Acro

What I know:


 * There are seven Reis. (Intris Telbytris, Chithtis, Beathus, Entrivane Octavian, Tactriustis Driftenspain, Septane Backalistair, Acanthus.)


 * The Reis each have a cast of reylings to do their bidding.


 * Nemesis is Acanthus' reyling.


 * Kiaru Ikara is a human being who used to live in the Town of Stars before she was tortured for bringing darkness down upon the town. She was rescued by Nemesis.


 * Katos was Kiaru's adoptive (?) mother.


 * The Reis and reylings live in a separate dimension known as the Pool of Antipithane. It is a vast and shallow plane of water, with crystal buildings and walkways throughout it. It is divided into seven districts, each of which is ruled over by one of the Reis. It also includes the Path of Stars, which forms the passageway between the human world and the Antipithanian (?) dimension.


 * The Reis and reylings speak reylish.


 * The humans live on a planet called Thetos. It orbits a sun, along with another planet known as Asgard. Asgard is uninhabitable, though.


 * Each Rei has a different ability. For example, Acanthus can look into a person's past and can also mess with a person's perception of the present. Septane has the ability to see into a person's future, and has (incredibly slow) regenerative abilities. Intris has a unique understanding of technology, which she uses to enhance her personal strengths and intelligence. The other four are still a total mystery.


 * Septane is missing his left arm and his left (?) foot. He convinced Intris to make him a temporary prosthetic foot, but he's waiting for his arm to grow back on its own.

What I'm thinking about:


 * Septane may be Kiaru's father. Screw that! That ruins the entirety of the relationship I'd planned out for them from the beginning.


 * Apparently at one point I'd planned for the humans to call Antipithane "Animus".


 * Kuroi is Tactriustis' reyling.


 * "Reoku Ryei" is the pseudonym of Raiven, a reyling under Intris (??) either Chithtis or Beathus, I can't decide.


 * Jouleah/Robin should be a character, too.


 * Thetos may also be referred to as Thanatos.


 * Kiaru and Acro may cause enough of a disturbance that an opposing faction which can sense reylish activity finds them and turns them in. They would then attend a school for suspicious children, alongside Reoku the troublemaker and Jouleah.


 * People who die may be selected by a Rei to become reylings, thus circumventing any need to have contact with a reyling in order to join the ranks of the elusive species.


 * Kial?


 * Entrivane could be a shapeshifter.


 * If I follow along with the "opposing faction" train of thought, it would definitely help flesh out the plot a bit. There could be some reylings who left Antipithane because they disagreed with the way things were run, or [insert other reasons here]. Depending on how much power I decide to give the Reis over their reylings, there's even the potential for an eighth Rei.


 * Perhaps the uneasy feeling surrounding Acanthus could be the result of his own insecurities. If there's a more powerful Eighth Rei, he could've kicked that Rei out and then used his abilities (and possibly Septane's as well) to rewrite the others' memories so that they would forget about their other sibling. That Rei could then be running wild in the "outside" world, collecting reylings for herself in preparation for an attack on Antipithane. Yet Acanthus reaches Kiaru first... (See: Vanitas of the Blue Moon. Also Zekken, where the rumors of her strength far surpass her actual appearance. The eighth Rei could be very slight and ordinary, but holding a huge grudge and unforeseen power in her hands and mind.)


 * Antipithane is literally an opposite-world, or an anti-light. but allegorically wouldn't it be anti-darkness? Like the shining city of light.


 * Dun kedist taiv bour. Koivar ze ksagen. Os ze varf hasivursen tsafirna.


 * If I decide I want to use a Greed/Ling situation, I could use Reoku/Raiven. This would eliminate the "acting" aspect of it and turn it into more of a Duldee/Duldum sort of relationship. If that's the case, then whoever Raiven's Rei is could have that particular ability. Especially if Kiaru and Reoku become friends like in the original version, there's a whole host of "No, I'm Raiven" opportunities. Particularly if the Rei in question is unable to fully eliminate Reoku's personality and he keeps surfacing periodically in an attempt to communicate with Kiaru.


 * Acanthus's perception-changing abilities could extend into some rather morbid situations. A lot could happen if someone thought they were beating and killing Acanthus, only to realize that he had been attacking them the whole time.


 * Inferiority complexes all around !! www


 * Perhaps Acro herself should be the narrator !?? Septane would be a fun voice to work with, but I think he's better off as an outside character. And I don't think Kiaru's voice is well-enough established yet. So, in first person... Acro may well be the best choice.


 * DUDE. KIARU COULD BE THE EIGHTH REI. AND RAIVEN COULD BE MONITORING HER MAYBE?? ACRO WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO BE IGNORANT THOUGH UNLESS I'M JUST SUPER CAREFUL WITH THE NARRATION BUT PROBABLY NOT


 * HER ENTIRE CHILDHOOD COULD BE A HOAX HAHA
 * If this is the case, then Acanthus would never truly have control over her. She'd never really be his Rei. He'd have to /ask/ her /politely/ to do things rather than order/demand it haha


 * "Rei"oku haha


 * When standing in the Thanatosian plane, a reyling must feel around in the air and hoist him/herself up into the Antipithanian plane, at the entrance to the Path of Stars. A human who has never been there before cannot do this alone.


 * Perhaps the "school" should be a literal drain on reylish powers? That would add some desperation to the situation, for Acro to get out in time to not be broken. Maybe Raiven's Rei could also have some guard against this drain - for example, maybe the Doldum personalities aren't considered reylish and can resist the drain. Which would make Reoku's personality even stronger, since Raiven would have to limit his times of consciousness.
 * "At one point, they thought of naming the days of the week after themselves. Acanthus was really pushing for it to happen. But ultimately they decided that that would mean revealing their existence to the whole world, and so they voted against it. I don't really get it. Shouldn't we be spreading the news about the Reis, not hiding their very being from curious eyes?"

 ACRO

I. Life

Those dressed in black cloaks always gathered late at night, when everyone was sleeping. They wanted to avoid the light because they avoided the light. That was the only reason they gave publicly.

Really, though, they wanted to remain anonymous in case anybody ever discovered what they were really doing.

The town's legends spoke of an ancient and mysterious race of humanoids that boasted abilities far transcendent of any human's. It was said that these humanoids could grant any wish, yet they could also destroy the world given enough provocation.

So the people in the black hoods made sacrifices to them, to keep them happy.

What they didn't know was that that ancient race wanted nothing with their sacrifices. All they wanted was new blood for the pool of their species. Those unfortunate enough to contact them were often never heard from again, and gradually the population of the town dwindled until all that remained were those bitter enough not to resist their fates and those hopeful enough to still believe that they did not exist.

Such it was that a young girl was born into this town. It was said that her mother died in childbirth, and her father was never present. So she was taken into the household of Katos Ikara, a woman who was unable to have children of her own but always wanted to raise a girl. The arrangement worked well enough.

Katos was one of the townspeople who professed a disbelief in that ancient race. She raised her adopted daughter in the same beliefs, telling her constantly not to listen to the stories of the mad elders and the sullen givers of sacrifice.

Her name was Kial, an old name which supposedly had roots in an ancient word for "beloved one". Katos raised her diligently, and she quickly surpassed her peers in the crude schooling that the town could provide. And eventually, she began to dream of something more.

Of the worlds beyond her sight.