The Quiescents

((sorry its a bit more than 2 paragraphs each but i couldn't condense the most important information in under 2))

THE QUIESCENTS
Quiescent -adjective - in a state or period of inactivity or dormancy

Playful liquid metal beings native to Garlen that forgot their own history, can transform into weapons, and subsist off a now-rare resource: Ancient Essence.
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Tags

Personality: Playful, curious, innocent, bonding. Their personality is ironic considering they can transform into weapons that can murder people; but generally they are too nice to even fire at a sapient being without discipline.
Appearance: Liquid metal, short (2-4 ft tall), can transform into weapons, wavy, vibrating, energy shell, cute
Abilities: Can transform into strong weapons (that they have little control over), physically weak and fragile. Eats Ancient Essence, a very rare resource.
History: Extremely long time ago, suffered a famine that caused them to go dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, causing them to forget everything. Now, after being awoken by explorers, must rediscover their pasts and their purpose.
RP: Self-discovery in the open world of Garlen, bonding with others, overcoming your weaknesses through the strength of your friends.​

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Appearance

(Above: A Quiescent holding a lantern, exploring the Temple of the Hanged Man in the Astral Range in Garlen.)

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Quiescents, in their natural form, appear as bipedal beings of short stature, their height usually ranging from 2 to 4 feet. The outer edges of their forms appear as a wispy hue due to the faint traces of other chemicals bound at the edge of their forms - the rest of their body appears dark, though if one looked closely or it was bleeding, they would see the glossy metallic texture of the Substance, a mixture of various liquid metallic compounds similar to mercury or gallium. The Substance contains alloys, pure metals, and metallic compounds that can breakdown and change composition, capable of hardening into their weapon form as any excess Substance is compressed into their Heart in a weightless format - the Substance is a special form of non-newtonian ferrofluid that they can manipulate at will, their core processing eaten metal into more of the fluid. The Substance is what makes up their entire weapon form, with some aid from the Heart for any function - the weapon’s hull and any other metal parts such as bullets or blade material is composed directly from the Substance. Quiescents will consume metals of any type to replenish any Substance lost from injuries taken either in their natural form or their weapon form - they generally prefer to consume a wide variety of metals to suit the material needs of their weapons. Aside from their bipedal form, the Quiescents can manipulate their shell and shape freely - they can even fit through tight spaces as long as their Heart can fit through. The Substance is the catalyst for their metal-eating and Essence-eating reactions, giving them life and allowing them to move; their bodies are weak and fragile, and cuts will begin to leak Substance out rather quickly. Their “eyes” are formed from semi-solid pieces of luminescent material, photosensitive like the metal of their weapon form - these eyes can move about their form freely, and they can even have one eye, or multiple eyes.

(Substance puddled on the ground.)
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The Quiescents are powered and composed by a core, called the Heart, of Ancient make, an orb of approximately 10 cm in diameter - it is composed of the same dark material that many Ancient ruins are composed of, acting as a source of power, a mind core, and a housing for any excess Substance not utilized in the shapeshifting process, and more. The Heart is usually hidden behind the liquid metal composition of a Quiescent, away from view. Though the Heart is incredibly sturdy and resistant to damage and environmental effects, it will go dormant if the Quiescent loses all of its substance, requiring a “jump start” of five ancient essence orbs while it is slotted into an Obelisk in order to revive it. The core is also responsible for providing energy and function to its weapon core. Quiescents require sustenance in the form of Ancient Essence, a very rare resource only found in Ancient ruins, the primary well of Essence they fed from now long dried up. The life of a Quiescent is often one of finding essence - one orb of Ancient Essence can power them for three months. A starving Quiescent begins to lose control of its Substance, becoming sluggish and sometimes leaky, slowly shrinking until it is but a dormant Heart.

(Above: A Quiescent in weapon form. This one in particular is a plasma rifle. It even has an eye!)
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One of the Quiescents most unique traits is their ability to transform into weapons. A Quiescent’s weapon form and type are permanent, only able to change aesthetically after trauma or development. Generally the weapons look different from modern ones due to their appearance as precursor weapons; generally, it is ergonomically the same, adapted to fit multiple numbers of fingers, from the three-fingered Ancient to the five-fingered Human. In terms of function, a Quiescant can be a wide variety of weapon types - one-handed or two-handed, ranged or melee, plasma or ballistic or cryo or electric, you get the idea. Quiescents that ballistic weapon forms are electromagnetically propelled instead of using chemical repellent. The inner workings of their weapon form are provided by their Heart, the primary reason their weapon form is permanent - a Quiescent that is a cryogun will have a Heart that can fire globs of extremely cold Substance, while a Quiescent that is a plasma blade or gun has a Heart that can produce plasma. Quiescent weapons, functioning as characters in of themselves, are generally stronger than modern equivalents - plasma is hotter, ballistics have a higher velocity, cryo is colder, etc. Quiescent weapons also may have a special “ability” that can be activated by the Quiescent, though they typically have little control over it unless they are disciplined, usually activating it out of fear. These abilities can range from a small plasma shield to protect the wielder, to a grenade launcher that fires exploding balls of plasma, to simply a stronger fire, or if its a blade the ability to slash waves of coherent plasma from a distance. When transforming, a Quiescent’s body will grow brightly as its shell condenses, Substance recomposing itself and shaping into the weapon around the core. Excess material is sucked into the core, stored in a weightless format until out of weapon form - this whole transformation takes a turn, and the Quiescent can choose whichever orientation or position to transform at - their partner could simply hold their hand and have the grip of the Quiescent held after transformation.

(Above: An Ancient Obelisk on Garlen, a teleporter uplink center that also serves as a revival center for Quiescents.)​

Culture
Quiescents have a very lovable personality, one which blatantly contradicts the fact that they can turn into deadly weapons. They are very playful and curious, and easily bond with others, especially those who wield their weapon forms. Almost childlike and innocent, they wander an unfamiliar world they once knew everything about, exploring with their new friends in a quest to discover who they were. Many also enjoy harmless pranks and humor.

Though their personality is cute and lovable, it clashes with their functionality as a weapon. Though their weapons are generally manipulated by their wielders, their strength often correlates with the Quiescent’s emotional state and level of trust with their wielded. A stranger or someone they dislike may not be able to use the weapon at all - it simply won’t fire - even an argument between the wielder and Quiescent could cause distrust, inhibiting their function. A wielder whose Quiescent partner trusts in them as a friend and partner will be a wielder that can use them at their full effectiveness. The Quiescent can telepathically communicate to their wielder (whoever is holding them) while in weapon form, likely the first way a Quiescent will communicate with someone upon waking - through the transference of thoughts and ideas. Given their metal is photosensitive while in weapon form, they can still see around them - a Quiescent will still experience fear and apprehension while still in weapon form, and their loving personality may prevent them from firing upon or cutting another sapient being.

[id go on about how they talk and express themselves but i think this is long enough already]


History
[Full history / culture will be revealed to the graders during stage 2 grading]

Though the Quiescent have forgotten the entirety of their history, carbon dating of their cores reveal them to be approximately 300,000 years old. They have always inhabited the world of Garlen, but at one point suffered a massive “famine” where their primary source of Ancient Essence suddenly extinguished, leaving them to fall into dormancy as they were too weak to delve into dangerous ruins to get the remaining Essence. Over this period of dormancy for hundreds of thousands of years, they lost all memory of themselves and their histories, essentially being reborn as adventurers expose them to orbs of Ancient Essence.

Intentions for Story & Setting Interactions
Quiescent roleplay primarily focuses on the bonds they form with their partners and friends, the self-discovery of their own history and pasts, and the exploration of their native homeworld, the open-world hub of Garlen which constantly receives updates expanding its landscape and its lore.

Cosigners:
@Skid
@Cheffu
@TurnWall
@zecon125
@Roren
@EPS-Reborn
@TriReef

 

yeah lemme slap a co-sign

 

Hello yes it is me big weird race playing guy.

I co-sign.

 

cosign........................

 

co-sign 2: the co-signening.

 

Re-Co-Sign from funny weird race guy

 

big co-sign time

 

THE QUIESCENTS [Phase 2]​