Persona
Contents |
Overview
The depths of the mind are strange and wonderful, holding within it a million gods and demons. Each of us goes through life, adopting different attitudes and actions based on what challenges we face and people we interact with. This is a 'persona', a mask we wear to conceal the real self from the hardships of the world. Few of us possess the courage and self-confidence necessary to do otherwise.
But in the world of Persona, it becomes even more important, as these masks we wear also give us power. Supernatural forces lurk on the edge of perception, the people of the world unaware of the horrors that can prey upon them without notice or the catastrophes that wait to befall them.
Those who have realized the power of Persona are capable of summoning up these masks in more than just theoretical form, the figures of myth and legend manifesting with them, just for a moment, to lend their power to the wielder in the form of supernatural effects. Conjuring fire and ice, healing wounds instantly, or bringing to bear incomparable force are all well within the abilities of these people, and it is up to each of them to decide how they will use that power.
Will they use that power to protect others? To build and guide? Or will they use it for self-gain, or perhaps even to try to destroy everything?
That is a choice only they, and you, will be able to make...
Nature
A Persona is an archetypal construct formed in the mind. As each person has a unique mind, a Persona that comes from them is often similarly unique to them. A Persona is almost invariably based on some entity of mythological or legendary importance, as befitting their nature as cultural archetypes themselves. There is no restriction on culture, gender, age, or race on what form it might take, though as classic mythology has more 'weight' in the unconscious minds of humanity, it is far more likely that someone would manifest Hercules instead of, perhaps, Superman. The first Persona someone manifests is inevitably one that matches the essence of their personality.
Gaining a Persona
Every sentient being can possibly carry a Persona within them, but few have the strength of will required to overcome their fears and darkness to the point that they can summon one forth. However, some people are closer than others. Those who have this Potential eventually express themselves in one of many ways. Some follow occult rituals. Others seemingly play a game which is rumored to call a Persona forth. Some seek within themselves, confronting their darkness and gaining that power through enlightenment and acceptance. Some even turn to artificial means, through invasive neurosurgery or the use of specialized tools to call them forth. All methods have their own dangers, for the power of the mind and heart is not lightly unleashed. Those who cannot control their Personas can often cause untold harm on themselves and their surroundings... Possibly even resulting in death.
The Game
The Persona Game is something on the level of an Ouija Board in terms of pop culture occultism. It consists of a group of people walking around the outside of a bounded space (usually a room of some kind) and trying to call out to or invoke a Persona. The game is rumored to cause your future self to appear, but usually it just makes those participating look silly. Other variations might include more ritualistic or occult trappings, but the essential core is the same.
Sometime after the game is played, the player has a dream in which they meet a man named Philemon, who asks a question. If they answer correctly, they gain the potential to summon a Persona. The question is, most commonly, "Who are you?", but the actual question is not the important thing. Philemon is looking for an answer to a question which demonstrates a high level of self-awareness and a firm grip on one's own identity. Should one answer it correctly, Philemon grants them the Potential, the ability to awaken to having a Persona later on in their life. If they fail, the dream ends, and they never see Philemon again.
When someone with this potential enters a life-threatening situation, the emotions and fear wrought by the event can cause the manifestation of the Persona. From that time forward, the new Persona-User can call their Persona up with an exertion of will. However, this is not the only method to gain the use of a Persona...
The Evoker
Another method of summoning a Persona involves the use of a special piece of equipment known as an Evoker. These devices are extremely rare and difficult to manufacture due to their components and cost. SEES and the NWO have the resources to manufacture these devices, but Strega also has several. The Evoker most commonly looks like a handgun, which is placed to one's head. When the trigger is pulled, the object fires a bolt of energy which suppresses the personality of the Evoker's user and allows their Persona to manifest for a short time. Evokers operate by using fear, stimulating a mind-numbing response in the user that is similar that which causes a 'natural' Persona User to Awaken. Other designs for Evokers are possible, but the 'gun' design has been tested to be the most effective due to the inherent fear response in putting a gun to one's head and pulling the trigger. Those who use an Evoker to summon their Persona cannot actually summon them by pure force of will, requiring their Evoker any time they want to use their supernatural abilities.
The Abyss
Beneath Tartarus, the tower that stretches up into the skies in Tatsumi Port Island during the Dark Hour between one day and the next, there is a secret. The Abyss of Time lurks there, calling to those with deep regrets--and those touched just enough by the supernatural to hear its call. To such an individual, a door may appear, and a chance to traverse a landscape behind the Desert of Doors that may be that individual's own past. Once there, there is a choice--and to one without a Persona, this choice may be a chance to choose between understanding what could have been, or asserting one's choices in the now. Those that stand by their choices--or, put another way, those who blind themselves to the possibilities of time's alternate flows--may gain the Potential to summon a Persona, though this power will require the use of an Evoker to be drawn forth. Once granted, such an individual keeps that power much like anyone else who can Awaken in the Dark Hour, with all the benefits and detriments thereof.
The Shadow and the Truth
Within the fog of the Midnight Channel, if they are not killed by the roaming Shadows they will eventually come to face their own Shadow. The Shadow gleefully exposes that which they deny and attempt to hide from other people. The Shadow knows everything the person does, and has no restraint in using that knowledge to cause emotional distress and embarrassment. Several things can happen during the confrontation, however. If the person accepts the Shadow, yielding to it immediately, they will survive, but the Shadow will gain control, causing the person to become a Shadow-Possessed (see Shadow). More commonly, however, the person denies that the Shadow is them. This enrages the Shadow, causing it to grow into an extremely powerful form and attempt to kill the original in a rage. Should the original die, the Shadow is left to roam the Midnight Channel forever, joining the others before them. But should the Shadow be defeated, and the person then acknowledges the shadow as a part of them, then the Shadow begins a symbiotic relationship with the person, becoming a Persona itself. The new Persona-User can then summon up the Persona just as a natural Persona-User would.
The Experiment
Some advanced scientific methodologies can allow someone to temporarily or permanently gain the potential to summon a Persona. However, such methods are inevitably dangerous, and frequently result in the new Persona-User having problems controlling themselves... When they survive the operation at all. They often are forced to take suppressant drugs to keep the Persona from running wild, and those drugs have terrible side effects, including a shortened lifespan. Other, less dangerous methods developed by the NWO allow for repeated injections and other treatments that allows one to gain the Potential to a point where they can then be summoned up by Evoker. This method is much less dangerous, but side effects have not yet been fully examined at this time.
The Long-Nosed Fortune-Teller And His Masks
Fortune-Telling is used for many people, often as a method of entertainment, but for many others it used as a method to make important decisions. Sometimes, an life-altering choice is asked of the person seeking the fortune. This is the nature of the Long-Nosed Fortune-Teller.
Those who find this fortune-teller speak of persistent dreams of drawing something out, personal transformation, or becoming something more. Many, though not all, speak of great life crisis.
Some rumors speak of him at a booth at high school culture festivals, but most meet him in some lonely part of Okina City's endless shopping district where he has a table set up like a street vendor. Upon his table are spread three masks one of a smiling face, another of an angry face, and finally one of a crying face. In a patient, formal voice, he speaks to the customer. Those who ignore him never see him again.
To those who speak to him, he speaks of knowing their dreams, explaining that a great power could awaken within in them, if they allow it. Donning the masks, he warns that this power will not necessarily bring them fame, fortune, or love and like his masks, it more likely it will make them unhappy than happy, but no matter what, they must always remember that the choice to accept the power was theirs and how they use their power is their responsibility as well.
Regardless of their decision to accept or deny such a power, the customer usually wakes up somewhere else later, often in their bed, but sometimes on a train or even in class, unsure if what they experienced was a dream or not.
For those who rejected the power, they continue their lives and the strange dream soon fades from their memory.
For those who accept the power, they have undeniable proof of their meeting: a Tarot card with of their Arcana and the image of their Persona. When held in their hand and named, their Persona comes forth. This is their power, and their responsibility.
