Five Afflictions: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:14, 4 July 2024

Spoiler warning!
This article contains major spoilers for PALISADE 13: Worth the Trouble Pt. 2. Tread carefully!

The Five Afflictions are strange, amoral beings — kaiju — that cause destruction on Palisade without regard for factional allegiance. Each has pawns or minions of its own, and generates a unique negative effect.

Their current auto-antonym names appear to come from the Afflictions themselves. Cleave, for example, "has called itself, or people have dreamt the name" Cleave.^[1]

History

The Afflictions were once the Divine Palisade's "greatest collaborators": the Divines Reflection, Antiquity, Logic, Decisiveness, and Affection. Prior to the events of Twilight Mirage, they and their Excerpts left the Fleet alongside Palisade. They have resided on the planet for thousands of years, long enough to have interacted with the New Earth Hegemony and, later, the Divine Free States and Principality of Kesh.

They are no longer in the social category of Divine,^[2] and the label "Affliction" was applied to them by the Fabreal Duchy^[3] after being traumatized by the trauma of Palisade's violent history.

Afflictions

Dust

Main page: Dust

Also known as Pride's Mirror (by the NEH) or the Looking Glass (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Dust was once the Divine Reflection. As Reflection, it could provide self-insight to its followers.^[4] Dust is a large mummy-mech with power over a sort of dust that can transform into dopplegangers of anyone who gets too close. It is mostly confined to the Diadem.

Refrain

Main page: Refrain

Also known as Yesterday's Reprise (by the NEH) or the Ghastly Chorus (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Refrain was once the Divine Antiquity. As Antiquity, it allowed people to leave parts of themselves, or their memory, with it.^[5] It is now a hungry undead archive which takes the form of a spectral theater.

Ravel

Also known as Labyrinth's Thread (by the NEH) or the Hedge Maze (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Ravel was once the Divine Logic, who embodied a logic that was many-valued and not based on a true/false binary. The non-binary nature of this logic is reflected in the three horns of Ravel's pawns,^[4] which are 12-foot-tall, invisible minotaur-like beings, or "tricerataurs".^[6]

Ravel "looks like a massive, loose brain neuron prowling the hills and valleys".^[1] It can reroute roads and pathways or build walls to disorient and defamiliarize.

Cleave

Also known as Whetstone's Opposite (by the NEH) or the Sanguine Hatchet (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Cleave was once the Divine Decisiveness.^[4] Its pawns look like "if a dragon was made of knives",^[7] and they share Cleave's power to impede communication using voiced, signed or written language.

Oversight

Also known as Hell's Facade (by the NEH) or the Empty Garden (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Oversight was once the Divine Affection.^[4] It looks like "a slowly moving statue whose features are always fluctuating under a stone shroud."^[1]

References

[pal03-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 PALISADE 03: Today Is a Monday

[pal32-2] PALISADE 32: Seize the Chance Pt. 3

[pal47-3] PALISADE 47: A Palette of Colors Pt. 2

[pal27-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 PALISADE 27: Resentment and Frustration Pt. 2

[5] PALISADE 13: Worth the Trouble Pt. 2

[6] PALISADE 10: The Wheels Turning Pt. 1

[7] PALISADE 01: Into the World Pt. 1

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 The Afflictions were once the [[Divine]] [[Partial Palisade|Palisade]]'s "greatest collaborators": the Divines Reflection, Antiquity, Logic, Decisiveness, and Affection. Prior to the events of ''[[Twilight Mirage]]'', they and their [[Excerpts]] left the Fleet alongside Palisade. They have resided on the planet for thousands of years, long enough to have interacted with the [[New Earth Hegemony]] and, later, the [[Divine Free States]] and [[Principality of Kesh]].
-They are no longer in the social category of Divine,<ref name="pal32">[[PALISADE 32: Seize the Chance Pt. 3]]</ref> and the label "Affliction" was applied to them by the [[Fabreal Duchy]],<ref name="pal47">[[PALISADE 47: A Palette of Colors Pt. 2]]</ref> but how they came to be transformed from Divines to the beings they now are remains unclear.
+They are no longer in the social category of Divine,<ref name="pal32">[[PALISADE 32: Seize the Chance Pt. 3]]</ref> and the label "Affliction" was applied to them by the [[Fabreal Duchy]]<ref name="pal47">[[PALISADE 47: A Palette of Colors Pt. 2]]</ref> after being traumatized by the trauma of Palisade's violent history.
 ==Afflictions==
 ===Dust===
-{{See also|[[Dust]]}}
+{{Main|Dust}}
 Also known as '''Pride's Mirror''' (by the NEH) or the '''Looking Glass''' (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Dust was once the Divine '''Reflection'''. As Reflection, it could provide self-insight to its followers.<ref name="pal27">[[PALISADE 27: Resentment and Frustration Pt. 2]]</ref> Dust is a large mummy-mech with power over a sort of dust that can transform into dopplegangers of anyone who gets too close. It is mostly confined to the Diadem.
 ===Refrain===
-{{See also|[[Refrain]]}}
+{{Main|Refrain}}
 Also known as '''Yesterday's Reprise''' (by the NEH) or the '''Ghastly Chorus''' (by the ancestors of the Divine Principality), Refrain was once the Divine '''Antiquity'''. As Antiquity, it allowed people to leave parts of themselves, or their memory, with it.<ref>[[PALISADE 13: Worth the Trouble Pt. 2]]</ref> It is now a hungry undead archive which takes the form of a spectral theater.