From Conduit of Holy Light:
With the increased power granted us by Trigu comes a terrible curse from L'ruhk, that ancient corruptor of souls; because of our purity, our ska is of much greater weight. He will make our wrongs gather and grow with the passing of time, until the spawn of it is enough to tear us apart...
Overview
When a normal person does wrong, he has committed ska, which then dwells within him; the greater the wrong, the more ska that embues a person's soul. Triguian faith dictates that to atone for such wrongs, ska must yearly be 'rolled back' by an animal sacrifice, which then 'absorbs' the ska that would normally weigh upon a soul, as well as regular sacrifices where ska is transferred to a suitable animal. These do not absolve someone of responsibility for their actions, nor do they protect against the consequences of their actions, but the sacrifices do prevent them from being considered unworthy by Trigu upon death, and sent to the Underworld.
However, when someone of greater purity commits ska, L'ruhk and his demonic servants take delight, and Trigu allows that ska will sometimes be gathered together, coalescing into something called, appropriately enough, a Ska. As time passes and ska accumulates, the shapeless form will gain definition, appearing more and more like the person who's ska spawned it. It also grows in power, though not to the degree nor at the rate that it's looks change; however, given enough time and enough wrongs, a Ska will become very, very dangerous, much like a wire with an ever-increasing charge running through it.
Full Description
A Ska will begin its existence looking like a small blob of black, roughly the size of an egg. Soon enough it will grow in size, becoming more and more like the person who spawned it. After a few months of growth, it will bear a decent resemblance to the person in question, having lost its black and replaced it with the same skin tone as its 'host', for the creature can rightly be considered a parasite.
Once the Ska is ambulatory, it will begin to chase after its host, not moving any faster than the host could, but the parasite is definitely hunting the person it's feeding from. The only mission the Ska has is to kill its host, fufilling the old adage, "Your actions will come back to haunt you." Once the host is slain, the Ska is free from its compulsion of murder. However, with a lack of purpose, the creature very often will aimlessly wander, becoming a deadly threat to others until it finally dies from a lack of 'nutrition' pulled from its host's wrong deeds.
It has been theorized by some theologians that if an unbound Ska were to encounter someone who had done wrong very recently, and had yet to atone for the wrong, the Ska might form a link to the person in question, and the cycle would then repeat.
Powers
A Ska, when sufficiently developed, will begin to manifest abilities like those of the person they were spawned from. Divine abilities are exempt, but magical abilities are not, so given enough time and wrong, a Ska could grow to be on par with a Demon Lord in sheer metaphysical strength.
While the ska that empowers a Ska comes from the host, the seed of evil has been emplanted in each of them by L'ruhk's servants, and so they will have access to any demonic magics available, once they attain the proper 'level' of absorbed ska. So, in addition to developing similar abilities as their host, a Ska will also begin to develop skills of a darker persuasion, such as mind control magics, and shadow/fire oriented spells, much as a demon might be able to use.
Inspired by Frank Peretti's
The Oath
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? Responses (16)
This is a simple, yet elegant idea. It makes for a great mix of horror, religion, and monster.
The explanation of their origin is short and focused.
I like that you added a touch of history to the piece giving it its' own cliche, 'Your actions will come back to haunt you.'
The explanation of its manifestations is a little bumpy in spots, not transitioning well, nor being as clear as the rest of the piece. Still, more than enough to create a full fledged terror... especially since these things can eat the SKA of others around the person.
Yeah, the 'off' transitions were most of the reason why I kept In Work for so long. It holds all the information needed, but shifting from one thought to another wasn't working.
A most interesting piece.
I was looking forward to this one. What Moon said, simple yet elegant. An apt warning for all those fence-sitters, leaning toward sin.
I like it. In a world with a true religion, it's a good concept to have.
I bet Bush's ska would be huge.Can a ska be killed?
Not quite as big as Kerry's, or Saddam's. And yes, it could, though depending on how long and how much ska it absorbed...*shrugs*
thank you both for identifying your leanings :D
Now then, the real question here is, does the creature have anything to do with the musical genre it shares its name with? :P
Actually, I was wondering that myself, but I think not. Unless the ska happens to be following a Triguian musician who came across a tribal type of music with accented off-beats...
Hahaha, pure genius Muro! You got an xp from me for that witty comment! ;D
Hmm, re-reading this again, I find i like it more and more. Yep, simple yet fascinating.
Roots all around!
The 'Overview' section was sweet, pure and simple. The first paragraph was simply mind blowing.
The promise this sub held faltered in later paragraphs however. I LOVE the idea of ska, but I would have had the ska (or sin) be something else.
Ideas raced through my head while I was reading the overview, and I pictured dark parasites within the sinner, I pictured ethereal ghosts of pure malice.
To be frank I found the black blob somewhat disappointing.
Well, I certainly embellished on the one little thing I found not to my liking...
For the rest of the sub is excellent: 4.5/5
I would change the name, as not to reminisce of the music genre; also, I'd call the parasite different from the sin itself.
"Tread lightly, watch thy back. Make decisions well. Do not do unto your brother what you would not want done unto you. Beware the Ska, my child! Someday it may come for you."
I like it all except for the ambiguity between "ska" and "Ska." Other than that simple, well though out, and with evidence of a surrounding mythos. I like it.
