[ENG] The Path of Balance
The Tearing of the Flow
They lived bound to the Flow, like all Vortigaunts of their time.
They used it.
They listened to it at times.
But never did they truly probe its depths.
The Vortessence was then a familiar current, present and silent, answering the call without demanding judgment. It flowed steadily, indifferent to the intentions of those who drew from it.
Then came exploration.
Driven by curiosity and the need to understand, Nep Ah-Ta and several of his kind ventured deeper into the Vortessence than any tribe before them.
They no longer settled for the surface of the Flow.
They sought its deeper currents, its silences, its tensions.
They accepted the risk of becoming lost within it.
None can say whether the Vortessence then blessed the tribe…
Or put it to the test.
For something changed.
From that moment on, their actions were no longer without consequence upon the Flow.
The Vortessence no longer responded solely to will or mastery, but to the moral intent of the one who called upon it.
Some discovered that exploiting the weak, that using the suffering of others to grow stronger, drew them into an unknown region of the Vortessence.
A powerful depth.
Unstable.
Voracious.
The more they took, the more this aspect of the Flow shaped them in its image.
Nep Ah-Ta was among the first Vortigaunts engaged in this exploration.
To him, this event was neither a blessing nor a fate, but the consequence of collective recklessness.
Each had sought individual gain within an exploration that should have remained shared.
Thus, the balance was broken.
The Flow was divided.
Morality now influenced one’s connection to the Vortessence, and its teachings, once unified, were scattered.
While his peers turned toward radically opposed philosophies, domination, surrender, predation, or asceticism, Nep Ah-Ta sought to bring them together.
He tried to restore what had been lost.
Balance had to return.
He gathered as many Vortigaunts as possible and set out to pass on his knowledge.
For under this new affliction, his teachings allowed them to remain on a known and controlled facet of the Vortessence: a natural, stable, preserved practice.
Some aspects had become inaccessible, sealed by the Tearing.
But Balance, itself, could still be maintained.
And as long as it endured, the Vortessence would not be entirely lost.
"We have been reckless, we have been cursed, we must restore balance."
The Path of Balance
Nep Ah-Ta sought to rally the Vortigaunts back to the fundamental practices that once defined them.
Though his goal was to return to a state predating the Tearing, the morality of his followers remained pragmatic:
the survival of the clan was the absolute priority.
Eat if necessary.
Kill if necessary.
Protect if necessary.
Two clans had formed, evolving at opposite extremes of one another.
Nep Ah-Ta’s goal then became to reunify these two clans, both born from the divergent teachings of Kra’thral and Tek’qui.
The task would be difficult, but not impossible.
Time would be the key, as would the intervention of an actor external to the tribe, as foretold by Nep Ah-Ta’s prophecy.
The Powers of Nep Ah-Ta’s Followers
The powers that define the followers of Nep Ah-Ta’s teachings are those of the Vortigaunts before the Rupture.
They could use the Vortessence to enhance their muscles, their speed, and deepen or amplify their existing abilities, such as energy projection, capable of reaching a lethal level for any living being.
They mastered their energy management, expending less Vortessence for maximum efficiency in their rituals.
They could also manipulate electromagnetic waves for disruption or optimization, for example, to interfere with enemy communications using radio frequency systems.
They could disorient their prey through illusions.
Nep Ah-Ta’s followers were versatile Vortigaunts, nearly complete.
However, they could no longer use certain abilities to protect themselves, heal, or soothe their peers, nor amplify their offensive powers for hostile purposes.
Thus, the followers of Nep Ah-Ta are considered the least affected by the Rupture, although they have lost access to some of their unique former abilities.