Hi. I wanted to create a a simpler technique this time. To be honest, I didn't add a Reversal and a Hollow Technique because I had no idea what to add that would make actual sense.
The Four Stags of the World Tree
Cursed Technique Basics:
- Name: The Four Stags of the World Tree
- Type: Innate
- Range: Long Range
- Capabilities: Summoning, Offensive & Support
- Ability Summary: The wielder of this Cursed Technique can summon and control four unique Shikigami, which take the forms of mythological stags said to live biting the leaves of the world tree.
Description: Originally belonging to an ancient Sorcerer from Scandinavia that fought alongside the Angel during the Heian Era, The Four Stags of the World Tree technique grants its bearer the ability to conjure and control four different Shikigami that take the form of tall stags with branches in the place of their antlers, with each one of them possessing unique abilities but all connected to the winds in some way.
The four Shikigami and their unique abilities are:
- Dvalinn: Also known as "The Unconscious One", Dvalinn takes the form of a towering, albeit gentle deer-like Shikigami that exhibits sluggish movements and appears sleepy all the time. While being average when it comes to physical attributes, its true power lies in generating and manipulating the air usually into violent air currents or vortexes of rotating winds that can be used to attack opponents. The user has full control over this wind manipulation, so, even if the Shikigami falls asleep (something that happens often), its power will still be useful.
- Dáinn: Also known as "The Dead One", its appearance is that of rotting carcass, looking more like an undead curse rather than an elegant stag like the other three Shikigami. Like Dvalinn, Dáinn's power is also that of producing wind attacks but its attacks are considerably less destructive. However, Dáinn's winds are special, as they carry a powerful toxin that literally decays organic matter and causes necrosis on living beings if they're exposed too much to it. Furthermore, this Shikigami is the most durable of the four ones due to its physiology, despite being the one with the less physical strength.
- Duneyrr: Also known as the "Thundering in the Ear", Duneyrr is a towering stag with glowing eyes and antlers. It's the strongest and most destructive of the four stags (and thus the one that consumes the most CE), both in terms of physical attributes and its unique ability. Instead of generating winds, it has the ability to charge its antlers with electrical energy and shoot powerful lightning bolts. This Shikigami also has the ability to absorb electricity (both mundane and that created from Cursed Energy) using its antlers.
- Durathror: Also known as the "Thriving Slumber", Durathror is the smallest stag of the four with golden antlers, as well as the weakest of them physically, with its size not increasing no matter how much CE is used to conjure it. However, like the Ten Shadows Technique's Round Deer, its true utility isn't combat but healing instead. Like Dáinn, Durathror also produces weak winds, but, instead of toxic winds, its winds are naturally infused with positive energy that heals indiscriminately anyone in contact with them. By breathing these winds, their healing property becomes even more effective, reaching the level of even healing poisons and toxins (including Dáinn's toxin).
Similarly to the Ten Shadows Technique, the four Shikigami are summoned using hand signs and a chant (and dispelled at will), with the air/wind around the user working as the intermediary for the conjuration. On the other hand, the user already starts with full control over the four Shikigami without the need of any taming ritual, and their destruction only puts them on a one-day cooldown before the user can summon them again.
However, this greater starting power and no risk of permanently losing access to the technique has a severe cost, as this greatly limits the technique's versatility and potential compared to the Ten Shadows Technique, as drawing out the power of the Shikigami without conjuring them or fusing multiple Shikigami are feats almost impossible with this CT (with only three Extension Techniques being exceptions to this rule).
Finally, as a general rule, the more Cursed Energy is channeled to summon one of the stags, the larger and more powerful it will be.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extension Techniques:
Wind Slash: By using the Four Stags of the World Tree' strengthened Lapse while Dvalinn is summoned, the stag is forcibly awakened, causing it to become more active (to the point that the user finally can use it to directly attack others) and enhancing its wind power, but this isn't the true value of this Extension Technique.
By combining this extension with a Binding Vow that restricts Dvalinn's wind manipulation while the Shikigami is awakened, its wind attacks are dramatically enhanced, but, instead of the user having control over their form, they're shaped into surprisingly deadly blades made of air to slice objects and opponents alike. This Extension Technique was an attempt to mimic Sukuna's Shrine, created after the battle of this CT's original user against the Fallen One.
—————
Death Antlers: By activating the Lapse to summon Dáinn without manifesting it in a fully stable form, the user can partially conjure it, manifesting only its antlers instead. The antlers can be summoned from the user's body or any surface they're touching, with them being useful to pierce opponents. The more CE is used to manifest them, the bigger and more numerous the antlers will be (to the point that they eventually begin to look more like a tree than antlers).
Furthermore, the antlers are imbued with the same toxin found in Dáinn's winds, but more concentrated than usual, with being pierced by them having the same effect as inhaling the winds for a few minutes.
Lastly, this extension can be used even if Dáinn is currently on cooldown due to being destroyed.
—————
Thunder Chariot: By using the Four Stags of the World Tree' strengthened Lapse while Duneyrr is summoned, the Shikigami can redirect its antlers' energy to the rest of its body, using its electricity to greatly increase its speed and essentially allowing it to become faster the more electricity it has accumulated. However, while Duneyrr is in this enhanced state, it'll temporarily lose access to its ranged attacks, as all of its electricity will be redirected to enhance its speed.
—————
Healing Slumber: When it comes to automatic defense, the best example of this is Satoru Gojo himself thanks to his Six Eyes, but others reached some degree of automatic defense before him, with this CT's original user being of them through a few Binding Vows.
By limiting the time Durathror can remain invoked to just ten minutes per day and slightly reducing its usual healing capacity, the user will able to automatically draw out its healing power to heal themself anytime they're hurt, even if the stag isn't currently summoned.
However, the catch with this technique is that the user can only use it when they are unconscious and hurt. Fortunately, this extension also causes the user to wake up once they've been fully healed.
—————
Maximum Output: [Grand Tempest]: The Four Stags hold authority over the winds and, together, this authority is dramatically enhanced through this Extension Technique. By channelling the highest possible CE output while all the Four Stags are summoned, the user can create an extremely destructive miniature tornado by combining the four Shikigami's powers (that can reach the level of an actual tornado if the user is a Special Grade Sorcerer). The winds of this tornado lack any special properties, like Duneyrr's electricity, Durathror's healing, or Dáinn's toxin, but the tornado is powerful enough that these special effect aren't missed.
—————
Eikthyrnir (art by NasaychArt)
Maximum Output: [Eikthyrnir]: According to some interpretations of the myth, there was originally only one stag in the top of the world tree which had later been turned into four independent stags. By summoning the Four Stags at the same time while channelling the highest possible CE output, they'll fuse into the fifth Shikigami, Eikthyrnir, which takes the form of a gigantic stag, with at least twice the size of Duneyrr and particularly large horns.
Eikthyrnir is considerably stronger and more durable than Duneyrr and Dáinn respectively, but, instead of controlling winds, this Shikigami has the ability to generate and manipulate massive volumes of water from its horns, in a manner similar to the Ten Shadows Technique's Max Elephant. This water can be shot as a high-pressure torrent, released as a shapeless wave, or shaped into bubbles to imprison opponents for example.
Furthermore, this Shikigami's water also has the special property of counteracting the Cursed Energy of opponents, weakening hostile techniques and causing them to consume more CE than usual. This property is meant to be an altered version of Durathror's healing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum Technique:
World Tree's Avatar Yggdrasil: What is the ultimate expression of this Cursed Technique?
Is it merely the original fifth stag that originated the other four? Is it the four elements/directions that the Four Stags could represent? No, actually, on the myth, the Four Stags can be interpreted as a natural part of the plant they feed on, the world tree itself. This Maximum Technique was thus developed with this interpretation in mind.
By channelling an absurd amount of CE while summoning and fusing all Four Stags at once, as well as sacrificing all of their mobility and autonomy, a sixth Shikigami is summoned, known as the Yggdrasil.
This ultimate Shikigami takes the form of a gigantic tree with nine eyes on its branches, with it being incredibly durable and capable of regenerating itself from almost any damage that doesn't destroy all of its body at once.
Unlike Eikthyrnir that has an unique ability independent from the other Shikigami, Yggdrasil inherits the four unique abilities of the stags, but in an incredibly superior manner.
By controlling Yggdrasil's power, the user of this CT can manipulate the four types of winds that are wielded by the Four Stags (toxic, healing, electrified, or simply destructive) but in a vastly larger range, to the point that the user can even influence and control the weather within a range of approximately two hundred meters. They can create deadly toxic rains, thunderstorms, healing/poisonous mists, destructive cyclones, and other similar phenomena if the user is creative enough.
However, considering that summoning this Shikigami and actively using its power consume an absurd amount of CE, only a Special Grade Sorcerer would be able to properly use it in actual combat.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Domain Expansion:
Complete Domain:
- Leaves of the Branch of the World Tree: This is a lethal domain with a fully enclosed barrier and an independent space for it, usually taking the form of the interior of a hollow branch of an absolutely gigantic tree, filled with smaller branches and leaves. In addition to all the default properties that are expected of Domain Expansions, this domain is contantly windy, with the user having the ability to cause these strong winds to mimic the unique abilities of one of the currently summoned Shikigami. The omnipresent winds within its effective range can be electrified using Duneyrr's power, can become toxic using Dáinn's power, or even can be strengthened to crush opponents using Dvalinn's power.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------