The Dark of the Rilmani

The Dark of the Rilmani

Rilmani: the great unknown of the planeborn races. Hardly ever seen, this mysterious race bases itself on the Outlands, in the most inaccessible of all places, the Spire, where even the gods themselves are powerless. When travelling abroad in the multiverse, many cover themselves in layers upon layers of magical and mundane disguises. The Rilmani mindset is strangely isolated from the outside multiverse. They see themselves as above the other planeborn, keeping the planes in their delicate cycle of good and evil, order and chaos, thought, belief, and matter. Their dedication to this balance is unwavering, and indeed, unnerving to many; after all, they will help a body, and yet turn against him the next minute. Never trusted fully by anyone, the Rilmani consider themselves a kind of unseen helper to the multiversal balance, justifiably disguised so that they may accomplish their jobs.

Every Rilmani’s actions depend upon three things: orders from the Aurumachs, their own instinctual sense of the Balance, and reports and information from other Rilmani. A few methods of Rilmani communication systems have been uncovered: astral streakers and encoded messages sent though a number of contacts are a couple. However, considering the sheer amount of information travelling through Rilmani hands, there are still more methods of communication as yet unknown that relay the secrets of the multiverse to the Spire and back. All Rilmani have various innate powers, that much is commonly know, but often the question arises as to whether or not they break the Outlands’ rules concerning the use of magic at the Spire. None have been seen to use their powers at the Spire, but they have a strange presence there, acting with a cool confidence and seeming certainty in their control of their native plane. Nobody is certain as to how Rilmani are created, but many scholars have thought that when a Rilmani dies, a new Abiorach is created by the Aurumachs out of the rock of the Spire itself. The Rilmani themselves refuse to comment.

All Rilmani start as Abiorachs. Pulled from their native soil in the Outlands, they begin their existence in uncertainty, learning to live in the environment of the inner planes; extreme in fire, earth, air, water, and yet balanced both in the attitudes of most inhabitants and by the influence of the negative and positive material planes. This is the learning and training ground for the new rilmani. By reporting back to their superiors at the Spire, Abiorachs use both relayed orders and their own innate sense of the Balance to settle matters of concern in the Inner Planes. Much like children, the Abiorachs pick up on new information quickly, and are often enthusiastic, if uncertain in their duties. They instinctively sense the balance in the planes, but are not aware of how to correct the problems in the balance themselves. This is also one of two uncertain points in the course of a Rilmani’s life; if a new abiorach overreacts or oversteps its authority, it may be called back to the aurumachs, and forcibly turned into a Plumach, to live the rest of its life in the Outlands.

When an Abiorach has been deemed knowledgeable and able to act with less guidance, its Argenach and Aurumach superiors call it back to the Spire where it is transformed into either a ferrumach or an argenach. The jump to Argenach is reserved for those who exhibit exceptional ability in their reports, but are slower and more thoughtful in their actions. With the transformation comes a considerable power increase, often a surprise to the newly promoted rilmani. Those who become Ferrumachs are far more common.

Ferrumachs are far more confident in their abilities than Abiorach. Combined with the increase in sheer power, they take up their job as soldiers with considerable pride in their work. However, the major struggle that every Ferrumach struggles with is the tendency to lean towards order and law. Ferrumachs are orderly to a degree unseen in all other Rilmani, working together with military efficiency that is as much a blessing as a curse to them. Most Rilmani reaching this stage stay here for a long, long time. Ferrumachs can be promoted to Argenach status after a long term of Balanced service. On rare occasions, Ferrumach squad leaders are promoted to Aurumach status. More often, however, the orderly Ferrumachs are taken and shoved into an more demanding role: Cuprilach.

Almost all Cuprilachs have the militaristic training of a Ferrumach in their past, giving them the knowledge of fighting and tactics neccessary to a solitary assassin or spy. This is the hardest stage of life for any rilmani, for this is the one leaning towards chaos. Acting and working alone, with little contact with their superiors and indeed mostly allowed to roam at their own will, many Cuprilachs become either free spirits, roaming wild, or end up as near-sociopathic killers, choosing to spend all their time alone until the kill. Reports drift in to the Aurumachs when and if the Cuprilachs decide to send them, and getting them to return to the Spire, especially if it is for demotion to Plumach, is very difficult, though not impossible for beings with the Aurumachs’ level of influence. Advancement to the next stage of existance is the most extreme for the Cuprilachs. Those that perform well and survive for a long time are advanced to Argenach or Aurumach, a step up which is greedily welcomed by most Cuprilachs, allowing them the control over the Balance that they want. Cuprilachs who are particularly sociable and charismatic tend to be promoted to Stannach instead. Others whose work is not so well received are drawn back to the Spire and demoted down to Plumach for the good of the Balance.

Argenachs are the most calm and reserved of the Rilmani, indeed, picked for those qualities. Always in disguise, Argenachs serve in advisory positions on many a Prime world, be it in a High Council, or as a king’s trusted advisor. Argenach positions are almost always positions of minor authority, allowing them access to observe goings-on and report them dutifully to the Aurumachs with their usual quiet dependability. That is, until that quiet dependability turns upon whomever they many be advising. Crops are doing well, and the people are thriving? The Argenach advisor would say to raise taxes and splurge, knowing full well that three years of drought are coming up. Argenachs are dependable only in their service to the Balance, regardless of outward appearances.

Argenachs are almost always promoted to Aurumach after serving their time on the Prime. They are also one of the few types of Rilmani that have the choice to remain at their current level of status if they wish. Some Argenachs forfeit their turn as Aurumachs, preferring to drift into the relative safety and quietude of the Plumach rank. The golden-skinned Aurumach rulers are little known, except that they are reclusive, mysterious, and have their golden fingers in more plots and schemes than any ten yugoloths. The amount of information about the multiverse that they have available is nigh-incredible, all stored and recorded, some barmy travellers say, in thousands of golden mimirs.

There are few Aurumachs at any given time, but many spend a relatively short time in their position, a mere several hundred years. Cold and distant, the Aurumachs are moved only as the Balance directs. They also control the promotion and status of all other Rilmani, serving as an implacable control on the race of True Neutrality. Aurumachs work independently, never gathering as a council, but merely sharing all information and working on their individual projects, many continuing projects of the Aurumachs before them. Nearly all Aurumachs ‘retire’ to the life of a Plumach, though a few trickle back down through the route of Cuprilach, inevitably becoming Plumach after that.

Plumach is a dead end for any Rilmani arriving at this status. Plumachs are uniform in their attitude—don’t interfere with anything—but for very different reasons, depending on their route through the circular Rilmani power structure. Plumachs derived from Abiorach or Cuprilach stock are gloomy and stoic, for they were demoted for too much interference in the Balance. Those who were formerly Argenachs are the most reasonable and talkative of the lot, having chosen to become Plumachs rather than advance to the difficulty and responsibility of the Aurumach station. Former Aurumachs are cynical. They have, quite literally, seen it all. They are impressed by nothing, and scorn the politics and endless shifting of the multiverse. Any Plumach that goes beyond the Outlands without the permission of the Aurumachs turns into lead and crumbles away within hours.

Source: Skypti