Ages Eternal Horicabu's characters

[Horicabu]

Name: Hakku, the Black Beyond
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Domain(if applicable): Fear and Otherness, along with Space, mostly stars and the blackness between them.
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Powers/advantages: Hakku is a patient, tranquil-minded and very orderly being. A master craftsman, anything made by him is guaranteed to be perfectly angled, down to the tiniest detail. He can also keep a secret, if he wants to.
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Quirks/disadvantages: Hakku is an obsessive, prideful, and sometimes deceitful creature. Oftentimes he'd spend an unnecessary amount of time to make something just right, rather than be practical.
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Motivations: To sow fear in mortal's minds and to create beauty. Hakku's idea of beauty is somewhat unorthodox.
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Appearance: Hakku most often appears as a featherless bird-like humanoid. His beady eyes are a blank white and glow with a bluish tinge. His symbols are the moon, the colour black, and worms.

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Hakku's Lore
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Creations:
- Slua, a rather sparse and cold chain of four islands. It contains many species.
- The People of Lead, a race of intelligent, worm-like humanoids.
- A twisted and gnarled species of tree, based of the Giving Tree, made by Goggins.
- Many species of shrubs and grasses, all based off the first grass, created by Feara.
- Black Hounds, an ugly, predatory canine.
- Several species of insects.
- Very tall, plantlike animals that stalk across the Isles with five spindly legs.
- Grey Mould, a large, blob-like fungus that accelerates the ecosystem.
- A burrowing lizard that makes its home in and around Grey Mold.
- The world's first birds, Hakku's Messengers. They bear his sigil upon their forehead.
- The moon, unknowingly created by encasing the overwhelming power of Dymos in lead. It provides seasons and tides to the world.
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Hakku's goals:
- Continue to create and populate the world.
- Prepare his creations for a deeper purpose.
- Ulterior motives and other yet unstated goals.
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Images and In-depth information

Spoiler: Slua

Slua (Sloo-a): a valley island. It is surrounded by plateaus and menaces with a spike in the middle, which holds the whole island up to the sea. Home to strange plants and animals (most yet to still be created) and the enigmatic People of Lead. Three new islands have popped up nearby the original.

Spoiler: Pictures

Coastal Gate

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Landscape #1

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Landscape #2

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Landscape #3

Spoiler: People of Lead

The People of Lead
What they are: An intelligent race of fused organisms, capable of rational thought and (thanks to the Scribe) communication. They are able to learn by themselves.
The species' size: A single Person of Lead stands about 6 or 7 feet tall. They are lithe, agile creatures.
Biology: These sentient beings are a conglomeration of several different species, mainly a large worm and a smaller, plant-symbiotic species of the same family. While a single minds, each of the People of Lead are built of several different parts, all independent of each other, but fused to become a single consciousness of human-like intelligence. In theory, one could take the bindings off a Person of Lead and it would fall apart. One could then reassemble it and it would be as though nothing happened. However, the fact that one of these organisms is a thick network of tendons, muscles, and blood vessels that keep the entire creature together, that is not the same as its skin, make this a near-impossibility.
The total number of symbiotes making one Person of Lead is around 8.
Culture: The People of Lead as a group are a reclusive, isolationist species. They find other creatures strange and rather inferior to their own kind. This is mostly due to the nature of the People of Lead's multi-organism construction. They claim being made of many small minds rather than a single large mind creates community within themselves (even though the People of Lead think the same way everybody else does. Their minds are simply more spread out inside their bodies) and thus forms a superior intellect. Despite their tendencies as a group, these creatures believe strongly in individual determination, and thus are known to be quite independent. It's rare, but not unheard of, to see a Person of Lead travelling beyond Hakku's Isles and mingling with other races, though this is looked down upon by those of the Isles.
The People of Lead are a race that prefers form over function. They reflect their creator in that a craftsman would rather spend the extra time to perfect his creation rather than to make it within a reasonable schedule. These creatures are not the greatest in terms of practicality, but make up for this shortcoming with high quality, beautifully made goods. Low quantity means that most families keep their possessions and pass them down. Buying or commissioning anything is done sparingly.
The People of Lead occasionally spawn a merchant who distributes their unique workmanship across the world.

Spoiler: Additional pictures

Spoiler: Weapons

Duelling Maces: Midsize (2-3 ft), heavy truncheons/maces. They are typically wielded in a pair. Made of a lead-bronze alloy. Some transition to a needle-like point on the end.

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Heavy Lance: A thin, long spear-esque weapon. Takes two hands to carry and is most often used behind fortifications. However, a particularly strong Person of Lead can use the weapon in direct martial combat. Made of wood and bronze-lead alloy, but sometimes carries a small mace-head at the end. This is usually made of a majority lead alloy.

Spoiler: Architecture

A typical Village.

Image by SnowSkadi
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Temple Entrance

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Black Fortress Exterior #1

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Black Fortress #2

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Interior shot

Spoiler: Nautical technology

Merchant ship

by Hiroshi Yoshida

Spoiler: Art

These are some examples of their pottery, but also serve as references for the distinctive patterns. Anything made by them will usually have some element of these patterns on them somewhere.
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Totem

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Lamp/fire shade

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Decorative Pots

Spoiler: Plants

Hink Trees
- Thin, gnarled trees with few branches. They occasionally bear fruit that resembles that of the Giving Tree. Hink do not grow in groups, instead choosing isolated spots and slowly growing for millennia.
- Hink trees carry large pods and special tunnels within their roots to provide space for a symbiotic worm that helps them create nutrients from poor soil.
- The People of Lead revere Hinks, seeing them as symbols of longevity and dedication. The oldest are adorned with cloth wrappings around their trunks and charms often hang from their branches.

Spoiler: Hink Trees Picture

Grey Shoots
- A short, stubby grass that are often found in small patches, sharing space with other plants. It's unnaturally dull colour is where the name originates. This muted tone is an attempt at camouflage.
- Grey Shoots actually bear a root vegetable similar to very small potatoes. As such, the People of Lead cultivate the plant for food.

Babbles
- Babbles are shrubs with coarse leaves, which rustle quite loudly in the wind. They serve no purpose to the People of Lead, and are thus uprooted if they are anywhere nearby a permanent dwelling to make way for the more useful Grey Shoots or Ink Sprouts.
- These short, bristly plants are fond of shaded places. Oftentimes one can find them around the tall pillar formations dotting the island.

Ink Sprouts
- A flowering bush that grows in great numbers. Ink sprouts, as one might imagine, grow an ink-black flower.
- The Ink Sprouts' flowers are somewhat poisonous, causing stomach cramps, but the pitch buds are edible, and thus another plant the People of Lead cultivate. Their flavour is comparable to a Brussels sprout, and serve a role much the same at the table.

Blood streamer
- A thick, heavy creeper vine. It is known for the bright crimson petals of its many small long, thin flowers. The vine can grow on almost anything, and during blooming season transforms the landscape from a drab grey to bright red for two months.
- The Blood Streamer is a common decorative plant, and many times the People of Lead make wooden frames for the vine to grow and flower. However, the plant is purged when it grows on trees, as they are adept at strangling their hosts.

Grey Mould
- An ugly fungus that grows best in confined spaces. It releases a chemical that accelerates decay.
- Grey Mould is left alone by the People of Lead when found in the wild, but purged thoroughly if nearby a settlement to prevent health and infrastructure damage.
- Every spring, the Grey Mould masses spray a swarm of spores so dense they fall to the ground like snow. The People of Lead call it Grey Winter.
- The fungus's horrid scent is near legendary.

Spoiler: Grey Mould picture

Brine Tree
- A tall, strong tree that often grows in clusters of three or four at a time. They are the primary source of wood for the People of Lead.
- Named for the tree's tendency to grow near salty water. They are found everywhere, but most often are found lining the coast.
- The trees have many thin roots that take best to mud. They are very similar in appearance to a mangrove tree.

Twig shrubs
- The Twig Shrub is best known for its small stature. There isn't much use for these plants other than children's toys.
- The plant basically is just a sapling.

Spoiler: Animals

Blueflies
- Small flies with a blue abdomen. They are the primary pollinators of the Isles of Lead, travelling in nomadic swarms.
- The People of Lead hold them as sacred, believing these insects to be a symbol of life and fertility. A bluefly swarm passing through a settlement is considered a blessing.

Rock buds
- Large beetles with a stony shell, known best for their voracious consumption of plant life. These creatures are few in number compared to Blueflies or other such insects, but nevertheless universally reviled.
- Despite their role as a pest, Rock Buds are important in keeping the plant population stable.

Cicadas
- An insect known for its haunting calls. They fill the night-time air with noise.

Sucklers
- Another pest species, taking the form of a shiny green bug that has white insides.
- Sucklers are hated by all, as they suck blood.

Black Hounds
- A very strong, ferocious being canine that preys upon anything they can.
- Hunted by the People of Lead for meat.

Wallow Beasts
- Named for their love of mud pools, these large, quadrupedal lizards dig tunnels that allow the Grey Mould to spread.
- These beasts are docile and easy to domesticate, and thus the People of Lead use them as mounts and pack-animals. Their slow nature makes them unfit for anything war-related.

Pod Beasts
- Towering plant-like creatures of great size. They wander aimlessly through valleys and over plateaus of the Isles of Lead. Their purpose is to spread the seeds of plants, which easily stick onto their thin legs.
- These beasts are named for the featureless blob the composes their upper body. It is best described as a lump of yellowish green peppered with holes of all sizes.

Hakku's Messengers
- The world's first birds, made in Hakku's own image. They bear his Sigil upon their forehead.
- These creatures are few in number and elusive. When they appear, it is considered a message from Hakku himself.

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Progress messages

Spoiler: Progression to the Second Age

The People of Lead, separated from Hakku, began to revere the moon. From the silver sphere came the tides and seasons, and Allfather's creations in the ocean grew stronger and more diverse, a major source of food for the watching and listening People of Lead. They struck the earth in silence, digging metals and planting farms. Villages grew to towns. Mountainsides became the grand and mighty Black Fortresses that would defend the borders of their land. Routes to the sea were found, and ports became a common sight along the coast. Their civilization spread by sails and wind. Culture became sophisticated, and traditions arose among the tall, grey folk of the Leaden Isles, or in their tongue, Slua (Sloo-a).

Through the centuries, the Blessed waited in their temples, seeking even a single word of revelation from above. But it never came, and thus Hakku's Blessed began to lose hope. Finally, desperate for direction, they left, spreading out to the world in an expedition to find answers.

Wrapped in cloth hoods and draped with dark charms, the Blessed became the ambassadors and merchants for the People of Lead. All the while, looking for just a single clue in the search for their lost god.

 

[Horicabu]

[Image Pending]

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Name: Seven Needles
Race: People of Lead | Blessed
Gender: Male
Bio: Long in the past, Hakku created his Blessed among the People of Lead. They were enshrined, and their bloodline preserved for centuries. Seven Needles was one of these Blessed: raised by priests, his home a remote cliff side temple. From birth, they taught him of their lost god and told tales of a grand lance, created since the beginning of time, which belonged to their beloved creator. Seven Needles believed he was to find it, and from the ancient rod discern the fate of Hakku. He was trained in the ways of sailing and combat, and left home as a merchant. Seven Needles wanders the world, watching and listening for hints of where he might find the lance, and with it a fragment of a deity long lost to time.
Motivations: His lifelong goal is to find Hakku's Lance.
Strengths:
- Strong and tall.
- Relatively intelligent.
- Skilled in the ways of the merchant and traveler.
- A competent fighter.
Weaknesses:
- Overzealous and stubborn.
- Doesn't have a great understanding of other cultures.
- Hatred for Dwarves.
Appearance: A tall, lanky figure with hairless milk-white skin. Seven Needles wears minimal bronze armor, and over it a thick scarf and pottery helmet. Both his arms are wrapped in bandages bursting with charms and written blessings. A hide belt holds a scabbard of dueling maces at his side, and flowing tattoos adorn his chest, belly, and hips. On the creature's back is a huge drinking gourd.

 

[Horicabu]

Name: The Worm in Waiting
Domain(if applicable): Stars and Space, Earth, Rebirth and Undeath
Powers/advantages: Manipulation of mortal souls, earth, and space, Raising the dead, Projecting an Avatar. If the Avatar is killed, it dissipates and cannot be remade for some time.
Quirks/disadvantages: The Worm in Waiting is an invalid, and its true body cannot move under its own power. It relies off its avatar to travel and communicate.
Motivations: To build influence and conquer for the People of Lead, and to act on behalf of long deceased Hakku.
Biography: Born deep in the earth by mortal prayers, the Worm in Waiting is a god-like entity that seeks to succeed the god Hakku. Her interests lie towards expanding the People of Lead's influence over the entirety of Idain.
Appearance:
True Form:

Avatar:

 

[Horicabu]

Name: Carrot
Race: People of Lead
Grade: C
Gender: male
Bio: Born in the confines of Slua's largest city to a poor family, Carrot had a turbulent childhood. Abused, beaten, and deprived, he ran away from home at a young age to sign up for the Worm Knights, hoping his relation to the Blessed would earn him a place among their ranks. Rejected because of lowly birth, he instead took to drifting between mundane jobs, including a smith's apprentice, a cleric's servant, and other jobs until he finally could save enough to leave Slua for other lands. Filled with charisma and boasting a strange and diverse set of skills, Carrot joined the Adventurer's Guild and hopes to have the time of his life.
Motivations: To have an exciting, interesting journey with others. Deeply curious, Carrot hopes to see the strange and unseen corners of the civilized world and beyond.
Strengths: Adaptable, charismatic, and distantly related to Hakku's Blessed. Steeped in necrotic power, and so able to raise the dead (to an extent) by use of a talisman.
Weaknesses: Not very strong, and master of none. Somewhat racist and distrustful. Carries a good share of mental problems due to his childhood.
Appearance: A very tall, almost gaunt figure with light grey skin. Wears a patched hood and short cloak, which he has slowly expanded by sewing on every scrap of cloth that catches his interest. Like most People of Lead, he dresses for warmth and utility, not for decency. Has a rusty old bangle on his left leg.

Carries with him an uncharacteristically large claymore and a rusty scared chime.