Upon this volcanic island three kilometers off the mainland lives a unique culture. Mainlanders call them cannibals. They call themselves the Descendants of the Departed.

The Descendants of the Departed is a society which embraces the cyclical nature of existence. Death is but a gateway to rebirth. Destruction paves the way for creation. Birth ends in death. And nothing created, no matter how lovely the art form, is eternal. Thus, their two deities, Requiem of Creation and Vayu of Destruction, represent this duality. 

Mainlanders call them cannibals because they devour their dead. This ritualistic act is believed to transfer the karma of the departed to the living. By ingesting the bodies of their loved ones, friends, and worthy individuals, they ensure a favorable reincarnation. To allow a worthy individual to rot wastes this karma and, possibly, means their loved one or friend may reincarnate as a not-sentient coconut crab. Fundamentally, the Descendants of the Departed believe in an eternal cycle of souls and the act of cannibalism assists in this cycle.

However, they also recognize the power of Vayu, the destroyer. When one of their own is deemed unworthy of rebirth, they perform a solemn ceremony, casting the body into the molten magma. This act symbolizes the soul's annihilation, freeing it from the constraints of the physical realm and granting it a final release.

The Descendants of the Departed believe in the interconnectedness of life and death, of creation and destruction, of the ebb and flow of energy which shapes the world. The Descendants view themselves as guardians of this delicate balance and strive for harmony between Requiem and Vayu.


The territory of the Descendants of the Departed live on a tropical island, simply called the Big Island, born from an active volcano. In fact, the volcano is still active and often erupts. Currently, the Descendants of the Departed are recovering after a recent eruption, which has wiped out most of the island's montane and submontane forests. Thus, is very little vegetation to be seen across the land. Most notably, the distant volcano stands out among the abyss of darkness. Upon looking closer, onlookers may find openings across the land leading into caves. Truly, what lies below is an enigma.

BARRIER REEFS — The Big Island is surrounded by pockets of reef. Some of these reefs brush right up to the Big Island's cliffs or beaches. Others are further and deeper out. During lean times after the volcanic eruption—such as now—the Departed will get most of their protein from fishing in these reefs, primarily: grouper, tuna, and amberjack. Thus, these reefs are a critical part of any Departed's apprenticeship. 

BLACK SAND BEACHES — Countless beaches are upon the island. Most have black sand, because the island is made up of obsidian and other volcanic rocks. One of the more popular beaches, located right outside the main entrance to the volcanic cave system, is a peaceful stretch of ocean with three kilometers of walkable sand. The Departed call this Main Beach, and it's an excellent spot to relax or swim.

MNT HALELEVU — The volcano is located in the north western point of the island. Some caves come out of its bottom and side, along with active lava tube.

CAVE SYSTEM — The cave system is located underneath the island's surface, ranging from the shore to the volcano's side. These caves are also widely known as inactive lava tubes.

OBSIDIAN ISLAND — To the east of the Big Island is a slab of pure black rock. Nothing grows here. And it is completely flat. It is visible from the Big Island, and anyone who ventures here would be visible from the Big Island. Mostly, the Departed ignore this island, but youngsters occasionally swim here to prove their survival skills.

VIPER ISLAND — Between the Big Island and the mainland is another, smaller island filled with thick submountain forests and bush vipers. These bush vipers can kill a rhino with a single bite, and seem to predate on birds (and other curious creatures) who fly from the mainland to Viper Island. During lean times, such as now, the Departed may venture here for prey and to take plants to repopulate the volcanic island's forests, but the vipers are aggressive. The Departed do not care if the vipers are sentient; the vipers have never tried to leave their island, and the Departed are glad they keep to themselves. 

COCONUT ISLAND — Between the Big Island and the mainland is another, smaller island filled with palm trees and coconut crabs. These coconut crabs feed on each other and any explorer unlucky enough to land on this island. During lean times, such as now, the Departed will venture here to take a bounty of crabs and to harvest palm trees to replant upon their home island. However, occasionally, a coconut crab has been known to reach the size of a rhino, so even experienced coconut crab hunters are respectfully wary of Coconut Island.


The Descendants of the Departed  focuses on dark traditions that honor their deities. The group focuses on two deities in specific. One deity focuses on the skies above, while the other represents the hell below. To honor them, they preform rituals.

REQUIEM, DEITY OF CREATION — The skies and lip of the volcano are the domain of Requiem. When Requiem is appeased, the climate is stable and everyone prospers. — Reference

VAYU, DEITY OF DESTRUCTION — The volcano's contents and underground features of the island are controlled by Vayu. When Vayu is out of balance, earthquakes are sure to follow. — Reference

RIGHT OF PASSAGE — In order to go from a child to an adult, the children are required to participate in the fighting pit. Their opponent will be a captured npc enemy, not a fellow Descendant. Regardless of age, if they defeat an opponent in the ring, they are immediately considered a mature warrior. They are then ready to participate in raids, wars, captures, and more. While this fight is not required to be to the death, children are encouraged to aim for the kill instead of letting their opponent yield.

This tradition also goes for joiners. New members to the Descendants of the Departed do not have full member status until they complete a right of passage fight. Unlike the members born in the Descendants of the Departed, joiners must kill their opponent to prove their merit. 

This is expected to be written as a one-shot with the opponent as a captured npc. The right of passage is considered clear once Meteor responds and approves of your character's victory. If the opponent is killed, your character has first dibs on cannibalism.

SEASONAL TOURNAMENTS — Seasonal tournaments begin sign-ups on the first day of the season and are later performed within the fighting pit. Participants are restricted to Militia and up. The tournament works in bracket style, pairing up members and ascending through the ranks as they win. These fights are not to the death, and there will be harsh ic punishments from Meteor if there are deaths or maimings. If your character manages to win the tournament, they are assigned a special rank for the season and are given privileges for the duration.

BODY DISPOSAL — Deceased enemies and members are used in multiple ways. Such as:

FALL HARVEST — On October 1st, the Fall Harvest begins for the Descendants of the Departed. On this day, they begin preparing for a feast that occurs on the last day of October. The feast includes indulging on rarities found on the mainland, corpses of the legendary sentient animals, and more. Depending on when autumn starts, this may also overlap with the seasonal tournament.

ECLIPSES — While it's often a once in a lifetime occurrence for many, the eclipse symbolizes perfect alignment. This is when the above and the below come to together all at once, enough for the dead to appear before their eyes. With the encouragement of the dead, the Descendants of the Departed preforms their most important rituals. Each eclipse has a different theme depending on its name (such as a blood moon), but all eclipses include rituals, sacrifices, and emphasis on merit.


PHARAOH — The leader of the Descendants of the Departed. Their word is law and is not to be ignored. They are in charge of declaring all out war, assigning raid targets, promoting/demoting members, leading traditions.
Meteor Prometheus — roleplayed by Axiom

VIZIER — Viziers are directly below the leader and are the heirs to leadership. They are in charge of hosting consistent raids, managing battles, and overseeing tasks for members. If there are two and no decision made by the Pharaoh before the Pharaoh dies, the viziers will fight to the death.
n/a — roleplayed by n/a

INQUISITORS — Split into two separate ranks, one assigned to Requiem and the other to Vayu. Inquisitors are the group's direct connection to their gods. Trained directly by the leader, the inquisitors get to know the caves or the island's surface front to back depending on their assignment. They are said to have a close connection to their god and are guides for the Departed to understand the afterlife: rejoin reincarnation via Requiem's ritual cannibalism, or have your soul devoured and destroyed by Vayu. Understandably, most Descendants choose Requiem for themselves and Vayu for their enemies.
Vale Malus of Requiem's Creation — roleplayed by Axiom
??? of of Vayu's Destruction — roleplayed by ???

DOCTORS — Doctors are the medics, therapists, mediators, and useful noncombatans. Mainly, they heal the wounded and are expected to to be mediators of conflict within the Descendants of the Departed. If there are too many Doctors during lean times, the least valuable of their rank might be cannibalized—or, commonly, volunteer themselves to be cannibalized for the wellbeing of their fellow Descendants. Viziers and Inquisitors often start as Doctors or Templars.
??? — roleplayed by ???

TEMPLARS — Templars are the senior combatants of the group. Members may be promoted to this rank after success in the fight pits, success in raids, or other demonstrations of courage, loyalty, and combat skill. Viziers and Inquisitors often start as Templars or Doctors.
??? — roleplayed by ???
(unlimited number)

MILITIA — The base rank. Everyone willing and able to participate in combat and the daily struggles of staying alive are automatically part of the Militia.
unlisted, unlimited number

NEOPHYTE — These outsiders have not completed their right of passage fight. They have reduced rights within the group, such as being open to violence or abuse at any time. Raids cannot be led by these members, nor can they participate in the seasonal tournament. Often times, they'll be used as servants and are under the leader directly for everyday tasks.
unlisted, unlimited number


The Descendants of the Departed is a group with no allies. All groups are open to be attacked. While all groups are enemies, transactional alliances or neutralities may occur temporarily to gain advantages. There are currently no temporary alliances.


— The Pharaoh's word is absolute. Disobeying their word is under punishment of death.
— Raids can be led by any Descendant, but requires Meteor's approval. Don't be shy! Meteor likes approving raids.
— All acts of violence are on the table. Cannibalism, slavery, maiming, killing, and more.
— With prior grievance and mutual disrespect, Descendants themselves are up for slaughter. However! Senseless violence, like maiming or killing in the seasonal tournament, is not permitted. Descendants can do whatever they want to captured npcs and not-allies
— All BoB rules apply OOCly and ICly.

[W]isker

METEOR

Hearing Chernabog’s descent, Meteor glanced up to watch the dragoness land near the hot spring. He trusted her flight skills, but, with everyone exhausted after the natural disaster, the lion preferred caution. However, Chernabog landed elegantly and he didn’t need to move to avoid her talons.

At her question, Meteor grimaced and nodded once. “Indeed, Valerius is dead. He died valiantly, attempting to save the forest closest to Mnt Halelevu.” A pause, as the lion glanced at the boiling crabs. “If Vale didn’t bring enough coconut crabs for all of you, I can forgo this meal. I already cannibalized my father.”

Then Meteor’s golden eyes slid to the shapeshifter. Out of everyone under Meteor’s command, Meteor found it most difficult to predict Vale. He’d expected Vale to flee and never return, but here the inquisitor was with a crab feast and a gesture of… loyalty.

Meteor wasn’t an idiot. He knew Vale, Kole, and Chernabog would follow him because it was in each of their best interests. Even with Valerius’s inefficiencies and selfishness, he remained in power because of that simple fact. Meteor planned on staying in power that way, too, but with less sadistic egomania. By Requiem and Vayu, out of all four animals circling the hot springs, Meteor was the only one born on this island. If Valerius hadn’t been so amused by watching Descendants kill each other in the pits, would the dead’ve been useful minimizing the damage of the eruption? Would those dead Descendants be useful when the cannibals would, inevitably, have to raid supplies?

The lion sighed and rolled his shoulder, and then settled on the black sands. His front paws tucked under his body while his rear hooves splayed to the left.

Meteor nodded with a snort of agreement to Vale. “If the inquisitor says Valerius’s death to the volcano might’ve appeased Requiem and Vayu, who am I to argue?”

He glanced between Vale and Kole. “I appreciate your confidence in my leadership. I intend to be a Pharaoh worth following.”

However, Meteor knew Vale and Kole would disappear the moment things became unfavorable for them. But that was the way of things. Leadership was not owed. Leadership was a cultivated skill. If Vale and Kole left the Descendants of the Departed, then Meteor would only have himself to blame. Meteor chuckled, and then that sound quieted into a smirk.

His golden gaze lingered on Kole. His expression shifted to contemplative, and he licked his teeth. “You have certain… dietary restrictions, don’t you? That is unfortunate. If you wish, we can discuss this later.”

METEOR

The flavors of strawberry, orange, and lime lingered long after Meteor consumed the last of the captain’s severed leg. The delicious snack placed Meteor in an excellent mood, despite his temptation to go back on his word and devour the captain whole. However, the inquisitor had his own reasons for keeping Sherbet alive and trespassing so deep within the Typhoon’s territory.

The wind beneath Meteor’s paws calmed as he slowed to weave within the dense jungle. In any other territory, he likely wouldn’t have needed directions, but he wouldn’t have spotted the temple hidden in the overgrown foliage without the captain’s call.

Holding Sherbet by the scruff of his neck, Meteor breathed in deeply through his nose and slowly descended. Every ounce of his self control was required to keep his teeth from piercing the captain’s neck. But Meteor was a lion of his word.

All four feet touched the ground at the same time. He tilted his head to the right and carefully laid Sherbet on the jungle floor in such a way that his oozing stump wouldn’t touch the mud. Meteor placed one of his dirty paws over Sherbet’s hip, pressing down on the artery to minimize blood loss.

“Medic!” Meteor shouted. His tufted tail sparked with electricity, then a boom! of thunder reverberated. “He’s suffered an amputation!”

// powerplay permission granted by wifey! <3 also this takes place after the february meeting thread

DESCENDANTS OF THE DEPARTED

THE HORDE

Congregants of Genesis

EMERALD ISLES

(i can’’t be saved) reaching for the life I threw away

watching as it circles in the drain

The three eyed crow circled high above the serval. Their white fur stuck out against the black sands—almost like a beacon—but the animal didn’t call out greetings or request an audience with the Pharaoh. So, then, not a typical stranger… which was both intriguing and dangerous.

However! Vale had never had a normal response to danger. Xe fled the eruption. And, yet, xe enjoyed hunting coconut crabs despite hating the taste of those dreadful not-sentient carnivores. Dying was *annoying*, but potentially worth it xe learned something useful in the process. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!

With a cackle of a caw, the crow circled lower. Head tilted to the right, xe studied the serval.

“Aye, you a future friend?” Vale cawed.

Noisy wingbeats as Vale circled closer to the serval. However, xe wasn’t stupid; xe stayed out of range of an attack. Vale might’ve followed up with a threat or insult, but, hmmm, that seemed a bit rude. Maybe the feline had suffered a concussion or intense brain damage to arrive on the volcanic island.

“If you’re a future friend, you gotta prove you’re smarter than a coconut crab!”