Out of Character (OOC):
"Though Arthur ordered the Wizard’s spheres to be broken, the glass forged over the undying fire of Maerlyn’s cave proved to be unbreakable. Instead they were buried in a secret cave, but not even that worked as planned. Drawn by their glammer, thieves soon discovered the hiding place, and Maerlyn’s Rainbow found its way into the world once more.”
The sorcerer Maerlyn (Merlin?) created the objects from the magic of the Prim when King Arthur Eld (bringer of the White) began his rise to power, specifically during his coronation. He created them to bring chaos into the world, and he also created demons for every sphere (called The Lucavi). However, the King of the Eld realized their true evil nature and so ordered them to be shattered but soon discovered they were unbreakable and so had them hidden away in a cave. They have slowly made their way back into the world again...
Some have different powers to others with some showing the ability to scry across "worlds" or planes of existence and some which have the power to transport. Others look into the future and the demon infested worlds as well as revealing the locations of secret doors (more irises) which give access to other worlds. Additionally, others can see far into the future or the past and witness vile acts most people would wish kept secret. One is said to give the power of levitation, and another the secrets of telepathy.
The Bends of the Rainbow
The Crimson Bend is associated with the virtue of Generosity. It holds the power to manipulate luck and chance but is corrupted with the vice of Gluttony. It represents the Wolf Guardian. It's location before it was acquired by the Horsemen was unknown.
Inside the Red Bend resides the demon Belias, the Gigas, representing the Zodiac of Aries. It appears as a humanoid with a ram's head and cloven feet, and four powerful arms. His face is an iron mask with four black holes for eyes.
According to Cherokee legend, the Ulun’suti is a magical stone from the forehead of an Uktena, a monstrous serpent sent to kill the sun. Supposedly, only one such stone was ever knocked from the forehead of an Uktena. The hunter who acquired the stone hid it in a deerskin bag in a deep cave high in the mountains near a waterfall. The stone itself is an orb small enough to hide in one’s fist, translucent except for a blood-red streak that bisects it. To work its charm, the Ulun’suti must be bathed in the blood of an animal once per week. Otherwise, it must be put to sleep (in which case it becomes nonfunctional until fed again) or it flares into a new Uktena, which kills the owner and flies away. The Uktena attacks “like a blazing star;” whether it can be killed or whether it simply annihilates its former owner is unknown.
The Orange Bend is associated with the virtues of Hope and aspirations. It holds the power to reveal hidden or lost things but is corrupted with the vice of Greed. It represents the Rat Guardian. It's rumored to be in the Underworld Death Dominion known as Dis. According to legend, right after the Fall, the Orange Bend was in the possession of the Crimson King. The Orange Bend was later rumored to be in the Underworld realm of Dis.
Inside the Saffron Bend resides the demon Duma, agent of chaos, the Walker of the Wheel, representing the Zodiac of Taurus. It appears as a metal Minotaur who floats atop a jewel and has wings of mist and metal with four swords that orbit him. Also responds to Chaos.
The Yellow Bend is associated with the virtue of Humility. It holds the power of unlimited Telepathy but is corrupted with the vice of Self Doubt. It represents the Dog Guardian. It's rumored to be worked into the Glass Gate of the Emerald City in Arcadia.
Inside the Amber Bend resides the demon Cheraub, agent of Famfrit, the Darkening Cloud, representing the Zodiac of Aquarius. It appears as aquatic stone golem, bound in chains and baring an bottomless vase which holds the sacred water.
4. The Cerise Bend
Aka Maerlyn's Grapefruit
The Pink Bend is associated with the virtue of Passion. It holds the power of ultimate Scrying in the phemeral world but is corrupted with the vice of Lust It represents the Rabbit Guardian. It's current location is completely unknown but it is perhaps the Bend that has been encountered the most throughout history.
Also called Maerlyn's Grapefruit, the Pink Bend brings the power to see long distances the people the owner knows and see the deepest secrets and immoral things that those people does. Always embarrassing and dangerous secrets.
It was to, at one point, be in possession of the son of Merlin, a wanderer of the worlds who calls the demon inside the Pink Bend his sister.
The crystal can act as a seeing stone showing a single person visions of current and future events elsewhere, presumably only in the same world and show the vilest acts of men. The visions seen can be back-handed, lying through reflection or other tricks to manipulate the viewer towards evil actions. The glass is extremely addictive and can entrance the viewer and cause a severe addiction to being viewed.
Inside the Cerise Bend resides the demon Altima, the Ultimate, The High Seraph, representing the Zodiac of Virgo. It appears as a virginal angel with six blood wings. It prefers to possess virgins. She is the leader of the Lucavi, for the demon of Black 13 is mad and cannot be reasoned with by the rest of the demons.
The Dark Blue Bend is associated with the virtue of Love. It holds the power to Scry into the Hedge and Arcadia and sees the Fates of all things but is corrupted with the vice of Obsession. It represents the Turtle Guardian. It's was rumored to be in the hands of a pack Hob Goblins calling themselves the "Total Hogs" but it was also rumored they lost it.
6. The Bottle Green Bend
Inside the Bottle Green Bend resides the demon Sel, The Judge, representing the Zodiac of Libra. It appears a white-bearded old man with scales on his back wielding an enormous gavel.
Inside the Indigo Bend resides the demon Zebbeb, The Condemner, representing the Zodiac of Cancer. It appears as an armored humanoid entity with crab claws.
The Lime Bend is associated with the virtue of Prudence. It holds the power of perfect invisibility but is corrupted with the vice of Cowardice. It represents the Bat Guardian. It's was rumored to have been smashed after the Sundering of the World.
Inside the Azure Bend resides the demon known only as Leviathan, The Corrupt One, representing the Zodiac of Pisces. It appears as a winged water serpent or a gaunt woman with gossamer wings jutting from the small of her back.
11. The Dun Bend
Inside the Grey Pearl Bend resides the demon known as Hashmalim, The Regulator, Bringer of Order, representing the Zodiac of Leo It appears as muscled humanoid with the head and claws of a burning white lion wielding four curved blades. It is second in command of the Lucavi.
An apocryphal Arthurian Story
by Robin Furth
At the beginning of our macroverse, there were no worlds and no universes, only the seething, raw magic of the Prim. This phosphorescent soup of creation grew like a great, hungry, opalescent ameba. It ate the nothingness, and in the silence it murmured and whispered.
First to erupt from the depths of the Prim was Gan, spirit of the Tower. Tall and grey-black, he pushed into the sky, the windows that spiraled round his barrel flashing with an electric-blue light. From the center of Gan’s forehead stared a great oriel window of twelve colors: crimson, orange, yellow, pink, dark blue, dark green, indigo, lime, azure, violet, brown and pearl grey. Though the window was beautiful, the circular pane at its center glowed black as the emptiness of todash space.
As Gan stretched himself higher and higher, the waters of the Prim poured out of his navel. From its raw magic he spun the world. As the Tower lengthened, so the world divided into the multiple, parallel worlds. Gan set those sequin-like worlds spinning around the axle of his body and their movement created time.
As time settled on its axis, the sun and moon arose from the Prim and built their own roads across the sky. Soon they were joined by Old Star and his wife, South Star. But while the gods took their places above the stage of the earth, other more terrible creatures bred in the deeper waters of the Prim.
The most awful of the Prim’s new children were the monstrous Great Old Ones. Some of these horrors had the bodies of squid, some of giant centipedes, still others of great, double-fanged spiders. All had clawed pincers and gaping mouths filled with shark teeth, and all of them were hungry. But as these Great Ones cozened, diddled, and increased, the Prim began to recede. Some of these monsters died, but others slithered into the void places between worlds and waited.
As the magical Prim withdrew, many lesser demons were stranded upon the shores of the multiple worlds. Some of these demons strangled, but others adapted and thrived. Among those that survived were beings that looked like men but were not human. One of these unpredictable and dangerous creatures called himself Maerlyn.
Though Maerlyn looked like a grey-bearded mage, he was an Agent of the Prim, a creature of raw magic. Like the chaotic force that bore him, he cared nothing for either stability or order. All he cared about was his own amusement, and what amused him most was havoc.
Presenting himself as a powerful wizard, Maerlyn taught the people of the world the philosophy of magic and its many practical applications. He showed them how to build doorways between worlds and tunnels between time periods (Irises made with Archmastery?). Under his tutelage, they built Dogans – experimental stations where technology could be fused with magic – and in these Dogans the Old People created annihilating weapons.
A powerful empire emerged which called itself the Imperium (Atlantis?). Bloated with their own importance, the leaders of the Imperium claimed lordship over the whole of the time-space continuum. However, in order to truly control time and dimension, they had to conquer the lynch-pin of existence. Hence, they decided to replace the Axis Mundi, a new Tower.
When the architects, electricians, and builders arrived at the site, they were amazed by what they saw. Not only was the Tower more imposing than they had realized, but what they had taken for stone was actually hardened flesh. Still, they wanted to earn their glory, so they set to work. But no sooner did the first wrecking ball hit that imposing edifice than the ground was rocked by an enormous tremor. This earthquake increased in intensity until a gaping fissure opened up in the earth and a dense yellow fog arose out of it.
But this was no ordinary fog. Oh no. It had leaked from the monster-filled void between worlds, the place where the Great Old Ones waited. All those who had traveled to the Tower seeking fame screamed and ran, but none of them made it very far. From the depths of the todash fog, a Great One burped.
All over the world, monster-filled verges opened like sores on the skin of existence. The Imperium fragmented—each faction blaming the others for this terrible miscalculation—and soon there was war. Men and women fled in terror, but there was no where left to hide. Animals and plants caught in the poisonous crossfire mutated, and the world was reduced to an irradiated wasteland. How Maerlyn laughed!
But despite the horror and havoc, the Tower survived. Listing to one side on his cracked foundations, Gan let one drop of blood fall from his flesh. The drop seeped into the earth at his base and on that spot grew a rose. The rose was pink on the outside, fierce red on the inside, and its center was yellow as the sun. Stretching up into the toxic air, the rose began to sing. As it sang, more roses sprang up, and more and more until the Tower, now surrounded by a field of harmonizing blossoms, righted itself. All over world, the clouds of poisoned gas parted and the monster-filled mists receded.
The powers of the Rose seal back the primordial chaos of the Abyss...
Like the land, human society began to heal and the fabric of culture was rewoven. Warring clans made treaties and united into baronies. Leaders from the many baronies met to palaver and in so doing, formed an Affiliation. Together, the men of the Affiliation destroyed the lawless harriers who pillaged and ransomed; they hunted down the man-eating mutants hidden deep within the earth; they even built heavy dams to hold back the waters of the Prim. During this time of struggle, one young warrior became known for his prowess in battle and for his ability to inspire confidence in his followers. His name was Arthur Eld. And though he still wore the sword of his fathers at his hip, he also carried a new, fearsome weapon which was able to defeat all enemies. Arthur called this new weapon a gun. By force of the gun, Arthur bridled the worlds' evil and reclaimed the land for men, not chaotic magic.
But not everyone was happy with this restoration of order. Deep in his cave on the lapping shores of the Prim, Maerlyn ground his teeth. In his scrying crystal, he watched as the glorious city of Gilead was rebuilt, stone by stone, so that Arthur, the new high king, could be crowned there. Peace was boring. Men who did not savage each other were boring. Eternity stretched before the immortal wizard, both long and wide. Maerlyn tapped his teeth, and then he grinned. It was time for more trickery.
Over the undying fire that burned in his cave, Maerlyn spun the waters of the Prim into glass. Whispering secret words, he divided the white magic into twelve tainted magical strands. Finally he rolled the strands into spheres. When nothing was left in his hands but shadow, Maerlyn rolled a black ball. Whereas each of the colored spheres contained the secret of a different form of magic – one contained the skill of levitation, another held the secret of telepathy, yet another the power to move between worlds – the black contained only the evil of the void. His work done, Maerlyn passed his hands over the Bends o’ the Rainbow, and in the heart of each seductive sphere he placed a curse. Though magic was by nature neither good nor bad, these spheres would bring only sorrow to their users.
Maerlyn walked to the edge of the Prim and lifted his arms to the sky. He called out to his brothers and sisters, the Great Old Ones, and entreated them to journey with him to the coronation of the new human king. There, disguised as men and women, they could wreak their vengeance on those who sought to cage them. There they could feed.
The Great Old Ones came. Though they arose from the Prim in their terrible insect-like bodies, as air touched their skins they became a parade of knights and ladies. The women wore silver dresses that shone like the scales of fish; the men wore armor which, out of the corner of the eye, seemed to be made of mollusk shells. For weapons they carried poisoned tridents and huge pikes, and on their banners fluttered the Wheel of Chaos. Last to emerge from the magical waters was the eldest of all the Great Old Ones. As her red, hairy, eight-armed body scrambled out of the water, her form became as beautiful as it had previously been hideous. In her gown and wimple of crimson silk, she reached forth and clasped Maerlyn’s hand.
Was the red-haired woman Lilith? The Dark Mother? Mother of all Monsters?
In the renovated city of Gilead, the festivities began in earnest. Dressed in white, Arthur rode through the streets on his white stallion Llamrei. Young girls showered him with flowers while men set off fireworks and vendors sold cakes decorated with the new crown of all worlds, its thirteen colored gems – one for each striation in the Tower’s central oriel window – replaced by colored candies.
As the trumpeters blew their trumpets, Arthur was led into the throne room. He seated himself on the throne and his chief advisor, Sir Kay Deschain, held the crown above his head. The new high king pledged his life and the lives of his descendants to protect the Tower, and the jeweled crown was placed upon his brow. A great cheer went up in the hall, followed by cheering and dancing in the streets. The bad old days were over and the good new days had begun. But no sooner did the king’s advisers begin congratulating themselves than they had to pause. The sound of street celebration had ceased and had been replaced by silence. And from the silence arose the otherworldly music of flutes and lutes.
The courtiers flocked to the windows, and what they saw outside shocked them. The awestruck citizens of Gilead had parted to make way for a delegation of the most richly dressed men and women that anyone had ever seen. Their leader, an aged wizard, approached the Great Hall and stood beneath the throne-room’s central window. Striking his staff on the ground he requested permission to ascend. The people of the Prim, mankind’s oldest enemies, had come bearing gifts of peace for the new king.
Never had either Arthur or his court seen anything more beautiful than those spheres. They seemed to glisten with the very magic from which they were made, and the desire to touch them, to hold them, to gaze into their depths, was overwhelming. One by one, the King of Eld held up the spheres which the sorcerer Maerlyn promised would bring peace, prosperity, and wisdom to his kingdom. Yet as Arthur passed each ball to his most trusted advisors, his face, and their faces, began to change.
Where once there had been generosity, now there was greed. Where once there had been trust, now there was suspicion. And as Arthur raised the crimson ball above his head to display it to his followers, he momentarily beheld his court through its colored distortion. Suddenly, those whom he had known to be honest appeared deceitful, and those he’d thought loyal wore the smirks of traitors. Even Queen Rowena, his lovely young wife, seemed ugly as a hag.
The king who descended from the throne was not the same as the one who had ascended to it such a short time before. He was curt, he was suspicious, and he was impatient. The rest of the court did not seem to notice, but Sir Kay did. He suspected that the king’s uninvited guests had brought with them an evil enchantment.
The banquet began, and a riotous affair it was. Men got drunk and danced on the tables. Women kicked off their shoes, lifted their skirts, and twirled from one partner to another. Servants threw hunks of meat to the dogs that skulked around the revelers’ feet so that they could watch the animals savage each other. And through it all, Arthur ignored his courtiers, his advisors, and his wife. He only had eyes for the Prim’s Crimson Queen.
Without excusing himself from the party, Sir Kay retreated to his rooms. It was all terribly wrong, even if he was the only one who could see it. Late that evening, as the rest of the courtiers fell into a drunken slumber, he went out to spy on the court’s uninvited guests.
Yet what he found, not even he had expected. When the last of the courtiers were asleep, the Prim’s lords and ladies shed their human skins. They were not men and women at all but great man-eating insects! Holding his hand over his mouth to keep from gagging, Sir Kay moved from shadow to shadow, skirting the gorging monsters, searching for Arthur. When he found him, the king was unconscious. But worse yet, he was in the arms of a giant red spider.
Bellowing Arthur’s name, Sir Kay charged the spider and pierced it with his sword. The spider shrieked and bit Sir Kay, but it had been gravely wounded. As it scurried away, its black blood seared the grass. When the court awoke, the creatures of the Prim were gone, but so were many of the courtiers. Howling with grief, servants covered the bodies of the half-eaten dead, and the panicked advisers went in search of their king. They found him, still unconscious, in the garden. Beside him, his wound oozing black venom, his melted sword in his hand, was the body of Sir Kay.
Though Arthur ordered the Wizard’s spheres to be broken, the glass forged over the undying fire of Maerlyn’s cave proved to be unbreakable. Instead they were buried in a secret cave, but not even that worked as planned. Drawn by their glammer, thieves soon discovered the hiding place, and Maerlyn’s Rainbow found its way into the world once more.
But the survival of Maerlyn’s demonic spheres was not Arthur’s only worry. Though the royal couple was visited by every physician and mid-wife in the realm, Queen Rowena remained barren. Instead it was the Crimson Queen who kindled. Within a year, she gave birth to a child that was both man and spider and she declared him Arthur’s heir. As his father had sworn, the Red Prince was bound to the Tower. But whereas a human child would have been bound to defend it, Arthur’s monstrous child was determined to destroy it. Peace was over before it had properly begun.
So Mordrid in this myth is now the one known as the Crimson King?
But Fate is a wheel and as it turns, even the fortunes of the wicked must change. Crouched in his cave, staring into his scrying crystal, Maerlyn had a vision that disturbed him. Based on that vision, he made a prophecy to the Crimson Queen. Her offspring would thrive, spreading a new kind of chaos throughout the multiple worlds. Yet one day a human kinsman would arise to challenge him. Though mortal, this child of Eld would darkle andtinct like a creature of magic. He would pursue the servants of the Prim from century to century and from one level of reality to another. This human child would be the Tower’s final champion. As a warrior of the White, he would destroy the Outer Dark. Unless he was destroyed, he would kill the Crimson Prince and reign in the power of the Prim forever.
Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
Lore: Maerlyn's Rainbow
"Though Arthur ordered the Wizard’s spheres to be broken, the glass forged over the undying fire of Maerlyn’s cave proved to be unbreakable. Instead they were buried in a secret cave, but not even that worked as planned. Drawn by their glammer, thieves soon discovered the hiding place, and Maerlyn’s Rainbow found its way into the world once more.”
Sources: Borrowed from the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and Final Fantasy Tactics video game. A special shout out to Ethen Reed for his contributions to the Lore!
The Horsemen Cabal already has in their possession an artifact called the Blazing Diamond. At it's time, it was the focus of Prodigy's sword, the Bloodfang. It has since been revealed to be the Red Bend of the Rainbow. While yet unidentified, Chimera's apprentice Magpie, had in her possession the Black... Black 13. But what are these things? The characters have yet to find out.
The Horsemen Cabal already has in their possession an artifact called the Blazing Diamond. At it's time, it was the focus of Prodigy's sword, the Bloodfang. It has since been revealed to be the Red Bend of the Rainbow. While yet unidentified, Chimera's apprentice Magpie, had in her possession the Black... Black 13. But what are these things? The characters have yet to find out.
::Information requires Mysterium Status 3+::
Maerlyn's Rainbow, also known as the Bends o' the Bow or The Wizard’s Rainbow, consists of thirteen colored spheres. The first twelve represent the Twelve Guardians that protect irises and cosmic lines of force that hold up the world, each having the secret of a different form of magic; the last, Black Thirteen, represents the darkness itself, which was filled with the evil of the monster-infested void that existed between worlds.
These Beams are some sort of Universal or Tellurian Leylines that reverberate through all worlds.
These Beams are some sort of Universal or Tellurian Leylines that reverberate through all worlds.
The sorcerer Maerlyn (Merlin?) created the objects from the magic of the Prim when King Arthur Eld (bringer of the White) began his rise to power, specifically during his coronation. He created them to bring chaos into the world, and he also created demons for every sphere (called The Lucavi). However, the King of the Eld realized their true evil nature and so ordered them to be shattered but soon discovered they were unbreakable and so had them hidden away in a cave. They have slowly made their way back into the world again...
Some have different powers to others with some showing the ability to scry across "worlds" or planes of existence and some which have the power to transport. Others look into the future and the demon infested worlds as well as revealing the locations of secret doors (more irises) which give access to other worlds. Additionally, others can see far into the future or the past and witness vile acts most people would wish kept secret. One is said to give the power of levitation, and another the secrets of telepathy.
All were cursed to bring despair and sorrow to those who wielded them, representing a corruption of the White and have a tendency to sap the life of the user, looking into them to a person to see their sins and shameful acts. They are also referred to as Bends in the Rainbow by the highest ranking of the Mysterium.
The Thirteen colors consist of: Crimson, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Dark Blue, Dark Green, Indigo, Lime, Azure, Violet, Brown, Pearl Grey, and Black.
They appear to be invulnerable to destruction and when struck by something that might harm it, the demon inside the sphere manifests to protect its charge. It is said that one can be trapped inside a sphere if they touch the sphere with blood on their hands.
Rumor: The Lucavi - The demons in the Glass
Who and what are the demons in the Bends? In obscure and ancient lore medieval monks codified the names of the demons as: Aries = Belias, Taurus = Duma, Gemini = Zalhera, Cancer = Zebbeb, Leo = Hashmurim, Virgo = Altima, Libra = Sel, Scorpio = Cuchrain, Sagittarius = Rophochehe, Capricorn = Adramelech, Aquarius = Cheraub, and Pisces = Leviathan, all corresponding to the 12th Zodiac. The 13th demon is called Serpentarius = Elidibus.
They appear to be invulnerable to destruction and when struck by something that might harm it, the demon inside the sphere manifests to protect its charge. It is said that one can be trapped inside a sphere if they touch the sphere with blood on their hands.
Rumor: The Lucavi - The demons in the Glass
Who and what are the demons in the Bends? In obscure and ancient lore medieval monks codified the names of the demons as: Aries = Belias, Taurus = Duma, Gemini = Zalhera, Cancer = Zebbeb, Leo = Hashmurim, Virgo = Altima, Libra = Sel, Scorpio = Cuchrain, Sagittarius = Rophochehe, Capricorn = Adramelech, Aquarius = Cheraub, and Pisces = Leviathan, all corresponding to the 12th Zodiac. The 13th demon is called Serpentarius = Elidibus.
The Bends of the Rainbow
1. The Crimson Bend
Aka Ulun’suti, The Blazing Diamond (in possession of Nergal)
The Crimson Bend is associated with the virtue of Generosity. It holds the power to manipulate luck and chance but is corrupted with the vice of Gluttony. It represents the Wolf Guardian. It's location before it was acquired by the Horsemen was unknown. |
| Uktena, the horned serpent |
When the Ulun’suti is bathed in animal blood, it grants its owner the power of prophecy and good fortune. Once per story, the owner of the Ulun’suti may call upon its power of prophecy to foresee an outcome. The character may activate this power after making a dice roll in order to reroll the task, as prophecy had previously warned the character of the outcome. Three times per story, the owner may gain a +1 equipment bonus on any task. It also contains the power of fire, as befits the flaming Uktena from whence it came. The Ulun’suti requires the blood of a deer or larger animal (and a human certainly qualifies) at least twice per year. If it receives this offering, the owner can conjure Hellfire. By spending a point of Willpower, this unnatural fire can be used to make attacks that inflict aggravated damage at a range of up to 50 feet, using Dexterity + Occult for an attack pool.
2. The Saffron Bend
The Orange Bend is associated with the virtues of Hope and aspirations. It holds the power to reveal hidden or lost things but is corrupted with the vice of Greed. It represents the Rat Guardian. It's rumored to be in the Underworld Death Dominion known as Dis. According to legend, right after the Fall, the Orange Bend was in the possession of the Crimson King. The Orange Bend was later rumored to be in the Underworld realm of Dis.
3. The Amber Bend
The Yellow Bend is associated with the virtue of Humility. It holds the power of unlimited Telepathy but is corrupted with the vice of Self Doubt. It represents the Dog Guardian. It's rumored to be worked into the Glass Gate of the Emerald City in Arcadia.
4. The Cerise Bend
Aka Maerlyn's GrapefruitThe Pink Bend is associated with the virtue of Passion. It holds the power of ultimate Scrying in the phemeral world but is corrupted with the vice of Lust It represents the Rabbit Guardian. It's current location is completely unknown but it is perhaps the Bend that has been encountered the most throughout history.
Also called Maerlyn's Grapefruit, the Pink Bend brings the power to see long distances the people the owner knows and see the deepest secrets and immoral things that those people does. Always embarrassing and dangerous secrets.
It was to, at one point, be in possession of the son of Merlin, a wanderer of the worlds who calls the demon inside the Pink Bend his sister.
The crystal can act as a seeing stone showing a single person visions of current and future events elsewhere, presumably only in the same world and show the vilest acts of men. The visions seen can be back-handed, lying through reflection or other tricks to manipulate the viewer towards evil actions. The glass is extremely addictive and can entrance the viewer and cause a severe addiction to being viewed.Inside the Cerise Bend resides the demon Altima, the Ultimate, The High Seraph, representing the Zodiac of Virgo. It appears as a virginal angel with six blood wings. It prefers to possess virgins. She is the leader of the Lucavi, for the demon of Black 13 is mad and cannot be reasoned with by the rest of the demons.
5. The Deep Blue Bend
The Dark Blue Bend is associated with the virtue of Love. It holds the power to Scry into the Hedge and Arcadia and sees the Fates of all things but is corrupted with the vice of Obsession. It represents the Turtle Guardian. It's was rumored to be in the hands of a pack Hob Goblins calling themselves the "Total Hogs" but it was also rumored they lost it.
Inside the Deep Blue Bend resides the demon Zalera, Angel of Death, representing the Zodiac of Gemini. It appears as skeletal reaper with a bull-horned skull for a head and rotting bat wings, its cloak in tatters and any flesh is worn down to nothing.
The Dark Green is associated with the virtue of Temperance. It holds the power of ultimate Astral travel but is corrupted with the vice of Abnegation. It represents the Elephant Guardian. It's was rumored to be in city of Lud and is presumed to remain there after genocide destroyed its populace.
7. The Indigo Bend
The Indigo Bend is associated with the virtue of Courage. It holds the power of invulnerability but is corrupted with the vice of Pride and Arrogance It represents the Eagle Guardian. It's was rumored to be smashed after the Fall.
8. The Lime Bend
The Lime Bend is associated with the virtue of Prudence. It holds the power of perfect invisibility but is corrupted with the vice of Cowardice. It represents the Bat Guardian. It's was rumored to have been smashed after the Sundering of the World.
Inside the Lime Bend resides the demon Elidibus, Zodiark, The Keeper of Precepts, representing the Zodiac of Scorpio. It appears as a serpent or dragon with 16 wings, it bears a brand that marks it as a coward and a traitor to the gods.
9. The Azure Bend
The Bright Blue Bend is associated with the virtue of Purity. It holds the power of total immunity to poison and disease but is corrupted with the vice of withdrawal from the world. It represents the Fish Guardian. It's was rumored to have been smashed after the Sundering of the World.
10. The Violet Bend
The Violet Bend is associated with the virtue of Dignity and Confidence. It holds the power of complete Illusion but is corrupted with the vice of Pride. It represents the Horse Guardian. It's rumored to be worked into the Glass Gate of the Emerald City in Arcadia.
Inside the Violet Bend resides the demon known as Rophochehe, The Whisperer representing the Zodiac of Sagittarius. It appears as a purple-hooded female centaur.
11. The Dun Bend
The Brown Bend is associated with the virtue of Righteous Anger. It holds the power of unlimited strength but is corrupted with the vice of Wrath. It represents the Bear Guardian. It's location is completely unknown.
Inside the Dun Bend resides the demon known as Adrammelech, The Wroth, The Ghost of Fury, representing the Zodiac of Capricorn It appears as a demi-humanoid goat-man of dark green
12. The Grey Pearl Bend
The Grey Pearl Bend is associated with the virtue of Serenity. It holds the power of Levitation and Flight but is corrupted with the vice of Sloth. It represents the Lion Guardian. It's location is completely unknown.
13. The Black Bend
Aka Black Thirteen (in possession of Chimera)
The Black Bend is associated with the virtue of Power. It holds the power to travel between the worlds, scrying between the worlds, and communication between it and the other Bends, but is corrupted with the vice of Hate. It represents the "Dark Tower" itself. It's last known location was in a long-term storage locker in the lower floors of the New York World Trade Center. It is believed to have been destroyed by the collapse of the Twin Towers and the death resonance of the event. If it wasn't destroyed, it was almost certainly irretrievably buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
However, it has reemerged in the hands of one of the Nativity, Kirsten Quarles Singleton, known by the Shadowname Magpie after she was "cured" of her condition. It is possible that the work of Archmastery used by Persphone to fix the tattered soul of Kirsten somehow brought back Black 13.
Magpie is now an apprentice of Chimera's and Chimera holds it under her guard. She does not know what she carries.
Theories: Why Thirteen?
There are many rumors on why there are thirteen Bends in the Rainbow. Eastern mystics believe that they correspond to a 12th or 13th Chakra system, or perhaps that similarly colored Bends combine to form the more traditional 7 Chakras. Western occultists believe they correspond with the 12 Zodiac or the Black Zodiac (inverse to the 12 Zodiac).
In almost all of these approaches, Black 13 is usually the odd one out. It represents the combined power of the other 12, representing either a null-state or an all-state spiritually. In the Zodiac/Black Zodiac there is lore about a 13th sign, Serpentarius (also called
Ophiuchus).
The 13 could also represent the 10 Arcana (and 10 Exarchs) plus the three fallen Exarchs (The Dethroned Queen, the Architect, and the Gate (who would be Black 13).
((Fun fact, the Black Zodiac and the 13th sign was the inspiration for the horror movie: 13 Ghosts.))
Inside the Black Bend resides the demon Cuchulain, The Impure, The Tainted King, representing the Zodiac of Serpentarius. It appears as a massively obese humanoid with with a huge toothy maw and a sewn shut mouth over its massive stomach.
Maerlyn's Rainbow
Theories: Why Thirteen?
There are many rumors on why there are thirteen Bends in the Rainbow. Eastern mystics believe that they correspond to a 12th or 13th Chakra system, or perhaps that similarly colored Bends combine to form the more traditional 7 Chakras. Western occultists believe they correspond with the 12 Zodiac or the Black Zodiac (inverse to the 12 Zodiac).
In almost all of these approaches, Black 13 is usually the odd one out. It represents the combined power of the other 12, representing either a null-state or an all-state spiritually. In the Zodiac/Black Zodiac there is lore about a 13th sign, Serpentarius (also called
Ophiuchus).The 13 could also represent the 10 Arcana (and 10 Exarchs) plus the three fallen Exarchs (The Dethroned Queen, the Architect, and the Gate (who would be Black 13).
Inside the Black Bend resides the demon Cuchulain, The Impure, The Tainted King, representing the Zodiac of Serpentarius. It appears as a massively obese humanoid with with a huge toothy maw and a sewn shut mouth over its massive stomach.
Maerlyn's Rainbow
by Robin Furth
At the beginning of our macroverse, there were no worlds and no universes, only the seething, raw magic of the Prim. This phosphorescent soup of creation grew like a great, hungry, opalescent ameba. It ate the nothingness, and in the silence it murmured and whispered.
First to erupt from the depths of the Prim was Gan, spirit of the Tower. Tall and grey-black, he pushed into the sky, the windows that spiraled round his barrel flashing with an electric-blue light. From the center of Gan’s forehead stared a great oriel window of twelve colors: crimson, orange, yellow, pink, dark blue, dark green, indigo, lime, azure, violet, brown and pearl grey. Though the window was beautiful, the circular pane at its center glowed black as the emptiness of todash space.
As Gan stretched himself higher and higher, the waters of the Prim poured out of his navel. From its raw magic he spun the world. As the Tower lengthened, so the world divided into the multiple, parallel worlds. Gan set those sequin-like worlds spinning around the axle of his body and their movement created time.
As time settled on its axis, the sun and moon arose from the Prim and built their own roads across the sky. Soon they were joined by Old Star and his wife, South Star. But while the gods took their places above the stage of the earth, other more terrible creatures bred in the deeper waters of the Prim.
The most awful of the Prim’s new children were the monstrous Great Old Ones. Some of these horrors had the bodies of squid, some of giant centipedes, still others of great, double-fanged spiders. All had clawed pincers and gaping mouths filled with shark teeth, and all of them were hungry. But as these Great Ones cozened, diddled, and increased, the Prim began to recede. Some of these monsters died, but others slithered into the void places between worlds and waited.
As the magical Prim withdrew, many lesser demons were stranded upon the shores of the multiple worlds. Some of these demons strangled, but others adapted and thrived. Among those that survived were beings that looked like men but were not human. One of these unpredictable and dangerous creatures called himself Maerlyn.
Though Maerlyn looked like a grey-bearded mage, he was an Agent of the Prim, a creature of raw magic. Like the chaotic force that bore him, he cared nothing for either stability or order. All he cared about was his own amusement, and what amused him most was havoc.
Presenting himself as a powerful wizard, Maerlyn taught the people of the world the philosophy of magic and its many practical applications. He showed them how to build doorways between worlds and tunnels between time periods (Irises made with Archmastery?). Under his tutelage, they built Dogans – experimental stations where technology could be fused with magic – and in these Dogans the Old People created annihilating weapons.
A powerful empire emerged which called itself the Imperium (Atlantis?). Bloated with their own importance, the leaders of the Imperium claimed lordship over the whole of the time-space continuum. However, in order to truly control time and dimension, they had to conquer the lynch-pin of existence. Hence, they decided to replace the Axis Mundi, a new Tower.
When the architects, electricians, and builders arrived at the site, they were amazed by what they saw. Not only was the Tower more imposing than they had realized, but what they had taken for stone was actually hardened flesh. Still, they wanted to earn their glory, so they set to work. But no sooner did the first wrecking ball hit that imposing edifice than the ground was rocked by an enormous tremor. This earthquake increased in intensity until a gaping fissure opened up in the earth and a dense yellow fog arose out of it.
All over the world, monster-filled verges opened like sores on the skin of existence. The Imperium fragmented—each faction blaming the others for this terrible miscalculation—and soon there was war. Men and women fled in terror, but there was no where left to hide. Animals and plants caught in the poisonous crossfire mutated, and the world was reduced to an irradiated wasteland. How Maerlyn laughed!
But despite the horror and havoc, the Tower survived. Listing to one side on his cracked foundations, Gan let one drop of blood fall from his flesh. The drop seeped into the earth at his base and on that spot grew a rose. The rose was pink on the outside, fierce red on the inside, and its center was yellow as the sun. Stretching up into the toxic air, the rose began to sing. As it sang, more roses sprang up, and more and more until the Tower, now surrounded by a field of harmonizing blossoms, righted itself. All over world, the clouds of poisoned gas parted and the monster-filled mists receded.
The powers of the Rose seal back the primordial chaos of the Abyss...
Like the land, human society began to heal and the fabric of culture was rewoven. Warring clans made treaties and united into baronies. Leaders from the many baronies met to palaver and in so doing, formed an Affiliation. Together, the men of the Affiliation destroyed the lawless harriers who pillaged and ransomed; they hunted down the man-eating mutants hidden deep within the earth; they even built heavy dams to hold back the waters of the Prim. During this time of struggle, one young warrior became known for his prowess in battle and for his ability to inspire confidence in his followers. His name was Arthur Eld. And though he still wore the sword of his fathers at his hip, he also carried a new, fearsome weapon which was able to defeat all enemies. Arthur called this new weapon a gun. By force of the gun, Arthur bridled the worlds' evil and reclaimed the land for men, not chaotic magic.
But not everyone was happy with this restoration of order. Deep in his cave on the lapping shores of the Prim, Maerlyn ground his teeth. In his scrying crystal, he watched as the glorious city of Gilead was rebuilt, stone by stone, so that Arthur, the new high king, could be crowned there. Peace was boring. Men who did not savage each other were boring. Eternity stretched before the immortal wizard, both long and wide. Maerlyn tapped his teeth, and then he grinned. It was time for more trickery.
Over the undying fire that burned in his cave, Maerlyn spun the waters of the Prim into glass. Whispering secret words, he divided the white magic into twelve tainted magical strands. Finally he rolled the strands into spheres. When nothing was left in his hands but shadow, Maerlyn rolled a black ball. Whereas each of the colored spheres contained the secret of a different form of magic – one contained the skill of levitation, another held the secret of telepathy, yet another the power to move between worlds – the black contained only the evil of the void. His work done, Maerlyn passed his hands over the Bends o’ the Rainbow, and in the heart of each seductive sphere he placed a curse. Though magic was by nature neither good nor bad, these spheres would bring only sorrow to their users.
Maerlyn walked to the edge of the Prim and lifted his arms to the sky. He called out to his brothers and sisters, the Great Old Ones, and entreated them to journey with him to the coronation of the new human king. There, disguised as men and women, they could wreak their vengeance on those who sought to cage them. There they could feed.
The Great Old Ones came. Though they arose from the Prim in their terrible insect-like bodies, as air touched their skins they became a parade of knights and ladies. The women wore silver dresses that shone like the scales of fish; the men wore armor which, out of the corner of the eye, seemed to be made of mollusk shells. For weapons they carried poisoned tridents and huge pikes, and on their banners fluttered the Wheel of Chaos. Last to emerge from the magical waters was the eldest of all the Great Old Ones. As her red, hairy, eight-armed body scrambled out of the water, her form became as beautiful as it had previously been hideous. In her gown and wimple of crimson silk, she reached forth and clasped Maerlyn’s hand.
Was the red-haired woman Lilith? The Dark Mother? Mother of all Monsters?
In the renovated city of Gilead, the festivities began in earnest. Dressed in white, Arthur rode through the streets on his white stallion Llamrei. Young girls showered him with flowers while men set off fireworks and vendors sold cakes decorated with the new crown of all worlds, its thirteen colored gems – one for each striation in the Tower’s central oriel window – replaced by colored candies.
As the trumpeters blew their trumpets, Arthur was led into the throne room. He seated himself on the throne and his chief advisor, Sir Kay Deschain, held the crown above his head. The new high king pledged his life and the lives of his descendants to protect the Tower, and the jeweled crown was placed upon his brow. A great cheer went up in the hall, followed by cheering and dancing in the streets. The bad old days were over and the good new days had begun. But no sooner did the king’s advisers begin congratulating themselves than they had to pause. The sound of street celebration had ceased and had been replaced by silence. And from the silence arose the otherworldly music of flutes and lutes.
The courtiers flocked to the windows, and what they saw outside shocked them. The awestruck citizens of Gilead had parted to make way for a delegation of the most richly dressed men and women that anyone had ever seen. Their leader, an aged wizard, approached the Great Hall and stood beneath the throne-room’s central window. Striking his staff on the ground he requested permission to ascend. The people of the Prim, mankind’s oldest enemies, had come bearing gifts of peace for the new king.
Never had either Arthur or his court seen anything more beautiful than those spheres. They seemed to glisten with the very magic from which they were made, and the desire to touch them, to hold them, to gaze into their depths, was overwhelming. One by one, the King of Eld held up the spheres which the sorcerer Maerlyn promised would bring peace, prosperity, and wisdom to his kingdom. Yet as Arthur passed each ball to his most trusted advisors, his face, and their faces, began to change.
Where once there had been generosity, now there was greed. Where once there had been trust, now there was suspicion. And as Arthur raised the crimson ball above his head to display it to his followers, he momentarily beheld his court through its colored distortion. Suddenly, those whom he had known to be honest appeared deceitful, and those he’d thought loyal wore the smirks of traitors. Even Queen Rowena, his lovely young wife, seemed ugly as a hag.
The king who descended from the throne was not the same as the one who had ascended to it such a short time before. He was curt, he was suspicious, and he was impatient. The rest of the court did not seem to notice, but Sir Kay did. He suspected that the king’s uninvited guests had brought with them an evil enchantment.
The banquet began, and a riotous affair it was. Men got drunk and danced on the tables. Women kicked off their shoes, lifted their skirts, and twirled from one partner to another. Servants threw hunks of meat to the dogs that skulked around the revelers’ feet so that they could watch the animals savage each other. And through it all, Arthur ignored his courtiers, his advisors, and his wife. He only had eyes for the Prim’s Crimson Queen.
Without excusing himself from the party, Sir Kay retreated to his rooms. It was all terribly wrong, even if he was the only one who could see it. Late that evening, as the rest of the courtiers fell into a drunken slumber, he went out to spy on the court’s uninvited guests.
Yet what he found, not even he had expected. When the last of the courtiers were asleep, the Prim’s lords and ladies shed their human skins. They were not men and women at all but great man-eating insects! Holding his hand over his mouth to keep from gagging, Sir Kay moved from shadow to shadow, skirting the gorging monsters, searching for Arthur. When he found him, the king was unconscious. But worse yet, he was in the arms of a giant red spider.
Bellowing Arthur’s name, Sir Kay charged the spider and pierced it with his sword. The spider shrieked and bit Sir Kay, but it had been gravely wounded. As it scurried away, its black blood seared the grass. When the court awoke, the creatures of the Prim were gone, but so were many of the courtiers. Howling with grief, servants covered the bodies of the half-eaten dead, and the panicked advisers went in search of their king. They found him, still unconscious, in the garden. Beside him, his wound oozing black venom, his melted sword in his hand, was the body of Sir Kay.
Though Arthur ordered the Wizard’s spheres to be broken, the glass forged over the undying fire of Maerlyn’s cave proved to be unbreakable. Instead they were buried in a secret cave, but not even that worked as planned. Drawn by their glammer, thieves soon discovered the hiding place, and Maerlyn’s Rainbow found its way into the world once more.
But the survival of Maerlyn’s demonic spheres was not Arthur’s only worry. Though the royal couple was visited by every physician and mid-wife in the realm, Queen Rowena remained barren. Instead it was the Crimson Queen who kindled. Within a year, she gave birth to a child that was both man and spider and she declared him Arthur’s heir. As his father had sworn, the Red Prince was bound to the Tower. But whereas a human child would have been bound to defend it, Arthur’s monstrous child was determined to destroy it. Peace was over before it had properly begun.
So Mordrid in this myth is now the one known as the Crimson King?
But Fate is a wheel and as it turns, even the fortunes of the wicked must change. Crouched in his cave, staring into his scrying crystal, Maerlyn had a vision that disturbed him. Based on that vision, he made a prophecy to the Crimson Queen. Her offspring would thrive, spreading a new kind of chaos throughout the multiple worlds. Yet one day a human kinsman would arise to challenge him. Though mortal, this child of Eld would darkle andtinct like a creature of magic. He would pursue the servants of the Prim from century to century and from one level of reality to another. This human child would be the Tower’s final champion. As a warrior of the White, he would destroy the Outer Dark. Unless he was destroyed, he would kill the Crimson Prince and reign in the power of the Prim forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment