Grist

File:GristSkill.png

The Origins

Referred to as Wang-Wu by the Jian and the Dragons who live amongst them - or ‘the Ten-Thousand-Things’ meaning all Saol and every discernable thing comprised of Planar Metaphor - Grist is the Glamour embodied by Dragons (and Kobold Shamans) to cultivate an identity which they may then be externalized as miracles.

Grist is often referred to by the Faefolk as ‘Primordial Glamour’ with jealous reverence. Ancient Proto-Dragons catalyzed Grist within their bloodline long before the other races of Ælphyne had formed their own. As dragons set foot and wing upon Antarok, the Jian grew to revere the dogmatic sense of Oneness their Grist entailed as a form of mysticism now integral to their daily lives.

Concepts

Gristle: Grist is a Glamour derived from an arcane fluid rich in Saol called Gristle. This catalyst forms within a small organ surrounded by thyroid cartilage in the throat - the 'Adam's Apple' - which then circulates in trace amounts throughout the body, pervading the environment through perspiration or else congealed within the larynx for exhale.

Three-Among-Many: Through Saol, the Gristled possess a connection to three things among many: a Metaphor, an object, and one kind of life such as any animal or flora they feel drawn towards. Referred to as the ‘Three-Among-Many’, these three concepts inform how the power will manifest and influence its host. A dragon may choose or be raised into any Metaphor aside from Saol and Miasmata, as one governs how Grist may utilize other forces while the other is antithetical to life. One with Grist will feel compelled to embody the Metaphor, object, and animal they represent, often hoarding things associated with their identity.

Oneness: Personal change, ascetism

Pervasion: External change, conquest

Initiation

Those born with Grist inherit connections to some amalgam of the Three-Among-Many belonging to their parents - more often, this is the parent who is more ‘One’ with them.

Mageburn

Basic explanation.

Lesser:

Moderate:

Dilution:

Gristle:

Abilities

Cultivation:

Inner Alchemy:

Exhale:

Compass:

Pervade:

'Except:

Journey:

Partition':

Law:

Sovereign:

Transfiguration:

Meridian Abilities

Empire:

Bound:

Variant: Geist

Much of the northern hemisphere is dominated by the Dragon-Queen Shēngsǐ Xuě, a Meridian who was reanimated by the Sidhe King Oberon in the Dragon-Faefolk Conflict and exiled to Antarok from Ælphyne as punishment for resisting Fae dominance. As the once jovial mother of Ælphynian Dragons fell into a melancholic slumber, the other Meridians who fled to Antarok became aware of how her power had twisted from Saol to Miasmata and cautioned the Flights to let her sleep forevermore.

To this day, nothing grows in Slahane, the cold, dead north of Antarok. Nor can life reproduce there - all are infertile beneath the power of a corrupted Meridian.

Changes

Whilst Saol is diametrically opposed to Miasmata, Grist uniquely ceases to function as Glamour and instead becomes a form of Poetics once its host has joined the ranks of the living dead. Geist retains every capability as Grist, yet rather than influence living things, its Gristle influences the dead and risen - any being or object animated by Miasmata or else in possession of it - towards Oneness.

‘Conception’ specifically cannot happen within the bounds of a Geist’s influence. Flora will cease to proliferate, and the land will become barren. It has no idle harm upon the already pregnant nor a fertilized egg, however.

  Note: Lore still remains the Theorem for utilizing and understanding Geist and its history, though someone skilled in Occultism would at least know the fable of Shēngsǐ Xuě and thus the existence of Geist.

Becoming a Geist

Geist belongs exclusively to the domain of the living dead which cultivate Miasmata within themselves. Only the corporeal undead which are implanted with the organ of Grist or those Dragons and Kobold who are brought back from death as Draugr may begin to pursue this variant. A player is free to play as a Geist provided they are corporeal undead.

Aspect: The Meridian

For more information, see: Aspects.

Notes

• Note 1
• Note 2

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