Full name: Skallagrim the Cughtagh
Title: Cughtagh
Race: Xindhi
Age: Ageless
Home Universe: RolePlay Gateway
Position in society: Cughtagh of the Sleeping Queen. Skallagrim is a champion and scout-explorer for the Dreaming Queen.
Physical Description: Skallagrim is tall and skeletal, standing a little over 6 feet tall. His eyes glow with a hideous amethyst light. His face is covered with only his eyes showing. He wears the dusky black leather and mail of the Cughtagh and Aeryn, the queens own explorers and bodyguards. He wears the crimson lined heavy cloaks that signify a Champion and rarely reveals his form unless he has a measure of respect for his opponent.
Personality: Cold and aloof, he has very little patience for most beings. He is a good ally and better friend but he has few of those. He is the favored scout of the dreaming queen, traveling through the vast multiverse seeking experiences and understanding for the eternal sleeper. Though he is a loyal subject, he has his own desires to once again see his wife and his two children, while seemingly impossible; the multiverse is indeed a strange place where the impossible is limited only by the desire to challenge it.
Inherent Powers: Being Xindhi, when damaged he can slowly regenerate himself, however the extent of the damage dictates the amount of time it takes him to reassemble. However even Xindhi regenerative power is limited as overwhelming damage, either magical or physical can be more than the regeneration process can handle. Surprisingly he is able to move with extreme grace and agility. He has the increased strength bestowed upon him by the very nature of the Xindhi, equal to 20 human men, (able to lift/press roughly 2,600 pounds). He can summon his shadow mount by touching his necklace and calling it from the dreaming realms, the space between worlds.
His sword and dagger also confer some powers to him.
His sword Keefe is a war sword.The 36” long black blade is nicked and notched through years of use, the heavy steel hilt has runes carved into it from a language long forgotten, the 8” handle allows for both a single or two handed grip. The sword is 44” long giving him a very effective reach. The runes allow for Darshan and Prana effects to be enacted upon the sword.
His dagger Rhiannon is wide with its blade measuring 17” long and two inches wide, the blade is shrouded in a black pulsating mist that seems to have a life of its own. The thick 5” handle is covered in hide from an animal that legends only speak of. The pulsating mist is an aspect of Darshan and Prana, with a simple thought from Skallagrim the dagger can transform into a shield.
His Esoteric Powers, the Darshan and Prana, the Patterns of Reality.
According to the Magi of the Xindhi, the whole universe is composed of two materials; one is called Darshan the other Prana. Darshan is the omnipresent, all-penetrating existence. Everything that has form, everything that is the result of combination, is evolved out of Darshan. It is the Darshan that becomes the gasses, that becomes the liquids, that becomes the solids; it is the Darshan that becomes stars, the planets, the moons, the comets and all objects in the universe.
It is the Darshan that becomes the living bodies of sentient beings, the animal bodies, the plants, every form that we see, everything that can be sensed, everything that exists. It is the visible existence of all things, and the thrum of its patterns can be heard, can be felt, can be controlled. At the end of the cycle of all things, the solids, the liquids and the gasses all melt and coalesce into the Darshan again.
Darshan effects can happen almost instantaneously as they concern the known aspects of the holon, the know properties of the collective resonance for that holon, provided the Xindhi has begun understanding the resonance of the current holon. Darshan in its simplest terms is the active way by which the Xindhi alter the holon around them, changing in some part the fabric of that holon.
But just as the visible universe is comprised of Darshan, the Xindhi Magi claim that the unseen and ethereally perfect universe is made of Prana. Prana is the omnipresent, all-penetrating archetypical existence. Every object that has form, everything that is the result of imagination, all have an archetypical and ethereal form that is evolved out of Prana. It is Prana that becomes the insubstantial perfection for gasses, and becomes the peerless image for liquids, and thus also becomes the ideal form for solids; it is Prana that becomes perfect stars, the pristine planets, the flawless moons, the immutable comets and all substantive objects in the universe.
It is Prana that becomes the flawless bodies of sentient beings, the superb animal bodies, the perfectly imaged plants, everything that is flawless in its existence. It can only be sensed by thrum of its patterns which can be heard, can be felt, can be controlled. At the end of the cycle of all things, the archetypical solids, and liquids and the gasses all melt and coalesce into the Prana again.
Prana simply is the way that the Xindhi observe the workings of the holon in action, to understand how things affect the 'ideal' to detect influences and gather knowledge on what has altered the 'ideal' to what is.
Thus, the patterns of Reality, the Darshan and Prana blend to create all things in all holons or divergent universes in the all encompassing archetype multiverse.
The method used to control both the Darshan and Prana is called Resonance. Resonance is a paradigm of essential aspects inherent in experience (or existence). It encompasses all life, the Darshan; in some sense, it also can affect the archetype of everything, the Prana. Resonance manipulation provides control over more conventional paradigms, such as the origin of life, consciousness, the observable laws of probability, and also the nature of subjective experience.
Resonance refers to a collective field of consciousness (resonance) that manifests in any perspective, context or identity. Resonances also referred to as self-moments which organize themselves as a holarchy comprised of holons. A holon is both a part within a larger whole and a whole comprised of smaller parts. On the one hand, the self-moment exists as a unique individual within a larger collective; on the other hand, the self-moment also exists as the larger collective within which the individual in question exists. The Multiverse as a whole is an example of a holarchy, or holarchical system and every holon we are aware of is a part of this larger holarchy.
Resonance naturally manifests as a continuum -- more specifically, a probability distribution of complementary aspects. There are many examples of complementarities each determines their own space-time context: individual and collective, aggressive and passive, masculine and feminine, male and female, conscious and unconscious, particle and wave, space-time and dreamtime, yang and yin. This is the power and union of Darshan and Prana.
History: The Beginning:
Before the young races rose from the goop that gave them life, in the galactic core emerged the primeval races, the first races to reach for the starry heavens. Among these are the Xindhi (Zin-jai). Their is a large world, called Har’arum, which lay lush with vegetation, and large swatches of forested lands. The immense mountains that seemed to reach the deeply blue hued skies and the vast rolling plains, with expansive northern tundra all of this surrounded and encompassed by the oceans that comprise nearly seventy percent of the world. Here the Xindhi had flesh, tall and proud, their pale skin tinged with a ruddiness that enhanced their large eyes and flowing locks, they were indeed a handsome race to behold.
The Xindhi rose to power, mastering their world’s flora and fauna, spreading out and developing their culture of esoteric knowledge. Over the millions of years of their slow rise to dominance, the Xindhi have always maintained a tradition of exploring and developing powers based on their teachings of the Drashan and Prana. Slowly the teachings that once were passed down as oral traditions codified and were imprinted in to vast tomes from which all Xindhi learning comes.
The Xindhi learned to travel along magnetic flux lines that fill their world then the universe, through their teachings they have gained the ability to see these lines of force. Slowly as they learned to master this form of travel, they also learned that they could control the electro-magnetic spectrum of energy. This newly found power not only allowed them to explore the stars, it also led to a cruel and domineering race that spread amongst it’s neighbors with a ravenous bent.
Not all Xindhi approved of the wicked ways of their brethren, led by Queen Scathach, these few sought refuge deep in the dark recesses and hidden places of Har’arum. While in their hiding these Xindhi were branded traitors and hunted by the Paladins of Pattern, Xindhi whom had supported the Magi that extolled the domination and submission of other races and worlds.
Skallagrim, once a farmer who lived with his family on a small plot of land far away from the war between the Paladins and the Cughtagh, the followers of the now titled Dark Queen. Until one cool morning he woke to the sounds of his animals squealing in fright. Rushing out he found a cadre of the Paladins gathering his stock. Grabbing an ax, Skallagrim charged one of the armored men who kicked the untrained man to the ground where he struck his lance through Skallagrim’s body. Screaming his wife and children rushed from the safety of their home and tried to get to his fallen form, however the Paladins led by Sammel, a young war captain, captured them and led them to be sold as slaves in Almar-Sut, the largest fortress-city of the Paladins in the western lands.
The Training:
Blacking out Skallagrim lay in a fevered dream state, his memory awash with the cries of his children and the screams of his wife as they are carried from him. After a few days of tumultuous sleep, he woke in a small camp, surrounded by the heavily armed Cughtagh who had found him although too late to stop the Paladins from raiding the small farm communities in the area.
Here he jumped at the chance to join the Dark Queen, a chance to gain freedom for his family. Realizing that it would be the best, and only option, Skallagrim swore an oath to the band of Cughtagh. Here he learned the art of war and the manipulation of the Darshan and Prana. Far beyond what the average Xindhi learned, mastering the power that coursed through him, learning how the Darshan and Prana influenced and shaped the universe. Riding the dark and shadowed lands, Skallagrim quickly picked up the art of sword and dagger, and learned the use of shields and spears, and power of using both melee weapons with the Darshan and Prana in combat to complement each one another.
Very soon, Skallagrim was making a name for himself as a lethal opponent, throwing himself into battle with a murderous rage that caused his companions to pause. He was seeking death, seeking to purge himself of hatred that rested deep within him upon the flesh of his foes. Nearly a year after he had been with the group he met the Dark Queen, who granted him the title of Cughtagh.
The War with the Shu’fasa and the great change:
The Hammur-Al sorcerers as the Magi who ruled started to call themselves with their minions the Paladins of Pattern spread their reach far beyond Har’arum, eventually reaching a world called Talisa. It was here they met the Shu’fasa, another star spanning race bent on dominance. The native life form on Talisa, the Ghoukas, whom had developed a peaceful society, was now at the center of a war between the Xindhi and the Shu’fasa. Slowly across their world, the technology based Shu’fasa and the esoteric Xindhi waged war, ignoring the harm and destruction they rained down upon the innocent Ghoukas.
It was here at this time that the Dark Queen chose to strike and weaken or even topple the Hammur-Al and their lap dogs the Paladins. Her small force of warriors snuck into the fortress Carathur that lay on the eastern continent of Har’arum. The appearance of Cughtagh caught the defenders unaware and they managed to slay the Duke of the Eastern Marches and his Paladins, who had returned weary from campaign on Talisa. It was after this battle that the Cughtagh discovered the location of the forward base of the Hammur-Al in their war against the Shu’fasa, the Black Spire. The Black Spire, a massive asteroid built upon to resemble a thick walled fortress that orbited the world Talisa in the penumbra point between the planet and its star.
In a surprise move, the Cughtagh attacked this fortress and here Skallagrim faced and defeated the Lord-Knight Sammel, leaving his body to face the star field that loomed above them. Having defeated the major strongholds of the Hammur-Al and the Paladins of Pattern, the Cughtagh led by Queen Scathach raided the power base of the Hammur-Al, the capitol city Almar-Sut. In a struggle that lasted nearly one month the Cughtagh successfully broke the power of the Hammur-Al. Skallagrim raced to the slave pens and sought his wife and children only to discover that they had been sold and eventually killed by Hammur-Al minions who discovered their link to the feared Cughtagh, before the capitol city surrendered to the Dark Queen. In a rage, Skallagrim burned the slave pens to the ground and made his way to the Almar-Sut Sepulcher to see their broken and battered bodies. He used his power to create a tomb, no a shrine to them and swore that he would find a way to return them to life.
Bitter that he was unable to save them, Skallagrim focused on his position as Cughtagh and threw himself into the continuing war against the Shu’fasa whom had sworn to destroy all Xindhi. It is now that the Ghoukas, tried of dying and seeking to be free from the war that wracked their planet, had devised the Stones of Change; a powerful weapon they hoped would allow them to reclaim their planet. An epic battle began on the planet Talisa, the Shu’fasa waited for a Sluagh (army) of the Dark Queen to appear when the Ghoukas unleashed their weapon.
The power of the weapon was tremendous as the Xi particles warped and wracked the land far beyond anything the Ghoukas had expected. The Shu’fasa present were thrown into the dark matter and dark energy aspect of the universe, locked there until they managed to develop technology to break free. The Xindhi, still assembling on the Black Spire had a few moments warning and began relaying the warning to the Dark Queen and her court. The use of the electromagnetic power by the Cughtagh opened a link between they and the Dark Queen on Har’arum. The Stones of Change rushed through this open conduit and flooded the Queen infusing her body, amplifying the Darshan and Prana that she controlled.
Trying to resist the energies that consumed her, the Dark Queen tried to manipulate the sudden and immense influx of power, as the flesh burned from her body she reached out, her mind enveloping and touching all Xindhi on the planet and those linked to her via the open stream. In a flash of pain and sorrow, the flesh of all Xindhi burned away leaving their skeletal structure and their consciousness wrapped in the Darshan and Prana that they controlled the electromagnetic spectrum with, becoming one with the energy they manipulated. The Dark Queen realized what she had done; horrified she fainted and locked her mind in an eternal slumber, seeking to experience life in a search for a way to return her people to their once beautiful form.
The release of energy wiped out the planet of Talisa, destroying the Ghoukas and due to the still open link, fed some of the dark matter and dark energy to Har’arum which warped the electromagnetic field that surrounded the planet. The world of the Xindhi now infused with both dark and visible energies and dark and visible matter, slowly reached equilibrium between the two forms of energy. A haunting dream world that lies balanced between both forms of matter and light. The skeletal Xindhi, linked to their Queen via a resonance consciousness gathered in many hidden places of their destroyed world and crafted tombs and sarcophagus as they prepared to die.
However, the Xindhi did not die, their energy forms did not dissipate they merely rested and fed on the energy streams of the Dark Queen, who “slumbered” reaching out across the multiverse to gain experiences and knowledge that she hoped would lead to a way to return her people to their glory. After the first million years, the Queen gave up her hope and accepted the fate of the Xindhi, to wander the multiverse as skeletal horrors. She still sent forth her consciousness and her Cughtagh and Aeryn to experience the expanding mutliverse, as watchers, as the eternal sleepers dreamt on.
