Post by Day of Judgement Admin on Jul 9, 2008 0:39:32 GMT -6
Many know of the myth of the underworld Hades...
The foggy and dank cavernous underworld is known as Hades by many in the knowledge of more aged Greek myths. Years would pass, and philosophy would come to believe or say that all mortals, after death, are judged. Their sins and their good traits weighed. In the end, they were either rewarded, or punished with some form of d**nation.
The Elysian Fields and Tartarus are two very contrasting sections of Hades. They were never truly consistent when it came to the geographical location of the underworld. The myth of the Garden of Hesperides, which identifies with the Isles of the Blessed, where the heroes dwell, contrast with previous writings and stories.
Via transportation by Chiron, the deceased truly enter the underworld by crossing the Acheron, a river of Hades. Chiron charged, however, a obolus, a small coin, for this transportation. The dead were most usually buried with the obolus placed under their tongues, to ensure the ride across the Acheron. These were usually placed here by family or friends. Homeless, orphans, paupers, and the friendless may wait at the near shore of Acheron for hundreds of years.
Propitiatory libations were offered by the Greeks to reduce the possibility that the spirits of the dead would return to the 'upper world' to haunt those who hadn't given them a proper and suiting burial. Once the dead crossed the Acheron they find that the far side is guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus. Beyond him lies the land of the dead, where the deceased are to be judged.
Though much of what the Greek myths told were just that, myths, a very important aspect of their beliefs were correct. That was the belief of the judging after death. Upon death, the dead are shuffled into a long line with the knowledge that they are to be judged and their fate decided. Upon entry to the line, one must pay their memories of their past life. Finally, once you get to the front of the line, a council of three elders decide whether they are to have another blessed life, or a cursed life.
This decision is based upon the sins and pious and kind deeds made by the human. If one outweighs another, a decision is made. However, if they are relatively equal, the human is returned back to Earth, without either a curse or being blessed. From there, they live out their lives as just another normal human without any memory of their Judgement. They are, however, given a instinct as to what they are.
The Blessed may receive one of the following at the choice of the Elders:
Telepathy= Ability to Read Thoughts
Technopathy= Ability to manipulate technology. Manifested as a form of 'communication'. The Technopath must touch the CPU for this to go into effect. Then, they can easily access sites and files normally blocked out by firewalls.
Bless Detection= The ability to detect those around them as Blessed or Cursed. It is these people who are the only Blessed who know what they are. They are still unaware of the Council, and their past lives, however. They can see a sort of an 'aura' around the Blessed and Cursed. It is a pale red colour, whereas Normals tend to lack auras. It, however, is very thin, and can sometimes be overlooked, and doesn't interfere with normal sight.
Accelerated Healing= Heal at a much faster, but not immediate, pace. Healing times are most usually cut in half, however.
Superhuman Durability= Can withstand more pain, and wear and tear without their body giving up. However, the effects of a broken arm are still felt, as are cuts. They are just put off until the body is in a more relaxed state.
Omni-Linguism= Can understand and speak any language, as long as they are in the presence of one who can speak such language. However, if they have been in the presence of that person in that past, they may be able to speak the language again. Still, this takes a large amount of concentration.
Intangibility= Walk through walls and other solid items. Cannot walk through other intangible objects or items. They can, however, make any items or objects they touch intangible, so long as they have physical contact with it. (I.E. Clothing, Cellphone, Food, ect.) They, on the other hand, cannot take another person with them. They are also incapable of all speech and sound while intangible. Additionally, they cannot make certain parts of their body intangible, while the rest is tangible, such as an arm.
If cursed, you will be given a following status chosen by the Elders:
Vampires- No powers over seduction, age, telepathy, vampiracy to others, ect. They simply must drink the blood of a human to live. They cannot be killed by anything that wouldn't kill an average human. They aren't turned by being bitten by another. Like all Cursed and Blessed, their Judgements don't show effect until around fifteen years of age. Also, they cannot give another being Vampiracy. Upon maturing, they develop 'highly elongated' canine's. Which would make it liable for someone to call them fangs, given the similar traits of a story book character, and themselves.
Cannibals- Similar to Vampiracy, but it is the flesh of humans that must be consumed. They are just as civilized as regular humans, they just tend to have a bit of meat stuck in their teeth.
Werewolves- These beings morph into raging beasts that will destroy anything in their way on any Full moon. On New moons, however, they have a similar murderous disposition, though they are still in human form. They cannot speak while in their werewolf form. Werewolves cannot infect another personal, human or not, with lycanthropy, and they do not turn into a plain wolf, but rather, a hairy wolf-like humanoid. Classic werewolf, without the howling. Quite like Vampires, they are not immortal either.
Banshee- Banshees are a cursed group that are gifted with the ability of warning and fortelling death. Their screams can drive one mad, or cause deafness. They have flight muscles like steel armour, but their skeletons are fragile. Banshees have two hearts and many rows of teeth. There appear to be two kinds of banshee, civilised and feral. Civilised banshees can apparently sense when a person is about to die. Untraditionally, these banshees do not scream. Rather, they let out wails and cries from that person's rooftop as a sign of impending death. Hearing the scream of a feral banshee is also a sign that you are about to die, but the connection in this case is much more direct, i.e the Banshee is coming right towards you and is going to be the cause of your death. They are most usually seen in dark shades of brown, and they have torn wings on their back from which they do not have the ability to fly. They might be able to hover, depending on their wing's condition. However, it would be for a very short amount of time.
Ghost- Not the traditional undead ghost. These beings are very much alive, but are unable to talk. Also, they are only able to keep a physical form for a short amount of time. They can whisper, but only in unknown tongues or screams. They often, when seen, are in a white shapeless dress (females), or a billowing and torn white robe (males). Their goals are unknown by all but them. They are, when in a phsyical state, seen to those who are normal as homeless, wandering and muttering to themselves, before disappearing without a trace. They can also move objects while not in a physical state, thus calling for the name 'Ghost'.
Hapless- Normal human beings with unimaginably horrifying luck.
Merpeople- Beings who can live underwater and above. They can breathe underwater most perfectly, and are atrociously ugly. However, if they decide to dwell upon the surface, they must cover every inch of their body with clothing. If not, their skin will burst to flames. They are the reason for the sudden increase of children's death while swimming in oceans. Merpeople grasp them, and pull them under. They will not wait until the children are dead in order to start biting off the delectable and rare meat, for their screams would be unheard and mumbled in the water.