Sphere of Decaus

## Sphere of Decaus - Ankouan

Decaus thaumaturges are often seen as the true evils of the lands, with their purpose being the preparation of decay and plague to eliminate as many people as possible to provide souls to Ankoukan, with many preparing large rituals to bring sweeping disease and rot to towns and kingdoms. They hold total annihilation and nihilism as their core values.

## Example Spells:

### **Disciple:**

**These passives are COMPLETELY optional and serve as complementary attributes to the Sphere. The Sphere can function on its own without using one of these two passives and has their own unique ability sets.**

**(Passive) Mercy of Death:**

A servant of death does not mean a servant of murder or cruelty. The thaumaturge that seeks to lay the dead to rest changes the effect of their spells to weaken and destroy undead. Instead of harming living creatures, it induces a tiring effect until magically inducing the affected to sleep. With this passive, the Decaus can manifest and bless holy water to combat necrobeasts and unholy entities that would taint Ankouan’s authority.

***These first 2 passives do not take up slots.***

**(Passive) Undying Promise:**

The direct duty of Ankouan rests in delivering souls to her realm. All shall meet their end, and Ankouan does not particularly care how this is done. Those who choose this path have abilities catered towards direct harm of biological life, such as animals, plants, and people. With this passive, the Decaus can manifest and infect water with a sickening effect on those who drink it, causing near-immediate symptoms of influenza.

**Touch of Death:**

The pain of death is felt only briefly, the body left to the whims of the elements thereafter. The Decaus can let the living experience the fate of their mortal shells, able to induce a rotting curse by touching a creature, causing the affected area to wither painfully over time. This decay can also be used as an immediate attack which will cause a highly painful but short lasting rot, similar to a burn.The effects of this attack can be applied to a weapon or by physical touch. Disciples can rot the immediate area of their strike, Heralds can rot a chunk of a limb off upon skin contact, and Prophets can rot entire limbs upon skin contact.

*\*Mercy of Death changes this infection into a sleep inducing effect, only causing physical harm to undead. This harm rendered to the undead is liable to rapidly decay the body of the necrobeast. Depending on the level of the necromancer, the effects of this invocation will also slowly remove control that the necromancer has on the necrobeast over the span of a battle until they become completely docile and decay. This effect takes time, though, and complete concentration must be held on the beast for this to work. Disciples can remove the control of experts, Heralds counter masters, and Prophets counter Archmages.*

*\*Undying Promise opts for this attack to be better shifted to ailing humans with death-like blights. If struck with this ability, the victim will succumb to the symptoms of a late stage blue bile for several minutes. Additive to that, instead of decaying the body, the invocation will cause the victim to excessively vomit until they have lost a considerable amount of their body mass. In a fight, this would likely put most men out of the battle.*

**Insect Swarm:**

The tiny carrion of Azura, reclaiming life back into the earth. A Decaus can call upon swarms of flying insects to strike at their enemies. These insects can be wasps, bees, locusts or flies, but only a generic version of them. They are still bugs, and can be killed normally.

*\*Their stings and bites are filled with a nauseating poison if summoned by an Undying Promise Decaus.*

*\*Their stings and bites induce a tiring sleep effect if summoned by a Mercy of Death Decaus.*

**Control Undead**

Ankouan’s control over souls is final and absolute, and all undead things are supremely under her control through her thaumaturges. By focusing enough vitor and maintaining visual contact long enough, necrobeasts of the same level as the thaumaturge and “cursed” undead can be directly controlled by the Decaus as if they were a golem of their own. Heralds can control lemures and cremated, and Prophets can control Wretched.

**Transmutate:**

Ankouan’s dominion over the world is truly a sight to see, and the Decaus is given the power to show that. With the power of Ankouan, a Decaus may transmutate their physical form into that of a scavenger-like bird or rat. In this state, they can control this form and can even speak and hear through it. Although, this form can be identified as having red pupils and give those in its presence a sense of dread, which gives it away when in close proximity-- usually within ear-shot. All damages taken in this form transfer over to their human form with proportional wounds withstood in the transmutated form.

*\* If paired with Vermin’s Eye, a Decaus may conjure up a great deal of the animal they transformed into to their aid and blend in with them, or possibly even combat a foe in that form.*

**Cold Touch:**

Death is cold and without remorse and is carried through the Decaus. Summoning ethereal hands that reach towards their enemies and grip them with an icy chill, inflicting injuries similar to frostbite. These hands can rapidly kill off skin cells due to the cold temperature and cause excruciating pain. They are relatively short range, extending up to 30ft. Disciples can only conjure one at a time, while Heralds can summon three and Champions five.

**Vermin’s Eye:**

A Decaus can summon greater carrion and vermin to aid them, crows, vultures, and ravens, rats, and mice are bound to their infernal will. They are able to look through the eyes of these creatures (although cannot hear from them), additionally they are able to use them to attack and harass their foes.

**Aura of Inevitably:**

Death is inevitable, the twilight of life dawns when one realizes their own mortality. A Decaus can induce this fear on any living creature nearby, tolling a great bell that resounds in a single dreadful note. Those afflicted will feel an icy cold grip their countenance, slowing their movements severely and making it very hard to attack. This effect will revert if focus is lost on the person. (Focus can be broken by exiting the line of sight and fleeing, or disrupting the Decaus). Disciples can focus on 3 people at a time, 6 for Heralds, and 10 for Prophets.

*\*Mercy of Death Decaus’ cast changes into a soft chime, one that induces weariness and numbness in all those around, causing them to fumble in their movements and fall into unconsciousness if focused on for more than 2 IC minutes.*

*\*Undying Promise induces a much more ruthless form of this aura, and causes an area of effect that slowly rots the hands and feet of those within their radius, making it excruciating to hold onto anything in their hands and very painful to walk. This effect only lasts for the duration that it is casted for.*

### **Herald:**

**Hallowed Aura:**

\*This spell requires a constant vitor flow to be effective, or else the effects stop.

As a vestige of Ankouan, the Decaus may siphon the energy of living beings by creating an aura around them. This aura extends at a variable rate around the Decaus with a maximum range of 10x10 meters in a 360 radius. Mancers and thaumaturges of the same level of thaumaturgy will slowly have their vitor stolen from them and slow them down. However this effect can be canceled if the focus of the Decaus is broken.

*\*Mercy of Death changes this ability into a much larger range of effect, being a 25x25  meter aura that will only target necrotic beasts and slowly rot them and remove their vitor. Undead beasts will experience the same rot. This can be visually indicated by a shimmering change in lighting-- almost heavenly in appearance. The previous effects above do not transfer.*

*\*Undying Promise changes this ability into a much shorter range of effect, being a 3x3 meter aura that will target all living things and rot them without removal of vitor. This necrotic effect can easily kill an average man in the span of a few minutes. Although, the range is short enough that it can be evaded with general ease. This can be visually indicated by an aura of black rot around the Decaus. The previous effects do not transfer.*

**(Passive) Corpsedrinker:**

It is the nature of death to consume the fallen. The thaumaturge has gone as far as to feast on corpses, be they friend or foe. Eating these corpses allows the Decaus to learn the cause of their death, as well as more quickly replenish their strength and vitor. Their teeth permanently grow into fangs, and their bite becomes poisonous.

**(Passive) Lifeless:**

A Decaus’ connection to death renders their body lifeless. They have no pulse or heartbeat, and their flesh is cold to the touch. They do not need to breathe, and they do not even need to eat. Their bodies are fueled by the vitor granted to them by Ankouan. However, they don’t age and retain the physical appearance of a normal being. The extreme cold or heat no longer affects them, and they become immune to poison, infections and disease.

*\* If paired with Undying Promise, the Decaus will be reduced to bone and achieve a pseudo form of lichdom in their body and be incapable of death by natural causes. Although, they are completely capable of death, but only by burning the entire body and reducing its limbs, torso, and head to ash.*

**Champions of the Damned:**

The strength of a Decaus is easily outmatched by the likes of the many beasts of Ludwag, but with the summoning of Ankouan, a Decaus can erect a champion of Ankouan to fight in their stead, be it that they are outmatched by their opponents.

These Champions are often morphed souls of the damned who have defied Ankouan, although have not been turned into Wraiths, varying in sizes although depending on the level of the Decaus. These Champions are amalgamated beast-like creatures who bear claws, tails, and run on all fours and bear scales with similar strength to leather which can deflect slashes and most stabs; requiring angled stabs to make contact with the skin. These constructs do not feel pain. Heralds can cast one at a time, and Prophets two.

*\* Prophets also reserve the ability to create their own image of what Ankouan’s Champion would be. Although, they are only limited to one at a time. Additionally, this custom “Champion” must be run through staff via approval and only one can exist/be approved at a given time.*