Post by Darth Grievi on Aug 6, 2008 23:06:26 GMT -5
Well...
I've been working on the following piece for a long time. A very long time. So long that I can't remember when I statred it. So far, it's not even halfway done, but I figure I might as well post it up now instead of letting it gather even more dust...
New research on Avashevir by Nekal Kuma, Kayshan Shevir. Edited by Morgan Williams.
Preface:
"Yes, you read the title correctly. A book about Avashevir, by an Avashevir. I am not lying, nor am I out of my mind. The goal of this work is to dispel the many myths that have arisen around my people in recent years. I have done my best to keep this book unbiased, stating only facts, and as an extra precaution, have enlisted the help of a Human author I'd met some time ago to check for any signs of sympathy for my fellow Shevir. So rest easy, knowing this this work is more anti-Avashevir than pro, if anything."
Terminology:
"First of all, a quick primer for those unfamiliar with Avashevir terminology;
A Shevir, or simply Host, is a mortal that has been at least partially posessed by an Avashevir, though the former usually refers to one under complete control and/or exhibiting advanced mental powers, such as telepathy.
An Avashevir is the being that has posessed the Host. They are also called by many different local names, though Avashevir is their own term for themselves. This refers to the race as a whole.
An Avasheviredi, rarely used or seen, is an Avashevir that has given itself an identity in the form of a name or sometimes an entire persona. These will usually take a Host with similar properties to their view of themselves, and will often form a more symbiotic relationship, the personalities of the Host and Avasheviredi merging to become one. However, their mental powers are far less than that of a Shevir.
Plain 0, or sometimes The Underworld (though no deceased souls reside here), is where the Avashevir, along with several other races, live. When posessing a Host, Avashevir still stay within Plain 0, though a part of their minds resides in the mortal realm with the Shevir.
The pronoun "we" in this book, though I've tried to refrain from using it, refers to the Avashevir as a whole."
Appearances and Biology:
"Contrary to popular belief, Avashevir do not look like the huge-armed, emanciated creature, as in the widely seen sketch by that "local shaman". This depiction is almost entirely symbolism, mostly of the artist's opinions on Avashevir. Though, in the shaman's defence, any such portrait would have to be heavily symbolic. Avashevir, by nature, can not be drawn, as they only exist as thought, as energy of the mind.
As for Avashevir anatomy, we have not studied ourselves very much, if at all. We are aparently immortal, as in my aeons of existance, I can recall niether an Avashevir being born nor dying. It is quite possible that we are susceptable to starvation, though in times of desperation, animals are used to get us by.
Just as beings of matter must in turn consume matter to survive, Avashevir must consume energy, namely the energy almost pouring off mortal minds. Unfortunately for our reputaions, the best way to do this is by posession of a host. This ensures both that the food source is safe from others, and that the mortal lasts as long as possible. Taking a host is a tedious and tireing process, so Shevir will almost allways have unusually strong feelings of self-preservation."
Plain 0:
"Plain 0 is best described as an endless void, sprinked with beings of energy, like the Avashevir. Large or very powerful objects in the mortal realm will leave "shadows" or "warps" in the uniformity of Plain 0, as well as large populations of sapient beings. These, however, are precieved more as a glow of sorts. These anomalies generally map fairly closely to their actuall spatial relations, though distances are usually greatly reduced. From personal experience, one's position in Plain 0 has an impact on what parts of the mortal realm one can acess, signifying a deep relationship between the two.
Avashevir are not the sole inhabitants of Plain 0. In fact, they aren't even the most advanced. The void of our home is dotted with colonies and cities of beings calling themselves Locenaytus. Plain 0 is their term for our world, and the Avashevir, having no better name for it, made it our own. We have not had much contact with the Locenaytus, who seem too polite to call us the barbarians they view us as, simply prefering to ignore us and live off the other creatures of this realm. It is unknown whether they can have an effect on the mortal world, but it seems unlikely. Though they feed off of the neural energy that makes up all of Plain 0's inhabitants, they have made no move to tap the enormous source lying above their heads... so to speak.
The Locenaytus claim to be in contact with a third race of Plain 0, the Salbin, though we have not personally encountered any. Most of us believe that these "Salbin" are simply lies, created to make the Locenaytus seem all that more intimidating, thus preventing further contact from us "primitives". They are claimed to be able to materialize in the mortal realm, along with others not even dreamed about, at will. Concidering our own attempts at this, along with many of the opposite by several mortals, many find this dubious at best..."
Identifying a Shevir:
"Identifying a Shevir is harder than it seems, especially if one wants to catch the change early. For ease of referance, this section will be broken up based on the time since initial contact.
Initial Contact
Usually happening when the eventual Host is young, initial contact is when the Avashevir has decided it wants to feed off the particualr mortal and the process of latching on begins. Target ages are usually anywhere from 3-7 years old for Humans, though much older ones are not unheard of. Hosts are targeted then because their minds are not yet entirely certain what it's normal operations are, thus alowing the Avashevir to slip in undetected. The Avashevir's voice is usually mistaken for the concious, and thus not resisted.
Detection at this point is virtually impossible, showing absolutely no symptoms. However, if your young one begins talking about "that little voice in my head" and it doesn't sound like something normal, you may want to instruct him or her to fight against the voice, to ignore it, or tell it to get out. This is further discussed in the next section. Forced removal of the Avashevir has no effect on the would-be host.
Advisoary Stage
So named because the Host is being "Advised" by the Avashevir, this is the period of time after the Avashevir has become a distinct voice, but before it begins influencing it's Host's actions. This usually begins within 5 years of Initial Contact. Resistance at this point is more difficult, but not useless. While most are unable to push the Avashevir back all the way, resisting it will at least halt any further progression. However, since most of these Hosts are still unaware that the Avashevir is an anomaly, the takeover usually continues without a hitch.
Symptoms the same for anyone else hearing voices; talking to oneself, answering unheard questions, and so on. A few may be afraid of the voice and speak up to the local doctor or their parent/friend. Other signs include unexplainable knowlage, such as quickly learning languages, knowing secrets, and an amazing understanding of history, science, or other similar topics. As stated previously, fighting against the Avashevir helps, but full reversal is not likely. Like a chronic condition, if one stays on top of it, they'll be all right. Forced removal is usually successful, but the patient may experience some minor mental instability, such as a nervous tic or phobia.
Transition Stage
Generally starting 2-3 years after the Advisoary Stage, the Avashevir and the Host's personalities are equally dominant. They may merge, with one influencing the other, as in most Avasheviredi posessions. However, what usually happens is that either one or the other personality will be active at any time. The dormant personality will have a memory of what happened, but will be unable to recall the reasons for the actions of the active one. Some Avashevir will be sneaky and try to make sure that it is never obvious when they are in control, either by acting like the Host, or by limiting it's takeovers to when the Host is among strangers or asleep. Others feel confident enough at this point to announce, some to just the Host, some to the world, that their former friend/son/daughter is now a Shevir, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. These are usually the target of many Anti-Avashevir measures, as discussed in the next section.
Symptoms, besides the occasional proclamation, range from odd behavior and sudden mood swings, to something resembling multiple personality disorder. Two-faced lies, unexplainable sleepwalking, and other changes in personality are also useful signs. Resistance is useless, and the best one can hope for is keeping the Shevir personality dormant while they are awake. Unfortunately, the Shevir will usually do the same to the Host once he/she falls asleep. If you plan on removing the Avashevir, you must figure out whether your friend/son/daughter's personality is still seperate from the Avashevir's. If they have merged, as in a Avasheviredi takeover, removal will result in serious mental damage and/ or death. However, you can rest somewhat easy knowing this is as far as the possession will go. If the personalities are seperate, removal can be preformed sucessfully, though the former Host will usually become emotianally imbalanced. With proper therapy, this can be healed before it becomes a permanent condition.
Supression Stage
Taking anywhere from a few months to a few years after the Transition Stage to begin, the Supression Stage is when the Shevir personality becomes dominant, supressing the Host's, hence the name. This is when the signature mental powers of the Shevir begin to show themselves. The Host may resurface occasionally throughout this stage, though usually in voice only or as a grimace on the face as the Shevir fights it back down.
At this point, it usually becomes obvious that the person is a Shevir. Knowlage explainable only by telepathy, an overall change in personality, and the display of telekinesis are key signs to look for. Resistance is useless at this point, and the Host is usually in no state to fight back anyway. Removal is not advised, as it will usually leave the Host with severe mental damage or death.
Control Stage
Now in complete control over the Host's body and mind, the Shevir is free to do whatever it wants. Fortunately, not a lot of them are particularly agressive, and most will attack only in self defense. However, when they do defend themselves, they can pack quite a punch. The Shevir's mental powers are at their full development, and it will display advanced projection, mind-reading, and telekinesis. On rare occasions, the Avashevir will leave the body to scout ahead in Plain 0, causing the Shevir to go into a catatonic state. Few Shevir will hide their nature during this stage, so identification is very easy.
Since the Host's original personality is either supressed or completely gone, resistance is out of the question. Removal is too, as it will only suceed in killing the Host or reducing them to a catatonic state if one is lucky."
Anti-Avashevir measures:
"So you've got an Avashevir problem. There are four forms of anti-Avashevir measures: Preventive, Curative, Protective, and Torture. Preventive measures stop Avashevir from gaining a foothold in a Host in the first place. Curatives remove an Avashevir from a host. Protective ones defend the user from a Shevir's mental powers. Finaly, Torture is what it sounds like, ways to harm or trap an Avashevir.
Prevention
Most prevention measures are simple life-style choices, such as keeping children away from towns or cities with known Shevir activity, especially when the last Shevir has recently died. Avashevir are often territorial and prefer to stick to one particular area. If one is realy paranoid, protect your young ones inside any magical field. Takeover becomes all that much harder when we have to fight our way in, so unless an Avashevir....
*The rest of this book has been torn out. There may be another copy... somewhere...*
Other comming chapters...
On Avashevir-based religions:
On Relationships between Shevir, Avashevir, and Mortals.
I've been working on the following piece for a long time. A very long time. So long that I can't remember when I statred it. So far, it's not even halfway done, but I figure I might as well post it up now instead of letting it gather even more dust...
New research on Avashevir by Nekal Kuma, Kayshan Shevir. Edited by Morgan Williams.
Preface:
"Yes, you read the title correctly. A book about Avashevir, by an Avashevir. I am not lying, nor am I out of my mind. The goal of this work is to dispel the many myths that have arisen around my people in recent years. I have done my best to keep this book unbiased, stating only facts, and as an extra precaution, have enlisted the help of a Human author I'd met some time ago to check for any signs of sympathy for my fellow Shevir. So rest easy, knowing this this work is more anti-Avashevir than pro, if anything."
Terminology:
"First of all, a quick primer for those unfamiliar with Avashevir terminology;
A Shevir, or simply Host, is a mortal that has been at least partially posessed by an Avashevir, though the former usually refers to one under complete control and/or exhibiting advanced mental powers, such as telepathy.
An Avashevir is the being that has posessed the Host. They are also called by many different local names, though Avashevir is their own term for themselves. This refers to the race as a whole.
An Avasheviredi, rarely used or seen, is an Avashevir that has given itself an identity in the form of a name or sometimes an entire persona. These will usually take a Host with similar properties to their view of themselves, and will often form a more symbiotic relationship, the personalities of the Host and Avasheviredi merging to become one. However, their mental powers are far less than that of a Shevir.
Plain 0, or sometimes The Underworld (though no deceased souls reside here), is where the Avashevir, along with several other races, live. When posessing a Host, Avashevir still stay within Plain 0, though a part of their minds resides in the mortal realm with the Shevir.
The pronoun "we" in this book, though I've tried to refrain from using it, refers to the Avashevir as a whole."
Appearances and Biology:
"Contrary to popular belief, Avashevir do not look like the huge-armed, emanciated creature, as in the widely seen sketch by that "local shaman". This depiction is almost entirely symbolism, mostly of the artist's opinions on Avashevir. Though, in the shaman's defence, any such portrait would have to be heavily symbolic. Avashevir, by nature, can not be drawn, as they only exist as thought, as energy of the mind.
As for Avashevir anatomy, we have not studied ourselves very much, if at all. We are aparently immortal, as in my aeons of existance, I can recall niether an Avashevir being born nor dying. It is quite possible that we are susceptable to starvation, though in times of desperation, animals are used to get us by.
Just as beings of matter must in turn consume matter to survive, Avashevir must consume energy, namely the energy almost pouring off mortal minds. Unfortunately for our reputaions, the best way to do this is by posession of a host. This ensures both that the food source is safe from others, and that the mortal lasts as long as possible. Taking a host is a tedious and tireing process, so Shevir will almost allways have unusually strong feelings of self-preservation."
Plain 0:
"Plain 0 is best described as an endless void, sprinked with beings of energy, like the Avashevir. Large or very powerful objects in the mortal realm will leave "shadows" or "warps" in the uniformity of Plain 0, as well as large populations of sapient beings. These, however, are precieved more as a glow of sorts. These anomalies generally map fairly closely to their actuall spatial relations, though distances are usually greatly reduced. From personal experience, one's position in Plain 0 has an impact on what parts of the mortal realm one can acess, signifying a deep relationship between the two.
Avashevir are not the sole inhabitants of Plain 0. In fact, they aren't even the most advanced. The void of our home is dotted with colonies and cities of beings calling themselves Locenaytus. Plain 0 is their term for our world, and the Avashevir, having no better name for it, made it our own. We have not had much contact with the Locenaytus, who seem too polite to call us the barbarians they view us as, simply prefering to ignore us and live off the other creatures of this realm. It is unknown whether they can have an effect on the mortal world, but it seems unlikely. Though they feed off of the neural energy that makes up all of Plain 0's inhabitants, they have made no move to tap the enormous source lying above their heads... so to speak.
The Locenaytus claim to be in contact with a third race of Plain 0, the Salbin, though we have not personally encountered any. Most of us believe that these "Salbin" are simply lies, created to make the Locenaytus seem all that more intimidating, thus preventing further contact from us "primitives". They are claimed to be able to materialize in the mortal realm, along with others not even dreamed about, at will. Concidering our own attempts at this, along with many of the opposite by several mortals, many find this dubious at best..."
Identifying a Shevir:
"Identifying a Shevir is harder than it seems, especially if one wants to catch the change early. For ease of referance, this section will be broken up based on the time since initial contact.
Initial Contact
Usually happening when the eventual Host is young, initial contact is when the Avashevir has decided it wants to feed off the particualr mortal and the process of latching on begins. Target ages are usually anywhere from 3-7 years old for Humans, though much older ones are not unheard of. Hosts are targeted then because their minds are not yet entirely certain what it's normal operations are, thus alowing the Avashevir to slip in undetected. The Avashevir's voice is usually mistaken for the concious, and thus not resisted.
Detection at this point is virtually impossible, showing absolutely no symptoms. However, if your young one begins talking about "that little voice in my head" and it doesn't sound like something normal, you may want to instruct him or her to fight against the voice, to ignore it, or tell it to get out. This is further discussed in the next section. Forced removal of the Avashevir has no effect on the would-be host.
Advisoary Stage
So named because the Host is being "Advised" by the Avashevir, this is the period of time after the Avashevir has become a distinct voice, but before it begins influencing it's Host's actions. This usually begins within 5 years of Initial Contact. Resistance at this point is more difficult, but not useless. While most are unable to push the Avashevir back all the way, resisting it will at least halt any further progression. However, since most of these Hosts are still unaware that the Avashevir is an anomaly, the takeover usually continues without a hitch.
Symptoms the same for anyone else hearing voices; talking to oneself, answering unheard questions, and so on. A few may be afraid of the voice and speak up to the local doctor or their parent/friend. Other signs include unexplainable knowlage, such as quickly learning languages, knowing secrets, and an amazing understanding of history, science, or other similar topics. As stated previously, fighting against the Avashevir helps, but full reversal is not likely. Like a chronic condition, if one stays on top of it, they'll be all right. Forced removal is usually successful, but the patient may experience some minor mental instability, such as a nervous tic or phobia.
Transition Stage
Generally starting 2-3 years after the Advisoary Stage, the Avashevir and the Host's personalities are equally dominant. They may merge, with one influencing the other, as in most Avasheviredi posessions. However, what usually happens is that either one or the other personality will be active at any time. The dormant personality will have a memory of what happened, but will be unable to recall the reasons for the actions of the active one. Some Avashevir will be sneaky and try to make sure that it is never obvious when they are in control, either by acting like the Host, or by limiting it's takeovers to when the Host is among strangers or asleep. Others feel confident enough at this point to announce, some to just the Host, some to the world, that their former friend/son/daughter is now a Shevir, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. These are usually the target of many Anti-Avashevir measures, as discussed in the next section.
Symptoms, besides the occasional proclamation, range from odd behavior and sudden mood swings, to something resembling multiple personality disorder. Two-faced lies, unexplainable sleepwalking, and other changes in personality are also useful signs. Resistance is useless, and the best one can hope for is keeping the Shevir personality dormant while they are awake. Unfortunately, the Shevir will usually do the same to the Host once he/she falls asleep. If you plan on removing the Avashevir, you must figure out whether your friend/son/daughter's personality is still seperate from the Avashevir's. If they have merged, as in a Avasheviredi takeover, removal will result in serious mental damage and/ or death. However, you can rest somewhat easy knowing this is as far as the possession will go. If the personalities are seperate, removal can be preformed sucessfully, though the former Host will usually become emotianally imbalanced. With proper therapy, this can be healed before it becomes a permanent condition.
Supression Stage
Taking anywhere from a few months to a few years after the Transition Stage to begin, the Supression Stage is when the Shevir personality becomes dominant, supressing the Host's, hence the name. This is when the signature mental powers of the Shevir begin to show themselves. The Host may resurface occasionally throughout this stage, though usually in voice only or as a grimace on the face as the Shevir fights it back down.
At this point, it usually becomes obvious that the person is a Shevir. Knowlage explainable only by telepathy, an overall change in personality, and the display of telekinesis are key signs to look for. Resistance is useless at this point, and the Host is usually in no state to fight back anyway. Removal is not advised, as it will usually leave the Host with severe mental damage or death.
Control Stage
Now in complete control over the Host's body and mind, the Shevir is free to do whatever it wants. Fortunately, not a lot of them are particularly agressive, and most will attack only in self defense. However, when they do defend themselves, they can pack quite a punch. The Shevir's mental powers are at their full development, and it will display advanced projection, mind-reading, and telekinesis. On rare occasions, the Avashevir will leave the body to scout ahead in Plain 0, causing the Shevir to go into a catatonic state. Few Shevir will hide their nature during this stage, so identification is very easy.
Since the Host's original personality is either supressed or completely gone, resistance is out of the question. Removal is too, as it will only suceed in killing the Host or reducing them to a catatonic state if one is lucky."
Anti-Avashevir measures:
"So you've got an Avashevir problem. There are four forms of anti-Avashevir measures: Preventive, Curative, Protective, and Torture. Preventive measures stop Avashevir from gaining a foothold in a Host in the first place. Curatives remove an Avashevir from a host. Protective ones defend the user from a Shevir's mental powers. Finaly, Torture is what it sounds like, ways to harm or trap an Avashevir.
Prevention
Most prevention measures are simple life-style choices, such as keeping children away from towns or cities with known Shevir activity, especially when the last Shevir has recently died. Avashevir are often territorial and prefer to stick to one particular area. If one is realy paranoid, protect your young ones inside any magical field. Takeover becomes all that much harder when we have to fight our way in, so unless an Avashevir....
*The rest of this book has been torn out. There may be another copy... somewhere...*
Other comming chapters...
On Avashevir-based religions:
On Relationships between Shevir, Avashevir, and Mortals.
