Ethaefal Race Rewrite

[S'Essy]

You are doing a very good job! I like the new write ups, just a few question.s(Maybe obvious ones) So their horns are incredible powerful and pretty and those who hunt them for their horns, get cursed by the Ethaefal's patron deity. How about a Forsaken Ethaefal? Their horns worth as much too? And do their patron deity would curse the hunter if they try to collect the Forsaken's horns? I imagine not since they turned away from their own gods, but I'm curious.

[Caelum]

Great questions, S'Essy. I'll make sure to address them either in the horn section or in the section that I intend to have devoted to the Forsaken.

[Caelum]

Alright, guys. Here’s another excerpt. This one I love because 1) I’m a hopeless romantic and 2) I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m not entirely sure, though, if it is either too silly or too preposterous an ability. Think about it and get back to me on whether or not you think I should include it in the Peer Review. Syna and Leth are two of the most famous lovers in the Mizahar pantheon. As such, their Ethaefal have inherited an unique ability to make a request of Fate. Once during the course of an Ethaefalen lifetime, the Ethaefal may name a person to whom they wish to be tied throughout their lifetimes. Though this is most commonly a lover, they have been known to name children and beloved friends as well. Once chosen, the lovers may reincarnate into any role. It is anathema to consider naming someone for ill purposes such as continued revenge and should an Ethaefal do so anyway it is highly unlikely to succeed. The ultimate decision, however, belongs to Lhex. As Ethaefal are immortal, this means that it is possible for them to meet their lovers time and time again as their lovers die and are reincarnated into new lives. If an Ethaefal dies before their named lover they will be born or fall near or somehow in connection to that lover. This occurs when the Ethaefal is either reincarnated or falls again following a second or third ascension. An Ethaefal can do this once per lifetime. A lover only has to be named once to be tied to the Ethaefal eternally. If different lovers are named in different lifetimes, both lovers will be tied, et cetera. Only an Ethaefal in an Ethaefal lifetime has this ability. They cannot name a lover in a reincarnated mortal life though they may be tied to a past lover in one. The chosen lover must be alive at time of naming. To name a lover and make a request of Fate, an Ethaefal gifts a fragment from one of their horns to this person. (This is the only time in which an Ethaefal horn can be made into pieces. They are otherwise impossible to crack, chip, break, or shatter by any method or means including magical ones.) There exists a slightly raised ring on one of the ethaefal horns. To remove it from the whole, the Ethaefal must state their request clearly to Lhex. If accepted, the ring will then be capable of being removed and slid off the end of the horn. The ring is gifted to the Ethaefal’s chosen lover who must accept it in full understanding and of their own free will. The horn ring is commonly worn or carried by the lover from that point forward and it will continue to change colors with the seasons. It will not disappear during the time of the Ethaefal’s mortal seeming and it will not reincarnate with the lover. It will survive the Ethaefal’s death but at that time cease to change colors with the seasons as all horns do following death. Anyone not the chosen lover who finds themselves in possession of an Ethaefal horn ring for whatever reason will not possess the fateful tie to them.

[Raus]

A question about the horn ring thingy.

Would a person with some magical abilities. (divination gnosis, dreamwalking, auristics, etc.) Be able to divine information about the eth and/or his bound person with his abilities if that person managed to get his hands on one of those rings. They seem to be very connected to both.

Could they be made into malediction items of some sort to act as beacon towards the eth or his bound person?

Also, this might just be my inner cynic talking, Is it a two way thing? As in do both people need to agree with the request? I mean, love or affection isn't always requited or even eternal. And I can see a griefstricken or slightly unhinged eth try to keep somebody he or she loves with them forever by using that bond thingy. If the request goes through. (which it might, since lhex seems to be unpredictable about such things.) then it's like having a stalker for the rest of your souls existence O_O

Also, can this bond be broken?

Also, do reincarnated 'lovers' or siblings feel something to the eth they're bonded to? I was under the impression that past lives are very hard to remember. With the memories burried deep within the soulcore. WIth something called reminisience being needed to delve deeper into them. I don't think identities and personalities are completley the same as their previous re-incarnations. Though I have no clue on that exactly.

Would rather be sucky for the eth to constantly see thier loved ones but to come to the conclusion not do they don't remember them at all. They aren't even the same person.

[Khida]

The gift of the ring to the significant other doesn't quite make sense to me. Not in principle, but because this other person is being tied to the Ethaefal throughout their future incarnations -- but the ring itself doesn't come back with the other, or apparently find its way back to them, or have anything to do with their future incarnations whatsoever that I can discern in this text. So then what does the ring matter, if it has no connection with the future incarnations when those incarnations are just as tied to the Ethaefal as the first life? Also, this kind of tie seems to me like it would also come under the domain of Cheva. It is a vow, after all, basically a 'marriage' (whether in the traditional sense or not) that lasts multiple lifetimes. So does she recognize or honor it in some way? To echo Raus, it also seems to me that there should be a way to sever the tie, esp. as a mortal's incarnations accumulate. Particularly, as the mortal goes on through incarnations, they may diverge and strain the tie...

[Caelum]

Great questions. Gah, all of you are so good at this. It’s phenomenal. 1 – Yes. Someone with Dreamwalking, Divination, Auristics, or Lykata could absolutely gain some info from these horn rings. What and how though depends on the magic used and the wielder. 2 – I think the chosen lover would need to accept the gift of the ring of their free will for it to work. Otherwise it’s not being done in worthy emulation of Syn and Leth’s relationship. 3 – I actually added a bit already that I think successfully answers your remaining questions. What I added is: “It is important to remember that pain may very well be part of the process. If the Ethaefal wants to stay with a person badly enough to ask Fate, then they put up with the potential pain of not being remembered, or not loved, or maybe even being set up somehow in opposition to each other. And vice versa. It’s not guaranteed that an Ethaefal will clearly remember their previously chosen lover in a new life either.” I need to consider the ring, Chevas, and ability to break the tie. Definitely. Hm. I think what I really want to know is do you feel like the idea is good enough to work until it's right for the article or that the whole concept doesn't hold enough water to fit?

[Pisces]

Horn ring. I love it.

Would it be obvious to anyone that the Ethaefal is missing the horn ring or does it blend in with the rest of the horn? It'd be cool if it appeared to be edged in silver or gold depending on the deity, but that's just me.

[Khida]

I think the idea is interesting. I could see a mechanism like this being provided to the Ethaefal as a sort of constancy to offset their potentially enduring through changing times and changing generations. I can see the giving up of a piece of horn as being a sacrifice, and the ring itself as representing the commitment, maybe with a blessing from Cheva being involved as well. Another point I think this idea might be a little flimsy on is the enduring across incarnations, as nothing else really explicitly does, not even when it's divinely granted (e.g. gnosis marks, Chevas marks). I would posit that they are literally bound through the horn ring -- it's not just symbolic, it is the embodiment of the connection. The tie persists across lives because the ring persists, and the ring persists because it is made from Ethaefal horn. That also makes of the ring a weakness, if it is lost, gets into the hands of a Maledictor, etc. -- which offers more interesting plot potential than it does as a basically sentimental item. And perhaps, unlike the horns it came from, the ring can be deliberately broken by the intentional act of either person -- i.e. if the Ethaefal or the significant other takes a hammer to the ring, with the intent of severing the tie, the ring is cleaved and the bond with it. ETA: Also, personally, I don't think the ring should be an "add-on" to the Ethaefal's horns. I think that in order to create the ring, they should be willing to 'damage' their otherwise divinely perfect horns. In which case it could be visually apparent they'd given it up, because the horns wouldn't match.

[Caelum]

Fish, thank you. Khida, you are a genius. You managed to exactly put together what I was struggling to. I'm going to take your whole idea and put it in. I might include some aspect of the ring being a focus for recovering some memory to the eth and-or their chosen of each other.

[Khida]

Glad to be of help. Now I rather want to see an Ethaefal and significant other who have fallen out, but also lost their ring a lifetime or three ago and have to work together to recover it in order to sever the tie.