Trala, the Hedonia

"Would the defendant please rise to the podium?"

A lanky, middle-aged man in handcuffs wearing a gray jumpsuit steps on to a podium. Despite his predicament, he carries a gentle smirk. The courtroom is packed with hundreds of executives from interastral holding corporations. This trial is mostly ceremonial.

"Sir, you stand here today on the account of 124 -different- felony charges on the primary account of the hijacking of the Eridani-1 blink-gate, the disruption of which has cost the shipping sector an estimated 1.3 trillion manna--not accounting for any needed repairs on the gate itself. How do you plead?"

"Before I make my plea, your honor, may I ask a simple question?"

There's a slight rumbling in the courtroom, but the judge speaks nonetheless.

"You may."

"Did I make you laugh, your honor?"

"Your crimes did not arise any-"

*The defendant wildly turns around to the packed courtroom, raising his chin and smiling wildly as he jeers:

"Did I make any of you fine aristocrats laugh?"

The courtroom erupts in anger in spite for a moment, before the judge's obsidian gavel comes down.

"Sir, would you plea-"

"Did I not strike even the slightest chuckle at the absurdity of our predicament? Not even a snicker at the collapse of our economy at the pull of a lever? Not at that absurdity?"

"I fail to see how this is-"

"Even the slightest bit of added joy makes my supposed wrongdoings justified, does it not?"

Shrieks echo throughout the courtroom as aristocrats weep for their bank accounts--once again, this is ended by the gavel.

"In what universe does that-"

The man recoils for a moment, looking apologetic:

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry, though. I've wasted everyone's time, as I already know that I've justified my crimes through the creation of joy."

"Wha-"

"Because I found it hilarious, your honor"

Trala, also known as the Joyseeker, or The Laughter, is the Numen of Joy. Trala inspires their believers to follow a path of pure hedonism, delighting in every moment of joy that life has to offer. They see the truth: that no knowledge, no great kill, no delectable meal can compare to the humor that life entails. Trala encourages their followers to enjoy the sharp turns of fate, savor the embarrassing failures, and delight at the bewilderment of others, because, no matter what happens, they will be laughing.

Trala & Mortals

Trala is wild and unpredictable in how they bestow power upon mortals, often bestowing it recklessly and seemingly without reason.

Trala will typically choose to bless lancers who pursue wild and hedonistic strategies in life and battle. He also favors those who follow reckless and hedonistic philosophies, or simply who he thinks it would be funny to bless.

Trala has been known to create harbingers simply for the sake of a laugh--such as blessing a worm and granting it fathomless knowledge, only for it to die instantly. Harbingers of Trala will usually blend in with other followers of the Numen, only enacting upon their great powers when a moment of delight can be achieved.

Follower Factions

"Tazarak is now just one, Turing is a fool, Cross has no sense of humor, and Linch is a lunatic! All the Numen are no fun. Trala is embarrassed, Trala is embarrassed..."

- Trala, as performed by an actor in the GCP.

The Great Cosmic PANTOMIME (GCP) is a travelling circus troupe that seeks to cause chaos and elation wherever they travel. They perform a magnificent play on their journey that tells a grand and ever-changing tale where the Numen are the primary characters. Through this work, the GCP typically insults and draws the ire of the entire pantheon of Numen, even Trala, though they simply find it hilarious. In the pursuit of their play, they typically invoke all kinds of chaos to draw a larger crowd, giving them a negative reputation to authorities across star systems.

Laughing Veils follow a more extreme understanding of the Hedonia than the GCP. They believe that life has no purpose other than to evoke laughter, and that nothing as any meaning other than the laughter it can provide. As such, Laughing Veils traverse the cosmic web, creating and obtaining as much joy as possible. Wherever they go, chaos and laughter follow, almost always at the anger of others. Most of all, they attempt to create change in the stagnation of reality. Usually Laughing Veils act alone, but, if they work together, nothing other than pandemonium is certain to follow.