The Crinoverse 2 (End of Part 2)

[Charles Phipps]

Dragon Age in the Crinosverse

During the Age of the God Kings when Atlantis and other nations ruled the world, the most powerful mystical empire in the world was the Tevinter Imperium. Fueled by the power of Blood Magic that drew it's power directly from the Imaginerium's darkest regions, the Tevinter Blood Mages attempted to attack the Seven Heavens in order to take over the throne of the Maker. As damning acts of hubris go, this was one of the worst from the Age of the God Kings, and was punished accordingly.

Not only were the Tevinter Mages involved punished with transformation into horrible monsters called Darkspawn but all of the Tevinter gods, powerful draconic deities, were recreated as Archdemons. The Blights thus afflicted the whole of the world, where Archdemons would corrupt the land while unleashing hordes of mindless warriors onto the world. Each time, the Blights were driven back by an ancient order called the Grey Wardens. This order survives to the present day but it is failing when the Final Blight may soon be upon the world.

New Countries

Ferelden: A pocket nation just across from Ruritania. Ferelden has the same anachronistic dress sense as Ruritania but is even more backward looking. In some ways, it's a bit like the The Count of Cagliostro's setting. Despite the fact that it is semi-feudal in appearance, the nation is remarkably fierce in its independence and actually managed to successfully drive out both the Nazis and the Soviets by themselves. It is constantly on guard for an invasion from Ruritania as Death Mask III could effectively double the size of his kingdom by figuring out a way to annex it peacefully. There's also the fact that it is a source of Lyrium.

Orlais: A country conquered by Napoleon and settled by him as a sort of Winter court, Orlais is just north of Ruritania and twice it's size. The Orlais are one of the many Border Kingdoms that surround Trans-Carpathia, Wundagore, and other locations that the Soviets just found damn near impossible to actually conquer so they effectively abandoned them. Orlais is allied to PHANTOM with its Empress Celene, a distant relation of the Hapsburgs, fully supportive of its plans to dominate the world. Celene doesn't quite have the skill to become one of PHANTOM's Inner Council but is well-beloved across Europe and a ruthless lieutenant to Death Mask III.

The reasons for this are simple; she is James Moriarty IV's illegitimate daughter from an affair with the previous Queen of Orlais.

Deep Roads: The Deep Roads are a massive Underdark that exists underneath the surface of the world. It is filled with Darkspawn, Ghouls, Serpent Men, Deep Ones, and Great Old Ones. The Grey Wardens are the only ones who venture down into the Deep Roads with the possible exception of the occasional Imaginerium dwarf. The Deep Roads are possibly the greatest threat to the surface world that exists but, thankfully, few monsters are willing to come up from their dark wholes. When they do, they usually do so in great numbers.

New Materials

Lyrium: Lyrium is a powerful substance that is actually the magical equivalent of coal. Mystical creatures and energies sink into the ground and take on a fossilized physical form. While Dakana can produce Daka Crystals from this, Lyrium is a softer powdery substance more useful in potions and runes. The John Smith Society, under Doc Aeon, was the first to discover Lyrium's ability to power "unusuals." Lyrium is now the chief export of Ferelden and one of the reasons why its economy is presently thriving.

Queen Anora insists the idea that Lyrium causes madness in scientists who work with it is baseless supposition.

New Groups

The Chantry: An off-shoot of Eastern Orthodox Christianity built around a Medieval Joan of Arc figure called Saint Andraste. The Chantry has the unusual practice of having only female clergy and being significantly more militant than any branch of the faith has been since the Renassiance. The Chantry is the Order of Saint Dumas' home. It is also where the demonic themed vigilante Azrael was created. The Chantry sponsors most of the anti-mage groups in the world, hating them as abominations against God.

Ironically, the Chantry keeps a substantial number of them under their direct control.

Circle of Magi: The secret of Ferelden. The Circle of Magi were created years ago when the Chantry began testing every child in the country for magical potential and taking them from their parents. The presence of lyrium has also resulted in an abnormally high percentage of sorcerers in the country. The Circle is proud and tradition-bound but also oppressed. All mages in the country are forbidden to hold title, land, or vote. They are also prevented from leaving the circle on pain of death. Disturbingly, all Metaman children were always labeled under the title of magi in the past.

As a result, the country has an army of oppressed Metamen that can be unleashed or turned against it. They are assisted by a magical secret police called The Templars. Appropriately, they are a direct offshoot of the crusading order that fled to Ferelden.

Grey Wardens: The Grey Wardens are one of the oldest secret societies in the world, dedicated to the watching of the world for another Blight. Due to the Darkspawn's ability to appear anywhere in the world, often now using cunning as they make Lovecraftian alliances with locals, they must be willing to travel in order to fight evil. While the majority of Grey Wardens are in Ferelden, they are allied with the White Lotus Society who shares a common goal with them.

[Crinos]

You know, to get back to the idea of groups like the Silber Agency and super temps and the Power company, who use superhumans in work for hire programs, I have to say there is a little bit of a danger there, As illustrated by the latest page of ps238

I wonder if Kenneth Kane ever does this with the Elite when he feels Mighty Man is getting a little too big for his britches.

[Phrozen]

You know, to get back to the idea of groups like the Silber Agency and super temps and the Power company, who use superhumans in work for hire programs, I have to say there is a little bit of a danger there, As illustrated by the latest page of ps238

I wonder if Kenneth Kane ever does this with the Elite when he feels Mighty Man is getting a little too big for his britches.

That actually isn't true. Stockholders can neither hire nor fire employees of the companies they hold stock in. All they can do is vote on the board of directors who make decisions for the company. So Mr. Von Fogg's threat is completely non-existant. Plus, he just says he has a good number of shares, it doesn't say he has a controlling interest in the company. Hell, he could have non-voting shares which means he has jack shit say in how the company is run.

Also, non-disclosure agreements are very legally enforcable.

[RomLoneWolf23]

That actually isn't true. Stockholders can neither hire nor fire employees of the companies they hold stock in. All they can do is vote on the board of directors who make decisions for the company. So Mr. Von Fogg's threat is completely non-existant. Plus, he just says he has a good number of shares, it doesn't say he has a controlling interest in the company. Hell, he could have non-voting shares which means he has jack shit say in how the company is run.

Also, non-disclosure agreements are very legally enforcable.

Yeah, but I'm guessing Victorious doesn't know about all that. Which is why he's falling for a bluff.

[Crinos]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure its a trope of PS238 that the kids are usually way smarter/more sensible than the adults.

Anyways, now for something completely different:

Battle Fantasia

When the Lord of Winter (led by the Dark Undermaster) Took over Faerie, they forced many of the residents to flee to the material plane, here are a few examples, as well as some heroes who stuck around to fight against the Undermaster and his forces.

Marco Van De Land: A nine year old boy with a pet dragon, Marco's father was a famous hero who perished fighting against the forces of the Lords of Winter. Forced to flee with his mother and older brother to the human world, Marco has vowed to become a great hero like his father. Marco is a bit of a goof (he still talks kind of like a baby), but is very strong, wielding his fathers sword and some potent magic. Marco is currently enrolled in PS238, and is good friends with Suzie Fusion

Urs Van De Land: Marco's 17 year old brother, Urs also wants to be a great adventurer, as well as keep his brother out of trouble. Urs weapon of choice is Basilisk, a mystical steampunk device which is a cross between a chainsaw and a mini bike.

Olivia Von Roselia: Olivia is the princess of Roselia, a small kingdom which has resisted being overtaken by the Dark Undermasters forces for years. As the princess, Olivia is subjected to numerous curses and kidnappings by the Lords of Winter, but she always manages to get herself back to normal on her own and sort things out. Olivia is good friends with The Masterson Twins. and Ultimatum has a bit of a crush on her.

Watson: a powerful mage, prophet and astronomer, Watson is a talking rabbit from Faerie who fled the Imageria following the Dark Undermasters take over. He is currnetly a teacher of magic and astrology at Claremont academy, and a foe to Mr. Hoppy

Ashley Loveless: A member of the Roselia royal guard, Ashley is Princess Olivia's shadow, protecting her from a distance without her knowledge. In truth, he is very smitten with his charge "Livi", and pines for her from afar. He is expertly trained in combat and how to treat a lady. Valkyrie harbors a major crush for Ashley, and he and Ultimatum do not get along.

Cedric Ward: A 16 year old member of the Covenant, Cedric is one of a handful of mystics given special permission from the Pope to practice magic and not have it be a mortal sin. Arrogant and aloof, Cedric is a typical loner, much to the chagrin of his fellow covenant members.

Donvalve Du Don: Former king of the great Dwarf empire in Faerie, Donvalve lost his empire when his people were all but wiped out and conquered by the Mountain King. Forced to come to the human world, Donvalve opened the Donvalve and co. steamworks company in Los Dios, which specializes in making steampunk level technomagic items (such as steam powered automobiles and massive clockwork computers). Donvalve also breaks the stereotype of Dwarves being short; he's twice the size of most humans and about as wide. Donvalve is an ally to Ymir, often helping him with gadgets or figuring out technomagic artifacts.

Coyori: A magical cat living in freehold, Coyori turned herself into a human in order to be the waitress at the Coyori Cafe, a Chinese restaurant in Freehold because the old woman who owns the place was kind to her. Coyori is a very strong and persistent creature, who will chase dine and dashers across entire continents if need be. She is presently romantically involved with Mr. Fuzzy, which brings no end of teasing from the Mastersons.

Freed: A famous sky pirate and freedom fighter, Freed fights against the Dark Undermaster and his foes from the air. He has a massive hook for a right arm, having lost his arm (and his sister) to the Dark Undermasters forces. He is often an ally to Lady Liberty.

Face: A mysterious, gun wielding outlaw who wears a moon shaped bag over his head. Face is an old friend of Freed and fights to avenge the loss of his loves life (Freed's sister) at the hands of the Undermasters forces. He's probably the only guy in all of Faerie that carries a bazooka as standard equipment.

Odile and Dokurod: A former lord of Winter, Dokurod was transformed into a sentient skull shaped staff by The Dark Undermaster after failing to capture the Masterson twins. Dokurod now relies on Odile, a soulless homunculus in the form of a young girl, for transport and fighting. Despite being supposedly mindless, Odile may be developing her own personality, much to her "fathers" chagrin.

Deathbringer: One of the Dark Undermasters elite soldiers, The Deathbringer is formerly Dyna Van De Lance, father to Marco and Urs, turned into a monstrous black knight by his dark magic. Deathbringer is frighteningly powerful, able to fight with Divinos on equal footing, and is often sent in by Dark Undermaster when he becomes genuinely annoyed by his enemies resistance (which is rare).

Okay, not sure what to do next, need to think about it.

[Crinos]

Alright, time to cover a criminal organization I haven't really covered in depth yet:

The House of Serpents

The creation of General Venom, The House of Serpents is an American grown terrorist organization devoted to overthrowing the Government and creating a perfect America. While not as large or as powerful as PHANTOM or SHADOW, The House of Serpents is always growing larger, and they make up for their lack of firepower with the diehard fanaticism of its members to General Venom's cause. (Indeed, only SHADOW has more loyal troops, and they're clones).

Unlike groups such as UNITY or SHADOW, which use more bizarre and outlandish forms of terrorism (usually involving mind control, bizarre inventions, ancient magic and monsters, and so forth), The House of Serpents more conventional methods of terrorism: bombings of Government installations, high profile assassinations, videotaped executions of "traitors", and so forth. General Venom also has a high grade propaganda machine running in the form of America Entertainment, which constantly stuffs the House of Serpents down the American peoples throat.

That isn't to say that the House of Serpents doesn't employ more esoteric means to gain their goals; Genetic modification among higher up agents is increasingly popular, usually giving them serpent like features, ranging from fangs and poison spit to transforming into full nagas. Also, given Jack Washington Jr's mastery of robotics, the House's operatives often employ battle armor and high tech weaponry. And while General Venom himself disdains magic, he has managed to recruit a few Native American mystics into the House, bribing them with promises of restoring their people to their full glory.

All this is in pursuit of Jack Washington's ideal of America; a 1950's surburbia which never really existed. Ironicall, to create this perfect America Venom would happily trample over the ideas of free speech and personal liberty. (Of course, Venom denies this vehemently, stating that everyone will still be able to speak their mind in his new America, its only that everyone will think just like him so there would be no point).

Unfortunately not everyone in the House shares Venom's ideas for a future America. Oh they all fight towards it, but they all have different ideas what the future America will be like. Despite Venoms extensive vetting processes, he tends to attract a lot of racists who seem to think the best way to make America better would be to kill all minorities. While Venom doesn't believe this himself, he also doesn't discourage this sort of behavior in his men.

One of the House of Serpents latest schemes involves a new Teen "hero" group which will stand for the "real America". This team, known as Generation Viper, is sponsored by America Entertainment and has had numerous high profile fights against villains (who are paid to take a dive), and against PHANTOM operatives. The team has a tense rivalry with Next Gen , and the teams have clashed on occasion. Generation Viper also has a cartoon based on them on the America channel and have guest starred on some of their live action TV shows such as Leanna Alabama and The Neat life of Jack and Colby.

Another team produced by the House are The Nuclear Family (not to be confused with the heroic family that spawned Susie Fusion). The Nuclear Family are a band of robots which resemble a stereotypical 50's suburban family (with a mother, father, older brother, older sister, little brother, and dog), each with powers emulating the various affects of an atomic bomb blast. The Nuclear Family have attempted to induce nuclear disasters all over the world, and are foes to both The Atom Family and Ymir.

Of course, the House has its fair share of enemies as well; In addition to AEGIS and Steel Commando, Lady Liberty is routinely disgusted by the houses very existence and does all she can to try and destroy it (which confuses General Venom, since he assumes a spirit of Liberty would be all about helping him with his goals), and General Venom has attempted to steal the spirit of Liberty from Beth and implant it in a more "worthy" host. The House has also clashed with various minority heroes who have been victimized by the more intolerant members of the House.

Alright, a bit short, but I like it. Later I'll cover Generation Viper.

[Phrozen]

How about?

or



or

[Crinos]

Yeah, I might be able to swing the JSA later.

[Phrozen]

Yeah, I might be able to swing the JSA later.

Could you put the original Sandman in there too? The classic pulp costume please not the ugly four color comic monstrosity.

[Crinos]

Yeah, I might be able to swing the JSA later.

Could you put the original Sandman in there too? The classic pulp costume please not the ugly four color comic monstrosity.

Well of course, I didn't even know sand man had a silver age look.

[Phrozen]

Yeah, I might be able to swing the JSA later.

Could you put the original Sandman in there too? The classic pulp costume please not the ugly four color comic monstrosity.

Well of course, I didn't even know sand man had a silver age look.

It was bland and not awesome as you can see here:

[Crinos]

No update tonight, had a hell of a night at work. Update tomorrow.

[Phrozen]

No update tonight, had a hell of a night at work. Update tomorrow.

You have been doing at least one update every day for the past few weeks. You deservea day off.

[Crinos]

Hm, not really sure what to do for the next update, gonna take the night off and think it over. Just not real motivated to writing tonight. Sorry.

[Crinos]

Wait, no, scratch that, I just figured out what to write: Gonna do a look at...

The Covenant

There are things that go bump in the night... and we're the ones that bump back.
--Severus Snape, head of the Covenants Freedom City office.

Since the dawn of man, there have existed those who would use the forces of magic for evil purposes; Cursing their enemies, unleashing hellish monster's, selling their souls for power and wealth. And there have also existed unspeakable creatures which have existed beyond the periphery of human perception, seeking to manipulate humanity for unspeakable purposes.

That is the reason the Covenant exists, to combat these horrors.

Originally started in the middle ages by the roman Catholic church in order to combat The Blood King, an illegitimate offspring of Dracula who carved an empire out of ancient Europe. Originally made up of mystics and adventurers of the Christian faith, the group has grown exponentially since then, and now employs representative from almost every major religion, all working together to keep the common man safe from the forces of supernatural evil.

The Covenant really became a major player in the world scene during the second world war, where they offered their services to the Allies to help counteract the Thule sorcerers and Japanese mystics employed by the axis. The costs to the covenant was high during this period (Such as the lost of Dr. Rune and Lazarius Arkannos becoming the monster Sepulcher), but The Covenant gained the worldwide cooperation of most major Governments and Religious institutions, making their job much easier.

Today, the Covenant have operations all over the world (except Asia, that's White Lotus territory), and have absorbed a number of different other mystical organizations into their fold. The group is primarily separated into several different orders, including the Order of Micheal (Soldiers), Solomon (Historians), (Simon), Caleb (Counterintelligence), Joseph (Administration), and the Seraphim teams (Superhuman operatives). While the Covenant has overtly Christian overtones in their layout, it is truly a pan-denominational organization; It is not common to see Jewish Rabbis, Islamic Imams, Hindu Brahmins, and even Wiccian priestess and Druids working in a single chapterhouse (This is as much out of necessity as it is religious tolerance; demons and supernaturals from different regions often have different weaknesses, and the Covenant likes to keep its bases covered). The Covenant also employs non human members; mainly mystical creatures from the Imageria and even some aliens with mystical inklings.

The Covenant, as noted above, is recognized almost every world government, and is usually given difference in cases of blatant supernatural activity. The Covenant has a healthy working relationship with AEGIS and UNISON, and are on good terms with Adrian Eldrich and The White Lotus Society. Mystical heroes such as Athena and Siren know of the Covenant but generally give it little thought unless they ask for help from them. The Covenant is has strained relationships with more religious oriented heroes such as The Crusader and The Church of Jesus Christ, Paragon, despite the fact that the Covenant is endorsed by the Catholic Church, and high tech groups such as the John Smith Society and MERLIN don't like them much. They also have a confrontational relationship with The Tomorrow Society, for obvious reasons.

The Seraphim: The Covenants "Heavy hitters", the Seraphim are a team of super powered mystic types which are sent in to deal with heavy duty opponents. Originally there was only one Seraphim team (The one I'll be looking at in depth tonight), but in recent years the rise of Gestalts, and the the mass exodus of mystical beings from Faerie following the Dark Undermasters take over has justified the creation of new Covenant teams across the world, each one made up of mystics, empowered humans, supernatural creatures, and others.

Members of the Covenants team alpha include:

Brimstone: Easily the most hated mystic in the world (even Count Reich is more popular, but not by much), Brimstone is a master thief and sorcerer who has pilfered mystic artifacts and secrets from just about every wizard you can name. Joining The Covenant for protection from his many enemies, Brimstone is kept under a mystical geas in order to keep him in line (not that it stops him from continuing his thieving ways), what nobody knows is that Brimstone is actually the Illegitimate son of Silas the Elder, a man who would very much like to see his loose cannon of a son removed.

Chronicle: The man called Chronicle is not a man at all, but one of the alien race known as the Grigori. Unlike the rest of his people, who disdained religion and faith of any sort, Chronicle was intrigued by humanity and their devotion to religious practices, and how faith in their various Gods could inspire them to greatness or help them endure great hardships. To this end, Chronicle created a humanoid body for himself, transferred his consciousness into it, and went to Earth, joining the Covenant. Chronicle is a potent mentalist, and tight lipped about his origins, leading many to believe he really is an angel.

Dr. Rune: A potent and powerful mage, Dr. Rune was a brash young turk when he was in the Covenant during the early days of the second world war, and was more than happy to head out into the front lines with his comrades and take the fight right to the Germans. Unfortunately this was a mistake, as the combined suffering of constant warfare, the psychic screams of torment caused by the Holocaust, and the loss of his comrades in battle thoroughly broke Dr. Rune. After the war Rune vanished from the radar, becoming a wino in Freehold until he was found by the Covenant and recruited to help bring down his old comrade turned enemy Sepulcher. He now serves begrudgingly as the Seraphims leader. Rune is still getting his act back together, but he's still very much a burn out, but he's a POWERFUL burn out, on par with Adrian Eldrich in terms of power (In fact, the only thing keeping him from being a master mage candidate is the fact that Rune told Eldrich he can take that job and shove it.)

Sabbath: the daughter of Dr. Rune, Sabbath was found in a covenant run orphanage at an early age and possess the ability to deflect and nullify demonic magic. This makes her very valuable to the Covenant, due to her ability to cancel out even the most dangerous mystics and dark creatures. She is also the teams healer, but rarely uses this gift as the healing is empathic.

Templar: The Covenant's super soldier, There is no one covenant; Each new Covenant is mystically empowered with a ritual that gives them the strength and knowledge of the previous Templar, as well as enhanced speed and durability. The Templar is also armed with specially enchanted weaponry, including a vorpal sword, a gun with infinite bullets, and a demon slaying rocket launcher. Templars tend to be reckless and headstrong, so they tend to die quickly and are quickly replaced. So far, there have only been male Templars, partly out of tradition, and partly because the Covenant's attempt to create a female version of the Templars resulted in the creation of the Slayer line (And what a headache THAT was).

Alright, tomorrow I cover the foes of the Covenant.