notes: fortuna

music: tim hecker - virgins

anyway ftf au is self care. i’ll post a thread about it to get my mind off things

working title- fear thy fortune, i actually hate it but like, idk, maybe i’ll rename it to just “fortuna” for now since that least that’s vaguely more Aesthetic high fantasy but like, a blend of asiatic and catholic aesthetics, think gothic architecture, cathedrals, but also golden temples, just, lots of gold in general in the midst of pristine ivory, pearls, roman pillars, dramatic archways and incense i am talking REALLY dramatic archways. the main cathedral inspo?

it’s actually more of a complex of several HUGE cathedrals— a maze, actually. the governing body stays in the frontmost building but there’s so much more, parts of it sectioned off

but outside the main cathedral, you have a few temples here and there that are part of a popular alternative religion—

see, the main religion of this country believes heavily in predetermination, while this alt religion believes in the exchange of karma and fate naturally the theocracy forbids this but in practice it’s.. quite corrupt and some officials even go to these places themselves to “buy/trade/sell” their own karma as if it was goods/currency

at these temples, priests/monks facilitate the exchange sorta like brokers they perform the exchange for a small fee, and the bigger the karmic change the larger the fee

the fee is not paid to /them/ though— it’s paid to, i suppose their patron pantheon? i haven’t thought this out too much but it’s most likely a polytheistic religion in which invoking a particular god/goddess is necessary to facilitate a specific karmic change

regardless. these exchanges are very popular, though not every exchange is granted. it more or less depends on the whimsy of the invoked god nevertheless, it’s successful enough to be notable, and as the numbers of followers of this particular religion grow, the more the main theocracy feels threatened

so they’ve started to persecute those who follow it, though not entirely because— well. there’s an ulterior motive at play here that only the highest of the high council is aware of. those at the very top of the theocracy are actively using these persecutions to generate karmic energy. the more unjust suffering, the faster this karmic energy accumulates so many, many innocent people are killed for this purpose, and those at the top of the theocracy are actually in cahoots with a few temple leaders as well. it might even be the case that they’re one in the same— just two branches purposely created for this reason and why is this energy being generated? to feed the “one true god king”

this religion of predetermination relies on the myth of one all-powerful god-king that rules the land. it’s a brutal and unforgiving religion the idea of penance and pain are heavily tied together, and pain is proof of penance. to suffer in the name of the god-king is to be pious. in exchange, those who follow this religion hope to be good enough to earn a place in heaven

i mean. it’s very heavily catholic. but like, With Magic.

it turns out there’s a method to convert karmic energy into a force that can be used at will, just like magic. and the leaders of this religion use it to enforce this theocracy and also play up this idea that they’re Holy/granted these gifts by the god-king but in actuality, the god-king… doesn’t really exist. at least not in the form people expect. it’s not a higher being, it’s not even a person— it’s a huge golden mandala embedded with jewels crafted with karmic essence distilled into a physical form kind of like— a mix of these, but completely made of metal with slots for gemstones— and it is fucking HUGE. at least a story tall, if not more.

karmic energy usually adheres to a law of equal exchange— you know, what comes around goes around. but in the face of extreme unjust suffering, that energy has nowhere to go— and it lingers at locations, in people, until something happens to balance it out (be it doing a good deed, a blessing, etc)

so the high council actually harvests this untapped potential energy. theoretically you can do the same with immense unwarranted good fortune, but that’s a little trickier since in order to “harvest” the energy, you kind of have to… kill the person? which sorta negates that good fortune in a way, therefore making the action moot. i’m sure there’s a way that makes sense within the constructs of the universe but it’s not Entirely relevant rn so. shrug.

either way, negative karma gets distilled, placed into this mandala, and that provides malleable magic energy to the high council. additionally, bestowing gifts of the jewels placed into the mandala will grant a person the ability to use magic as well, whether they know about the mechanics behind it or not

this is mostly done for people in the theocratic order, but also princes/princesses— these people are chosen via prophecy as “candidates” for the next “god-king"— who is only known as a figurehead and is never seen, because the public’s been told they’ve "ascended” to a higher realm

so basically princes/princesses are chosen to duke it out battle royale style fighting for the right to become the next god-king… and they receive preferential treatment for this reason. which. is mostly brainwashing and torture disguised as “penance” and piety. the same goes for knights, which are also chosen and paired up with these candidates knights tend to come from horrible situations, so-called “saved” and essentially given to candidates as, well. gifts! they’re objects baby! taught to follow their candidates every order. yes. it’s extremely unhealthy! That Is The Plan, Though. 

the entire goal of the candidate/prince system is to essentially create the major components of the mandala by, literally investing suffering into specific individuals. this method isn’t the only way to produce these components, but it’s the easiest to control. and after all that fighting, when a candidate/knight pair comes out on top, they’re chosen to ascend— the highest possible honor— which. is death! you gotta die baby! the other dead candidate pairs are also utilized for the mandala components. each time a major component is added, the magic capabilities of the council increase— i wouldn’t be surprised if some fuck was trying to become god-king by continuously adding to this mandala. 

but you can only have so much suffering in one artifact before something happens. that “something” is largely the events of fortuna, where a prophecy deems a young boy to death because it is foreseen that he will destroy the system/commit mass murder— confirmed thru the appearance of an unholy birthmark (so they say). he is burned at the stake, but there’s something odd about his remains— they don’t fully burn the way they’re supposed to. in fact, it mixes in with the ashes of other victims and becomes… a pulsating black mass, a natural-born curse, or otherwise known as a miracle

this pulsating mass is actually a naturally-made version of the large mandala components. it has the ability to convert karmic energy into tangible change— or in other words, It Does Magic. but it’s… not malleable. it defies the will of others.

this black mass is locked away, as it cannot be destroyed and bad things keep happening around it. and over time, it takes shape and gains a voice— the souls of the remains of the victims all merge together into a collective consciousness, including that of the boy’s. pretty soon, it begins to speak, saying it will enact a “miracle” in exchange for a high enough price

the temple priests are charged with keeping this monstrosity while also utilizing it as another one of their services— just, very special. i imagine their ability to divert karmic energy is useful in keeping the miracle’s negativity from affecting others too much, which is why it’s kept at the temple

and one young boy grows up being this thing’s caretaker. it’s the twin brother of the boy that was originally burned! his name is yonah. which is just, an au jonah with a y. either way, because of his connection to his twin (named august), he can exert more control over the miracle. he’s dubbed the gatekeeper, because. that is literally what he does. he simply guards the door to the room containing the miracle, processes requests to see it, and… that is his job. he volunteered for it, fully knowing his brother was in there he wanted to be close to his brother, even in this… weird state of non-death. and jonah is able to enter the room with no adverse side effect— he talks to the miracle, sees, feels, understands that its existence is a state of constant pain it’s similar to being like, a pmmm witch in that you continuously relive your trauma while you feed on the offerings of others— the wishes the miracle grants in exchange for a high price. and with each offering, it gets … bigger, more powerful, but still trapped. the miracle does not have a will of its own, simply acting in its nature as defined by the karmic laws of this universe— as a naturally made conduit of karma to reality. it feeds and grows bigger not because it wants to, but because it is law it’s kind of the karmic equivalent of a black hole in a sense, and the god-king mandala is similar. it draws energy towards it— but where it differs is that it converts it into tangible change. normally this would spell disaster, with all that negative energy but since the mandala is man-made, the high council members managed to control this energy and use it to create whatever change they want

the miracle does not operate like that since it’s natural, hence the high price paid for its wish granting. there are ways to neutralize a miracle— and in the distant past, these things were called curses— not miracles —because they’re essentially giant monkey paws that curse you with Suck. but the methods to remove them were lost to time.

after years and years of tending to this miracle though, yonah… finally snaps. he can’t handle the its suffering anymore. far too empathetic for his own good, he enters the miracle’s room himself and enacts his own exchange. take his life, he said, use it. anything to ease the suffering— the first time anyone’s made a wish for the miracle itself, rather than themself

this kind of selfless offering defies the nature of the miracle, plus august’s soul is still in there. So Weird Stuff Happens. remember that prophecy august was killed for? yeah. well. yonah’s offering allowed august’s personality to surface as dominant, and since they’re genetically identical, he also… assumes control of yonah’s body

guess who’s back bitches! anyway. he’s older now and he remembers the years and years of trauma he’s had to experience, both his own and the others’ within the miracle— they all merge into one. when august declares revenge, it’s not just for him— it’s everyone. and so august, with the magic of the miracle now under his control, basically goes on a rampage and fulfills the prophecy he was originally killed for. he also personally invades the cathedral and slaughters the high council himself! 

so now we’re entering post-fortuna material, which is another concept/story in of itself, but same timeline same universe, just years in the future

august declares himself the true god-king and decides to harness the mandala for himself. he basically just. does whatever the hell he wants, completely capricious with no rhyme or reason— not out of sheer malice, but because the pain he contains from all the victims demands it. all that negative energy finally being released outwardly. but once the country is reduced to a barren, desolate land, when his work is finally done and revenge complete, he’s just… hollow. and he lives a hollow existence high on top of that cathedral. he can’t die, he’s not even really alive. the humans he chose as his own personal court also can’t die, and over time they’ve become more or less inhuman, twisted by the negative energy that runs rampant through the land

it’s a court that must be put out of its misery.

august’s life is tied to the mandala as well, because… the mandala is, actually what caused the entire plotline of fortuna to start with. although the god-king was always a made-up figure, in a way, it became something real, just different in execution. despite everything, karmic laws are still in play. the high council may have circumvented them for quite a while, but you cannot defy the laws of nature

so, law demanded that retribution be paid for the suffering of those souls in the mandala. august was that retribution and because he is technically an extension of the mandala himself, his magic can’t destroy it. even though his work is technically done (like, the country is In Ruins) he can’t be released to finally die either. so he essentially is just waiting for someone to finish him off. 

anyway, the plotline of post-fortuna material (needs a name? fortunata? idk) essentially is some dark souls type shit where an outsider comes to finally vanquish the god-king and lay to rest the court he’s kept

different ways to do that though... i kind of brainstorm stuff about it in this thread but it’s pretty messy

if i do go a gamedev route, different actions allow you to “save” these court members and the king

i think. honestly the only true way to save this entire country is to plant the seeds of goodness by doing good things… by taking a pacifist route to properly restore balance and bring peace to these different souls

fortuna/nata is very much about trauma and healing or rather, cycles of pain that perpetuate. breaking cycles. a large bit of inspo comes from the concept/imagery of the wheel of fortune tarot

that is why the mandala is A Mandala— it’s a wheel. a circle, a cycle to truly free the country, it’s not about slaying the sitting god-king, august— but the mandala itself, in a way the “true” god-king. destroy the mandala, free the souls, end the cycle, break the wheel

i have NO idea how the protag will do this, but it’s something with fire i think.

i think the protag. will attempt to exchange fates with the mandala. going back to the concept of a miracle, but this time.. a true miracle, not a curse that’s called a miracle. like, an actual miracle the protag is only one person, but i believe… this wish is enough to enact the karmic law just so that the mandala finally— cracks

with the protag probably committing self immolation, offering their life to set these others free and with that, a martyr is born, and so begins a process of healing

the mandala is broken and those souls inside it can finally rest.

august can die, his court can… be humans again. and i guess they become the first followers of a new religion based on mercy and selflessness i like the concept of fire here as a destructive force (the burnings) but also cleansing, healing… like, the burning of offerings, the burning of incense, the cremation of bodies. but also the idea of a phoenix rising again from the ashes. i think… the protag does not die. but instead , burning themself on the mandala actually merges the protag with the souls of those inside it. and they’re still suffering, but… now the protag can tell them it’s okay now, no one’s going to hurt them anymore so protag’s reborn, very phoenix-like… god i need to actually make an oc for this character bc they’re becoming too developed

but now protag has insight and MAYBE magic themself. i wonder if this is the birth of like, the TRUE TRUE god-king of this country? like. a Good one. i have to think more on this concept bc i love the idea of cycles… i do want to leave fortunata on an uplifting note tho so i have to leave enough hope that goodness will come

but also, this new religion is… kinder, merciful. do good unto others. golden rule it still operates on karmic law, of course, you can’t Change physics, but i think the framing of it as a force of good rather than evil… is important. like a testament to how hope is a force to be reckoned with, that it IS tangible to believe in it instead of predetermination and the idea of penance and pain, it’s important to forgive oneself, to do good, and help others… if you do wrong, you do good to balance it out. still penance, but minus the self hate. and i guess, in buddhist-inspired fashion, the ultimate goal / teaching of this religion is to “break” the cycle of suffering. and helping others break their own cycles. it is different from buddhism in that it doesn’t teach that existence itself is suffering or rather, even if it does, the average person can work to break it by accumulating enough good karma to “break” their own cycles or others' across different lives and finally reach some nirvana-equivalent. so, different from buddhist monastic practice anyway. 

i think i managed to cover all of the big details. there’s a few other loose threads, like details about the candidates/knights, individual characters, but that’s… basically the gist of the entire universe and plot

god. i FINALLY wrote it out. holy shit