Father Ferrolis
The screaming spirit of the greatest ship to sail the seas of Zheng-Kitar
Father Ferrolis (a.k.a. The Screaming Demonheart)
Father Ferrolis is classified as a Lesser Idol, and is capable of granting powers as a patron to witches and warlocks, and perhaps clerics and the like who venerate the screaming demonheart that roars deep within the bowels of the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier. Consult your GM if you are interested in following or recieving power from Father Ferrolis as described here.Obedience: Spend an hour surrounded by incense candles and scraps of metal, gears, cogs, or preferably machinery calling out to Father Ferrolis, offering up your body as a vessel for their otherworldly will. During this hour, drive thin metal rods into your skin at each of the twelve meridians in your body where Qi flows most fully. Remove them once the hour is up and store them away for future use. Effect: Your body is infused with the unstoppable power of Father Ferrolis, and your heart becomes a screaming vessel for his radiant, thundrous will, your vessels metallic conduits for his electrifying might. You gain an amount of bonus HP as if you were a construct of your size(See the Construct Type for more info), and gain the unique Universal Monster Rule 'Ironsight(Ex)', which lets you see through metal surfaces no more than 2ft thick per HD as if they were transparent out to 60ft, and lets you see through fog, mist, and steam as if they weren't there out to your normal range of vision.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Unknown. It does not seem to have a true physical body, though rumors speak of a hidden room deep in the heart of the Bushūbunáo, Capital of the Migrant Fleet where it is slowly constructing a true metallic form for itself - though they are nothing more than rumors.
Body Features
It typically appears as a small apparition in the hallways of the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier - only very, very rarely does it form an actual metallic body.
Facial Features
None. Every time it forms an appararition body, it is translucent and has no features - the few times it has formed a metallic shell its head is smooth metal and with two electric green eyes.
Identifying Characteristics
Its shade form is typically identified as appearing off in the distance from those it is observing - far enough way to make out no details about its features. It is often unmistakable in its true, metallic form.
Special abilities
It seems to be able to either wholly control the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier or can either simply influence it a great deal - only perhaps the acting captain of the ship, currently a position held by Kishiji Kawamura, might know for sure the true power that Father Ferrolis holds over the ship and its crew.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The history of Father Ferrolis is a thing mostly shrouded in mystery - very, very few records were left intact after the sinking of the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier that left hints as to the history of the enormous ship's resident 'haunting spirit'. The very few records that were not irreperably waterlogged and destroyed spoke of the engineers who constructed the ship that the spirit known as Father Ferrolis inhabits, the Bushūbunáo, terrified of 'a ghost in the machine' that is written about as haunting the initial days of the Legendary Iron War Machine's construction, causing phantom knocks and ghostly screams howling through the steampunk bowels of the HGV Iron Tyrant.
Especially worrying records speak of 'screams of utmost terror, as if being burned alive' thundering out from the legendary Luminos Reactors that were built to utilize the blindingly radiant power of an artefact known as the "Starcradle" - said to be a fragment of the God of the Sun's heart that produces radiance so powerful it can incinerate living flesh. These screams were so disturbing the engineers requested permission to deactivate the Iron Tyrant's reactors to verify if someone had become trapped inside, though the Iron Emperor himself forbade such an action in favor of deploying the Iron Tyrant to the frontlines of the war it was destined to fight in. These screams were said to continue up to the day of the ship's launch, after which they fell strangely silent - a single engineer reporting a 'strangled, muted cry, as if coming from a collapsing inhuman throat' echoing through the reactors of the Iron Tyrant the moment it began to move.
While those records are believed to speak of Father Ferrolis, even modern Migrant Fleet engineers and scholars researching the history of the Iron Tyrant(Now renamed to the Bushūbunáo) cannot link them to Father Ferrolis for sure, as the records of these hauntings hold nothing in common with the modern depictions of the spirit.
The first full 'manifestations' of Father Ferrolis are recorded as occuring a scant few months after The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet raised the sunk Iron Tyrant back to the surface and transformed it into their capital, as sailors began to report phantom noises haunting the ship's interior and, in one special case, a sailor reported his life being saved by his father, who had died nearly twenty years prior, who had seemingly saved him from a collapsing metallic hallway deep in the bowels of the ship.
From that point on, the legend of "Father Ferrolis(Amalgamation of the Numiastran words for iron and sunlight)" became widespread amongst the crew of The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet who began refer to the ghost as the literal spirit of the ship - like all sailors refer to thier ships affectionately, they became convinced that on this greatest of ships, surely its spirit would be so powerful as to affect the material plane. Though many believe it abducts sailors who stray too far into its bowels, others look upon the torn apart bodies found in lone hallways as proof of the ship looking out for them - though all sailors are universally wary of angering the lingering spirit, and have devised a number of questionable rituals they believe appeases the iron beast. And as if to validate their faith, Father Ferrolis has apparated in physical force to restitch the hull of the ship when it takes damage, and has even on one occasion formed an enormous body of iron to assist in the fight against The Ramshackle's battle cluster alpha when they assaulted the Bushūbunáo, Capital of the Migrant Fleet.
Gender Identity
Though it has no gender, sailors who dwell on the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier has ascribed it a male gender and affectionately dubbed it the spirit of the ship they sail on, due in part to a cultural belief of ascribing ships male or female names and personalities and due to records of its first sighting, where it took the form of a crewman's father to save him from a collapsing hallway.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Has protected and warded off attacks, spies, and saboteurs on and against the Bushūbunáo, Capital of the Migrant Fleet - including apparating to fend off the attack of The Ramshackle's battle cluster alpha which nearly succeeding in destroying the ship itself.
Failures & Embarrassments
Unknown
Mental Trauma
Unknown. If it is truly the haunting ghost described in old Numiastra records, it might be a spirit born of horrible trauma and a most unkind death.
Intellectual Characteristics
It is quiet and has never once been recorded as 'speaking' in the traditional sense - when it does 'speak' the entire metallic hull is known to vibrate as it somehow communicates thoughts directly into the minds of its targets.
Morality & Philosophy
Unknown. It seems to act primarily in its own defense, though it has occasionally both protected and tore apart sailors who live within it.
Taboos
It cannot leave the confines of the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier, where it is seemingly anchored - though it can manifest outside of it so long as it remained connected to the hull in some way.
Additionally, though well known to the Bushūbunáo, Capital of the Migrant Fleet's engineering teams and hidden from others unless pertinent, it absolutely despises all attempts made by others to access the innermost room of the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier's reactor, as well as all attempts to disengage the ship's Luminos Reactors - on the one occasion it has been tried, it flooded the entire engineering deck with lethal light straight from its reactor and incinerated all who partcipated in the attempt, including the acting captain of The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet at the time. It is perfectly fine with and enjoys maintenance on the reactors, however - and it has even been known to grow fond with engineers who serve it over decades, though none are allowed to disengage them or enter the reactor's innermost chamber.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Unknown. It seems primarily focused around protecting itself and the ship it inhabits.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Unknown.
Likes & Dislikes
All likes and dislikes described below are attributed to it solely by the sailors who have come to venerate it - not from itself. So, they may be wildly inaccurate, though those sailors swear by these as 'a guidebook to survive its wrath'.
Likes: Tapping a metallic wall three times and waiting precisely 13 seconds before traveling down it, Facial Hair, Dogs, formality and respect, gifts left in metallic alcoves(Primarily oil and small nuts/bolts), Those who spread water on the floor before they walk it, Messages carved into the walls, Being cleaned, ???
Dislikes: Cats, Hair dyed bright colors, Baldness, Being given nicknames, People who come aboard without offering respects or saying hello, Those who assault or attack a fellow sailor, ???
Hatreds are things that the sailors who venerate it claim will immediately earn its wrath such they will be maimed, killed, or injured without fail.
Hatreds: Burning another being with a lit flame, Turning off the lights while another creature is using them, Living Sacrifices, Wearing a shirt with horizontal stripes, Being cleaned improperly
Virtues & Personality perks
Unknown
Vices & Personality flaws
Unknown
Personality Quirks
See 'Likes and Dislikes' for a list of things many sailors have claimed it likes, dislikes, or hates.
Hygiene
It has no body to keep clean, but 'phantom noises akin to rust being scraped off iron' that echo up from hallways none have entered suggest it may dislike rust on its hull and enjoys cleaning itself occasionally.
Social
Contacts & Relations
All sailors who dwell onboard the Bushūbunáo, The Salvaged Supercarrier know of and pay homage to Father Ferrolis - even if they are but visiting. However, only the Captain of The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet who dwells onbard the ship and perhaps his inner council are believed to have an especially close relationship with it.
Family Ties
None. It is not believed to even understand the notion of family.
Religious Views
Unknown. It does not ask to be worshipped or venerated most of the time, but has on one extremely rare and unique scenario not long after its first manifestion, chosen a young girl as their 'herald' and given her occasional prophecies and visions, as well as divine power.
It is not known what prompted that sudden bestowal of power, but the girl became a legend onboard the ship for her decades of life until she passed away, serving as a "Saint" of sorts and a personal voice and connection to Father Ferrolis, whom she referred to with utmost love and kindness. When she died at extreme old age, her body was later consumed wholesale into the walls of the ship - and ever since, some rare sailors have pledged themselves into its service to carry out its goals and objectives in exchange for power to follow in the example of this "Saint", whose words of love for the spirit and diehard trust in it spurred others to do as she did and serve it.
Many have claimed that, on expeditions deep into the bowels of the ship, the perfectly preserved body of the Saint can occasionally be found in a strange cathedral that appears to apparate around the ship's interior at random, replacing existing rooms extradimensionally for a short time - a living shrine of beautiful stained glass, iron pillars, and steampunk beauty built seemingly for a beloved daughter, or wife, where her body lays in eternal repose surrounded by misshapen iron dolls seemingly built by a child that change in number and shape with each appearance of the room. Father Ferrolis has, on several occasions, incinerated those who disturb this room, though paying respects and reverence while being mindful of the room is often allowed and sometimes even rewarded with a blessing.
Social Aptitude
It seems to dislike conversation and does not talk with others most of the time - in fact, it usually only does so when angered or in dire need, so 'no sign' is the best sign where most sailors are concerned.
Mannerisms
It is reclusive and shy, and dislikes large gatherings of people - it prefers being far away from those it is conversing to, and being at a distance in general.
Although only said by the rare few engineers who have developed a relationship with it over decades, they have often compared its mannerisms to a curious and protective child - which makes its fatherly persona in its other manifestations all the more mysterious.
Speech
It does not talk - instead it vibrates the walls of the ship it inhabits to somehow transmit emotions and thoughts directly into the minds of others.
Wealth & Financial state
It is not known to have any wealth of its own, though plenty of sailors have claimed and spread rumors of a legendary vault hidden deep within the Bushūbunáo, Capital of the Migrant Fleet that contains the most valuable bits of technology and material and valuables it has claimed over the centuries of its life.
It was like the ship came alive - the metal pipes, electric wires, and walls themselves came alive to tear them apart as they tried to...to have their way with me. It felt like a dream - one I thought was going to kill me. But once it killed those men, ripped them apart like animals, I thought I was next - but it left me alone, covered in gore. E-Even stitched me back together with iron wiring. I thought I could see a man down the hallway watching me, too. When I came to though, he was gone. I...I wish I could've thanked him.
Divine Classification
Lesser Idol
Alignment
Current Location
Currently Boarded Vehicle
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Father Ferrolis, The Screaming Demonheart, The Ghost in the Machine, The Steelspirit, Old Man Watchdog, The First Mate, The Iron Phantasm
Age
Unknown. May have been born at the moment of the Bushubunao's Creation in the Iron Dockyards of Numiastra.
Date of Birth
It is not known when exactly Father Ferrolis awakened as spirit of the Bushubunao.
Circumstances of Birth
Records hinting at 'a ghost in the machine' date back to the Bushubunao's time serving as the HGV Iron Tyrant for the Iron Empire of Numiastra, hinting it may have come into existence with the creation of the legendary war machine itself.
Birthplace
Children
Gender
None. Affectionately ascribed male pronouns by sailors who dwell on the Bushubunao.
Eyes
Electric-Green, described as 'a pair of lights born from The Nine Hells themselves'.
Hair
None
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Usually appears as a faint spiritual outline. Metallic, on the few occasions it has formed a corporeal shell.
Height
Varies Wildly
Weight
Unknown
Aligned Organization
The Bushubunao's Guardian Spirit
As the legendary guardian spirit that haunts the most powerful ship to ever sail the Zheng-Kitaran seas, Father Ferrolis has become something of an urban myth among the sailors who inhabit its metallic hull - a spirit that is either impossible or incredible difficult to expunge, and has instead been adopted as a mascot of sorts - with dozens of rituals, sayings, phrases, and traditions developed over the centuries by sailors that are believed to appease it, foods that it likes, places it likes to be cleaned, and the like...all superstitions things invented by mortals that they swear by, and pledge with all their hearts of its authenticity in calming the spirit down. It hardly ever manifests a physical form, and instead simply uses a translucent shade to observe others from afar - though it has on a few occasions formed metallic bodies to carry out specific tasks such as mending the hull if it is damaged in a significant way, or enacting large-scale repairs that the sailors cannot do themselves. However, it has only taken on a massive metallic form once with any hostile intention - on the one occasion the Bushubunao came under real and deadly assault by the forces of The Ramshackle, who sent a legendary force that has become known as Battle Cluster Alpha to destroy it - a fleet of the dead and damned that almost succeeded in tearing it apart. There, it revealed itself capable of apparating an enormous metallic body atop the Bushubunao's hull, and was in large part responsible for the deflection of the myriad attacks The Ramshackle threw at the enormous metallic ship - its scrapshod body slapping aside exploding shells, magical invocations, and tearing apart ships crewed by the dead with equal vigor as it unleashed torrents of golden sunlight from its body and the screaming demonheart that beat within its metallic chest, repairing the damage inflicted upon it so blindingly fast it seemed almost invulnerable - cementing then and forevermore the myth of the Bushubunao's precious father and guardian spirit of those who call it home.
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