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Appendices, Author's Note, and Teaser
🕑 Added 2023-10-27 05:50:55 +0000 UTCAs always, let me know if you see I've messed something up!
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Character List of Invasive Species
This list includes people mentioned in all Arcs to date.
It does not include people with only a single mention or the “people” from the Story Dungeon; they are specifically for that Story. If I missed anyone more important than that (I often do), please let me know in the comments.
Aaron - Abducted from another world; not useful to Priestess Alanaeon. Ended up at Steadfast Seventeen as an acolyte; emigrated to Tzintkra with Denise (and the rest of the Steadfast Seventeen Church staff)
Acolyte Tinar - Assigned to be Serenity’s guide on Lyka
Acolyte Deek - Tinar’s partner and observer for Rourke; probably a former member of Karit’s military. Loyal to Rourke
Acolyte Varandaeon - Escorted Earthlings from Zon to Lyka. “Interviewed” by Ekari disguised as High Priestess Karin and returned to his normal life
Agent Jones - Agent of an unknown agency, on a sniper team
Agent Miller - Agent of an unknown agency; higher ranking than the others. Might be with Internal Affairs?
Agent Price - Agent of an unknown agency, watching Serenity. Whistleblower.
Agent Smith - Agent of an unknown agency, the sniper
Agent Taylor - Agent Price’s boss (former). Forcibly retired for issuing the kill order for Serenity
Aide - Artificial intelligence “given” to Serenity by Tek to manage his cybernetics
Aki - Crystal Raz removed from the dungeon below the Sunrise Clan holdings
Alain - Member of the Mercenary’s Guild in Takinat
Alanok - Lawyer in Celestials’ Rest
Alrin - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Draykin, strong and stealthy
Althyr - Eldest of the Conclave of Dragons, Elder Dragon of Order, Serenity’s mentor
Amani Valles - Inventor and Technocrat of A’Atla; built the Vault and did most of the design work on the mana plug to seal the drain on A’Atla’s nexus
Amily Sen Keraeth- The Viper’s Assassin
Ancient Temple Dungeon Core - Childlike dungeon core
Andarit - Daughter of Kalo Lichbane; Heir of Lowpeak
Anna - In charge of assigning new people to groups in the mercenary(?) camp Gustav led Raz to
Ansera - Healer in the time-warped Forest of Lost Regrets; saved by Serenity from the saktiin plague
Apollyon - Known as “the destroyer”. The actual source of the curse on Rissa’s family (maternal line). Has a reputation for clever schemes.
Arbiter - Unknown woman who attempted to kill Rissa in the Timestream. Twice
Ardeval - Assigned to Steadfast Seventy-three by Priestess Alanaeon to hide her takeover of the church
Arkandaeon - Tutorial Instructor and Mage; member of the Church of Aeons. The man who marked the people who were kidnapped from the Tutorial; dead
Arrimet - Xarx’s aunt; innkeeper
Arrin - Assassin belonging to the Night Sky Court; followed Serenity and Andarit into the Palace Dungeon
Azav - Originally the aide to BattleLord FlameHeart, Azav now leads the Sterath Serenity managed to pull under his banner
Baron Celestials’ Rest - Ruler of Celestials’ Rest
Baron Heavenfall - Ruler of Heavenfall
BattleLord FlameHeart - Leader of the Sterath invasion of Earth; Merged by Serenity
Baron Restali - Lord Cymryn’s superior
Baxter - Private pilot; old friend of Lex Rothmer. Has known the family for years, including Serenity/Thomas
Bethany Rothmer - Thomas’s mother
Bethyr - Imperial Agent working for Lord Cymryn
Blaze - Instructor and Healer. Grumpy with people who don’t follow his advice, completely unsympathetic with people who try to make things worse. Diehar with the power of a Phoenix bloodline and Path
Broken Mirror of the Repository of Secrets - A knowledge repository specializing in the intersection of biology and magic buried under the Great Library of Takinat. Contains a subset of the data stored in the Repository of Secrets on Earth. Known as the “Locked Archive” by the Great Library’s Librarians until Serenity opened it. Probably the “Vault” Lord Cymryn was looking for.
Brown - Boston FBI liaison for Russ, often works with the Boston UERT
Bylek - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Human, sneaky
Calu - the Guard at the Deep Gate of A’Atla
Captain Larsen - Captain of the Necropolis City Watch; escorted Serenity, Stojan Tasi, et al to the City Lord’s Residence
Carl “Legion” Taylor - Rebecca “Becca” Taylor’s husband; part of Legion; attempting to recover the important parts of his Earth life; Father of Caleb
Ceney - Armorsmith and secret princess
Chronos - God of Time
Coyote - Trickster god. Appears to be helpful?
Cronus - Previous Lord of A’Atla; overthrown by Ea. May have escaped captivity at least once
Curio - A voidling that presents as a shadowkitten; Serenity’s familiar (?)
D’ackt - Crossing Guide on Berinath
Darian Ebongrove - Linked to the A Rest From Death dungeon; member of Rising Phoenix mercenary company
Darrin Winterslo - Duke Lowpeak’s spy in Zenith
Daniel - Gabriel’s cousin. Blind since birth until Serenity and Blaze healed his eyes
Daryl - Tier Nine member of the Silver Blades in Takinat
Death - Personification of Death Himself. May be a god? Very friendly to Serenity
Denise - Jacob Latimer’s girlfriend; also a teacher
Denise - Earthling rescued at the Steadfast Seventeen church; emigrated to Tzintkra to be with Aaron
Desariin (Rin) - Tzintkra Mercenary Guild Healer
Desinka te A’nar Rakyn - Daughter of Rakyn; Formerly cursed, now a Daywalker vampire bound to the A Rest from Death dungeon.
Dezan - Package sorter at the Tzintkra Messenger’s Guild
Diane - Jenna’s primary nanny
Director Collins - Museum Director for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Djen - Owner of Djen’s Hiring Hall; slavemaster. Enslaved the kidnapped Earthlings.
D’Nehr - More commonly known as the First Guardian; man-shaped semiliquid rock; known as Calu back in the days of A’Atla, the Guard at the Deep Gate
Doyle - ally, helped people through trials. Former military; Settlement Manager of Serenity Settlement
Dr. Allen Ridge - Lead Scientist for the DARPA Portal Detector project; has a foot-in-mouth problem but smart and good at the technical side
Dr. Rachel - Scientist and Allen-wrangler for the DARPA Portal-Detector project
Dr. Sandra Mattingly - Project Manager for the DARPA Portal Detector project
Ea - Previous Lord of A’Atla, according to Amani. May also be known as Manannan mac Lir, according to Psyche
Echo - Cheerful girl, “tutorial mascot”. 16 years old, hard life previously but knows how to deal with people; Settlement Manager of Serenity Settlement
Elder Lizven - Dryad elder on Berinath
Emily - one of the founders of Serenity Settlement; mother
Emira (Emi) - A guide on Berinath
Emry - Sillon’s irresponsible sister
Ekari - Head Administrator of Earth’s Tutorials, Serenity’s ally on Lyka and Aeon; descendant of the rulers of Karit; Planetary Manager of Lyka and Aeon
Ẽ̷̬l̶̙̿a̷̘͘t̴̙͂ḭ̸̌q̸̳͊ ̴͙̈́ḇ̶̈í̸̲n̸̙͆e̶̗͒r̶͊ͅt̵̼͑ ̶̺̒K̷̩͒i̵̗̚’̷̥̆Ã̶͕m̴̬͝v̵̼̅r̶̹͂ẽ̸͖n̸̢͘ ̷͇̄U̷̩͝u̸̪̅ỉ̶͓n̴̖͝ - the djinn (demon?) Rube found. Dead.
Emery (Emerald) - Enchanter; Daryl’s sister
Emery Lane - aka Ralph Lands or Tristan Patterson, among other names; summoner who attacked the inner camp while enhanced with Night Fire; killed and zombified by Serenity
Entherys - Trial instructor. Leader (in his mind) of the conspiracy to kill Serenity. Sent back to his home in disgrace by Order’s Voice; abducted Andait to get her to agree to marry him; Dead
Finley - Gatherer and shopkeeper who overdosed on monster cores; Serenity never got the full story after helping to remove the excess stale essence that was corrupting him
Frank Smith - Shady antiques dealer; may have other sidelines. Was the person behind Macho’s original attempted theft and the later theft of all of her magical artifacts
Gabriel - Tier Nine member of the Silver Blades in Takinat
Gaia - Earth’s World Core
Garrett - Leader of the party Raz is placed into; has a reputation for “losing” trapfinders
Greenstick - Extremely excitable Traa dungeon-master
Greyvine - Mage in the party Raz was placed in; ran from the Last Refuge of the Deathless dungeon and survived
Gustav - Recruiter for an unknown group of mercenaries(?) operating on Tzintkra
Hand Esme “Grandma” Tillon - Quest-Giver of Stallet Center before the invasion; Hand of Order’s Guild; leader of Asihanya’s Resistance
Hegemon Worm Queen - Leader of the Hegemon Worms that came to Earth; Dead
Helen Leos - First person rescued by Serenity on Lyka; went to Order’s Guild on Ranar instead of Earth
Helios - God of the Sun; former Lord of Sol and the Solar System. Dead.
Hj!vr - Greater Obsession Demon, Called Ruler of Mornmot when Serenity arrived
Hollis - Guildmaster of the Tzintkra Healer’s Guild; old friend of Rakyn. Lightning Azata bloodline
Honoria Clearsight - Tutorial instructor, witch. Goes by Helga in Tutorials where she has to use an alternate name. Can teach mental defense. Librarian at the Great Library of Asihanya.
Human - Beast-God for the Human species
Innat - Fixer / event planner in Celestials’ Rest
Irene - Tzintkra Mercenary Guildmaster
Irma - Caravan leader and guard
Ita ena a’Serenity - Sterath Connections mage; Serenity’s first Shameless
Iva - Fighter in the party Raz was placed in; died in the Last Refuge of the Deathless dungeon
Janice - Serenity’s assistant
Jacob - Rissa’s brother; mind-mage; was cursed until Serenity broke the curse
Jeff - Rescued from an Infirmary on Aeon by Ekari; poisoned by greendust and partially healed by Blaze. Returned to Earth
Jemma - Master Runeweaver at the Runemasters’ Guild in Takinat. Administered Serenity’s Journeyman test.
Jenna Adrienne Rothmer - Firstborn daughter of Serenity and Rissa
Jeremy White - Cataloguer at a public library in Kansas; Nat’s uncle; had demon summoning supplies he thought were fake stolen from him by his niece
Jim Rechet - Inspector from Locust Farms
Jine - Sillon’s wife
Josaiah - Restaurant worker who managed to get caught by both the Hegemon Worm Queen (hypnotized only) and one of the decay-creatures. Rescued by Serenity and an emergency Tutorial entrance to get Blaze’s help; Biomage
Juka - Guild Master at the Mercenaries’ Guild on Lyka
Kalo Lichbane, Duke of Lowpeak - Andarit’s father
Karen A. - Thomas’s Boss (at least for however long the "unpaid vacation" lasts)
Karin - Former High Priestess of the Church of Aeons; Ekari’s mother. Recovering from Lykandeon’s influence
Katya Kyrika - Outside the dungeon when Serenity and Raz emerge; member of the Rising Phoenix mercenary company; member of the Kyrika clan of crafters; member of the group Serenity has assembled
Kerr (Aardya a’Kerinth) - Weapons instructor who knows Sterath. Looking to have Serenity as an ally. Possible friend
LaCroix - undead student
Lak - Member of the Tzintkra Mercenary Guild; Formerly Cursed
Lak - Sillon’s Daughter
Lancaster - Police officer who takes Thomas and Rissa’s statements about Macho. Serenity’s friend and ally
Larsen - Captain in the Necropolis Watch
Legion - Composite person created by Priestess Alanaeon and the overuse of greenstone; currently assisting Serenity while he/she figures out the future; extremely sensitive to being called by anything plural
Lex (Alexander) Rothmer - Thomas’s father, Former Secretary of Defense
Lyle Baker - Coordinator for the multinational investigative area on A’Atla; involved in acquiring items to investigate. Temporarily infected with Night Fire
Liam Brown - Obsessive ritualist (dead)
Lieutenant Smith - Leader of “Task Force Kangaroo” for the DC Police
Linda - Employee at Lorenzo’s Magic Shoppe in Takinat
Liuyedao - ally, helped people through trials. College student, martial artist; Swordmaster Path
Longsight - Traa elder and strategist. Has been known to out-clever himself
Lord Cymryn - Imperial Agent assigned to find the Vault hidden on Asihanya
Lykandeon - God of Ekari’s homeworld; ascended mortal. Dead.
Macho - Man who “originally” killed Rissa. Attempts to kill Serenity (twice?). Current status unknown (escaped custody in the Tutorial)
Made (Madeleine) Fulton - Reporter for Channel Six, first identified person with Hegemon Worms
Madelyn Alexander - State Department negotiator assigned to the Traa
Maerite - Anti-slavery organizer in Celestials’ Rest
Mandy - Child Serenity encountered in a Tutorial, then again in the Blue Line Dungeon; magical prodigy
Margrave Iron Mountain - Ruler of the Mountain’s Crest Estate on Iron Mountain
Margrethe - Cleanser for Earth’s Tutorials. Saved Moira. Attempted to kill Serenity twice. Forgiven(?)
Marti - Receptionist at the Tzintkra Mercenary Guild. Suspicious of Serenity
Mike Miller - Liam’s “bodyguard” from Team Two
Mina - Friend of Mindy; met Serenity during his last Tutorial
Mindy - Friend of Mina; met Serenity during his last Tutorial
Minu - Lioness-like Pride demon known as a talmis; decided she wants to be Serenity’s mount
Miranda Elliott - British Prime Minister
Mischief - the first alilu Serenity met
Missy - One of the founders of Serenity Settlement; mother. Lead farmer of the Settlement
Misty (Crow) - Teenager in Kansas talked into summoning a demon
Moira - Ambitious mage, wanted to learn “all elements”. Thought Raymond was a friend until he tricked her into attacking Serenity while she was loopy from a misguided attempt to gain Death affinity. Saved by Serenity and Margrethe. Sworn follower to Serenity. Shares emotions with him when they are close enough.
Morwen - Friend of Serenity’s from college; now works for DARPA. Lightning mage
Mr. Williams - British liaison
Nadia Davis - Oliver Davis’s niece; got the Dungeon Keeper Path and asked Raz Sunshine for help learning it
Nadia Kyrika - Katya’s aunt
Naomi - Tier Seven member of the Silver Blades on Takinat
Narin - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Excitable draykin
Nat (Natalie) Freeman - Cameraman for Channel Six
Nat (Raven) - Teenager in Kansas who planned a demon summoning
Nightmare Wraith - Boss of the 3rd level of the Ancient Temple Dungeon; Dungeon Guardian; can be summoned by Serenity
Nightwitch - ally, helped people through trials. Pilot. Military; coordinated a significant portion of the invasion portal effort
Obas - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Human
Officer Jones - DC Police; Member of “Task Force Kangaroo”; Rookie
Officer Nguyen - DC Police; Member of “Task Force Kangaroo”; Stealth specialist
Officer Surrey - DC Police; Member of “Task Force Kangaroo”; Melee combat
Old Man Rinsetti - Master of Runic Synthesis in Takinat on Asihanya. Helped Serenity analyze the runescript found on the attacking biplanes
Oliver Davis - Helicopter Pilot for the Rothmers’ attempts to reach the island Lex believes holds the “Well of Souls”
Order’s Voice - Somewhere between an interface and a person. Sometimes speaks to Serenity
Pelni Sukaj - Inventor of the Curse used on the Shining Caverns
Phoebe Latimer - Rissa’s mother, Seer
President Stewart - President of the United States during the First Wave
Priest Evan - Priest of the Steadfast Seventeen church, he is the last survivor of a previous religion captured and controlled by Lykandeon’s Eternal Church; he was mutilated in the process. Serenity and Blaze healed his wings. Emigrated to Tzintkra after swearing loyalty to Serenity
Priest-Healer Tirina - Healer on Lyka, affected by Lykandeon but content enough that Blaze wasn’t certain he could heal her. Very dedicated to her profession
Priestess Alanaeon - Priest-Thumaturge, Commander-Priest, or Priest-Inquirer Alanaeon commanded the facility “investigating” Lyka’s world core that produced greenstone, Legion, and greenstone-based “overcharged beam weapons”; Dead
Prince Ora - Prince of Zenith; one of the few survivors of the royal family
Professor Eric Rasmissen - Archaeology professor at New York University, contact of Russ’s
Professor Richard “Dick” Indiana Jones - Archaeology professor at New York University
Psyche - Deity who told Serenity that Apollo was dead, so the person responsible for Rissa’s family curse is probably Helios; lives in Canada these days
Quincy - Boston FBI liaison for Russ, often works with the Boston UERT
Rakyn - Father of Desinka, Friend of Guildmaster Hollis, Former vampire hunter
Raymond - Lancaster’s partner before the Tutorial. Attacks Serenity twice. Dead
Raul - Owner/manager of an underground fighting arena on Aeon
Razinkh ‘e Sunrise (Raz) - A Draykin from Asihanya, near Stallet Center. Raz’s Clan was destroyed and he fled to Tzintkra
Rebecca “Becca” Taylor - Carl “Legion” Taylor’s wife, approached to sell her home by someone using very shady tricks; Mother of Caleb
Red - Cousin of Phoebe Latimer; Spellwitch. Possibly cursed.
Remvir - Dryad guard on Berinath
Ren’shel - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Human Light Mage
Rhea - Goddess; motherly and associated with Earth. Bakes excellent cookies.
Rissa (Clarissa Latimer) - Thomas’s girlfriend; Auspex/Time Dragon hybrid; mother of Jenna
Robert - Discharged Lowpeak retainer; beastmaster variant. Killed by Serenity.
Roberts - First name and rank unknown, commander of Team Two
Rockfist - Fighter at an underground fighting arena on Aeon
“Rose” Rosemont - Owner of Rosemont’s Specialty Pets and Tamed Monsters
Rourke - Former Captain in Karit’s military; former Priest of the Eternal Church, was in charge of the “Pillars of the Faith” (the Eternal Church’s Inspectorate) while working to bring it down. Supporter of World Manager Ekari
Roy - Helped Serenity & Raz travel the Metro; appears to work in a job tracking Tutorials and people that come out of them? Possibly military?
Rupert “Rube” Merryweather - Sensitive Path; a student at New York University who found a cracked vase holding a djinn. Partially healed.
Russ (Russell) Latimer - Rissa’s father, Guardian, Auspex and psychic
Samantha Rice - Lead Investigator for magical items found on A’Atla for the multinational cooperative. Enchanter
Serenity - Main character; former name is Thomas Rothmer; known as Vengeance and The Final Reaper in the previous timeline
Sillon - Trial instructor. Friend of Serenity; bodyguard of Planetary Manager Ekari
Stojan Aith - Dhampir City Lord of the Necropolis (temporary); Breaker of Tzintkra’s World Core (dead)
Stojan Kenna - Dhampir, Son of Stojan Aith, Nephew of Stojan Tasi. Mastermind behind the plan to curse the Shining Caverns
Stojan Tasi - Dhampir City Lord of the Shining Caverns; DeathLord; City Manager of the Necropolis. Brother of Stojan Aith, Uncle of Stojan Kenna
Sub-Priest Vinal - Assistance to the priest of Steadfast Seventy-three
Sunrise - Founder of the Sunrise Clan; Raz’s ancestress
Syri - Dhampir healer at the Tzintkra Mercenary Guild. Outwardly subservient to Serenity
Tek - Earth’s God of Technology
Thad - Tried to challenge Serenity for “his women”, Mindy and Mina
The Deathless - Ancient mage that wanted to live forever
The Librarian - An old-seeming man who manages a magical library under the library of the University of London
The Final Reaper - Thomas’s final name the first time around
The Viper - Leader of the group attacking Takinat; left a ritual to create Hollow Ones behind as a trap while he ran (which didn’t quite work out for him)
Thomas Rothmer - Serenity’s name before everything started
Tibral Unalgos - Pelni Sukaj’s sponsor
Timmat - Revenant in the Dead Swamp
Timothy Dale Rothmer Et’Tart - Lex Rothmer’s grandfather; came to Earth from Surinaz using the Well of Souls
Tirmanak Oathbinder - Guildmaster of Order’s Guild on Ranar
Tom Cooper - Serenity’s alias on A’Atla, false Owner of A’Atla
Tranquil Conviction - Sterath god (or perhaps boogeyman?). Also known as the Peace of the Grave before Serenity took the name.
Tyche - Lady Luck; has a mean sense of humor
Tzintkra - The World Core of the planet known as Tzintkra; damaged by Stojan Aith
Uri Brightscale - Kobold
Vengeance - Thomas after Rissa’s death the first time around
Verit - Elder of the Iron Mountain Sect; Entherys’s aunt
Vladimir Angeloff - Russian interrogator from a Tutorial. Defected with family; last seen in London
Vurin - Member of the strike team assembled by Hand Tillon to liberate Stallet Academy; Draykin
Widetail - Lord of the Traa who decided to invade Earth
Yngoliat Hale - Ynsarac Hale’s father; current head of the Rising Phoenix mercenary company
Ynsarac Hale - Outside the dungeon when Serenity and Raz emerge; member (heir to) of the Rising Phoenix mercenary company
Xarxinal (Xarx) - Ceney’s bodyguard and friend
Zan - Outside the dungeon when Serenity and Raz emerge; former member of the Rising Phoenix mercenary company; ripped them off for a lot of Etherium; Zekia’s brother
Zanzital “Zany” Aniza Zitanar - Guildmaster of the Silver Blades on Takinat, Knife of Order’s Guild, agent of the Empire (or at least of Lord Cymryn) on Asihanya
Zekia - Zan’s sister (Dead)
Current To-Do List
Building the dungeon into a home - Raz, Aki; input only
Decay creatures - Russ is handling, but needs my help?
Finding the Lost Quest from Althyr - how to save the dragons’ children?
Spend time with Rissa
Flying practice
New Affinity practice - Magitech, SpaceTime, Liminal, Nihility
Essence magic & runes!
Practice shapeshifting. Especially investigate emotional/assumption shifts associated with Forms. Will require Aide’s assistance.
Zon is shrinking. Have a quest for that; I know I talked to Andarit and Ceney a lot about it, but is there more I should do?
Where are my parents?
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Planets near Earth mentioned so far:
Aeon - moon of Lyka
Asihanya - Raz’s origin
Berinath - dryads’ moon
Dhellen - origin of the group that attacked Asihanya, known as the “world of fire with cold nights”
Eklimat - damaged by “World Eaters”
Grayson - not friendly to foreigners
Lyka - Ekari’s home planet
Myrta - Planet Blaze knew where they bought flyers after fleeing Berinath
Ranar - home of Order’s Guild’s headquarters for the local cluster
Suratiz - Moon Timothy Rothmer came from; may not be close to Earth
T’cherna - Desinka delved with some people from there
Tzintkra - Planet of Death, Necropolis
Zon - Andarit’s origin
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General
Heritages
Chimeric
Pure (Innate)
Essence Dragon (Primary)
Asura
Child of Time, Unbound
Dhampir, Essence/Mana
Draugr, Sage
Elemental, Essence
Elemental, Mana
Godling
Human, Earth
Lich, Paramount (Primary)
Vampire, Daywalker
Potential, Sovereign
Wraith, Nightmare
Other Known Heritages
Azata, Lightning
Curse Witch
Healing Light
Hexen
Heavens’ Fire
Jiang-Shi
Knight of Blood
Malevolent Spark
Mote of Decay
Mote of Stasis
Mummy
Remnant Wisp of Life
Revenant, Star
Sea Lion, Earth
Abilities
Monster Biology
Eyeless Sight
Colorless vision that does not require light; no visual effect
Inherited from Final Reaper
Vital Sight
Shows the primary animating Affinity, usually Life, for creatures. Makes the eyes glow with blue-white fire
Inherited from Final Reaper
Blossoms’ Sleep
Can induce sleep on self with a defined wakeup time
Dream Blossom Dust
Runic Shielding Tattoos
Resists one attack of any sort. Does not require preactivation if the attack will kill or disable. Fully drains current MP to establish, drains SP to maintain, ends when hit. MP drained determines strength of blow that can be resisted, will fail if strength is exceeded but may reduce the power of the attack even if it fails. Effect is better with automatic activation
Self-created ability (Not actually tattoos, his skin/scales grows “naturally” in the correct pattern and color to create the effect)
Crystal Seed Remote Link
Allows Serenity to access the World Core features as though he were at a Node, even when he isn’t on a ley line. Functionality may be limited inside dungeons.
Linked Crystal Seed (True Core)
Dhampir’s Default
When a Dhampir is casually examined, he or she appears to be a normal member of the living population.
Dhampir
Down to the River
When you physically envelop a being with a soul, you may choose to send their soul to the River of Souls. The soulless body will remain if applicable. Success rate depends on Ambit. When you do this, you will gain some of their knowledge but not personality. Decreased chance of success in any form other than Sovereign of Potential.
Sovereign of Potential
Link Core
While touching an Essence Core, you can attempt to create a Sovereign Link. Enhanced by Ambit.
Sovereign of Potential
Multiform
You may assume the shape of any Form you know. All Forms reflect yourself and all Forms are reflected in some manner in your Chimera Form. Detailed control of Forms increases with familiarity. Any Forms above the minimum require a continual maintenance cost of both Mana and Essence. Minimum number of Forms: 1. Maximum number of Forms: 4. Forms may be repeated.
Forms passively return to their normal condition.
Current known forms: Chimera, Wyrmling Essence Dragon, Sovereign of Potential (Kernel), Human(?), Crystal Hilt, Armor, Sterath(?), Arcane Asura
Sovereign of Potential
Rift of Potential
You can manifest a small rift between your location and the Origin Point.
Sovereign of Potential
Path Abilities
Loot Core
Teleports a monster core from touched monster body to the user. Usable on any dead monster with a core. Costs mana
Death-Eater
Resilience of the Dead
Slightly increased resistance to certain status alterations
Death-Eater
Eat Death
Absorb Death energy found within the Death Eater’s aura. Absorption based on Affinity. Intensity of absorption can be varied but the ability cannot be completely disabled. Absorbed Death energy may be used as if it were Death mana. Dissipates with time.
Ability damaged
Death-Eater
Basic Analyze
Analyze a being for basic information. The being may be animal, Pathed, or monster. Other beings may be analyzed if they have any appropriate features. Items may not be analyzed
Battle Adept
Intermediate Unarmed Combat (Claw Variant)
Losing your weapons is not a disaster when you have weapons attached to your hands. Your expertise with claws is nearly nonexistent, but your general training with unarmed combat is transferable
Battle Adept
Adept Aspect Form
Instead of infusing an Affinity into your weapon, infuse your Aspect into yourself. Limited time, consumes both stamina and mana, induces unconsciousness when the Form lapses
Battle Adept
Basic Sense Raw Magic
Detect background, non-attuned energy. This sense is always active
Child of Time
Linked Sight
You may share your vision and vision-based abilities with your Seer or anyone whom you share a similar Link with. They may also share their vision and vision-based abilities with you. Consumes Stamina per vision or vision-based ability shared in either direction. Vision ability costs are paid by the user instead of the originator of the ability, if applicable
Child of Time
Moment of Prescience
Know a moment ahead of time when something will kill or disable you or someone you wish to protect. Activation is automatic. Cannot be activated more than once a minute. Consumes stamina in inverse proportion to the threat
Child of Time
Time’s Eye
Your eyes see the motions of Time as it stretches and changes. The hidden is easier to see and the false easier to see through. Consumes Stamina
(Note: the Stamina cost is low enough that it can be maintained for hours at a time, though that will significantly reduce Serenity’s available Stamina for other uses)
Child of Time
Unbound
Time does not quite have the same hold on you as it does on others, and Fate does not rule you. You can slip between the lines of the future and past or even blur them if you have the desire and the strength. That which will be has no power over you, and you can break the strands of Destiny for others if you dare. This ability is always active and has always applied to you
Child of Time
Basic Identify
Identify an object to gain basic information on it, such as its name, basic properties, materials, and/or minor enchantments
Steadfast
Scale Hardening
Use Essence or Mana to reinforce your scales, making them harder to damage and more protective. Costs Stamina to maintain
Steadfast
Wait for an Opening
Study an opponent’s actions in combat to gain an intuitive understanding of the right time to strike
Steadfast
Second Wind
Convert some of a more filled resource pool (Mana, Stamina, or Essence) into an empty one. Consumes some of the converted resource
Steadfast
Stand Tall
Whether you are the last wall between your loved ones and your enemies or you simply love to fight, your ability to take a beating is exceptional. Blood loss, bruises, injuries, and even broken bones will not stop you. You can fight at the full effectiveness your body is capable of despite your injuries
Steadfast
Essence Sight
You can already sense Essence with your Aura. Sight adds precision and distance to your detection capability. This may be enabled or disabled at will. A visual effect may be present
Evoker
Physical Storage
You can store spells inside your own body to be evoked later. Stored spells may be evoked only by you and may be triggered at any time. All variable effects must be determined prior to casting. Stored spells will degrade with time and use of mana or essence in the area the spell is stored.
Evoker
Spell Conversion
You can convert the power of any spell you can Evoke into a ranged mana or essence strike. The power of the strike depends on the stored spell power.
Evoker
Store Spell
You may temporarily store spells in items to be evoked later. The item must be strong enough to hold the spell, and synergy with the spell will slow spell degradation. Stored spells will degrade with time and nearby mana or essence use. Storage of spells can damage items used.
Evoker
Designate Evocation Conditions
You may designate conditions on when a stored spell can be evoked. You can bypass any conditions you set, but you cannot bypass conditions set by other Evokers. This allows you to set conditions that will allow non-Evokers to Evoke stored spells, but spells Evoked by the untrained will be significantly degraded during the evocation.
Evoker
Entwined Magic
You can mix Mana and Essence magic freely, to achieve effects not possible with Mana or Essence alone. Passive.
Magic Dhampir of the Origin
Gaze of the Origin
When you choose, you can infuse your gaze with the power of your connection to the Origin. Effects vary. Power depends on Ambit.
Magic Dhampir of the Origin
Aura of Magic
When you choose, you can reveal your Mana and Essence pools with your aura. Passively increases the maximum size and regeneration of your Mana and Essence. Increases the regeneration of others’ mana and essence at a slight cost to your regeneration rate. Easily sensed. Power depends on size and regeneration rate of mana and essence pools.
Magic Dhampir of the Origin
Mold Magic
You can alter magic that has been given a steady form. Passive.
Magic Dhampir of the Origin
Potential of the Rift
Your Rift to the Origin will allow you to move items or creatures to the Origin and retrieve them later. Items or creatures stored in the Origin will be exposed to it. You may travel to the Origin using the Rift.
Origin’s Potential
Rift Control
You may control the Potential that leaks from your Rift to the Origin as long as it is within your aura, including increasing or decreasing the amount that leaks.
Origin’s Potential
Call on the Origin
The Origin is just that: the beginning of all things. Bring something temporarily into the real world, limited only by your imagination and power. Variable Cost.
Origin’s Potential
Revivify
Potential can become warped in many ways. Restore something to its original Potential. Quality of repair affected by the level of understanding of what the repair requires, the amount of damage being repaired, the time since the damage occurred, and the Time Affinity, Concept, and Aspect of the user.
Origin’s Potential
Realize Potential
Use Potential drawn through the Rift to temporarily gain something from your Heritage. Variable Cost.
Origin’s Potential
Death Magebolt
Throw a mass of Death-attuned magic at your enemy.
Tutorial Reward
Magesight
Advanced Sight Skill that combines Mana Sight, Basic Sense Raw Mana, Essence Sight, and Vital Sight into a single improved Skill. Passively view all forms of magic. Observe how they affect each other and can transform from one to another. When used actively, additional details can be observed such as Affinities and faint traces of spell residue.
Zonal Evocation Mage
Fireball
Place a ball of Plasma where you want it within your sight range. Maximum expansion size varies with mana used.
Zonal Evocation Mage
Cone of Lightning
Emit Energy starting from your hands in a cone shape. Spread in height and width may be controlled by hand position; maximum length depends on mana used and height and width selected.
Zonal Evocation Mage
Spot Nullification
Use Nihility to destroy what you can see. Roughly shapeable. Potentially explosive.
Zonal Evocation Mage
Death Field
As Death’s Incarnate, you radiate Death through your aura. You may choose creatures to include or exclude at any time. Toggleable, Easily Detectable.
Zonal Evocation Mage
Synaesthesia
You have gained many new senses that do not quite fit the ones you are accustomed to. You must choose: do you represent them as another form of a familiar sense or do you learn to meet them on their own terms?
Magitech Abomination
Subconscious Synchronization
You have been growing closer and closer to Aide. Allow Aide to take over for your autonomic functions, consuming a fraction of its processing power to free the space for additional cyberware and expansions for Aide.
Magitech Abomination
Skill Integration
Senses require attention; so do many Skills. Attention is a limited resource for most, but you have the ability to use the next best thing: processing power. Figure out how to integrate your Skills with either your own additional processing or hand them over to Aide.
Magitech Abomination
Quickrune
As an Evoker, you can store a spell to be cast later. As a creature of Magitech and (former) Runemaster, you can now build a rune of your own flesh to be triggered when needed.
Magitech Abomination
Abominable Absorption
One of your basic abilities is the absorption of technology, changing it to fit within your body. As a magitech abomination, you may absorb magic or technologic items, altering your body to fit its new needs.
Magitech Abomination
Gather Faith
Energy, even magic, has to come from somewhere. Those who follow you can send you some of theirs. This faith naturally adds to your available power, allowing you to advance more easily, but it may be directed into specific tasks or simply accumulated with practice.
Value and amount received depends on level of faith, willingness to sacrifice, power of the believer, and distance from origin. Other factors may apply depending on the specific beliefs and actions taken to show faith.
This ability is a prerequisite for the Deity Path and is simply recorded here.
Deity (Unique/New)
Detect Believer
Gods and those who believe in them are linked. While this link is the most active during prayer, it can be felt at other times.
Deity (Unique/New)
Appoint Intercessors
Priest, Shaman, or Shameless, almost all deities have mortals who act as the interface between the God and the Believer.
Deity (Unique/New)
Wrath of Dungeons
Those who follow the Dungeons’ Way are supported in their efforts against those who would act against it by their Faith in the Dungeon Deity.
Applies to both direct action and attempted persuasion of nonbelievers.
Deity (Unique/New)
Cursebreaker
Faith energy may be used to assist when breaking a curse.
Deity (Unique/New)
Miracle
Broad, powerful, and rare.
There is no one Miracle. All miracles must align with the deity whose Faith they use.
Deity (Unique/New)
Shield of Death
A modification of the standard Shield Skill, this Skill does not create a force bubble. Instead, it kills anything that tries to pass through it and should not, including momentum.
Incarnate of Death
Incarnate of Death -
Level 25 - Death Absorption - Death empowers the Incarnate of Death, whether that is Death-attuned mana or the loss of existence. Each empowerment is related to the Death that causes it. The ability replaces Eat Death and Adept Aspect Form.
Level 50 - Death Magebolt - Throw a mass of Death-attuned magic at your enemy. May cause lingering effects. This ability replaces the Tutorial award of the same name.
Level 75 - Shieldbreaker - All things die; that includes spells and Skills. This Skill is designed to end the most annoying of Skills: those that protect your enemies.
Level 100 - That is Not Dead Which Can Eternal Lie - Exhibit the Death that you are and break Eternity. This ability replaces Death Field.
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Planetary-level World Core Authorizations
Portal Management
Dungeon Taxation
Quest Visibility
World Citizenship
World Coalition
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Serenity’s Titles
Previous Supreme Existence
You were the Supreme Existence in a previous incarnation, and can remember some of what came before. Your status also grants you the Ghost in the System title. This title is hidden from all but you.
First of A Kind
You are the first True Chimera and the first Essence Dragon. Your Paths shall shape the future of those who follow in your footsteps.
Named
Your Name is known and respected or feared. No other can bear this Name.
Ghost in the System
You bypass certain restrictions. This title is hidden unless you share it with another.
Aspect Pathfinder
As the first person to discover a new Aspect, Concept, and Affinity, you set the path for those who follow you on the road of Essence Magic. Creating new methods and applying methods from other magical schools is easier.
Incarnate
More than an Aspect, you are an Incarnate. Your Concept sets what the meaning of the Affinity you Incarnate does and does not mean. Your Incarnate will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of it.
As an Incarnate, you are not capable of combining or otherwise altering this Affinity.
There cannot be more than one Incarnate for an Affinity at a time, as no two people will ever have identical Conceptions of an Affinity.
Lord
You are recognized as the ruler of a Settlement. This comes with certain rights as long as you are within the Settlement or interacting with people who are identified as belonging to the Settlement. This Title will be removed if you are no longer the Lord of a Settlement.
DeathLord
You have a high enough combined Death Affinity, Concept, and Aspect to qualify to rule a Necropolis.
Tyche’s Mark
You have been marked by Lady Luck. Interesting things will happen around you. They may be good or bad.
This Curse removes your Luck and Luck % attributes and suppresses all Luck attributes that would affect you (directly or indirectly). Instead, Luck is in flux around you and unlikely events are more likely to occur when you are nearby.
Worlds’ Friend
Multiple worlds have declared you an ally. Others who are strongly tied to those worlds may sense a kinship with you. This may affect the reaction of other worlds or their servants.
Reaper of Souls
Death is not the end, at least not for many. You guide those who have died and lost their way on to their next destination.
Your capacity to guide the dead is more likely to be noticed by those in need of guidance and others with related abilities.
Lord Wizard of A’Atla
Title granted by A’Atla; authorizes full access to all of A’Atla’s systems as the person in charge of design and maintenance.
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Serenity’s Gear List
Storage Bag (pocket of backpack) (Has bought extras)
Cloak of Minor Disguise
Void Elemental Armor
Boots of Far Step (nonfunctional except as boots)
Serenity’s Throwing Ax
Mercenary Guild tag
Dreamstone in a box (the one Rakyn was supposed to deliver to the Conclave of Stars)
Small golem statuette (“Lessi”) - activation phrase unknown
Knives of Duplication
Backup Armor (does not have space for wings)
Attuned Keys: Teleportation Beacon at Serenity Settlement, Earth
Tent of Comfort
Order’s Guild Uniforms (2 each for Human and Chimera forms)
Order’s Guild Insignia
Order’s Guild Emergency Beads
Solid Form Manablade Sheath
Quickdraw Ax Harness
Minor Belt of Illusions (clothing alteration illusion)
Footwraps of Air Glide
Wands (damage, Quickness, Slow, damage transfer, Severing)
Wand harness, storage
Staves (Fire Cone, Fire Magebolt)
Assorted everyday/camping items
Single-use charms (Battlefield teleportation, short-range communication (individual and group), specialized protective wards)
Charm Pouch, Quick Retrieval enchantment
Favor of Tranquil Conviction
I, Tranquil Conviction, assert that the Peace of the Grave, Serenity, has earned his Name.
Favor of Death
Commonly sought after but rarely granted, Death Himself believes he owes you a favor. This Favor will not be honored if called on by another.
Favor of Luck x3
You have amused the source of Luck. As long as you continue to be interesting, you will earn her Favor.
Favor of Coyote
A trickster with a fondness for Humanity, wherever it is found, Coyote has granted you a Favor that will allow you to speak with him.
Favor of Ptah
Thought, Word, Existence: Creation is Ptah’s passion, and you have crafted yourself as others craft the world around them. Ptah grants no gifts that you cannot make yourself, but those who can see shall know that he favors you.
Favor of the Earth-Mother
A home is more than a place.
Favor of Tek x7
I’m so glad you called that I didn’t even make you use a favor. I also really like Amani; bring her by some time when you come to visit. Don’t tell me you don’t know how!
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Open Quests:
Restore the Lost
Path Quest Stage 5: Runemaster
A Past Built in Layers
The Fall of Zon
[Mentor Quest: Restore the Lost]
[Goal: Find out a way for dragons to have lower-Tier eggs and hatchlings to allow their minds and bodies to grow together and prevent them from becoming Lost]
[Optional Goal: Find a way to restore those who have been Lost from their spirit form, physical form, or both]
[Optional Goal: Learn about other species with this issue. Generalize the solution]
[Reward: Unknown]
[Failure Consequences: None]
[Message begins: I don’t really expect you to be able to do anything about the Lost any time soon, but you have the best chance I’ve seen in millenia. If you can’t, maybe a descendant of yours will be able to. Message ends.]
[Path Quest Stage 5: Runemaster]
[You have the knowledge but not the power of a runemaster. Regain your title]
[Optional Goal: Gain an equivalent title with Guild leadership authority]
[Optional Goal: Gain an equivalent title in the Enchanters’ Guild]
A Past Built in Layers
Group Quest - Order’s Guild
No Time Limit
Variable Reward
Requirement: Wardsmith, Enchanter, or Runemaster
Many worlds hold artifacts older than the Voice itself. They may be buildings or they may be items. Find one and decipher it, then offer the knowledge to the Voice.
The Fall of Zon
Group Quest - Order’s Guild
No Time Limit
Failure Condition: Quest will fail if no strong center to rebuild from remains
Requirement: None
Zon has been shrinking for the entire lifetime of the Voice. While it was slow at first, often unseen, it has continued and accelerated in recent centuries. Only one major civilization remains, centered on the ancient city of Zenith. Several outlying areas are also strong, such as the Duchy of Lowpeak, The Mountain’s Crest, Heavenfall, and Celestials’ Rest.
Guildmaster Tirmanak Oathbinder believes that Zenith will fall within the century, taking most of the civilization of Zon with it.
Find and counter the cause of this decay, reversing it and making Zon grow once more.
Success Condition: An expanding native population and settlement area, leading to an increase in Zon’s Tier. Direct assistance from the Voice will invalidate this quest.
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Author’s Commentary on Invasive Species
That elevator sure stopped fast, didn’t it?
This arc is the opposite of Arc 5 in a lot of ways; I think this is the shortest one I’ve written yet, probably by quite a bit. It’s roughly two-thirds as long as Deep Blue Sea. I had more planned, but the more I looked at those plans the less happy I was with them. It didn’t help that this was in some ways the second half of Deep Blue Sea; I think I mentioned in that Author’s Note that I extracted an arc that didn’t fit … well, this is that arc.
The core of this arc was always supposed to be Apollyon. I could play around more with the Solomon vases and what people were doing with summoning magic, not to mention the new Adventurer’s Guild or even Apollyon’s history … but that didn’t really feel like it was getting us anywhere. I did want to do some more with the huge spell Apollyon made out of ley lines … but every time I tried, it just felt boring. There was no conflict until I added in time pressure; the ritual had been there for a very long time. I’d actually originally intended that to be the primary path to Apollyon - it leads to a more extensive fight - but it wasn’t a better story.
The better story here was, I think, where I ended up: the contrast between Apollyon, the Final Reaper, and Serenity. Serenity has changed a lot over the past 11 arcs and I felt like this really brought that home. He’s finally coming to realize that while his past isn’t going to change and he will always have the skills the Final Reaper developed, his future doesn’t have to be defined by them. He still doesn’t want to be the man he was, but that doesn’t mean he has to reject everything, either.
It does mean that he needs to try to find a new way forward. That’s not going to be easy; he can’t let everything slide (not that he was ever going to) but he also can’t immediately assume that the obvious enemy has to be an enemy. Yes, Apollyon was - but Serenity absolutely could work with someone like the Final Reaper.
For me, Apollyon’s death felt very much like the thud when you close a book after you finish it. It really brought things home for me, enough that the closing chapter was surprisingly difficult to write. I hope it felt the same sort of completion for you that it did for me.
With that waid, we do have one more little problem to solve: what actually destroyed the planet in the original timeline (no, it hasn’t changed - the Voice just doesn’t know because it never knew). If you were paying a lot of attention earlier in this arc, you might even be able to tell what the threat is … by name, at least. No one knows what it really is. Well, no one who’s going to share the information.
The tentative title for the next arc is World Shaman. Feel free to take that as a hint of what to look for if you’re not sure what the threat is.
See you there tomorrow!
~Lillene
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Arc 12 Teaser
Pulled from a hopeless (if powerful) future back to the moment of Earth’s integration to try to improve the outcome, Serenity has met unexpected threats and unexpected allies - even friends. Everything is different this time.
It’s been four years since the first Tutorial.
The obvious threats have ended, opening the way to less obvious threats. Some are from the outside while others have festered on Earth for centuries or even millenia. A’Atla’s rise was met with resistance, but it also gave opportunities which are already starting to reach places, even opening up low-grade magical items to people without large budgets. Few know or would believe how large the threat was; fewer still recognize the benefit to the entire planet for the fighting that happened in the shadows.
Portals have opened to a few select marketplaces elsewhere, but travel is still rare and potentially dangerous. The potential is enough that many are heading out, trying to establish trade or even simply to see what’s out there. New markets have continued to open, but without many offworlders allowed on Earth yet, there are no full trade routes. That’s supposed to change in another five or six years, however, and many people are trying to get ahead of the game.
Far from Earth, a threat walks among the stars with no known cause: worlds that wither quickly or even shatter. This threat does not seem to impact Earth; instead, the Imperial Agent coordinating the investigation intends to use it to gather information on a strange half-dragon that seems to be gaining prominence in the remote Font sector, a man named Serenity.
