====== Chorus of the Dying God ======
//The eternal cycle of death and rebirth traps us all. Cursed to go from one life to the next. Forgetting all that you know and loved. Or worse, being forced to carry the sins of a past life into the next, never knowing why your fate has been darkened.\\ \\ The hidden truth of the universe is that we are all but fragments of a dying light, yearning to return to the whole. Only together can we keep the light burning and break the tragic cycle.\\ \\ To all those who seek purpose and understanding of their place in the universe, rest assured - in the Chorus, you can find the answers you seek. Join your light to ours and find your place among eternity.//===== History ===== The Chorus of the Dying God is ancient to such an extent that any telling of its history is conjecture at best. The Chorus, in its modern incarnation, was formed around the time that the Precursors fell and - they have been at odds with the remains of the Precursor civilization ever since. For most of the sector, the Chorus is a kind-hearted organization with a long history of helping those in need. Rumors abound that they can even grant miracles to those who offer something worthwhile. Most agree that joining the Chorus leads to a happy, healthy life - but something about them does not always feel quite right. They seem too kind, too opposed to violence, and offer too much for too little. Many suspect that the price for their gifts is much higher than it appears, but none have enough proof to make it anything more than superstition. Few have stories about the Chorus in its more wraithful days, but any who do know that to get in the Chorus of the Dying God's way is to invite disaster upon yourself and all around you.
//Listen for the call of the distant skies. Chimes and voices, chords and bells, all calling out to you. Do you feel them beckoning you? Their siren call wearing away at the fringes of your sanity? Others would tell you to turn away before it's too late; the Chorus knows better. Listen, drink deeply, until your voice is added to theirs. In each note, each lilt, every pause for breath, the glory of the entire universe is laid bare. Your vision swims, your grasp of what is real and what is not fades, and then, ever so carefully, sing your song into the greater music. Therein lies power, the truth of miracles, for when your song is joined into the choir of truth, reality is yours to bend.//The Chorus' powers come from its ability to listen to and sing parts of the 'song of the universe'. The longer one has been part of the Chorus, the more of the song they can hear - and, in turn, the greater their powers. Often, shows of their power can seem outright divine in scale, which they are happy to take advantage of. The majority of the Chorus presents themselves as kind and caring individuals who only want what's best for those they speak with. Those who pledge themselves to the Chorus and its God, or earn their favor, can receive significant boons in exchange. Unfortunately, for all their power and attempts at good will, their goal is simply not one that they can achieve with force or urgency. History has shown them again and again that forcing others to convert does not give them the results they want, nor does flexing their physical might. Effectively, this means that others have to //want// to join their faith - which means they have to maintain a positive impression on those they come in contact with. The Chorus has largely been stuck in a loop of attempting to meet their goals since their inception. They are sure that, if they continue to work at it, they will //one day// achieve their ambitions - but that day is certainly not soon. ===== Threat ===== Mild to Extreme. The Chorus of the Dying God could be one of the most significant threats in the sector if they wished to, but it would be completely counter to all of their goals. For the majority of the people they encounter will consider them to be interesting, but harmless. For the few who present themselves as an actual threat to their long-term goals, the Chorus can be an incredibly difficult enemy to face. A single one of their High Missionaries can defeat entire systems on their own. However, they haven't done this in so long, and are so unlikely to do so again, that it's barely a legend. The most likely threat that the Chorus presents is in the form of their various schemes to get into others' good graces. They can grant 'miracles', form new religions (that are just a branch of their own faith), and manipulate cultures for hundreds or thousands of years to meet their goals. ===== Rumors and Quests ===== ==== Quests ==== * The Chorus is always on the look out for objects of interest and readily issues quests to retrieve them. Anyone is able to use the Choir as their employer when creating archaeology, treasure hunting, or other item acquisition plots. * The Chorus pays top credit for corpses in good condition so that they can perform their last rites. ==== Common Rumors ==== * Members of the Chorus refer to a person, and their soul, as a "fragment of the dying light". * Those who join the Chorus or its faith lead healthier, more successful lives. * Members of the Chorus are pacifistic in nature and prefer to avoid conflict if at all possible. * If you see someone with faintly glowing orange eyes, they've likely been a part of the Chorus for over two hundred years. ==== Uncommon Rumors ==== * Members of the Chorus have attained immortality by taking over new bodies from time to time. * A number of systems are fully in the thrall of the Chorus, but they rarely show themselves and the civilizations seem no worse for it. * Certain members of the Chorus will grant you some miracle or boon in exchange for a service done or the pledge of your eternal soul. Larger rewards require greater payments, but the Chorus always delivers on its promises. * The Chorus is not fully unified and is divided into three major groups. * The Hymnal Choir - Mostly concerned with converting others by peaceful means. * The Gospel Choir - Grant miracles to those who pledge their fragment or do significant deeds for the Chorus. * The Dirge Choir - Seek out more extreme ways to gather fragments. The most likely group to work from the shadows or try violence as a way to directly collect fragments. * The Chorus may - or may not - be behind any number of religions within the sector. It is possible that they created them whole cloth or simply took them over later on. * The average member of the Chorus' religion(s), and many of their lower-level Followers, don't know the true goals of the Chorus. They simply enjoy the benefits that come with being part of it. ==== Rare/Unsubstantiated Rumors ==== * The reason the Chorus is so motivated to have others join their faith is that it allows them to claim the souls of their members upon their death. * The Chorus' God is actually an Eldritch horror that their highest ranking officials worship in secret. It has been dying for millennia and will continue to do so until the Chorus has collected enough 'fragments' that it can be reborn. * The civilizations under the Chorus' thrall are actually effective farms for fragments. As generation after generation dies, their fragments are collected. Eventually, the fragments in that area of space will 'dry up' and cause the civilization to collapse as birthrates decline. ===== OOC ===== * **Player** [[user:whisper]] created this on 2021/07/15 14:53. ==== Usage ==== This content adheres to Project Multiverse's [[rules:setting_contribution|submission and usage rules.]] * This Nation can be used by anyone, though they should only provide a problem for player Nations when those Nations wish it. * In the event that the Nation's managers are no longer available, the Chorus can be adopted by anyone in good standing, with the understanding that the most extreme displays of its power are not available to normal player characters.