Ancient

Embodiments of ancient legends.

Basics

• Taxonomic Order: Inmortals

• Alignment: Poioumenonic

• Energy: Polypoioumenonic

• Lifespan: Inmortal

• Diet: Varies

• Habitat: Anywhere

Origins

The most ancient legends come to life.

Description

Ancients appear to embody stories so ancient they are fundamental to mortal cultures. They appear to be mortal beings whose legends they embody.

Procreation

Ancients reproduce according to the narratives of their legends; if they reproduce with any spirit folk, Aeonians of great poioumenonic power are born to them.

Powers

All ancients have powers based on their individual stories. Each is a little aware of their own narratives and can break the fourth wall to alter their own stories ever so slightly.

Weaknesses

Each individual story has its own ending that they can be manipulated into.

Nations

There is no nation of ancients. They are each unique formations of legendary stories, figures from legend, living embodiments of narratives told in the distant past. They are living tropes.

Behavior

Ancients live their stories over and over, avoiding the ending. They exist as embodiments of storytelling techniques, common tropes, or recurring archetypes. They take different forms in different cultures, but so long as they exist within that culture, they will reflect it. If they are within a culture where their basis is not extant, they retain the form of the last culture they were in. As such, they often blend in.

Most ancients live amongst spirit folk, hiding what they truly are - and some are unaware of their true selves - and instinctively living their stories. For example, an ancient whose story is “boy meets girl” will be forever seeking the right romantic complement. For an ancient whose story is “it was all a dream” will always be experiencing unexpected tales within their dreams, never sure what is reality and what isn’t. For an ancient whose story is “complete trials” will forever be facing tasks sent by the gods or other powers.

A handful of ancients are fully aware of themselves, their stories, and their role in the world. These tend to be the oldest and most powerful, and they are able to engage the metanarrative and step outside themselves, using their inherent powers to interact with stories like theirs and alter them, or to engage complementary ancients whose stories interact with theirs (“mentor” and “hero”, for example).

Esoterica

Ancients are beings who combine all poioumenonic energies. They can wield any of them.

Religion

The ancients are older even than Divines. Some have faith if it fits their story; others do not.

Gender

Their genders are whatever fits their story. Some ancients have a fluid gender depending on the culture they are in - a protagonist archetype might be female amongst adelfoi, transgender in queer spaces, and male in a patriarchal culture, for example.

Outside View

Those rare beings who are aware of the ancients view them as dangerous, powerful, almost Divine figures.

Notables

• Agbọrọsọ, She Who Speaks

• Jack Dastian, the Hero

Estimated Populations

Unknown.

Sample Stats

Every individual’s stats fit their particular story.