Nothing is here 2

This page is a discussion of the supherhumans who are part of the setting The Judges of Tehom.

The most notable characteristic of the human population of Tehom is arguably the presence of The Few, individuals who exhibit superhuman powers in one form or another. The Few are distinct from The Many, who are the "normal" or "baseline" human beings that comprise the vast majority of the population.

The Few and the Fates in the Tide's Eye

The powers of the Few are incredibly diverse, both in their capabilities (super strength, flying, casting spells, etc.) and their origin (some of the Few are born with their traits, some train, some are altered, etc.). Some do not even have inherent powers, but rather wield items of power. The most unifying characteristic of being of the Few is that fate twists around them in improbable and implausible ways. Coincidence seems to constantly conspire in the lives of the Few. They survive the impossible, meet one another by random accident, etc. These coincidences are not always beneficial, and they are not necessarily harmful. Happenstance seems to conspire to ensure the Few have “kleos,” actions & experiences that inspire awe in others. The Tehomin are aware of these oddities, and have tried to study the nature of the Few as best they can. The amount of consensus, however, is extremely limited.

This deformation of probability is called the Tide's Eye by the Tehomin, and it has many consequences. For example, certain cities have improbable weather patterns, and some sea lanes are calm whereas others become stormy as soon as a ship comes close. These effects seem to also influence the collective mind of the cosmopoli as well. A particular cosmopoli may have an inexplicably high or low crime rate, for example. Often, these environmental effects tie into the lives and actions of the Few. If an Archon dies, it is often the case that the weather changed (often severely). If someone is the "rightful" ruler of their cosmopoli, then things will simply work better if they officially are in power.

Philosophers and prophets have contemplated and argued about the Tide's Eye since the Abandonment, and there is little consensus. Tehomin scholars know it is a force that enables the existence of superhumans in various ways. Exactly how this occurs is not known. Some believe the Tide's Eye is a kind of psychic aggregator, where the collective hopes and dreams and fears of humanity are deposited into individuals, creating the Few. Others believe the Tide's Eye has an intellect, there is an active debate regarding how virtuous its interest in humanity has been since humanity came to Tehom. The term "God" also becomes a lightning rod in such discussions.

Origins of the Few

There are very few hard and fast rules on the powers of the Few. However, some general comments can be made.

Legacies

The first question regarding any member of the Few is whether or not they are part of a Legacy, hereditary bloodlines of power. The children of the Few are much more likely to exhibit powers than the children of the Many, creating hereditary bloodlines of power in some ways. To be a legacy means one is born different and is within a family line that has been distinct from the Many for generations.

The inheritance of powers is not guaranteed. Mundane children of the Few are uncommon but not rare. The powers of the children generally have some continuity with their parents' powers, but again this is a probabilistic rather automatic relationship. To the frustration of Tehomin scientists, there does not seem to be a "Few gene," that explains the hereditary bloodlines, though some powers and devices can target the members of lineages. To the frustration of some of the Few, the birthright among Legacies is much lower than it is for any other human on Tehom.

Founders: The Few Outside Legacies

Roughly a third of the Few, across all of Tehom, are legacies. There are five other types of members of the Few: the Endowed, the Formed, Keepers, the Works, and the Inhuman.

The Endowed are those are born with innate powers without being part of a legacy. They are treated with a different form of respect and fear than the legacies, though both have personal powers they were born with.

The Formed are people who were among the Many until some event happened. Perhaps there was a freak scientific accident, or an alien creature bit them and passed along strange powers. Whatever happened, they now have superhuman powers. In terms of Marvel Comics, the Hulk, Spiderman, would qualify as Formed Few. The Formed are the most common member of the Few who are not Legacies.

Keepers are people who would be one of the Many if it was not for their possession of an item of power. After legacies became established, powers began to attach themselves to objects in addition to people. Some of the Few were scientific and technological geniuses capable of creating marvels of superscience, and some of those technological marvels could be wielded by anyone. For example, TekMek created devastating weapon systems that anyone could learn to use. These devices of superscience, generally called sacritech, could take countless forms: guns, armor, shields, a jet pack… the examples are endless. While some Keepers wield sacritech, others possess a focus, an item imbued with power thanks to their associations with events and members of the Few. For example, Dimday Dragoon’s armored regalia bestowed power on whoever wore it, and the First Gun constructed on Tehome (rather than imported by the Garden) evolved from being a mere antique to being the embodiment of violence. In terms of Marvel Comics, Iron Man and would be a quintessential example of a Keeper.

The Works found their powers through self-sacrifice, vision, and determination. Stereotypically, Works are obsessive people who traded a great deal for power, and they are often scientists or martial artists. In terms of raw power, Works are rarely the most powerful members of the Few. Additionally, they are often not trusted by the most established and powerful members of Legacies, as they are most “Many-like” of any of the Few. However, for this same reason, they are often folk heroes and heroes of the People. In Marvel Comics, Power Fist would be an example of a Work.

The Inhuman are exactly that: superbeings that are not human. Perhaps they are something grown in a laboratory. Maybe they are an artificial intelligence android. It is even possible that there is a fully sentient Hadalian who has decided to find a place for itself among the humans. This is an extremely diverse, and exceedingly rare, category. Marvel Comic’s The Vision would be an Inhuman.

Final Remarks on Origins

A few general points should be made here about the Few.

First, some members of the Few can fit multiple categories. For example, Captain America could be described as a “Formed Keeper”, as his shield is an important item and he has been boosted by the supersoldier serum.

Second, the relative prestige of different members of the Few varies radically depending on the Cosmopolis in question. In Pinnacle, for example, Legacies are given special legal protections and are automatically part of the city-state’s aristocracy. Srimec, on the other hand, is ruled by Formed Cyborgs who are selected as the most capable members of the population. Eiren Bay, finally, has a fascination with the Risen like nowhere else.

Third, the Tide’s Eye does some strange things to the Few. First, any member of the Few has a chance of having a child who is a Legacy/Grant. Even a Work who has no ancestry involving the Few has a better chance of having a Founder child than a member of the Many. Power accumulates, it would appear, in the Tide’s Eye. Additionally, the number of new members of the Few is radically lower within the Dundainian Anarchy than anywhere else on Tehom. Founders are simply not born there, and scientists, no matter how smart, never seem to invent sacritech. For this reason, non-legacy members of the Few are often called founders, as new legacies tend to begin with them.

The Roles of the Few

There are several common terms for the types of roles the Few occupy within Tehomin society.

Archons are the leaders of Tehomin society. Archons are attached to ventures, be they businesses, government agencies, or even organized religions (the lines between these categories are less distinct on Tehom than in our society). Generally speaking, the majority of the population use the terms "Archon" and "the Few" interchangeably, as there is an assumption that the Few are in leadership positions.

Auxiliaries are mercenaries who hire themselves out as temporary archons to various cosmopoli or other interests. There is a small handful of exceedingly wealthy and famous auxiliaries, and a relatively large crowd of relatively low-powered, low-reputation auxiliaries trying to establish themselves somewhere.

Banished are bandits and robbers, who use their power to what they need to survive. Some Banished have explicit vendettas they are pursuing against Archons or a specific cosmopolis, but these are the exception not the rule.

Mad Legionnaires are one of the boogeymen of Tehomin society. Powers can often be taxing on the psyche of the Few, and some go insane and "join the Mad Legion." Though many are simply indiscriminately violent, the more advanced members of the Mad Legion have something that goes beyond mere mental illness. These fallen beings make strange prophecies that tend to come true, try to kill specific people due to what they believe their grandchildren will do, or deliver strange messages to Archons. When the Mad Legion speaks or acts, it expresses a dark side of fate and the Tide's Eye most wish not to think about. Thankfully, the Mad Legion is relatively small at any given time.

Magistrates are experts, trading in the publicity of the archon for policy control. They work behind the scenes as spymasters and economic forecasters. The average member of the Many does not think much of the Magistrates, but the smarter Archons worry about skilled Magistrates as much as anyone else. It is not always clear who is a talented and lucky human, and who is a Magistrate until it is too late. It is an extremely unwise but relatively easy error to mistake a magistrate for a mere technocrat and one of the Many, rather than one of the Few. Elton Last, the Financial Minister of Novum Volsci, has a reputation for making people who make such an error disappear.

Key Archons and Members of the Few

• Cloudmaker is one of the greatest masters of cryptotechnology on Tehom. Using his unsurpassed abilities, he has created Kachlex City, a floating battlestation that Cloudmaker uses for both piracy and mercenary activity.

• The Crown A banned who is a member of the Few who is currently imprisoned within the Tower.
  • Initially named by Unka Josh

• Cynosure Star is the media darling of media darlings. Impossibly good looking and charismatic, Cynosure Star's fame has become self-perpetuating, outpacing the relatively modest plasma field manipulation powerset Star wields. Cynosure Star has become a popular "talking head" on Archon-matters, and rarely if ever bothers with things like battles or ruling anything.

• D'vora, The High Executive is the Cyborg-in-Chief of Srimec. Its current form is a seemless silverly body draped in a toga. Dvora is in constant contact with a fleet of gyrodrones, the Set Stock Exchange, and several other communication installations.

• Elton Last is a Magistrate for Novum Volsci. Nominally in charge of economic forecasting, in reality he is a kingmaker and mastermind. His enemies tend to disappear and few know what his long term goals are.

• Gemdah the Assessor is the sole proprietor of Clarified Harvest Ventures, a company that specializes is assessing economic risk and calculating the costs and profits associated with exploiting various resources. On Tehom, such a position is less like an actuary and more like a freelance East India Company: for the right price, Gemdah's corporation will acquire trading and resource rights by any means necessary.

• Gimcrack is a mystic who specializes in making and reading foci. He generally is covered in seeming random trinkets, each serving as a charm for various spells. Though eccentric, he is a master at the arcane and how things and places may gain the attention of the Tide's Eye.

• Karka the Warden appears to be an extremely strong human covered in partially dry mud. He lives alone in the Elder Green, emerging for few reasons other than to defend Saltmerche Citadel. Karka rarely talks, and uses no weapons beyond his body.

• Hero of a Thousand Faces is a master of impersonating others, including Archons, and primarily uses this ability for reenactments. His streamcast production of "The Rise and Fall of Molyvdos" was a gigantic hit, despite protests in Patience.
  • Originally conceived by SquidHeadJack

• Ioun is a Banished Archon whose powers come from swarm of incredible strong crystals that constantly orbit him. He can use them to strike enemies at a distance, absorb incoming attacks, and other various uses.

• The Maul of Comets is a famous mercenary. Rarely seen in social or relaxed setting, he is known for a calm, controlled professionalism until a battle begins, at which point his ferocity is unmatched. His reputation for collateral damage is equally legendary: Caliban Arcology cancelled his contract after he created a larger breach than the Tentacle Pentacle did.

• Mirk the Swamp Prophet is a master of nature-based magicks and the defender of the Saltmerche Citadel. A recluse to leaves the day-to-day activity of the citadel to others, Mirk is very careful in selecting the leaders of the Citadel and testing them to examine the strength of their character.

• Warmaster Molyvdos is a powerful Archon trapped in suspended animation as a massive computer complex attempts to cure his body of a nanotech smart-virus. The citizens of Patience expect that he will lead them into a golden age (no doubt at the expense of other cosmopoli) after he awakes. When active, Molyvdos had an array of density-control powers in addition to being a brilliant strategist and a fearsone combatant.

• Pillar is an Archon within the Lion Guard, Pinnacle's primary defense force. A master grappler with gravity-based powers of strength and endurance, Pillar is also trained in the logistics of emergency response efforts. Whether it is a tsunami or an Archon battle, Pillar will often be found as an early responder.

• Reck Reck is considered the most successful genetic enhancement experiment by Doctor Telos. Unfortunately, Reck is also considered an abomination. With hooked claws and a metabolism that ensures heightened strength and reflexes, Reck terrorized the slums of Eiren Bay for months before being caught.

• Lord General Risha Thaime is a gigantic Archon who violently took control of Deltaport several years ago, renaming it Thaimbase. Violent, cruel, and surprisingly cunning, he has centralized his control over the cosmopolis.

• Marcus Steelcrow is the entrepreneurial Archon in charge of the Caliban Arcology, a massive, high stake / high reward mining operation and attached city. A normal child to a Lineage family, he returned to the Few after developing the Steelcrow Armor system. After a brief but illustrious career in the military, he went into the private sector and convinced investors to fund the creation of the Arcology. His colleagues have become the Council of the Reef, the lords of the Arcology.

• Swan Song. A superhuman thief currently imprisoned in The Tower.
  • Originally named by Unka Josh.

• Ten Trial Orrin is an Auxilliary mercenary who weilds the First Gun, an ancient weapon that has gained power with its reputation. He is cold, never breaks a contract, and specializes in killing Archons in fair combat. He is known for his encyclopedic database on the combat abilities of the Few, current and historical.

• Thunder Bolide is one of the Few, who was known for flawless integrity until he killed an opposing Archon and her entire entourage in a static duel (a highly ritualized combat between champions of different cosmopoli regarding intractable but non-critical disputes). Thunder has the ability to tap into the world's energy fields, resulting in flight, forcefields, and other effects. His name comes from his patented energy blasts which can either emanate from him or rain down on his enemies from the sky. He is a well known Nammanist (Tidling), and has on occasion discussed his beliefs regarding Tehom's world mind.

• Void King is the distant leader of the Glimmern Array, a collection of space stations mining Tehom’s ring (The Stanuht) established by the Tenax Primacy two generations before its fall. The Void Tyrant is said to have discovered a cache of Garden technology, and people are becoming worried they do not really know how powerful he is.

• Uncle Vulture is a reclusive mystic that lives within the ruins of the Fallen Horn (originally known as High Spire), one of the cosmopoli that destroyed itself in the war that created the Dundainian Anarchy. Draped in vulture imagery and symbolism, Uncle Vulture can sense destruction and death, and his pursuits are less about the politics of Tehom and more its mystical landscape. His intentions are often inscrutable.