The personified beings are a particular type of recurring character that are not bound to one particular world, so this post is mostly a record of their appearances and an explanation of the parameters I set for them in my settings. I realize that I am not the only writer to create a type of personified being, and I am also probably not the first to lay out particular parameters for them in my multiverse. At some points, I’ll add more details about other creatures that cross settings, like the deonyt (“deh-o-neet”).
The personified beings are unique entities who travel between worlds. They have indefinite lifetimes with the ability to grant indefinite lifetimes at will. The indefinite part means that they have no idea how long they will live and if they can die; they could live for only a few days, or forever. This lifespan comes with the price of being controlled and dominated by that which they personify. As long as war exists in a world, the personified being of war can exist in that world. If war is gone from a world, the personified being of war must go to another. As soon as war no longer exists in the multiverse, war will cease to exist as a personified being (this would essentially mean their death).
Here are a few examples taken from Raja (draft form):
“Destruction is filled with an undesirable urge to leave everything in ruin. He must destroy all that anything creates. Creation is impossible for him as destroying is his fate.”
“Strife is locked in constant battle. His internal demons each struggle for control. None of these volatile combatants have any obvious purpose, other than combat and desire for control.”
The personified beings each have two forms: a released, uncontrolled form, and a form that resembles humans. The form resembling humans gives the being the most self-control. They are obviously still held by that which they personify, but they have the opportunity to develop their own personality, which could include characteristics separate from that which they personify. This is only as long as those characteristics do not contradict what they personify. They will never be free, but they can have the appearance of being human. Their sanity and quality of life in this form all depend on their individual ability with self-control (and on how strong that which they personify is in the particular world they are inhabiting at the time).
The released form is when they are the most dangerous. It is when they have lost all control, which causes them to fall to the mercy of that which they personify. They become overwhelmed by it, to the point of temporarily losing any individual characteristics from the human form. While in the released form, they have a very different appearance that depends on that which they personify. However, the released forms do have certain characteristics in common. For example, there will be a strong energy and an intensity in the air. Often there is an explosion of colors, faces, and voices in an amorphic existence. The form appears uncontained, often nearly non-corporeal. Sometimes they can be forcibly hidden in a cave or underground area. Anyone within a certain distance from them will feel on edge, usually with this feeling becoming stronger if they move closer to the released form. The personified beings can still communicate with the outside world, just without any self-control in what they say or do. In this form, they are entirely under that control of that which they personify.
There are two ways for them to leave the released form. First, that which they personify may become weaker in whichever world they are in. This causes their released form to lose energy, which causes causes the possibility for the individual to break through (and forcibly return to the human-resembling form). The other way is for an outside being, such a powerful mystic in the [World of the Mystics] to use some sort of power to force a control over them. This is rare, and extremely difficult. For a mystic, for example, it would take at least a decade (probably more) from their life.
The personified beings are affected by the status of that which they personify. For example, if War appeared in a world that had nearly eliminated any form of war, then he would grow very weak. This is also the only known way to kill a personified being: to entirely eliminate that which they personify from the multiverse. They would suffer death by ceasing to exist. It would not be a dramatic, painful suffering. Instead, their existence would suddenly cease.
For another example, if Strife appeared in a world with fighting conflict, and distrust everywhere, then he would become overwhelmed to the point of either becoming extremely powerful, or extremely dangerous in his released form. If he entered that world unprepared, or from existing in a weakened state, then he would be forced into his released form. This would only provide strength and uncontrollability to that which is personified. In other words, Strife entering that world, and being forced into his released form, would create more strife in that world.
Each personified being takes the name of that which they personify. It is possible to have more than one being personifying the same thing, even though this is extremely unlikely. A soul can become a personified being after dying, but only if their death is because of that which they personify, and is their life was greatly impacted by it. Even then, this is extremely rare because the personified beings themselves are extremely rare.
Personified Beings that have appeared in my writings:
Strife (various, mainly Raja (draft) and Storyteller (unpublished))
Chaos (various short stories, unpublished)
Death (various, mainly Raja (draft))
Destruction (various, mainly Raja (draft))
Sacrifice (various, mainly Raja (draft))
War (various short stories, unpublished)
Poison (various short stories)
