All Insubstantiates

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Ancestors

The ancestral memories of one's ancestors can become real once more through esoteric circumstance.

Ancestor (ancestral memory)

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Athaks

Athaks: Beings empowered by void energy.

Lesser Athak (void) - the slave nation
Greater Athak, (void) - the ruling class
Formless One (void) - the real rulers

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Buhlanka

Buhlanka

Insubstantial beings of pure will power.

Basics

• Taxonomic Order: Insubstantiates

• Alignment: Celestial

• Energy: Botshepehi

• Lifespan: 200 years

• Diet: Emotion

• Habitat: Plateaus and mountains

Origins

When mortals first submitted themselves to a greater power, their loyalty, diligence, and solidarity manifested as living will.

Description

Buhlanka appear to be swirling lights of every possible color that anthropomorphize when interacting with other mortals. When they sleep, they drift to the ground and become a soft blue glow. They have high pitched but soothing voices.

Procreation

Buhlanka reproduce asexually. When their own faith is strong enough, they begin to feed off each other’s belief, and that causes new buhlanka to flash into existence.

Powers

Buhlanka are made of pure botshepehi, the mental strength of one who is diligent and loyal to a cause greater than themselves. As such, their own will power is vast, and their minds connect to other buhlanka to amplify that will.

Being made of light, they inherently fly and move with great speed.

Buhlanka consume positive emotional resonance without removing the emotions from the mortals or animals who generate them, feeding off the emotional reactions they get from those whom they help. As they feed off emotion, their own emotions are clarified and empowered such that they have high emotional intelligence naturally.

As energy beings, they consume energy quickly but recharge rapidly with sleep.

Belief

If a buhlanka believes in something and maintains that belief through action for an extended period of time, that belief will manifest within them as a color pattern that they can draw from to wield their will in a direct and powerful manner. What they can do varies by the belief, but some examples include the following:

• Belief that everything will be okay: they gain the power to soothe emotions, heal bodies, or empower them to rectify a bad situation

• Belief that class loyalty is the utmost principle: they gain the power to recognize others who belong to the same class

• Belief that resistance to oppression requires constant work: extra endurance in engaging in that work.

It does not matter if the belief is true or not, so long as the buhlanka acts on the belief. However, because they are celestial beings, the beliefs must not support the oppression of the exploited or the power of infernal deities.

Most buhlanka have the belief “some objects are special or holy” that allows them to lift physical objects.

Physical Form

If a mortal with whom they are interacting has negative emotions derived from the form the buhlanka take, they will be able to wield that emotion to take a friendly physical form, one that the mortal will more likely (but not necessarily) find unthreatening. This will always be anthropomorphic, usually an elderly or childlike variation of the species the mortal is part of. This automatic reaction will last for about 10 minutes before they have to return to their base form.

Symbiosis

Many buhlanka will form an individual, symbiotic relationship with specific mortals. If a mortal of great faith in the same beliefs the buhlanka has befriends and trusts a buhlanka, the buhlanka may enter their body and merge with their soul, becoming a part of their faith and metaphysique. In this symbiotic relationship, the buhlanka gains sustenance from belief and positive emotions, and the mortal gains bonuses to faith, will power, awareness, and emotional intelligence.

Weaknesses

Blasphemy will kill them. While sleeping, they can be slain more easily if they are covered with industrial glass. If they lose faith in a belief, they will lose the power associated with it.

If a buhlanka’s symbiotic partner dies while the buhlanka is with them, the buhlanka will move with their soul to the afterlife, effectively dying as well.

Nations

Buhlanka belong to a single nation, synonymous with the name of the species. They dwell in the mountains of southern Taggarus near to other mortals who fought against colonization and conquest.

Culture

Buhlanka live in communes (sehlopha) in the valleys of the southern Taggaran mountains where they serve the other communities nearby. They dwell in clusters who dance and flit amongst the low-lying clouds, amongst forest canopies, above passes and paths through the highlands, or in caves high in the mountains. Each commune has about 100 members.

A buhlanka commune is led by a moholo council made up of older members of the cluster. All tasks within the commune are shared by all members.

Because they subsist off of emotion, they must all travel to where other mortals are to feed, but they do not need to do this very often - about once a month. Because they gain greater positive responses if they do not interact with the same group of mortals over and over, they switch between multiple groups and seek newcomers regularly. About a quarter of the commune goes out at any given time, meaning groups go out to feed once a week.

Common tasks within the commune include religious ones, scouting for new mortal communities or groups, maintaining the spots they sleep in, and studying texts and the local region.

Scouts among the buhlanka are either tasked with finding new sources of emotional sustenance or finding local spots that would be helpful for other mortals nearby. Buhlanka make a point of knowing where watering holes, fruit trees, and other resources might be so they can lead mortals there when there is a need.

Because they are vulnerable while sleeping, they set guards who hide within special crystals kept by the buhlanka, which they gather in the caves. Crystal gathering is a common task as well. Guards are always empowered with a belief that gives them some kind of offensive power.

Children age to maturity rapidly, as they grow to full size by their sixth feeding and attain full emotional intelligence around the same time due to the nature of their sustenance. Other buhlanka guide the children collectively so that they are able to handle this rapid growth easily. For a few years after this, it is expected the individual young buhlanka will still be a little unstable and confused at times, and they will be taught accordingly to offset this. Almost all buhlanka are fully trained by the time they are five years old.

All buhlanka communes within a given region will gather together once a year to share news, information, and emotion for a three-day festival known as sefefo se bobebe. Other local mortals come to watch from a respectful distance, as this festival is a massive light show to them.

When a member of the commune decides they wish to form a symbiotic bond with another mortal, they leave the commune for a number of years - it always varies based on the relationship the mortal they possess has with faith - but will always return unless they pass away during that time. Because the buhlanka will die if they are in the mortal’s body when the mortal dies, most buhlanka either choose to bond later in their own lives or will (consensually) depart before death if possible.

Some communes permanently merge with mortal communities, forming close and consistent symbiotic relationships. When they do this, their culture begins to reflect that of the mortals’. Specifically certain animal folk in the region (cape buffalo, leopard, aardvark, fish eagle, agama, bat, crane, elephant, hyrax, zebra, eland, hoopoe, secretarybird, duiker, Taggaran buffalo, and crag lizard) and the red grass plant folk are commonly associated with them.

Esoterica

As beings of botshepehi, buhlanka are beings of deep convictions and faith. They can wield any other celestial energy assuming they have the appropriate set of beliefs. They can also use any aetherial or poioumenonic power if it does not conflict with their beliefs. Unaligned powers are possible as well in the same context, though nommic powers may be complicated as they do not always have bones, flesh, viscera, blood, or other humors.

Religion

Most buhlanka believe in and worship Ikokobeditse, a Divine being they believe embodies all of their beliefs. Every commune collectively engages in worship, performing multiple rituals each day, mostly dances of light and singing special prayers. Every buhlanka is inherently a manganga, a believer whose faith empowers them. Among each commune there may be moemeli, a manganga who is tasked by Ikokobeditse to perform a specific task to raise faith in others; mohlokomedis, mangangas who have no specific task but are asked to serve others to raise faith; sekepes, druids of the mountains, plateaus, and savannas who commune with nature and view Ikokobeditse as a guide; tataisas, those who teach others how to meditate on, analyze, and follow their beliefs; moitlamas, groups of buhlanka who interact with and join mortal women in seclusion to worship; moetis who travel to sacred spots in the mountain valleys; thorisos who lead the song-prayers; moreris who go amongst mortals to spread faith; mofanis who teach the specifics of their faith to the others in the commune; morutis who lead the ritual dances; ya tsebangs, those who speak the words of Ikokobeditse directly; and sekepes, or shamans among the commune. When a buhlanka is overwhelmed by faith and creates new buhlanka, for that time period, they are a thabo, a sacred manganga who is filled with and guided fully by faith.

Gender

Buhlanka have no genders, but they recognize and respect those of others.

Economy

Buhlankas live in egalitarian communes.

Military

There are four kinds of warriors in any given commune of the buhlanka:

• Qhoma: those who use their light-bodies to overwhelm targets, knocking them to the ground and stunning them.

• Mohlabani: those who wield special crystal spears that are powered by their conviction in the rightness of their defense of their people.

• Mokalli: those who take form and ride zebras to protect their people.

• Rakgedi: those who specialize in throwing their spears rather than up-close combat.

They sometimes take these roles in mortal communities if they are possessing a mortal of that community.

Language

Their language is based on Sesotho.

Trade

Buhlanka have a good relationship with nearby communities - if they don’t, they move - and trade their powers of faith for emotion and protection.

Occupations

The main roles within a buhlanka commune not listed above include scouts (sehloelas) and dancers (setantshis).

Outside View

Most who live bear buhlanka view them as wonders to be honored, often thinking of them as spirits or Divine beings. The buhlanka disabuse this latter belief but still guide them in faith. Oppressors often hate buhlanka, who empower the oppressed, and send in agents and soldiers with special, industrially developed glass to commit genocide against buhlanka. They demonize them, claiming they lure travelers into dangerous mountain passes to kill them.

Notables

• Yena Ya Binang Pele, She Who First Sang, Buhlanka Manifest, Aeonian

Estimated Populations

• Original: 300,000

• Other: 100,000

Sample Stats

PRO 7
ATH 8 Straight-line Speed 25
STR n/a or 8
AWA 11
WIL 11
PRS 10
STH 3

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Dreams

Dreams are the embodiments of dream tropes.

Miro (dream)
Boggart (nightmare)---

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Echoes

Echoes are the reverbrating memories of things from former iterations of the world.

Echo (deceit)

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Pusarans

Pusarans are that warp reality around them.

Te-no-me, (silence)
Hundun, (soul)
Eidolon, (emotion)
Sandalphon, (heaven)
Nurikabe, (boundaries)

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Spirits

Spirit: spirits are beings that are the embodiment of an energy. Though they are insubstantial and invisible, they have incredible influence on the mortal realm. Every spirit is unique in form when seen, usually in places where spirit energy is strongest. Shem exists within the Spirit Realm, but on the edge, so the spirits only manifest on the other side of the Spirit Gate, deep within Shem.

There are many ways to wield spirit energy:

Spirituality, gaining the favor of spirits through faith
Spiritcasting, commanding spirits through magical ritual
Spiritism, communing with spirits through meditative arts
Spiritology, studying spirits and using knowledge of them to manipulate them
Spirit Dolls, trapping spirits in objects and using those to command their power
Spiritspeaking, communicating with spirits

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Manifestations

Manifestations are the beings that occur when the Law is violated.

Manifestation (contradiction)

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Transcendants

Transcendants are living celestial energy. Used to be etherions.

Chichiltic (valor) - used to be glory (nahuatl lang)
Emaria (equality) (basque lang)
Gvnigalisdi (community) (cherokee lang)
Hili Teg (love) - used to be erosian (sumerian lang)
Huoli (labor) - used to be devoir (chinese lang)
Kaluwagan (liberation) (filipino lang)
Kiese (joy) - used to be lavrencian (kongo lang)
Miren Tok (peace) (slovenian lang)
Nyasha Mhenyu (hope) (shona lang)
Rsi (wisdom)
Upachaar Oorju (health) (hindi lang) used to be opalescent
Zontano Fos (vision) - used to be prismal (greek lang)

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Vox

Vox

Living, elemental sound.

Basics

• Taxonomic Order: Insubstantiates

• Alignment: Aetherial

• Energy: Sonic Aether

• Lifespan: 200 years

• Diet: Echoes

• Habitat: Canyons and caverns

Origins

The first sounds ever made on Shem resonating with the vibrations of life.

Description

Living sound, vibrations, only visible when interacting with visible matter; voxes take up about the same volume of space as an average human. They can control their shape, insofar as they have one, to some degree if they wish to, often forming anthropomorphic forms by drawing the vibrating air together. Usually, however, they are amorphous, conscious vibrations in the air.

Procreation

Voxes reproduce asexually. When they generate enough volume as a being, they bud off a new vox or multiple voxes.

Powers

Voxes are living sound. They build size and volume by absorbing other sounds that echo within the areas they dwell - they can only consume echoes, not original sounds. Many sounds echo in ways that others cannot perceive, a bird’s trill echoing off a branch infinitesimally or the click of a bug’s foot against a leaf on the forest floor nearly silently bouncing off the crack in the leaf. Voxes can absorb these if they can perceive them, which they can as living sound. It takes thousands of these to make the vox grow.

Any sound a vox produces will echo as well, and they can consume these echoes. But in order for this to be worth it, the echo must be more substantial than the original sound, which is extremely rare. Therefore, voxes find places that amplify sound to dwell in - usually echo canyons, caves, and special buildings.

Possession

If a vox fills solid matter with their vibrations, they may possess and shape it, sometimes using it as a surrogate body if need be. This lasts as long as they wish or until the material is vibrated to pieces.

Sound Control

Voxes can control the sounds generated by other things, as long as the sounds are either unaligned or aetherial (celestial, infernal, and poioumenonic sounds are much more difficult to influence). Some sounds that may seem mundane - a person singing a beautiful song, a story being told, a command being given - are actually aligned - beautiful song may be euphonic, stories may poioumenonic, commands may be infernal. Context matters, including the purpose and source of the sound.

To a vox, sound is as solid as stone is to a human. Their control of it is “manual” in that they do so by bodily interacting with it, their living sound touching it and moving it by wrapping around it. If they choose to consume it, they surround it entirely and absorb it. If they choose to control it, they handle it and alter it by altering its shape and speed (pitch and rhythm, frequency and volume, amplitude and intensity).

Weaknesses

Brown aether and cacophony can harm them. Euphony will alter them. Arcane shadow will weaken them. They can be trapped within certain materials if those materials.

Nations

There are dozens of nations of voxes around the world in obscure corners, but there are six notable ones:

• Bekkanke: a nation of voxes in a massive cave in the Grottos underground. The original nation.

• Eilig: a nation of voxes in a canyon in the Kerupene region of Jesenranu, living near river rapids and rushing waters.

• Krunuche: a nation of voxes in deep, jagged canyons in the Hollow.

• Masek'kike: a nation of voxes in deep caves in western Palhur [Mammoth Cave], friends to the Howasi [Shawnee] nation.

• Rsketeket: a nation of voxes in narrow tunnels in the Hypogaeum.

• Xyzetet: a nation of voxes in deep corners of the Low Mines.

Culture

The Bekkankes dwell in a massive cavern, one of the titular Grottos of that layer of the Subterranean Realm. They have carved out a massive ring of grooves within the cavern, which has also been shaped by them, to create the world’s most perfect echo chamber. They keep subterranean livestock for the richness of their sounds, encouraging them to growl, screech, low, chirp, hiss, and so on for the voxes to feed off of.

The city-state, called Calund, is about the size of Texas. The outer reaches of it are used for the livestock, with a drainage system that would be the envy of the world, if the world were aware of it. The inner circles are where the voxes dwell. They rest in small cells that are clustered around circular grooves. Each circle is its own community.

The city is run by a council of elected individuals. Among them are always an architect or designer of canyons and caverns, an expert on livestock, and an esotericist who commands sonic aether skillfully. The rest of the council is made up of anyone who may run for it, so long as they are adults.

New voxes are budded off regularly. They are cared for by their immediate parent for the first several weeks of their lives, then the whole community takes to caring for them. They are not given a name until they are first heard by the whole community. They harmonize with the new vox until it gives them the name it will be known as, its core vibration. Once named, the child is given years of freedom and care until they are about ten years old. Then, they are taken under the tutelage of older members of the community who teach them all the skills and lore of their people.

At age fifteen, they are sent to nearby communities for further education and training. This repeats until they are 24 or so. Usually by this age, they have chosen a role in the community. If they choose one early, they must still study and learn until 24. Once they are out of training, they begin working with a veteran in the role they have chosen, if there is one, and serve the community. If they seek a role that is not perceived to serve the community, they must go before the council and make their case. If the council approves, they lead the way in the new role. If the council disapproves, they may return to make the case again in three years; in the meantime, they work where the council sends them. Most are sent to something the council deems similar to their desired role. Anyone the council cannot find a place for are sent to care for livestock.

Every six days, the whole community gathers to create complex sounds together. Some create music, but most create “sculptures” of sound that have palpable form, a tangibility that even other mortals could perceive. The vibrations become so intense, they take on colors. This event, called the tezekane. Every six years, the entire city-state comes together for one that causes earthquakes above and below them.

National Cultures

The other notable vox nations vary in their cultures:

• Eilig: the most well known nation of voxes in the world, they are aligned closely with various other beings in the Kerupene area, and they play a role in the crowning of the cynings, or the “strong-voiced kings”, of the area.

• Krunuche: a similar nation to the originals, the Krunuche do not have the structure to create echoes the way the Bekkankes do. The Hollow is too large and open, and so they create canyons within it that capture sound better. They keep different livestock, and have developed a more feudal economic system.

• Masek'kike: their alignment with the Howasi means they share much of the same culture, but their role within that culture is one of guides and protectors when the Howasi enter the vast caverns there.

• Rsketeket: the Rsketekets are strange and obscure, known for their interest in specific kinds of sounds, almost to the point of obsession. They are mocked by other voxes for being shrill.

• Xyzetet: a nation who find ways to make metal sing. They control a part of the Low Mines that other beings fear to enter out of superstition.

Esoterica

Voxes are beings of sonic aether and command it in ways no other mortals can. They can wield other forms of aether, assuming it can be wielded by a body made only of sound. They can also wield poioumenonic and celestial energies in a similar manner, though they cannot wield euphony or arcane shadow. They can only wield infernal energies at a great cost, and they cannot wield cacophony. Unaligned energies are possible, though bodily nommic energies are complicated - Raesian energy is only possible if they possess solid matter to take the place of bones, and humors and blood are impossible.

Religion

Voxes worship Volvebatur, the Divine Vibration, the thrum of the universe. They believe that all that exist are echoes of this original sound, created when all of creation came into being. They consider Volvebatur is as much a concept as a living being, and they engage religion with in a philosophical manner.

Gender

Voxes are all without gender and find the concept baffling.

Economy

The original vox nation is matriarchal and classless.

Military

Every vox community has a handful of voxes who are capable of creating sounds that break flesh, bone, and armor as a means of defense against the dangers of the subterra or nearby nations who threaten their territory. Among vox nations above ground, they sometimes work with other mortal beings to give them vocal abilities that aid in battle.

Language

Their original language is just made up nonsense with sharp or hard consonants.

Trade

The Bekkankes trade quarried stone and other raw materials for livestock.

Occupations

Other roles within the Bekkanke communities include the following:

• Architect

• Builder/shaper

• Caretaker

• Councillor

• Echo farmer

• Etching artist

• Guard

• Livestock handler

• Messenger

• Quarrier

• Sanitation

• Sound sculptor

• Stone sculptor

Outside View

Those who are aware of voxes believe them to be spirits or elementals (which is not entirely inaccurate). They are often portrayed by oppressors as dangers, the sort to lure miners or quarriers into deep caves and kill them, evil spirits who cause cave-ins, etc. Others know them to be guides and artists and revere them.

Notables

• Ouaouraaka’awooawammm, Vox Manifest, Aeonian

Estimated Populations

• Bekkanke: 50 million

• Eilig: 1 million

• Krunuche: 10 million

• Masek'kike: 1 million

• Rsketeket: 10 million

• Xyzetet: 5 million

• Other: 3 million

Sample Stats

PRO 8
ATH 10
STR 10
AWA 8 Hearing 14
WIL 8
PRS 9
STH 7

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