Vissealists
In wonder the adventurers stood awe struck by the beauty and splendour of the surrounding foliage. The great open plain before them transformed from a flat green world into mesmerising colours and movement. The Vissealist stood unmoving, his hands outspread and resting gently on an intricate structure of vines that threaded their way over the wall and into the earth of the plain, spreading outwards from the ramparts of the kings palace.
Appearance
A Vissealist can be of any sex or species but most, and there are but few, are of human form. They have no common uniform, clothing or adornments that indicate their belonging to the society. Their selection of weaponry being the only exception. They only ever wield Serivemn swords.
Just like other artists, they bask in variety.
Vissealists tend to be a little eccentric, hermit like and strong willed. They perceive things on a sensory level and are not often fooled by trickery. While they remain, mostly within themselves, they have been known to be out spoken, if pressed. They lack social skills and are viewed as, always being preoccupied and not attentive to others , yet their ability to see detail is phenomenal. They are perfectionists and have an affinity with nature which, they believe, is the purist anything can be.
History/Background
Among scholars it is thought that Vissealists have some sort of "connection" with the Ynemn people. Common folk simply think they are some, strange denomination of wizard or sorcerer. Their adeptness to control and produce such wonders with the plains of vissewort are looked upon by the laymen as "wizardry", yet their knowledge of biological and plant chemistry is practical and scientific.
They are secretive of their vissewort skills and knowledge. There is no apprenticeship or mentoring of the young, there is no "becoming a Vissealist". They simply appear or turn up.They do not seem to age, all tho this cannot be verified conclusively because they never remain in one place past 20 years. They appear, tend to their vissewort for a decade or so and then disappear.
Skills and points of interest
Tenders to the vissewort
Of course their primary, self appointed, function is to care for the vissewort plant. The life is simple in its basic form. Diligently and meticulously caring for the vissewort. Making ready the next great display fest, or ensuring the signal path from the plants boundaries is intact so, it can be used in its guardian like duties.
Their understanding of the vissewort is omniscient and unequalled thus providing a subsidiary knowledge of ordinary herbs, biology and chemistry. They prepare potions from the plant, poisons, glues and dyes, much like an alchemist. But by far their most exalted skill,like a painter explores a canvas or a musical ensemble responds to a conductor, is the manipulation of colours in a field of vissewort.
A truly great Vissealist can use his vissewort to distinguish ogre from orc, elf from human, tiger from lion, simply by their chemical secretions as left on the vissewort. If the secretion is fresh enough, they can even sense the emotional state the animal was in when it passed.
Vissealists are not considered mind readers but their ability to sense others emotions and thus their intentions, produces similar results. Contact, provides a more accurate evaluation but often a smell or sniff is enough for them to sense strong emotions, like fear.
Combat
Vissealists have their own form of martial art, cultivated from nature. Their extra sensory abilities allow them to anticipate their opponents actions. Their own manoeuvre's, mostly defensive, deflections and sidesteps, a kind of dance, a tree swaying in the breeze, somewhat hypnotic. Everything, done with finesse and savoir-faire. Even their command over the Serivemn sword, is graceful, bordering on magical.
Special Equipment
Weapons
Vissealists use only one type of weapon, a pair of wooden like swords called a Serivemn.
Interface
Vissealists communicate not so much verbally but by touch, smell and taste. Their hands are their most used piece of equipment. Electro-chemical signals passed via the skin allow them to communicate with the vissewort tendrils, the interface to the vissewort nodes. These signals are translated from and into emotional patterns. Information can be retrieved from and sent to similar tendrils located on the plants outer extremities.
Communication with say humans tends to be verbal and short, as most human like species are incapable of interpreting the electro-chemical signals transmitted by the Vissealist.
Shaking the hand of a Vissealists, for example, (un-gloved of course) would impart to him, enormous amounts information on your emotional and mental state but would render nothing to you in return.
Because of this ability to sense chemicals and the secretions many animals and such leave behind, they could make good trackers or forensic like scientists, if only they could be coaxed away from their relatively harmonious and outwardly appearing, simple life.
Roleplaying Notes
Vissealists are part alchemist, part naturalist part artist.
Quiet folk. Not much on wasted talk. A true artist bordering on genius. Keeps to self, does not interact with others much. Due to their ability to "speak with emotions" they see through people very easily, picking up on emotional and mental states rather than body language or verbal communications.
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? Responses (9)
This one was pretty close to completion too, you may as well have it :)
dont hold your breath for the others tho.. tis that time of year
It took a bit of reading for me to understand what these folks were. The other question is why?
There are inconsistencies in the description - they can be any species, but they are descended from a specific group?
Also the wordings are awkward in places - I'd suggest reading this aloud as Moonhunter often says.
There are several spelling errors as well.
The essence of the idea is a good one, but fails in its presentation.
Yep no doubt my brain to fingers nor my ability to describe what's in my head has been successful.
"""The other question is why?"""
"Skills and points of interest
Tenders to the vissewort"
thats it, the rest is "glue" for the other subs.
I have had trouble with this current spat of subs, some not finished, all are linked. Do you double up explanation on things so that a sub can stand on its own. Or like a wander through a dungeon do you assume that sense will only prevail when all is revealed, all has been explored.
I suspect I should have waited and released all of them at once.
For example... "There are inconsistencies in the description - they can be any species, but they are descended from a specific group?" will hopefully become clear when the Ynemn people sub is read.
The flow isn't best ;( I was bouncing from one sub to another to another as the ideas flowed and as things in one sub affected another. I was attempting to reign them in. Like a bunch of subroutines in a piece of software there were dependencies. Like a "bad" programmer I wanted to run the program to see where the bugs were.
Spelling , yeah well its not through want of trying I can tell you. 10/10 for effort as I spend allot! of time spell checking and in the dictionary. You should see my normal writing :) I can guarantee to always loose a few marks here but again not for want of trying.
Obviously I will have another look, Thanks
I like this actually. A bit disjointed but presents some interesting and evocative ideas. Yep, spellcheck and what val said. I will return to this soon. Holding vote for now. But great to see you posting, epsilon!
Updated: found some spellies, fixed some commas etc
And now for the long-delayed vote! They're peculiar, so I like them. Such a specific order, solely tending to the vissewort. Specialists to be sure!
Oops, unintentional upvoting of comment when I just want to reply.... Just want to say 'Muro, you still forgot to vote on this...'