Vistra: Magnum and Ultimum
Vistra
When the Cataclysm struck, it left much in its wake. Death, destruction, and a twisted form of life. Beasts, once ordinary, were infected by the energy now rife in the land: a sentient mass of visae which its host contracted not unlike a parasite. The parasites are known as pravum and their hosts, vistra.
Nowadays, vistra are hunted both for the resources they contain, for sport, and for reward. Many lives have been lost to the beasts, and particular ones still roam even decades after the majority of their destruction may have been wrought. It is not uncommon to see those once wronged to desire closure or revenge of some kind.
Care must be taken when slaying a vistra. The pravum will die with its host, so if another suitable host is nearby, the parasite will attempt to 'jump ship' before that happens. This could result in taking other another nearby creature, forcing the hunter to fight another battle... or could even end in the pravum trying to take over the hunter.
Some are considered brave, others foolish, but there are those who invite that attack. Those who survive the battle of wills describe it as battling the true form of the pravum in the landscape of their own mind.
Taming
Taming a pravum is no mere contest. To slay a host alone requires great skill and is often a hard-won battle. Yet this is only the first half of the process to tame the parasitic power. Once the pravum has taken you as a new host, a battle of wills begins. Any writer wishing to obtain their magnum and ultimum must undergo a requisite chapter or collaboration suppressing the will of the pravum.
The process is often violent, as both wills vie for control of the host body, and usually takes the form of a battle in the landscape of the mind against the raw form of the parasite. Win or lose, the hunter becomes a vistra in the end: the only question is whether they become a tool of the parasite or its new master. Those who succeed find themselves in control, and with new power as their trophy.
Magnum
Magnum may be submitted once a Taming is verified. Two abilities slots are afforded to them, each unique to the user. Every vistra displays some physical signs of their possession upon their body, although some are more apparent than others.
Ultimum
When a vistra’s peak has been struck, often the host begins to suffer from a fresh onslaught. In a desire for more power, the parasite attempts to whittle away at the host’s will. In such a case, an ultimum is required. Often vague in nature, an ultimum serves as a modifier to a vistra’s abilities. Amplifying and stabilizing them entirely, the key to a given vistra’s ultimum is often rooted in their original host.
The ultimum must be a trophy taken from a great deed relevant to the vistra's power or original host that serves to command the pravum's respect, reminding it that they, the host, are in charge.
With an ultimum, a vistra gains two more abilities, both unique and more powerful than their original ones.
Ex.
[ Magnum Genesis ]
[ Form ]
Taken from its prior host, Gio, Genesis has replaced the damaged robotic arm of Able's. It is made of the Demvir's diluted Caelitium casing, and is all but unbreakable. A single large gear juts from the shoulder like a pauldron, and whirs madly while Genesis is in use.
[ Alpha ]
Time is an abstract concept, formed into an arbitrary set of circumstances defined by the beings which deigned to monitor it in the first place. Alpha, the first, exists as a loophole. An anomaly. Once per round, Genesis may whir into life, stopping - ever so briefly - time itself.
This affects a 30m radius around Able, and lasts but a brief moment before fading immediately. He is rendered unable to attack during this time, his focus entirely upon creating Alpha. Instead, he may make a single movement for up to 10m in any direction. To those affected, it is as though he has simply teleported, but a keen outside observer may deduce its effect.
[ Omega ]
In times of yore, those with prophetic abilities were praised for their capability to peer into the future. Nowadays, it is thought impossible. Self-proclaimed psychics and peddlers of prophecy are debunked as scammers and cheats. Yet, Omega remains one of the last distinct possibilities for true clairvoyance.
For up to three times in a day, Genesis may grant Able a prophetic vision. The time of the vision may be controlled by Able and extends for up to a 24 hour period, but the further ahead (or behind) he attempts to discern, the longer and more exhausting the process. The placement of the vision is always pertinent to whatever topic Able is occupied with.
[ Ultimum Exodus ]
[ Form ]
Upgraded from its previous casing, Exodus exists as a pair of Vitatium bars strapped vertically down Genesis. Taken from the power core of the airship, Veritas, the rods glow with latent life that spreads to the entirety of Able's arm while Exodus is in use. A pair of emerald wings sprouts, ethereal, from the arm.
[ Psalms ]
Space, and time. Hand in hand, the two are absolutes in the universe, immovable. Not for Exodus. Bending the very fabric of space-time, Able is capable of plucking any single object from an observed point in space-time for up to a 24 hour timezone. The object is moved to present time for a single round, within Able's vicinity (or hand, as the case may be), before being returned to its previous point.
Cheating the universe is no easy feat, however, and once used Chronicles cannot be reactivated for three rounds. Objects in the present time cannot be drawn upon, and to draw any given object requires Able to know its precise location at the given point in time. He is incapable of drawing upon living beings.
[ Chronicles ]
When all else fails, Able must turn to an absolute point: outright time travel. Calling upon the full power of Exodus and Genesis, Able is capable of teleporting his own form back in time for up to 24 hours prior, for a single round. Any actions taken during this brief window of time are permanent, and the process is extremely exhausting, capable of being used only once per week.
Able is unable to control the placement of the travel, and is locked to whatever location he exists in at the time of travel. Once completed, he returns to the same spot he was prior, regardless of distance traveled.
