Cahalism: Difference between revisions

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{{Info afflictions
{{Info afflictions
|image      = Whatsthisowostoplookingattherecentchangesyoudoorknob.png
|image      = Drultest.png
|races      = All
|races      = All, except Urlan, Bralona.
|contraction = Various
|contraction = Ritual, Infection, Relics
|mortality  = N/A
|mortality  = Long-lived
|origins    = [[Cataclysm]]
|origins    = [[Estellon]]
|symptoms    =
* Varying
|}}
|}}
Cahal, also known as the Shattered Curse, is an [[Exist]]-spawned blood-curse that has plagued [[Aloria]] for hundreds of years. Being a Cahal causes the subject to undergo physical and mental transformations, while also controlling them into actions that result in them attacking strangers for their rituals, but also potentially infecting them in the process. Cahal are reviled by the people of Aloria in a similar manner as [[Vampires]] are, and many would call them much the same. The Cahal, much like the Vampires, have started forming their own societies and [[Cultures]], blurring the lines between [[Affliction]] and identity as they struggle between their cursed nature and their old lives. Some Cahal try to live in their old societies, while others seek to live in as much isolation as they can, avoiding persecution. Most Cahal however have embraced their identity, and many have taken the fight to society at large and organized ideologies that prosecute them. Others yet are choosing to fight the [[Regalian Empire]], to fight back against the repression and insulting way that the Regalian authorities have clumped the Cahal with the Vampires and declared them unholy abberrants.
To be Cahal is to be the final revenge of the Estellon Gods against those who forsook them for the allure of the Void and other powers, the power of faith itself corrupted to unending zealotry. Cahal are Afflicted of the Exist type, created during the decline of the Allorn Empire by the Estellon Pantheon as punishment for the Allorn people, but also to spread and maintain their religion in their absence. Though beginning as an Allorn concept and even now strongly tied to Elven history and symbolism, Cahal represent the drive to seek perfection and purification through religion, not just Allorn perfection or the Allorn religion. Communities of Cahal exist all around the world, and unlike the fractious Vampires or Geists, maintain a relatively strong hierarchy of command that answers to their patrons the Exist Arken.


==Etymology==
==Core Concepts==
The word Cahal comes from the [[Empire Altalar]] word Cahëllon, meaning “worshiper of the wild rituals”. The [[Altalar]] who made first contact with the Shattered Curse did not consider them an Affliction at first, because their behavior was very unlike the typical [[Void]]-based Afflictions that terrorize the other [[Races]]. As such, they were simply named after their most common interaction with society at large, the abduction and forced involvement in otherworldly rituals that made them appear more like a cult than an actual danger to society. The word Cahal can also interchangeably be used with Cahalism. A singular person infected with the Shattered Curse is a Cahal, while the word is also used to describe a plural group of Cahal.  
===Playing a Cahal===
Cahal, being Afflicted, are cursed by "evil" forces, and harm society around them no matter how much someone can pretend they do not. As such, they are the closest thing you might find (along with other [[Afflictions]] to being prime antagonists on MassiveCraft in between Events when there aren't DM NPC's to unite against. Playing a Cahal means you will likely get hunted/attacked by a large amount of Characters in Roleplay, as they are effectively perpetually illegal, and legal to attack/imprison/cure for vigilantes and Knights. You should not play a Cahal if you have trouble with constant conflict, or find being attacked frequently and randomly in even social scenes uncomfortable.  


==History==
===Infection & Curing===
The exact source origin of the Cahal is unknown. Early fighting with Vampires in particular caused much of their history to be destroyed. The more violent and imposing Vampire communities went out of their way to eradicate much of the evidence or recorded history of the first appearance of the Cahal to repress their self identity. This involves a period during which many Cahal were forcibly enslaved by the Vampires, particularly in the north of [[Ellador]], to serve as expendable soldiers, or house servants among the courts of the [[Dorkarthi Desprinces]], as they were immune to converting or feeding. As decades passed following [[Cataclysm]], some Cahal escaped slavery by blending into the retreating Regalian armies during the [[Unspoken Wars]] with the Vampires, using [[Regalial]] as a springboard to make it into the remnants of the [[Allorn Empire]] where they could disappear into the Wyldered forests and overgrown temples far away from the prying eyes of society. In secret, the Cahal regrew their numbers outside of slavery, though never quite forgetting the Cahal left behind in Ellador, still enslaved to the Dorkarthi Desprinces to this day.
Being a Cahal, is a curable condition, but also one that is contagious from one Cahal to non-Cahal. Cahal curing requires that a Cahal is defeated in combat, and dragged off to a Curing Chamber (or some other form of Curing Mechanic). Only Specific Characters are able to cure Cahal (and other Afflictions), as this requires the [[Scholarly_Point_Buy#Affliction_Wisdom_Pack|Affliction Wisdom Pack]] which not many Characters have. Becoming a Cahal can be done in a variety of ways (described below), though there are some exception and corner cases. For example, someone can only ever have one [[Affliction]], or [[Affinity]], meaning that one cannot be a Cahal and Vampire, or Cahal and Marken at the same time. Cahal are equally also immune to being infected by other Afflictions or certain Affinities unless they are Cured. Finally, if they already have Radiant, Sinistral, or Theurgy Point Buy (and other such Dimension Aligned Abilities), they are all converted from their original Alignment to Exist upon infection, including any Spirits converted to Exist Apparitions, until they are Cured, and they both return to their previous types.  
* '''Conversion by Ritual:''' Conversion by Ritual means writing a story for yourself, or passing it off in backstory, that a Character worshiped the Estellon Gods, and was blessed by them by becoming a Cahal.
* '''Conversion by Feeding:''' Conversion by Feeding means that 24 hours after being fed on by a Cahal, a victim can turn into a Cahal also. If a player objects to infection during feeding, this does not happen.
* '''Conversion by Relic:''' Conversion by Relic means a person randomly stumbles into an infected shield harboring an Exist Apparition, once belonging to a now-dead Cahal. Owning such a shield turns the owner into a Cahal.


In the deep Wyldered forests of [[Daen]], the Cahal started forming their first societies, and to some degree even a mirror reflection of the Dorkarthi Princedoms: The [[Mesver Tribedoms]]. Through having all the hallmarks of a State: A unified hierarchy under the Messiahs (the Cahal version of a Desprince), a unified ambition and cultural identity, the Mesver Tribedoms did not ever stay in one place. The encroachment of Altalar reclamation of lost cities caused the Mesver to constantly move their base of operations, though always taking a few Altalar with them on the way to convert or use in their rituals. As such, they mostly stayed hidden from the public eye, though eventually around 70 AC, their status became well established among the Altalar Princes, and the name Cahal was first created. The lack of prosecution from the Altalar early on meant that the Cahal became emboldened, resulting in a longer running campaign of spreading to other continents unchecked, something that would later come to damage the Altalar and the original inhabitants of their new found bases of operation.
===Physical & Mental Changes===
Becoming a Cahal does affect both the body and the mind of the person, these changes taking hold during infection and remaining permanent until they are Cured. These changes are split between Required and Optional changes:
* '''Required Changes'''
** All Cahal irises turn solid ethereal ice white, and produce light trails as they move around. Additionally, they have perfect nightvision during night, and are able to see in darkness.  
** All Cahal are free from guilt over their urges, like feeding. This doesn't make them devoid of emotion or consciousness, it just means they won't feel bad about feeding or being Cahal.
* '''Optional Changes'''
** Infection can enhance the body, for example by making the host larger, more muscular, taller, have Exist-blue tattoos across the body, bone-white horns, pearly claw hands and feet, etc.
** Infection can give the host more Exist-like aesthetics, like blue-fire crowns when they cast spells, misty echoes following their footsteps, a louder and clearer voice, etc.
** Infection can make a person more inclined to seek perfection, finding flaws in even little, mundane things, and always looking to improve themselves and others to an unreasonable degree.
** Infection may cause a person's view of Affliction to shift completely, from hatred, to adoring and vanity. Even after curing, it may cause a person to desperately seek re-infection.  


As the Cahal spread out over the world, their populations splintered further and further, and more groups of Cahal became independently minded from the Mesver Tribedoms, though many still held some respect for their old homeland. The Mesver Tribedom was known to have a good rapport with the Exist Colossi, and many of them manifested to share gifts, visions and information with the Messiahs of the Cahal. Eventually, contact with Regalia’s strong anti-Occult attitude (at the time) resulted in mass-persecution, and acted as a “wake up call” for the rest of the world that the Cahal had infiltrated nearly every society. Global persecution (mostly exported by Regalia) commenced, though at this point, the Cahal had already rooted themselves in place in so many locations that it was nigh impossible to repress them as thoroughly as Regalia might have hoped. To this day, the Cahal continue to grow in number, albeit less virulent than Vampires. They continue to be repressed by Regalia, but considered of a lesser existential threat than the Vampires who seek the complete destruction of organized society.  
===Afflicted Form===
Afflicted Form is a Transformation that can be used by Cahal to disguise themselves, or just look cool while going into Combat. Afflicted Forms are more monstrous forms of their normal body, and allow some more creative freedom like making the Character appear more like a hulking beast, so long as it remains vaguely humanoid, and should not add additional function (like wielding more than one weapon with multiple arms). Afflicted Form cannot imitate other types (like Vampires, Geists, or Marken), and must always remain the same, and be predominantly made of stone and Exist-themed.


==Cahalic Feeding==
===Afflicted Feeding===
To understand the Cahal and their collateral effects on any society they exist near, one must first understand how they feed their desires. All Cahal have an urge to feed or perform (the term used depends on one’s perspective), and there are more than one way to do it. Unlike Vampiric feeding, which involves simply drinking the blood of any victim, Cahalic feeding is far more complicated and involves a multi-step procedure. There are two types of Cahalic Feeding: The Soulrend Ritual, and the Colossi Ritual, each with different appeals and drawbacks.
Cahal, like all other forms of Afflictions, must feed in order to survive. Their Affliction is hardwired in such a way that they have a constant urge to feed that will only momentarily be sated by consuming the emotions of a victim. It is only possible to feed from a combat defeated foe, as the process is a violation of the person and no sane person would consent to having their emotions stripped away and pulled from them. Feeding takes about 5 minutes, during which the Cahal consumes emotions, but must restart if attacked. The victim may decide what types of emotions they lose, this can be a general insensitivity, or whole specific emotions, or what it felt like to be somewhere or with someone. Not everyone is willing to admit being fed on to authorities, as this immediately draws suspicion to the victim, they might be infected also. We strongly request players are consistent on feeding in Roleplay and not just offscreen-NPC the feeding process, but won't enforce it.  


===The Soulrend Ritual===
===Cahal Shield===
The Soulrend Ritual first requires the Cahal to seek out a victim. The benefit of Cahalic feeding is that it can occur in a group-activity, meaning a single Soulrend Ritual can satisfy the feeding needs of multiple Cahal, even those who are not actually directly involved in the ritual and just standing by at a distance (within 10 Blocks). As such, many Cahal operate in Clans under a so-called Sachem. A hapless victim is either taken from a pre-prepared holding area, or abducted from the street, and dragged to the Cahal Clan’s base of operations, or some kind of ritual area they have prepared in the Wilderness (possible with [[Construction Proficiency]]). Then, at this ritual site, the victim is offered up to the Colossi through one of the following possible rituals:
Cahal can use a Summon Shield Ability to draw a shield from the ether into their hand in an instant. This Shield does not need to remain the same and can change appearance over time, representing part of the Afflicted's personality as well in how it looks. If Infected as a Cahal for long enough, the shield may become infested by an Exist Apparition, which results in the shield becoming a Cahal Relic. This means that if the Cahal perishes and the weapon is picked up by another non-Cahal, that person is infected and becomes a Cahal as well, with the Cahal Relic now being their Weapon Summon.  
*  The victim is put down on an altar made out of cut pieces of stone, while the leader of the group (not necessarily the Sachem if they are not present) summons a Dagger of the Colossi, a white glowing dagger, before plunging it into the heart of the victim. This does not kill the victim, but rather sends their body and soul in a state of near-death, where they disintegrate. 10 minutes later, their body re-manifests in their own bed (or wherever they sleep at night), waking up as if from a bad dream.
* The victim is put down on a throne of flowers and plants, while the present Cahal commences the ritual by either chanting or singing to the Colossi. This process causes all the flowers and plants to glow and bloom, releasing a magical miasma that chokes the victim. This does not kill the victim, but rather sends their body and soul in a state of near-death, where they disintegrate. 10 minutes later, their body re-manifests in their own bed (or wherever they sleep at night), waking up as if from a bad dream.
* The victim is lowered into a battle arena and forced to fight to the death, either multiple Cahal, or a summoned beast avatar of their favored Colossi. Regardless of the skills of the victim, they always lose (even if they win from the Cahal, a beast avatar appears to rend their throat). This does not kill the victim, but rather sends their body and soul in a state of near-death, where they disintegrate. 10 minutes later, their body re-manifests in their own bed (or wherever they sleep at night), waking up as if from a bad dream.


In any and all cases, those who were within 10 Blocks of the victim at the time of their fake-death will become fed for a week. While this whole process occurs (from the moment of potential abduction to fake-death), the Cahal must either wear ritualistic masks, or be in their Cahalic form. The victim still remembers the whole matter, but will not be able to properly distinguish it from reality or a dream. They might just as well have fallen asleep or gotten drunk and forgotten the night before, and just had a very wild dream. Having been the victim of a Soulrend Ritual, the victim must perform a /dice 1 5 roll. If the victim rolls 5, they have become infected with Cahalism (whichever Soul Line the player likes). For more information, see Cahalic Infection and Curing.  
==Cahal Traits==
 
This section puts all Abilities, Free Packs, Limitations, and Mechanics together for ease of reference. Keep in mind, Afflictions are not Races, these Traits are additive, they do not replace Racial Traits.
===The Colossi Ritual===
===Abilities===
To prepare the Colossi Ritual requires a large number of Sachems to come together and open a portal to another dimension through which the Colossi might interact with the world of Aloria. Such a Colossi Portal can only exist in one location on the entire map of Regalia, so it is important to select a proper location where it is both close to the [[City of Regalia]] itself so that it can eventually siphon Soul Essence from the inhabitants, but not so close that is becomes easy for the [[Regalian Guard]] to destroy the Portal before it has had time to manifest itself properly. A Colossi Portal will grow every week, spewing more Exist Essence forth and spreading an Exist Corruption that will kill all Flora and Fauna and turn it into Exist Florae, thus corrupting the area (or, cleansing it, in the eyes of the Cahal).  
{| class="wikitable"
 
|- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
Individual Cahal feel the urge to bring offerings to this Colossi Portal (which usually manifests some form of altar around it). This can be done either by offering up dried flowers, crushed metal ores and crystals, or hunted animal carcasses. Each time an offering is made, a little more Exist Essence is spewed forth, and weekly activities must be maintained around this portal to keep it growing. Every month, each Sachem is able to lead a single ritual with their Clan at the Colossi Portal (this is the actual Colossi Ritual part). In what way the ritual is done does not fully matter, it can be a party, or a public gathering, or a sacrifice, or even a tournament. All participants of the Clan acquire fed status for participating in this event for 14 days, but the Colossi Ritual can only be done once per month, meaning the Cahal must use The Soulrend Ritual for the remaining 2 weeks of the month.  
! Ability Name
 
! Ability Type
 
! Ability Range
There is an exception to this rule: While nearly all Cahal work in Clans, there are a few independent Cahal who prefer going at it alone. These so called Clan-less Cahal must specifically avoid co-operating with other Cahal on Rituals to have this solo status, but while they have solo status, they can acquire feeding from the Colossi Portal purely by being near it, thus not requiring them to do either the Colossi Ritual or the Soulrend Ritual. Clan-less Cahal can participate in Colossi Rituals if they want to, and can also acquire fed status from it, but should generally avoid working with other Cahal in other situations so as not to lose solo status.
! Ability Description
 
! Modifier
The location of the Colossi Portal is not innate to newly arriving Cahal or even Sachem. It must be transferred by word of mouth, and its location should not be meta-gamed by “accidently walking into it”, unless it is extremely obvious and close to frequently traveled paths or roads. The Colossi Portal can be destroyed, though not by conventional means. Individuals cannot destroy the Colossi Portal, only the concerted effort of both the Regalian Guard and Void-based [[Mages]] or [[Sorcerers]] can destroy it. If the location of a Colossi Portal becomes known, a [[Raid|Crime_Rules#Clandestine_Raids]] (much like the Fae-Sepulchre Raid) must be called by the Regalian Guard Commander at a specific date and time. Then, all Cahal may (it is not required) come to defend at this particular time slot with a multi-stage assault depending on how large the corrupted area around the Colossi Portal is (large corruption also causes defenses and even traps to spawn). Non-Cahal may also be contacted at this point (breaking the secrecy of the Colossi Portal) to provide additional defenders for the Cahal Portal. If the attackers succeed, the Colossi Portal is destroyed and all defenders are transported to safety by the Colossi for their service, to whatever location they deem safe. If the defenders succeed, the Colossi Portal begins a mass-teleport of itself to a new location, thus hiding itself from the attackers once more, and providing a boon to the Cahal who came to protect it (usually [[Ability]] based). If the Colossi Portal is destroyed, the Cahal Sachem must once more come together to create a new Portal to begin the cycle anew.  
|-
 
| style="background-color:#c1eef7;" | Armor Summon
==Cahalic Infection and Curing==
| Summon Power
As mentioned in the rituals above, one of the primary manners of becoming infected by the Cahalic infection, is by being abducted and having the Soulrend Ritual performed on one’s self, with a 20% chance of infection. This infection method is slower, taking 72 hours to fully manifest itself before the victim is fully infected and turns into a Cahal proper (of the Soul Line of their OOC choice). Another method however is to voluntarily travel to the Colossi Portal by being guided there by other Cahal, and performing the joining ritual in front of the Portal by praising the will of the Colossi and accepting their powers. As opposed to the previous infection method, This infection method causes instantaneous turning into a Cahal (of the Soul Line chosen OOC by the player), with all associated effects. Curing of Cahalism is exactly the same as Curing for Vampirism, and therefore it saves space on this page by simply linking the Vampiric Curing method [[here|Vampirism#Curing_of_Vampirism]].
| {{#simple-tooltip: Self | Self Range means that it applies to the user themselves, or something they can directly touch after casting it.}}
 
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Armor Summon | The user can summon any type of Armor on any part of their body. Summoned armor has the same durability as mundane armor, but counts as Ability Armor.
==Cahalic Culture==
}}
Cahal are affected far less by their blood-curse than Vampires are, who often have their entire personality rewritten. It is especially because of this fact that the Cahal are often able to blend with society at large and hide among the mundane, not drawing too much attention to themselves, and not aggressing factions that would seek to destroy them so much that they draw attention. Still, some Cahal Clans become fanatics and there certainly is a capacity for Cahal to become majorly mind-altered as a result of constantly worshiping and praising the Exist Colossi. There are several rules to follow when it comes to playing a Cahal that all Cahal must observe. These are the following:
| N/A
* No Cahal may ever reveal the location of a Colossi Portal to non-Cahal individuals, they simply would never. If a Cahal is cured, they magically forget where the Colossi Portal was, or how to get there. They additionally cannot be magically compelled under any circumstances to reveal the location, even by Racial Abilities. The only exception being, if a person is genuine in their will to be converted into a Cahal at the Colossi Portal (the desire must be genuine, if it is not, the Cahal will detect this).
|-
* Cahal must worship the Exist Colossi, but are able to combine this belief with an earlier religion. For example, a staunch [[Unionist]] becoming a Cahal will worship the Exist Colossi, but not necessarily bury their Unionist habits. They might for example start seeing the Unionist [[God-Emperors and Empresses]] as the Colossi embodied into mortal form, and thus worship the Colossi through Unionism or vice versa.
| style="background-color:#c1eef7;" | Shield Summon
* Cahal develop a pack mentality and seek out a Clan, unless they have a very distinct lone-wolf personality and rather go at it as Clan-less Cahal. A Clan may form with at least 5 Cahal coming together, and one must be established as Sachem (also known as Chief). This can be either by duel, or simply by wit, or democratic election. Each Sachem must send a ticket to Rp Com Discord reporting them having become a Sachem, and of what Clan. This is for future reference when organizing Cahal Events as well as Colossi Portal creation/Raids.  
| Summon Power
* Cahal hatred of Vampires is not strictly hard-coded to the point they must attack Vampires on sight, but all Cahal feel the suffering that Cahal suffer still at the hands of the Dorkarthi Vampires. For Vampires unaffiliated with the Desprinces of the Dorkarth, Cahal can turn a blind eye, but any Vampire who supports the Dorkarthi Desprinces or is a [[Dorkarth Vampire]] themselves will have the disdain of the Cahal.
| Self
 
| Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Shield Summon | The user can summon any type of shield made out of Magic. This shield functions like a normal shield would and has the same durability. The user can give the shield to someone else, but can't summon more than one.
==Common Cahal Abilities==
}}
All Cahal have a basic set of Abilities that govern their mechanics as well as some aesthetics. All Soul Lines have these Abilities, and Cahal Brood even have a few of them.  
| N/A
 
|}
World Shift 1
===Free Packs===
Afflicted Life 1
* '''Cahal Buff I:''' Cahal gain the [[Radiant_Point_Buy#Magical_Talent|Radiant Magical Talent]] in Exist Alignment for free. If the Cahal already has Radiant Point Buy, this does nothing.  
Sacrifice Curse 1 ( i changed the wording on this to remove the old ability that I scrapped)
===Limitations===
Cursed Soul 1
* '''Cahal Limitation I:''' Urlan, and Bralona cannot be Cahal under any circumstances. Cahal also cannot become other Afflictions, or [[Marken]] or [[Archon]].
 
===Mechanics===
==Cahalic Soul Lines==
* '''Justicar:''' Cahal Feeding is invasive, and allows the Cahal to see moments where the victim had very strong emotions, of hatred or of love, of success or of defeat, their most passionate moments.
The Cahal are divided over so-called Soul Lines, four of them and each governed by two deity Exist Colossi. It is vaguely assumed and implied that the Colossi had a direct hand in creating the Soul Lines, but strictly worshiping those Colossi alone does not seem to happen among the Soul Lines, who prefer to keep their options open to all Exist Colossi. All Cahal have access to some form of the Cahalic Form Ability, an Ability that allows them to transform into a very different being, an appearance that is often unrecognizable and sometimes even in-human. These Cahal Forms can be designed by the player to look as unique as they like, but they are constrained by some rules and design elements. Primarily, each Cahal Form can include Beast, Plant, or Statue appearances. The rules for these themes are as followed:
* '''Cahal-Broods:''' Cahal sire offspring called Cahal-Broods. They are born with Heterochromia (one ice white, one normal eye) or normal eye colors, and a strong connection to Exist Magic, but are not Cahal themselves (unless infected).
* Beast aesthetics can include any type of animal such as mammal, bird, aquatic, reptile, and even insect. Individual parts may be a 1:1 copy of an existing animal, like a wolf head, but the wolf head may also be further customized with bear-ears, a falcon beak, and a feathered parrot neck.  
* '''Cahal-Life:''' Cahal are not immortal, but their life is extended by several centuries, up to a maximum of 500. There are in theory older Cahal, but we do not permit players to play 500+ year old Characters.
* Plant aesthetics can include any type of flower or plant, and even bark. This may also include flowers that do not exist with shapes and colors that are unique to the Cahal Form. It is important that if these traits are used, that the Cahal Form does not look like a normal Yanar.
* '''Cahal-Form:''' Cahal can use Afflicted Form to transform into a Disguised Monster Form. Even though this is a Disguise, it cannot be seen through, even by Abilities or Mechanics that can see through Disguises.
* Statue aesthetics can include any type of stone like marble, granite, basalt, but also glass and crystals such as quartz. They can be rough hewn rock-like in appearance, or smooth and sculpted like marble statues. The stone may also be dyed different colors.
* '''Cahal-Curse:''' After having successfully fed off a victim, the victim gains the Wrathcurse, which is a -2 Main Combat Stat debuff for 72 hours after feeding, that weakens them.  
 
* '''Cahal-Thralls:''' Cahal are able to (with strict OOC consent) establish a mind-control curse after feeding on a victim that lasts until Exorcized. Thralls cannot be infected.
How much of each of these themes, or whether to focus only one a single theme, is up to the player (pending the limitations of the individual Soul Lines). A player playing an Usaar may for example choose to have a fur covered body with a wolf head, yet have statue-like arms with round ball joints between them, and a row of flowers growing from their spine. Or, the same player may be playing an Usaar and choose only a wolf-like head, with a few flowers sprouting from their ears. However much the player uses the Cahal Form to disguise the identity of their Character is up to them, but is recommended.
* '''Cahal-Speech:''' Cahal are able to communicate in a secret language that only Cahal and Cahal-Thralls and Cahal-Broods can understand, that cannot be understood through other Abilities or Mechanics.  
 
* '''Cahal-Forge:''' Cahal are able to apply Exist aesthetics and decorations on objects they own, armor, weapons, rental regions, and areas around them, creating perfected effects and decorations.
===Usaar===
The Usaar were created by [[Conferron the Elder Spirit]], and [[Saalmar the Burning Freedom]], and represent the unchained ferocity and power of the fauna of the world. The Usaar are a predominantly animalistic Soul Line, meaning their Cahal Forms must predominantly be animalistic, and their heads must also be of some kind of animal (or a combination of them), but can include plant or statue-like features. Animalistic features present may incorporate a whole host of animals, or stick to just one animal alone. Usaar are predominantly also more Clan-focused than the other Soul Lines, but can on the opposite side of the spectrum also be more independently minded lone hunters than other Soul Lines would be prone to. Usaar infected may also choose to have more animalistic aesthetics in their non-Cahal Form appearance, like more body hair, sharpened canines, sharper ears, and larger nails. The Usaar have the following Abilities:
 
Blood Eyes 6
Cahalic Form 1
 
Wall Climb 2
Super Self 2
Gate Smash 1
Super Self 6
Armor Rend 1
Light Mend 3
Bunker Down 1
Super Self 1
Armor Flux 1
Hunt Sense 1
 
===Ëlen===
The Ëlen were created by [[Vol the Gardener of All]], and [[Calaan-Toraan the Two Faced Liar]], representing the ordered beauty of nature and its flora, and the deceptive charm of flowers. The Ëlen are a predominantly floral Soul Line, meaning their Cahal Forms must predominantly be flower or plant-like, but can include animal or statue-like features. Plant or flower-like features may include non-existing flowers that are unique to their Form, with colors and patterns that are as wild as the imagination. Ëlen are predominantly community driven, meaning they do gather in Clans, but not as strongly as the Usaar, and are also prone to working together with other Clans through cross-Clan cooperation. The Ëlen also have additional optional aesthetics outside of their Cahal Form such as flowers growing in their hair, or floral tattoos and shapes on their skin. The Ëlen have the following Abilities:
 
Blood Eyes 5
Cahalic Form 2
 
Rogue Gift 4
Light Mend 1
Empath Sense 1
Empath Sense 2
Nature Gift 1
True Path 1
Light Mend 3
Parasitic Control 1
Mind Surge 1
Flux Shift 2
 
===Aphar===
The Aphar were created by [[Do’llah the Purest Form]], and [[Itaal the Maiden of language]], representing the purity and cleanliness of permanence and eternal stone. The Aphar are predominantly a predominantly statue-like Soul Line, meaning their Cahal Forms must predominantly be stone or statue based, but can include animalistic and flower-like features also. Stone appearance features may include gems and glass, in varying colors and types (such as marble, granite, sandstone), and have a wide range of shapes, though their head must at the very least always be made of stone, and have one resting expression through which they can speak without moving their mouth. Aphar often avoid Clans altogether, preferring the life of a Clan-less Cahal, though some do work with Clans by acting as advisors and intellectuals to support the often more primal Usaar or fickle Ëlen. The Aphar have additional aesthetics available to them outside of their Cahal Form which are optional: whitened or grayed and blemish-free skin, the ability to speak without moving the mouth, and stone-cold skin. The Aphar have the following Abilities:
 
Blood Eyes 5
Cahalic Form 2
 
Exist Gift 1
Cahalic Familiar 1
Arcane Mastery 1
Casting Light 1
True Path 1
Light Mend 2
Mind Wall 1
Dravinda Gift 2
Shrewd Insight 1
Memory Sense 1
 
===Scor===
The Scor were created by [[Lraach the Gold Chaser]] and [[Nehret the End]], and represent the cycle of life and death and blossoming and decay, more specifically the role of insects in feasting on the bones of the dead. Scor do not have any particular design focus, meaning they can have a wider range of aesthetics for their Soul Line, but they do have a thematic focus. Whether it be made of stone, or animalistic, or shape invoked by the composition of plants, many of their features must be bug-like or bone-like, or a combination of the two (but never to such a degree that they look like an [[Undead]]). Scor are indifferent to Clans, being able to either join them or disregard them entirely, what usually defines Scor is how apathetic they are to the struggles of Clans and how they just like doing their own thing. Additionally, Scor can optionally use the following aesthetics outside of Cahal Form: the ability to make chittering or rattle-snake like noises from the mouth, slitted pupils, bug-like skin patterns, and saliva that causes a faint numbing or tingling sensation when touched by skin. The Scor have the following Abilities (even if Sollerian Mist 1 has a description only to affect [[Solvaan]] Altalar, it affects Scor, but only if any Scor used that Ability):
 
Blood Eyes 6
Cahalic Form 1


Omniaware 1
==Culture==
Illuviation 1
Cahal lead a varied range of lifestyles. Some have a more tribal aesthetic and dwell as shamans in the ruins of the former Allorn Empire, while others disguise themselves craftily in major cities and use diplomacy to convert others to their ideology. In general, Cahal go where other Cahal are and make themselves useful to one another. Degrees of infiltration and comfortable living are not as important to a Cahal as the size of their Court, and entire groups of Cahal have been known to uproot themselves across countries and continents just to start over again somewhere else where they believe they might be more useful. Unlike divided Vampires and Geists, however, Cahal all are responsible to the Exist Arken and Estellon Gods as authority figures, even if they do not worship them.
Summon Wall 1
===Allorn Theme: Prince Lenuyaan's Court===
Predator Leap 1
Since the Mage Wars and the departure of the Estellon Gods (which led to the creation of the Cahal), an Allorn Prince by the name of Lenuyaan of Ahillond has lived as an open Cahal and retained a large number of Cahal followers. Despite the attempts of both horrified court traditionalists and anti-state Void worshiping elements in the Allorn government to kill him, Lenuyaan was too slippery to put down, and still lives in the modern day to lead his armies against the Kathar in a war of defense he considers holy. Lenuyaan's Cahal are the inventors of many Cahalic cultural concepts considered traditional: including the Vanity Dance, a festival where attendees dance between walls of mirrors to showcase their humility, as well as Elleyon's Anvil, a gathering where groups of Cahal work together to smith a Keyblade in honor of the god Elleyon on a large anvil over blue fire. It is Lenuyaan's Court that has spread the stereotype that the Cahal are intrinsically tied to the Allorn Empire, even though they were originally created to punish the Allorn people for turning on their Gods.
True Path 1
===Yanar Theme: Forest Brothers===
Light Mend 3
The Forest Brothers were created when the Yanar were pressed between Allorn, Regalian, and Eronidas government expansion efforts, very recently, within the past 30 years. With little options other than to turn to Cahalism to defend themselves from encroachment, the local Yanar decided that it was better to be evil and be feared, than to be vulnerable and be dead. Ever since, there has been an impossible to root out Cahal infestation in the forests of northern Daen just south of the impenetrable no man's land which bars the way to Ithania. Besides just the Regalians and Eronidas, the Forest Brothers are also famous enemies of the Asha Claws of Khannar, because it happens that their bases of operations are very close together, and the Elf-hating Claws and Estellon-worshiping Brothers represent antitheses to one another. The Forest Brothers, while Yanar, are also renowned hunters and huntresses who have evolved elaborate game-chasing rituals and ways to use every part of every beast they slay.
Wall Climb 4
===Justice Theme: The Inulvaan===
Sollerian Mist 1
The Inulvaan were wearers of four-faced helms who originally served the Goddess Estel in her physical form, with unclear purposes and traditions as a secret order of mystics who tended to her place of rest. When the Void Arken slew Estel and the Exist Arken who stood in their way to defend her, the Inulvaan became leaderless, with their numbers decimated by Void Cult attacks and the Void Invasion which immediately followed. When a new Justice Arken arose in the century following, she took over the Inulvaan as her own personal army, reasoning that it was her right as her predecessor had fallen in Estel's defense. The Inulvaan exist across the Allorn Empire as a feared cult of meticulous debt-collectors and vigilantes who operate out of their Arken patron's base of operations in the Allorn capital Ivaëlle, where it is said that the largest physical database of crimes committed and offenses dealt is kept graven on marble tablets for the Inulvaan's use in executing. Inulvaan see themselves as judge, jury, and executioner, who travel the world in disguise spying on the sinful, the unworthy, and the arrogant, and join together with like-minded people to send them to their final deaths when the right time comes.
Sustenance Gift 1
===Ithanian Theme: Autumn Dancers===
Dark Curse 1
The Autumn Dancers are a group of Ithanian socialites and society ladies who recognized long ago that the ability to strip their enemies of emotions and cause them to commit social faux pas at court and thereby disgrace themselves was a powerful one indeed. While they do not occupy the ranks of the higher nobility, the ranks of handmaidens and ladies-in-waiting are absolutely plagued with members of the Autumnal Advent Dancers' Society. Even though it is an official organization, it has covered its tracks so thoroughly that there is both little suspicion and little evidence against them among Ithanian society at large, with any such accusations framed up as the ravings of the insane. To be an Autumn Dancer is to use the intrigues of the Cahal to subtly manipulate court politics to the benefit of those the Cahal considers righteous, to eliminate the imperfect by letting them walk all over their own rakes, without them knowing that the Dancer was the one who put them there in the first place.
 
===Allar Theme: The Aggrieved===
==Cahal Broods==
The Aggrieved are a cult of Allar Cahal displaced violently by the Sendrassians from western border islands up towards the Allorn Empire, where they came into contact with Cahal living on the border islands and were quickly converted to their cause as a way of gaining power in the hopes of eventually retaking their homes. They are perhaps the most warlike and bestial of all the Cahal, for whom the trauma is fresh, and for whom the original goal of what they wanted to achieve with their Cahalism is not either impossible (like the Forest Brothers) or washed away by time (like the Inulvaan). Aggrieved Cahal stand for violence against all the Void-Aligned, to teach them the lesson of the suffering that they felt when they were dragged away to be sacrificed to the Void Gods by the Sendrassians, and to set the score right. Compared to the Inulvaan, for example, they are far more arbitrary and personally motivated, not caring for what a particular Void Occult did or why, but caring more for what they are.
Cahal Broods are made when Cahal reproduce with any other Cahal, or even non-Cahal. Cahal Brood status is incurable, meaning, the person is always a Brood, however they are never fully manifested Cahal. That being said, any time they come into contact with either a Soulrend or Colossi Ritual, they are instantly infected into the Brood Soul Line that they were born with (the Soul Line usually follows the Soul Line of the mother if they are a Cahal, and if not, the father). Cahal Broods (regardless of what Soul Line they belong to) are born with the following Abilities:
 
Blood Eyes 6
Cahalic Form 2
 
Additionally, Cahal Brood receive dreams or nightmares of the Colossi Portal if one exists on the same landmass as them. Finally, because Cahal Brood always have the dormant Cahal infection in them, they cannot acquire any other Affliction and are always considered Aberrant or Occult.  


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* Cahal are sometimes called Werebeasts, but this is not accurate. This misnaming comes from the fact that Usaar Cahal favored attacks at night in [[Anglia]], leading the Anglians to believe they were entirely nocturnal beings, ignoring the wider range of Cahal appearances.
* There is a major bridge in Ivaëlle made entirely of dormant Cahal making a human pyramid. Allorn Arcano-engineers assure the populace that there is no risk of collapse.
* Some scholars theorize that the memory lapse upon curing regarding Cahal powers is a latent aspect of infection that prevents those who were prior infected from explaining all of their powers to would-be Cahal hunters, so as to protect its host should they be infected again.
* It is possible that in the coming centuries, Cahal will indeed divide like Vampires and Geists, have, as time pushes them apart. However, for now, there is no sign of this.
* When a Cahal is killed in their Cahal Form, their body actually does not change back to its pre-transformation stage. This has often led to confusion for slain Cahal, and a lot of misinformation on their nature.
* News has recently reached Regalia that the most prominent of the Allorn generals doing battle with the Kathar, is in fact Prince Lenuyaan. This raises the question of why the reborn Talea has not cured him or gotten rid of him. Either she is not able, or she is not willing: both of which raise intriguing ideas about the Allorn and Cahal relationship.
 
{{Afflictions}}
{{Afflictions}}
{{Accreditation
{{Accreditation
|Writers = MonMarty
|Writers = Okadoka, MonMarty
|Processors = Mollymock, FireFan96
|Processors =  
}}
}}
[[category:Afflictions]] [[category:Arcane Afflictions]]
[[category:Afflictions]] [[category:Exist Afflictions]]

Latest revision as of 08:11, 18 August 2023

Cahalism
Drultest.png
Afflictions
Affected Races All, except Urlan, Bralona.
Contraction Ritual, Infection, Relics
Mortality Rate Long-lived
Origins Estellon

To be Cahal is to be the final revenge of the Estellon Gods against those who forsook them for the allure of the Void and other powers, the power of faith itself corrupted to unending zealotry. Cahal are Afflicted of the Exist type, created during the decline of the Allorn Empire by the Estellon Pantheon as punishment for the Allorn people, but also to spread and maintain their religion in their absence. Though beginning as an Allorn concept and even now strongly tied to Elven history and symbolism, Cahal represent the drive to seek perfection and purification through religion, not just Allorn perfection or the Allorn religion. Communities of Cahal exist all around the world, and unlike the fractious Vampires or Geists, maintain a relatively strong hierarchy of command that answers to their patrons the Exist Arken.

Core Concepts

Playing a Cahal

Cahal, being Afflicted, are cursed by "evil" forces, and harm society around them no matter how much someone can pretend they do not. As such, they are the closest thing you might find (along with other Afflictions to being prime antagonists on MassiveCraft in between Events when there aren't DM NPC's to unite against. Playing a Cahal means you will likely get hunted/attacked by a large amount of Characters in Roleplay, as they are effectively perpetually illegal, and legal to attack/imprison/cure for vigilantes and Knights. You should not play a Cahal if you have trouble with constant conflict, or find being attacked frequently and randomly in even social scenes uncomfortable.

Infection & Curing

Being a Cahal, is a curable condition, but also one that is contagious from one Cahal to non-Cahal. Cahal curing requires that a Cahal is defeated in combat, and dragged off to a Curing Chamber (or some other form of Curing Mechanic). Only Specific Characters are able to cure Cahal (and other Afflictions), as this requires the Affliction Wisdom Pack which not many Characters have. Becoming a Cahal can be done in a variety of ways (described below), though there are some exception and corner cases. For example, someone can only ever have one Affliction, or Affinity, meaning that one cannot be a Cahal and Vampire, or Cahal and Marken at the same time. Cahal are equally also immune to being infected by other Afflictions or certain Affinities unless they are Cured. Finally, if they already have Radiant, Sinistral, or Theurgy Point Buy (and other such Dimension Aligned Abilities), they are all converted from their original Alignment to Exist upon infection, including any Spirits converted to Exist Apparitions, until they are Cured, and they both return to their previous types.

  • Conversion by Ritual: Conversion by Ritual means writing a story for yourself, or passing it off in backstory, that a Character worshiped the Estellon Gods, and was blessed by them by becoming a Cahal.
  • Conversion by Feeding: Conversion by Feeding means that 24 hours after being fed on by a Cahal, a victim can turn into a Cahal also. If a player objects to infection during feeding, this does not happen.
  • Conversion by Relic: Conversion by Relic means a person randomly stumbles into an infected shield harboring an Exist Apparition, once belonging to a now-dead Cahal. Owning such a shield turns the owner into a Cahal.

Physical & Mental Changes

Becoming a Cahal does affect both the body and the mind of the person, these changes taking hold during infection and remaining permanent until they are Cured. These changes are split between Required and Optional changes:

  • Required Changes
    • All Cahal irises turn solid ethereal ice white, and produce light trails as they move around. Additionally, they have perfect nightvision during night, and are able to see in darkness.
    • All Cahal are free from guilt over their urges, like feeding. This doesn't make them devoid of emotion or consciousness, it just means they won't feel bad about feeding or being Cahal.
  • Optional Changes
    • Infection can enhance the body, for example by making the host larger, more muscular, taller, have Exist-blue tattoos across the body, bone-white horns, pearly claw hands and feet, etc.
    • Infection can give the host more Exist-like aesthetics, like blue-fire crowns when they cast spells, misty echoes following their footsteps, a louder and clearer voice, etc.
    • Infection can make a person more inclined to seek perfection, finding flaws in even little, mundane things, and always looking to improve themselves and others to an unreasonable degree.
    • Infection may cause a person's view of Affliction to shift completely, from hatred, to adoring and vanity. Even after curing, it may cause a person to desperately seek re-infection.

Afflicted Form

Afflicted Form is a Transformation that can be used by Cahal to disguise themselves, or just look cool while going into Combat. Afflicted Forms are more monstrous forms of their normal body, and allow some more creative freedom like making the Character appear more like a hulking beast, so long as it remains vaguely humanoid, and should not add additional function (like wielding more than one weapon with multiple arms). Afflicted Form cannot imitate other types (like Vampires, Geists, or Marken), and must always remain the same, and be predominantly made of stone and Exist-themed.

Afflicted Feeding

Cahal, like all other forms of Afflictions, must feed in order to survive. Their Affliction is hardwired in such a way that they have a constant urge to feed that will only momentarily be sated by consuming the emotions of a victim. It is only possible to feed from a combat defeated foe, as the process is a violation of the person and no sane person would consent to having their emotions stripped away and pulled from them. Feeding takes about 5 minutes, during which the Cahal consumes emotions, but must restart if attacked. The victim may decide what types of emotions they lose, this can be a general insensitivity, or whole specific emotions, or what it felt like to be somewhere or with someone. Not everyone is willing to admit being fed on to authorities, as this immediately draws suspicion to the victim, they might be infected also. We strongly request players are consistent on feeding in Roleplay and not just offscreen-NPC the feeding process, but won't enforce it.

Cahal Shield

Cahal can use a Summon Shield Ability to draw a shield from the ether into their hand in an instant. This Shield does not need to remain the same and can change appearance over time, representing part of the Afflicted's personality as well in how it looks. If Infected as a Cahal for long enough, the shield may become infested by an Exist Apparition, which results in the shield becoming a Cahal Relic. This means that if the Cahal perishes and the weapon is picked up by another non-Cahal, that person is infected and becomes a Cahal as well, with the Cahal Relic now being their Weapon Summon.

Cahal Traits

This section puts all Abilities, Free Packs, Limitations, and Mechanics together for ease of reference. Keep in mind, Afflictions are not Races, these Traits are additive, they do not replace Racial Traits.

Abilities

Ability Name Ability Type Ability Range Ability Description Modifier
Armor Summon Summon Power Self

Grants the user Armor Summon

N/A
Shield Summon Summon Power Self Grants the user Shield Summon

N/A

Free Packs

  • Cahal Buff I: Cahal gain the Radiant Magical Talent in Exist Alignment for free. If the Cahal already has Radiant Point Buy, this does nothing.

Limitations

  • Cahal Limitation I: Urlan, and Bralona cannot be Cahal under any circumstances. Cahal also cannot become other Afflictions, or Marken or Archon.

Mechanics

  • Justicar: Cahal Feeding is invasive, and allows the Cahal to see moments where the victim had very strong emotions, of hatred or of love, of success or of defeat, their most passionate moments.
  • Cahal-Broods: Cahal sire offspring called Cahal-Broods. They are born with Heterochromia (one ice white, one normal eye) or normal eye colors, and a strong connection to Exist Magic, but are not Cahal themselves (unless infected).
  • Cahal-Life: Cahal are not immortal, but their life is extended by several centuries, up to a maximum of 500. There are in theory older Cahal, but we do not permit players to play 500+ year old Characters.
  • Cahal-Form: Cahal can use Afflicted Form to transform into a Disguised Monster Form. Even though this is a Disguise, it cannot be seen through, even by Abilities or Mechanics that can see through Disguises.
  • Cahal-Curse: After having successfully fed off a victim, the victim gains the Wrathcurse, which is a -2 Main Combat Stat debuff for 72 hours after feeding, that weakens them.
  • Cahal-Thralls: Cahal are able to (with strict OOC consent) establish a mind-control curse after feeding on a victim that lasts until Exorcized. Thralls cannot be infected.
  • Cahal-Speech: Cahal are able to communicate in a secret language that only Cahal and Cahal-Thralls and Cahal-Broods can understand, that cannot be understood through other Abilities or Mechanics.
  • Cahal-Forge: Cahal are able to apply Exist aesthetics and decorations on objects they own, armor, weapons, rental regions, and areas around them, creating perfected effects and decorations.

Culture

Cahal lead a varied range of lifestyles. Some have a more tribal aesthetic and dwell as shamans in the ruins of the former Allorn Empire, while others disguise themselves craftily in major cities and use diplomacy to convert others to their ideology. In general, Cahal go where other Cahal are and make themselves useful to one another. Degrees of infiltration and comfortable living are not as important to a Cahal as the size of their Court, and entire groups of Cahal have been known to uproot themselves across countries and continents just to start over again somewhere else where they believe they might be more useful. Unlike divided Vampires and Geists, however, Cahal all are responsible to the Exist Arken and Estellon Gods as authority figures, even if they do not worship them.

Allorn Theme: Prince Lenuyaan's Court

Since the Mage Wars and the departure of the Estellon Gods (which led to the creation of the Cahal), an Allorn Prince by the name of Lenuyaan of Ahillond has lived as an open Cahal and retained a large number of Cahal followers. Despite the attempts of both horrified court traditionalists and anti-state Void worshiping elements in the Allorn government to kill him, Lenuyaan was too slippery to put down, and still lives in the modern day to lead his armies against the Kathar in a war of defense he considers holy. Lenuyaan's Cahal are the inventors of many Cahalic cultural concepts considered traditional: including the Vanity Dance, a festival where attendees dance between walls of mirrors to showcase their humility, as well as Elleyon's Anvil, a gathering where groups of Cahal work together to smith a Keyblade in honor of the god Elleyon on a large anvil over blue fire. It is Lenuyaan's Court that has spread the stereotype that the Cahal are intrinsically tied to the Allorn Empire, even though they were originally created to punish the Allorn people for turning on their Gods.

Yanar Theme: Forest Brothers

The Forest Brothers were created when the Yanar were pressed between Allorn, Regalian, and Eronidas government expansion efforts, very recently, within the past 30 years. With little options other than to turn to Cahalism to defend themselves from encroachment, the local Yanar decided that it was better to be evil and be feared, than to be vulnerable and be dead. Ever since, there has been an impossible to root out Cahal infestation in the forests of northern Daen just south of the impenetrable no man's land which bars the way to Ithania. Besides just the Regalians and Eronidas, the Forest Brothers are also famous enemies of the Asha Claws of Khannar, because it happens that their bases of operations are very close together, and the Elf-hating Claws and Estellon-worshiping Brothers represent antitheses to one another. The Forest Brothers, while Yanar, are also renowned hunters and huntresses who have evolved elaborate game-chasing rituals and ways to use every part of every beast they slay.

Justice Theme: The Inulvaan

The Inulvaan were wearers of four-faced helms who originally served the Goddess Estel in her physical form, with unclear purposes and traditions as a secret order of mystics who tended to her place of rest. When the Void Arken slew Estel and the Exist Arken who stood in their way to defend her, the Inulvaan became leaderless, with their numbers decimated by Void Cult attacks and the Void Invasion which immediately followed. When a new Justice Arken arose in the century following, she took over the Inulvaan as her own personal army, reasoning that it was her right as her predecessor had fallen in Estel's defense. The Inulvaan exist across the Allorn Empire as a feared cult of meticulous debt-collectors and vigilantes who operate out of their Arken patron's base of operations in the Allorn capital Ivaëlle, where it is said that the largest physical database of crimes committed and offenses dealt is kept graven on marble tablets for the Inulvaan's use in executing. Inulvaan see themselves as judge, jury, and executioner, who travel the world in disguise spying on the sinful, the unworthy, and the arrogant, and join together with like-minded people to send them to their final deaths when the right time comes.

Ithanian Theme: Autumn Dancers

The Autumn Dancers are a group of Ithanian socialites and society ladies who recognized long ago that the ability to strip their enemies of emotions and cause them to commit social faux pas at court and thereby disgrace themselves was a powerful one indeed. While they do not occupy the ranks of the higher nobility, the ranks of handmaidens and ladies-in-waiting are absolutely plagued with members of the Autumnal Advent Dancers' Society. Even though it is an official organization, it has covered its tracks so thoroughly that there is both little suspicion and little evidence against them among Ithanian society at large, with any such accusations framed up as the ravings of the insane. To be an Autumn Dancer is to use the intrigues of the Cahal to subtly manipulate court politics to the benefit of those the Cahal considers righteous, to eliminate the imperfect by letting them walk all over their own rakes, without them knowing that the Dancer was the one who put them there in the first place.

Allar Theme: The Aggrieved

The Aggrieved are a cult of Allar Cahal displaced violently by the Sendrassians from western border islands up towards the Allorn Empire, where they came into contact with Cahal living on the border islands and were quickly converted to their cause as a way of gaining power in the hopes of eventually retaking their homes. They are perhaps the most warlike and bestial of all the Cahal, for whom the trauma is fresh, and for whom the original goal of what they wanted to achieve with their Cahalism is not either impossible (like the Forest Brothers) or washed away by time (like the Inulvaan). Aggrieved Cahal stand for violence against all the Void-Aligned, to teach them the lesson of the suffering that they felt when they were dragged away to be sacrificed to the Void Gods by the Sendrassians, and to set the score right. Compared to the Inulvaan, for example, they are far more arbitrary and personally motivated, not caring for what a particular Void Occult did or why, but caring more for what they are.

Trivia

  • There is a major bridge in Ivaëlle made entirely of dormant Cahal making a human pyramid. Allorn Arcano-engineers assure the populace that there is no risk of collapse.
  • It is possible that in the coming centuries, Cahal will indeed divide like Vampires and Geists, have, as time pushes them apart. However, for now, there is no sign of this.
  • News has recently reached Regalia that the most prominent of the Allorn generals doing battle with the Kathar, is in fact Prince Lenuyaan. This raises the question of why the reborn Talea has not cured him or gotten rid of him. Either she is not able, or she is not willing: both of which raise intriguing ideas about the Allorn and Cahal relationship.
Arcane Afflictions
• Mutations •
Void Afflictions
• Vampirism •
Exist Afflictions
Ordial Afflictions
• Undead • Geist • Spirit •
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Writers Okadoka, MonMarty
Last Editor Birdsfoot violet on 08/18/2023.
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