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pilgrimages) wrote2022-07-29 06:05 pm
pilgrimages) wrote2022-07-29 06:05 pm
worldbuilding
goetia
the goetia are elder nature gods of a neutral alignment that originally created and will one day destroy the world. they are gods of life and destruction both, the growth and decay cycle embodied.
these goetia all exist on a plane separate from the human realm, and their only means of influencing the human realm is to inhabit a host. in order to host a goetia, the human's energy must be balanced in kind — in effect, they must exist in a state of ongoing growth and decay. the most common way for this to happen is some kind of trauma.
however, they cannot control their natures, and when goetia inhabit a host, they both offer energy which strengthens it and starts its slow decay. for this reason, goetia hosts are generally short-lived.
there are seventy-two goetia in total, and when they are all summoned in the human world at once, the destruction of the world begins. in this way, goetia are the natural regulator of human society — when a given society has generated so much pain and tension, it is wiped clean, but because of the energy infused by the goetia into the humans, the world begins anew and starts over, reborn. a clean slate.
however, if astra and umbra are ever reunited, the energy of their merging would destroy the world and the goetia realm — for good. it'd be the end of everything, and there would be no rebirth.
The theurgian goddess Astra was a princess who came from the stars to bring life to this planet in a meteor shower. But a shadow lived inside the Earth, and it grew jealous. This devil swallowed all the first creatures Astra had created, hoarded them with him in the underworld, and turned them into Sins.
While Neunstadt largely adopts a Theurgian doctrine, it sees Astra and a male figure named Asterion as the first humans created by a masculine god who came to Earth from the stars. Like the Theurgian version, it views the power inside the earth as demonic, a devil who will tempt good people into doing ill.
Umbra, the shadow within the earth, is the true god. His lover Astra was lost to him, and when they are reunited, the world will return to its original state of paradise.
the power of a host is proportional to the goetia they are hosting, and the power of each of the seventy-two goetia varies. higher ranked goetia like astra and umbra are higher ranked due to being stronger forces, while lower ranked goetia have less power and influence.
however, all goetia pull from a set of demon-like powers that relate to destruction and rebirth, including:
elemental manipulation — including light, shadow, and fire. goetia with this power (and their hosts) can create and manipulate these elements in a variety of creative and useful ways, including generating constructs.
psionics — including telepathy and telekinesis, the latter of which can be used for flight. goetia with this power (and their hosts) may be able to read or influence thoughts and emotions, either of a single person through touch or of a crowd a mile away. they can break and reshape and move matter without touching it.
necromancy — while this excludes true resurrection, goetia with this power (and their hosts) can animate and control the dead. this includes human beings as well as other animals. their thralls can move, fight, speak, etc. they can also combine this power with telekinesis to manipulate bodily matter as a form of elemental manipulation (i.e., constructing bone weapons).
personal body transformations — beyond willingly doing so for a tactical purpose, hosts to goetia with little control or growing close to death are likely to take on the physical traits of the goetia they host. this includes demon physiological traits that vary from goetia to goetia but include things like horns, claws, fangs, wings, extra eyes, animalistic ears, and other supernatural abilities that come with those traits, such as heightened senses, superstrength, enhanced durability/stamina, and so forth. in addition, goetia and their hosts have rapid cellular regeneration (a.k.a. accelerated healing) and some possess the ability to alter their own state of matter, for instance turning incorporeal. all of these changes apply only to the goetia and/or their host's own body.
these goetia all exist on a plane separate from the human realm, and their only means of influencing the human realm is to inhabit a host. in order to host a goetia, the human's energy must be balanced in kind — in effect, they must exist in a state of ongoing growth and decay. the most common way for this to happen is some kind of trauma.
however, they cannot control their natures, and when goetia inhabit a host, they both offer energy which strengthens it and starts its slow decay. for this reason, goetia hosts are generally short-lived.
there are seventy-two goetia in total, and when they are all summoned in the human world at once, the destruction of the world begins. in this way, goetia are the natural regulator of human society — when a given society has generated so much pain and tension, it is wiped clean, but because of the energy infused by the goetia into the humans, the world begins anew and starts over, reborn. a clean slate.
notable goetia: glasya, asmodeus, bael, astaroth, valefor, naberius, vual, orobas, belial, oriens, maimon, kimaris.within their realm, the goetia exist in a hierarchy. astra and umbra are at the top of that hierarchy. once facets of a single god, they were split during a war between the seventy-two goetia, and astra was cast out into the stars to weaken them. left behind, umbra brought the remainder of the goetia to heel, but fell in love with astra and longs to reunite with her.
however, if astra and umbra are ever reunited, the energy of their merging would destroy the world and the goetia realm — for good. it'd be the end of everything, and there would be no rebirth.
the theurgian version
The theurgian goddess Astra was a princess who came from the stars to bring life to this planet in a meteor shower. But a shadow lived inside the Earth, and it grew jealous. This devil swallowed all the first creatures Astra had created, hoarded them with him in the underworld, and turned them into Sins.
the neunstadt variation
While Neunstadt largely adopts a Theurgian doctrine, it sees Astra and a male figure named Asterion as the first humans created by a masculine god who came to Earth from the stars. Like the Theurgian version, it views the power inside the earth as demonic, a devil who will tempt good people into doing ill.
the polonik version
Umbra, the shadow within the earth, is the true god. His lover Astra was lost to him, and when they are reunited, the world will return to its original state of paradise.
powers
the power of a host is proportional to the goetia they are hosting, and the power of each of the seventy-two goetia varies. higher ranked goetia like astra and umbra are higher ranked due to being stronger forces, while lower ranked goetia have less power and influence.
however, all goetia pull from a set of demon-like powers that relate to destruction and rebirth, including:
elemental manipulation — including light, shadow, and fire. goetia with this power (and their hosts) can create and manipulate these elements in a variety of creative and useful ways, including generating constructs.
psionics — including telepathy and telekinesis, the latter of which can be used for flight. goetia with this power (and their hosts) may be able to read or influence thoughts and emotions, either of a single person through touch or of a crowd a mile away. they can break and reshape and move matter without touching it.
necromancy — while this excludes true resurrection, goetia with this power (and their hosts) can animate and control the dead. this includes human beings as well as other animals. their thralls can move, fight, speak, etc. they can also combine this power with telekinesis to manipulate bodily matter as a form of elemental manipulation (i.e., constructing bone weapons).
personal body transformations — beyond willingly doing so for a tactical purpose, hosts to goetia with little control or growing close to death are likely to take on the physical traits of the goetia they host. this includes demon physiological traits that vary from goetia to goetia but include things like horns, claws, fangs, wings, extra eyes, animalistic ears, and other supernatural abilities that come with those traits, such as heightened senses, superstrength, enhanced durability/stamina, and so forth. in addition, goetia and their hosts have rapid cellular regeneration (a.k.a. accelerated healing) and some possess the ability to alter their own state of matter, for instance turning incorporeal. all of these changes apply only to the goetia and/or their host's own body.
agrippa
the continent of agrippa is occupied by two major empires and a number of micronations that function as client states in the war between those empires.
this empire is a theurgian theocracy that strongly opposes the aggressive expansion of the polonik empire. ruled by the hierophant, a sort of god-emperor who claims to have a prophetic connection with astra.
their military has a small branch of just sinners (goetia hosts) trained and mentored (and monitored) by a priest named gaspard. the sinners include: kazuya (trans man), petra, lucía, ximena, essha, and thea. they believe there are only 7 total sins, and if çarcagne controls them all, they will easily be able to best polonivka. like polonivka, çarcagnan leadership knows that hosting a Sin kills the host over time, but they are happy to sacrifice their Sinners for the cause of protecting their way of life & stopping the polonik expansion, and they hide this fact from their soldiers.
they are team america world police and ignore state sovereignty in the micronations at their borders to send their military to fight back against polonivka's expansion attempts.
an autocratic military state of nature worshippers who believe that expanding their religion is essential to bringing about paradise. ostensibly ruled by the kaiser, a president-general figure.
in reality, they take orders directly from umbra. kommandant klaus is the host to umbra, and the conduit through which he speaks to the people. umbra has gone through a number of hosts since he started personally ruling polonivka, and the kaiser is in charge of traumatizing more youths to become potential hosts. it's all very cool and normal.
a client state caught between both empires. once the primary front of the third war of expansion, neunstadt worked with a number of other states in the agrippan alliance to halt polonik aggression in its tracks. now it is a mountainous region occupied mostly by farms.
çarcagne
this empire is a theurgian theocracy that strongly opposes the aggressive expansion of the polonik empire. ruled by the hierophant, a sort of god-emperor who claims to have a prophetic connection with astra.
their military has a small branch of just sinners (goetia hosts) trained and mentored (and monitored) by a priest named gaspard. the sinners include: kazuya (trans man), petra, lucía, ximena, essha, and thea. they believe there are only 7 total sins, and if çarcagne controls them all, they will easily be able to best polonivka. like polonivka, çarcagnan leadership knows that hosting a Sin kills the host over time, but they are happy to sacrifice their Sinners for the cause of protecting their way of life & stopping the polonik expansion, and they hide this fact from their soldiers.
they are team america world police and ignore state sovereignty in the micronations at their borders to send their military to fight back against polonivka's expansion attempts.
polonivka
an autocratic military state of nature worshippers who believe that expanding their religion is essential to bringing about paradise. ostensibly ruled by the kaiser, a president-general figure.
in reality, they take orders directly from umbra. kommandant klaus is the host to umbra, and the conduit through which he speaks to the people. umbra has gone through a number of hosts since he started personally ruling polonivka, and the kaiser is in charge of traumatizing more youths to become potential hosts. it's all very cool and normal.
neunstadt
a client state caught between both empires. once the primary front of the third war of expansion, neunstadt worked with a number of other states in the agrippan alliance to halt polonik aggression in its tracks. now it is a mountainous region occupied mostly by farms.