Difference between revisions of "Cult of Ustream (Canon)"

Latest revision as of 16:59, 4 November 2016

The Cult of Ustream canon (often shortened to CoU) is a collaborative, primarily chatplay-based roleplay canon set in the Manaverse, specifically Ustream, Euthora. The events of the canon focus initially on the accumulation of the members of the Cult of Ustream, with isolated instances of self-defense and protection of the other residents of Ustream. However, in later parts of the canon's first season, and well into the second season, the Cult is dragged into the protection of Ustream's Seals from the enigmatic group known as The Sealbreakers.

Overview

The Cult of Ustream canon acts as a proverbial "melting pot" of other Manaverse canons, including but not limited to Euthoran Song, Oblivion Phantasy, and Hirasu Legacy. Most of these are canon to Cult of Ustream only to a point, after which they diverge into their "main" paths, with the events taking place in the Cult of Ustream canon being considered a sort of alternate timeline. For example, the beginning of Fyreborne is the cutoff point for Euthoran Song, and the background plot of the Oblivion Phantasy plot Forsaken Malign splits off into Cult of Ustream's canon before the actual roleplay begins. Hirasu Legacy is an exception to this; its creator specifically tailored parts of it to directly fall in line with CoU canon.

The story of Cult of Ustream canon opens with the accumulation^[w.c.] of "off-worlders" who ultimately find their respective ways to Ustream, a country-region on the continent of Forvolrasuls on the planet Euthora. Many different characters from worlds spanning across the Manaverse have their fates gravitate towards this region for reasons unknown, by way of anomalies that range from teleportation systems malfunctioning to personal choice. The events leading up to the canon's beginning spawn the creation of the Alter Timeline, a prominent Manaverse timeline that sees the divergence of the fates of many primary Manaverse characters from their "main" story paths.

The Cult of Ustream is established as a loose union of the various characters who have wound up in the general vicinity of the Cult of Ustream Headquarters building, an abandoned Seotaran military outpost that is claimed out of convenience by the Shapeshifter, Jason Shaver. Jason becomes the de facto leader of the Cult, and names the achlymperist Lord X-Giga-X as his second in command.

Plots

Cult of Ustream canon is segmented into "seasons" marked off by major plots and themes, with a short era prior to the first season which was developed "offscreen". This period of time, as well as any plans for the future, are vastly subject to change as new developments occur in the chatplay itself.

Prologue

Main Article: Prologue

The Prologue of this canon focuses on events taking place during a period prior to Season One lasting several months. The events of the canon are set into motion upon the first chance encounter between Jason Shaver and Lord X-Giga-X, who are [...]. After this, the Cult of Ustream is established out of convenience, with Jason repurposing an old military building to provide a place for adrift travelers to stay. The Prologue also details the Cult's encounters with The Shadow Drakes, both in Ustream and the Chasm of the Unknown, and the group's conflicts against the canon's first antagonists, the dracoimperist Drake Kuro and the dragons under his control.

The exact details of the Prologue are subject to change. The "reboot" of the canon began with Season One, with the Prologue being revisited with a parallel series of chatplays.

Season One

Main Article: Season One

Season One encompasses a period of approximately four and a half months following the defeat of Drake Kuro. During this point in time, the Cult gains several members, including Shadow Version 27, Espira Xirro, Valen Scarletburn, and Darius. New conflicts begin to arise, including the supposed resolution of Jason's debt with Death and the Black Assassin's hunt for CrazE and his blood relatives. However, a new major conflict arose as an enigmatic group known only as The Sealbreakers began to destroy five seals that are scattered across Ustream. It is believed that these seals restrain something of high significance or grave danger, as they are anchors to a spell system that encompasses the entire region of Ustream. Without much difficulty or particular resistance, the Sealbreakers succeed in destroying three of the seals by the end of Season One.

The Station of Seotara, initially viewed as antagonistic following a scouting mission gone awry, becomes an invaluable ally in defending the seals. However, during this timeframe, tension between the Cult's leader-figures, Jason and Lord X-Giga-X, rose over the fate of Deathstorm; a Shadow Drake over who the two leaders shared control by way of dracoimpery. Sustained conflict and tension culminated in Giga's defection and Organization G-X's secession from the Cult.

Amid this chaos, the Cult's final conflict within this timeframe arose in the form of the deity Oikeus, previously housed within the body of Valen Scarletburn, [...].

Season Two

Main Article: Season Two

At the beginning of Season Two, the Cult heads to the Sulsian country of Nienearcl as a sort of "desert vacation." During this vacation, they also conduct an investigation of the seal that Skyking Súndávr guards. Increasingly frequent "incidents" involving Ziolang Hirasu begin to occur as he returns from his self-inflicted exile, as the Vodera appears to be attempting to sever all ties with the Cult. He attacks Shadow, causes a fight between Mimring and Starlight Thunderscale, injures Starr, and fights with Emma Isokoski. The lattermost event leads to Emma being crippled.

The Cult continues to defend the seals from the Sealbreakers, although a new problem emerges when Drake Kuro [returns from / makes a resurgence after] [...]. He attacks the seal with his dragons, and half of the Cult moves to intercept them by way of Shadow's voidcore. In a surprising twist, it turns out that the Sealbreakers were in fact waiting to "recruit" Kuro into their ranks due to their aligning interests. They succeeded before moving on to their main objective of destroying the seal. While this is going on, the other half of the Cultists remain back at Cult Headquarters in order to prepare for the arrival of Helix, a former dragon of Drake Kuro who manipulated a resurrected, amnesiac clone of Jason to retrieve the powers of various dragons across Ustream. Having lost his patience after he failed to return to him, he went off toward his next target, resulting in a confrontation with the Cult.

Following the battle at the seal, the Cult paid a visit to a seal guardian, Draco Maxima Irizutákor. This led the group back to the Chasm of the Unknown to learn more about the seals, as the Shadow Drakes have been guarding the seals through the generations.

Setting

The Cult of Ustream canon takes place almost exclusively on the Euthoran continent of Forvolrasuls, with particular focus on the region of Ustream. The Cult of Ustream Headquarters in Ustream's midwest is established as a major settlement in the early parts of the canon's Prologue, with the Cult of Ustream adopting an old Seotaran military outpost as its permanent home. Over the course of the Prologue, the Cult is pulled by various circumstances to explore several of the locales of Ustream, discovering [...]. In addition, the Cult delves into the Chasm of the Unknown during the Prologue, exploring the parallel Ustream inside.

In Season One, there are several instances of the Cult leaving Ustream to visit the neighboring country of Durasken, and a minor instance in which a portion of the Cult visits the nearby Euthorica Islands region. The Cult also discovers the existence of the seals of Ustream during this period of time, which leads to a more in-depth exploration of previous places to discover further information. Late in Season One, the Cult is temporarily forced to relocate their base of operations to the Station of Seotara's headquarters in Ustream's north, as Oikeus has claimed dominion of the Cult Headquarters.

Later on in the canon, the Cult explores other Euthoran countries, such as Nienearcl.

Dramatis Personae

Main Article: List of Characters in Cult of Ustream Canon

As the canon takes place on Euthora, many of the characters figure prominently in Euthoran Song, such as Mimring and Starlight Thunderscale. However, many main or primary characters from other canons also have roles of varying significance, including Oblivion Phantasy's Shadow Version 27 and Slash, Messenger's Memoirs' Judas Numidius, and Hirasu Legacy's Ziolang Hirasu.

Characters who have, so far, proven to have noticeable story value in the canon are as follows:

• Jason Shaver: The current leader of the Cult of Ustream. Jason is a rather solitary hybrid of a Shapeshifter and a dragon. He keeps the close company of Mimring Thunderscale, who is also one of his Familiars. He is a dracoimperist with control over two dragons in addition to Mimring. Often reckless and impulsive, his ability to lead is occasionally tested by other members of the Cult. However, Jason is friendly with those who have gained his trust, and is exceedingly loyal to those that he would call a friend.
• Lord X-Giga-X: The former second-in-command of the Cult of Ustream. Lord X-Giga-X is a powerful human achlymperist and dracoimperist, often having remained distant to the Cult proper during his tenure. He could frequently be found in his laboratory, conducting a variety of experiments with his own group, Organization G-X. As a result of growing tensions between himself and the Cult of Ustream towards the conclusion of Season One, Lord X-Giga-X defects from the Cult.
• Judas Numidius: A notorious Feronite demigod as well as divine messenger hailing from the Osyrhic House Numidius. He found himself intertwined with the events of the Cult of Ustream, and has stuck around in order to assist them in furthering their goals after having befriended several members, including Valen Scarletburn. Typically rule-abiding, Judas seems to allow things to run their natural course. He has a powerful sense of justice, often standing up for his own beliefs. He maintains the Messenger's Memoirs, an extensive collection of books chronicling events on his journey from his own perspective as well as that of others.
• Shadow Version 27: A Diclonius, originally from Phantasia, that ultimately ended up a member of the Cult of Ustream. Though initially very weak and timid, Shadow proved to have a significant amount of promise within him, detected first by Ziolang Hirasu, who wished to take him back to Deveron in order to have him further hone his abilities.
• Pricilla Starkey: A Mantuanese scientist working against her own morals and values. She primarily serves as the Cult's medic due to her skills. She also conducts many genetic experiments in her [lab on the hill?], and is a practitioner of the theories of Garnere. Her battle is within herself as she struggles to clean her conscious of a horrible betrayal she committed against her people. She is the single mother of twins Rye and Ringo Knight, whose father was the late Alexander "crazE" Knight.
• Alexander "crazE" Knight: A genetically-modified Terran who hailed from a multi-billion dollar family with a reputable research facility on Terra. CrazE's curious nature led to him testing a teleporter that was invented by his older brother, which ultimately transported him to Ustream. Energetic and carefree, CrazE's passions and enthusiasm led to him attempting to aid the Cult, and he eventually had twins with fellow Cultist Pricilla Starkey. However, his lineage also attracted the Black Assassin to Ustream, a construct that was designed to kill him and end his bloodline. CrazE met his end when he attempted to save his family and friends from the Dark Zone.
• Valen Scarletburn: The Cult's gunslinger and a Syelsumoii man who was robbed of his fate. Hailing from a proud tribal tundra background, his perception of the world around him is as unique and powerful as his guns are. Vale's cursed destiny gives him the tools to right all his wrongs and protect the innocent, although he grapples with [...]. His body played host to the Syelsumoii deity of [...], Oikeus, until the end of Season One.
• Ziolang Hirasu:
• Drake Kuro: A powerful human dracoimperist who first attempted to take control of Ustream's Shadow Drakes in an effort to take advantage of their powers, putting him at odds with the Cult of Ustream. He eventually moved on to attempt to seize the control of their parallels within the Chasm of the Unknown. The members of the Cult fought and defeated him before the beginning of Season One. While is true intentions remained unknown for some time, it was later revealed that he intended to destroy the seal within the Chasm of the Unknown. In his death, this goal is now being fulfilled by his clone, who has become a member of The Sealbreakers.
• Azænia: The primary footsoldier for a mysterious group known as The Sealbreakers; a determined girl who seems to have a painful past, and wields an arcane sword she calls Bradura. Arrived on Euthora with the equally enigmatic Faryn Zyhrai.

Trivia

• The canon has gone through at least two phases of forum-based roleplaying, both of which were considered failed attempts. The canon has also been "rebooted"; that is to say, restarted due to inconsistencies and the poor quality of "oldcanon".
• The Hole of Ultimate Doom had its name changed to Chasm of the Unknown, both in and out of character, when it was brought up in a meeting between the Cult of Ustream and the Station of Seotara and everyone realized just how ridiculous the name was. Zaiek was the one who came up with the new name.
  • The fact that "Chasm of the Unknown" can be abbreviated to "CotU" (similar to Cult of Ustream's "CoU") seems to be a surprisingly fitting coincidence, as the Chasm's purpose appears to be to reflect the inhabitants of its immediate area in preventative self-defense. As Ustream is primarily wilderness, the only residents the Chasm has reflected are the Cult itself.
• The Cult of Ustream canon, to date, brings together the following individual canons:
  • Armonia Chronicles
  • Dissonant Rhapsody
  • Euthoran Song
  • Hirasu Legacy
  • Infinitum Rokans
  • Messenger's Memoirs
  • Oblivion Phantasy
  • Unnamed Terran canon