Dark Embrace/ Xi De Yngbo()

Dark Embrace/ Xié è De Yōngbào(邪恶的拥抱)

During the 'Hunters of the Dark Saga' (around the late 1900s), events lead to Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling coming across an unusual disturbance in China: a portal. After discussing with one another, they decide to investigate as they have had no solid lead to saving their mother. Unknowingly, they end up traveling into a brand-new reality. In this reality, the Cryas Chronicles reality, they end up on the word of Umbralus. In an initial battle with a strange creature, Hsien-Ko becomes afflicted with a strange substance of this world. Through intel, they learn this substance that bled onto Hsien-Ko is a dangerous substance known as Corriyami. Corriyami is dangerous to lifeforms as it causes them suffer Corruption, leaving them as nothing more but an erratic, dangerous victim of the mutagenetic substance. In time, it eventually kills the victim, using their bodies to eventually fuel its simple needs to multiply and survive. However, Hsien-Ko is different since she is an undead being of which do not exist on Umbralus nor Illumalus.

Over their journey to make it to the world capitol, Lunalos, in order to see if the portal there can lead them home, Hsien-Ko deals with the very real fear that this substance might do something to her, possibly something that even Mei-Ling can't save her from. Afflicted with nightmares and even being taunted by her inner darkness, it all comes to a critical point during a battle with a large group of Corrupted, beings who fall victim to Corruption. In a near death situation, the Corriyami in Hsien-Ko, which had been festering and mutating in her during their travels, awoke and caused a new power to awaken in both her and Mei-Ling. This new power... nay new form gave them the advantage they needed to win. Upon having a chance to rest and take stock, they found that on Mei-Ling's talisman form, the phrase '邪恶的拥抱' was written on her rather than the typical phrase. They would refer to these forms as Xié è De Yōngbào, though would also use the phrase 'Dark Embrace' as well. From then on, the sisters would practice their use of these new forms to give themselves an edge in battle as they saw the potential they had with these otherworldly powers bestowed by the Corriyami. However, upon their initial return to Earth, they decided to keep these powers a secret to their friends and allies till they felt the time was right to explain how they got it.

Primordial Origins

In Cryas Darkstalkers, there are three ancient deities that are responsible for the creation of major aspects of the universe. They are known as Genesis, Primordial, and Ethereal. In a sense, they don't truly have a form that we could comprehend. The best way to describe each one's appearance is that of a sentient nebula or something akin to Beta Arceus: A mass of energy that has a mind and soul. With that said, allow me to share an excerpt about each deity and their role in creation. Genesis: "Before the aspects of anything, there was merely the endless void. From the void however, an aspect would not only begin to take shape but also thought. From this being, the first soul and mind would be born. As they gazed upon the endless void they were cradled in and then at their own amorphous form, ideas would come to form in them. When their thoughts were finished, their own form would condense down to a singularity until it couldn't hold. From the body of the first aspect, the seeds of creations had been forged and a cosmic explosion of unfathomable proportions had occurred. Many aspects were being created right before the original one's sight: energy, forces, clouds of cosmic dust, light, celestial bodies, space, time, matter...everything. The original aspect marveled with curious joy to see all that was happening before them. While their form was no more as it served the foundation for all, their essence would continue to exist. Sight that reaches all continually growing aspects of reality, the 'Genesis' of all only wished to witness how all will continue to create, grow, and change."

Primordial: "Between the weaves and waves of space-time was the nexus. Beyond the nexus was the void. In a pocket of the void, the seeds of creation bundled together into a mass of dust, energy, and light. This mass eventually moved as the first thought came to be. A soul and mind were born in an area beyond the nexus. As this primeval sentience was beholden to their surroundings, they looked upon themselves. Thoughts flowed as they began to paint the void with the aspects of creation. Clouds of energy laden dust would be the nursery for stars. Celestial bodies of different compositions were grown among the cosmic dust. Nebula rivers would flow through the void as energy and light spread. This sentient nebula was gleeful at seeing all the various aspects they were able to create. In their joy, silence and contemplation would occur. They were the only ones to bear witness to the marvels that were flowing before them. As they thought more and more, their mind slowly went to rest. As this cosmic titan would drift into slumber, their mind would slip evermore. The energy and dust of their form would eventually solidify into a mass of truly cosmic proportions. The star that served as the 'heart' of the sentient nebula would cool and create many different forms of matter. Near the end of all of this, their essence would slowly break apart as their eternal slumber marked their death. Despite no longer existing, this 'Primordial' essence served to create a realm with land that stretched beyond all idea of boundaries. Lifeforms would grow from the pieces of the star in time. Many of these beings eventually began to also gain a sense of awareness, with their own thoughts and 'souls'. Though with no idea why, they would gaze up towards the sky, beholden to the majesty of the cosmos before them."

Ethereal: "Much time had passed since the seeds of creations spread throughout the universe. Within a cradle in between the fabric of space-time and the nexus, a sentient nebula would be born from the bundles of dust and energy. Passing through a point in the nexus, this sentience bared witness to the vast universe before them. They were in great awe at all they saw. As they glided across the cosmos, they couldn't eventually help but feel lonely. All the wonderful celestial bodies they saw looked empty in their mind. With thought, parts of their aspect were taken and molded into various forms. These forms were able to develop thought and looked towards the vast cosmos with their creator. Compelled, these forms would glide across the various bodies across the universe, leaving behind the essence necessary for what would be life... souls. As the aeons passed, the celestial essence saw how life would live and then die. While countless saw the sky, in death they no longer could bear witness. Their minds were still, eternally in a never-ending slumber. Unpleased with this, the cosmic form set back to the cradle where they were born. Their creations following, these 'angels' were beholden to their creator using their body and essence to create a realm for the endless sleeping souls of the universe. Never would they sleep in the void, never would they truly die. Understanding, these children of the 'Ethereal' essence would go to bring the departed to the final resting place. Allowing them a chance to bear witness to the universe before them for all of the foreseeable future." Genesis was responsible for the creation of everything. Primordial, in a layer of the universe, was the creator of the realm of Makai along with Inkai, the afterlife of Makai. Ethereal was responsible for the creation of 'souls' and thus life as we think of it. Not only that, but they also created angles and the afterlife that would serve for all those in the universe, Reikai.

Cryas Darkstalkers and Cryas Chronicles Notes

As I slowly roll things out and get my creative juices flowing, I am fully embracing hearing and answering any questions you may have about my Cryas Darkstsalker mythos or the mythos of Cryas Chronicles. Granted, CC will take some time since I don't have much in the way of art, but I got some ideas and lore to share. CDS will be more readily having lore dumps and stuff as we march on. Hopefully and honestly, I hope this will be a great outlet for me to just share things and get my brain going. I may have a private Discord server where I try to organize this stuff, but that is a bit more exclusive as I am nervous about letting randos in. However, this blog is more in the open for people to engage with and is in a format that is friendlier to the idea of sharing such lore. I am very excited for the future. :3

These are some old renders I made for Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling. Not completely in line with my current ref sheets, but still really nice art of them. :)

Notes on Cryas Chronicles

I want to go over some notes regarding the setting of the mythos of Cryas Chronicles as it is my creation, and little would be known unless you could read my thoughts.

So first of all, what is Cryas Chronicles? 🔷Cryas Chronicles is the name I give for this series that houses the reality of my OCs. This has been something in the works for well over +10 years at the time of typing this and is still ongoing in terms of development. It has been going through a number of restructuring processes. Originally, the idea of the series was the idea of a video game tetralogy, but I have since abandoned that idea. Now, it is just a series. It is intended to have storylines that spans over many years, generally following a cast of characters, somewhat changing the core cast of each story/saga as needed.

What is the setting of Cryas Chronicles? 🔷 The series takes place in a universe different from our own and one of the Cryas Darkstalkers mythos. The first story, Vicissitude Journey, takes place in a world where two planets are interconnected via a spacetime distortion. They are known as 'Umbralus' and 'Illumalus'. However, later on other worlds are brought into the mix as the series progresses. As of now, other worlds or realms that exist in this reality are: Jrukoshn Relm, Avalos, Sylverra. More will be added as needed.

What are some of the races that exist in these worlds? 🔷 As of right now they are the following: Umbrian, Illumin, Aunakin, Corrian, Jrukoshn, Avalocian, Hemo'eira, Celestian.

What are some differences between this reality and ours? 🔷For this, I will compare this reality to the Cryas Darkstalkers reality.

A year in the Cryas Chronicles reality is the equivalent of 400 Earth Days. While some realms have their own 'year' system based on their approximation to their star, the universal acceptance is 400 solar days equals a year. A solar day is accepted as 24 hours. The general calendar system is 12 months: 8 months have 33 days with 4 months with 34 days. The 4 months with 34 days generally are the month with signaled changes in the seasons of Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer. A big thing to take from this is that when I give the age of characters from this reality, that is based on this year system, so it will not be accurate to ages we use in our reality or in the Cryas DS reality.

Earth and humans don't exist in the Cryas Chronicles universe. That goes without saying, but this also means that without humans being a thing, certain terms don't exist in this reality. 'Humane' and 'inhumane' are examples of words that don't exist. Also, rather than me using the term 'humanoid' I will default to the terms of either 'intelligent liferforms', and other descriptors that don't involve the word 'human'.

Magic is generally accepted thing with many societies. Magic in this reality is understood generally as the ability to manipulate different forms of energy. It is something that has been able to coexist with science. While not everyone is capable of wielding magic, most can use it to some degree if they put some effort into it. Some are more naturally gifted.

Many cryptids don't exist in this reality. The concept of stuff like the undead, vampires, mummies, and many things do not exist in this reality compared to the Cryas DS one. However, the idea and existence of souls, spirits, and ghosts are a thing, just not generally accepted thing. It varies between different cultures.

That should hopefully give some context to things since I did share that blog earlier of the main cast for Cryas Chronicles: Vicissitude Journey.

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Cryas Chronicles Characters

Since I got that fancy new logo for my OC mythos, I feel it is time for me to talk a bit about it. More specifically, some of the characters

I hope to have more to chare in due time, but feel free to ask away.😎✌️

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling Lore Bits

Want to give some scattered bits of lore information regarding the Shao sisters in Cryas Darkstalkers. Help to give you a bit more insight into them as people beyond just being Xianshushi jiangshi. 🤗

Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling are an ethnic mix of Manchu and Han, with their mother being Manchu and their father being Han.

Due to their mother, many customs and cultural aspects they hold onto are predominantly Manchu in nature.

Pickled vegetables, like cabbage, play a major role in their diet. The coffin they travel with has compartments with jars of such delicacies ready for consumption or preparation for meals.

Mantou (馒头) is a staple food that the sisters will eat often. A steamed bun made of wheat, they will sometimes add other flavoring in the process to add some additional flavor.

Due to the incident that made the sisters aware of what happens when a jiangshi tastes blood, Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling refuse to eat any meat-based food if it wasn't prepared by them or a very trusted individual.

As far as meat in their diet, they primarily obtain that via fishing or small game hunting. When they have the chance with what little money they get, they do buy pork as a treat. Blood sausage was something they did consume in a soup when they were human. However, they no longer consume this as they can't.

Often, Mei-Ling will grill them food over a fire. From grilling meat to making varies types of stir fries, it is a great day when the Shao sisters can enjoy a meal cooked over a campfire.

For a hearty and filling meal, Mei-Ling will make baozi (包子). Quite the savory dish.

As a special treat for difficult hunts or special occasions, Mei-Ling will make suziyie doubao (蘇子葉豆包), one of Hsien-Ko's personal favorites. It is a steamed bun filled with sweetened mashed beans.

Mei-Ling has a major sweet tooth. Her personal favorite sweet is a treat that their mother would make for them: Sachima (沙琪玛). A very sweet fritter treat, it is strands of fried batter that are bound by sweet, sugary syrup. She remembers by memory how to make this treat.

Another sweet on Mei-Ling's radar is dragon's beard candy (龍鬚糖), a treat similar to cotton candy. An incredibly rare treat, she tries to find time to figure out the secret to making this dish as it is difficult and time consuming.

Mei-Ling does try her best to not eat as many sweets. It isn't so much because she fears getting fat, just more so keeping in mind the idea of self-discipline and control.

The sisters don't actually eat as much rice dishes as you would think, thanks in part to how they grew up. But they do engage occasionally when the chance arises.

Tea and water are common for the sisters to drink. Interestingly, they do prefer to drink warm/hot water rather than cold water.