1 (edited by Morpheus 2014-10-06 11:27:00)

Topic: The Journal of Salvador Arjuna Trouillefou

The first page of the journal seems to be an aged piece of paper, taped and glued on with various stains and general wear and tear from over the years. The worlds are still legible, however.

A Note from Father to Son.

Salvador, my dearest Salvador, It has come to pass that the family heritage has begun to manifest in you. As such – I think it’s crucial that I tell you about the gates.
Why tell you by letter, you may ask? Well it’s because I don’t think that my mental state will be coherent enough to explain to you the deep nuances of your powers and the gates – if I even should still be living at all by that point – and it is important to know so you can fully control your powers, rather than have them control you. A fact that plagued me for many, many years and was the cause of much pain and suffering for me...

You have most certainly be aware by this point of the funny birthmark on the back of your neck. The one I bear. The one that your grandfather, great-grandmother great-great-grandfather etc. all bore before us. It brings with it a terrible weight and responsibility. The natural aptitude of your Psychic powers are far greater than the average Psychic – dangerously so. When they started manifesting in me I caused collateral explosive damage to the surrounding areas, and according to your granduncles your grandfather was a downright hurricane of chaos and destruction around that age too. As such, it is important that you receive training immediately from your granduncles, their wisdom and knowledge of the art far surpasses my own - not that I could teach you in my current state regardless. Shaka and Kahina will also aide you, though Kahina less so due to her age. She needs all the rest she can get.

Should you need them, you may have my pair of silver braces that kept my powers tethered for years, and your granduncles possess an old family heirloom diadem that doubles as both a limiter and a mega-item. I’m certain that they would let you have that precious item, as you have always been a gentle and considerate lad.

A quick note: Even though I know your powers will manifest, in what form I cannot tell you, for we are all individuals – even among our family. I was always most talented in creating constructs[1], the telekinetic manipulation of surrounding objects, speed and strength boosts and general physical manifestations of Psychic powers. Your grandfather – according to the yarns of your granduncles – was a ranged combatant; blasts, waves, pulses and whatnot. How it will manifest in you, my dearest son, is unbeknownst to me, so I cannot assist you in that regard. However, a general constant of the family line was the presence of the Bagh Nakh as construct of preference. It has some connection to the Tale of the Great Tiger, that old Gypsy story you get Granduncle Pierre to spin you late at night after dinner.

Now to move on to the gates.

Gates are powerful and dangerous things. Only the strongest on the Auric spectrum are capable of even achieving these states in the first place, and even less learn how to access these states due to how much meditation and training is involved. You see my child, energy flows through our bodies as blood does through our veins [The Subtle Body], and those (un)fortunate enough on the Auric spectrum manifest this power in the four energies of Dark, Ghost, Fighting Aura and Psychic. Or as your granduncles explain it – The Mind, The Body, The Soul and The Shadow – The elements of the human psyche. This energy (prana) gathers itself in chakras, pools of this energy. Normally, they are blocked, and as such energy flows through your body at a slow and steady rate. Clear these blocks, and the energy moves at an astounding rate, allowing for the clarity of the mind and greater control over the body.

Normally these meditations for clearing the pools are used to achieve a higher spiritual sense or state, divorcing yourself from the material world to reach a state of certain nirvana and be at one with the universe. But, as you can probably garner from the fact that I am writing this note for you – they can be weaponised. There are seven of these “pools” in your body; Sahasrara [Crown], Ajna [Third Eye], Vishuddha [Throat], Anahata [Heart], Manipura [Naval], Swadhisthana [Tailbone] and Muladhara [Pelvis] and each deal with certain aspects of the mind, body and soul. To enter a “Gated” forme, two of these seven pools must be opened at once – with the Fourth gate having all opened. Each pool has a specific mediation assigned to it. A book I owned on Tantric meditations served me well and I shall bequeath this book to you, little Salvador.

It is important to know this because there are two ways to enter a gated form. One is by the meditations as previously mentioned, the other is by busting down the dam walls due to and oversurgance of tremendous power. One is smooth and controlled, the other is wild and highly damaging to the body, even at the first level.
Of course, just opening these pools isn’t enough. Self-reflective training and mastery of mind over the body is needed before you can exploit the newfound energy. It took me four years of training with my beloved Alakazam Brutus before I was even able to scratch the surface of the Gates. Shaka can assist you in that particular method of training since him and Nzhinga joined me in my meditations. Shame you never met Nzhinga, though that is my fault entirely…

Speaking of; there are four states of the “Gates”.

  • 1.       First Gate: A general surgance of power and strength. Increased mobility and speed, sharper mind and stronger attacks with occasional manifestations. In our family, it’s always associated with manifesting a pair of limbs.
    2.       Second Gate: At this point manifestations are common. Again – in our family it results in yet another set of limbs. At this point more advanced moves generally limited to Pokemon can be harnessed by humans. Though, one may find it harder to control themselves in this state
    3.       Third Gate: This is where things start getting really intense. Even the incredibly disciplined usually lose control of themselves. At this point things such as advance reflect barriers, variations of more elemental attacks, mass mind control and long distance teleportation are possible for humans.
    4.       Fourth Gate: Absolutely devastating. Even just entering this form can cause collateral damage to your immediate surroundings. In humans, this allows them to perform great feats only thought to be done by very powerful Pokemon – such as devastating forms of Hyper Beam and Giga Impact or slight forms of reality warping. In Pokemon it’s been known to put their natural power levels on the platform of some minor legendaries. Seldom few have achieved to this state due to how dangerous it is. If only I heeded their warnings….

Of course there is a catch with these powers. Even entering the first state takes a major toll on your body and mind, and the more gates you open, the more damage you do to yourself. Entering the third gate as a human often burns out your power permanently (and for a Pokemon often reduces the power significantly). Entering the fourth kills you unless by some miracle or divine intervention you survive. They are only, only to be used as last ditch efforts in life threatening situations – and only the first gate should ever be used.

Please, please promise me Salvador that you will only use that power in those dire circumstances. You are much to kind, to pure, to have to result to such violence. Yet, I somehow feel that it is important that you know this, for you many have to use it yourself one day.

Be brave my child, for you are my little saviour.

With my most sincere love,

Your father, Kostas Trouillefou.


[1] A weapon fashioned out of Auric or Obscuric energy


Stormchaser

Curled up on a bed, Salvador hugs his book tight and reads through the letter one more time. As always, his brows furrows at a particular point in the letter and sighs.

Salvador: It's a shame that he always had trouble accepting who he was, even after all the good work Granduncle Florin and Granduncle Pierre did for him... Still this part always did trouble me, even as a child.

Salvador grabs a fountain pen from his table.

Salvador: It's time that I rectified this...

He scrolls his eyes down the page until he finds his mark, and strikes out the word "Gypsy" to replace it with "Manouches".

Salvador: After all, there is nothing wrong with being who we are.

"Oh Bassy, I do love red the most. Hair, clothes, lipstick, I love them to be red. The more flamboyant a woman is, the more she's as beautiful as a poisonous flower, right?"