A Long, Dark Journey [Calypso Upgrade]

» Name Of Character: Calypso Asthavon
» Link To Character: https://www.platinumhearts.net/t20921-calypso-asthavon-danava-of-dreams-and-nightmares-approved-1-5

» Upgrading:

Tier Increase: 1-5 -> 1-2

Focus: Elite -> Master
Possessive Influence: Adept -> Advanced

The Nether (STORY/PLOT LOCATION):
A dark land, one that exists at the cusp between dreams and death, a mirror of the waking world almost exactly. Light and darkness weave and work in tandem together to craft this realm, this place existing theoretically since the dawn of consciousness. It is crafted, shaped, and borne of memories. Sometimes, when a being dies, their memories, their self, ends up trapped in this land. The world’s time moves at a far faster rate than the waking world’s, every hour marking a year within this land of shadow. There is no food, no sun, nothing that would make the waking world enjoyable, as it is a hollow copy crafted by the collective’s memories.

Such a long stay can drive anyone mad, but many residents have learned to cope with the grinding of time on their minds. While they are just memories, they are practically the same as them in their life, as nurture plays a large part in the creation of personality and minds. Sometimes, those inched close to death, such as coma patients or those in critical condition, end up here. It’s a rare event, but such a thing can be taken advantage of by the residents if they cannot wake up quickly - Called bonding. This can cause a range of effects, only affecting the mind, be they forcibly tied to the waking person’s consciousness, or a jumble of madness driving the living to madness.

This vast realm covers entire dimensions, occupied by beings Calypso calls ‘Shadow Folk’. These beings are the memories who end up here, and live their lives out. Shadow Folk will appear as dark shadows with white glowing eyes if they are an unknown party, but those someone recognizes will merely appear as their true appearance. Even higher sentient animals appear here, looking similar to their humanoid counterparts.

-Sight Of The Depths (STORY/PLOT ABILITY): Simply put, as the Nether is a place that directly mirrors the waking world, as some consequence of connecting and attuning with the realm, Calypso is able to see the Shadow Folk anytime they may be present in somewhere’s equivalent within the Nether. This doesn’t have any effect on those within the waking world, they merely are afterimages, ghosts to her. Occasionally she can even hear their woeful whispers..

-Walker Of The Depths (STORY/PLOT ABILITY): Calypso is able to return and leave the Nether, however she cannot reenter unless specific conditions are met. One, she has to be somewhere where all senses are brought to a low, low point - A sensory deprivation tank is the best for this. She cannot be bothered or roused from the waking world or else she will be pulled right out, as if snapping awake from a dream. Once on the other side, there isn’t any difficulty in making her wake up - Unlike previously, she can wake herself up just fine, she just must be careful not to spend too much time in the Nether, or else it will start grinding at her mind again.

The Mind - Reborn:
Her attuning with such a realm tied so deep between dreams and death, sister concepts in themselves, has caused new life and new realizations. With her unending determination, desperation, and desire to rescue those trapped within the slumbering lands of the Nether, a new ability was borne within herself - The ability to pull the people trapped from there, and give them new bodies and souls.

Though their new physical beings will end up reverted to a younger age compared to before they died. The older they were, the younger they will be. The newly reborn beings will not have all their memories intact upon reawakening - a side effect of being taken unnaturally from their place by Calypso, however that doesn’t necessarily mean they are lost forever. They have vague recollections of things, people, and places, and over time with enough work and effort can end up regaining all their memories. However, if there’s too many memories to recover, like that of a several thousand or even millions of years old being, it’s possible most of them will be lost to the sands of time, forever.

Any beings reborn do not possess the same level of power or experience they did as they died - them being physically and mentally younger should be a further indication of this. Any and all of those who are reborn through this method are automatically blessed by Calypso, as her magic marks their very souls.

Disclaimers regarding the nature of this ability:

1) THIS ABILITY IS NOT REVIVAL. The characters pulled from the Nether are the cumulative memories/personality of that person who has died and have become trapped within that realm. Once they are pulled out, the memories are tied to a completely new body and new soul by Calypso's magic. Meaning, apart from possessing memories of their past life, they are practically physically and spiritually set back to square one in terms of prowess and potential. In addition, due to this being an entirely new form for them, it's possible they may not even have the same exact abilities they possessed when they were alive, or even end up with a completely different powerset.

2) Any player-made characters cannot just be resurrected willy nilly - I would have to gain permission from the RPer to do such a thing, and it has to make actual IC sense for that person to be resurrected.

Blessing Of The Primal Soul: The lessons instilled into her mind by Pharsita have finally taken shape, and form. The desire to aid in others become their truest selves has evolved into a blessing, one that Calypso is able to bestow upon other beings. Given her power and reach, it is no surprise such a desire has been made real. This ability was birthed when she wished to give her companions within a land of shadow a better life, a chance to see the light, setting off a chain of reactions that defied the laws themselves.

This blessing can only be given to those who Caly believes in, she must believe there is something within them that can be unearthed and cultivated, bettered into a blossoming flower. Then, the person themselves must also believe in Calypso, or else the process will simply not begin. As this is a blessing of demonic origins, the person receiving it, if not already at least part demon, will gain a demonic part to their soul, as this blessing runs that deep.

Once blessed, the individual’s appearance changes, either minorly or majorly, but always will form some form of primal, animalistic aspect to their physical appearance. This blessing forms around the potential of another being, in order to help them grow and change, presenting their true selves in a very literal way - through that of a beast’s shape. To accept yourself, you must accept the ugly along with the beautiful, and such a concept comes to life with gifting the blessed the ability to change into a representation of their truest, primal selves.

Along with such an ability to shift, they may also gain boosts to their own innate abilities, or completely new ones derived from their very nature, be it personality or concept. The more one grows and embraces their truest self, the more control over their blessed abilities they have, the more comfortable they feel in their shifted form.

It is impossible for any being to receive more than one blessing - It marks the soul and can only do such a thing once.

» Why: https://www.platinumhearts.net/t21535-a-dip-into-the-nether-calypso-solo#141100


» Extra: [Anything extra to add?]