“Despite the many years I have been in this world, the horrors I have seen, I have also seen beauty and compassion. For every so-called evil doer I have known someone who’s light shines brighter than than the sun.”– Grandfather
Many decades, if not centuries ago, in Corlak, land of the sentient items , the event known as the Spell Cascade was brought to an end by the sacrifice of the people there. When their souls were ripped from their bodies, which had been disintegrated by the effect of negating the Cascade, they found they were drawn to items and objects that were important to them. Book, swords, tools, and in some cases…buildings.
The entity now calling itself Grandfather was one such person. Finding his soul now bound to the ancestral castle with which he had helped build from a teenager, to adult and older was quite a traumatic experience. Many of his memories were gone, but those of his family, some of which has undergone the Transformation, were very strong. Some had remained as caretakers to keep the country intact and to look after the fledgling sentient items.
Over the centuries, Grandfathers family grew and kept him bound to the world. Those who underwent the Transformation into items discovered that a strong family bond not only kept their sanity intact, but their spirit bound to this realm. For, as was discovered, resurrection or reincarnation for an item-person was impossible. If they died, that was it – No afterlife, no coming back, no rebirth. The larger the item, the more important this binding to family became to those afflicted by this secondary effect. As long as one of the family was alive, their spirit could remain bound to the item.
Something else was discovered about the item-people after a few decades – The longer they were bound, the more control and abilities their item-form would develop. Grandfather was a first-generation , whilst not the largest item person known, was one of the biggest and oldest. The descendants of his original family started to notice changes within the castle they still addressed as Grandfather. Rooms would be slightly larger, corridors a smidgen wider, doors a bit smaller at times.
Eventually, the mystery was figured out. The space within Grandfather was twisting and expanding, looping back on itself. In effect, the castle was becoming bigger on the inside than the outside dimensions suggested. As the bio-logical family grew so did Grandfathers control over his internal systems. Rooms could be fully formed, from vaults, to barracks and more. Then one day a lost wandering visitor appeared within the castle. After a brief fight, it was determined that a portal to another plane had opened within one of the new chambers that had formed.
Over the decades that followed, Grandfather had become more potent as an item person, being able to alter their form and gain new abilities. The biggest shock to all was when one day during a flood that threatened to drown all the villagers who had taken refuge within, Grandfather ripped himself from the ground and started to hover. Like the other powers this too grew in potency, developing into the ability to fly and even planar jump.
These increasing abilities worried the family, but they still adored Grandfather. It was suggested by the leaders of Corlak, land of the sentient items that Grandfather and his family leave to destination unknown. They were sympathetic and established an edict that if Grandfather or those of his family were to return, they would be still classed as citizens with all the right and privileges that would entail. An so, Grandfather activated the jump drive and left see where fate would take them.
As luck would have it, it wasn’t that far, only about 150 miles to the south, in the area known as the Elf-Dwarf Alliance . Over the years they spent there, the family, slowly, one by one died. Despite being naturally long-lived their were still mortal. Grandfather grew weak and started shutting down the various abilities they had. The last but one living descendant of Grandfather , Michal, was getting desperate. His daughter, who despite her real name preferred to be called Selena needed protection until she was of age. As such Michal did what he what he thought was best. Discovering that there was a coven of powerful creatures nearby he entered into a bargain with one of them. Protect my daughters life. And, in their way, they did.
By “cursing” Selena and turning her into a frog-like creature, it preserved her life and thus, that of Grandfather. This worked and Selena was alive and technically immortal and protected from harm and aging. Grandfather though was in trouble. Over the next 200+ years the creatures that “helped” sent envoys to try and claim control of Grandfather and his now vastly diminished powers. For the most part they were kept away, partially due to the bond between him and Selena.
When the “curse” on Selena was broken, the bond and protection was also broken. An undead creature desiring power and whom was owed a favor from the coven managed to infiltrate Grandfather , causing him to crash and leaving a big trench in a forest not far from the border of his homeland. Luckly, the ones who broke the curse on Selena (who’s age was now rapidly starting to catch up with her) were also able to deal with the undead being.
Bonding with them, Grandfather had a family, of sorts, once more and a purpose.
Revenge on the coven.
World Anvil Page for the item listed above can be found HERE.
My World Anvil page/game world, Easthalen, can be found HERE. It is updated often , as and when I can.
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