General Info and Appearance

[B_Rad]

Terry and I were brainstorming tonight about creatures that would be unique to Emathar.  

One thing I pointed out is that we pretty much know the motives and intentions of all of the creatures and beings we have thought up so far - thereby eliminating any "eeriness" that arises from the mystery of a group of creatures or a race.

I say we need a genuinely creepy creature. My solution? The Gazers.

The Gazers are small, remotely humanoid creatures that appear randomly throughout Emathar. You never know where you might see one. Gazers would not be talked about or explained in many of our stories, but may pop up in one or two of them as just a phrase or small paragraph. They are mysterious, and I think they should remain so to us as well.

Gazers are typically seen when you are in a place with concealed areas (forests, boulder-strewn mountainous places). They simply sit (or stand?) and, unflinchingly, watch your every movement. They are humanoid to a point, with a somewhat human facial structure.

They are pretty much the creepiest thing in Emathar so far.

Any further ideas? Anatomy?

I will post a picture soon of the general impression I think they should emit.

[B_Rad]

What really makes these guys eerie is that no one knows the purpose behind their watchful vigilance. Their intentions are mysterious and have been guessed at for ages, but the mystery remains.

[B_Rad]

I was thinking the facial structure of a Gazer would be something of a mix between these two images.

[B_Rad]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Tyk2yoqzVkE/TIAGLw7C_UI/AAAAAAAABcg/pqwpYi6webk/s400/z.jpg

http://thainsbook.net/images/pukelman.jpg

[Terry]

Why do they exist? Its a cool idea, but they have to have had a purpose at some point!

[B_Rad]

I sort of regard this the same as our conceptions about the Unknown Lands. It's coolest when even we don't have an explanation.

[talllankywhiteboy]

I generally like the idea and would be curious to see what other cultures think of them.

Also: http://marvel.wikia.com/Watchers

[Terry]

okaayyyy... I was skeptical at first but I guess it will work.

[B_Rad]

Yay for the Marvel universe!

In all honesty, I had originally called them The Watchers because that's what they do. Then, I thought of the guys you mentioned and changed the name.

They really aren't that similar though. I can pretty much guarantee the Gazers' intentions are not to save the world from impending cosmic horror.

[...]

Curious, what if they were the result of prolonged channeling? From both good and evil deities? (with the latter being a more rare occurrence.) That way, one could never be sure if a gazer is malevolent or peaceful.
I think it'd work better with a being that is closer to ambiguously human, like the 2nd pic (http://thainsbook.net/images/pukelman.jpg).

[Terry]

Curious, what if they were the result of prolonged channeling?

Cool idea. We would need an explanation for them to have been channeling in the first place... I will attempt to provide it!

Instead of the Gazers being their own race, they could be members of multiple races that channeled the deities powers excessively in the Elemental Era, until their will was a near copy of the deities will. This allowed them much longer life than they were meant to live, which is part of the reason their bodies are misshapen but still humanoid. Appearances would differ from each gazer, because one might have originally been a Dwarf where another might have originally been a human.

Hear me out.

The gazers would be embodiments of a deities will, basically. That would explain why they look so grotesque; a Deity would have no reason to seek food or shelter, and because the Gazer's will is identical to the Deity, its body would become unsightly. The Gazer would survive from the Deities will/power alone. The gazer wouldn't really be able to interact with the outside world though, mainly because of its unsightliness, but maybe also because of lack of ability to communicate because of the toll time would take on its body, or maybe for some other reason.The Gazer would watch, wait, and in some instances channel the deities power to some end. Too few of the Gazers are left in the current era to really be a significant force against evil (or good?) but they always wait and watch for a time when their Deities will can be furthered.

They would still be incredibly mysterious to the people of Emathar, although quite less mysterious to us...

[talllankywhiteboy]

Curious, what if they were the result of prolonged channeling? From both good and evil deities? (with the latter being a more rare occurrence.) That way, one could never be sure if a gazer is malevolent or peaceful.
I think it'd work better with a being that is closer to ambiguously human, like the 2nd pic (http://thainsbook.net/images/pukelman.jpg).

Interesting concept. I've never considered the physical effects of channeling on a mortal.

I do have a problem with long-time channelers becoming gazers though. In my mind, deities spend a good deal of their time making sure that they will have an impact on Emathar. One who hopes to grow in their channeling ability should also find themselves drifting more and more towards a deity's own will. Even though a deity may wish to wait to act at a certain moment, they still wish to act and their channelers would be known for their actions.

In contrast, gazers aren't known for really doing anything. They are simply seen watching and quickly vanish. This is essentially the mystery behind the gazers, and it what makes them a thing of legend. The inhabitants of Emathar are constantly trying to mentally assign them to some grand purpose or reason because the inhabitants have no idea what they are really doing. To me, this is incompatible with the identity of a channeler.

While I can come up with multiple possible connections and explanations between gazers and channelers, I think it's important to remember that the entire reason for having the gazers is that we don't know what they're up to. They are to remain a mystery, and that's what makes them unique in our world.

That's not to say that we shouldn't come up with any explanations for the gazers. I think it's really fun trying to come up with some grand purpose behind their scheme. Instead, we should see ourselves as brainstorming the myths that Emathar's inhabitants have about them. Maybe the Dwarves see them as Terry has described. Maybe the humans see them as spies for an invading army. Maybe the Vaaren have never seen one and think the rest of the races are making things up. To me, that's really cool.

[B_Rad]

[quote="talllankywhiteboy"]

While I can come up with multiple possible connections and explanations between gazers and channelers, I think it's important to remember that the entire reason for having the gazers is that we don't know what they're up to. They are to remain a mystery, and that's what makes them unique in our world.

The proverbial nail just got hit on the head by Lanky. That's my whole take on this.

I think we should keep them their own distinct race. Channeling could be involved in some fashion, though.

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