Lucent
The Undreaming
Joined: 10 Apr 2005
Posts: 885
Total Words: 388,792
|
The S-Data - With Commentary
From the annals of history, the words of Saint!
|
 Posted: Mon, September 11, 2006 10:58 PM
|
|
Preface
This document below has been passed down from host to host for a while. It was, fo rthe most part, lost after I'd say around SXII. I had no idea it even existed up until recently, and what you will see below is the document in full with commentary by Krizak and Wayne and a couple of offhand shots myself.
Krizak
Wayne
Lucent
Without further ado, the S-Data.
______________
- T H E H I S T O R Y O F S U R V I V O R -
FFO Survivor
"The enigmatic Saint appears and declares that he will hold a tournament. Shadow (Magus) is victorious and prevents the gluttonous Eternal named Cronimus from devouring the world and the Memory Pools from which the fighters hail from. However, Shadow's mind and soul are preyed upon by his evil master. Meanwhile, Mishnu accepts an entry position on the prestigious High Council for the first time to look after the Essence in the vast universe we call the Continuous."
I think Kevin might have retconned this one on his own. The Memory Pools aren't world-specific, they're actually a device in the city itself that can be used to move people around, so the idea of Cronimus "devouring" them is impossible.
Regarding Mishnu, I don't think the High Council has "entry-level" positions, just the individual Alpha through Sigma ranks and Epsilons for each one. I think Krizak was thinking Mishnu went from some caste (presumably Tau) to being an Alpha Epsilon, then Alpha herself, probably via Fabian's backing (the latter being Tenk's contribution).
FFO Survivor II: Square All-Stars - War of the Millenium Knights
"A newcomer named Serge (Haze) is triumphant and journeys with Saint to the far reaches of space in his starship, The Valkyrie, to find The Creator, the powerful entity which created all things, with the help of a native girl named Seren. Unbeknowest to Saint, his Essence is drained and was reborn as an Eternal to look after the Memory Pools. Saint's life from that day forward is changed forever."
This is just some boring Mary Sueism, and we can probably do a "retcon lite" to it and say that the Creator led Saint to her for whatever reason. That he was "special" following this event is canon, so that probably works best.
Nobody currently involved with the tournaments was in this one, so nobody knew that the Creator was supposed to be this mysterious, reclusive Chinese-mythology deity, and she... wasn't, various Eternals met and spoke with her as a matter of course (among them Miracle, Fabian, and Mishnu), and S18 [at least] established that she was worshipped as a deity with accurate icons and portraits cast from people who saw her.
FFO Survivor III: Square vs. Capcom - True Hero Story
"No longer guarding the Memory Pools, Saint accepts a modest position on the Echelon as a Sigma and decides to find a nice quiet world to spend his remaining days in. Unfortunately, his longtime Eternal nemesis Vante, the Omega, returns to conquer Saint's paradise. With the help of Quistis (Ravishingly Rood) and a robed stranger named Gen, they manage to save the dying planet by encapsulating its Essence into an Entrophy Sphere (or Egg). Mishnu is crowned the Highest Echelon position as Alpha of the High Court."
Heh... wow. Well, the first part of it (Saint retiring to the Street Fighter world) has been retconned ever since somebody (Krizak or Tenk, I think) came up with the "Vagrants," although I think Tenk also fixed that one by moving back Saint's retirement until after the events of S4 (he was retired by S6/RT1 if I recall right).
The endboss being Saint's personal and "longtime" (laughable, since Saint had only become an Eternal in the previous tournament) is more silly Sueism, but we have to go with it, and it helps lend credence to the "Saint is special" stuff because Vante is the Creator's "dark half," so technically his corresponding energy is in Saint too. Maybe the mystical resonance gives him a headache, I dunno.
The timeline gets wacky here because I don't think we have any indication of how much time takes place between S2 and S3. It's canon that Mishnu has been Alpha for "a long time," but I have no idea how long, and given this summary would no longer hazard a guess.
FFO Survivor IV: Square vs. Dragonball Z - Of Gods and Armageddon
"The Sigma is dragged back to the Celestial Realm to face the High Council for having interfered with the actions of the Omega. Meanwhile, Mishnu reveals to Saint that the Creator is dying and the Essence of a lone warrior is needed to save her. A Tournament must be held one last time. Karsh (Baka) overcomes all obstacles, physical and personal, to win against incredible odds. During the Tournament, the sly Ish'Leth seeks revenge on Saint and shows him the truth about his human past. Ish'Leth is defeated but The Creator rejects Karsh's Essence and refuses to be saved. Instead, a child is born to the world, the human embodiment of the Creator, and Saint, tired from his years of dedicated service as an Eternal, decides to care for the child until kingdom come."
On the other hand, practically no time elapses between S3 and S4, and from S4 to RT1. This means that if Saint was an Eternal for any length of time, the gap between S2 and S3 had to be really long.
We've gone over this before, but the Serpines being credible threats to the Eternals, despite not having any personally exceptional powers and having to rely on sub-space transportation, is a terrible case of "speed of plot" writing, and we had to pull to an explanation out of our Democrats that basically retconned the entire idea of Eternals being Dynasty Warriors, and instead being scrubs who won by numbers with the exceptionally hardcore (being Miracle, Yuo, Senares, Cronimus, and the Pillars) only having actual class levels. It sucks, but it keeps us from having to retcon S16's/Second Beta's battles. Thanks, Saint. :|
Did the Serpine Emperor have to have a personal vendetta against Saint too?
FFO Survivor Tournament V: Square vs. The World of RPGs - A Tortured Reality
"Unknown entities named Ayin and Keir stumble upon the realm of the Continuous reality and seek to find a way home. For their own personal mischief and curiosity, the Tournaments are reborn."
Krizak himself admitted this tournament wasn't very good, but I can't remember any problems that it had canon-wise right now. I know there was something screwy about Ayin's and Keir's power, but it's not clicking.
FFO Survivor Tournament VI: Classic RPGs - The Eternal Dream
"All grown up now, the daughter of the Creator learns the truth of about her past and holds a Tournament to be rid of her accursed powers. Saint and Mishnu trace the carnage and destruction to find Yume's whereabouts before an ultimate mistake is made."
"All grown up" being 15 or so, which means that roughly 15 years was all the time that S3 through RT1 could have allowed. A lot of stuff happened during that time. It's not impossible, just poorly thought-out.
S18 is basically the sequel to this tournament, and in a way we retconned the core premise (Yume wanting to get rid of her powers so the Void couldn't have them, not because she wanted to "dream again"), although Yume had her memory tinkered with so it still works (because that's how we roll in this biz).
Krizak called Septerra "Septerrus" back then too, which I find funny.
Survivor Tournament VII / Rurouni Taikai 2 – The Shards of Sorrow
In which the last Old God, Id, dies, his very death bringing random folks into his mind to see a twisted version of all he has seen over his life.
Rurouni Taikai Tactics – Always Learning
In which we meet Krizak, a crystalline construct designed to be a god but not quite there yet, who manages to become one by manipulating people into fighting for him.
Survivor Tournament VIII / Rurouni Taikai 3 – The Cage of Dreams
In which stuff happens which no being in the Multiverse can possibly understand.
Survivor Tournament IX – The Paths of Fate
In which we meet the Others, who were multiversal and running things long before the Eternals existed, and also screwed up and went away long before the Eternals existed
Survivor Tournament X – Manifest Destiny
In which we head FORWARD TO THE PAST to the origins of the Eternals, with the battle of a race known as the An’ven versus the almight VOID POPE (okay, he had a real name, but I can’t look it up).
Survivor Tournament XI – All Our Yesterdays
I can’t even really remember what happened here, save for that it broke the Memory Pools in preparation for…
Survivor Tournament XII – The Gods Themselves
In which Miracle returns to the Eternal City to kick ass, take names, and chew copious amounts of bubblegum.
The Characters
--------------
Saint: Former Sigma to the Celestial Court. Before being charged to look after the Memory Pools, Saint was an ordinary adventurer traveling the stars in the Valkyrie. After encountering The Creator, an accident caused the Essence to disappear from his body. In an effort to save him, The Creator had no other choice but to turn the mortal body of Saint into an Eternal.
In current parlance, to save his Essence, she granted him the spark of Creation Energy which makes one an Eternal, but since his Essence had faded so, he lost a good deal of who he once was.
I don't think that's actually possible, barring attacks from the Void, and things like charnel fire and Trap the Soul. I don't recall what happened to Saint, but since he wasn't turned into a Pokemon, it probably wasn't that. So that got retconned into the Creator picking him out for... well, she just did, she's finicky like that.
Saint is a much more difficult character to describe as in the beginning he was (surprise, surprise)* supposed to be modeled after 'me.' Over the course of five years, four tourneys later and contributions from multiple writers, Saint has taken on a unique persona and is, in truth, someone of who I'd like to model *myself* after.....so the roles have switched, if you will. Saint is a good man and takes every opportunity to help people and simply to do what is right. His fellow Eternals criticize him for being too hard on himself, that taking on the many burdens of other people will only result in constant sadness, leaving him to feel unfulfilled and unsatisfied. "Hate, Death, War: sometimes you have to accept the way life is." Fabian says. "We have all the power in the world and yet there is still no one who can change that. Just let it go, Saint."
* (not surprised)
In terms of physical appearance, there has been (to my knowledge) only one sketch of Saint ever done. It depicted him in his mortal days, trying to survive the attacks of evil shadows and creatures. I can't even remember who did it, but as you can guess...it's lost somewhere in cyberspace. It was actually quite accurate and I should have saved it.
For now, there is only one fitting comparison I can make that would give you an idea of what he looks like. Remember Chow Yun-Fat's character, Li Mu Bai, in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? The way he wore his pure white cheung-sam, flying gracefully through the air, not quite spirit, not quite human? The way he disciplined himself everyday with his thin blade, slicing and whipping through the air like a dance? How the warrior would never compromise his integrity or honor for all the power or riches in the world?
Given that Lu Mu Bai is actually pretty low-tier in the grand scheme of things, that actually works. Again, though, this is mostly just a difference of taste-- the EMC isn't the Chinese mythology that Kevin originally had in mind, and it's much better off that way.
That's who I always pictured Saint as.
Saint remembers almost nothing of his mortal days. In fact, up until a
little while ago, he refused to even accept that 'Saint' was an incarnation of a former human being living on the planet surface. To him, there was always Saint the Eternal, and this other former image is an imposter - "The butterfly remembers not the caterpillar." He believes he is an original construct of The Creator.
He’s not quite this crazy, though he has trouble relating to his once-mortal life.
Apparently, the idea of Eternals not remembering their past lives was the norm, as it affected Saint, Fabian, Mishnu, etc. The more recent writers have pretty much ignored it, I don't think any character post-Muses has been a butterfly, as it were.
His main weapon of choice is his blade, Key, given as a gift long ago. Key is very thin and flexible. Saint prefers light-weight weapons with grace and effectiveness, not weapons of brute strength and clumsiness. It resembles a flat Ming-Dynasty fencing sword but the hilt and scabbard are not of Asian design. Writers and poets who have witnessed Saint brandishing Key in action say he is, "quick and precise enough to move through rainfall without letting a single drop touch the blade..." "You can tap it against diamond, which the sword will then emit a pleasant sound, then make a lightning snap motion and split the diamond cleanly in two."
FLAWLESS VICTORY
Saint was once the Sigma and his responsibility was Caretaker of the Memory Pools to ensure no one would pass through and use the pools for evil purposes. Recently, he was called back to action with the Yume incident which meant that he could be around Mishnu again, even if it was only briefly. Since then, he has retired to a remote, uncharted corner of the Continuous where he chooses to spend his time as a commoner, planting and growing fields of wheat beside an orphanage. He has kept Key locked away ever since.
Hair: short, black. Hair does not go past his ears
Eyes: dark brown
Resemblance: Li Mu Bai from CTHD (except Saint is not bald)
---
Seren: A young woman and the last surviving member of her native forest tribe. Her people worshipped The Creator.
I think she fell into a plothole. I'm amused that a goddess who created the Multiverse decided to hang out on some forest planet.
She was also a love interest of Saint, the love he could reach rather than the unobtainable Mishnu.
Ish'Leth: The serpine Emperor who was the sworn enemy of Saint.
Saint must have ticked a lot of people off in that unspecified stretch of time between S2 and S3. (It couldn't have been in his "mortal" life, since as a human he simply wouldn't have had enough years to agitate people all over the Continuous. At least not without a Democratic Party to put negative spin on everything he did. "What's Saint's exit strategy for the Void War quagmire?!")
Ayin: Brother of Keir. Mishnu allowed them to become the next pair of Sigmas.
Ayin died at the end of S5, actually.
Keir: Brother of Ayin. Mishnu allowed them to become the next pair of Sigmas.
Well, not really. She granted Mian (an Eternal Ayin was occupying) and Volnes (an Eternal Keir was occupying) the title of Sigma, due to the fact that they really had no idea how to stop the “ghosts of reality” and hoping that they would reveal a weakness as they went through with their plan.
Yume: The young daughter of the Creator.
I used to really hate her, but S18 changed that substantially. She's changed a lot throughout the various tournaments-- probably due to being written by my writers than anyone else besides Fabian-- but I don't think any of them were retcons, since you can pass it off as "growing up" and all that. Yume's a fairly decent standalone character after all these years.
The Vicers: The Vicers are the Eternals’ ultimate fighting force, a special squad called on only in the greatest of emergencies. Think of the Royal Imperial Guards from Star Wars, but with highly decorative uniforms. Gold patterns and silver designs weave all around the front - it's to show royalty and importance. Underneath is a pearl layout, which has a shininess and glossiness unique to them. Vicers are not humanoids - they are the Essence (or souls, if you will) made animate. These are the spirits of great Eternal warriors of the past. Like ghosts operating within their thick armor. you can never see their faces because their mask hides it. Their armor and mask is part of a system called COFFIN Technology: within their lonely chambers their physical form can still be sustained. Otherwise...they just fall apart and evaporate.
The Imperial Honor Guard were hardcore, and if you have to pick something to rip off, it might as well be cool.
What Vicers are has gotten retconned somewhat, I think originally Saint had an idea for a "ghost in the shell," an actual spirit manipulating the suit, but they're more like Fullmetal Alchemist "spirit-bound armor" now. This mostly came about when Krizak and I decided that the Vicers were basically the Eternal equivalent of Protoss dragoons, the armor being a way to sustain Essence damaged by the Void that couldn't "survive" bound to a physical body. As such, they weren't whole essences, and thus couldn't be animated on their own.
I don't think the nature of "COFFIN Technology" was ever dealt with either, which is a shame, because there's a good idea there.
I'm reincorporating the COFFIN technology in the new Categorical Index, it's a good plot hook and I think just tossing it out there might give future hosts ideas. This is all pending my finishing that article of course >.>;
The Eternals have started to phase out the use of Vicers, as they have proved largely inadequate in the modern Multiverse.
Septerra, with her singing, is the only one who can properly control them otherwise they lose the "Rhythm of Life" and go out of control. They are extremely powerful but somewhat slow....like walking battle tanks. Because they are from the otherworld*, they have the strength of 20 men - with a simple swipe of their hands, they can knock down buildings. Their trademark weapon (used for battle as well as looking good during ceremonies) is the Coda Clef, which is this MASSIVE THCIK ASS blade that extends like a meat-cleaver glove-thing around their fist but the blade is still sharp and angular. Very decorative and highly lethal - think of something like the weapon from Dew Prism but not as kiddy, more dangerous. The Vicers have no real ‘style’ of fighting (they don't care for martial arts). They are a silent parade of ogres that march through warzones and eviscerate everything in sight. Just point them in the right direction and you won't have to worry about your target anymore - "Fire and Forget." Without Septerra, they might as well mow down every friend and foe in sight (but Septerra keeps them in check). As I said before, they are only called upon in the most EXTREME of situations as there's no telling what could happen if one of them got loose (or if the enemy got their hands on the Coffin Technology).
* I don't think this was ever explained or elaborated on, and as such can probably be safely ignored.
The idea that Septerra's singing is the only thing that controls them doesn't really work, because she isn't singing to them all the time, and living suits of armor don't have to go to sleep (and putting them in Forcecages when they're not needed that they insanely and futilely beat on in their endless rage would be cruelty beyond measure), and so on. My theory is that the Vicers are kept in a state of suspended animation until Septerra "wakes them up," and it takes her singing to put them back under again afterward. While "awake," they still go berserk if she stops.
I also changed the Vicers' "rhythm of life" thingy to something that fit the EMC better, and that is that Septerra sings a weaker version of the Words of Creation called a "Litany," that's used to sustain Vicers' ability to exist and use Essence. Other members that know the litany could do it too (I never came up with a name for it, the "Celestial Choir" was, I'm told, used by some group in the World of Darkness), but for various reasons only Septerra is entrusted with the job.
~ The High Council ~
Mishnu, the Alpha: Mishnu is the Alpha of the Council. It is literally her job to oversee the flow of the Continuous.* She's a strong woman with a tough-as-nails personality. As she is constantly being bombarded with problems, she won't take crap from anyone and remains determined to get the job done. She tries to focus on solutions as there are plenty of people who can detail the problem. As is the ancient custom, Mishnu is a pure Eternal, meaning that she was never transformed from a 'cocoon' state (like Saint)**. This affords her powers and intelligence that others do not possess as one who is purely an Eternal can channel (or go into "deep conversation") with the Continuous. Thus, she is the rightful chosen authority to be 'Alpha' of the Council. Whether Mishnu enjoys this responsibility or not is irrelevant.
* This was retconned some time ago, probably [unintentionally] by Krizak, or whomever decided there was more to the Multiverse than the Continuous.
** This was retconned by Tenk in S16, and was sustained in S18. Note that Mishnu's ability to "channel the Continuous" was sustained, so I guess that's a third retcon (that only "pure Eternals" can do it).
This is obviously wrong now, given her new backstory by Tenk. Also, that “powers and intelligence that others do not possess” bit is untruth; those born Eternal have no natural power advantage or disadvantage against those converted. However, I think Mishnu CAN channel the power of the Continuous, though this would be more a unique power rather than the automatic right of the Alpha.
Mishnu is a beautiful woman with a lithe figure. Most of time, the council members see her in the traditional Alpha sun-bright dress complete with overly long sleeves that hang off her arms. The length of the dress is usually trailing behind her. She never wears much jewelery or ornaments except for the sacred vial which she keeps around her neck. This vial is suspended from a beautiful silver chain. Inside the vial is a still-fresh miniature version of 'Mother', which for intents and purposes is a rose to the human eye (although that description is actually quite insufficient to those with a higher 'connectedness' and know better). For public appearances, she carries the powerful Nym scepter in her right hand. For informal wear, Mishnu is quite happy dressing up as an ordinary mortal. In fact, most people (not even Saint) know that her secret past-time is horseback riding. When Fabian fills in for her duties, she will sneak off to the beaches of Tiderius IV (her favourite spot) and call upon a magnificent strider she happened to meet. She has affectionately named her strider Fileetsay, the Morgorian term for "Elegant Wind."
Nice word cipher for "Mongolian," there. Like we couldn't tell from the horseback riding. Mishnu comes from the Steppes to destroy Rome!
I couldn't understand what the "sacred vial" was supposed to be, and assumed it contains some Essence from the Creator herself. While the Creator isn't really her "mother" any longer, the significance remains in that it was a gesture of thanks from the Creator when Mishnu accepted her over Phaetheon. I think. My memory's failing on me.
She still has the vial; in fact, as probably the only part of the Creator not absorbed into the structure of the Multiverse, it actually offers her a degree of immunity against Yume.
In nearly every major situation and incident, Mishnu makes the correct
decision (based on the guidance of Fabian) and for her quick thinking and leadership, she has earned the devotion and respect of the citizens of Eternal City. However, there are times when she feels lost and indecisive. She is most ashamed of these circumstances as an Alpha cannot afford to appear 'weak', especially in the face of danger. Lately, Septerra has become increasingly concerned with Mishnu's reclusiveness. The Alpha is increasingly retiring to her chambers everyday earlier than usual. Although Septerra believes this is unhealthy and counter-productive, she knows this is the only way that Mishnu can keep up her strength and the unending list of responsibilities to shoulder. But Septerra still wants to take a moment of time to talk to her - not as a member of the council, but as one female to another. What Mishnu is thinking or feeling remains hidden
insider her. What effect this will have on the future reamins to be seen.
This is one thing to say about a President, but it's rather absurd to think that Mishnu is "increasingly retiring" over the rate of a million years. What, does she go to the office for an hour and that's it? Yet another indication that early on nobody really put that much thought into how the story would actually work.
Mishnu's been used by several different writers as well, and unlike Yume, it hasn't really benefited her-- Tenk turned her into a more generic "weepy female" lead, Carly went with a rather surprising pragmatic, efficient take on her, and she was just sort of there in Krizak's writing. Due to that I wasn't really sure what to do with her when she became a major character in S18. *shrugs*
If Wayne ever actually ends SXVIII, you’ll see where this ends up.
Added Notes:
- She has tried to express her feelings for Saint, but cannot because of her rank as Alpha.
Another relic of the caste system the ranks used to be interpreted as. These ways, it’s assumed that Mishnu never expressed her feelings to Saint because she’s afraid to.
- She is the youngest member of the high council, and has held her position for a shorter time than the other current members (who all have held them for quite some time).
Applicable once, but now Nicolai and Keir are both newer. In general, the idea is that Cronimus had 25 million years, Fabian 10 million, Septerra about 4.5 million, and Mishnu 1 million.
Hair: black, long, flowing....almost priestess like
Eyes: Silver
Resemblance: Chizuru from KOF '97
Whew, I'm glad that changed. Chizuru's not bad, but Lisa's art for her was pretty hot.
Fabian, the Beta: No one quite knows how Fabian joined the ranks of the High Council or how he even knows Mishnu. Apparently, the Alpha and Fabian go a long way back. Zeta workers have their own urban legends: some have heard that they were soldiers that served in the same army many ages ago. Others swear that they are unknowingly brother and sister, and the only surviving members of their family. The other far-fetched theory is that they are the 'Guardians', or what rumours call, 'dual components' of an ancient codex (a dead language) whose purpose is, of all things, to imprison 'X-S' (pronounced "zees"). Whatever you believe, it is certain that Fabian follows Mishnu's every footsteps and is the male counterpart to the Alpha. Should Mishnu ever become incapacitated, Fabian is the undisputed High Council leader by default* and will take over all operations, even though he has not yet been 'Chosen.' Danger is an inherent part of becoming Alpha and the Beta understands this. His other duties include those of administration and governmental issues dealing with the Multi-verse. There was a time when a young Fabian wanted to be nothing more than an stage actor, performing the roles of famous Eternal tragedies and love stories. But, that dream was never fulfilled for reasons which he does not speak of.
Tenk could probably fill you in on Fabian better than I could.
* Technically this is retconned too (due to Krizak's establishment of how the High Council works), but if something did happen to Mishnu they'd probably vote to advance Fabian to Alpha anyway.
Fabian's backstory was basically set out by Tenk, and I confirmed as much as I could: he was also originally a human, became an Eternal via the Void Wars (I believe), and served as Beta for a substantially lengthy period of time (some 10 million cycles). He and Mishnu are obviously not brother and sister, but in order to keep from retconning Tenk again I decided to have had Fabian adopt her, both to provide her with prestige and also to make a point that he wasn't interested in her love for him. (You can't really be more friend-zone'd than to be adopted, I mean.)
Note that Tenk took ALL of the rumours and put them together for their origins. 
Fabian is a gentle man with long flowing hair and a fair complexion. His
self-made Beta costume consists of full length heavy coat made from rare
black etheril, which extends from his neck all the way to the floor. Shiny cordyte silver buttons line handsomely down the front, not unlike that of a military uniform from the American Civil War period. In battle, he can even use the furls of his coat to deflect throwing knives/shurikens and shield himself from magic blasts.
If you've ever seen Iron Monkey, imagine Fabian with the super extendo-sleeves the main villain (the huge guy with the Buddhist Palm) had. Isn't it twice as funny now?
His expertise of weaponry is with a strange and cursed rapier named,
"Adagio" combined with his mastery of the WitchCraftian style. The technique has long been associated with magickal 'blades' and the teleportation of 'cuts' - meaning that Fabian needs only to project the damage done to his foe and Adagio will take care of the rest. A simple wave of the rapier will 'reverberate' multiple slices and slashes through the air, hitting targets at least 7 meters away. Needless to say, the WitchCrafian style of fighting is considered to be diablerie of the highest order, yet Fabian wishes to preserve this oft-misunderstood fighting technique.
I'm not sure what's so diabolical about the "Crissaegrim" style, beyond that it's broken as heck in Symphony of the Night.
His hobbies are reading history books, debating, and (secretly) playing
chess with Vante.
Hair: short, but with long anime bangs; still properly kempt, brown. Has a long ponytail in back tied with cloth wrap
Eyes: Blue
Resemblance: Roy Fokker from Robotech
Cronimus, the Delta: An obese Eternal who sits upon his throne and consumes abandoned planets and dying stars. His hunger is never-ending.
YOU HUNGER?!
Even though he is a loathsome being, the other members of the High Council value the Continuous knowledge archived within his bulbous brain. Cronimus is closer to the Omega than he is to the Alpha.
If I had to describe Cronimus, I'd say think Jabba the Hutt crossed with Fat Bastard (lying sideways to support the great weight) but with more humanoid features. His legs and feet have become just a great big mass since he has devoured so many stars and planets - it's really altered the shape of his body over the millenia. A large, beautifully decorated cape covers his lower half - one can only wonder what is underneath. Only his stubby arms protrude from his royal outfit. He wears a crown made of Ethernite and its worth cannot be fathomed. Obviously, he enjoys luxuries and material possessions. Although most other Eternals loathe him, they really cannot function without the eons of information/history inside Cronimus’s brain - he is the oldest member and has seen so much during his lifetime. The Council would be glad to have a new Delta but they cannot get rid of Cronimus because he does his job so well. However, his constant need to consume dead planets and dying stars is quickly approaching an exponential rate - the Council wonders how much is enough to sustain this massive being. He likes to think of himself as an educator, always talking down to the other Eternals and chiding them when they don't know something - a holier-than-thou tone of voice. To get around, Cronimus has a hovering platform that the Zetas made for him. It lifts slightly off the ground and transports him in and out of meetings with the Council. Although he may appear to be helpless, he is anything but. If provoked, Cronimus can unleash terrifying powers of gravity that can compound its victim and squish them to a pulp. Of course, most of time, he could just as easily open his gaping mouth and suck them inside his belly!
He tends to get villainized a LOT, but the truth is that, despite certain questionable habits, he really did more good than evil in his long tenure as the Delta. He wasn’t hated by EVERYONE, and he even knew love in his time. His major flaws were a certain lack of morals when it came to the advancement of science, and being really, REALLY set in his old ways.
Hair: none, bald
Eyes: huge saucer-like, grey
Resemblance: Jabba the Hutt, but human and laying on his side on top of a contraption built to hover him. That and the fact that he's supremely
huge.....about the size of a house. A temple has to be built around him in order for him to live in.
Actually, he sat upright on his hoverpod, and if required, he could actually move under his own power. A lot of what the Eternals know about accommodating beings that don’t fit the humanoid norm comes from having Cronimus as the Delta; most major public facilities have enormous doors and high ceilings on the first floor to accommodate those of larger size.
Septerra, the Gamma: Septerra is one of the highest members of the High Council - her rank is Gamma. Her duties are to oversee the creative arts and the introduction of new species/beings* into the Multiverse (since the Eternals most definitely see this as an art). Septerra appears as child-like, which is not to say that she acts immature but rather her features are young and soft. Her voice reverberates like gentle summer rain and her singing voice is always in perfect pitch - a talent that no other being can match. Every race in the Continuous pray to her as the 'Queen of the Muses.' Whether it is painting, poetry, or music, she is the fountain of all heavenly inspiration. Septerra makes frequent visits to all mortals on behalf of all Eternals.
Not really “all mortals,” but she is the head ambassador of the Eternals, and visits other Continuous and Multiversal cultures with great frequency.
* While the idea of the abnormally cute Septerra cackling over a cauldron as she creates chimerae is a hilarious one, this has basically been retconned down to something the "Scientists" do, unless you count the "Muse of Life Creation's" (formerly Soleil) duties. I wouldn't know, this was never addressed.
Septerra has long green hair, and walks as if she is floating on air. It is interesting to note that when mortals see her, they all attempt to try and capture her image on a canvas or sketchpad. Most of the time, Septerra is depicted as having hundreds of stars flying around her or having carried a musical instrument in hand, even though in reality, she never had any of these things at all!
She IS beautiful, but her beauty only causes inspiration in those who would be inspired by any beautiful woman. When she sings, however, people tend to be struck with all sorts of inspiration, and not just for arts relating to her.
Except for the mortals who kidnap her, of course (S14). Yeah, the Eternals ended up substantially less "mystical" than they were originally intended to be.
Fascinating Fact that very few realize: Septerra commands and directs the Vicers in battle with her singing voice. Without her voice, the Vicers would lose their bearings and become confused.
Hair: rich, full, lots of braids and decorations all over. Platinum-green in color.
Eyes: Black
Resemblance: Adult Rydia from FF4...but still retaining a sense of child-like wonder; Suu from the ‘Clover’ manga
Vante, the Omega: The ender of all things. Vante decides when it is time for life to be disposed of. Out of all the Council members, he is the most distrusted and despised. The Alpha and Omega clash at every opportunity they get - there has never been a greater love/hate relationship. Often times, he will meddle in Saint's life, just to keep things interesting. Vante's true motives have not yet been revealed.
And probably never will, now that he's dead.
I don't know what to make of Vante. The whole "dark side"/alternate personality thing is as played out as Texas Hold-'Em, yet his presence did add a lot to the continuity.
In case you weren't aware of this, Tenk [I think] eventually explained Vante as being created when the Creator sought to divest herself of her "destructive" powers. I eventually interpreted that as the Creator shedding the ability to channel anti-Creation power and that energy eventually becoming Vante, but if someone else has a better idea that's fine.
I don't recall Mishnu and Vante ever being at odds, but I wouldn't call that detail a "retcon," just a facet that was never explored. (Probably because Mishnu had about as much screen time as Londs from El-Hazard.)
Hair: extremely long, almost down to his feet, black
Eyes: crimson red, piercing and frightning
Resemblance: Ashram from Record of the Lodoss War
Terms and Things
----------------
The Creator - The mother. The beginning of all things.
Retconned to being the one who created the Multiverse, not "all things." But then I don't think the "old gods" came about until Daigohji's Id in RT2.
It was her who came up with the concept of existence, though the other Old Gods had a hand in its creation, and it was her who came up with the way to sustain the Multiverse when the Void was summoned and thus awakened. However, the Void is truly the beginning (and end) of all things; all of the Old Gods sprang from the Void.
Continuous - The ongoing, ever-expanding universe.
Sort of. These days, the Continuous is a multiverse-level plane which bears a resemblance to the existence found in most realities: planets, stars, galaxies, gas clouds, all that usual stuff. The only differences are that the Continuous is TRULY infinite in size (while realities do have barriers), and it doesn’t go through a Big Bang/Big Crunch cycle. For both of these reasons, it is the Continuous.
Memory Pools - The gateway through which all universe are connected. This is how the characters from all games and stories interact with one another.
Rather, a mechanism which utilizes the connection all realities have to the Plane of Creation to shunt people from one reality to another. The Eternals keep the technology needed to utilize the Memory Pools as a well-guarded secret, probably the best guarded secret they have, as use of the Memory Pools is probably the easiest method of traveling between realities and also is virtually undetectable.
It was years until I got a concrete explanation of what the Memory Pools were. To this day, I don't think anyone is on the same page as to how they work. In any event, they just do, which is I guess all that matters.
Essence - The soul. Inside each living thing, the Essence powers all life.
Also known as Life Energy, one of the five primary energies of the multiverse.
In the interest of making sense of the Void's capability to "destroy Essence," I separated the "spirit" from the "soul fragment," and then made both different aspects of Essence. So if somebody casts "Trap the Soul" they bind your spirit, but if somebody hits you with a void cannon then it's your soul fragment (also essence) that gets hurt. Note that only the soul fragment, not the spirit, goes into whatever afterlife the Eternals have (if any at all). This distinction is basically just there to stop the D&D-esque "degrees of deadness" that might have been a problem otherwise.
The High Council - a group of five Eternals who look after the Continuous.
Well, now it's 30 (including Epsilons), but yeah. Note that Tenk's "High Court" that he made for the sole purpose of having Miracle put to trial is retconned, anyone mentioned besides the High Council members were just observers of some kind. The Eternal City is an oligarchy, it doesn't have "dignitaries" and "councilmen" and whatnot.
Celestial Court - the reclusive heavenly sanctuary where the High Council operates.
Or rather, a relatively tall building in the centre of the Eternal City (relatively tall because nothing in the Eternal City is very tall, and nothing is taller than the Celestial Court).
The Valkyrie - Saint's old starship.
I'm curious as to what kind of ship it was.
The Echelon - the name given to the hierarchy of the Eternals. Alpha is the highest rank while Zeta is the lowest.
Once, this was considered a caste system, but now it has been retconned into being a cross between job position and military rank. I should note that I recently decided that the Zeta rank is not “workers and caretakers,” but rather a rank for those that have not yet earned a more specific rank.
The Void - The emptiness. The anti-thesis of the Continuous.
Krizak retconned this one a long time ago, stating that the Void isn't "nothing," it's actual anti-existence. The void's involvement in S18 actually came about as a way to expand on them, originally it had nothing to do with the EMC.
Aggamemnon - A barren wasteland where Eternals are punished.
Only used in RT3, if I remember correctly.
Actually a different plane, rarely used in this day and age.
It's not a planet? I'll be damned.
The Shapeshifter - ???
Krizak revealed that Vire created the first Shapeshifter, and [as of S18] sent him to work for Phaetheon and the other agents of the Void. Phaetheon has made the subsequent ones, but they've all been loyal to Vire. He's just cool like that.
Vicers - An elite squadron of guards designed to protect the Alpha. They are called out only in the most extreme cases.
Retconned, the Knights Arcana were established to protect the Alpha and the Eternals. The Vicers are basically frontline shock troops, though still used in "extreme cases."
Bolter - A gun which fires crystalline projectiles.
One of the only ways to add personal power to a ranged weapon, the crystals can be infused with magic, either in form of pre-enchanted crystals or on the fly by a good magic-user.
I always found the idea of bolters a tremendously silly one. The only way to get accurate, long-distance attacks from crystals is to use a gasless source of energy, since without rifling (prohibitively expensive to do on crystals hard enough to survive the blast), proper shaping, etc. they'd basically be like the muskets used in the Revolutionary War that fired glass and rocks at the British. And of course if you're firing bolters with magic, then you could do a lot better than shooting diamonds at someone. I know Tenk wanted Nicolai to be a bolter sniper, but I had him packing Gene Starwind's gun in the S18 intro, because... c'mon, seriously.
Striders - Strong animals of beauty and grace. Sometimes tamed and used as steeds.
Thanks to the Memory Pools, the Eternals can get whatever they want to use as mounts. Not that it matters, because they're an arbitrarily advanced society, and horses are a liability when you're fighting things in space, in spaceships, or in the air.
Serpines - A race of reptilian/snake-like creatures.
I just like the idea of these things as a nemesis, and it's been potentially a few million years since we last saw them, I wonder what they're up to?
The Weaving - A sub-layer of the space that weakens and degrades the structural integrity of the Continous. The serpines first used this as access tunnels to transport goods and supplies to one another.
[Lucent and I] talked about this one. The Weaving is probably what primitive races incapable of Ether travel used instead. Chances are it "works" like Star Trek wormhole networks-- they move places almost instantly, but you can only use "exit points" or "jump-gates" with them.
This is one of the next articles I'm working on actually.
The Apex - The theoretical height of the Continuous and highest point of all space and time.
Yeah, scratch this. Highest point in space and time?! That makes no sense.
Also, retconned. As the Continuous is no longer the only universe (I suppose technically you'd call an all-inclusive universe a "megaverse" or-- heh-- an "omniverse," but let's not go there). Also, as space is infinite, there is no "highest point." Heh. (That being said, in the modern "tree" design of the Multiverse, the most important point is the center of the Plane of Creation, which can be mapped. If you want to call it the "Apex," that would retain this term.)
Forever Sin - A legendary sword thought to be lost within the folds of space.
Forever Sin has made more comebacks than Michael Jordan and Mega Man put together, but it hasn't been around since... well, awhile.
The Entrophy Sphere - Also known as the Egg. A spherical object that can contain Continuous matter and inhibit its growth.
You can't have an amateurish story without a plot device, and this one's a doozy. If an "egg" (what kind of chicken lays Entropy Spheres, anyway?) can "contain the Continuous," and can be mass-produced in any way, then the terrorists have won. I'm glad this one fell into a plothole.
Nano-worms - A giant, horrible plague that swept across the Continuous millions of years ago, wiping out every living thing in existence.
Uh... no.
Uh, not EVERY living thing. Obviously. But it did happen, and it killed Cronimus’ wife.
WYM - Magical language written in the form of linguistic code.
Huh?
WYM has a few small references in new articles. I've associated it with the Old Gods as written text. I think it's in the New Thallien article.
Carpasia - The ancient lost city where dreams are transmitted. Fabian determined that only children were granted access. Now thought to be in ruins and buried in The Void.
Fabian was wrong, but it's good for know-it-alls to be wrong sometimes.
I don't like the idea of Carpasia, and it didn't really work as it was, but I got TK down to a "Meh" regarding the idea that it's a manifestation of the Primal Plane of Dreams (I'm not sure a demiplane should have a primal plane, but so it goes), which Vante directed into the Void after sending Grim there (Grim being Vante's equivalent of Yume), and which Vire moved into. Convoluted, much?
Ethernite Armor - A suit of armor crafted from the strongest substance known.
Anything made of ether probably shouldn't be the "strongest substance known," because if it were that makes for lame storylines, because everyone would be packing it, because the Ether is easy to mine. I mean, seriously, that's like having Stormtrooper armor made out of "hyperspacium." Hyperspace, like Ether, is everywhere when you go there. It's not like steel, where you only have limited amounts of iron.
If it was up to me, I'd say that "ethernite" is an essentially an enhancement of normal armor, basically using Sun Crusher-esque Bad Science to merge whatever metal or fabric the armor is made of with ether, making it lighter, denser, etc. than normally possible. I think it's a good idea, but I won't hold a gun to anyone's head to adopt it.
I'd imagine to make it mesh well with Etheric Weapons and Ether Magic, things made out of Etherite are simply incredibly easy to shape and blend with other materials, pretty much along the lines of what Wayne said.
Millon M'Tai - Historical researcher of the Continuous. It was from his notes and journals that the Eternals were able to piece together the Continuous history.
These days, he’s an Eternal himself, who discovered the history of the billions of years before the Eternals appeared. I like to think that he’s not actually confirmed dead, and that at any time he could just suddenly show up in the Eternal City with a few hundred scrolls of new data.
In my mind's eye, this guy always looks like Alazlam Durai.
Blue Star - A giant flying airship used by the famous scholar Millon M'Tai. Now on exhibit at the Celestial Court Symposium.
The Celestial Court has a Smithsonian Institute?! Why didn't Krizak tell me?! I was looking for a reference to make in that intro post when Asli was talking about tourism!
Book of M'Tai - The collection of sacred scripts containing Millon M'Tai's life-long work.
Actually a huge library; an Eternal lifetime is a long, long time.
The Titanicus - A mythical mechanical giant who stalked the Celestial Court.
Probably retconned, since at any given point in Eternal history they had somebody bad-Democrat enough to stop a giant robot (Anko, Senares, Cronimus, etc.). Unless by "stalked" he means literally stalked, like if Wing Zero was committing guerilla warfare with a cloaking device. Somebody's screwed.
Can you imagine an Eternal-scale Wanderer and the Colossus? Yeah, that's my thought on this.
Wellick - fine wine.
It can't be that fine, the name isn't in French or Italian.
Carver's Stone - The key to unlocking the gates of Carpasia.
Not sure if this was retconned or not, it depends on if TK used it in S16 or not. You might want to ask him or check.
It was used in S16, still valid. It's how Vire opened the door to Carpasia
Twilight Hour - The predicted time when the Continuous and all its occupants will begin to dissapear and cease to exist forever. M'Tai predicted that this hour will come once 'all inspiration and imagination is lost.'
M’Tai was a bit… odd. Eccentric. Crazy.
The Auditors call it the "Terminus," but same idea. That last part is even true, if you count the Void eating everything.
B'Al Zarr - The Constellation Desert a few miles outside the Celestial Court.
Retconned, the Eternal City is on a flying island, and there's no deserts on a flying island. In fact, I don't think this was ever canon, since before that the City was in a demiplane on its own.
I'm pretty sure this was in "Cage of Dreams", I want to go back and re-read that tourney to see what this place was. I love the name, and if I can shoehorn it somewhere else now I will.
Living Sky - An impenetrable layer surrounding The Creator.
Elaborated on in S6 and S18, to be essentially a wave of Creation energy that negates Void energy in its area, regenerates life energy, and does other nifty stuff (but it doesn't do windows).
|
|
|
|
Forum index » Beyond Eternity - Side Stories and Fiction » Into Eternity » The Inkwell
So, yeah, a lot of this IS me taking creative liberties with the place.
