Manifestations

Despite their eminent power within their homeplanes, Entities all across the Multiverse find themselves in need of items they cannot acquire on their homeplanes, and many choose to shop at Emporium to address this need. As Emporium occupies its own plane, the state of reality inside the store may not be quite the same as on your character's homeplane. Your character may be used to being incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, astronomically large, or impossible to perceive, but for the purposes of their shopping spree, they have had to assume a form that abides by Emporium regulations, whether that is an avatar of their true form, a temporary vessel they have occupied, or simply their usual body rendered less powerful. This form is referred to as the Entity's Manifestation, and is chosen by the Entity upon entering Emporium.

Within Emporium, Entities relate to each other as customers and employees, regardless of what their station on their homeplane may have been. Similarly, the physical limitations that Manifestations are subject to create a much more level playing field in terms of Entities' power level within the store, placing them all roughly equivalent to each other, though specific Entities will have their own strengths and weaknesses. However your character has manifested in Emporium, it is important to note that their Manifestation is not the same as their true physical form, and though hardy, can be destroyed. Although a Manifestation's power is far greater than that of a human in a supermarket, it is effectively scaled to the store, which is itself extremely metaphysically powerful: having laser beams for eyes does not mean that you can simply laser beam the store in half, even if this is something you could do to a supermarket on your homeplane.

“Emporium would like to remind its customers and employees that they are bound to remain corporeal while inside the store, and contain their forms within three dimensions!”
- Albert

The form an Entity assumes while in-store is referred to as their Manifestation, and must be corporeal, of a size that the supermarket can cater to, and cannot occupy more than three dimensions. The manners of Manifestation possible in Emporium can be categorised into three distinct types - Chimerae, Glories, and Implements - although these do not represent any inherent metaphysical distinctions between Entities and overlap between them is not uncommon. (OC, this is represented by the Mix and Match Quirk.) An Entity's Manifestation in Emporium is not the same as their true form, but represents it in some way. An Entity representing a moon might manifest as a wolfish Chimera, and a being of pure geometry might manifest as a triangular Glory, while an Entity put in charge of their homeplane's gravity by an error of the divine bureaucracy might manifest as an apple-headed Implement.

OC, your character's Manifestation is described by Attributes which have a mechanical effect, as well as describing much of what their Manifestation looks like. This page is intended to offer guidance on the kinds of Entities that typically manifest as Chimerae, Glories, and Implements. In addition to this, you can find more information on the ways in which their names manifest through Emporium's Translation Matrix at the bottom of this page.

Entities which manifest as Chimerae are generally savvy entities, characterised by their keen minds, adaptability to present circumstances, and readiness to seize opportunities in the moment. They are often employed as muscle, perhaps to act as a bodyguard warding off thieves and competitors, to watch over a forbidden gate between worlds, or to remain locked in eternal combat with some other Entity that must be kept at bay. Others, more ferocious in mind than body, may be renowned across the multiverse as the sharpest lawyers, or stand at the head of a cut-throat business. They typically take on an animal-like appearance overall, though they may have aspects of plantlife or primal natural forces as well.

Glories are immensely powerful and abstract beings, whose true form, cognition, and motivation are often incomprehensible to mortals. Acting in commitment to a single cause or ideal for all of time, Glories may be seen as patrons or servitors, either offering their dedication to something external to themselves, embodying the thing itself in their existence. Many Glories bring revelations, or seek fulfilment of a prophecy, be that in themselves, or through their interactions with other beings. Though still bound by the corporeality rules of the store, they tend to have the most unusual body plans, which may come in any number of strange and abstract or geometric forms.

Implements are humanoid beings with objects in place of conventional heads. While some represent the ideal embodied by their head in a similar manner to Glories, it is more common for Implements to occupy positions of relative anonymity, employed by secret agencies, working behind the scenes to power universes, or performing routine maintenance tasks or bureaucratic functions. Muted in demeanour and appearance compared to Glories and Chimerae, Implements’ talents may sometimes go overlooked. All the same, their keen focus and readiness to provide aid make them an essential part of the cosmic workforce. Aside from being generally humanoid - and also aside from their head, of course - they needn't look human as such, and may have bodies consisting of synthetic parts or other materials.

Perhaps a Chimera’s name had never been spelled out by anything but the flight path of peregrines. Perhaps a Glory’s name can only be sung out by a choir of ten thousand voices, over three days and three nights. Perhaps an Implement worked so discreetly and smoothly, its presence was never known, and it never had a name before.

Regardless, Entities’ names all manifest in a certain way in Emporium, and when one Entity addresses another, the Emporium Translation Matrix fills in the name for them just as quickly and discreetly as if they had known it all along. Typically, the names of each type of Entity manifest in one of two ways, as presented below.

DON'T

• use unicode characters or Emojis! This will not work with the email system!
• make direct reference to real world mythological/religious entities, real world figures, or characters from real world media. (See the relevant section in our Conduct and Themes policy.)

DO

• let us know if there is a particular part of your character's name that you would like us to prioritise in their email address, as we will most likely need to simplify them if they are long.
  • e.g. ‘Euphoria in Excelsis, Huntress Sublime, She Who Makes the Stars Bleed may receive the IC email address euphoria@emporium.oxfordrpg.com’

A Chimera’s name tends to either match their own vibrant immediacy and overwhelming presence (1), or demonstrate their chimeric and complex nature (2).

• 1. Colour name in the style of how paints are named, often evoking natural (mineral/flora/fauna/etc) and emotional motifs: eg “Molten Amber”, “Pale Rose Blush”, “Vitriol of Copper”, “Quinacridone Violet”
• 2. Four word name in the form of “Adj-Adj-Adj (Noun)”: eg “Vibrant-Mellifluous-Sweet (Joy)”, “Good-Bad-Nonsensical (Truth)”, “Shielding-Warping-Embracing (Shadow)”, “Smiling-Singing-Waiting (Maw)”

Note: Chimerae with names in the form of 2 tend to be known as one of the three adjectives, while the noun part of their name is treated as a true name or a close personal secret that reveals too much. If you choose 2, the noun part of your name will not appear in your username or your IC email address.

A Glory’s name tends to either signify their metaphysical purity and aloofness (1), or display their unbound glory and absolute magnificence (2).

• 1. One word (relatively) abstract noun: eg “Time”, “Apocalypse”, “Knowledge”
• 2. Extravagant epithets (with esoteric names that abide to alien/made up phonologies): eg “The Twilit Mbwambwali”, “The Triumphant Radiance”, “Euphoria in Excelsis, Huntress Sublime, She Who Makes the Stars Bleed”

Note: If you choose 2, please indicate which name/epithet is the most core to your character. This will appear as your wiki username and in your IC email address. If you do not, we will choose one for you.

An Implement’s name tends to either reflect their dual nature of having jobs of cosmic importance and yet being oddly mundane (1), or hint at their place within a larger structure or community of similar Entities (2).

• 1. Human first name with an occupational surname, either a real world surname with occupational roots (eg Fisher, Piper, Smith), or just put “-er” on the end of a verb or noun: eg “Ahmed Fisher”, “Johnny Gangster”, “Michelle Organiser”
• 2. Human first name followed by a string of numbers: eg “Virginia487, Scott003, Nanako77”