Loshova, the Mark of Ashan
Contents
The Blessing of Loshova
Ashan is often reluctant to pass his mark onto mortals, believing the powers shackle his followers to himself and therefore rob them of the freedom he wishes them to express. Most often he leaves his marks on those he meets as he passes through Eastern Idalos, preferring to search for mortals of strong will and deep spiritual connection. Those that he marks are never called upon to enact his will, nor ever given any true direction after being given their mark; Ashan prefers to give them freedom to choose how to work as they wish, watching from afar. He does seem to have a small bias towards Sev'ryn and Biqaj, mostly because of the relationship he shares with their related Immortals. Avriel are almost never marked because of their enslaving and conquesting nature, although the occasional few who prove that they have broken away from the beliefs of the rest of their race have been seen bearing his mark.
Loshova's mark appears as a bright tattoo of colourful wild flowers bunched together that spreads from the top of the left hip. They carry with them the unmistakable fragrance of real wild flowers and as the mark progresses, more flowers of different species are added to the bunch, making the tattoo spread up the left side of the ribcage and reaching all the way up to the armpit. Small birds, bees and other insects develop over time and although these tattoos differ between the marked, they always carry a distinct fragrance of wild flowers and pollen that is always noticeable, even through layers of perfume.
Favored
| Ability Name | Ability Description |
|---|---|
| Springbringer Skills I | The character is granted an extra three skill points which may be spent only on the following skills: Meditation, Dancing, Medicine or Gardening. Any skill points granted by this Mark can break the 250 (or 100 if fast track) point cap on skills. Within these skills, the points may be spent how the pc chooses. |
| Spirit Cloak (Minor) | The Favored has the ability to entice a basic spirit of concept into a partnership. The Loshova takes this spirit around their person and has it attached to their soul. The spirit must willingly agree to this and can be released at any time. While the spirit is attached, it can feed off the ambient energies of the Loshova rather than its concept, keeping it strong. The Loshova benefits from a small resistance from the concept and the ability to sense it without hearing or seeing it around them. |
| Peer Through The Pool | A basic ability given to the Loshova at early levels, Peer through the Pool allows a Loshova to look into the Beneath and see the spirits and souls within. While this does not allow them to interact with them, exactly, they can hear and see the activities through the barrier between worlds. Sometimes this can be instructive, as spirits of pain and torture lingering in a location might identify it as a place hiding a dark secret. Beings in the Beneath are only loosely aware of those in the physical world, but when this ability is used the user becomes as clear to them as they are to him/her. This ability also allows a Loshova to instinctively guess the nature or purview of each spirit they see. |
| Ephemeral Sustenance | The Loshova gains the ability to feed as spirits do, by immersing themselves within the concept of whichever spirit is bound to their soul. While this will never completely replace the need of food and water, it allows a Loshova to survive with very little physical sustenance so long as they have an abundance of concept to surround themselves with. |
| Spring's Bounty | The Loshova brings new life wherever they go. In the cities and towns in which they stay longer than a season, the crops will grow at an unprecedented rate. Life explodes around the Ashan Blessed, following them even into the cold of Cylus. Places they have dwelt longer than a few trials begin to show signs of their passage. Flowers, shoots, vines, and roots grow exponentially in the area closest to where they rest. While this power is muted in the colder months, it is far from absent. Even Tunawa can benefit from this aura, healing their bodies much swifter when in the presence of a Loshova. |
| Broken Shackles (Minor) | A Loshova must be free. To protect freedom and those oppressed is a creed they take to heart. This ability imparts some of that mission onto their being. A Loshova can never be bound with simple restraints. Knots will untie, hooks will unclasp, and simple manacles will spring open. If the restraint purpose is to restrict the Loshova’s personal movement and does not include a lock of complex design, the Loshova can free themselves whenever they desire |
| Verdant Protection | The Loshova is protected by the new life they bring. All that is verdant and green bends to give them safe haven. During the spring seasons, a Loshova will suffer no discomfort sleeping in a forest. In every other season, plants rise to protect the blessed. Roots curl around the feet of attackers, acorns drop from above, clouds of pollen and seeds blow to obscure an attacker’s gaze. Even the trees themselves will bend and creak to put themselves between the marked and their enemies. While the plants are by no means quick, this power can prove incredibly difficult to overcome when summoned in a forest. |
| Spring's Eternal Renewal | All the death of winter is banished by Spring. When the season calls forth shoots and life from every burrow and hill, it is difficult to deny the rejuvenating power of Spring. A Favored of Ashan given this blessing will always heal twice as fast as any other member of their race during the Spring and Summer seasons but half as fast during Fall and Winter. This renewal can be granted to anyone the Loshova touches and persists for as long as they are in contact with the mortal, ending when contact is broken. Many Loshova use this to stabilize those at the brink of death and to treat illnesses and grievous injuries. |
| Dire Rejuvenation | The final ability of a favored Loshova is the ability to renew themselves through adversity. Once per two trials, the Loshova can renew their stores of energy and rejuvenate both their minds and muscles as if they’d had a full eight hours of rest. This ability is impressively useful to any Loshova in a particularly hard job or in the midst of a series of physical or mental challenges. For two trials after this ability is used, the Loshova will feel groggy no matter how much sleep they choose to get and easily tire. The only way to avoid this is to sleep for nearly an entire trial afterward in order to rejuvenate the stress this puts on the body. |
Adored
| Ability Name | Ability Description |
|---|---|
| Spirit Cloak (Moderate) | At this level, a Loshova can invite a second spirit to enter into a partnership with the Adored. The effects of both spirits stack. In addition, a Loshova’s companions impart minor manipulations of their concept to the Adored. While the Adored cannot truly manipulate the concept in the way the spirit does, minor phenomenon are possible and encouraged between them, as they come into greater understanding of each other. When a bond is broken, a Loshova must wait for half a Cycle in order to engage in another spiritual bond. At this stage, protection from the spirit’s concept increased to a moderate level. |
| SpringBringer Skills II | The character is granted an extra six skill points which may be spent only on the following skills: Meditation, Dancing, Medicine or Gardening. Any skill points granted by this Mark can break the 250 (or 100 if fast track) point cap on skills. Within these skills, the points may be spent how the pc chooses. |
| Ashan's Cognizance | By meditating within a forest or among life, the blessed is able to share their senses with their surroundings. They feel the grass and those who tread upon it, smell those that pass the flowers and see through the eyes of the small rabbits, birds and insects that populate the area around them. This range only affects a half mile in radius around the Blessed, but it is usually more than enough to get a lay of the land and what lies ahead for them through the trees. |
| Broken Shackles (Moderate) | At this level, Broken Shackles evolves. No longer can even the most complex locks restrain a Loshova’s personal movement. Even magical binding will slip around them and dispel. A Loshova can choose to be bound or not as they desire. At this level, however, that freedom extends to their area as well. If a Loshova would ever be imprisoned in a pit, a cell, or a room that restricts their environment...they will find there is always a way to escape. The bars will rust, allowing them to break free, the well walls will sprout handholds allowing them to climb out. A Loshova of this level cannot be bound or sealed. While this blessing does not apply to grappling or the tangle of organic beings, any non-sentient environment limiting or person limiting restraint can be escaped. |
| Possession | Normally, when a spirit possesses a person, this process is often painful for both the spirit and the host, and prolonged possession can be harmful for both parties, causing physical mutations and mental damage. However, at this stage, the Loshova’s body is able to attune itself to a spirit and allow that spirit to possess their body while numbing many of the short-term negative effects. The Loshova and the spirit will both hold equal amounts of power over the movement of all limbs in the Loshova’s body, and in return, the Loshova and the spirit will have equal control over the ability to manipulate the concept of the spirit; therefore holding a symbiotic relationship. Long-term possession will still lead to mutation and damage, however. This is not effective on souls or particularly powerful spirits |
| Freedom's Touch | An ability designed to battle against the accursed Necromancers of the world, Freedom’s Touch requires only that a Loshova lay a hand on a a Necromancer’s thrall, which then falls limp. While control can easily be re-cast, a Loshova using this ability is a bane against the enslavers and thrall-makers of the Idalosian world. At this level, thralls of a competent and lower mage can be interrupted. When reaching Exalted, so does the Loshova’s ability to effect the thralls of masters and experts. Those thralls with an internal well will only temporarily be rendered inert but quickly reassert themselves, outside the necromancers control. Note that freeing a Thralled minion does not guarantee safety. Furious or dangerous creatures have been known to tear the Loshova to threads anyways. A Champion of Loshova can interrupt even the creations of Legendary Necromancers. |
| Ephemeral Weapon | Often a Loshova will find themselves in a dangerous situation. Sometimes to free others, one must destroy oppressors and even defend onseself. This ability allows the Loshova to form a melee weapon of their choice from ephemera and manifest it in the physical world. This weapon, for all intents and purposes, is a match for any well crafted weapon at its level. The difference is that this weapon is impressively effective against spirits and souls. While souls cannot die, they can be stripped of their ectoplasm, effectively neutralizing their power to manifest and use their abilities. A spirit can be harmed by this blade as well...and sometimes depending on how the spirit and mortal world clashes, the Loshova may be expected to intervene. This weapon takes on an ethereal appearance, glowing faintly in low light. |
| Heal the Land | Ashan promises a renewal of life, a rejuvenation of weary or injured. Heal the Land is an ability granted to an Adored of Ashan to bring relief to those places darkened by Blight and destruction. A Loshova must stay in an area for at least three trials for this ability to work, running their hands through the soil or surfaces and shedding their own blood upon the ground. So long as this is done, any area decimated by fire or blight or even salted earth will renew itself and grow a great profusion of plant life. The life will be appropriate for the foliage of the area, unless the Ashan also plants seeds as they do this...in which case the seeds will grow. Unlike Spring’s Bounty, this ability can turn an area without plant life into a jungle as the power of this ability lingers long after the Ashan has left. For the reminder of the Cycle and the Arc after, plants will grow at nearly four times the rate they would anywhere else. This area can stretch as far as a mile but a Loshova is only capable of using this ability once a Cycle. Any Loshova who comes across this area will know it was grown from Ashan’s blessing and so long as they stay within that area, they will be protected against any of the natural creatures or plants that make it their home. |
| Ephemeral Soul | An Adored Loshova with this ability becomes capable of producing ephemera. Ephemera is a cousin to Ectoplasm although charged less with emotional output and more with ones own spiritual vitality. The Loshova can generate this Ephemera to heal spirits or even lure them from the Beneath for a meal. The general ephemera that a Loshova produces can be consumed in lieu of Concept by such spirits who will often congregate around a Loshova making use of this ability. Unlike most other mark abilities, this power draws directly from the Loshova so while they are able to produce it, they will become more exhausted and drawn as time goes on. Healing a badly damaged spirit would make a Loshova frail for the next trial or so, depending on the severity of the damage...much quicker to catch a sickness or for their bones to break. Using Ephemera for luring is less costly, but the more produced can have similar effects. Likewise, the Ephemeral weapon can be lengthened or even re-forged if damaged by producing the ephemera necessary to repair it. |
Exalted
| Ability Name | Ability Description |
|---|---|
| Spirit Cloak (Major) | The Exalted Loshova experiences a third spirit binding to their soul in mutual protection. Along with a third spirit, a Loshova becomes strongly protected against all three spirits’ concepts and capable of moderate phenomenon associated with the spirit bonded to them. These spirits will follow the Loshova to their own destruction if necessary, and the bond between marked and spirit grows stronger still. |
| SpringBringer Skills III | The character is granted an extra nine skill points which may be spent only on the following skills: Meditation, Dancing, Medicine or Gardening. Any skill points granted by this Mark can break the 250 (or 100 if fast track) point cap on skills. Within these skills, the points may be spent how the pc chooses. |
| On the Back of the Wind | A Loshova with this devotion is capable of flight. While not true, directed flight, the Loshova can temporarily make their body weightless to allow themselves to be carried by the wind. Any items on them or those they are in contact with will also be given this weightlessness and be dragged up into the bosom of a wind gust. Should the Loshova ever let go of this individual, their weight will reassert itself and they will fall from whatever height they are at. The Loshova can only carry someone with them on the wind that wants to go with them. When a Loshova wishes to end the ability they will gently flutter back to earth. This allows a Loshova to fall from nearly any distance unharmed and to travel across great distances on the back of the wind. This ability cannot be used more than twice a trial and any lapse of consciousness will end this ability, no matter where the Loshova is. |
| Begone | This ability is fairly simple but immense in use and application. An exalted of Ashan is trusted with the power to command the spirits as if they were beholden to the marked. A Loshova can banish almost any spirit from the world and back into the Beneath, whether it be possessing or manifesting. This ability rends ephemera when activated and must be initiated with touch. A spirit banished in such a way will not be able to manifest or possess again for at least a few Trials if not more. This power is not effective on the most ancient of Anak and many Induk, as they are too powerful for even an Exalted to handle. Only a Champion of Loshova has the power to banish such powerful spirits. Likewise this ability does not extend to spirits bound to other Loshova or other marked, although those spirits would certainly strongly resist facing the Loshova in open defiance. Souls and Familiars are exempt from this power. |
| Vergence Walk | Some spirits are capable of crossing through a vergence to manifest within the mortal world. This ability allows a Loshova to do the opposite and cross over to the Beneath. An Adored will meditate first, putting their mind into a state that they can handle the journey and then create their own Vergence. Anyone who is physically touching the Adored can walk with the Adored into the Beneath, but they will need the Adored to get out. Unlike other abilities to access the Beneath, this ability masks the Loshova and guests in the guise of spirits. While not specifically of any concept, the Loshova and guests will not attract attention from souls and spirits within the Beneath. Instead, they may find the denizens of the Beneath are more likely to interact favorably to them. A Loshova enters the Beneath to understand, usually, and to physically inspect and even correct any troubles that crop up in the world beyond mortals. With meditation, a Loshova can return at any time to the physical world, creating another short lived Vergence to exit. |
| Green Slumber | Green Slumber is an ability inspired by Moseke. When grievously wounded, a Loshova can forgo death and put themselves into a deep healing slumber. This must be on fertile soil as they root their feet into the ground. Within the next few moments, the Loshova will twist and gnarl into a tree. During the warm months, this will allow a Loshova to heal from nearly any wound inflicted on them, taking an entire cycle to finish (depending on the severity of the injury). While in this state, the Loshova’s spirit wanders Emea from their body but are capable of telepathically communicating with those who find shelter beneath the trees boughs. Should the tree be destroyed while the Loshova slumbers, they will perish. Their body will never return to their original state. |
| Spark Bane | One of the most powerful abilities a Loshova is granted stems from Ashan’s deep hatred of Domain magic and the sparks that infect souls to make it possible. This ability works similarly to Freedom’s touch, only that it targets the mage rather than its creations. SparkBane temporarily disconnects the Spark’s access to a mage’s ether connection, rendering a mage unable to utilize domain magic. The moment this ability manifests (and it must be done by touch), all mutations and overstepping consequences immediately vanish. The mage will be unable to cast magic again for a single trial. In order to do this, the Loshova locks away all Exalted and Champion abilities for as long as the mage is unable to cast magic. Each trial this touch and ability must be renewed or domain magic will reassert itself, with all penalties and mutations intact. This ability is not effective on Revealed mages as their soul is one with the spark, it will only work on any magic that is not tied to the mage’s revealed form. This does not prevent a mage from using magical items, only from casting magic themselves. Likewise this ability does not affect or target marked abilities. |
Champion
| Ability Name | Ability Description |
|---|---|
| Induk Regalia | Induk Regalia requires the ancient language to activate and bestows a special mantle of Ephemera upon the Champion of Ashan. This mantle lasts for a trial and cannot be used more than once a Cycle. Most spirits view Immortals as Induk, powerful spirits that denote respect. Induk Regalia will make the Loshova appear as an Induk to any spirit they encounter. Other Induk will be more willing to do favors for them and lesser spirits of all kinds will obey the commands of the Loshova without question. Loshova have made use of this ability to cause great change or even avert cataclysm by commanding such spirits into slumber or away from the area. Induk Regalia overrides known magic and might even force a mage to feel more favorable or compliant to a Loshova using this ability. Even souls are inclined to listen to the commands of the Loshova in this form. This ability cannot be interrupted or dispelled unless by Ashan or the user. |
| Fountain of Youth | A power wielded only by the Champion of Ashan, requiring the ancient tongue to activate, the blessed is able to restore the vitality of an individual in full. The intended recipient will be reformed and reverted back to a previous age of the blessed's choosing, able to stretch back as far as infancy if one so wishes. As they are reverted, their memories can be retained, if the blessed so chooses, however these memories will return through dreams and flashes. Conversely, the memories of their previous life can also be wiped clean, creating a new slate. This means that this ability can be used both for good, giving those plagued by disease or a poor a new start to their life, a second chance - or against evil, by reverting a cold-hearted killer back to their earliest days of childhood, giving them a chance to be raised as upstanding members of society. This ability is very taxing on the individual and the blessed, requiring a Cycle before this ability can be used again. For small uses of this ability (5-10 arcs) a Champion will only need to rest for several trials. |
The Curse of Loshova
| Those despised by Ashan have often set fire to the forests that he wanders through, wantonly damaged and defaced all those touched by Spring, are mages (especially Necromancers) or worst of all, enslaved their fellow man. The mark appears as a bouquet of dying flowers that carry with them a stench of death and rotting. The bouquet begins curling up from the wrists to wrap around the arms and spill onto their body. As the curse becomes worse, more dead flowers will appear, creating a scent that registers to others as unsettling, even if they can’t put a finger on why. |
Hated
The Cursed who earn Ashan’s ire find themselves cut away from the spiritual world. If the Cursed is a Sev'ryn they immediately lose their Familiar, unable to bond or retrieve it till the curse is lifted. All spirits flee in the wake of the Cursed. A Cursed of Ashan is a Blight upon the spiritual world and a destroyer of both Ephemera and Ectoplasm. Ghosts will avoid all confrontations with a cursed. No spiritual ability in any mark will work with a cursed of Loshova and those with spiritual bonds of any kind will find the very presence of a Cursed unbearable. In addition, the Cursed mark plants a seed in the body of the Cursed. Until the Curse is lifted, painful shoots of vines and leaves will bloodlessly pierce the skin and flower at random intervals. A Cursed will find during Cylus their metabolism slows considerably and they slumber longer. For Tunawa or other plant-based races, they find their growth uncontrollable and in strange places. Extra, inoperable limbs roots, and even featureless heads will grow randomly, wither and die.
Despised
The Despised of Ashan finally flowers, becoming a new kind of being entirely. The seed the Immortal planted within them will fully form in their body. They will no longer require food but instead sunlight and water as all plants. When they sleep their bodies will root to the dirt to give them rest and rejuvenation. Their bodies tend to mimic the natural flora of the area they're in, changing within a few trials of them being in a new location. Flowers, moss, and bark grow across their features all but erasing the identity of what they used to appear as. A Despised of Ashan flourishes life where it passes, despite its best efforts and regenerates as a plant does. A Tunawa unfortunate enough to be cursed in this way finds the opposite. Their bark will turn to flesh and their special abilities will fade, leaving them with a body more animal than plant.
Condemned
The Condemned is not a curse that Ashan bestows often. Much like some other curse marks, the Condemnation of Loshova causes great calamity for everyone around the Condemned. Rather than repelling spirits, the Condemned will become an untapped engine of Ephemera, drawing all spirits around them in a mindless feeding frenzy. The repelling effect of the Hated fades entirely, leaving only this startlingly powerful curse. It doesn’t take long for cataclysm and mayhem to explode around the Condemned, which is often fatal for them. Induk will seek to imprison them as a feeding source and spirits will gnaw and fight at each other for a chance to feed around the Condemned. Ashan makes use of this mark when he wants to punish a community or a group of people rather than a single person. The Condemned is only a means to an end, a herald of Ashan’s displeasure.
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