PERSONIFICATION OF SILENCE, YUYAMI-NO-KAMI’S VESSELS
THE RECLUSES
Centuries ‘fore people set foot upon Norowarejima, the isle thrived with countless species of wildlife. Forests stirred with owls in the canopies, and deer nurtured within the undergrowth. When the first villagers arrived, they did not come alone. With them came cats and hounds, companions meant to aid in their survival. While the isle was lush, the villagers were not yet used to farming on these grounds. And as the initial famine struck the island, the villagers turned to hunting instead. One by one, these species vanished, and as the last deer fell, something within the isle shifted.
The sorrow, fury, and lingering will of these slaughtered creatures gathered around that final soul. Their resentment coalesced, and gave birth to a god. Yuyami-no-Kami, born as a guardian deity, bound to protect those spiritually dense forests that remained. Rather than unleash her wrath upon the villagers, she spread her vast presence across the Sukihi-no-Mori like a veil. It engulfed the woods in silence, and those who stepped beneath the canopy felt an unfathomable unease. Protected, the forest blossomed life once more.
Second Sight [Innate] [Effect]
Accessible to all Vessels from the point of creation, bearing the soul-shard of a spirit, grants the living mortal the innate ability to view spirits who are not actively hiding themselves.
A requirement to become a Vessel through painful ritual with a spirit, the victim’s soul is cracked, and replaced with a piece of the spirit’s. Essentially becoming a walking Veil into Yomi, the Vessel may freely view spirits who actively do not conceal their presence. Should they choose to hide, the Vessel can only note that there is an odd presence about the area which the spirit remains within.
Ability Restrictions
- This is a passive effect, and is activated upon creation.
- The process of becoming a Vessel is excruciating, as the spirit tears out a piece of the Vessel’s soul, and replaces it with a piece of their own.
- Should the spirit be willing, they can further implant more pieces of their soul into a Vessel to increase their power.
- As the Vessel now shares the soul-shard of a spirit, they are now defined as a ‘Spiritual Being’.
- Now sharing the spiritual energy of a spirit, the Vessel may glimpse into the afterlife and witness spirits. Should the spirit make any attempt to conceal their presence, the Vessel can no longer physically view them, only now noting there is an odd presence about the location of the spirit.
Eternal Confinement [Innate] [Effect]
As Vessels splinter their souls in order to gain power, they now fall subject to the divine mandate of confinement upon the prison isle of Norowarejima.
No spirit is free to leave the isle, and as Vessels now share the soul, they now share the effect. Permanently bound to never stray from the isle, Sazanami-no-Kaze’s divine current will always drag them back to shore.
Ability Restrictions
- This is a passive effect, and is activated upon creation.
- Any Spiritual Being, including Vessels, are now permanently bound to remain on Norowarejima, unless they gain explicit permission to leave, or find means to escape otherwise.
- As Sazanami-no-Kaze, the Warden of Norowarejima’s influence extends throughout the sea, most, if not all Spiritual beings find themselves naturally adverse to seawater. This effect does not apply to travelling to the outer barrier islands, but Spiritual Beings may prefer to use Veils to travel there instead.
Muted [Remnant] [Effect]
Nearly all intentional noises that come from the Vessel are muffled.
The Vessel’s voice emerges dull and suppressed, as if the air refuses to carry their voice at full strength. This effect applies to one’s inner voice, leaving their thoughts mostly empty. The Vessel struggles immensely with emotional expression through tone, often making them seem distant or unreadable.
Ability Restrictions
- This is a passive effect, and is activated upon creation.
- The Vessel can utilize the trope of a listless character freely.
- This does not apply to accidental sounds, falling, choking, etc.
Recluse [Remnant] [Effect]
Crowds and constant interactions overwhelm the Vessel, naturally driving them toward isolation.
Yuyami-no-Kami’s personified influence of silence heightens sensory strain in social settings, causing them to develop strong antisocial tendencies. They often gravitate toward quieter environments, where stimuli are calming and predictable. Relationships may become difficult to maintain, as the Vessel finds they prefer to spend their time alone.
Ability Restrictions
- This is a passive effect, and is activated upon creation.
- Vessels can be around other people, they simply prefer to be alone.
Acoustics [Remnant] [Ability]
The Vessel may sharpen their focus for a moment, heightening their hearing beyond normal limits.
After one emote spent in full concentration, all nearby sounds intensify by one tier, allowing whispers to be heard as clearly as spoken words. Subtle environmental noises such as movement or breathing, become far easier to detect and track. This heightened awareness can provide a strong advantage in tense or quiet situations. However, the Vessel must be wary, as sudden loud sounds are amplified just as dramatically, often resulting in sensory overload.
Ability Restrictions
- One emote to invoke, lasts two emotes.
- Intensifying by one tier constitutes of /whisper being audible at /quiet range, /quiet being audible at normal range, and normal range being audible at /shout range.
- If someone yells within 16 blocks of the Vessel while acoustics is active, the Vessel is stunned for one emote as they recover their hearing.
Subwoofer [Remnant] [Ability]
The Vessel may release a condensed burst of low-frequency sounds.
Through a brief, freeform ritual, dense soundwaves may gather within the Vessel’s mouth before being expelled outwards in a controlled pulse. These low-frequency bursts can travel with intense force, capable of disrupting movement or striking targets at close to moderate range. The projection lasts for up to two emotes, requiring sustained focus to maintain the effect.
Ability Restrictions
- Two emotes to invoke, lasts two emotes.
- While the projection of sound lasts for two emotes, the Vessel can end it prematurely.
- Subwoofer’s range is valid for up to 8 blocks.
- Should Subwoofer be utilized on a victim closer than 2 blocks, the victim is inflicted with temporary hearing loss that lasts for three emotes.
- Subwoofer can be performed a maximum of twice per combat encounter.
Handler [True] [Effect]
Animals are naturally drawn to the Vessel’s calm and trustworthy presence.
The Vessel may carry an aura that puts animals at ease, allowing them to approach with minimal fear or aggression. Panicked or hostile creatures may be soothed with some effort, making interactions with wildlife far safer and more predictable. With focus, the Vessel may glean simple intentions or instincts from these animals, such as dangers, or direction.
Ability Restrictions
- This is a passive effect, and is activated upon creation.
- While animals are naturally more trusting to the Vessel, this does not mean animals will always remain passive. Hostile creatures can still attack and kill the Vessel.
Amplifier [True] [Ability]
The Vessel may mimic and project sounds heard with eerily perfect clarity
Any sound the Vessel has previously heard can be recreated flawlessly after one emote of concentration. From voices to environmental noises, these sounds can be projected to any location within earshot, as if originating from that point rather the Vessel’s mouth. This can allow for unique distractions, misdirection, or subtle manipulation of a situation.
Ability Restrictions
- One emote to invoke, words can be spoken freely for two emotes.
- Amplifier’s range is valid for up to 16 blocks.
- Amplifier may not be used combatively to harm another individual.
- Amplifier, despite being a spiritual ability, can be heard by mundane beings.
Resonance [True] [Ability]
The Vessel may sense their surroundings through subtle vibrations within roots.
By channelling Acoustics into the environment, vibrations may ripple through nearby plantlife, allowing the Vessel the ability to navigate safely through densely wooded areas. Even without direct sight, by interpreting the feedback of their surroundings, movement, presence, and irregular disturbances can be located. Any living thing, spiritual or mundane, produces their own unique, and distinct vibration that can stand out from the natural flow.
Ability Restrictions
- Requires the invocation of Acoustics, lasts one emote.
- This ability is flavored to allow the Vessel to circumvent the natural ‘getting lost in the woods’ trope of the Sukihi-no-Mori.
- The Vessel can glean locations of other beings with strict event permissions.
- Resonance can be performed a maximum of twice per combat encounter.
Inaudible [Perfect] [Ability]
The Vessel creates a pocket of hallowed ground where sound cannot be percieved.
Following a short, freeform ritual which invokes Yuyami-no-Kami, the Vessel may designate a radius of 10m where within, all sounds are completely suppressed. Capable of cutting off communication and disrupting abilities that rely on hearing or verbal invocation. This field lasts for upwards of three emotes, lest the Vessel reestablish this ground with another ritual. Those who fall victim to this zone, may feel an unnatural and suffocating presence as the absence of sound infects their internal monologue.
Ability Restrictions
- Inaudible does not need to be centered around the Vessel, but can be.
- The ritual must consist of at least two lengthy emotes with clear effort put into each message. The first emote consisting of the verbal invocation of the spirit’s name, the second emote manifesting the spiritual energy into visible form. Lasts three emotes.
- Inaudible has a visual effect, causing the 10m area to appear stagnant and ‘grayed out’.
- Inaudible can be performed a maximum of once per combat encounter.