Some Lore

Lore Overview
Our story begins a long, long time ago, around the year 20 000 A.S.T. (Ante Sanctum Tabula - Before The Holy Board), prior to gnarliness being worshipped and when Man was still ruled by the dark ages of mundane transportation methods…

Alas, it was during this epoch the isolated but thrill-seeking civilization of Bowltown was forever changed by the impending march of progress: the great youth had received visions of a bold new mechanism called "the wheel". This invention, combined together with a simple curved wooden board, shaped the first ever skateboards to exist. The populace quickly embraced these relics into their culture and, according to legend, some heroes were even blessed with dreams of tricks so bold the skies would roar with ecstasy and reward Bowltown with bright suns and fertile lands. The earth would shake with contentment and winds would whisper “Two to make it true…” whenever these other-worldy stunts were bravely landed. The people could only imagine it was all a part of a greater being's plan, the work of a God who cherished adrenaline junkies and gravity defying feats. They later called this God Sess,  short for “session”, to honour how this entity chose to illuminate the way for stunning skateboarding sessions.

As centuries passed and the daring tricks became legendary,  Bowltown exponentially evolved into a skateboarding haven - each building was constructed with the second purpose of offering dope grinding spots, high ramps and deep bowls to be explored and absolutely slayed by the population.  Every so often, devoted followers of Sess would engage in a ritual called The Festival of the Steep Drop, which involved a high-speed procession honouring the deceased ancestors and thanking Sess for His blessings. During said event, the followers would drop off a giant ramp built upon a valley - the Steep Drop -, where the deceased were laid to rest, placed on top of their respective boards. It is said apparitions of the island’s ancestors would make themselves known, utilizing their rides to accompany the daredevils challenging the Steep Drop.

Even so, no pavement is without its bumps and no skate session lasts forever… In the dark year of 180 A.S.T., a plague unexpectedly arrived at the island and soon grew to infect most of its inhabitants. Victims of this plague fell into a weakened state, a former shell of what they once was - they became pale, grew fangs and, worst of all, sought nothing but to consume blood of the innocent and convert new followers into their mindless rampage.  The population, struggling to fend for themselves, hid away from metropolitan areas, abandoning their skateboards and hope… These “vampires”, as they were called by the frightened civilians, seemingly hated skateboarding, as they were observed destroying skateparks and defiling spaces of worship to Sess. For 180 long and tragic years, the people prayed for salvation, with no answer to come.

However, in 0 A.S.T., in the secret refugee camp of Badbail a child was born who would forever alter the skateboarding web of fate. Birdie had the stunning natural ability of riding a skateboard as soon as he had left the womb. Even more, people gasped in awe at the sight of what appeared to be magic emanating from Birdie’s body whenever the child landed a trick… As he grew, his skateboarding skills were unmatched, displaying unimaginable feats. The remaining community’s holy advisers now understood Birdie could only be the son of Sess, although this is a subject of much speculation… Regardless, in a incident where Badbail had been discovered and attacked by vampires, Birdie showed how powerful his tricks truly were - through the skillful combination of stunts and known vampire deterrents, he managed to slay the pesky vampiric invaders, something thus far unprecedented. After said event, Birdie gained a following and dedicated his life to teaching the survivors deadly tricks in order to regain back control of Bowltown.

But betrayal was amidst… One of Birdie’s noobiest companions, Judas, accidentally got infected with the curse sweeping the population. He was consumed by the disease and kept it a secret long enough to gather a group of vampires to capture  Birdie. For days, Judas drank blood from Birdie’s ankles so he did not have the strength to use a skateboard and fight back. Finally, the fiends caught Birdie and crucified him to a giant cross made out of two skateboards, displaying both their supremacy against their enemies and their hatred for skateboarding. Was all lost?? Nope. After 3 days recovering from his ankle injury, Birdie quite literally said “Sike”, bolted out of his tomb, rallied his followers and with the invaluable knowledge of always wearing ankle protection managed to cleanse the infection and exile (all?) the vampires from Bowltown.

For years to come, the island managed to rebuild its structures and return, in some sense, to normal. Nonetheless, the majority of the population forgot their gnarly ancestry, dismissing the knowledge of the deadly tricks which had once saved the island from certain doom. Only a few worshippers of Sess continuously passed down this mastery for generations to come, which became progressively fragmentary…

It is now the year of our board 2 000 P.S.T. (Post Sanctum Tabula - After The Holy Board) and, as you may know, the little devilish bats have come back to haunt and destroy what they could not millenia ago. I fear for what is to come… But I believe you, Father Lucious, now fully grasping the importance of the mission which you have been entrusted with, will not fail your ancestors and your people.

Main Character - Father Lucious:
After centuries of a long and harmonious period of peace, the filthy vampires have decided once again to disrupt the overworld and attack Bowltown. Little do they know, the remaining Sess’ worshippers have been preparing for this new wave of evil, having developed a secret weapon so unbelievably dope they had to burn a lifetime supply of incense to control its aura. This holy smite is the vampires' worst nightmare, represented in a single agent of both faith and style; a warmonger priest they call Father Lucious “the Gnarly”.

Not much is known about the early life of Father Lucious, but some say his paternal progenitor was a respected priest who had secretly and fanatically spent his life researching the “Vampire Incursion" of 180 A.S.T.. This priest sought a solution for his infertile, childless state and believed ritualistic blood magic could be applied to create new forms of life, similarly to what the vampiric creatures did to multiply their numbers. This occult ambition led him astray, turning to the dark arts to uncover the lost tomb of a vicious vampire queen who had ravaged entire villages during the Incursion. With the rise of the powerful skateboarders like Birdie, she had escaped and entombed herself with her army of foul beasts somewhere in Bowltown, only to be re-awaken centuries later by this power-hungry priest… This vampire queen, this corruption-inducing and faith-weakening demon, whose name should not be spoken to avoid the wrath of God Himself, is referred to in the old scriptures only as… Karen.

After the other priests found out about the second coming of Karen and the traitorous acts of her new minion, they sought to exterminate them both with swift might. However, they were nowhere to be found when the Grips of Faith arrived at their supposed hideout. In their place, only a newborn riding a small cross, bathed in blood and holy light… 

This babe would become none other than Father Lucious who, due to his unusual birth circumstances and natural abilities, was taken in by the worshipers of Sess, growing fast and learning both the gospel truths from his fellow faith followers and the coolest flips from his favourite urban skate legends. Later in life, Father Lucious was given the title “the Gnarly” due to the absolute ease with which he performed the sickest of tricks.

Important Event - Festival of the Steep Drop:
Every so often, devoted followers of Sess would engage in a ritual called Festival of the Steep Drop, which involved a high-speed procession honouring the deceased ancestors and thanking Sess for His blessings. During said event, the followers would drop off a giant ramp built upon a valley - the Steep Drop - where the deceased were laid to rest, placed on top of their respective boards. It is said apparitions of the island’s ancestors would appear in their rides to accompany the daredevils challenging the Steep Drop.


How can vampire-killing skateboarders increase their power?
Boards of the Dead: “Boards of the Dead” refer to the boards which used to be buried alongside Bowltown’s deceased in the Steep Drop valley. Unbeknown to the general populace, the skateboards’ decks would absorb and preserve some kind of life essence from the perished trick-makers. Worshippers of Sess later discovered that using these magic-infused boards critically enhanced the abilities of the riders, a key breakthrough for fighting the Vampire Incursion. 

Lost Scrolls: The Lost Scrolls were once the main basis through which Sess’ worshipers passed along knowledge detailing how one could defeat vile creatures (such as vampires) by maintaining the utmost faith and performing the most daring of skateboarding tricks.  These scrolls were firstly written by Birdie’s followers, based on the astonishing feats he performed to vanquish the Vampire Incursion, consequently becoming a heirloom of sorts for the future generations of daredevils. However, as the name Lost Scrolls suggests, these were not looked after in the most attentive of ways… Some were lost, some were misinterpreted and discarded as instruction manuals (something the Bowltown’s populace did not particularly care for), others were supposedly destroyed in storms and disasters, but most were simply forgotten and now rest in solitude.  Fortunately, some dedicated groups of believers have taken up the mission of recovering and learning from these scrolls. The best example would be the Grips of Faith, who venture where little dare to and return the scrolls to their rightful place - the churches of Sess.

Grips of Faith - The force fighting vampires:
Small group of war priests dedicated to following the teachings of Sess’ son, Birdie, mainly by studying the scriptures of the Lost Scrolls. These priests also seek out relics of old, like the famous Boards of the Dead. Later in life, Father Lucious became one with the Grips of Faith.

Vampiric Transformation:
Not much is known about the causes of vampirism, but the effects on its victims are clear: they succumb to a weakened state, becoming pale and growing sharp fangs so they can quench their never-ending thirst for blood. On the other hand, these fangs also allow the spread of the vampiric infection - vampires seem to be able to transfer some of their own blood into their victims, thus corrupting and converting them into vampires.

Scholars believe some instances of vampirism are even characterised by monstrous physical transformations and a mindless rampage of rage and animalistic impulses, possibly due to the consumption of large amounts of blood in a short period of time. If this behaviour is prolonged, then the creatures can permanently stay in this frenzied state, ravaging everything in sight.

Nonetheless, it has been observed that certain deterrents can be used to keep these foul creatures at bay - garlic, sunlight, holy water, silver and stakes, just to name a few…