Editing Setting:Heavy mythril (section)

=Gods=

There is a vast pantheon of gods in the world of Heavy Mythril. The Song that brought the world into existence, the song that forges the souls of all sentient beings, has been discovered by some men. As they shape it, bring it into the world in new forms, they become gods themselves. It takes a true connection to the Song to be a god; not every two-bit bard can hack it. 

==The King==
Long Ago, deep in the farm lands of D'Eltara, there was but a simple farmer who wished to be a bard. He wandered the roads of D'Eltara everynight, picking at his lute until one night, The Dark One came to him and offered him a deal.

In exchange for his soul, the Dark One would show him The Song. The Farmer agreed.  He took the lute from the farmer and with Fire from his finger tips, he played three cords on the lute. The farmer blacked out and awoke at the Crossroads.  The lute had now become elemental, Electric. As the farmer walked back to town, The Dark One spoke to him.

"Go to town and get yourself a plate of hot dumplings. you're gonna need something on your stomach where you're going."

So began the first era. The Song spread from bard-to-bard, soon growing as varied as the people who heard it. There arose The King, who was disposed by the Four.

==The Four==
The first "true" gods to ascend, Jahn, Pol, Gerog and Rhyngol were quarrymen - miners. It is not recorded how they ascended, other than an incident at Sullivan's Tavern. What is known is that they began spreading a message of peace, love, and freedom across the world. They traveled to the north, to the frozen wastes, to halt the invasion of the ice titans, where Jahn alone was forced to save his comrades - they had been turned into eggs by a sorcerer, whom Jahn defeated by taking the form of a great dire walrus.

Now... the Four are mostly dead. Jahn died, slaughtered by the seducer demon Yog-Koa. Pol has begun to steal his songs back from the world, receding as a bitter tyrant. Gerog also died, succumbing as to a dread disease, the cause of which is unknown. Only Rhyngol is constant, the deity living beneath the waves in his manor, Octopus' Garden. He still tours the world yearly, answers prayer personally, and his power alone still fuels the great artifact Maxwell's Silver Hammer, which is passed down through the archclerics of their faith.

==Zepp==
From humble beginnings arose the closest thing to an overgod that the pantheon of this world has ever known. While his history is ambiguous before his ascendancy. Some priests claim that he was a druid with a love of avians; others claim that he was an ordinary, if witty, young Ice-man named Nobs - a "man from the land of the ice and snow". His silence on the matter tends to suggest that it does not matter to him. In fact, Zepp is one of the less blunt, more retiring, calm gods, preferring to work through his worshipers than disturbing the world by descending in all his glory. 

Zepp is, much like the Man in Black, a constant foe of the demons that haunt the world, although he seems to believe that they can be purified. In one notable instance, he confronted a seducer demon simply called the White Lady that was drawing men into the thrall of a technocrat, claiming that they could buy their way into heaven, and showed her the futility of her ways; such was the power of his message that she turned from darkness, becoming his prophet on the crust.

Interestingly enough, Zepp is also one of the few gods that has prophesied a figure that will come after them, a figure that is greater than them - the Piper, a being who will be the last avatar of The Song, and who will call all of creation to join him in the heavens.

==The Man in Black==
A bodhisattva from before the rise of the Four who later ascended to "true" godhood, the Man in Black is a devout follower of the Song who wanders the crust, teaching the people of this world through his songs and seeking justice. He and his followers are implacable foes of demons - the Man in Black himself has fought with the Dark One himself and lived to tell the tale - and the most successful, well-known paladins of history claim him as their patron. Notably, the Man in Black, while an honorable, noble being, is not without a sense of humor - he loves spreading stories of his followers far and wide, such as the man who decided to steal a Thunder Chariot one element at a time from a technocrat's assembly plant, not realizing that they were changing the design slowly over time.

==Lord Alice==
The god of Dragontown, the punishing afterlife of the damned, Lord Alice is a terrifying figure. His hair is wire, his eyes scarred from the burning tears that flowed from his face upon his ascension, lips scarred in the same manner.

He's also a really nice guy.

Sure, his worshipers are horrifying, and he will gladly torment any damned soul that enters Dragontown until nothing remains of their sanity - but he is a god of karma and justice, and the innocent - or righteous - have nothing to fear from him. His consort and equal, Lady Floyd the Pink, is followed more by the general populace, a goddess of empathy who preaches the connectedness of all things and the need to step away from the material.

==Akkdekk/Teyente==
Akkdekk - called Teyente by the orcs - is an enigma. A god of hobs, goblins, and the like, he is always depicted as a short, ugly little fellow, immaculately dressed (but for the fact that he's wearing shorts) and with a soft, dapper cap. He is a god of mischief, of love (read: sex) and of vengeance. When a goblin clan's warriors were wiped out by invaders, he led the women of the clan against them, and singlehandedly defeated the raiders by charging into their midst - and exploding. He came back a moment later, coated from head to toe in black, clinging soot, but otherwise unharmed.
Akkdekk's other side is a bit of a mystery - he loves the trappings of courtly life, and is actively steering the orcs under his sway and the goblins toward a system of nobility. Amidst the gods, it has been outright stated that Akkdekk holds the grandest balls of them all - and while there are those that take that to an entirely inappropriate place, perverts like that are best left out of religious discussion.

==The Tyrant==
None remember the Tyrant's original name. What is known is that he hoards his songs jealously, and killed Napstar the Archthief for daring to steal them. While some claim that he has relaxed his grip in recent years, his tyranny restricted to the nations beneath the grip of his followers, none can say if that is true or not yet. A god of warfare and terror, favored by fighters and conquerors, the Tyrant surrounds himself with an army of Things that Should Not Be, Harvesters, and other such eldritch horrors. His lieutenant is Old Boh'Geimon himself, the Sandman, sower of nightmares - although rumor has it that the Bogey doesn't like his employer much nowadays. The Tyrant's armies are fierce, and his strategies are cunning - and yet, he has one downfall. Alcohol - his fuel, his fire, and the one vice he desires.

==Zhikae the Blackstar==
It is said that a single song haunts the strings of all guitars, it is a melody that when the stars are right, will reveal all liars and thieves... when it was written by a mediocre peddler, he was visited by a voice from beyond the heavens, who sold him the world for his song.

He now drifts through all time, forward and back, up and down, inside and out, wearing a million masks to a million men (and women), a genderless, lithe merchant of sorrows, inspiring and terrifying men and gods alike- haunting the strings and voices of those who would reach beyond their grasps... he is the mad laugh in the dark.... he is the master of spiders and outsiders.

==The Caged One==
His true name is lost to the sands of time. He is the god of darkness, decrepitude, and isolation. In the past he was one of a dark pantheon, but he betrayed another member of that pantheon and was cast down by the rest for it. In his isolation he has sung to many an unwary and life-hating soul, luring them to his worship with his call and reminding them of the lost glories of the past swallowed by the light.

He has attempted many times to escape his fate, but was imprisoned time and time again by those who would rather his darkness and insanity stay put. Rumors have it, however, that this time he has escaped for good, and seeks to ascend to his former throne...

==The Elf of Rainbows==
Test not the temper of this god, and tease not his name, for to invoke it is to invoke one of the most powerful occult presences since the Ur-Men first tamed the song into spell.

A mortal once accepted into a wandering band of elves, he was the first to divine the mystical influence of the manual symbol the crone, known among the Orcs as the Horns. After reaching the peak of his prowess as a mortal among the elves, his body subsumed itself into light, becoming one with the Rainbow in whose beauty he first found the Apotheosis of the Song.

He was said to have traveled with the Brotherhood of the Sabbath after his ascension, but parted ways with them at times.

The Elves perpetuate a myth that he was one of them in mortal life. A fickle god, he both honors their pride in their adopted son and shames their greed for his fame by starting cults that bear the truth of his human heritage; these cults savagely war with and surreptitiously sabotage the widespread Church of the Rainbow. These smaller sects revere him as the Holy Diver, and the Man on the Silver Mountain, among other names. His human name is sacred to them, and while they claim to know it, they dare not reveal it.

He is oft worshipped by those who seek his guidance in the realm of the arcane, and is the most common god of Wizards and Shamans. His symbols include the Tiger, dark figures, and the most potent gesture of all: the Horns, sign of the Crone.

==The Airsmith==
It is said that when the universe is torn apart and reformed, when the next world is created, there will be only two things left over from our creation; cockroaches, and the Airsmith. Nearly as old as the Four, the Airsmith has remained unlessened, untainted, and unconquered, although his age has caused him to change his focus somewhat, as has the fact that he has weathered things that would slaughter any other god. When he was young, he was mostly a god of freedom and love; his age has made him realize just how many jaded, broken lovers he has created from his endless flings with mortals, and how many problems there are in the world that simply cannot be solved by ignoring them. This frustration, this cynical edge that seeped into the Airsmith's being that was once simply vented into song, reached a dramatic crescendo during a worker's revolt in one of the citadels. Denied food by their slavers, the Airsmith delivered a grotesque message to his followers, who had reached out for succor from him in their time of need:

Eat the rich.

The war was brief, the workers entirely successful, the acts of cannibalism forgotten by the world at large afterwards - and even by the ones who committed it, as the Airsmith added something to the victory wine to help ease their minds, once he realized just what he had done.

==The Sired==
Implied to be the son of the Airsmith, and explicitly the offspring of a fling between a god and a mortal woman, the Sired is a sarcastic, biting young deity who has begun collecting like-minded individuals who just want to tear down the walls of this world, to build something better. Pranksters, wannabes - he cares not for who they were before. In his care, they are urged to come out swinging, to drive their foes before them, to defy those that would dehumanize them.

While most gods have a fairly liberal view of sex - glorifying it to an extreme - the Sired isn't afraid to show the other side of such relationships. As many of his songs describe how sex is used as a tool, a weapon, a thing that only hurts those it touches when one isn't careful, his followers are far more likely to be chaste - or at least monogamous - than those of other gods. And while the Sired is a deity without much respect for the establishment, a rebel god, he is also one with a sense of humor - he has devoted an entire holy track to advice for his followers that have been imprisoned, though it boils down to "don't be no one's bitch!" 

As a final consideration, while few of his songs deal with it, the Sired is a genius, and a patron of many mages - particularly transmuters and those that deal with the creation of new life.

==The Tenacious Duo==
Jables and Kage, two penny-ante bards and devout followers of the great Elf of Rainbows, were able to - through a musical duel with a shining demon - tap into the Song and ascend to a position of minor godhood. The only catch? While they undoubtedly rock, they have been unable to tap into the Song as they did that night - they are even unable to remember the song that they played to vanquish their foe. Of course, this hasn't stopped them from proclaiming their brilliance loudly and to whomever is within listening range, and the powers vested in them with their godhood are still fairly impressive - great physical strength, such that the weakest external part of their bodies can support their half-ton godflesh, and the ability to destroy great beasts from a distance - with MIND BULLETS.

==The Queen==
Once a poor boy from a poor family, Frederich the Mercurial grew to be one of the most worshipped bastions of Rock. As a mortal he had many interests (hence his name), including bicycling and seducing the local callipygian gentry. However, his main love was singing; through this, he earned the love of not only his local people but those of many races from around the world, letting them believe in true friendship and that they were the champions. As he grew older and more renowned, he soon grew to rival the king of the land in popularity; knowing that to call himself king would be treason, he jokingly pronounced himself Queen instead, and the name stuck. 

He is the patron of many a warlord, helping them convince those under their command that their enemies will be rocked and bite the dust. But also he is the patron of lovers, helping many a young bard to find another and cling together.

==The Ever Marching Battalion==
The Ever Marching Battalion is not a single deity, rather it is a force which has joined with the one true song and is revered as a pantheon.  There are those who believe that they are the reincarnation of these warriors, and seek to ensure that their tale is forever told, and one day return to their comrades.

Long ago, the much of the world was ruled by a single government which claimed to be masters of all they surveyed. A theocracy, claiming to be the heralds of the one true God. Ever paranoid of rebellion, or of schism within their ranks, they fortified every holding they could. They mowed down any that dissented brutally. Their soldiers were cold and heartless on the battlefield. They left their wounded as they died and called it God's will. They employed horsemen whose sole duty it was to spread fear of demons in the people, so that they would rely on their blind faith and not question their leaders. All who lived feared these shadows of murder.

Inevitably, a rebellion arose. A million men, secretly biding their time in the military until the time was right to strike, marched upon the capital. Their mark was the distinguishing spiked iron boots they wore, to symbolize how they would trample the corrupt government. Thousands of feet marched in despair that day as they slew their former comrades and neighbors. When they laid siege to the capital, mages in its towers conjured a winter the likes of which had never been seen before. In the beginning days, thousands died in the mud, in coming months, many more died from the freezing cold. Those left carved the names of the fallen into stones and sang songs of their glory to keep them alive in their hearts.. They vowed that they would honor their names along with their fallen foes forever. Months passed, and eventually all of the rebels in the spiked iron boots passed on. Though they did not know it, they had defeated their enemy, the pure power of the mages' spell is all that kept the cold winter storms going. When the storms had subsided, the people realized that both sides were dead. It is said that now, in the long cold winter, in the raging of storms, that one can hear the marching and singing of those brave warriors in sabatons. There are those who revere them as a deific force, given tribute by those that seek to throw off the shackles of tyranny.

==The Keepers of the Seven==
It is said that there are seven divine truths in the world, and that there are some who have found them and ascended to godhood through their righteousness. They hold them secret, so that only those are worthy of their power may partake in their glory and be truly alive. In any other hands, this would seem to be a tale that does not end well; however, the Keepers are benevolent, and beckon others to follow the signs that lead to divinity, look into the sky above and see the gods beckoning, and make their choice to initiate themselves into the mysteries. The Keepers do this so that when the gods enter their twilight, the world of the future will remain glorious and bright for at least a little time. To this end they also encourage normal worship, following the basic principles of the Seven without revealing the divine totality of them. Their worshippers gather once a year in a festival called Helloween.

==The Cult of the Azure Crassostrea==
While not proper gods themselves, this powerful extra-planar entities have been known to take extreme interest in the material. From time to time they send forth an emissary, known as 'The Imaginary One', who will through indirect actions bring about great events in the world.

Their cultist are known for their disdain for death and teach the masses to not fear this natural transcendence. They only have one temple, The Tavern of of the Four Winds, where the cult performs their rituals to he sound of their sacred instrument, the cowbell.

==The Million-Soul Fire==
A figure from The Tyrant's distant past and early beginnings, The Million-Soul Fire was once a rust-voiced demon which served as furious, raucous general to the growing underworld armies which flocked to the call 'to kill them all' of The Tyrant, The Boh'Geimon, Orion, God of the Celestial Cliffs, and himself. He was self-destructive and violent, bringing equal pain and disarray to his allies as well as his enemies. After such insanities could no longer be suffered, he was cast out of by the Tyrant and the Boh'Geimon, with no chance of recourse despite his pleas for mercy. In great fury, he mustered a few subordinates to spite the Tyrant and his cohorts. Knowing he could not destroy them, he sought to instead steal their praise and worship while perpetuating his own growth until his reclamation of godhood. He gathered worshipers and consumed them until he had enjoyed his fill. At one million deaths, he ascended in power to holiness once more, and his golden hood and mane of fire darkened to heated-metal crimson. He remains immensely powerful and deadly to this day, with a large repertoire of music to dispense and sound. Arrogant, controlling, and fickle of who he surrounds himself by, he bears his power with pride like the tendrils of nuclear immolation which hang about his face.

==Masked One of the Conical Crown==
The Masked One is pure enigma. Although accessible in his kind, thoughtful, and humorous actions and obvious humanity, he separates himself from the waking world with utter anonymity. He has no self-imposed limits as far as the songs he composes, and ceaselessly produces volumes of music of all temper, tones, and direction. Filled with a vitality that betrays his still ivory expression, and an introspectiveness of character which permeates every fiber of his existence, he lives with immortal patience and infinite appreciation for the facets of reality. He tells or, more appropriately, implies to his followers that they need only sacrifice their true face and identity to achieve his omniscient power and skill. The Masked One can be worshiped by all but those who can not truly appreciate and respect the existence and life which surrounds them. His origins are odd, and most likely falsely propagated by he himself to maintain his identity of no identity. How long he has existed, no one knows.

==Men of War==
The Gods of War the people within the Kingdom of Steel worship are called throughout the kingdom, the Four Metal Kings, as written in this ancient holy text of a battle witnessed by a lone villager when he was a boy.

"There appeared a lone rider, holding a sword
of steel. Then from the south came another,
bearing a battle ax. From the east came a third,
holding a spiked club. And finally, from the west,
a rider who wielded a great hammer of war.
With them came their soldiers of death, followed
by an army of immortals. They were few in number,
but the look in their eyes told all who beheld
them that they would leave this day only in
victory or death. And there was a great silence..."

The nation thrives off of war and bloodshed of its enemies.

==The Maiden of Iron==
There is some debate about the origin of the maiden, whether the current holder of the name originated it, some even say that the maiden is multiple people who combined their powers to tap into the song and who's number and names change at will. What is not debatable is the maiden's raw power, once one of the most popular and influential of the gods, even in his waining years the Maiden wields considerable influence.

A god of both war and introspection, The Maiden revels in battle, but knows well the brutal consequences of war. He often appears to his followers in the form of an animated corpse, eye's glowing with hellfire, regaled as a king a pharaoh a common soldier or something altogether more strange.

==The Madman==
Ozymandias Osbourne was studying to be a wizard when, on a holy day where the sun was eclipsed, he heard his true calling. He used a combination of his wizardly might and his feel for the Song to declare himself definitively one of the masters of reality along with some others who worked with him. He abandoned those others after some disputes, however, and formed his own following. He was becoming slightly insane by this point; during those days you could often see a long caravan of his insane followers, not quite following one of the paths between towns but making their own. However, when his charismatic high priest Rhoads who was on the way to godhood himself died, the Madman descended into the spiral where he earned his name. Going through a series of high priests like no other god and his antics such as biting the head off an angel for the hell of it earned him his reputation both among mortals and among the gods. Regardless of his derangement, however, he is a generally benevolent god, and thus still maintains a very distinct following. He is the patron of outcasts and those whose genius is considered madness.

==The Unseeing Protector==
A Winter Elf in life, when this god ascended, he turned back into a storm. He now rides the currents of the winds, waiting for Winter Elves to enter battle.

Blowing onto the battlefield from the coast, the Winter Elves know that once he has arrived, they have true hope for victory. True heroes of this battle will gain a slight glowing effect to their eyes while under his presence.

Rarely, he will manifest in physical form, a cloaked individual whose face cannot be seen, his long cloak dragging in the snow.

==Beatcrafted==
The results of attempts by the mortal races to shape the song of their own accord, to recreate the divine notes that brought about all of creation. While the non-deific mind can perceive the tempo, the pacing, the individual notes, this does not mean that they can fully comprehend the meaning of the Song of their own accord. Ever so often, however, the music of the series manages to saturate the workings of a brilliant, receptive, possibly 'mad' mind. Driving by such forces of inspiration, they attempt to sire a new sort of creation, seldom realizing that their inspiration comes from the very thing that they attempt to recreate, thinking it in their own image.

They are myriad shape, created rather than born, but all possess a distinctively mechanical, artificial appearance, resultant of their crafting. They are perhaps the most wide-eyed and innocent of races in their beginning, but individuals quickly find themselves rendered cynical and jaded by the disregard in which they are held, deemed 'lesser' beings for not being created of the Gods as the other races are. Most commonly, they take their creators as a sort of pantheon, instinctively aware of others who might have similarly been touched by the Song and knowing them as equals to their 'Fathers and Mothers'.

Known makers of the Beatcrafted include, among others, the Herbalist Hankok, who created the most organic-yet-mechanical contrast of demi-life in his initial Beatcrafted, Rokkit; Transeau the Dreamer, whose ever-vigilant creation is known only the Somnambulist of the Waking Dream, champion of Simply Being Loved; a strange wanderer known only as the Corpulent Gaunt, who has 'authored' many of the Beatcrafted, including the adventuring twins known as Right Here and Right Now, the notorious thieving menace called Gangsta Trippin', and the Beatcrafted who is known for its attempts to transcend gender and its own construction as a bard known as 'The Rockafella Skank'; and a group of enigmatic crafters who once created a child-form Beatcraft, left in a city to learn and grow on her own, who only left the female-shape with a name - Return to Innocence.

The biggest distinction among the Beatcrafted, as well as their makers, is a rather determined refusal to allow themselves to be categorized in life, or to be grouped by inspiration, modus operandi, and the Beatcrafted they make. Those who tend to create Beatcrafted that are stronger in the intellectual and philosophical pursuits are most commonly described as 'Trancers', not to be confused with Transeau, who simply happens to have a similar mood to match his name. Those who create Beatcrafted of might and violence are usually referenced as the Industrial, if only to match the fairly typical utilitarian appearance of their creations. Where they are created to be things of charming beauty, the creators are often referenced as Dancers, though such appellations are simply those bestowed by individuals who would attempt to find a unifying theme among those who would manufacture Beatcrafted.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect, to mortal minds, are the first known Beatcrafted who have, themselves, created Beatcrafted of their own...

==The Starman==
A god worshiped in the temples of Syrinxs who believe the meek shall inherit the earth.
He is a nearly celestial being said to come from the future to fix the wrongs of this world and prevent it from becoming the heavily controlled and dystopian land he comes from.

The Starman sits in the center of his most prestigious temple amongst an unearthly forest of tall trees of maples and lofty oaks in a state of pure bliss he gives off a faint glow as a long ray of light shines from his green canopy as his long hair floats carelessly.
It is said that those who wonder his silver halls can hear his music coming gently from the apex of the temple, music so progressed and unheard of it only backs up the beliefs he is from the future.

==The Traitor Priest==
A Magma Dwarf who was once one of the staid clerics of a long-forgotten deity, Robert Halforge abandoned his former post to tap into his ability to embody the Song and become a deity himself. At first he followed his Rock beginnings under his teachers, but he soon rode the wings of destiny into Heavy Metal. His teachings mostly center around hedonism and the pleasures of the flesh, which he was denied during his priesthood; his congregations are often wild, rebellious parties, and often precede the births of many diabolic children. Shrines to him been banned in many towns, due to the fact that if you think you can stop his from breaking the law during one of their romps, well, you've got another thing coming. It is said that they were the cause of several large fires set in certain cities.

==Napstar, the Archthief, and the Torrent of Souls==
All men know the legend of Napstar the Archthief, the pirate of the sonic seas. The technocrats, in their hubris, weaved together their unfathomable magics into an all-encompassing net, aiming to finally enthrall all men to their will. This net, though not a big truck, nor even a series of tubes, allowed for near instantaneous transfer of the Song, much to the Technocrats chagrin. Napstar was the first to navigate this ether net, bringing the Song to all who would listen. Though the first and most glorious, Napstar was joined by many, including the pirate Kazaar, and the order of the Verdant Wire.

This piracy split the gods into two camps. Those who were subsumed by the infinite greed of the technocrats, gathered beneath the Tyrant himself, and they called for Napstar's head. Some gods, felling a connection to their mortal subjects, followed Napstar's ways, allowing the Song to flow through the web unhindered.

Eventually, the Tyrant, with the aid of the Technocrats, cornered Napstar. Though he fought bravely, he was eventually captured. He was brought to the guillotine in front of the scores of men he brought the Song to. And as the blade fell, Napstar was completely silent. But the anguished roars of the crowd were powerful enough to warp the web itself, creating an ever spinning roil, now known as the torrent of souls.

Thousands of men became pirates that day, demanding that the Song be free for all men. They traverse the torrent, taking what they want, giving what others need, invoking the wrath of the technocrats. The war between the Pirates and the Technocrats rages still. The Technocrats continue to fire their heavy legalese artillery to rip the Bay of Corsairs out of the ether-net, decentralizing the pirates; little do they realize that for every head they blast off of the hydra, 1337 more will take its place. Who knows how this war will end, with freedom and anarchy, or oppression for legality?

==The Fallen Lord of Paradise==
The fallen lord of Paradise is a young god, born of sorrow and, eventually, self-destruction. He is a gaunt, headless being, constantly dressed in the ragged clothes of a beggar or rat-catcher, who dwells in his own little heaven, unable to view the beauty of his creation. His principle worshippers are the generally melancholic munchkins, who, above all other races, understand the true horror of the Fallen Lord's situation. The Fallen Lord also pities the Munchkins, who teeter on the brink of annihilation, trapped in their blackened citadel. Meeting him in person is about as strange as any encounter with a 'dead' god, and trust me, he should be dead. He moves sluggishly, as do all who stand in his presence. There is a certain mystery surrounding his ascension, a mystery that a curious adventurer might want to read into. He could solve it himself, but he doesn't really care enough.

==The Bringers of Glory==
Comprised of four demigods, these legends have one driving goal: To bring the common man closer to The Song. While out on tour, they will constantly choose mortal men and raise them up to Sing the Song with other Chosen. With their instruments, they weave ability into the Chosen, allowing them to add their Voice to the Song. Upwards of 10 Chosen may take the stage at any time, though the number varies widely. A lesser effect is added to the audience, who is encouraged to add their voices to the music.

After the show, Chosen return to their mortal lives, enriched by their experiences. It is not uncommon for Chosen to embark on their own journey to embrace the Song.

==The Thespians of Imagining==
They are a young collective of demi-gods, who began life as a high circle of wizards. They initially met in the Academy of Sorcery at Burk-Lee where such individuals are trained. However, after recognizing the potential in each other, they left the Academy to travel the world and attain deification. They are recognizable by their garments in the hues of the heavens

Theirs was a long struggle, in constant motion, and over the years this circle of brethren faced many challenges. On numerous occasions they lost their keeper of the keys, having to find a replacement that was worthy. They finally found one, known only as the Sorcerer, who was the catalyst for their ascension.

Finally, after many years of toil building a following, they pooled their powers and delved into the past, aided by a new-found skill known as hypnotism. They guided their followers on a journey through time, and showed them how life was, and how it may be, through their eyes. They promised a future of immortality through others, as the spirit carries on.

With this enlightening act, they ascended to the pantheon as demi-gods. They are essentially benevolent, reveling in sorcery and wizardry for its own sake, and not for any specific ends. Still, the power of the Song is strong in them, and they take heart in joining forces with many others, be they deity or mortal. One of their number spends time learning from Their Triune Majesties. 

Another, meanwhile, has recently descended to the mortal plane to aid a young collective in achieving their dreams of ascension, following the loss of one of their members. Many believed that this young tribe was finished, but with the aid of their god, they have promised to avenge their comrades loss seven times over.

Such is the power of the Thespians of Imagining.

==The Erratic Gäng==
Raised up from the lowest gutters of the City of Rain in relatively recent times and having adopted a blend of the message of Rock from both Humans, Elves and Magma Dwarves, the Erratic Gäng (a corrupted phrase of human words which in Munchkin sounds more like saying 'this will shock you') are one of the City's and indeed all of Munchkinism's vents of an otherwise quiet and rarely mentioned force; the strife to escape the gloom and tedium of the everyday and industry, and rise to excel. Reveling in otherwise heavily repressed and tightly controlled traits of the Munchkin race that are normally hidden behind stony faces, nonchalance and manners, such as the propensity for sleazery, greed, lustfulness and insidious cleverness, the Erratic Gäng preach excess, self-gratification and desire in all things, and the rare message among Munchkins that wanting for yourself and living for thrill is not always a bad thing.

Consisting of four members, the Erratic Gäng is popularly depicted as constantly either intoxicated or bruised and maimed or both, beaten down by the harshness of the world and their living but also strengthened and borne aloft by it, sporting great manes of hair and fanciful attire. They are represented in the carnal world by the head prophet of their church who interprets their requests and who finds means and ways for the members of the cult to fund their eccentricity. This masked genius has actually been many men, taking up an identity left behind by their predecessor, and is known only as 'Dr. Feelgood'.

==The Unknown==
The unknown were a group shrouded in mystery. They showed up out of nowhere raising the question of whom they were. (Who, who, who, who.)
They were rambunctious and highly destructive - their tools hardly ever made it through the day.  They were comprised of four, Pot who turned the very wind into his favor, Ent Wissle a study being who rocked tremors through the ground.  Rodger Danger a man adapt with items on the end of ropes and could turn a apple and a piece of twine into something deadly. Finally the lost brother: Heath Sun, a fast man who was chaotic on the battle field, random and spontaneous, never seen without his twin Mythril rods which he used to deadly force on the battle field. it is unknown what happened to the rods or if they even exist anymore in an unshattered state.
After Heaths death, the rest swore to never be fooled again and retired from battle and began their ascent.

It is said that in their early days they were accompanied by a mere child. This unfortunate wretch was deaf, dumb and blind; he had no passage in this world. The Unknown took him under their wing, and taught him a game. A game that he took to like nothing else, and was soon untouchable. It seemed that the child latched onto the survival undertones of the game, he would not let the ball pass through the gates to hell, he would keep it alive for as long as possible.

He eventually parted ways with the unknown, and his fate is lost to us. Some say he became a messiah in himself, but no-one knows.

==The Ape Gods==
In the deepest parts of the west, there lies a great jungle, where a group of apes have attained sentience. They became aware of the gods, but had no deity that would pay them attention. Around the great mountain called Monkey, they prayed for a god that would lift them up, that would give them a song they could call their own.

They got four.

Myrdahk the Dark, a god of black magics, evil and twisted, and powerful of will. His companion and occasional torture subject, the Dented One, a zombie god whose mind was lost long ago, black eyed and almost innocent - emphasis on "almost". Roshael, of the ur-men, a massive man-mountain who had already reached ascendancy on his own, but whom had been possessed by a group of vengeful spirits - spirits of his slain comrades. And lastly, the Axe Princess, a nameless child warrior-goddess from the distant continents. 

Despite being of vastly differing foci and ethics, despite the fact that the gods at large have convinced themselves that the Ape Gods do not exist, despite the fact that their greatest followers at the moment are mere gorillas... they play on. Because all things come to ruin in time, meaning that right now, they've got nothing to lose - so they focus on the one message that they have in common, the one thing that they hope their followers will learn and take to heart: "It's the music that we choose".

==The Lord of the Watchtower==
Long ago he rose from among the ur-men, his skill with his instrument incomparable amongst mortal men, some said that even the song itself bent to his will. So bright was his flame that he ascended to godhood and left the lands of mortals long before his time. Even in his absence riffs of his making play upon mortals, setting them in a purple haze, and drawing them forth in a quest to attain that which only he has accomplished before them.

==The Horned Lord==
Little is known for sure about this dark individual. There are two major sects that worship him.

The first are a group of elves, who hold that the Horned Lord is a god unto himself. At the gatherings between these individuals, which are said to create an anomaly of spiritual darkness in the sky above them like a black mark of their taint, one can hear the chant of their master's mantra. It is an edict against their foes: to let their streets run with their blood, their cities to burn in unholy fire, to let them know death. The Horned Lord is depicted by these elves as such; as much beast as man.

The other group is one of Iron Dwarves, who believe that he is instead the messiah for a greater pantheon of metal-aligned gods. Though not as insidious as the elves who worship him, these dwarves are inspired to similar acts; more than once they have banded together to pillage other cultures, leaving with their boats full of loot and the enemy shores in flames and ruin. He is often depicted by this group as a mighty warrior, often with the symbol of a hammer inscribed on his chest.

==The Roaring One==
This man ascended into god hood long ago but wishes to stay and mingle with humans as he only wishes to party, he HAS to party he claims the party will survive.
A hedonistic man choosing to surround himself with fine ales, wrenches and friends (Which is to say anyone) and despite never being in a fight he has a constantly bloody nose.
When the Roaring one is not partying he is putting his charisma to work as a motivational speaker. It is said that 3 words from this man can send a whole city into a state of doing the undoable, breaking the unbreakable.
He wonders if one waits till tomorrow will it ever actually come? And because of this he lives every moment to its max and pushes the very limit of reality and his followers attempt to do the same.

==The Crimson Order of Ha'Bin-ero==

This brotherhood of battle seeks apotheosis, much as the Four had achieved in days of yore. Led by a similar quartet, their path to their goal leads into a mystical plane oft-mentioned by others of the realm, Kahl Lih-foronya. Many question whether or not they've managed to reach that legendary place, but they spread many tales of it, which lends credence to their claims. The group's original leading composition was the brawling man who fought in chains known as the Jack of Irons; savage axe wielder Lilslo Vakhil; the infamously cheerful, ruthless maniac known only as the Blood Louse of Bahl-zari; and Dammet Cole, AKA the Swan, Spinner of Sugared Words. The untimely death of Lilslo drove the Jack of Irons to a despair-filled departure, and for a time the Crimson Order faced dissolution. While others passed through their ranks, lingering briefly, they re-coalesced when the masked mastercrafter known only as The Smith joined their ranks. Though he forges and repairs the equipment of the Crimson Order, he is known to slip away for projects of his own. The second-in-command position is in flux once more, however, due to coming and going of Phrushiante the Addict - who seeks to shed his appellation. In his absence, the remarkably multi-talented 'Clinging' Adam has filled in, humbly and without indulging in the plethora of drug-fueled orgiastic binges that are known to be Phrushiante's weakness.