Vita, Dominus, The Curator - Demvir (Machina)

[broodboy]

Name: Vita, Dominus, The Curator
Age: 95
Race: Demvir (Machina)
Vigor: 2250​

Physical Stature: Underneath his hooded visage is a body scared with slash marks and hateful embossed markings that brand him. Further pushing him to a hermit-like lifestyle or at least it had. Vita stands at an unimposing four feet tall. His cold chassis is in the tone of a muted silver while the light that erupts from his core is a deep crimson red. His face is crafted to look intimating with four inward slanted eyes forever in a look of contempt and disapproval. The cuts in his metal body are all very angular as you can see his soul pour from them. Each digit of his fingers is articulated and usually locked in front of him or behind him like an aristocrat.

Granite black cloth wraps around his body in a sleeveless hoodie most often draped over his head. Red trim embroiders every bit of his garment giving him a very hermit look. Ground length linen pants cover the rest of his body as he has grown fond of loose-fitting garments below the waist. He wears a black bandanna over his mouth to cover his lower jaw from onlookers who might stair at the damage he sustained when he was attacked.


Persona: Vita, much like many Demvir, has a very self-reflective personality. He is philosophic in his approach to life and frames most if not all of his thoughts threw the lens of his belief that his race is Superior. You see, in the eyes of Vita he and his kind were created by the Vis as a means of self-preservation. Foreseeing their own eventual demise through means that still remain a mystery born where the Demvir so that for the rest of time there would be some governance of the world using their ideals.

The Demvir are strong, ageless, and meticulous not allowing emotion to override logic. The perfect specimen for the preservation of the world's systems and in Vita's eyes the best objective viewpoint politically. The disdain that the biological felt toward him and his people twisted his own view of them breeding contempt for who they were and how limitless their own ignorance was.

His personal beliefs aid him in his firm Inlustrian faith. Vita's unwavering temperament that the Demvir were created by the Vis directly placed on the continent to monitor everything in their stead binds him to his core. In the past, his faith has been challenged by those who would argue that the Demvir were simply tools placed to serve but through his own meditation, he is solid in his resolve that he and his kind are far more than mere tools.

These challenges to his faith and his beliefs have only tempered his loyalty to his kind and contempt for all others. This was amplified during the time when he and his people were not recognized as what they are now. The mistrust that seeded his thoughts for biological drove him to learn self-defense and developed his hermit-like behaviors. The lesser races should always approach with respect if simply not for the fact that in his mind he is direct from the Vis themselves and the age at which they all display. His intent one day has the Demvir as an objective third party among the other races as a ruler society with vast control over the tradesman sector. To build a city or a network of cities where the histories and knowledge of the world is shared between all of the races.

Vita takes great pride in his work and holds fast the belief that creating life is the closest the Demvir will get to the Vis, their creators. Machines, Golems, and even taming faie or daemons all seem to align with the means to achieve his goals. He knows that he does not have the diplomatic aptitude to convince others to work for him so having autonomous creations of his own design that he can breathe life into was the path he chose.

Sample Chapter:

With each passing day Vita become more and more aware of his body, surroundings, and inner thoughts. He had no frame of reference for how one person should treat one another especially for how a Laicar should treat a Demvir but, that would change. Life has he had come to know it would be forged in fire and blood, symphonies of screams and and life essence tempered by the will of steel from the metal men.


It did not come with a mild roar but,rather the beating heart of dormant souls that rose from silence and prejudice. For months Vita and a cell of Demvir he had come to call his collective, although no one else referred to each other in those terms, met. At first the meetings were nothing more than how to better serve the people that owned them. A group of misfits though they were the ever growing expansion of their life force began to create microfractures in their current understanding of who they were.


All around them the biological, or bio's as the scared machine would call them, treated each other with respect. At least in the sense of recognizing one another self being.The creatures of the sea, air, and land all held the other in some regard as having a freedom that the other could not argue. The case for him and his kind was not the same. This was not just in the place where he lived but in every city that the various collectives residedin.


The conversations eventually became much more philosophic among the group as self realizations made them aware that the way each of them was treated was unethical. For Vita this was two fold. One, if no one knew where they came from, rumored to be made by the Vis, then why were they treated so poorly? Two, how would he define his own ethics of how to treat the bio's?


Weeks leading up to the revolts the first question puzzled him. He was made from the Vis a fact Vita chose to hold strong. Multiple religions around the world not only agreed on this but, worshiped his very creators. Why would he not be seen as something divine rather than a mere tool to be abused by the very people that took the gifts of the Gods for granted. Biological's were the reason that the world was in the state it was in.


He understood what he must do in order to fix the world. It would take much time but for the lifespan of someone virtually immortal time would seem but a speck. Insignificant only to creatures who did not have the same fortune that the Vis had granted him. Unless proven otherwise the bio's would be treated with the same contempt as the Demvir and mutually the same respect.


His actions soon became unacceptable to Demitry and he planned to dismantle his beloved servant. This aligned itself with the day the Demvir in Casus took the initiative to gain their own freedom. Months had passed with Maximus as he trained Vitain self defense for his uprising against Demitry. Laicar were fragile things and his Master was even more so being the type to fortify his mind instead of his body.


The stench of of lubricants and smoldering metal filled the air of the dimly lit workshop. The glow from the white lamps casting shadows on the wall, Vita's chest opened up revealing every cog for movement and the low blue humm of light that escaped from his core.

”Demitry, will it hurt?”


Vita's eyes blankly stared at the ceiling while he lay on the operating table. His demise lurking in the shadow of his eye encircling him like a blight. Ready to end his short existence at any moment. The pale white man lifted the tinted goggles from his face a ring of char around where they once were. He put down the tools used to pry open the metal machines chest and let out a raspy cough. Peering over his cold slotted eyes he spoke.


”For you, not made of flesh, I do not think weather it hurts matters or not. I will miss you dearly in a way you could not understand. You will become the energy source for my life's work, the greatest honor I can think for you my slave machine.”


Those words cut Vita more than any blade could have. He knew from his conversations with the others that he had so much more to offer. How dare this feeble sac of meat lowerhim to a power source. Never before had Demitry bolted his machine down for he had no reason to, that mistake would be his own undoing.The soft blue light deepened to a dark crimson red as the wheels and sprockets in his chest began to spin wildly.


Vita took took his Master's head into his hands as he pawed at the unforgiving metal. Slowly almost in enjoyment the thick fingers of the metal man began to crush the skull. Hissing from his hands and joints escaped as steam escaped pushing his body into overdrive.


”You are wrong, Laicar.It is you who should feel honored. For too long have I allowed you to shackle myself awareness. No more! I hope the afterlife for you is far more forgiving than if I were to allow you to be my subject. Nofall into darkness so that you might be resurrected in a new life with a more appropriate station, ant.”


The man let out a massive bone chilling shriek as blood sprayed across the facade of Vista. Red trailed down into the cracks of his body showering the metal with his latemaster's life force.


Primal energy erupted from his mouth filling the air with a mighty roar. Born again of blood, the coming battle would forge for him a new place in the world. He yelled at the top of his lungs as the screams of other biological filled the air in the night.


”VITA,” he proclaimed proudly shaking the bits of Laicar from his hands and wrapping his body in black robes. He rushed out the door to the meeting place Maximus told him to go should he survive his rebirth.Satisfied with leaving his life behind and ready to start his next chapter.

 

[broodboy]

The Chronicles of Vita Dominus - The Curator​

​

Biography

For several passes of the moon the only thing Vita could remember was the vast nothingness of the cold around him. Unable to move his thoughts drifted into the abyss that was his developing consciousness. He remembered it fondly, the day he was excavated from his frozen tomb. The morning sun pierced the sheets of ice that robbed him of his freedom showing him the beauty of color for the first time. This is how Vita Dominus was born into the world.

However, that would be the only beauty he would see from the world for a very long time. Unaware of what he was or even who he was the man responsible for his “birth” immediately sold him to a merchant who was interested in his life-giving core. Vita was still very innocent in terms of the world and did not know any better. He took everything he was told for face value. Why should he not, he knew nothing of his past or his people. In the city of Cursus, Demivir were all around but treated much less or the same as he was. Tools, parts, slaves, autonomous workers who would complete a task without question.

His Master, an inventor by the name of Demitry, continuously experimented on his body. Cutting parts of him to examine them and not so expertly fusing them back together leaving most of the metal chassis with a physical history of abuse. Over time this behavior became questionable to Vita and the other Demvir around him. They would talk of how they were treated versus the rest of the races. Slowly word of an uprising took hold. One of the Demivir who Vita regarded highly, Maximus, planted the beliefs for who the young automaton would become.

Vita's own self-awareness took hold along with many others. Maximus taught him a basic hand to hand combat skills taking advantage of his strong exoskeleton. One day, he did the deed, with the screams of death happening all over town Vita murdered his Master claiming his own independence from oppression.

This marked the beginning of what we would now call the Cursus War and an important moment in the history of the Demvir, one that he actually had a hand in. During the countless months of experimentation, the robot did not simply just stare blindly into the void but, chose to absorb the knowledge of his Master which would come to fuel his hand in the war. Although a novice his skills in Alchemy and Enchanting became an asset in the uprising and while not famous his name did whisper around the town as a trusted curator and supplier of armament.

After the flames of freedom settled and the Demvir secure in their position as a race Vita lost himself in work and took a back seat to the developments of the world. He would keep up to date with the news but played no part in it. The creation of the Corcillium was an important step into the Demvir as a governing power. This lead to his belief that the Demivir would need to come together in a much stronger way.

From Cursus he set up a small shop in which he deals in his wears in the front and experiments in his workshop in the back. Ethics play no role in his work and the only driving force in his life is results and the unity of all Demvir. However, he cannot do that without leaving Cursus, this he knows. He prepares silently in the void that is silence.

Week 196: The Fracture (Craft) (Reviewed)

Summary: Once becoming free from him oppressive master Vita was disgusted with the state of current Demvir life. Factions spread across the land like tribes and not as a people. Not a race as he thought they should be. The artificer in him began to research into a method of global communication using Alchemy, Enchanting, and the Arcane arts of which he discovered several people that peeked his fancy. Upon finishing the crafts of a robe and some basic salves he dwelled on who should be his first partnership. Omen a Demvir Expert Enchanter. Professor Seashat, studying a rare phenomenon of creatures able to separate their physical form from their mental form. Goshmal Immortalium, a Velen rumored to have solved immortality and a master Alchemist. Lastly, Halebel, located in the Denuntiares Mountains or the Twins in the North in Hiemis who took on different approaches to natural mana generation

Week 197: The Fracture: Depth or Connection (Reviewed)

Summary: Correspondence with Omen begins to fade as a new Demvir emerges in Vita’s story. Extricus, a Demvir shaped in much the same way Vita began to explain the complicated relationship he and the others share. The young Enchanter learns of the collective knowns as, Suma. Once contacted, Vita’s meditations began to change from daily cataloging to something much more spiritual. Not all was as it seemed in this meditative world Vita had stumbled upon. Time flowed differently and exhaustion was easily found. We are introduced to two new antagonists who seem to be a guiding force for the young Artificer. Just who is the collective, what is their purpose, and why do they seem to be interested in Vita.

[Pc] Week 197: The Fracture: One last Thing (Craft) (Reviewed)

Summary: We peek into the world of Enchantments and the precise detail needed for the crafts to be perfected. Here we watch the long drawn out process of creating Vita’s medium to cast spells with. Something personal to each arcane art practitioners and highly coveted by collectors of such items.

[Ca] Week 200: The Fracture: Amber Forest (Reviewed)

Summary: With growing frustration in his inability to achieve the spiritual state he once did before, Omen pushes Vita to pursue an interesting researcher, an Enlil by the name of Albinon. This was a welcome distraction with the information he was uncovering about the collective. The Phantasmal Fae, a peculiar creature with a unique ability that could be of interest to Vita’s larger goal of a global communication grid. This story takes place in the Amber Forest where serenity lies at the surface of a very deep pond. Not all was as it seemed here in the warm glow of the Autumn leaves. Vita loses his temper with the crazed Enlil but that seemed to be just what the Professor needed. A cold dose of reality.

Week 223: The Fracture: Amber Forest II (Reviewed)

Summary: With nothing but time on his hands the Demvir studied his surroundings as he tried to piece together the puzzle of the Amber Forest. Where was the rest of Albinon’s team? Why was everything so void of use and more importantly, why was there no record of it that he could find? The sleeping Enlil has many questions to answer for when he woke. Time was of the essence when the avian awoke and Vita begrudgingly went to work in studying the planar energies of the forest. His Arcane Eye revealed many curiosities that only left him with more questions about the place. He had started to think of the area as one entity altogether. Quickly, everything Vita learned of the Fae was tossed in the air as new behaviors made him question the research of Professor Albinon. Angered Vita confronts the researcher about the current state of things. Grim.

 

[Vita Dominus]

Skills & Spells

Novice:

School of Castus (The Immaculate)
School of Occultus (The Hidden)
4/4
- Set Fracture -
- Mend -
- Fog -
- Familiar Stranger -
Discipline of Pugilis (The Brawler)

Adept:

Art of Cantatus (The Enchanter)
Art of Alchemia (The Alchemist)

Feats

Arcanist's Eye
Personal Feat​

Vita's logical mind and overly analytical passion to understand the framework of the universe have given him an eye to discern the nature and effect of magical objects and abilities he witnesses, gaining a deeper understanding of how they work. A diffused white glow emanates from a person or item that is infused with or channeling magical energy. Vita can focus on a target, gaining insight on what they possess or are about to use. If magic is predominately from a specific school or plane the glow will tint to a hue indicative of it.

Effect​

Vita has the brain of an artisan, and the arcane is his art. He can see whether a target has a permanent magical effect on them, is carrying enchanted items, or is currently channeling magic: this shows as a faint white glow. Focusing on one target at a time, Vita can read the flow of energy to decipher a spell's nature, determine how many enchanted items a target possesses, or the form and nature such enchantments take.

Equipment

Tome of Universal Formula (D)​

Over the course of long hours of study, Vita has unlocked a deeper understanding of the formulas that the Vis used to construct the world. With precise calculations, he has been able to infuse and impart a deeper more efficient enchanting process into this tome.

The tome is the size of a standard textbook and carries a hefty weight to it. Simple white leather wraps the binding and its pages which are thin like scrita. The edges of the book are tipped with gold and a black matrix of enchanting formula and arcane symbols adorn its cover and backing. The book itself looks a little processed as if created by a novice with some knowledge.

Ability Description:​

The Tome of Universal Formula serves as a catalyst for spells, with the vital elements of the spell Deflector infused into it. The wielder of this catalyst may cast the spell Deflector using its verbal or somatic components, with no cost to Vigor.

Drawing from his studies in mathematics and Sacred Geometry Vita has discovered a universal formula that allows him to utilize residual energies left after a spell has been cast. The sacred symbol of Metatron’s Cube illustrates the basis of negative and positive energy and the study of how energies are transformed. For each spell cast, excess energy which is normally lost is caught within the Cube, condensed, and then bound within the pages of the tome. The tome may hold up to three spells' worth of residual energy. When the tome is filled, Vita may convert the negative energy to positive in order to bypass somatic or verbal components and cast a Novice level spell at its base level.

Effect:​

After at least three spells have been cast using the catalyst, Vita may cast an Intrinsic or Focus spell of Novice tier, at its base level. This spell does not cost Vigor, and bypasses verbal or somatic components.

[Scripta Volant] (C) - Consumable
Alternate Names: Paper Talismans​

Through his study of Alchemy and Enchanting Vita devised a way to embed parchment with enchanted spells and traps making them powerful talismans, drawing inspiration from folklore and customs of the distant island nation of Songen. The specially derived ink is capable of setting a dormant enchantment upon the paper, to be activated at a later time by Vita.

A paper talisman, or ofuda, is a small, rectangular piece of parchment with symbols and an intricate spell matrix drawn onto it in faint grey ink. When activated, the ink first darkens and then begins to glow. A small weight is sealed in one end of the parchment, allowing the talisman to be more easily thrown.

Ability Description:​

The special parchment and ink are designed to be used together, with the particulars to their mixture and activation are known only to Vita. The spell matrix incorporates the elements of a chosen spell, and the ink reacts to an influx of the machina's will and vigor, activating the stored spell enchantment on the fly.

Effect:​

Each talisman stores a single prepared spell, awaiting activation by Vita. The activated talisman acts as a single-use Trap Enchantment. The spell used must be one which Vita can personally cast, not exceeding the tier of his Enchanting and Alchemy skills. Its magnitude is determined by the lesser of Vita's Alchemy or Enchanting skill. In addition to the material costs of the talisman, Vita must also use the minimum material necessary to cast the spell, if any.

To activate, Vita must hold the talisman and expend 250 vigor. The activated talisman will adhere to surfaces or creatures (besides Vita), and Vita can throw a talisman up to 15m.

Upon activation, Vita can decide if the talisman enchantment will release upon proximity or after a short length of time (up to three rounds). Blueprint:
Pulveris: 1 | Volantis 2​

Crafts

Enchanted cloak for defense with 3 total charges T1 Pulveris (2) + T1 Enchanting = 3 charges per week. Reduces blows by a magnitude of 1.
4 Healing salves
3 spell tags of Fog
2 Echo potions (T2 spell + T2 Alchemy = M4 spell)