The Iron Masquerade (MSQ)

[aerin13]

The Iron Masquerade (MSQ)

Capital: The City of Narsai, Region 69

Summary Capital: The City of Narsai, Region 69 Demonym: Masque Starting Faith: The Soulbound Dance (Majority level, no Minorities), now organized into the Savior's Promise Capital Region Resource: Hematite, a black iron ore (Ores and Alloys, Conductors and Circuitry) Desired Import: Staple Crops Starting Technologies: Arcane Amplification, Dust Hardening Faction Support: Government: The Iron Masquerade Media: The Iron Masquerade Mercantile: The Iron Masquerade Pitch: Aristocratic mining Barons form a kidnapping cult to procure hosts for their masked deity, the Iron Monarch, after it consumes the former ruling bloodline.

Geography

The city-state of Narsai is a metaphorical oasis in the middle of the vast Veehran dust desert, if not a literal one. The presence of the L'Bernon mountain range blocking access to the Great Southern Lake corrals trade caravans into a relatively narrow north-south corridor. Narsai is planted firmly in the middle of this corridor. It is a nearly necessary resupply point for travelers.

Outside of the city, the sandstorms rage and the land is frozen over. The only fools brave enough to weather the storms are bandits lurking to prey upon the trade route or nomadic tribes wandering in from adjacent territories. The garrison of the city is occasionally mustered the curb the former.

The city itself boasts no artificial atmosphere dome or climate control. The smooth black bricks of the L'Othaire royal castle form the tallest and grandest structure, followed by the Black Tower and the expensive manses of the Barons and lesser nobles. Only the rich live where sunlight can reach their dwellings on a rare clear day, because only the rich can afford to maintain secondary residences while continually repairing the sands' abrasion of their surface dwellings.

In the depths of the city where the pelting sands cannot reach, the laborers and common folk live in a labyrinthine network of tunnels and rooms created and leased at remit of the Barons. To live closer to the surface is a sign of wealth. One can roughly estimate the status of an individual by what level they reside upon.

Though stairs exist, the intense verticality of the city and the mines below necessitate the existence of cargo lifts and elevators. Though all such devices are owned by the various Barons, they vary in their accessibility, fee, size, and safety.

History

Veehra is littered with the rusting machinery of bygone ages. Centuries ago, the raider who would become the founder of the Iron Masquerade ventured deep into abandoned mining shafts in the foothills of the L'Bernon Range in hope of procuring salvage from the derelict mining rigs.

A sudden dust storm had trapped him in the tunnel system for weeks. His edible provisions were gone and ice supply reduced to tight rationing, but most importantly: he was beginning to doubt his sanity. He had delved the deepest tunnels in a futile effort to find ice, and instead unearthed a sealed chamber of polished black crystal.

"Wear me," demanded the voice too svelte to be human. "And I will lead you to paradise."

The raider was cunning and resourceful (you had to be in order to prey upon the heavily armed supply caravans between the planet's twin oases), but he was desperate. Staring at the intricately carved black lattice of a monarch butterfly mask, he decided that he had little left to lose, even should this be another hallucination.

"Honored spirit, my lowly visage is not a worthy resting place for one such as yourself," the bandit challenged. "Teach me how to activate the mining drills, so that I might bring you to the surface."

This was not what the mask had asked for, but it was also desperate. Untold millennia of isolation had taken their toll upon the ancient personality. It could not survive another millennia without a power source.

The mask agreed.

It taught the brigand what levers and buttons to push, but not why. How to navigate the maze tunnels one turn at a time, but never the full map. How to operate, but not repair.

The bandit, though clever, was greedy. He rented the use of the megadrills to other raider bands, charging a premium for access to the mask's knowledge. He never wore the mask, nor allowed anyone else to talk to it.

The mining city of Narsai was born.

When the first drill broke down and his newborn aristocracy grew unruly, the petty king of Narsai begged the mask for the knowledge of how to fix the contraption. The mask refused.

"Wear me," challenged the sophisticated voice. "And I will lead you to paradise."

Even after decades of collaboration, the former bandit remained untrusting of the suspicious artifact. He devised a series of oaths that the two of them would swear, and ultimately refused to wear the mask himself.

"I promise that all heirs of my bloodline shall wear you when they ascend to rule," swore the king. "Starting with my own eldest daughter and heir."

"I promise that no harm shall come to any of your bloodline by wearing me," lied the mask. "And that I shall truthfully answer all questions from the ruler of Narsai, starting with how to repair the mining apparatus."

The shrewd king took an additional precaution. He dipped into his coffers to hire a Sorcerer from New Kildora to remove the soul of his daughter, placing it within a signet ring that she would always keep upon her person. Thus, he reasoned, the mask would never corrupt her true essence.

(Like many expensive and unnecessary medical procedures, the trend of relocating one's soul to an object was wildly popular among the megadrill Barons. When the methodology to do so became accessible enough to reach the peasantry through arcane amplification, the ritual gained religious significance.)

When Marie L'Othaire was coronated and donned the mask, she became the first true Iron Monarch of Narsai.

The mask, finding its attempts to feed upon Marie's soul thwarted by the cleverness of her father, was equally clever. It continued to provide answers to the rulers of Narsai, despite slowly dwindling power reserves. Humans were malleable, fickle creatures. It had centuries to spare before its battery finally depleted.

Eventually, one of its wearers would have a soul to suck dry.

(This is the true history, but it is lost to time or warped by perspective. This version is not taught in Narsai.)

Government, People

The Iron Masquerade is a centuries-old monarchy lead by the Iron Monarch, who can be recognized by the distinctive butterfly mask they wear. When the current Iron Monarch dies or wishes to retire, the title is passed to their eldest offspring regardless of gender. Subservient to the monarchy, there are various Barons that each pay taxes to the Monarch in exchange for the permission to use a handful of ancient megadrills. The megadrills break down frequently, reinforcing the Barons' reliance upon the Monarch for assistance with repairs. They are ancient devices that cannot be replicated or understood given the current technology of the Masquerade.

At the outset of the game, the previous Iron Monarch has died suddenly and unexpectedly to disease, leaving a four year old son as the last remaining member of the L'Othaire bloodline. Coronation will proceed as usual, including all the traditional regalia and ceremony, but the realm will be ruled by regent until such time that the child reaches the age of majority and chooses an appropriate soul vessel, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for followers of the Soulbound Dance. When the ceremonial black butterfly mask of the Iron Monarch is placed upon the child's face during the coronation, the mask consumes him! Come to my round one event to learn more!

The peasantry of Narsai include some traders and artisans, but the majority are simple machinery operators in the enormous megadrills that produce the city's black wealth. They are plagued by the traditional illnesses and woes of an impoverished mining workforce. The vast majority of residents of Narsai are human, with the few exceptions being among the merchant class.

Trading caravans that travel between Veehra's two oases almost always pass through Narsai, and pay a fee to do so. These taxes are collected by the Iron Monarch, and a large chunk of the revenue is in turn used to pay tribute to the Emperor. Aside from continuing to pay what is due, the small city-state of Narsai merits little attention from the Emperor.

Resource

Regional resource: The primary output of the Narsai mines is hematite, a highly conductive form of iron ore. The high-quality mineral is a black, brittle crystal, occasionally interspersed with streaks of rust-red banded iron. While some of the produced crystal is carved into decorative figurines by city artisans, the majority is exported to foreign buyers for use in conductors and armaments.



Desired import: The profits from the backbreaking labor of the drillers feed the lavish lifestyles of the Barons, affording them every luxury. The peasantry must save every penny to afford basic grains, the gold of the Veehran oases, to compliment their diets of recycled protein. Staple crops are imported to feed the masses at exorbitant rates.

Faith, Culture

Followers of the Soulbound Dance believe that one's soul only persists as long as its vessel does, and thus they relocate their souls to physical objects. All other elements of the faith are optional, or practiced differently by various factions, but this is the core tenet.

The choice of object is deeply personal. The traditional, orthodox choice endorsed by the clergy and followed by the Barons is a masquerade mask, though fierce debate exists surrounding the inclusion or lack of an attached stick to manually hold the mask up. Narsai's nobility wear their soulbound masks to go about everyday life to flaunt their wealth and power. The peasantry often choose simpler, more practical objects (though the particularly devout or ambitious still elect for masks). Rings, necklaces, simple tools, and small carved figurines are common choices.

The vessel is always something small and lightweight enough to carry on one's person, as it is commonly believed that spending too long too far from one's soul vessel weakens the link between the soul and the vessel, eventually leading to the complete loss of the soul.

The ceremony to relocate one's soul is a coming-of-age ritual for most believers. It is never performed on children, as their souls have not fully developed, but the exact age of majority can vary. In order to perform the ceremony, another individual (usually a cleric) that has already relocated their soul must tap into their vessel as a power source for Arcane Amplification. The recursive nature of this process and the precise technique used has lead some scholars to speculate that the first arbiters of the ritual followed the practices of the sorcerers of New Kildora, but this is merely speculation. The modern practice bears little resemblance to the works of the snake sorcerers, and unlike the sorcerers, Masques perform very little other magic despite having their own souls easily available to tap for energy.

Holy sites of the Soulbound Dance double as both churches and mausoleums, with the most famous example being the Black Tower. The floors of the Black Tower are filled with nooks and alcoves holding vessels of all shapes and sizes. Masquerade masks are typically displayed upon a carved hematite bust of the deceased, if the deceased can afford to commission such a luxury. The bodies of the deceased are of no import, and thus are recycled for protein.

Not everyone can afford to reserve mausoleum space for their vessel, and some religious factions even prefer to pass down vessels among family lines as heirlooms. It is taboo to layer multiple souls within one vessel. Stealing a soul vessel is punishable by death by decree of the Iron Monarch, regardless of the intrinsic worth of the object.

In recent decades, there has been a growing cult-like obsession with the Iron Monarch. The clergy of the Black Tower preaches that the Monarch will one day release all souls stored in vessels and guide them to Paradise. This belief has always been popular among the workforce, for whom the promise of a savior to lead them out of brutal working conditions and abject poverty is a breath of fresh air among the constant dust, but now it is followed by several of the Barons as well. For this reason, the bottom floor of the Black Tower is open to all Masques for quiet contemplation and prayer to the Monarch, as well as daily sermons from the priesthood. At the center is a two-story tall black sculpture of a butterfly, wings spread wide.

Though the L'Othaire line has always been devout followers of the Soulbound Dance, the head priest of the Black Tower was recently appointed to be one of the late king's personal advisors in an unprecedented admission of the church's rising influence among the populace.

Edited February 16 by aerin13 (see edit history)

[aerin13]

Round 1 Event - The Coronation of Nathan L'Othaire

Hosted on the Giant in the Playground forums.

Summary: As has been tradition for hundreds of years, the Masquerade hosts an elegant coronation ceremony and grand banquet for the ascension of the Iron Monarch. In a twist that seems to shock everyone except for the local cultists, when the young heir dons the Black Butterfly, an ancient and regal artifact in the form of a mask, his personality is completely overwritten by that of the entity lurking within. The adult-minded toddler then proceeds to continue with the revelry, ordering the murder of his adoptive father and the abduction of the insolent ruler of New Kildora. Also, some foreigners trade technologies.

The Savior's Promise - Organized Faith

If the Soulbound Dance was a collection of unique cultural practices and shared superstitions with the occasional cult-like fanatic hanging on at the fringes of society, then the Savior's Promise is a Cult, capital C, permeating daily life and enforced by those in power. The belief that the god-like Iron Monarch will lead their followers to a mythical Paradise is all-consuming and has devoured any previous nuance to the faith. Prayer to the Monarch is strictly enforced for all citizen twice daily, with mandatory longer sermons one per week. Many devout have small shrines of incense and heated water (a frozen desert luxury) in their homes for private worship. To many followers, the Iron Monarch's new personality and the elevation of the Iron Masquerade to the Elect are confounded and intertwined occurrences.

Groups of missionaries roam the tunnel-streets of Narsai's deepest slums. Convinced that any who have not stored their souls within a soulbound vessel will be lost forever when the Savior carries all vessels to Paradise, they wield their own soul vessels with arcane prowess to forcibly "convert" any holdouts in the name of "saving" them. These vigilantes have become quite adept at hunting down individuals who do not wish to be found and sneaking into the underbelly of the city where they wouldn't normally have access. Structurally, the ordained of the Black Tower encourage this practice by seeking out (preying upon) talented criminals from the poorest classes of the city to elevate to priesthood.

Size 5 Bonus: +1 to Assassination/Kidnapping

Cultural Identity - Soul Snatchers (Assassination/Kidnapping)

The problem with starting a cult around yourself leading the masses to Paradise is that, well, the masses expect to be lead to Paradise. Not the true, diehard fanatics, though. All it takes to maintain the loyalty of the upper clergy is a little special attention from their Savior and a steady drip of the supernatural, flavored as the divine.

Alexandre Margaux, diehard fanatic and head priest within the cult of the Savior's Promise, kneels before his deity in private audience.

Iron Monarch Thalus stands before him, the Black Butterfly on his face glimmering in the dim candlelight and his forked tongue snaking out to taste the crisp desert air. If the intricate carved veins of the mask's wing cells hinted at an allusion to circuitry before, the occasional sparkle that now flits from one nexus to another enforces the motif.

"Your Majesty, I can see that the child's holy sacrifice has restored a fraction of your divine power. Please, I beg you to allow me this one question of your sacred will!"

Margaux fully prostrates himself upon the floor.

"How many more until Paradise can be reached?"

A pause, no longer than it would take an entity to do rough mental math involving the lifespan of the man prostrated before him and the optimal speed of soul consumption, as the Iron Monarch slowly blinks his snake-slitted eyes.

"Twenty more excluding the child and the magician. Twenty-two in total."

Instantly, Margaux throws himself upon his Savior's feet, crying, "Take me! Let me be one step towards Paradise!"

Iron Monarch Thalus reaches down and gently tilts Margaux's face up. Slowly and intimately, the Kildoran removes the priest's simple black mask from his face, until he is holding the other man's very soul in his palm. If the Iron Monarch secretly wishes that it were even possible to consume Margaux in this form, it does not show on his face.

Addressing the mask instead of the body, the Iron Monarch responds, "You have done well to emulate me, young one. Your very essence is preserved, ready and waiting for the final call to Paradise."

"I do not accept your sacrifice."

"Bring me those who have yet to grasp my divinity. Outsiders still lost in the dark, waiting for my saving touch. I demand the talented schemers, the magically gifted, and the martially proficient. Let me absorb their skills so that one day I might more aptly carry your soul to beyond."

Iron Monarch Thalus kneels to reaffix Margaux's mask, staring his deepest devotee in the eyes.

"Do this for me, Alexandre, and you shall be the First to reach Paradise. This I Promise."

Margaux, newly christened as the First Promise, leaves the audience chamber to disperse the word and will of his god with a lurid, fervent light in his eyes and a manic, contagious energy.

The Promises have been founded, and they are coming for you.

Edited March 1 by aerin13 (see edit history)

[aerin13]

The Deck So Far

1. The Magician

The Magician

Round 2

Doomweaver Thalus of the Sorcerers of New Kildora

"Someone always capable of rebuilding themself can never be kept down."

5. The Hierophant

The Hierophant

Round 3

Mortimer Red of the Arkhive Æternal

"Knowledge that shines through to attract pupils like moths bees to a flame."

13. Death

Death

Round 1

Nathan L'Othaire of the Iron Masquerade

"Transformation so complete you are left unrecognizable."

 

15. The Devil

 

 

 

 

 

The Devil

Round 5

Karla Marrone of the Fiorid Principality of Verdalfheim

"The worst villains live inside us."

 

19. The Sun

 

 

 

The Sun

Round 4

Odo Intanran of the Cloudburst Confederation

"In the clear daylight, you can see the truth with unbiased eyes."

Edited April 6 by aerin13 (see edit history)