Reign

The Origins

It was a sight he had witnessed all too many times: a blood-soaked battlefield, soldiers laying on the ground with their limbs torn or hanging on ligaments; screaming and wailing, bodies impaled through broken bayonets and faces lying in the mud with their bodies disconnected from them, severed and tossed into some pile of bodies or some ditch dug into the center of the field. For once, a twisted thought ran through the Draedan's mind: what if I made all of this much, much easier? The severing, the blood-soaked bodies, the bullet wounds from something other than rackety, barely-functional muskets. Taelian considered what bringing a brutally efficient war magic to his own side might do in helping to reshape the world to a more personally preferential state, and so Reign was born.

Concepts

The Guncrown: Reign is unique among all magics in that it is the only magic with a split Mark of Control: one half is the image of a tattooed bandolier of bullets that runs laterally across both sides of the non-dominant hand and through the palm, while the other is the image of a tattooed crown of thorns that wraps horizontally around the center of the dominant palm. Both of these markers are considered the two halves of the Guncrown, the axis through which Reign creates and manages the elements of the magic. When the magic is in use, both of these symbols will flow with a molten-like mixture of the color gold (the bandolier) and red (the crown of thorns).

Gunbelt: The bullet-bandolier can forge bullets in the non-dominant hand, which can then be loaded or reloaded into the Kingmaker's gun. Reloading is not required, but by reloading the Kingmaker will significantly reduce the ethereal cost of bullets, shells, rockets or other fuel for Reign's abilities, overall considerably increasing the magic's efficiency.

Bloodwelt: Each time a gun is created or reshaped in the Kingmaker's dominant hand, they can choose to squeeze the gun tightly against their palm, which will trigger the crown of thorns to bloody the palm with barbs. As the mage bleeds, their blood will flow along the barrel of the gun, feeding the weapon with sustenance. All bullets fired by a properly blood-fed gun will splinter into shrapnel shards upon impact, greatly increasing their ability to inflict wide-scale harm.

Initiation

The Mark of Reign, the Guncrown, is delivered to the body of the initiate in a unique way: it is shot into their head, point-blank, with Specter; no bullet is loaded into Specter's clip, but instead the Mark itself, which will penetrate through the skin and infuse into the arteries of the body before flowing down towards the soul. Before the Mark manages to meld with the soul, it is a physically tangible calculi, squeezing through arteries in an excruciating and damaging crawl. Many initiates of Reign die from internal hemorrhaging and arterial ruptures as it travels through them, and most go unconscious from the sheer agony it inflicts.

Heart failure resulting from prolonged blockage claims the lives of many initiates, though this initial travel towards the soul poses the greatest threat. Once the Mark melds with the soul, the initiate's eyes will open and glimmer gold, as they witness themselves lying on their knees in an open field, a crown of thorns causing blood to pour down over their features as they bake in the sun's warm light. Around them will lie a veritable artillery, and in order to awaken they must load one of the weapons with a bullet from the bandolier around their torso, press its barrel against the crown of thorns and towards their brain, and fire.

Overstepping

The drawbacks listed below do not always come in pairs, and certainly not simultaneously. Some may come and others may not.

Lesser: Nausea, fatigue, headaches, muscle spasms, dehydration

Moderate: Bleeding through the nose, eyes and ears, intense cramps, seizure-like shocks and spasms, internal bleeding, vomiting and weakness

Severe

Ideation: Ideation is a very lethal penalty, though it can be survived. This backlash against the overuse of Reign causes the Kingmaker to become fixated on their demise, descending into a suicidal mania where all they can envision is hundreds of violent iterations of their own death. Ideation can last a month or even longer, and during Ideation's subversion of the Kingmaker's mind, all bullets fired from any gun (Reign or otherwise) will immediately reverse towards the mage, potentially killing them outright.

Mutations

Reign's mutations generally involve things like: guns, precision, hand-eye coordination, bloodlust and the relevant themes of the magic. They also often involve particular weapons within Reign, their mechanics, and their bullets or related capabilities. Because of Reign's split focus between several weapon archetypes, no two sets of Reign themes tend to be the same.

Abilities

Amass: Novice. Within the hand that wields the crown of thorns, Amass allows the Kingmaker to form their initial weapon, a process performed by creating a "cast" (or shape) with ether and having the Mark of Control's will flow through it, with the crown of thorns as a conduit. At Novice and when the Kingmaker is first inducted into the magic, Amass can only create Specter, a set of dual-revolvers that will form in each hand and provide the basic functionality of the magic Reign. Though Amass enables the Kingmaker to form an unlocked weapon, only by learning the firing ability can the Kingmaker actually use the gun. Amass enables the creation of six total weapons:

Specter. Dual-revolvers, Specter's two arms appear as rusted red revolvers with a black handle, with a skeletal face wearing a battered bronze crown on both sides. This weapon is meant to provide general use, including dueling and short to medium-range combat. Specter is unlocked at Novice, and can be wielded with the abilities Avenge, Stagger and Leaden Vortex.

Purifier. Purifier is a flamethrower. It forges a dense 'backpack'-like container on the back of the Kingmaker, which is black and deteriorated in appearance. Though foggy, there appears to be a mangled amalgamation of flesh within the container, culminating in a suctioned mouth that leads into a long brown, extendable tube. At the end of that tube is a lengthy white barrel and a gilded golden muzzle, covered in ash. Whenever Purifier is pouring out flame, the tube appears almost like a bioluminescent capillary, a golden light radiating from within to reveal odd, flesh-like contents inside of the tube. Purifier is unlocked at Apprentice, and can be wielded with the abilities Deterge and Pyromania.

Bloodletter. A pump-action shotgun, Bloodletter appears as a bronze, iron-cast gun surrounded by coils of spiked barb-wire, with its forearm swishing with every pump between its wide-spraying shots. The more damage inflicted by Bloodletter in a battle, the more the mouth of the gun will begin to bleed, until it is hemorrhaging what appears like liters of ichor onto the ground. Bloodletter is unlocked at Journeyman, and can be wielded with the ability Bloodspray.

Maligner. Maligner is a Gatling-gun, with a bland, almost cast-iron like frame that appears to be covered with bony spikes, decorated by gore and viscera. Its handle is a rusted bronze-green, with the gun being large and heavy enough that only the strong can even wield it with both hands. At the mouth of the gun is sixteen barrels, all of which firing individually but at a rapid pace, bullets seeming to exit from barrels nearly at random as the face of the gun is lit with rapid, successive shots. Maligner is unlocked at Journeyman, and can be wielded with the abilities Leadtide and Bulletreign.

Unmaker. Unmaker is often mistaken for some sort of polearm, as it is unbelievably long, resembling the proboscis of a mosquito but extended out around nine feet in length. It is a simple void of a gun, black, long and sleek, without many distinct or defining characteristics. As every shot prepares to fire from its mouth, Unmaker's barrel lights up a hot white, whistling loudly as sound itself begins to bend. Unmaker is unlocked at Expert, and can be wielded with the ability The Rail.

Magnate. A cannon, Magnate wields the distinct appearance of a hollowed out bone, with the barrel appearing to be an open port where the sponge and marrow once existed. As Magnate prepares to fire, the vestigial remnants of that marrow smoke and blaze, and the bony cannon produces a roasted, meat-like scent. Magnate is unlocked at Expert, and can be wielded with the ability Calamity.

Avenge: Novice. Avenge is the generic firing ability of Specter, enabling the Kingmaker to form bullets within the chamber of both revolvers to be fired at will. Considering each half of Specter can fire roughly every two seconds, the Kingmaker is frequently using Avenge, though each usage of this ability harnesses a truly insignificant amount of ether. Each bullet fired from Specter is a high-caliber, high-piercing ethereal round, exploding with red energy on impact and traveling a straight, medium distance of roughly a hundred meters.

Reign: Apprentice. Reign is the core of the magic, and because of this it serves as its namesake. Through Reign, the Kingmaker may channel the Guncrown to change the form of their Amassed gun, allowing them to fluidly shift their gun between its six states. Each time a Kingmaker's gun shifts, the barrel of the gun emits a harrowing sound, as the shape of the armament physically twists and contorts into its new form. Reign consumes a very minuscule amount of ether, so it is not uncommon for Kingmakers to constantly shift between gun-casts. As a Kingmaker shifts the form of their gun, their eyes glow an emanating, deep molten orange.

Stagger: Apprentice. Stagger, utilized with the gun Specter, allows the Kingmaker to withhold bullets to fire at specific intervals, generally within one to five seconds of their initial release into the air. They will travel a few feet before freezing, and as they are withheld they will continue to track towards their target, following their movements until the moment their interval expires and they fire, flinging at the enemy with a higher velocity than regular bullets released from Specter's chamber.

Deterge: Apprentice. Deterge activates the gun Purifier, the inner muzzle lighting a dull, fiery orange before flame begins to spew forth. Deterge can be maintained for as long as the Kingmaker wishes, generating a slow and gradual drain on the mage's ethereal reserves as the mouth of the flamethrower unleashes its fiery torrent. Fire from Purifier is very hot, and can easily spread with or without the Kingmaker's intent.

Pyromania: Apprentice. Pyromania is an augment to the ability Deterge, consuming a greater amount of ether in order to imbue the fire with a self-sustaining quality. Even fire sprayed into the air will continue to blaze in-place for hours, and all bullets that pass through this lingering pocket of flame will be immersed in a fiery coating that will increase their impact damage and their ability to melt through a target's hull. Pyromania enables Purifier to amass control over the battlefield with its lingering fires, making it an excellent crowd-control tool for the Kingmaker.

Leaden Vortex: Journeyman. Leaden Vortex is an odd ability, but an effective one. The Kingmaker will perform a rapid series of three-sixty spins, with each spin accelerating their movements so as to shift them several feet in a given direction, simultaneously flickering as they rotate one after another. With every flickering rotation, Leaden Vortex will release dozens of bullets from Specter's chambers, which will fly out in all directions. These bullets can also be staggered if desired, during which time the Kingmaker can cognitively assign each bullet or grouping of bullets to specific targets.

Bloodspray: Journeyman. Bloodspray is the ability used to generate bullets for and fire Bloodletter. Rather than slugs or high-caliber munitions, Bloodletter — a shotgun — fires bladed, shrapnel-like shards that dice and eviscerate as they scrape or impact. Every organic area impacted or sliced with one of Bloodletter's fragmented bullets will begin to swell into a red bulb, which will burgeon and engorge until it bursts, imploding the surrounding area in a deep red paste of flesh, blood and viscera. Bloodletter must be reloaded after every shot, though reloading the gun only requires pulling back on its forearm-pump, and does not infer the benefits of Gunbelt without individually loading in each ethereal cartridge. Considering Bloodletter's ability to inflict heavy damage in a short-range spray, it is the chosen arm in dealing with large, durable targets. Importantly, Bloodwelt increases the overall number and cutting power of Bloodspray's shards.

Armament: Journeyman. Armament is among the few abilities of Reign not associated with a specific gun. Instead, the Reign mage may form Armament within one of their hands whether or not they have Amassed a weapon at all, and for a mild expenditure of ether. Armament is an explosive projectile — a dark, jagged ethereal shard that shifts with the appearance of dark spines across its length. Upon being flung and impacting the ground, it will explode outward, unleashing incredible kinetic force roughly ten to fifteen feet around the impact site, as well as shrapnel that will fling outward in all directions.

Leadtide: Journeyman. Leadtide is the firing ability for Maligner, the Kingmaker's Gatling gun. Rather than holding any sort of trigger, Maligner is fired by revving up a lever that sits on the back of the gun, winding it roughly two times in order to produce enough of a stimulus for the chambers to be filled with ethereal bullets. Leadtide fires roughly sixty bullets every four seconds, with Maligner becoming afflicted by heavy recoil as it fires, which only increases the longer it is channeled for. In order to stop firing, the Kingmaker must lift the lever back up, or they must lose physical contact with the gun. If neither of these occur, Maligner will continue to sap the Kingmaker's ether and will fire ceaselessly until deep into Overstepping, if unchecked.

Rebuke: Expert. Rebuke serves as the Kingmaker's primary source of mobility within Reign. Before firing a shot, the Kingmaker marks it with Rebuke, creating an ethereal signature that locks onto the mage's own signature like a magnet ready to be activated. By triggering Rebuke, the mage will suddenly snap to their bullet, flinging across the gap between them at a speed that exceeds the speed of the bullet itself. While traveling, the mage's fist - which must aim towards the bullet - will accumulate a mass of explosive kinetic energy, which must be unleashed upon reaching their destination. In most cases, the Reign mage strikes the Rebuked bullet with that fist, accelerating it and causing the bullet's impact to generate a forceful explosion that can easily annihilate entire body regions upon reaching a target.

The Rail: Expert. From the proboscis-like sleek lance that is Unmaker, the Rail is a terrifyingly potent firing ability. While the Rail only releases a single shot and requires roughly a five second pause in-between each round, every shot from Unmaker is unbelievably devastating. There is virtually no physical material that can resist the dematerializing effect of Unmaker's bullets, with very few magical abilities able to withstand it. Unmaker's bullets can travel up to two kilometers away, and the longer they travel, the more velocity they acquire until they exceed the speed of sound at their maximal distance. Each bullet can certainly be survived, but they release a neurotoxic effect to the nerves surrounding their impact site, poisoning and killing thousands or even millions of neurons within seconds after hitting a target. If somehow the target survives the initial bullet, a rare outcome, they will be left in a debilitating state that cannot truly be recovered from without untold intervention. Most of the time, though, the sheer impact force of the Rail is enough to kill virtually any target, and its neurogenic damage is a simple mercy as the struck target hemorrhages and expires.

Calamity: Expert. Calamity is Magnate's firing ability. The bone-cannon lights up with an inner, turbine-like fire, before releasing a somewhat generic-looking cannon ball. At any point and purely by the Reign mage's will, these cannon-balls can explode even mid-air, generating a devastating ignition that crushes and unbinds objects and organics within thirty feet around the blast site. Right after the initial kinetic force of the cannon-ball's explosion, it will release a phoenix-like burst of fire, one that will linger in a spherical ring shape for several minutes. Any further cannon ball fired by Magnate will immediately be enhanced upon touching this fiery ring, reforming into a fiery boulder with a fifty foot blast radius and an immediate wash of fire upon impact, or (again) at the behest of the Kingmaker. Better yet, the cannon ball's velocity increases upon shifting into its enflamed state, and the more of Magnate's projectiles that become ignited, the more excited the weapon becomes, increasing its rate of fire until its onslaught produces another explosive bombardment every second. This can, of course, be extremely ether-consuming for the mage, and Calamity can therefore easily become a source of Overstepping.

Bulletreign: Master. Bulletreign appears surprisingly mundane for a master ability, though in practice it is incredibly lethal. Maligner will be steeped in a red glow that dances across every shadow and contour and appears to afflict the veins and eyes of the mage wielding it with a crimson-colored madness. Revving up the gun thrice, it will lose all form of regulation, its barrels extending roughly a foot longer to reveal hundreds of thin, red-ethereal barrels. In an instant, Maligner will suddenly begin to fire, raining hell upon the field as it unleashes roughly two hundred bullets every second for a minute, which cleave through bodies and leave a total massacre in their wake. Bulletreign is capable of killing hundreds of people with ease, decimating them to the point where all they leave behind is often a red, liquid haze.

Overreign: Master. Overreign brings all of the Kingmaker's six guns into one, forging a weighty amalgamation that the Reign mage may very well be unlikely to be able to carry, instead serving them as a mount. Overreign, which really is just distinctively all six guns mashed into one, does not need to be carried; it is controlled, suspended and turned by the Kingmaker's mind. The barrel of the gun appears to be Magnate, but enlarged and fused with the faces of the other armaments, which revolve around Magnate and offer it a decorative metal casing as they surround its circumference. When Overreign is ready to fire, Magnate's familiar turbine-like flame will appear but as a chromatic, multi-colored shade. After roughly a second of accumulating energy, Overreign will unleash a beam of imperceptible force, dismantling any material it comes into contact with, unmarred by physical boundaries and truly only stoppable by a Master Oathkeeper. Overreign's beam — which roughly has the circumference of a cylindrical bale of hay — extends up to a thousand feet, and will continue to release to the moderate drainage of ether until the Kingmaker wills it to stop.

Hellbreaker Abilities

Incarna: Incarna is the greatest gun of Reign, amassed only by a Hellbreaker. It is an artillery, wielded on the Hellbreaker's back, which fires a piercing shot so potent that it ruptures through the boundary between Atharen and Bel. Upon puncturing through, Incarna dominates the mind of a Dreg and forces them to collide through the ruptured grate, flinging them at the Hellbreaker's designated foe to unleash havoc. Considering Incarna fires not bullets but Dregs themselves, every single usage of the gun can increasingly stack the field in the Hellbreaker's favor, as they accumulate a small retinue of powerful Dregs determined to serve their will. Though it resembles a multi-barreled industrial artillery gun, Incarna appears as to be alive, its lower section dominated by a homunculi-like mass of twisting limbs, covered in patches of exposed, writhing flesh that all accumulate into the artillery's six barrels. Incarna can summon one of three primary types of Dregs with every artillery round.

Tarnag. Light Expenditure. Tarnag are the basic Dregs summoned by Incarna: grey-skinned with black wings, crimson eyes and onyx polearms, which extend nearly fifteen feet in length. Tarnag are around eight feet tall, and appear much akin to burly men and women wearing leather armor, though with a hideous, demented array of features and knife-sharp ears. When a Tarnag is first conjured by Incarna, it will land on its target with homing precision, meeting the ground with a crushing collision that can rip through stone buildings. Once conjured, the Tarnag will wield its polearm with incredible skill, pursuing the Hellbreaker's enemies until the moment it is resoundingly slain.

Ventrel. Moderate Expenditure. Ventrel are, to those participating in the Endless War, coined "fog wraiths." The conjuring of a Ventrel results in a mortar shifting from that of a heavy round into a descending plume of smoke, one that quickly crowds the field it makes initial contact with in a deep, black fog. Within the fog is a living manifestation of the obscuring haze, a shapeshifting abomination that ruthlessly hunts any foe caught within its smoky domain. So long as a Ventrel is active, the artillery barrels of Incarna can launch out mortar shells that spread more smoke throughout the area, expanding the dominion of the Ventrel, who can move through the fog with unimaginable precision and speed. Ventrel are ruthless, powerful hunters, far superior to individual Tarnag within their domain, though they quickly deteriorate if caught outside of their fog. The Hellbreaker's eyes are attuned to be able to see into and through the fog, which cannot easily be illuminated through, or dispersed with wind.

Avlach. Heavy Expenditure. When an Avlach is conjured, it will descend like a small meteor from the sky, making impact with the ground to produce a tide of scorching flame. From the core of that flame, which will persist and consume entire acres around its impact site, a skeletal creature in the shape of a centipede hangs low to the ground. Avlach move at speeds over a hundred kilometers an hour, can burrow into the ground in moments, have skeletons more durable than titanium, wield an array of lethally precise spiked blades, and spread fire wherever they go. They can be sprayed with the fumes of Purifier to act as a condensing force, churning hot magma into the fiery solution to fling molten, explosive rocks at their designated foes. Avlach are overwhelmingly strong, though even conjuring two is enough to push a Hellbreaker near the threshold of Overstepping.

Alternatively, Incarna can be wielded like any other Kingmaker's gun, channeling generic artillery rounds through the gun's six barrels and firing them on designated targets. This mode of firing inflicts constant and severe damage to structures and foes, and considering Incarna is mounted on the Hellbreaker's back, it can assault enemies virtually autonomously.

Novice

As a Novice, the Kingmaker first learns how to access the base shapes of their guns through Amass, though initially they may only correctly shape the dual-revolvers Specter. Specter, their first gun, is fired by the ability Avenge, which acts as the first generic firing ability a Kingmaker learns. The Novice stage of a Kingmaker's development largely focuses on learning the core concepts of Reign, such as the Guncrown, Gunbelt and Bloodwelt, as well as the concept of Amassing a gun and wielding it through individual bursts of ether.

Apprentice

Apprentice introduces a great deal of variety to the Kingmaker's armory, both by adding a new gun to their roster in the form of Purifier (a flamethrower), and in giving them access to the ability Reign, the source of the magic's name. Reign allows the Kingmaker to change the Amassed gun's shape to any unlocked gun in their retinue, seamlessly transitioning between firing states. The Apprentice Kingmaker also learns how to fire Purifier through the aiblities Deterge and Pyromania, as well as learning how to create intervals between Specter's bullets through Stagger.

Journeyman

Like Apprentice, Journeyman is a heavily loaded stage of the Kingmaker's development, granting them access to four new abilities as well as two new guns. Expanding upon Specter's associated skills is Leaden Vortex, which allows the Kingmaker to rapidly unload dozens of bullets each spin in a series of viciously fast three-sixty rotations. Bloodletter, the shrapnel pump-shotgun unlocked at this stage, can be fired with Bloodspray, and Maligner (a Gatling gun) can be revved and unleashed through Leadtide. In addition, the Kingmaker learns how to harness ether into a detonating shard, one that devastates its impact site with shrapnel and explosive force.

Expert

The Expert Kingmaker gains their final two primary arms at this stage, as well as the ability to travel to their bullets in the form of Rebuke, which concludes with a devastating, explosive punch. Unmaker is the first of the two guns acquired at this stage, and can be fired through the Rail, producing a devastating bullet that gains speed the further it travels, and concludes the life of nearly any foe struck through sheer dematerializing force and neurogenic poison. Magnate is a cannon, with the cannonballs of Magnate (fired through Calamity) suddenly exploding mid-air and allowing for the creation of fiery, devastating boulders in their wake.

Master

The Master Kingmaker gains the magic's two greatest mass-casualty abilities in the form of Bulletreign and Overreign. Bulletreign allows for Maligner to go mad, firing thousands of bullets without relent in order to mow down large crowds of foes. Overreign merges all products of the Guncrown, their combined shape forging one massive gun: a cannon that can unleash a matter-dismantling beam. As a Master, a Kingmaker is a true savant in their craft, able to fluidly shift between guns and combine and merge their abilities to produce havoc upon the field.

Ascension: The Hellbreaker

When one meets the summit of their potential as a Kingmaker, they come to face a precipice met by few, offered the chance to resign their mortal being, and all of the flaws, virtues and chains that follow that somber mantle. Rather than an apotheosis, the descent into becoming a Hellbreaker is a metamorphosis, literally and physically confined to the red vessel of a fleshy cocoon, within which the Kingmaker becomes something much more. A Hellbreaker is born in Bel, emerging from their old flesh something entirely new. They are a Dreg, and not just any Dreg. Hellbreakers are Verne, Bel's strongest classification of Dregs. Though they are capable of appearing as the mortals they once were, their true appearance shifts to suit their new identity.

Verne are horned, with black, red or tan chiropteran wings, clawed hands and feet, smoldering orange-red eyes and a perfect complexion. Their arms and legs are covered in chitin-like black plates, and their tailbones sprout long, precise tails that can extend up to twenty feet and act to balance them or serve as a weapon. Verne become stronger, more durable, and more precise: their hand-eye coordination becomes masterful, their aim increasing so much so that every shot or throw becomes a near-certainty, easily accounting for wind conditions, speed, and even erratic movements by their prey.

In addition, Hellbreakers can Amass multiple guns at once from the Guncrown, allowing them to wield more than one gun simultaneously, changing their shape as needed with the ability Reign. All generic firing abilities benefit from the effects of the Gunbelt and Bloodwelt at all times, even Overreign, dramatically increasing the overall munitions capacity and destructive force of the Hellbreaker. In addition, a Verne's wings may fly with exceptional speed (<250 km/hr), they may redirect all of their bullets mid-air with the movement of their head (with their horns acting as a magnetic generator), and they can learn to alter Armament to either act as a shrapnel bomb, an incinerating explosion, a munition filled with poisonous gas, or obscuring smoke.

Hellbreakers may learn the ability Incarna, which allows them to conjure Dregs from Bel with an incredible artillery gun. As Dregs themselves, they may freely move between the Infernal and Mortal Plane, though doing so expends a significant quantity of ether.

Notes

• This magic does not yet exist in-character.
• Reign's bullets do not phase through physical objects. While they are ethereal, they take on a tangible, physical form during their transition between the cartridge to the barrel.
• Reign's bullets, save for those fired from Unmaker, generally do not move through the air much more quickly than arrows.