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The origins of Vitæ lie with the Æld’Norai, who remain both the wardens of this emerald magic and almost its sole practitioners– it is a variant borne of Animist rituals of life to bind the Ælves to Ældrassil and be risen as Wisps should they perish. Through its very inception, the Æld’Norai themselves came to be.
Changes
The primary difference is that instead of Miasmata, the Vitæ channels their magic through Saol. Secondarily, their constructs are beings of nature, sentient green wardens, rather than the shambling, rotting monstrosities one would normally expects from Nekros. And third, Vitæ’s practitioners are not cursed with a death-touched appearance of the Pale Man– the Saol they channel usually leaves them flush with vitality.
Utilizing Wisps
Given that Vitæ is a practice reliant upon Saol rather than Miasmata, the only souls a Vitæ may use to facilitate their spellweaving would be Wisps– or deceased Æld’Norai. Given the sanctity of a Wisp within Ælheimar culture, one cannot simply harvest a Wisp for this purpose lest they be subject to the harshest of punishments Ælheim has on offer; that being their very own soul to be offered up as fodder to another Vitæ. And if they themselves are not Æld'Norai, simple execution.
That being said, the Wisps given to Vitæ for their magics are those who are condemned to that fate. They are typically the worst criminals Ælheim has, and as such are denied the ability to reincarnate, given to the Vitæ so that they may still maintain some use. Once a criminal has been executed and their soul handed off to the Vitæ, the mage may then do as they see fit with the resultant Wisp.
Raise
The largest difference lies with their creations, all of which must be borne of plant matter, and usually are crafted by the Vitæ’s own Draoidh. However, additional Draoidh may step in and craft further vessels if necessary, and large plants such as trees may be granted life as-is in some cases.
Sensory Information: Please note that in order for constructs to perceive senses as living creatures (ex, people or animals) do, the creation in question must have these organs woven into their structure. For larger constructs, oftentimes the entire head is used, while for smaller constructs, individual pieces such as eyes or tongues may be used. In any case, the flesh must be encased in plant life and roots must be woven into the circulatory system; through this process, the construct becomes a symbiotic hybrid of flora and flesh able to be Tethered by the Vitæ.
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- A Treant is the most common creature utilized and acts similarly to a Nekron’s Thrall. It is usually about the size of a man, typically no larger than seven feet tall, and typically composed of wood. However, some may opt to make their Treants out of concentrated leaves or vines; the material isn’t important, wood is simply a popular choice because of its durability– another favorite material being Ætumetal for those bound to it.
A Treant may only be made of one type of plant material at a time. It cannot wield Flora Magic.
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- A Fetch is a small CR1 creature- usually no larger than a large dog. These may take on any manner of appearance for a Vitæ, ranging from large flower bulbs that bloom– or don’t– to gnarled critters of bark.
- Verdant Skeleton: 5 Tethers
- The Verdant Skeleton is a specialized creature made of wood and modeled after a typical skeleton, though the race of the bone structure is left up to the craftsman. They otherwise are parallel to a standard Vitæ skeleton, maintaining vacant faces, blind if not embedded with gemstones or eyeballs of some kind, yet able to 'see' the Saol of those within ten feet of them. These can be quite troublesome to deal with, limbs still functioning until the ‘skull’ is crushed.
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- A Grand Treant is a Treant that has had its physical capabilities heightened, allowing for it to move and strike quickly with purpose. It will still collapse but remain Tethered and aware should it suffer enough trauma that it cannot move, or its nervous system ceases to function due to decapitation.
A Grand Treant may have up to three different plant species woven into its creation, allowing for the Vitæ in question to create more specialized units. However, it cannot wield Flora Magic.
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- The Graft is largely unchanged in terms of function from Nekros, only the materials must be, like everything else for Vitæ, plant matter. It is any minion devised as an extension of something else, such as an exoskeleton, parasite, prosthesis, or container that may continue to operate long after the one inside has perished or lost some form of function. This might be used to subdue, to subsume and hide, to smuggle or protect. Still more uses exist to stabilize a body or puppeteer another creature weaker than its joints. These are typically created by other disciplines and then animated, but a wooden rib cage that shifts to catch the blow of a sword is entirely feasible, as is a plant worm that threatens instant death should the recipient violate its Command or try to remove it.
- A Graft is an extension of the body and will convey the soul of its host through it, meaning it will extend the Grafted's touch (and being touched) range, and inherit magical properties such as elemental Galdr forms, or the properties, curses, and boons of Blight.
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- A Green warden is similar to a Hulk. It is a much larger variation of a Treant; Risen from the equivalent plant matter of three to seven corpses - or something with about that much mass. Seven to ten feet in height, these masses of foliage are imbalanced and lumbering when made from many different plants, but powerful and imposing all the same. Through Draoidh, a creature with proper kinematics could be grown together that ambulates normally; it really depends on the care the Vitæ puts into the creature’s creation.
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- Something that operates as a vehicle, a Chariot is a large mass of foliage designed to move quickly, scuttling along the ground or rolling on provided wheels. The appearance here depends entirely on the creativity of the Vitæ or whatever Draoidh they have charged with the construction of their vehicle. It can be anything from a typical, wooden chariot to some grandiose creation made entirely of their favorite flower, for example.
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- By weighting the soul down with a Tether as it leaves the body, a Vitæ can force it to become a Pseudo-Wisp. Pseudo-Wisps function similarly to Wisps, the primary difference is that they are bound solely to the Vitæ who tethered them rather than to Ældrassil. Otherwise, the Pseudo-Wisps follow the same rules as Ghosts, replacing Miasmata with Saol.
- Pseudo-Wisps have free will and may be embedded into objects or beings as if they were Soul Stars. This confers the same regeneration as Nekros to plant-based materials based on the skill of that Wisp. They may be used in place of Saolite Alkahest in the creation of Contrivances. When binding a Wisp to a creation, a Vitæ must pay an Alkahest SP Cost equivalent to the highest tier of skill that wisp possessed. Binding them unwillingly would entail the use of Mysticism.
- Newborn Pseudo-Wisps are Echoes, unable to understand their own abilities all that well, nor might a Tether puppeteer them as they have free will. Still, they might be mentored, protected, and nurtured as valued spies, or else they might blame the one that Raised them should they abhor this deathly state. Those Tethered by a Vitæ have an easier time with Recognition, keeping Recognized Memories open so long as a Tether still holds to them. This does mean that other Ghosts (Wisps, etc.) might begin to take an interest in this widened point of access, however, leading to mass hauntings and the like.
Note: Beings with free will possess their own skills; they would be considered CNPCs if they aided the player, or else a Formation if Raised en masse.
- Elysian Treant: 500 Tethers
- Eleven to fifteen feet in height, an Elysian is a gorgeous– or terrifying– mass of greenery. To craft one is a gargantuan undertaking by a gleeful Draoidh looking to craft something truly grandiose.
The Elysian may utilize any combination of Flora its creator has access to. However, it cannot wield Flora Magic.
- Green Knight: 1000 Tethers
- A Green Knight may be risen out of any other Vitæ creation by wrapping a sliver of their own soul around a Wisp and embedding it within the creation. This confers both the regeneration of the Wisp, and the ability for a Green Knight to maintain up to 1,000 of its own Tethers - excluding another Green Knight, unless they themselves are Vitæ- meaning these beings often serve as commanders of a verdure formation. A Vitæ may also assume control of any of the Green Knight's Tethers, or spread its Scrying awareness through these without doing so. Using a Green Knight means that a tracker following the Vitæ's Tether will come upon the Green Knight first, giving them an early warning sign.
- The Green Knight will receive all the skills, and traits of the soul's Arcana and Ascension from their Wisp, if any, including any Mageburn symptoms should they burn themselves out - and doing so will cause them to immediately slip their leash and begin to ignore a Vitæ's Tether. Blights will confer their benefits and drawbacks to the minion, which may risk slipping and rampaging if its needs are not met. They may be brought back under control by Imparting the appropriate Metaphor.
The Green Knight may wield Flora Magic, expending XP to learn it as any CNPC would.
Representing the price one pays as part of their own soul, the Vitæ must pay an experience cost for any Arcana skills their Green Knight has, as if they were a CNPC. Green Knights function as a doubled Tether, meaning their actual Tether cost is whatever they were risen as, plus 1,000 Tethers.
- Colossal Treant: 1000 Tethers
- The consequence of raising an Adult Dragon's worth of mass - or greater, up to the size of an Elder - as one's loyal minion, a Colossus is a large being wielded by the Vitæ as a potent weapon of siege. Provided their Grist organ is left intact, making a Green Knight out of a Dragon Wisp might enable its Grist. and thus its Natare, so that it might fly. Only a Lich could raise something as fantastical as an Ancient Dragon.
When mass raising hundreds of undead, you only need detail the first risen creation, provided your story begins at the timestamp where the process began - or picks up from and references such with a backlink to that thread or series of threads, if unfinished. This allows you to carry on with building your retinue as resources, skills, and Spell Reserves allow. Similarly with Malediction, you may say you have spent your time altering many undead. All of this must be detailed somewhere on your Character Sheet, with links to the threads where the undead were built and altered.
Mageburn Symptoms
- Lesser: Slippage, Lethargy, Headache, Bodyache, Chills, Lightheadedness
- Moderate: Caged Rabbit, Hives, Rashes, Inflammation and unwanted plant growth
- Greater: Organ Failure/Rupture (Plant Overgrowth), Becoming Draugr, Overwhelming Paranoia, Coma
- Slippage: As the Vitæ's power wanes, so too do their Tethers. Constructs beneath their purview begin to slip out of control, shambling after anything in the vicinity that sustains itself through Saol and consuming it with ravenous fervor.
- Caged Rabbit: The living dead no longer consider the Vitæ friend, unless they truly are a form of Undead such as a Draugr. This usually happens as the last of the Vitæ's Tethers slip away, plunging them into a dangerous situation where the dead crave their flesh. Many choose to become Draugr simply to avoid this fate.
Acquiring Vitæ
In order to Acquire Vitæ, one must first be a naturalized citizen of Ælheim and therefore bound to Ældrassil. Once this is done, the prospective student of Vitæ must apply for the magic; this is a bureaucratic process to be approved or denied first by the Kouzælnir and then the progenitor of Vitæ himself, Reykr. Should both approve of the student’s application, Reykr will then guide the student through the process of forging the initial pact with Hypnea, gaining Nekron in its base form and becoming a Pale Man. Afterwards, he will assist them through shifting Nekros to Vitæ and then guide the novice through their studies, as most of the finer points of the magic are all in his– or other notable practitioners’– heads.
For a player to start this process, please submit a clearly labeled Support Forum request and Vicissitude will reach out to you to either write through your PC’s acquisition of the magic or how to incorporate it into your background.
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