#mwaaah

THE COVEN THE COVEN THE COVEN THE CO

Aight y'all finally got a good ol chunk done so enjoy !!

Guardians of Sodor, shortened to GOS,

is a darker reimagining of our beloved TTTE, intended for an older audience. In this universe, the familiar faces we know, were once ordinary human railway workers. They lived normal lives, worked on railways across Britain and beyond, and had their own families, fears, ambitions, and identities long before arriving on Sodor. Their lives changed after coming into contact with an ancient substance known as Mordant. However, Mordant does not target everyone. It awakens only for certain individuals and adapts itself to reach them through their surroundings. Once inside the body, it begins a painful and irreversible transformation, rebuilding the person into something no longer human. Guardians are enormous, exceptionally strong, unnaturally heavy, and capable of surviving injuries that would normally be fatal. Their bodies reflect the locomotives they are connected to, affecting their height, build, strength, and physical traits. The transformation also drains much of their natural pigmentation. Their skin becomes desaturated into grayscale tones that still vary depending on their original complexion. Despite their altered appearance, the Guardians are not emotionless creatures. They still laugh, argue, grieve, become embarrassed, form friendships, and remember the people they once were. However, the older a guardian becomes, the more likely they’d forget patches of when they were human. Under extreme physical injury or emotional distress, a Guardian may enter a dangerous state known as Mordant Bloom. Their humanlike appearance begins to break apart, black cracks spread across their bodies, Mordant leaks from beneath the skin, and their limbs become clawed and inhuman. Think of it as Mordant literally expanding and shattering out of their body. Blooming is an emergency response meant to keep them alive, but it places them in a severe fight-or-flight state. During it, they may struggle to recognize others and can become dangerous even to those trying to help them. Returning to their normal form can take hours, days, or longer depending on their size and injuries. The Steamworks serves as both a repair facility and a medical center for the Guardians. Victor and his assistant Kevin arrived on Sodor during 1920 for this au. Sir Topham Hatt stands at the center of the larger mystery. He knows more about Mordant and the Guardians than he admits, and he believes their suffering is justified by what they provide for Sodor. To him, they are the foundation of a perfect railway—powerful, enduring protectors whose sacrifices serve a greater purpose.

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What is Mordant?

Mordant is an ancient, adaptive substance buried beneath Sodor. It is not ordinary matter, nor is it truly alive in any recognizable sense. It lies dormant until a specific person draws near, then reshapes itself to suit their surroundings, waiting for an opportunity to enter the body. Once inside, Mordant begins an irreversible transformation. It rewrites flesh, bone, instinct, and strength, binding its host. Although the process creates extraordinary endurance and power, it also permanently alters the body and leaves Mordant woven through every part of it. Even after the transformation is complete, the substance never disappears. It remains beneath the skin—quiet, watchful, and ready to surface during catastrophic injury or distress through a Mordant Bloom. Mordant is also the complete opposite of Lady’s Gold Dust. Gold Dust represents warmth, restoration, life, and balance. Mordant represents coldness, distortion, survival, and forced change. Where Gold Dust heals and awakens, Mordant corrupts and rebuilds. The two substances cannot comfortably exist near one another; prolonged exposure to Mordant weakens Lady and causes her genuine pain. This is one reason Lady is rarely seen on Sodor. The island is saturated with something fundamentally hostile to her existence. And although she may be capable of resisting it for a time, every visit comes at a cost.

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