Recovered from a rust-stained carriage, found adrift on the Endless Railways.
Entry #7 – Lexicon of Hysterra[hr][/hr]
[h2]Great Old Ones[/h2]
Some call them gods, but I refuse. They are calamities given form, vast and ancient. When they returned, Earth wept blood. Each reshaped the land into their vision of what a playground of madness would look like.
Yes, I wrote returned intentionally, for this was not the first time that they roamed the Earth.
[h2]Dreamers[/h2]
They are the sleepers, led by Lovecraft before the Great Old Ones returned. They gathered in secret and were sent to the Dreamlands to find a way to save the earth and humankind - but in a way that would become real in the Waking World.
It was in the Dreamlands that they created the RailGods, and how the RailGods came to reality.
[h2]The Endless Railways[/h2]
The Endless Railways is a marvel of oneiric engineering, a self-repairing track of living metal that wraps around the entire planet forming an endless, undying loop.
Forged in the Dreamlands, it channels eldritch energies through its stations, casting great protective domes over the towns it touches.
[h3]Sub Section: Oneiric engineering[/h3]
This is a form of advanced, dream-based science and technology that operates according to the principles of the Dreamlands rather than conventional physics. It allows the creation of structures and mechanisms that would be impossible in the waking world.
[h2]RailGods[/h2]
The RailGods are our salvation…terrible salvation. Sentient locomotives were made when shoggoth-plasm and steel were merged. Their origins lie within the obscure sorcery of the Dreamlands and with the willpower of the Dreamers.
These engines travel the Endless Railways and are fueled by sacrifice and sorcery. As they travel the Endless Railway, they trace a signal/mesh that blocks the Great Old Ones from our realm.
[h3]Sub Section: Shoggoth-Plasm[/h3]
This is a refined extract from the dreaded Shoggoths (an ancient horror that we dare not speak of). The Shoggoth-Plasm allows us to bond flesh and machinery, ultimately creating the RailGods. It thinks, grows, hungers, and evolves.
[h2]Stations[/h2]
Similar to the train stations from before the Old Ones returned, but now with a much bigger purpose.
Each Station is a conduit of the Endless Railway’s living current, and by using that power, they cast a shield around them, a shield that protects the fragile remnants of humanity.
Within the shield dome, the whispering chaos and madness are held at bay, and only here may the RailGod rest, and the Dream breathe without madness pressing in.
[h2]Conductor[/h2]
A Dreamer who has returned from the Dreamworld and is now tethered to the RailGod. Some say that they drive the train, others say that they are subjugated to her, but those who meet them know…they do not drive the RailGod, they live in symbiosis with it.
[h2]Hysterra[/h2]
This was once Earth.
Now, under the reign of the Great Old Ones, it has become twisted, poisoned, and seeped in madness. After conquering the world, the Great Old Ones divided the land between them and twisted it beyond all recognition. Each god terraformed its territory to its own liking.
[h2]Dark Gifts[/h2]
Dark Gifts are the powers granted to Conductors by the RailGod. These abilities are far beyond what a human dreams of, but they come at a cost to the Conductor. With each Dark Gift, the Conductor loses a part of their humanity.
[h2]Madness[/h2]
To walk the lands of Hysterra as they are now is to invite madness. The twisted presence of the Great Old Ones is always felt, not through sound or shape, but through a pressure on the soul.
While aboard the RailGod, and within the domes cast by the stations, the Dreamer is safe. But during exploration, Madness slowly rises, a response to the ever-present influence of the Great Old Ones, the warped environment, and the horrors that roam it.
Regular humans quickly succumb to madness, however, Dreamers are different. They have the RailGod on their side, it can cleanse the Dreamer of their madness, and in doing so, the RailGod learns more of the horrors that exist in Hysterra. And as the RailGod learns, she will be able to grant you the Godkeeper Skills.
[h2]Godkeeper’s Skills[/h2]
Unlike the Dark Gifts, the Godkeeper Skills are non-combat abilities gained through the RailGod’s growing awareness of the world’s horrors.
They help the Dreamer become a more efficient Conductor, allowing faster movement through carriages, expanded inventory, improved resource collection, and more.
Godkeeper’s Skills reflect care, control, and adaptation, not violence.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3201910/RailGods_of_Hysterra
[h2]Heed the whispers of the RailGods — your fate awaits![/h2]
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