Archaeons

Archaeon is the title held by the leader of a Kith. These powerful Outsiders either created or inherited their Kith. An Archaeon holds dominion over anyone within their Kith through the formation of Kith Pacts. These Pacts allow for anyone who joins into the Kith to share in the Archaeon's Presence. By nature, an Archaeon is exceptionally strong and should be considered a Tier at the very heights of Ebon.

Feuding between The Four Kiths is common. There is a limited amount of Presence naturally in this Unreality. While an Archaeon is able to foster small amounts of newly manifested Presence through the creation of new Pacts, there is still a danger in this limited supply. Hostility between those of different Kiths is very common both because of the limited amount of Presence to be found in the world, and drastically different ideologies.

History
Originally a non-sapient collection of worms, over countless eons trapped in Unreality, these tiny souls bound together and shaped into something stronger. Gaining Presence and a true Sense of Self, a being formed out of these many. Over the ages, this being has grown very strong, gathering and fostering her strength.

Eldest of The Four, Nana Bosa has been around long enough to see other Kiths swell in power and Fade Away to nothing but a memory. As she grew in strength, The Hive formed around her.

Description
Generally, Nana Bosa favors smaller, even demur appearances. But with a shape composed entirely of worms, she is able to freely alter her appearance at will almost instantly. The shape she appears in changes with a great deal of frequency, often depending only upon the tone of a conversation. These shapes usually vary from one interaction to another.

She has other times been shown to create multiple bodies at once, operating them simultaneously as a show of strength (though the more shapes coexisting at once, the smaller they tend to be). With a body made up entirely of worms, she is easily able to reform damaged parts of herself or alter her shape to best suit a situation. Easy to injure, but nearly impossible to destroy, Nana Bosa will simply reshape herself back whole after any injury.

Personality
Little is known about Nana Bosa herself, but while she doesn't often appear openly, her influence can be seen throughout the corners of Unreality. It's also widely known that individual worms from her form can be found in many places. Even separate from her body, these individual parts communicate with the Archaeon and can see, smell, hear and feel for her. Harming these worms is ill advised. Consumption of them even more so.

From what appearances she has made, The Queen of Worms has been shown to be restless and flighty, with interest shifting drastically and suddenly. Whether intentional or not, she tends to imitate the personality and mannerisms of the shape she's taken on. Regardless of her current demeanor or appearance, she is extremely deceptive with desires changing on a whim.

History
Quell is many within one; an entity which slipped between the fabric of reality from a dead world barren by their own hand only. Weary of ceaseless solitude brought on by their own actions, Quell began to meld together with the weak and weary found wandering the landscape of Unreality. In doing this, this ancient being came to know the small and the physical.

Description
Quell is many in one. The formation of The Covenant -- and the Kith Pacts created to enter into it -- are an extension of this. It is considered of utmost glory within this Kith to raise in ranks high enough to be allowed to become a part of the Archaeon.

Having joined with creatures of physical form and shape, this being that began as an something immaterial came to know flesh. Something of an obsession with the physical body and form developed in Quell. This obsession can be openly seen in the construction of Thrones and Sanctuary with viscera-sewn tapestries and twisted columns of living sinew.

Now with a physical shape, their appearance is strikingly human, though willowy tall and with a face often shrouded. While this appearance is mostly static, beneath the shroud their face alters and changes as do the personalities bubbling up to the surface beneath. These changes can be sudden, drastic, and incomplete.

Personality
While there are many voices and personalities within The Vessel, much of what can be spoken to are the first who joined with it. These voices speak louder than the rest and their desires, histories and traits flavor most things about Quell.

The Maiden
The first found by The Vessel, a mortal girl wandered lost in a realm of nothing. Nearly Faded completely, Quell allowed her the choice to freely merge into the great beings self rather than cease existing entirely. The Maiden's voice is loudest and strongest within The Vessel. Her soft words and tender care can be seen in the Archaeon's concern to any in her fold.

The Priest
A haggard priest found himself adrift on an endless sea. As years passed, the ocean ebbed onward into an empty horizon, and though he felt nothing of hunger of exhaustion, this endless journey was now simply purgatory. Found by The Vessel, he eagerly merged with this otherworld entity rather than continue forever onward. The Priest's voice can be seen in the creations of Quell within Sanctuary's hallowed halls, billowing incense and stained windows, as well as his guidance and teaching, and strict devotion to the spiritual.

The Beast
An creature found injured and alone, Quell gathered this wounded beast upon the brink of death. The best does not speak as it never had a voice to speak with, though its influence may still be seen in The Vessel in the utter intensity of issued discipline through Versing, as well as bitter retribution to broken fealty.

The Many
Many others have been welcome into the being that is Quell. Their knowledge, desires, hopes, histories, and ambitions find their place in The Vessel, though their voices are mixed and muddled. These voices may ring out at some times stronger than others, but rarely as something separate.

History
Ages past, Metis found her way forced into The Veil through an unfortunate Pact with Vim, the current Lord Inheritor and Archaeon of The Veil. Attending directly to the whims of her Keeper, Metis learned to play the role she had been forced into. As her Keeper stretched himself thin, growing lazy and taking increasingly more Pact Bonds without paying heed to those watching his inattention, Metis struck suddenly.

Having grown in esteem and Presence among The Veil, admiration cultivated for her beyond that of her inattentive Keeper. Metis tricked the Vim into sharing with her his heart. Metis devoured it and, with it, the Presence he held. Casting her Keeper aside, she took upon herself the role of Inheritor Archaeon of The Veil.

Despite having begun in shackles herself, rather than dismantle the strict Caste System, Metis instead tightened the hold of it and made it far more difficult to raise upward. Having seen the folly of her fallen Keeper in her own betrayal, Metis endeavored to keep this from happening to her.

Description
Metis alters her shape, appearing either as a young woman or large feline.

Metis is most often a deeply beautiful woman of voluptuously build, often seen in elaborate vestments of extremely fine make. Her pale eyes are a stark contrast against dark skin, though like many of the highest within The Veil, her face is often hidden from view behind an ornate mask.

Personality
Metis is irritable and possesses a bad temper, though this is often obscured intentionally to the face of those who have gathered her fury. The Archaeon can be incredibly cunning, conniving, and despite keeping close council with many of the elevated members of her Kith, doesn't appear to trust any of them.

Desiring things beautiful and sensual, Metis has further shaped The Veil to further embody her hedonistic urges. While under her past Keeper, Vim, The Veil was a place of opulence and open sexual escapades, this has grown increasingly more dominant.

History
Professor Effie Hurston found her way beyond the boundaries of reality without intention...though she was seeking knowledge. Both a student and educator, Hurston held deep fascination with the unexplainable and anomalous. Her odd scholarly pursuits were enough to hinder upward traction in her career as they were seen essentially as pseudoscience. This didn't hinder her academic fascination, though it did hurt her funding.

Following trails which didn't make sense in her efforts to pursuit research into a creature which shouldn't have been possible, Professor Hurston stumbled past the fabric of what was real. Trapped in this place, Hurston spent what might've amounted to eons studying the very nature of it until finally she understood. Over ages trapped here, The Seeming formed out of those who followed her.

Description
Professor Hurston is an older woman, appearing around fifty years of age. Her appearance rarely changes (outside of swapping her exceptionally snazzy outfits, of course). While she has a relatively normal appearance, her eyes glow with an ethereal light and upon close inspection fine cracks line her skin with that same light leaking out.

Originally having lost her way out of reality sometime in the late 1980's somewhere in Wisconsin, the clothes she chooses to manifest and wear suit the era she left behind (big hair, pant suits, baggy sweatshirts, and plastic jewelry, all brightly colored).

Personality
A boisterous presence, Professor Hurston is both extremely talkative and extremely intelligent, openly asserting her whit in a way which can come across as intense. Deeply fascinated at the very nature of existence, she has sought to unravel its secrets at any cost.

While originally human, Hurston's quest for knowledge has greatly altered her. A very long time has passed since she originally slipped into this place, and much of what made up her mortality and humanity long crumbled away to be replaced with something -- something she considers "better". The loss of a life means little to Hurston, who is known to have conducted less than ethical experimentation on people for her own gain.

The Seeming Strip is her creation, built of desire and assembled through sheer force of will. Over time, Professor Hurston has taken many pupils under her wing, enough for this group to have swelled into a true Kith. The formation of The Seeming, while not initially intentional, has aided in Hurston's endeavors to continue unlocking the secrets of this place. While she accepts the role of Archaeon, and willingly offers Kith Pacts, little care is given to those beneath her, and it's openly known that those who cannot pull their weight or learn quick enough in The Seeming are likely to Fade away if Hurston and her Students don't get their hands on them first.

RP Mechanics
The highest position an individual is able to achieve in a Kith is of Emissary. This is considered the upper echelons of any Kith and holds a great amount of standing In-Character, and comes with both IC and OOC Benefits. More than one individual person holds this title, though it is still limited.

Kith Archaeons are not played by individuals. These characters exist as NPCs. Inworld, Storyweavers are able to access inworld bots for each of the Archaeons. These NPCs may be freely referenced or used in character backstories, though they cannot show up in active plotlines without the aid of a Storyweaver.

For more more information on this topic, see NPC Roleplay Guidelines.