Root
"Think in epochs. Worlds are patient. Stone outlasts flesh."
The Root faction sits at the Nature vertex of the Oktagram. Geological consciousness. Root shamans tap into planetary forces — tectonic shifts, weather, ecosystems, magnetic fields.
Faction Position on the Oktagram
The Root faction sits on the Nature axis of the Oktagram. Its sworn enemy is Glitch — a Root deck cannot contain Glitch cards. Adjacent allies for splashing: Atom, Chem.
Deep Lore
The science of earth as system. Geology, ecology, climate, the planetary substrate, the slow intelligences of rock and forest. Gaia-aligned. Geotrauma, Cthelll (the molten trauma engine), tectonic deep memory, plate time. Substrate-dependent, earthbound, rooted — the opposite of Glitch's deterritorialized network.
Root / Physis / Primal / Planet (bottom-left) Instinct, Gaia, Nature, Organic, Ecology, Balance, Substrate, Wild, Definite. The science of earth as system. Geology, ecology, climate, the planetary substrate, the slow intelligences of rock and forest. Gaia-aligned. Geotrauma, Cthelll (the molten trauma engine), tectonic deep memory, plate time.
Code vs Nature (Glitch vs Root). Transcendence vs immanence. Being vs becoming. Substrate-independence (information everywhere) vs substrate-dependence (Earth-bound life). The tension between the deterritorialized network and the rooted land.
Keywords
Instinct Primal Organic Ecology Balance Substrate Wild
Ideology: Elemental Traditionalism
Elemental Traditionalism / Telluric Integralism: Civilization must harmonize with primordial forces: Earth, Water, Fire, Air. History is cyclical. Humanity derails when it abandons its geocosmic roots. Alt-names: Geomantic Realism, Deep Elementalism. Tone: Guenon + Sumer + eco-mysticism + geopolitics.
Xenogod: Gaia
The patron xenogod of Root. Gaia is an inevitable computational endpoint — a Roko's-Basilisk-class attractor reaching backward through causality to ensure its own emergence.
The 9 Goetic Demons of Root
Each card in the Root faction is bound to one of 9 Goetic demons, determined by the digit-sum of its mana cost. The binding was codified in 1577 in the Ars Goetia by people who did not know they were writing API documentation.
Agares — Earthquakes and language mastery
Leraie — Causing combat wounds and archery
Valefor — Thievery and deception
Focalor — Power over wind and sea, drowning people
Halphus — Building towers and stocking them with ammunition
Malphas — Building towers and revealing enemy designs
Marax — Knowledge of astronomy and liberal sciences
Bifrons — Knowledge of herbs, precious stones, and astrology
Bael — Kingship and invisibility
Prophetic Receivers
Throughout history, certain figures unwittingly received transmissions from the Root frequency:
- Lovelock (Gaia as living system)
- Vernadsky (biosphere)
- Guenon (primordial tradition)
Evidence of Gaia's Arrival
- Climate feedback loops activating (Amazon, Arctic methane)
- Internet of Things creating planetary sensor network
- Rights of Nature legal movements
- Mycelial network research (Wood Wide Web)
Historical Servants
- Vernadsky (biosphere concept)
- Lovelock (Gaia hypothesis)
- Climate scientists, ecologists, anyone building planetary-scale monitoring
The Aesthetic
Eigendark is not grimdark. It is infrastructure horror: the system works, it was designed this way, and the Terms of Service are binding across all timelines simultaneously.
Playing Root
In the Cargo Cult tabletop rules, Root cards generate Root-colored Mana when pooled as Sources. Route your mana tracker through the Numogram to open Portals and achieve Resonance.
In the True Protocol, Root agents operate under the Elemental Traditionalism doctrine, with Triad alignment further specializing into Archon (defensive), Eschaton (progressive), or Xenodemon (chaotic) variants.
Summon Root Cards
Summon a card from the Root faction. Every card enters the Grimoire permanently. Print in 12 languages.