and often spouts barely decipherable prophecies which always seem to come true in the end.
The residents of the District of Thorns are often tied to the streams of fate and time that flow throughout the area. Those who find themselves tangled in the threads of others often emerge from Dusphoros as Oracles, while those who learn to map the time streams emerge as Tellurics. Also prevalent are Gamemasters, who have honed their sense of the Wheel of Fate to such a fine point that seeing multiple moves into a game is child’s play.
[edit] The District of Demons
The District of Demons is a dark place, where alleyways twist and turn on their own volition, rooms change places within houses (or even between houses), coming and going with no real pattern. The buildings are cramped, with more rooms inside than the structure should allow. More horrifyingly, the memories of the denizens are often taken whole-cloth from them and replaced with those of another, mainly due to a twisted experiment underway by Aristera, the ruler of the district.
Aristera takes the form of a bald female, skin as white as snow and eyes pitch black. Her form is slight, almost transparent, covered in a flowing black dress that warps around her in ways that hurt the eyes to watch. She is behind the moving buildings and warping of minds; due to her machinations, few Changelings of this District emerge with their memories intact.
The residents of the District of Demons soon realize that the demons of the realm are their own, and their seemings reflect this. Those who embraced the changes in their minds eventually learned to read the memories of others, becoming Mnemosyne. Others learned from the breaking of the mind, becoming Moonborn. Also common are Pathfinders, who became saturated with the space between the buildings and learned how to easily move between them.
[edit] The District of Night
Compared to the District of Night, the District of Demons is brightly lit. One walking into the district is caressed by the living shadows, soothed and calmed by their inky blackness. Only certain lanterns lit with ghostfire cast any sort of light in this dark place, revealing buildings made from precious metals and unusual materials under their silvery glow. Here, Skia, the ruler of the district, walks the streets, singing soft lullabies to the Changelings she considers her children.
Very few of the district’s denizens have seen what Skia looks like, as she is surrounded (some say made up of) the shadows which cover the district. Those who see her under the glimpse of a ghostfire lantern see a stunning woman whose skin glimmers like gold, with long flowing copper hair and deep ruby eyes. However, her body is cracked in numerous places, and shadows pour forth from the cracks, quickly covering up her imperfections.
Shadows are plentiful in the District of Night, making Darklings of all kiths common. Shadowsouls are also common, allowing the darkness to envelop them rather than truly permeate. Metalkin are often seen here, usually as parts of the buildings which make up the district; both they and Earthbones are sometimes seen as living statues in the dark.
[edit] The District of Angels
The District of Angels is full of joyful noise, although always a little bit off-key. The streets are paved with gold, lanterns shine brightly, and beings of light move everywhere through the district, leaving no shadows in their trace. Coursing through the glass buildings of the district are elemental forces of various sorts: one may have flames of multiple colors burning in delightful patterns, while another has lightning arcing between the walls.
The ruler of this district is Keraunos, who takes the form of a four-armed man with brilliant white wings. His eyes burn with divine fire, turning those who displease him into piles of ash. He bears a sword of fire which he uses with exceptional skill, and is able to affect the very forces of nature. His voice rings out like thunder, and the residents of the District of Angels all pause when he speaks.
Those who live under Keraunos’ burning gaze are often blinded by the light that fills the district; to adapt to the glare, some take the light within themselves, becoming Bright Ones. Others come to embody the fiery power of the district, becoming Firehearts or Levinquick. Some are unfortunate enough to be chosen as target practice for Keraunos’ displays of power; while most perish under the blaze, some learn to block his blows, becoming Spellturners.
[edit] The District of Totems
The District of Totems, to most new arrivals to Dusphoros, is the oddest of the five, if only for one reason: it is two places at once. On the one hand, the district is filled with normal homes, shops, that sort of thing. On the other, it is a perilous forest, filled with terrifying beasts that haunt the mind forevermore and trees that will just as quickly stab you with their branches as give you shade. Life in this district is hard, requiring those with quick wits.
The ruler of this realm is a creature that calls itself Sunkrasis. Barring its golden wolf eyes, its form is ever-changing, mutating on a secondly basis. It stalks both the forest/alleyways of its domain, always hunting for new forms to absorb into its own twisted library. It is fierce, it is deadly, and it rarely lets its prey slip through its fingers. Only by proving oneself worthy will stay Sunkrasis’ claws…for now, anyway.
Beasts of all stripes hail from this district, as well as Woodbloods who use the trees as cover and safety. The district’s dual nature creates a Wizened kith rarely seen elsewhere, most commonly known as a Planeswalker. By Grasping the Beyond, Planeswalkers exist in both the material and the spiritual, able to affect and be affected by denizens both in the Realm and those in the Shadow. However, they are often distracted by this dual vision (-1 on rolls during the scene the blessing is active).
[edit] The Denizens of the Kingdom
Dusphoros is filled with numerous Changelings, each taking aspects of the district where they dwell. These Lost come from two sources in particular. Most are mortals who wander through the Hedge and are met by tall men in ancient Greek armor covered with radiant scales varying from black to bronze to gold in color, wings of the same color on their backs; these beings are the Spartes, draconic hedgebeasts created by the fae lord of Dusphoros before his shattering. A choice few, however, are mages who have heard of the realm and travel there to gather the knowledge that must be there. They, however, find themselves in a very sticky situation when they find their connection to the Supernal has been cut off, torn away by the thorns of the Hedge. The magi who have found their way there usually gravitate to the district of their former path, while humans who arrive in the realm can end up in any realm.
The ‘native’ language of the Realm is a bastardized version of Atlantean. However, it noticeably does not contain most of the phrases key to casting magic. Warped versions of Greek and Latin are also spoken here, as well as the native languages of the Changelings there.
