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[GRIM RENAISSANCE] ARTICLE 03 - PREROGATIVE

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“It’s not just that everything is a figment of our imagination, including that which isn’t – the fact that everything is a figment of our imagination is also a figment of our imagination, including the times when it shouldn’t be.”



SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF AND BELIEF

- The standing of each Grim Artist normally doesn’t change no matter which Renaissance Realm they travel to, but observation would seem to dictate otherwise. At first glance, there are extreme differences between Grim Renaissances. The Artists of one Grim Renaissance might struggle to bring so much as a beetle to life, and the Artists of a neighboring Realm might effortlessly churn out whole multiverses without so much as an afterthought. If Grim Artists from either Renaissance were to move to the other, they would adhere to its parameters. And yet, even after an assimilation to the regulations of a foreign Renaissance, Grim Artists are still somehow unchanged. Should they return to their original Realm, they will ‘revert’ to their ‘usual’ selves.

- The root for all the weirdness is the Grim Artist’s Prerogative, or just Prerogative for short. Which then begs the question: what exactly is it?

- For something that permeates Art as much as Art permeates the Grim Renaissance, Prerogative is notoriously hard to figure out. In a previous Article, it was mentioned as being ‘the absolute dominion of authors over their own canon as applied to everything else, including the border between conceptuality and actuality’. That statement is simply how the average Grim Artist would explain Prerogative, and it would barely scratch the tip of an infinitely-massive, proverbial iceberg.

- There is no unifying ‘master theory’ for Prerogative. The only thing that directly interacts with it is itself, and the way it differs with each Grim Renaissance (sometimes vastly so) only makes looking for such a theory all the more impossible.

- In truth, it’s easier to state what Prerogative isn’t, more so than what it is. And for sanity’s sake, the focus shall remain on the Prerogative of the Forgewater Grim Renaissance.

- Prerogative, and every Grim Art for that matter, isn’t a ‘Magic’. Tests have been run on this, ranging from the application of Anti-Magic to innumerable Magic-Detecting Litmus Tests. They’ve all come to the same conclusion: all Magic is less than fiction to a Grim Artist.

- Prerogative isn’t a ‘Nature’. There are a plethora of universes and planes where the notion of Art and Imagination having a tangible and corporeal impact is engrained into its ‘Cosmic Continuum’. The same cannot be said for Grim Artists; their environment doesn’t grant them Prerogative or Artistry, albeit assuming that it doesn’t contribute a little is discouraged.

- Prerogative isn’t a ‘Science’. Its adherence to Logic, Reality, and Absolutes is both situational and selective at best, and this comes to light when one discovers that Prerogative not being Magic, Nature, or Science isn’t ‘true’ as well. That last part has been the source of untold irritation for philosopher and scholar alike.

- Their frustration is based on how the self-contradictory facets of Prerogative do not hamper its ability to exist, work, or be of service. The general consensus is that Prerogative subsists as a trinity of ‘Truth’, ‘Fallacy, and ‘Enigma’. It is (and is not) a ‘Force’, a ‘Possibility’, and a ‘Law’, all at once. In the same vein, Prerogative does (and does not) have quantities, qualities, and qualifications.

- Countless intellectuals have tried to analyze the absurdities of Prerogative, and they all bicker as to which of them is right or wrong. The finer details of their research are a tale for another time, since every question they answer only leads to more questions that aren’t clear, and every answer they question only leads to more answers that aren’t set in stone. A few ‘basics’ concerning Prerogative in the Forgewater Grim Renaissance are all that should do for starters.

- The three most common Prerogatives recognized are as follows:

- Internal Prerogative, also called ‘Prerogative Over Self’. When it was said earlier that everything is fiction to a Grim Artist, that generalization includes their own selves. Grim Artists have a degree of power over their own existences, and the greater their Internal Prerogative, the greater their control. Artists with enough Prerogative (and in the right scenario) have been known to imagine away their wounds, or even grant themselves might transcending Cosmic Entities. Internal Prerogative covers one’s own Creative Domain, or Canon, which is an Artist’s personal Realm of Imagination.

- Social Prerogative, also called ‘Prerogative Over Others’. This Prerogative decides how real Grim Artists are to their fellow Grim Artists, and they all risk having their deeds and influence being dismissed as fiction due to insufficient Prerogative. Grim Artists must infuse their actions and interactions with enough Prerogative for such to have aftereffects, and for those aftereffects to last – this precept is known as ‘actualization’. Put enough Prerogative into a punch, and the bruise it leaves behind will be ‘actualized’ enough to the point where it can’t simply be shrugged off as ‘not real’.

- Ambient Prerogative, also called ‘Environmental Prerogative’. Grim Renaissance Realms themselves have this nasty habit of treating everything within them as make-believe. Without Internal Prerogative, all Grim Artists would have been reduced to a cross between ‘nothingness’ and ‘fiction’. Even if a Grim Renaissance’s Ambient Prerogative is withstood, it can still ‘dilute’ and ‘compress’ Internal Prerogative, all while empowering Realm mechanics to ensure their application to Grim Artists. This does create the illusion that Grim Artists are weaker within the Grim Renaissance than they are outside of it. However, one doesn’t put forth the same amount of effort towards lifting a sack of feather as opposed to lifting a sack of rocks. In the same vein, the insane feats and creations boasted by even Non-Renaissance Figments of Grim Artists in ‘places’ without Ambient Prerogative are no reliable reflection of their true capacities.

- The overall complexity, scale, and power of Grim Arts observed in a Grim Renaissance is the result of its balance of Internal Prerogative, versus Social Prerogative, versus Ambient Prerogative. Not every Grim Artist prefers ‘normality’, in which case it might be possible to move to a Renaissance Realm without a restrictive Ambient Prerogative, such as the Princess of Thorns Grim Renaissance, where the effortless production of multiverses is routine. Many Grim Artists do prefer a more ‘human’ existence, which is better catered to by a Grim Renaissance that enforces its Laws of Physics, Causality, and Logic. There are even Artists who want nothing to do with the Grim Arts, and they will often move to Grim Renaissances with so stifling an Ambient Prerogative that its denizens can only practice Artistry within the confines of their Creative Domains. For the most part, Artists of the Forgewater Renaissance are happy with their Realm, which tempers their capabilities to resemble that of superhumans.

- Prerogative within the Forgewater Renaissance is also expected to follow a few fundamental principles, at least under normal conditions:

- The better the quantity, quality, and/or qualification of Prerogative invested into something, the more ‘actualized’ it becomes. This does not discount the need for Artistry. ‘Actualizing’ a weak Summoned Character to full Canonical accuracy still only results in a weak Summoned Character. It’s possible to ‘supercharge’ a lesser subject with more Prerogative, but it’s recommended to invest such Prerogative into a more ‘worthy’ vessel.

- The grander the goal one is trying to achieve, the grander its demand of Prerogative. Trying to call forth a pantheon of gods (at complete accuracy to their maker’s Canon) will require a ridiculous amount of Prerogative. Trying to call them forth anyway can result in failure, self-harm, or Summoned Characters that aren’t faithful to their Canonical versions. On that note, it’s often better to settle for a compromise; ‘actualizing’ partial success with a goal might be preferable to not being able to ‘actualize’ any of that goal at all. Furthermore, there are plenty of variables to consider before calculating the extent of an aftereffect and its duration.

- One’s Internal Prerogative can be expelled as an ‘aura’ that spreads itself all over the immediate vicinity. This serves to ‘push back’ and overrule the Ambient Prerogative of a Realm, rescinding its restrictions over one’s Grim Art. The ‘aura’ generated this way is called the Prerogative Aureole, and it can be innate to some, while others require more formalized means of unleashing it.

- Since Prerogative Aureoles continuously and cumulatively spread one’s own Internal Prerogative into the surrounding world, the difficulty of wielding one’s Grim Art will keep on decreasing, usually to a minimum threshold. Simultaneously, the Grim Arts of opposing Artists are smothered and undermined. Distance-based decay of Grim Artistry is therefore a common occurrence during duels. This also why Grim Writers are frequently unable to dominate opponents of equal or greater Prerogative from afar, and the former must resort to various supplementary or bolstering measures to enact their Grim Text.

- Prerogative Aureoles do not ‘drain’ one’s Internal Prerogative per se, but it can be taxing to leave open the ‘gates’ through which Internal Prerogative pours out of. Curiously though, once a Prerogative Aureole has been kept on going long enough, it reaches a certain checkpoint called an Artifex Stage.

- If attained, an Artifex Stage amplifies the level of power granted to its Artist via the rescinding of the limits set by Ambient Prerogative, and it utterly resets the ‘fatigue’ of sustaining the current Prerogative Aureole. Essentially, one’s Grim Art receives a substantial boost to its overall might, and the Grim Artist involved may then attempt to proceed to the next Artifex Stage, if there is one, as Prerogative Aureoles and Artifex Stages vary among Artists. Otherwise, there is no reset; Grim Artists at their final Artifex Stage will maintain their Prerogative Aureole until exhaustion, whereupon their Internal Prerogative is recalled. They are free to repeat this process from scratch if they so choose.

- The topics of Prerogative Styles and Specifications are too numerous to cover in a single sitting. At the moment, it shall suffice to reveal that just as Artists can have preferences in Arts and lifestyles, their Prerogatives can also have preferences, affinities, and even vulnerabilities – all of which can be gained, developed, or lost depending on the circumstances. Landscaping Artists have more authority over terrain than Cooking Artists do, Writers can accomplish more with words than a Swordsman trying to cut said words, and Musicians have more say over what makes a good song than does a Sketcher.



PICTURE NOTES

- The regular Grim Artist increases and refines Prerogative through conventional means, such as self-improvement. Education, work, natural maturity, Lineage-melding: all sots of things can benefit Grim Artists’ Internal and Social Prerogatives. There are those, however, who choose somewhat more unorthodox methods, like taking trips to exotic lands to unearth ancient relics of untold value. Both the conventional and unconventional have their place, and neither one is necessarily good nor evil, at least not automatically. Unfortunately, there are also those who get so enamoured with ‘unorthodox’ that they willingly abandon ethics and decency, crossing the line into the territory of ‘nefarious’ without a second thought.

- Ivar Romagnoli was cast out from his Lineage for tarnishing its reputation by attempting to turn fellow Grim Artists into foodstuffs, and for breaking its most solemn creed. The Romagnoli Lineage are not only renowned for their prowess with the Cooking Aesthetics, but also their strict neutrality. Everyone was to be catered to, and no Romagnoli was to meddle in the affairs that don’t concern them. In return, their refusal to pick sides was to be respected. Ivar’s Lineage would have sentenced him to death, but he was rescued by the factions he had aligned himself to, and they had no qualms recruiting the large, corpulent man as a Private Chef. Still, while the passive Romagnoli have chosen not to hunt him down themselves, they have left it up to others to bring their prodigal son to justice, and the bounty they’ve posted on his head is enormous. To survive, Ivar’s has learned the Grim Aesthetics of Animal Husbandry, Taming, and Crafting, and he devotes them all towards a grisly purpose: the transfiguration of victims into monstrous boars that he can command or devour, or both – they are tremendously destructive and useful beasts in life, and in death. If playing the role of Ivar’s personal army, they capable of flattening mountains when they stampede. If turned into a meal, Ivar can assimilate the traits and abilities of the Grim Artists his boars used to be, use their Prerogative to fuel his own, and he can also fashion durable armor and weaponry out of their glowing blue tusks and bones. As Ivar’s rampant herd and gluttony continue to grow, so draws nearer the time when he can bring the fight to his former family, and the Romagnoli suspect he might face them as more of a beast than a man.

- Wilma Strikehard may be young, but her innocent smile, snow white hair, and porcelain features belie a deviousness well beyond her years. She and her twin sister, Willow, are classified as Prodigy Artists, but whereas Wilma is reckoned special, Willow is reckoned transcendent. In fact, Willow Strikehard is not only the youngest Legendary Class Grim Artist to exist in the Nebula Noir Grim Renaissance, she is also its first, hence the naming of an entire Realm after her Artist Title. Now, while Prodigy Artists are both rare and celebrated, they are potentially a recipe for disaster. Without the proper guidance and discipline, Prodigy Artists could grow up to become a blight on their society, which is why Wilma and Willow’s parents focused all their time and attention on the latter daughter; they just couldn’t afford someone so young and powerful to conduct herself irresponsibly. Unfortunately, their perceived favoritism and neglect turned Wilma bitter and envious. The clout of Wilma’s Artistry was nowhere near Willow’s, so the threat she posed wasn’t taken as seriously. Her upbringing was passed onto her aunts, but they struggled to control their niece, and they were ultimately unable to stop her from leaving the Nebula Noir Grim Renaissance for the Forgewater Realm. Wilma’s intentions for travelling are unclear, thus far. Her activities revolve around secretly planting a ‘seed’ of her Prerogative into an unsuspecting Artist, waiting for it to grow and mingle with that of its host, and then wrenching both out when she deems fit. Efforts to stop Wilma’s ‘harvests’ have been largely unsuccessful, as not only is her Prerogative virtually undetectable while it incubates in a carrier, but her own fighting abilities are formidable. Few have survived an assault from the blade-like wings made from solidified Prerogative that she can summon seemingly without limit. Though these ‘wings’ are Wilma’s simply murderous thoughts projected into being (and are illusory in nature) the Prerogative she has funnel into them is so concentrated that they are nearly indestructible, and they can tear apart intangible forces and effects as easily as they can flesh. Some say Wilma is using the Forgewater Renaissance as a training grounds, where she can practice far away from her home without being interrupted, biding her time until the day she can challenge Willow. However, the amount of ‘foreign’ Prerogative Wilma has stolen seems to indicate that there’s an unseen scheme she has yet to hatch.

- Dexter Kingsley is what his current employers would consider to be a necessary evil. The Dionysus Sequoia Vineyard has always been a prime target for thieves who wouldn’t hesitate to make off with its prized Pine Grapes. The Tourcon Lineage who owns the Dionysus Sequoia Vineyard has no knack for battle, and though they are competent Gardener Artists, they are ill-equipped to fend off poachers. Fortunately, the Zeigratio (one of the peacekeeping Lineages of the Forgewater Renaissance) saw fit to have loan one of their mercenaries to the Tourcon. Dexter seemed pleased to be their Tourcon’s new Vineyard Groundskeeper, but soon a crooked side of him surfaced, and one that he had hidden well from the Zeigratio. In Dexter’s opinion, not all trespassers are easily deterred. The fact that he was an adept with the Kingsley Lineage’s Art of the Chalk Dust Tempest, with Colored Chalks being able to don Elemental Properties, would only deter small fry. To keep himself in top shape, Dexter has convinced the Tourcon to enter into an ‘under the table’ arrangement with him. He requests doses of Prerogative from the Tourcon, as well as special permission to admit selected Artists into the Dionysus Sequoia Vineyard for a price. That price, of course, is more Prerogative. His fees can border on extortion, especially when Artists have to pay him not just to get in, but also to get out safely. While the Tourcon do lose out on batches of Pine Grapes here and there, with Dexter greedily hoarding the Prerogative ‘fees’ he collects, his presence has quelled the traffic of interlopers to a fraction of what it used to be. The mere sight of his orange-red, energy-wreathed, Chalk Dust Storm is enough to send lesser thieves packing, and his vigil has allowed the Tourcon Lineage’s beloved Vineyard to flourish.

- Madame Desdemona Rodin has always been a prideful Grim Artist, and it was her pride that drove her to sacrifice her Lineage for power. The Rodin have never been a well-known or well-off Lineage, and Desdemona despised their mediocrity. She always believed herself deserving of more fame and prestige, and she soon came to see her family as shackles that held her back. Desdemona severed her ties to all those who loved her in a most heartless way – by using what few relatives she had as ingredients in a forbidden ritual that ‘Resculpted’ one’s mind and body via beneficial mutations. Desdemona was granted an extra pair of arms, alongside a monumental increase to her physical strength and her Prerogative. She was even able to gain access to the Combat, Landscaping, and Construction Aesthetics, all of which contribute to her preferred brand of Artistry: Desdemona is an accomplished fencer who can beckon forth a deluge of magma from any terrain around her. The infernal flood obeys her every whim, and she can cause it to flow and/or harden into desired shapes, essentially performing an improvised form of the Sculpting Aesthetics, which are a Subset Variant of the Construction Aesthetics. Desdemona has since busied herself with hunting down and eliminating other Grim Artists who can Sculpt with magma. Now that she has attained fearsomeness, Desdemona believes the next step she should take is to ensure that she is unique in her fearsomeness. After all, isn’t it only the weak and forgettable who are forced to share their spotlight?

- The Grim Renaissance has always been a place where dark ambitions brew within the hearts of its people. Sometimes, one suffers the consequences for being consumed by ambition. Sometimes, others suffer instead. In either case, Prerogative decides the extent of their success.
 


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Hipster-kei-rei's avatar
josh is more talented ivar,take him first.
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