Yg'baladoth (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
controledfreak) wrote2014-08-17 06:14 pm
controledfreak) wrote2014-08-17 06:14 pm
Yg'Baladoth App for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
mylittlejamjar
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Player Name: Argent
Player Journal: n/a
Age: 30
Contact: AIM -- argentbast; plurk -- argentbast
Characters Played: Chie Satonaka
IN CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Yg'baladoth, The Lingering Murmur aka. "Yggy"
Canon: Original Character
OU/AU/OC: OC
Canon Point: As Ul-Zen-Nar transported Yg'baladoth to the Realm of Order.
History:
In the furthest part of all universes, beyond the moon, the planets, the Milky Way galaxy, and even the limits of the edge of all that is known and have been seen lies a realm of chaos and calamity. This dimension is a nightmarish place where the rules of order and balance have no standing. Far beyond our vacuum of space, this realm is filled with the cascading flow of moving space, time folding in on itself, and limitless change. This is why attempting to describe The Brink is so difficult – it does not conform to our conventional understanding. In one moment a person would stand next to a crossroad with nothing but a lamppost in an endless expanse of desolate valleys. Then, in the moment they closed their eyes they would witness to a kaleidoscope of colors, forms, shapes and patterns blown up in a random display of light, sounds, and energy. This is the place where madmen visit when they are removed from the senses. This is a land unbound. This is The Brink, and it is where The Strange Ones live.
The Strange Ones have many names and are of many forms: from the Feeble Ones that feed off of the residual energies of space and time folding in on itself, to the Grand Gigants the size of galaxies that other Strange Ones dwell. Some of The Strange Ones are organic, formed from the broken pieces caught when the great explosions that formed galaxies many eons ago, to those that were of the aether and are more like a whisper or energy than any terrestrial being we know. Some possess tentacles, other spikes and quills, other bony carapaces that no blade could pierce. Some appear like beings that can be seen in the ocean. Some look like spirits, while others are an amalgamation of flesh, mouths, and eyes. The possibility of the types of Strange Ones are indefinite, and their realm stretches through the vastness of infinity.
It was here that Yg’baladoth was born, if that is what it could be called, near one of the Gigants Xaanth, whose outstretched maw has brought the end of many millions of universes, though they do not know that yet. She spent most of her days, again if that is what could be called, surviving off of other, weaker Strange Ones. For this the best of what the beings of The Brink do – they survive. No life as we know it can survive here. Only those that can sustain itself on the energy of chaos (or other Strange Ones) could hope to continue to live. Those that grew too large to be fulfilled this way would have to consume a lesser being that could. The Strange Ones devise their own methods of extermination to fulfill this end. There are those that can form energy into matter, and fashion powerful weapons born of their own flesh and will to destroy their prey. Others attempt to use powerful blasts of energy or thought to incapacitate their foes. Others still attempt to use guile or force to manipulate their prey so that they would fall into their waiting maws. Others twist the realm of time and space to their will, creating dangerous dimensions that would slay all that would enter. The Gigants themselves are so immense that they drift throughout The Brink with their mouths wide, carelessly devouring entire galaxies that are unfortunate to fall into their path. Finally there are the ones whose very presence is so foul that simply being near one is enough to desecrate the Strange Ones they wish to consume.
In addition to the methods they use to devour others, The Strange Ones vary in just as many ways to be able to use their minds to ensure their survival. Some have no thought as we know it – they use their reflexes or their very presence to devour. Others are far cleverer, devising their own strategies, forming packs and allegiances, or claiming territory. Some become so powerful and so well known that they become Archons – lords and ladies of the Realm that few, if any, are ever able to devour. Regardless of the power they hold, they must always seek out sustenance to survive. So this was before the moment time began, and it will continue to do so even after our universe unravels into chaos and is swallowed as new territory for the Brink.
Now, one day (if that is what it could be called), upon the Gigant Xaanth, two Archons met. One was called Xul’gaborah, the Queen of Screams, whose very realm shattered all who approached. Her reign and power was mighty, and few ever dared to challenge her. Unfortunately the Archon who approached was Ul-zen-nar, The Eye of Fate. Ul-zen-nar’s reign began before the conception of time and it is said that when his eye blinks he bears witness to the full tapestry of what was, is, and will be simultaneously. His appearance before Xul’gaborah was unexpected and troubling. For Ul-zen-nar never appeared to others. Or so it goes. Yet it was on this day that The Eye provided the Queen with a request. The Queen refused with bitter laughter, goading The Eye to do its worst to her for she was stricken with more pride than sense for she believed that he would not be able to harm her in her own realm.
Ul-zen-nar opened its eye and Xul’gaborah was torn to pieces. The Queen’s consorts, sensing the opportunity to devour one of the great Archons, descended upon her ruined form and consumed her dismembered flesh. Yet this was not the end of Xul’gaborah. For in the shattered remains of her body a few pieces remained behind. Among them, Xul’gaborah’s head, which Ul-zen-nar kept apart from her body as it was being consumed and breathed life into it once more. Ul-zen-nar renamed the head of the ruined queen Yz’gaborah and kept her with him so that all may remember the fate of those that choose to defy him.
Yet this is not the piece that this story centers around. Cast aside from the snapping jaws of the consorts landed a single digit from Xul’gaborah’s once mighty hand. This hand did what any discarded body part would do in The Brink – it fought to live. Each moment was a struggle not unlike what the Feeble Ones was forced to endure. The hand drew sustenance from the air around it, and consumed other Feeble Ones. Through luck – and perhaps through some outside guidance – the hand grew until it was able to form eyes, a body, a mind. In time the hand knew itself by a new name, Yg’baladoth.
This kind of “birth” was not uncommon among The Strange Ones of The Brink. What was uncommon was Yg’baladoth’s ability to reason: she was clever and shrewd in her tactics, devising mental traps that would ensnare other beings into pockets of her own mind and ripping others apart with powerful blasts of sound. She could also sense when other Strange Ones were far more powerful than her and what methods she could use to conceal herself from them. As her body matured she found other beings of similar power to herself. Some she made alliances with, others she trapped outright. Upon the Gigant Xaanth a rumor began to emerge which Yg’baladoth, the Lingering Murmur of Xul’bagorah, was a Strange One that was to be feared and respected.
It was during one day (again, if that is what it could be called), that Yg’baladoth closed her eyes. When she opened them she was in a realm that she had never seen before. She knew at a glance that it was a realm not unlike the pockets of space she created for herself. Yet she also knew that no other place like this could exist. The realm was full of strange round-shaped objects with pointed hands that pointed to symbols of a variety of types. Swinging pendulums came underneath. The entire place was full with an insistent clicking noise that followed rhythmically to the movement of the pendulums and the strange chimes which filled her body with dread.
Yg’baladoth closed her eyes again and another Strange One, one who filled her entire body with fear appeared: Ul-zen-nar. The last time Yg’baladoth felt his presence, he appeared as a mighty eye set upon a pillar. This time, however, he appeared as an old man draped in haggard robes reading a tome chained to his wrist. A scar ran upon his eye and he walked with a feeble limp. Yet the look within the old man’s eyes was imposing and filled the young Strange One with terror. “You have done well, young one.” He said. Yg’baladoth gulped, uttering no words and finding that she possessed no power to control this realm.
Ul-zen-nar opened his eye and Yg’baladoth understood. She remembered the moment of her birth and the request that Xul’gaborah was offered. “The Realm of Order has grown strong.” Spoke the Eye. “I wish to know if this realm will endure. You must enter within and see for yourself the secrets to Order, so that when our time comes to seize it we will know of its mysteries, which are foreign to us.” In that moment Yg’baladoth heard Xul’gaborah’s own voice the mocking derision of attempting such a thing. It was a memory of the event which precluded her birth. “It was not our place to know of the secrets of order, Ul-zen-nar. And why should care? The Realms of Order is a small plane compared to the vastness of The Brink.” A feeling of dread returned as Yg’baladoth remembered that The Eye did not accept this answer. He demanded The Queen of Screams to comply to his will or face the consequences of her defiance. When she did not he had her destroyed.
Yg’baladoth opened her eyes again and she understood more. “You knew that she was going to say no,” whispered from her lips. The Eye smiled and nodded. She also knew the reason why he approached Xul’gaborah, no… approached her with this request. Ul-zen-nar was too powerful to satisfy his own curiosity by himself. His very presence would alter the state of Order that the answers he desired would disappear like dust blown in a typhoon. He needed her and knew that she was going to be born from the confrontation. At first her mind resisted the idea as well, but fear prevented her from refusing outright. She knew the power Ul-zen-nar possessed firsthand and logically understood that the chances that she could survive the perils of The Brink were too great to be due to chance. He must have had an influence on her development and growth. Yet another part of her grew curious of the Realm of Order. All Strange Ones have heard of it, of course, yet few had an earnest interest to understand.
Yg’baladoth nodded her consent, and the Eye opened his eye once more. This time Yg’baladoth knew what she would need to know to enter the realm. She knew of words and sentences and clothes and people. She knew how to change her form to appear as they did and how to eat and sleep. When he was satisfied he gave her the instructions. “You will receive a time that I have decided to uncover the secrets of Order. When enough has passed I will summon you once more. I expect an answer then. Should you not, then I will destroy you as I have Xul’bagorah and I will devour you to ensure that only your memory is left.” Yg’baladoth knew that was no idle threat. She had experienced what he did to Xul’gaborah firsthand. With one final nod, Ul-zen-nar opened his eyes one final time and Yg’baladoth entered the Realm of Order.
Who knows what mysteries she’d uncover?
Personality:
The first and most prominent aspect of Yg’baladoth’s personality is her pride. She knew (or was at least reasonably sure), that she was a Strange One of high power among those that dwelled upon the Gigant Xaanth. But beyond this sense of heredity comes a pride in her ability to know and understand. She uses reason, which is a pretty rare trait among Strange Ones in general and she knows it. She knows that she is far and away one of the most powerful creatures and is completely confident that her time would not take long to uncover the mysteries of the world.
Another important aspect of Yggy’s personality is her ability to reason and value knowledge. One of the reasons why Ul-zen-nar had chosen her (probably) was because he knew that she possessed this quality within herself. Even before she left The Brink she began to devise her own understanding of the realm she was a part of: Those that Control, Those that Consume, Those that Corrupt, Those that Destroy, and Those that Overwhelm. This taxonomy of her own kind is practically unheard of, especially within Strange Ones. Her desire for knowledge is what drives her to continue to know about things that she did not know previously. While her pride may get in the way at times, if she is presented with something new to discover or learn, she will be an invested and interested audience. This desire also ensures that she will reduce the strain of her presence on the fabric of reality to a minimum. She does not want to cause any more disturbance to the world than she does through her presence.
In spite of her knowledge and ability, she is still completely ignorant to the world around her. While this is often frustration, Yg'baladoth possesses a naive, child-like curiosity about the world around her. There are many things that she is discovering something for the first time. Her attention is sparked to life as she wishes to uncover everything she can about this new thing. Until she uncovered everything she felt she can know about it, her curiosity an attention will remain intent and true. Yet once she has understood an idea or concept to the fullest (in her mind) she will no longer be interested in the idea and will move on to the next object or concept. For this reason she has a great interest in philosophical concepts like love and order, as they are more difficult concepts to develop and require much more discussion in order to develop true understanding.
As a survivor of the Brink, she is also endlessly pragmatic in her approach to dealing with problems and getting what she wants. Beyond altering the state of reality, she has no problem being as ruthless and destructive as is necessary to get the job done. Yet it is also this pragmatism that allows her some form of civility. She knows that the best way to get information out of people is to afford a small measure of respect in return, and to offer the opportunity to answer any questions they may have of herself and her world. Though she would rather receive information right away, she is not unaware of providing some concessions so that she can acquire information more easily.
Yet within all of her confidence and bluster, Yg’baladoth is worried and anxious. She knows that at any moment the Eye will blink once more and she will once again return to his realm to receive his answer to the secret of Order. This uncertainty consumes her frequently and she knows that there is a deadline to keep. She had also learned, mostly around the same time as the lesson about the organs, that beings of Order are fragile and temporary creatures. Although death was not an uncommon occurrence in The Brink, in the Realm of Order Yg’baladoth found that she was troubled by the fact that she would outlive those that she met. This thought confused her for quite some time and is an unresolved issue for her. For why should she care that the momentary existence of these beings would be such a short length of time? And yet a part of her is troubled about this as well.
Strengths:
Intelligent: Yg'baladoth is very intelligence for a Strange One of the Brink. She was born of the body of an extremely powerful and extremely intelligent Archon, and shared in The Queen’s seldom rivaled intelligence. Thus, her ability to gather, acquire, and understand information is substantial. She is also intuitively aware of complex topics like molecular fusion, quantum physics, chaos theory, and psychology, having used them countless times within The Brink.
Resilient Against Magic: All Strange Ones are highly resistant to changes to time, space, and energy. This does not mean that they cannot be killed by them, however. A good analogy would be attempting to kill a fish with water while it is within an ocean. She can be overwhelmed by magic, but that would require a substantial amount to bypass her natural resilience.
Senses Power Levels: While she is incredibly powerful, she also fully acknowledges (and knows) that she is not the most powerful being in existence. In order to survive, she has developed an ability to sense the power of other beings of chaos. Unfortunately, she is not very proficient in determining the powers of Beings of Order, which makes understanding beings of this realm dubious at best.
Mastery over Sound: Yg’baladoth’s power and realm lies within the manipulation of sound energy. In her natural state, she would cause wild and erratic fluctuation in noise and wild spikes of all frequencies. This would be like chatting into a whirlpool of radio frequencies that follows no logical sequence. She uses sound as a means of attacking transgressors or defending herself, creating vast pockets of low to high amperage to create what can only be described as sound grenades. Worse yet, completely unregulated these noises have a tendency to break a person's psyche if not tear them apart from the inside out. This is her natural state and would be pretty shitty for everybody if she didn't know how to control it.
However, she does.
In order for her to understand order, Yg'baladoth's developed the ability to control and restrain her (un)natural tendencies. Just about everything about her is subdued and regulated, making her one of the most normal Strange Ones in existence--in human standards at least. However, highly intuitive individuals will notice that sound still seems to distort around her if they listen carefully.
To that effect, she can:
1) Control and manipulate sound -- while wide scale fluctuations in noise is really easy (making things inaudible, muting noise to nothing) she's also able to "catch" specific sounds and repeat them like a play-recorder between her hands. She is also able to cause echoes of conversations done in the past to be repeated using an object that was there when the conversation was made.
2) She can seek out and discover the natural frequency of something and have her voice be heard by resonating them off of a person's own molecules, essentially speaking telepathically with their body as a conduit for her voice.
3) She can use sound offensively as a weapon. Like I said, sound grenades. At her fullest and unregulated power, she could probably devastate a large city with a high-enough concentration of amperage not unlike a small-scale nuclear blast... just without the radiation (though the stones may be perpetually uttering the last cries of the poor souls that were caught in the blast... hey, eldritch monsters aren't pretty).
Yg’baladoth’s Haven As a Being of Chaos, she is ill-suited to sustain herself within the Realm of Order. To compensate for this, she is adapt her own realm of psychic space which houses the chaos of The Brink which is embedded in the third eye in the middle of her forehead. She can enter within this sphere at will, and allow others to enter it as well, leaving behind a red gemstone the size of an egg. This psychic planescape contains Yg’baladoths sustenance and allows her to rest and heal without fear of damaging the realm of Order. The plane itself takes the form of the person that enters it. For Yg'baladoth, it reflects her chaotic landscape in the Brink. This abysmal place would be completely bereft of color if it was not for plumes of crystalized sound. She finds these creations beautiful, and with her touch can replay their sounds for as long as they retain that form.
As the Haven is a realm of the mind, it is capable of creating anything that the people within it can conceive. If another person was to enter it, they would be able to change the medium to reflect their thoughts and interpretation of the world. Of course, any items and objects that are created within the mind cannot be taken out to the Realm of Order. This does not reduce the dangers of this realm however. Yg’baladoths haven is the place where Yg'baladoth is the most powerful, as she also has the ability to create weapons and objects that few have ever seen. She also has several labyrinthine traps within her own mind which are intended to capture and imprison people who are foolish enough to enter it without her permission. This is done intentionally: as Yg’baladoth’s own mind is at risk of being destroyed should she ever fall within her own planescape.
Weaknesses:
Ignorant: As a Strange One, Yg’baladoth is completely familiar with the realm of The Brink. The Realm of Order? Not so much. While her pride and intelligence makes her believe she will unravel the mysteries of Order easily, the truth is she has no idea of many different things. To her, even the normal sequential passage of time is unusual. She has never seen benign creatures before, or has any awareness of concepts like love and friendship. Her realm of knowledge of the ordinary world is mostly categorical, being able to identify simple things like plants, trees, people, basic emotions, and so on.
Pride: As a Strange One, she feels completely confident in her ability to protect herself within the Realm of Order. She believes that she is the biggest fish in the pond, and that there is nothing that can challenge her power or intelligence. This is not true and she is liable to underestimate the severity and danger of situations. While her ability to sense fluctuations in magic and energy is substantial, she is incapable of sensing anything outside of her experiences. Spells and magic that are intended to maintain order – moving the sun, for example – is not something she knows how to sense. Worse, this sort of magic runs against her very existence and she is especially weak to it.
Weak to the Physical World: While Yg’baladoth may have an ability to resist magic and energy, her ability to resist physical objects is completely absent. This means that she is especially weak to fists, sticks, bullets, basically anything of the material world. Minor damage and cuts bruise her easily, and she would not last long in a physical confrontation.
Body of Chaos Her body is made of chaos rather than order. Her blood is also very dangerous to those that contact it, infusing anything it touches with the energy of The Brink. In addition, she cannot heal within the Realm of Order. She is simply not compatible with it. Therefore, any damage that she sustains can only be healed within her own Haven. Not being able to do so would mean that she would continue to suffer any wounds or injuries she sustains. Even a bruise could be dangerous if left untreated too long. Finally, drawing energy in this way is taxing to the stores of energy she has gathered, as she is using that to heal her body instead of sustenance.
Can be Trapped within her own Realm: Yg’baladoth’s Haven is a double-edged sword. As mentioned earlier, she is not immune to intruders entering her realm were they to know about it. While she can protect it to some degree, a particularly clever person can create a situation in which she captures herself within her own mind. As mentioned earlier, she is particularly adept at these and to do so would require special creativity. The biggest weakness of entering her realm is that she is completely blind to what is going around the red crystal while within it. Were the gemstone ever destroyed or placed within a magic barrier, she would not be able to protect herself.
Fear of Clocks: Due to the influence of Ul-zen-nar, Yg’baladoth has a fear of clocks, ticking, and the chimes of bells that denote the passage of time. In part this are all reminders of his ever-watchful presence, and in part it is because each hour that passes only takes her closer to the dreaded deadline.
Possessions: Nothing
Pony/Animal Type: Changeling
Cutie Mark: None.
Pony Picture: Yg’baladoth is an albino-white changeling, with red eyes and long drooping white dreadlock-like hair that cascades from her mane. The carapace part of her segmented body and her wings are purple in hue.
Note: As a Changeling, she will require the energy of sound to sustain herself. She does this by opening up her realm to the energy of sound and gathering it from the outside world. Once gathered, she enters within her realm to feed. The consequence of doing so, of course, is dead air in the time and location she gathers this energy from.
Note, pt. 2: As a Changeling her pony form is a white unicorn mare with the same colored dreadlocks and piercing red eyes. She is not aware of cutie marks and would therefore not have one.
SAMPLES
First Person: [An eerie white unicorn opens the scrolls and stairs quietly from the other side for a while. Her gaze becomes unsettling as she does not blink or even appears to barely breathe. Then, as suddenly as she appeared she begins to speak.]
Greetings. Friends. [Her words are stilted and strange.] I have appeared before you for an appeal. I understand that this is a realm of possibilities and magic, and am curious to determine the origins of such things. [As the conversation continued her words becomes much more comfortable and relaxed. Perhaps she was just nervous.]
I am especially curious of this magic called [Her hoovers raise into the air and another voice is heard within it, almost as though it was a recording.] “friendship.” [She then spoke aloud.] This alleged “friendship” is viewed in this world as one of the most powerful conduits to transmit energy within this realm. Therefore, my request is to hear what is understood about this “friendship” and how it has empowered you personally.
Please be succinct. A glance around town has indicated there are in excess of 142 of you as I walked around town. A survey of the voices also indicates there are approximately 347 of you, including one disembodied voice that appears to be traveling autonomously. Regardless, brevity would be most appreciated.
Third Person:
Yg’baladoth frowned as she closed the scroll from her previous query. She had thought that she would receive answers to some unknown power source that would be able to explain the secret powers of Order. What she got instead was personal stories of how a bond with another creature of order was personally gratifying, enjoyable, or at best influential in providing emotional and physical support when necessary. She rolled her eyes at how useless the whole exercise was. Of all the great potential sources of power, that particular rumor was perhaps one of the worse she had stumbled across. If anything “friendship” encouraged weakness, as the individuals became codependent on others.
She frowned and raised a hoof to her forehead. This had not been a particularly pleasant day. The Realm of Order made no sense whatsoever. Time was sequential. Distance followed a set pattern. Everything followed a measured and rhythmic sequence that was perpetually consistent. It was always the same! Nothing was ever different! She was getting a headache just attempting to wrap her head around that. She was also further convinced that she was ill-informed of the specifics of this world. She had never seen or heard of the creatures called “cats” and “dogs,” and the unusual locations called “homes” and “businesses.” She still struggled with that distinction, despite repeating the words of the pony she asked several times out loud.
Blearily, Yggy shook her head as she experienced another sensation that she was all too familiar with. “Hunger,” a disembodied voice of some unknown pony responded within the air, echoing the thoughts of the displaced Strange One. Yes, the energy she took to make her inquiries around town had taken its toll. Worse, she knew that the trip had displaced all the energy housed within her realm. She had to find it elsewhere, and was at a loss of where to turn to. For the briefest of moments she considered drawing it from the rays of the sun – the vacillation of light particles would have been easy prey for the adolescent Strange One, but it was not especially sustaining. Then a thought occurred to her. Perhaps the sound of the ponies around her would be sufficient. Yes, there was quite a din about something called a “party,” which would have been more than enough to suit her purposes for a meal or two. Taking a breath she reached for the eye within her forehead. For a few minutes the world stopped making noise. Dead silence was heard everywhere. No bees buzzed, no water trickled, and the sound of “happy birthday” was not delivered.
Believing that was enough, Yg’baladoth closed her eye and prepared to enter within her world to feed. This thought was cut short as the entire city was screaming. Bewildered, Yggy lifted herself up to get a better view of the town and saw panicked ponies yelling and screaming that they could not hear anything. The fear, she could sense, was genuine. Perhaps her innocent attempt at a snack was more disruptive than she thought it would be.
“I suppose in the future, I would do better to be more conscientious of this.” She pondered as she raised a hoof to enter into her own realm to feed.
Player Name: Argent
Player Journal: n/a
Age: 30
Contact: AIM -- argentbast; plurk -- argentbast
Characters Played: Chie Satonaka
IN CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Yg'baladoth, The Lingering Murmur aka. "Yggy"
Canon: Original Character
OU/AU/OC: OC
Canon Point: As Ul-Zen-Nar transported Yg'baladoth to the Realm of Order.
History:
In the furthest part of all universes, beyond the moon, the planets, the Milky Way galaxy, and even the limits of the edge of all that is known and have been seen lies a realm of chaos and calamity. This dimension is a nightmarish place where the rules of order and balance have no standing. Far beyond our vacuum of space, this realm is filled with the cascading flow of moving space, time folding in on itself, and limitless change. This is why attempting to describe The Brink is so difficult – it does not conform to our conventional understanding. In one moment a person would stand next to a crossroad with nothing but a lamppost in an endless expanse of desolate valleys. Then, in the moment they closed their eyes they would witness to a kaleidoscope of colors, forms, shapes and patterns blown up in a random display of light, sounds, and energy. This is the place where madmen visit when they are removed from the senses. This is a land unbound. This is The Brink, and it is where The Strange Ones live.
The Strange Ones have many names and are of many forms: from the Feeble Ones that feed off of the residual energies of space and time folding in on itself, to the Grand Gigants the size of galaxies that other Strange Ones dwell. Some of The Strange Ones are organic, formed from the broken pieces caught when the great explosions that formed galaxies many eons ago, to those that were of the aether and are more like a whisper or energy than any terrestrial being we know. Some possess tentacles, other spikes and quills, other bony carapaces that no blade could pierce. Some appear like beings that can be seen in the ocean. Some look like spirits, while others are an amalgamation of flesh, mouths, and eyes. The possibility of the types of Strange Ones are indefinite, and their realm stretches through the vastness of infinity.
It was here that Yg’baladoth was born, if that is what it could be called, near one of the Gigants Xaanth, whose outstretched maw has brought the end of many millions of universes, though they do not know that yet. She spent most of her days, again if that is what could be called, surviving off of other, weaker Strange Ones. For this the best of what the beings of The Brink do – they survive. No life as we know it can survive here. Only those that can sustain itself on the energy of chaos (or other Strange Ones) could hope to continue to live. Those that grew too large to be fulfilled this way would have to consume a lesser being that could. The Strange Ones devise their own methods of extermination to fulfill this end. There are those that can form energy into matter, and fashion powerful weapons born of their own flesh and will to destroy their prey. Others attempt to use powerful blasts of energy or thought to incapacitate their foes. Others still attempt to use guile or force to manipulate their prey so that they would fall into their waiting maws. Others twist the realm of time and space to their will, creating dangerous dimensions that would slay all that would enter. The Gigants themselves are so immense that they drift throughout The Brink with their mouths wide, carelessly devouring entire galaxies that are unfortunate to fall into their path. Finally there are the ones whose very presence is so foul that simply being near one is enough to desecrate the Strange Ones they wish to consume.
In addition to the methods they use to devour others, The Strange Ones vary in just as many ways to be able to use their minds to ensure their survival. Some have no thought as we know it – they use their reflexes or their very presence to devour. Others are far cleverer, devising their own strategies, forming packs and allegiances, or claiming territory. Some become so powerful and so well known that they become Archons – lords and ladies of the Realm that few, if any, are ever able to devour. Regardless of the power they hold, they must always seek out sustenance to survive. So this was before the moment time began, and it will continue to do so even after our universe unravels into chaos and is swallowed as new territory for the Brink.
Now, one day (if that is what it could be called), upon the Gigant Xaanth, two Archons met. One was called Xul’gaborah, the Queen of Screams, whose very realm shattered all who approached. Her reign and power was mighty, and few ever dared to challenge her. Unfortunately the Archon who approached was Ul-zen-nar, The Eye of Fate. Ul-zen-nar’s reign began before the conception of time and it is said that when his eye blinks he bears witness to the full tapestry of what was, is, and will be simultaneously. His appearance before Xul’gaborah was unexpected and troubling. For Ul-zen-nar never appeared to others. Or so it goes. Yet it was on this day that The Eye provided the Queen with a request. The Queen refused with bitter laughter, goading The Eye to do its worst to her for she was stricken with more pride than sense for she believed that he would not be able to harm her in her own realm.
Ul-zen-nar opened its eye and Xul’gaborah was torn to pieces. The Queen’s consorts, sensing the opportunity to devour one of the great Archons, descended upon her ruined form and consumed her dismembered flesh. Yet this was not the end of Xul’gaborah. For in the shattered remains of her body a few pieces remained behind. Among them, Xul’gaborah’s head, which Ul-zen-nar kept apart from her body as it was being consumed and breathed life into it once more. Ul-zen-nar renamed the head of the ruined queen Yz’gaborah and kept her with him so that all may remember the fate of those that choose to defy him.
Yet this is not the piece that this story centers around. Cast aside from the snapping jaws of the consorts landed a single digit from Xul’gaborah’s once mighty hand. This hand did what any discarded body part would do in The Brink – it fought to live. Each moment was a struggle not unlike what the Feeble Ones was forced to endure. The hand drew sustenance from the air around it, and consumed other Feeble Ones. Through luck – and perhaps through some outside guidance – the hand grew until it was able to form eyes, a body, a mind. In time the hand knew itself by a new name, Yg’baladoth.
This kind of “birth” was not uncommon among The Strange Ones of The Brink. What was uncommon was Yg’baladoth’s ability to reason: she was clever and shrewd in her tactics, devising mental traps that would ensnare other beings into pockets of her own mind and ripping others apart with powerful blasts of sound. She could also sense when other Strange Ones were far more powerful than her and what methods she could use to conceal herself from them. As her body matured she found other beings of similar power to herself. Some she made alliances with, others she trapped outright. Upon the Gigant Xaanth a rumor began to emerge which Yg’baladoth, the Lingering Murmur of Xul’bagorah, was a Strange One that was to be feared and respected.
It was during one day (again, if that is what it could be called), that Yg’baladoth closed her eyes. When she opened them she was in a realm that she had never seen before. She knew at a glance that it was a realm not unlike the pockets of space she created for herself. Yet she also knew that no other place like this could exist. The realm was full of strange round-shaped objects with pointed hands that pointed to symbols of a variety of types. Swinging pendulums came underneath. The entire place was full with an insistent clicking noise that followed rhythmically to the movement of the pendulums and the strange chimes which filled her body with dread.
Yg’baladoth closed her eyes again and another Strange One, one who filled her entire body with fear appeared: Ul-zen-nar. The last time Yg’baladoth felt his presence, he appeared as a mighty eye set upon a pillar. This time, however, he appeared as an old man draped in haggard robes reading a tome chained to his wrist. A scar ran upon his eye and he walked with a feeble limp. Yet the look within the old man’s eyes was imposing and filled the young Strange One with terror. “You have done well, young one.” He said. Yg’baladoth gulped, uttering no words and finding that she possessed no power to control this realm.
Ul-zen-nar opened his eye and Yg’baladoth understood. She remembered the moment of her birth and the request that Xul’gaborah was offered. “The Realm of Order has grown strong.” Spoke the Eye. “I wish to know if this realm will endure. You must enter within and see for yourself the secrets to Order, so that when our time comes to seize it we will know of its mysteries, which are foreign to us.” In that moment Yg’baladoth heard Xul’gaborah’s own voice the mocking derision of attempting such a thing. It was a memory of the event which precluded her birth. “It was not our place to know of the secrets of order, Ul-zen-nar. And why should care? The Realms of Order is a small plane compared to the vastness of The Brink.” A feeling of dread returned as Yg’baladoth remembered that The Eye did not accept this answer. He demanded The Queen of Screams to comply to his will or face the consequences of her defiance. When she did not he had her destroyed.
Yg’baladoth opened her eyes again and she understood more. “You knew that she was going to say no,” whispered from her lips. The Eye smiled and nodded. She also knew the reason why he approached Xul’gaborah, no… approached her with this request. Ul-zen-nar was too powerful to satisfy his own curiosity by himself. His very presence would alter the state of Order that the answers he desired would disappear like dust blown in a typhoon. He needed her and knew that she was going to be born from the confrontation. At first her mind resisted the idea as well, but fear prevented her from refusing outright. She knew the power Ul-zen-nar possessed firsthand and logically understood that the chances that she could survive the perils of The Brink were too great to be due to chance. He must have had an influence on her development and growth. Yet another part of her grew curious of the Realm of Order. All Strange Ones have heard of it, of course, yet few had an earnest interest to understand.
Yg’baladoth nodded her consent, and the Eye opened his eye once more. This time Yg’baladoth knew what she would need to know to enter the realm. She knew of words and sentences and clothes and people. She knew how to change her form to appear as they did and how to eat and sleep. When he was satisfied he gave her the instructions. “You will receive a time that I have decided to uncover the secrets of Order. When enough has passed I will summon you once more. I expect an answer then. Should you not, then I will destroy you as I have Xul’bagorah and I will devour you to ensure that only your memory is left.” Yg’baladoth knew that was no idle threat. She had experienced what he did to Xul’gaborah firsthand. With one final nod, Ul-zen-nar opened his eyes one final time and Yg’baladoth entered the Realm of Order.
Who knows what mysteries she’d uncover?
Personality:
The first and most prominent aspect of Yg’baladoth’s personality is her pride. She knew (or was at least reasonably sure), that she was a Strange One of high power among those that dwelled upon the Gigant Xaanth. But beyond this sense of heredity comes a pride in her ability to know and understand. She uses reason, which is a pretty rare trait among Strange Ones in general and she knows it. She knows that she is far and away one of the most powerful creatures and is completely confident that her time would not take long to uncover the mysteries of the world.
Another important aspect of Yggy’s personality is her ability to reason and value knowledge. One of the reasons why Ul-zen-nar had chosen her (probably) was because he knew that she possessed this quality within herself. Even before she left The Brink she began to devise her own understanding of the realm she was a part of: Those that Control, Those that Consume, Those that Corrupt, Those that Destroy, and Those that Overwhelm. This taxonomy of her own kind is practically unheard of, especially within Strange Ones. Her desire for knowledge is what drives her to continue to know about things that she did not know previously. While her pride may get in the way at times, if she is presented with something new to discover or learn, she will be an invested and interested audience. This desire also ensures that she will reduce the strain of her presence on the fabric of reality to a minimum. She does not want to cause any more disturbance to the world than she does through her presence.
In spite of her knowledge and ability, she is still completely ignorant to the world around her. While this is often frustration, Yg'baladoth possesses a naive, child-like curiosity about the world around her. There are many things that she is discovering something for the first time. Her attention is sparked to life as she wishes to uncover everything she can about this new thing. Until she uncovered everything she felt she can know about it, her curiosity an attention will remain intent and true. Yet once she has understood an idea or concept to the fullest (in her mind) she will no longer be interested in the idea and will move on to the next object or concept. For this reason she has a great interest in philosophical concepts like love and order, as they are more difficult concepts to develop and require much more discussion in order to develop true understanding.
As a survivor of the Brink, she is also endlessly pragmatic in her approach to dealing with problems and getting what she wants. Beyond altering the state of reality, she has no problem being as ruthless and destructive as is necessary to get the job done. Yet it is also this pragmatism that allows her some form of civility. She knows that the best way to get information out of people is to afford a small measure of respect in return, and to offer the opportunity to answer any questions they may have of herself and her world. Though she would rather receive information right away, she is not unaware of providing some concessions so that she can acquire information more easily.
Yet within all of her confidence and bluster, Yg’baladoth is worried and anxious. She knows that at any moment the Eye will blink once more and she will once again return to his realm to receive his answer to the secret of Order. This uncertainty consumes her frequently and she knows that there is a deadline to keep. She had also learned, mostly around the same time as the lesson about the organs, that beings of Order are fragile and temporary creatures. Although death was not an uncommon occurrence in The Brink, in the Realm of Order Yg’baladoth found that she was troubled by the fact that she would outlive those that she met. This thought confused her for quite some time and is an unresolved issue for her. For why should she care that the momentary existence of these beings would be such a short length of time? And yet a part of her is troubled about this as well.
Strengths:
Intelligent: Yg'baladoth is very intelligence for a Strange One of the Brink. She was born of the body of an extremely powerful and extremely intelligent Archon, and shared in The Queen’s seldom rivaled intelligence. Thus, her ability to gather, acquire, and understand information is substantial. She is also intuitively aware of complex topics like molecular fusion, quantum physics, chaos theory, and psychology, having used them countless times within The Brink.
Resilient Against Magic: All Strange Ones are highly resistant to changes to time, space, and energy. This does not mean that they cannot be killed by them, however. A good analogy would be attempting to kill a fish with water while it is within an ocean. She can be overwhelmed by magic, but that would require a substantial amount to bypass her natural resilience.
Senses Power Levels: While she is incredibly powerful, she also fully acknowledges (and knows) that she is not the most powerful being in existence. In order to survive, she has developed an ability to sense the power of other beings of chaos. Unfortunately, she is not very proficient in determining the powers of Beings of Order, which makes understanding beings of this realm dubious at best.
Mastery over Sound: Yg’baladoth’s power and realm lies within the manipulation of sound energy. In her natural state, she would cause wild and erratic fluctuation in noise and wild spikes of all frequencies. This would be like chatting into a whirlpool of radio frequencies that follows no logical sequence. She uses sound as a means of attacking transgressors or defending herself, creating vast pockets of low to high amperage to create what can only be described as sound grenades. Worse yet, completely unregulated these noises have a tendency to break a person's psyche if not tear them apart from the inside out. This is her natural state and would be pretty shitty for everybody if she didn't know how to control it.
However, she does.
In order for her to understand order, Yg'baladoth's developed the ability to control and restrain her (un)natural tendencies. Just about everything about her is subdued and regulated, making her one of the most normal Strange Ones in existence--in human standards at least. However, highly intuitive individuals will notice that sound still seems to distort around her if they listen carefully.
To that effect, she can:
1) Control and manipulate sound -- while wide scale fluctuations in noise is really easy (making things inaudible, muting noise to nothing) she's also able to "catch" specific sounds and repeat them like a play-recorder between her hands. She is also able to cause echoes of conversations done in the past to be repeated using an object that was there when the conversation was made.
2) She can seek out and discover the natural frequency of something and have her voice be heard by resonating them off of a person's own molecules, essentially speaking telepathically with their body as a conduit for her voice.
3) She can use sound offensively as a weapon. Like I said, sound grenades. At her fullest and unregulated power, she could probably devastate a large city with a high-enough concentration of amperage not unlike a small-scale nuclear blast... just without the radiation (though the stones may be perpetually uttering the last cries of the poor souls that were caught in the blast... hey, eldritch monsters aren't pretty).
Yg’baladoth’s Haven As a Being of Chaos, she is ill-suited to sustain herself within the Realm of Order. To compensate for this, she is adapt her own realm of psychic space which houses the chaos of The Brink which is embedded in the third eye in the middle of her forehead. She can enter within this sphere at will, and allow others to enter it as well, leaving behind a red gemstone the size of an egg. This psychic planescape contains Yg’baladoths sustenance and allows her to rest and heal without fear of damaging the realm of Order. The plane itself takes the form of the person that enters it. For Yg'baladoth, it reflects her chaotic landscape in the Brink. This abysmal place would be completely bereft of color if it was not for plumes of crystalized sound. She finds these creations beautiful, and with her touch can replay their sounds for as long as they retain that form.
As the Haven is a realm of the mind, it is capable of creating anything that the people within it can conceive. If another person was to enter it, they would be able to change the medium to reflect their thoughts and interpretation of the world. Of course, any items and objects that are created within the mind cannot be taken out to the Realm of Order. This does not reduce the dangers of this realm however. Yg’baladoths haven is the place where Yg'baladoth is the most powerful, as she also has the ability to create weapons and objects that few have ever seen. She also has several labyrinthine traps within her own mind which are intended to capture and imprison people who are foolish enough to enter it without her permission. This is done intentionally: as Yg’baladoth’s own mind is at risk of being destroyed should she ever fall within her own planescape.
Weaknesses:
Ignorant: As a Strange One, Yg’baladoth is completely familiar with the realm of The Brink. The Realm of Order? Not so much. While her pride and intelligence makes her believe she will unravel the mysteries of Order easily, the truth is she has no idea of many different things. To her, even the normal sequential passage of time is unusual. She has never seen benign creatures before, or has any awareness of concepts like love and friendship. Her realm of knowledge of the ordinary world is mostly categorical, being able to identify simple things like plants, trees, people, basic emotions, and so on.
Pride: As a Strange One, she feels completely confident in her ability to protect herself within the Realm of Order. She believes that she is the biggest fish in the pond, and that there is nothing that can challenge her power or intelligence. This is not true and she is liable to underestimate the severity and danger of situations. While her ability to sense fluctuations in magic and energy is substantial, she is incapable of sensing anything outside of her experiences. Spells and magic that are intended to maintain order – moving the sun, for example – is not something she knows how to sense. Worse, this sort of magic runs against her very existence and she is especially weak to it.
Weak to the Physical World: While Yg’baladoth may have an ability to resist magic and energy, her ability to resist physical objects is completely absent. This means that she is especially weak to fists, sticks, bullets, basically anything of the material world. Minor damage and cuts bruise her easily, and she would not last long in a physical confrontation.
Body of Chaos Her body is made of chaos rather than order. Her blood is also very dangerous to those that contact it, infusing anything it touches with the energy of The Brink. In addition, she cannot heal within the Realm of Order. She is simply not compatible with it. Therefore, any damage that she sustains can only be healed within her own Haven. Not being able to do so would mean that she would continue to suffer any wounds or injuries she sustains. Even a bruise could be dangerous if left untreated too long. Finally, drawing energy in this way is taxing to the stores of energy she has gathered, as she is using that to heal her body instead of sustenance.
Can be Trapped within her own Realm: Yg’baladoth’s Haven is a double-edged sword. As mentioned earlier, she is not immune to intruders entering her realm were they to know about it. While she can protect it to some degree, a particularly clever person can create a situation in which she captures herself within her own mind. As mentioned earlier, she is particularly adept at these and to do so would require special creativity. The biggest weakness of entering her realm is that she is completely blind to what is going around the red crystal while within it. Were the gemstone ever destroyed or placed within a magic barrier, she would not be able to protect herself.
Fear of Clocks: Due to the influence of Ul-zen-nar, Yg’baladoth has a fear of clocks, ticking, and the chimes of bells that denote the passage of time. In part this are all reminders of his ever-watchful presence, and in part it is because each hour that passes only takes her closer to the dreaded deadline.
Possessions: Nothing
Pony/Animal Type: Changeling
Cutie Mark: None.
Pony Picture: Yg’baladoth is an albino-white changeling, with red eyes and long drooping white dreadlock-like hair that cascades from her mane. The carapace part of her segmented body and her wings are purple in hue.
Note: As a Changeling, she will require the energy of sound to sustain herself. She does this by opening up her realm to the energy of sound and gathering it from the outside world. Once gathered, she enters within her realm to feed. The consequence of doing so, of course, is dead air in the time and location she gathers this energy from.
Note, pt. 2: As a Changeling her pony form is a white unicorn mare with the same colored dreadlocks and piercing red eyes. She is not aware of cutie marks and would therefore not have one.
SAMPLES
First Person: [An eerie white unicorn opens the scrolls and stairs quietly from the other side for a while. Her gaze becomes unsettling as she does not blink or even appears to barely breathe. Then, as suddenly as she appeared she begins to speak.]
Greetings. Friends. [Her words are stilted and strange.] I have appeared before you for an appeal. I understand that this is a realm of possibilities and magic, and am curious to determine the origins of such things. [As the conversation continued her words becomes much more comfortable and relaxed. Perhaps she was just nervous.]
I am especially curious of this magic called [Her hoovers raise into the air and another voice is heard within it, almost as though it was a recording.] “friendship.” [She then spoke aloud.] This alleged “friendship” is viewed in this world as one of the most powerful conduits to transmit energy within this realm. Therefore, my request is to hear what is understood about this “friendship” and how it has empowered you personally.
Please be succinct. A glance around town has indicated there are in excess of 142 of you as I walked around town. A survey of the voices also indicates there are approximately 347 of you, including one disembodied voice that appears to be traveling autonomously. Regardless, brevity would be most appreciated.
Third Person:
Yg’baladoth frowned as she closed the scroll from her previous query. She had thought that she would receive answers to some unknown power source that would be able to explain the secret powers of Order. What she got instead was personal stories of how a bond with another creature of order was personally gratifying, enjoyable, or at best influential in providing emotional and physical support when necessary. She rolled her eyes at how useless the whole exercise was. Of all the great potential sources of power, that particular rumor was perhaps one of the worse she had stumbled across. If anything “friendship” encouraged weakness, as the individuals became codependent on others.
She frowned and raised a hoof to her forehead. This had not been a particularly pleasant day. The Realm of Order made no sense whatsoever. Time was sequential. Distance followed a set pattern. Everything followed a measured and rhythmic sequence that was perpetually consistent. It was always the same! Nothing was ever different! She was getting a headache just attempting to wrap her head around that. She was also further convinced that she was ill-informed of the specifics of this world. She had never seen or heard of the creatures called “cats” and “dogs,” and the unusual locations called “homes” and “businesses.” She still struggled with that distinction, despite repeating the words of the pony she asked several times out loud.
Blearily, Yggy shook her head as she experienced another sensation that she was all too familiar with. “Hunger,” a disembodied voice of some unknown pony responded within the air, echoing the thoughts of the displaced Strange One. Yes, the energy she took to make her inquiries around town had taken its toll. Worse, she knew that the trip had displaced all the energy housed within her realm. She had to find it elsewhere, and was at a loss of where to turn to. For the briefest of moments she considered drawing it from the rays of the sun – the vacillation of light particles would have been easy prey for the adolescent Strange One, but it was not especially sustaining. Then a thought occurred to her. Perhaps the sound of the ponies around her would be sufficient. Yes, there was quite a din about something called a “party,” which would have been more than enough to suit her purposes for a meal or two. Taking a breath she reached for the eye within her forehead. For a few minutes the world stopped making noise. Dead silence was heard everywhere. No bees buzzed, no water trickled, and the sound of “happy birthday” was not delivered.
Believing that was enough, Yg’baladoth closed her eye and prepared to enter within her world to feed. This thought was cut short as the entire city was screaming. Bewildered, Yggy lifted herself up to get a better view of the town and saw panicked ponies yelling and screaming that they could not hear anything. The fear, she could sense, was genuine. Perhaps her innocent attempt at a snack was more disruptive than she thought it would be.
“I suppose in the future, I would do better to be more conscientious of this.” She pondered as she raised a hoof to enter into her own realm to feed.