Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 There is a world that overlaps ours; its timeline runs alongside ours. The difference lies in those breeds that are not quite human, not quite mortal, not quite... us. From the formless, elementals to the human sorcerers of the le Coire family, they are the denizens of a world that is just a little darker than the one we claim as ours. I got this idea from a couple of novels by the author, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. This will take place in modern times, let's say late 90s. It will take place in, say.... Concord, Massachusetts, a quite part of America with a good bit of history. Anyways on with explaining the world. @.@ Note: The Explanation will be broken up into multiple post due to the size of the required explanation of the world. Prepare for a long read. Lunar Vampires The Lunar vampires are Siete’s creations. They are ageless, possessing enough of the elemental power to render them almost immortal... but they must maintain their mortal forms by feeding on blood. The term "lunar vampire" applies to all the descendants of Siete: his eight fledglings, and all their descendants. Siete himself is not a vampire; though he does share some traits in common with them, he is not held to all the rules of their existence. On the Physiology of a Lunar Vampire A lunar vampire is, quite simply, a dead body, animated by immortal power, and sustained through stolen mortal power. The heart does not beat. The cells do not divide. Hair and fingernails do not grow. On the other side of the equation, the cells do not die. Hairs and fingernails do not break, unless the vampire wills it. In this way, a lunar vampire is a complex collection of particles, held together by consciousness, like iron filings attracted to a magnet. How many of these particles actually match the original body varies by age. However, a vampire subconsciously remembers his "true" form, and thus maintains it without even intending to. Over time, the mortal, physical power that is the vampire’s body begins to dissipate. When a vampire feeds, the blood that is taken in does not go through the stomach and intestines. Its essence is used in the formation of the body, a raw rearrangement of matter, instead of the messy process of conversation that is human digestion. A lunar vampire who goes without feeding will slowly lose physical form, until he reverts to pure consciousness, which will dissipate over time unless restored to a body. The most common way to kill a lunar vampire is by destroying the heart. Why, if the heart is not needed for blood circulation, will its destruction kill the vampire? The power that animates a lunar vampire is from a fire elemental, and hence is bound in blood. The center of blood is the heart, so that is where the power rests regardless of what that muscle did once upon a time. In most vampires, putting a knife through there is enough of a rude shock to the power that it gets disassociated from the body. In others, it takes the complete destruction of the heart, and occasionally magic, to kill. In a very few, it takes even more, because they are more thoroughly saturated with power. Provided he held still for the procedure, you could probably rip out Silver’s heart without killing him. This is where the "take the heart, take the head, burn it all" idea comes from... some of them simply don’t die until the last of the blood is gone. Why the head? Because it is very difficult to concentrate without a head, which makes it very difficult to stop the person who is trying to burn you. There are traits and abilities that all vampires share. All vampires have the ability to move instantly from place to place, dissolving their mortal forms for a moment in order to travel. All vampires have the ability to sculpt their bodies, though most only do so unconsciously. Only a very few very powerful vampires can change their forms completely. All lunar vampires naturally have black eyes, though again, some of the more powerful can mask that telltale sign with illusion. Due to the nature of their power, a lunar vampire’s body is not cold; the average body temperature for their kind about one hundred degrees, slightly above a normal human temperature. Lunar vampires, both male and female, cannot breed, though both are fully physically functional- again, the mind controls the body, so the body does what it expects to do in response to stimuli. The process by which a human being is transformed into a lunar vampire is well-known: the vampire drinks the human’s blood, and then the human drinks the vampire’s. The drinking of the blood weakens the human system enough that the vampiric power can take over; in order to weaken it so substantially, the human needs to be at the brink of death... but not quite there, since they need to be alive long enough to drink the vampiric blood. If the vampire does not take enough blood to kill the human, the survivor will end up tainted but not changed—usually, bloodbonded (see essay on bloodbonds). The quantity of vampiric blood necessary for the change depends on how powerful the vampire is. Also, the more blood is given to the new fledgling, the faster and easier the change will be. The act of drinking blood, in itself, has nothing to do with the change. The same result could be achieved through a transfusion of vampiric blood into a host dying from other causes. All that is truly necessary is death, in such a way that the host body is not too damaged to accept, and be accepted by, the vampiric power. Generally, humans who are nearly but not quite fully physically mature make the strongest and healthiest vampires. A ten year old who is changed will remain, physically, a ten year old forever. I agree with the popular theory that children made into vampires probably won’t survive mentally. Their brains weren’t fully developed when they were changed, and what’s there is trapped in a body that isn’t mature, so it seems a setup for failure. On the other hand, once the body has fully finished maturing (in humans, this happens around the late-twenties, mid-thirties), it becomes nearly impossible to change that human. The body will die rather than accept the intrusion of the parasitic, immortal power. Once changed, the amount of power a vampire has is controlled by two primary factors. One is the ability to hold power, which can be considered like conductivity- the amount of “juice” that can be in the body at a time. The other is the willingness to acquire power. Mortals who have with both traits very strongly are rare. Some lines, like Silver’s, are based on the fact that each person who was changed was able to carry and control a great deal of power. What gives someone this conductivity? Some of it comes from mental strength. Previous exposure to similar power also helps. Ather was a shapeshifter, Aubrey had worked with other elementals and witches, Moira had been a witch. Fala was one of those humans who was very focused, in addition to having worked with a fire elemental named Lashandra during her pre-vampire days. Jager... I don’t actually know about, since he hasn’t told me his history. I am sure it is fascinating. He is probably the one who taught the rune to Risika.On Humans Bonded to Lunar Vampires As previously mentioned, sometimes a human, given vampiric blood, is not changed but bloodbonded. Usually, this is intentional; very rarely, it occurs because a somewhat under-educated vampire didn’t do all that was necessary to change the human. The creation of a bloodbond is far simpler, and less physically stressful for vampire and bond, than actually changing a human. The vampire still needs to take blood from the human, but only enough to create a connection- so, a very small amount, less than you would give in a regular blood donation. The vampire also needs to give blood, but again, only enough to infect the still-living human system with its power. The exchange does give the human some minor vampiric strengths, but the primary change is the creation of a powerful, nearly unbreakable mental bond. Due to the vampiric blood they were given, bloodbonded humans will not age, though for slightly different reasons than full vampires. Here we get back into biology. The bond’s cells divide and use nutrients just like any human, at least for a while. What doesn’t occur is the cellular breakdown that causes humans to visibly age. The body retains its original form, each cell replicating perfectly, living and dying perfectly... unlike in we true mortals, where the growth and death of our cells occurs imperfectly, leaving flaws and eventually causing marks on our skin, weakened muscles and bones, and finally organ failure. For this reason, bloodbonds can and must do everything that regular humans do. They need food and water, warmth, etcetera. They also can breed. However, if their master is strong enough, and they (the bloodbond) are old enough, they may also start to need bloodmeals, as well. At this point, the body begins to stop aging, and to in effect "freeze" the same way a regular vampire’s will. In short, the human power eventually does begin to die out, and over the course of many thousands of years, the bloodbond may become close enough to a true vampire to make the distinction difficult. There are only two ways to break a bloodbond: through the death of the vampire, or through magical means. In the former case, it is unfortunately very likely that the bonded human will die as well, as she has no mental block between herself and her master, and will likely experience his death- something that will almost certainly throw her body into shock, and possibly cause outright cardiac arrest. However, if she survives, the vampiric infection inside her will eventually fade. The amount of time that takes will depend on the strength of her master, and the duration of the bloodbond, and may vary from a few months to a few thousand years. Some Macht witches (the Smoke line being most likely to try), and certainly Triste witches, are able to break a bloodbond. For Macht witches, it is a very difficult and potentially dangerous procedure, though if done within the first hours of the bond, it is usually fairly effective. For Tristes, it’s a piece of cake... kind of literally, since they can feed on the vampiric power... but joking aside, it is a fairly simple flex of their power, provided they are strong enough and have enough control to break the bond without alerting the vampire and getting killed, and without killing the human accidentally.On the Culture and History of Lunar Vampires The first thing to remember about vampires is that they were born human, and their minds are human. The patterns of their thoughts are still primarily human, though altered somewhat by the predatory impulses that come with the blood. The blood defines them as solitary hunters, but the mind defies them as creatures of society. In order to discuss the culture of lunar vampires, one must begin by addressing the five lineages. Siete, the higher Nyeusi who created the vampires, has created through the course of his life eight fledglings; three of them, including Kalika, Renaei and Jazlyn, never changed anyone else. The remaining five include Silver, Mira, Kendra, Akka and Katama. Each line uses its power a little differently, and may have slightly different abilities- ie, Katama’s line is the only one able to dreamwalk- but the personality notes below do not come from the blood itself. The different characteristics of the five lines come about from how the fledglings are chosen, not from some mystical change in the brain that occurs when the blood is given. Silver’s line usually chooses its fledglings for potential power, and often for the desire for power; that, combined with the fact that Silver is the strongest of the five progenitors, is why the vampires of Silver’s line are the strongest. Mira’s line is generally peaceable, passive, and in modern time involved with Single Earth. They aren’t likely to change people they think will turn into killers, or train new fledglings in how to kill. Kendra herself was an artist, and is still a lover of beauty. She is also more than a little mad. Hence, her fledglings are much the same way, either from their own lives, or through their less-than-gentle interactions with her. Akka’s line is the only one strongly influenced by the blood itself. Shortly after Akka was changed, which was also shortly after Christianity started to gain power, she ran afoul of a Triste, who decided to instill her with certain weaknesses... I’m sure you can guess. Finally, Katama... Katama’s line was the first ruling line of Nyeusigrube. Katama changed her sisters Jeshickah and Acise, and the second generation (the trainers) was entirely hand-picked and changed by Jeshickah herself. You can refer to Midnight Predator for further discussion on how she chose them. This group of eight individuals founded Midnight, the empire that ruled Nyeusigrube- the vampires, shapeshifters and witches- with a set laws that revolves around the concepts of ownership and free trade, property and territory. Katama’s line only grew larger after the fall of Midnight, when another group rose from the ashes of the empire, restrained and hence partially defined by a new set of laws (Mayhem’s). This younger group is often referred to as the Market Circuit, though some very brave few dare to call it Xeke’s line... though even the bravest wouldn’t do so in front of any of Midnight’s trainers. Though Silver’s line has some of the oldest vampires in it, they did not choose to work together until the late sixteen hundreds, when they founded Mayhem. Silver’s line banned the slave-trade, and gradually began to gain power. They lost much of their support in the early 1700s, when Mayhem burned, but rallied and held enough political power in 1804 to take control and keep Midnight from regaining control after it was destroyed. Since then, Silver’s line and New Mayhem has been considered the ruling line of Nyeusigrube. They do not attempt to keep control over the witches or shapeshifters, but enforce a few simple laws, such as blood claim. In the last hundred years, Midnight’s followers have again started to gain power, enough so that there are rumors that another coup is in the making. Many groups, especially among Kendra’s and “Xeke’s” lines, mix and match from the laws of both lineages, trying not to violate either side’s dictates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Tristes Introduction to Tristes Though they are commonly called witches, "Triste" is not one of the Macht lines. Tristes are not mortal; they are nyeusi, descendents of Zadre through Triste herself. Despite the term "witch," they have far more in common with vampires. They are ageless, and incapable of breeding mortally. They also must feed on mortal power in order to survive. Where they differ from vampires is that their bodies remain alive (more or less), and that they have conscious control over the flow of immortal and mortal magics. A Triste is, prior to initiation, extensively trained in the manipulation of his own power (mortal and immortal), and that of those around him. A Triste has very fine control over his own body, to the extent that he can consciously control his heartbeat and body temperature, and even the electrical impulses of his nerves. When injured, his body will normally heal at a human rate, but with concentration he can accelerate that healing past what even a vampire is capable of. This ability to manipulate auras is the most crucial skill a Triste learns. By either fanning an aura beyond its normal weight, or draining power from it, a Triste can affect someone's physical health, state of mind, thought patterns, or emotional intensity. Altering the exact shape and flow of an individual aura can heal physical wounds, or change lust to hate or fear to physical pain. A tiny thread of power can calm a heart attack- or cause one. This same manipulation is what allows a Triste to feed. Unlike vampires, Tristes do not have to physically take blood into their bodies in order to take the mortal power from it. Powerful enough Tristes do not even necessarily need to touch their prey, though skin to skin contact makes feeding easier, and aligning any two power centers (see the next section), such as clasping hands (palm to palm) or holding a hand over the heart or throat, is best.The Decigram: Ten Power Centers, Senses and Auras The symbol of power used by most Tristes is the decigram- a ten pointed star. This symbol represents the ten senses, ten power centers, and ten auras, which are the basis of Triste magic. Students study to master each sense, each power center, and each aura. Power centers are the areas of the body where it is easiest to penetrate someone's aura (including one's own) in order to manipulate that person's personal power/magic. The five power centers most commonly worked with by Tristes are in the palms of the hands, between the brows (the third eye), at the throat, and over the heart. Others are located in a straight line down the body. These power centers, or Chakras, are not only valuable to Tristes; many other magic-users, including some Macht witches, also utilize these hot-spots. The ten senses are defined slightly differently by individual teachers, but in general they are Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste and Smell (those five, I'm sure you know), Life (the ability to sense the base power of other living creatures), Mind (telepathy, mind-reading and influence), Farsight (the ability to see beyond the current location), Foresight (a rarer skill, the ability to see before or after the current time), and Aura (the most crucial of Triste abilities, the ability to read the currents of power given off by a living creature). Auras are the layers of power that encircle a healthy, living creature. Different layers echo different physical, mental and emotional states, so affecting those auras will affect those states. The Corporal Aura is what most of us consider the physical body. Tristes consider this physical form just a manifestation of mortal power; manipulating it is what allows them to heal (or harm) themselves or others. The Elemental Aura rests just beyond the skin, and can be considered the "potential" aura. This is very weak in most creatures, but stronger in shapeshifters of all types, as this is where the additional forms are "stored." Triggering this aura can force a creature to shapeshift, while suppressing it will make it impossible for them to do so. The Life Aura extends perhaps a foot beyond the body, and is what most psychics manage to see. It is highly reflective of the varying powers a person has, and their life experiences and personality, almost like a psychic fingerprint. Manipulating it in others doesn't make much of a difference, but a Triste's ability to alter this aura on themselves is what allows them to masquerade as other breeds without detection from vampires or witches who are capable of reading auras. The next aura, which some teachers would call an extension of Life, is usually referred to as Power. If the individual has psychic ability, this aura will be stronger. If it is too strong, and overwhelms the surrounding auras, the individual may drown in his or her own power- psychics who cannot turn off visions, for example. Obviously, this aura is stronger in creatures like vampires, as well. When vampires throw power at each other in order to fight, this is what they're tossing around. The Health aura hovers about two feet off the skin, and acts very much like a protective shell. While this aura is strong, it is difficult for others to manipulate any of the auras within it. However, the health aura deteriorates rapidly in the face of exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, illness, or other physically damaging states. Just beyond is the primary auras of Emotion and Mind. These auras are rarely of equal strength, and in some people one may be significantly stronger than the other, but once they have reached their balance (whatever that is), tampering with them can be devastating. People with powerful Emotion auras tend to be empathic, while people with powerful Mind auras tend to be more intuitive. Tossing power into someone's Emotion aura (or deadening the Mind aura) will make him frazzled, obsessive, prone to panic attacks and temper tantrums, and completely unable to concentrate or problem solve. Dampening the Emotion aura (or overworking the Mind aura) will leave someone unable to form or recognize emotional attachments, while their mind works at a frantic pace, unable to rest or come to a conclusion. The last three auras are referred to as the Red, White and Black auras. These are the auras that reach out the furthest, and when strong, can actually be sensed even by untrained humans. The Red aura reflects intense, obsessive emotion- lust, need, hate. The White aura is more tranquil- love, peace, acceptance. The Black aura reaches out the furthest, and strengthens in the face of fear and pain. If you have ever walked through a hospice or funeral home, and come away feeling like the air clung to you and made you heavy, you walked through the stains of others' Black auras. If you have ever been in the presence of a powerful spiritual leader, or walked through a church, and felt calmed just by being there, then you were affected by a lingering White aura. Felt uncomfortable just being in the presence of newly-weds (even if all they're doing is looking at each other), or sitting between two angry people (even if they aren't shouting)? That's the Red aura.Triste Poisons, and Firestone Triste blood is poisonous to vampires. The Firestone- a creation of Triste witches, which is also poisonous. What these two things have in common is that they are both containers for the Triste power, which will feed ravenously on other power with which it comes into contact. The more similar the power is, the easier it is for the Triste power to feed on it. Firestone is a distillation of Triste power, bound into glass or crystal. It is transparent red in color, with veins of gold; the stronger it is, the more gold. It is most often forged into some kind of blade, but threads of it can also be woven into rope or wire, or set into jewelry. It can only be broken or otherwise shaped by a powerful Triste. Red (the weakest) firestone can limit a vampire's a ability to heal, and weaken them. Though it is not as poisonous to shapeshifters and other nyeusi, it will create wounds that will scar a shapeshifter or Macht witch. Firestone reacts slightly differently around purely human power, such that wounds made with firestone on humans heal faster. Gold (pure) firestone is instantly deadly the moment it touches vampiric blood. Small wounds on shapeshifters and Macht witches can be incapacitating, and major wounds heal more slowly than those from a regular blade, so wounds that otherwise might not have been fatal, may be. Gold firestone is powerful enough that it's not healthy even to a human being. There are of course levels between these two, of many varying strengths. Few Tristes are capable of making firestone, and even fewer can make gold firestone; even if they can, it is a very draining experience. Firestone is therefore valuable for its many uses. Aside from Tristes, the person who is known to have used it the most is Jeshickah, who wove firestone wire into the poppers of some of her whips (Jaguar and Gabriel do the same thing) and firestone thread into much of the rope she uses, so the would be as effective against shapeshifters and vampires and witches as they are against humans, and would allow the humans she works with to heal a little faster to keep them from dying. Firestone set into rope or chains, or resting against a vampire's skin, can make it impossible for a vampire to transport. There are other, less generic uses for firestone, as well - you might think of them as spells. Instead of raw power, firestone can be imbued with a particular will, with the intention of for example affecting a specific aura. One such example was a necklace given by a Triste to a disloyal lover's "other woman" (whom he married), which chronically drained energy away from the emotion and red auras, leaving the wearer devoid of any drive or passion until finally she killed herself. After the woman's bereaved husband also passed away, the "garnet" necklace was put up to auction at the estate sale and came into the possession of the Madder family. Triste blood in itself is actually just blood, identical to human blood. However, as the elemental power is bound to the blood, most of the time when a vampire drinks a Triste's blood he gets a good bellyful of its power, too - which is the "poisoning" that can lead to weakness or even death. It doesn't help that most Tristes who allow themselves to be fed upon use it as an opportunity to feed upon said vampire; especially with his blood in a vampire's veins, a Triste can drain raw power far faster than the vampire can drain blood. It is, however, possible for a strong Triste to restrain his magic and allow a vampire to feed without being poisoned. If the Triste is willing, he can even allow just enough magic into his blood to make it a powerful or even drugging meal. Most vampires would never trust a Triste to do this, of course, and most Tristes would not trust a vampire at their throat for that long without exercising some kind of magical control over them. After all, a vampire is still strong enough, and fast enough, that at that proximity they could break a Triste's neck before he could fight back.Training and Initiation Unlike others (vampires and shapeshifters), a human cannot be changed into a Triste without at least some level of consent and participation. The change itself is very physically strenuous (deadly, actually), and someone without intense training in physical and magical self-control will not survive it. Even if he does, he will then be unable to feed or otherwise maintain his own body. Many students are chosen because they already have some talent: human witches and psychics and untrained (or sometimes trained) Macht witches are most favored, though shapeshifters also have some innate control (through their ability to shift their own shapes). However, more important than latent ability are a sharp mind, rigid self control, and a good deal of physical endurance. The actual method of instruction varies from teacher to teacher. Some are gentler than others. A more strenuous, pitiless education is more likely to produce a stronger Triste, but it is also more likely to trigger insanity, aneurysms or spontaneous heart failure. Depending on the methods of the teacher and the aptitude of the student, training may take anywhere from six months, to several decades. A longer period of time increases the likelihood that the student will survive training, but like among lunar vampires, there is a relatively narrow window of time - late teens, early twenties - when the body is most malleable to invasion by the parasitic, immortal power, so a student who survives three decades of training may then be too old to survive initiation. Only after a student has mastered the necessary skills can the initiation - a massive transfer of power between the student and his teacher, enabled by some kind of blood ritual - take place. Again, different teachers have different rituals, some with higher or lower fatality rates, and prone to produce more or less powerful results. Due to the commitment of time and power, most teachers guard their students well, and are quick to retaliate against anyone who threatens them. However, since successful training is rare and even some who survive initiation do not live through the first couple years, Tristes in general are uncommon in Nyeusigrube, with only a couple dozen known to exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Macht Witches A Macht witch is one of the mortal descendants of Vida’s three daughters, and their initiates. There have been six major lines of Macht witches: Vida, Smoke, Light, Arun, Queitch and Marinitch. Vida, the first Macht witch, was the daughter of Macht and a human man. Vida The Vida line originated nearly thirty-thousand years BCE, with the birth of Vida. This was the point in time when the higher Nyeusi first gained their powers, and started playing around with them- and with humans- so this also happens to be when the first vampire (Kalika) and the first initiated Triste (Aric) were created by the twins Siete and Triste (see their essays for more details on that). The only important fact for right now is that Vida had an older half-sister, Kalika. Their father was the leader of their village, a seer of sorts, a wise man or shaman or whatever you care to call him. Kalika was to have inherited his position, but living at the center of the newly-powerful Nyeusi’s playground ruined her plans somewhat. Vida- spurred on by her lover, Aric- made a play for power, and Kalika was driven out, to live or die as Fate willed, in the desert. Naturally, someone who was hated by both Macht’s child and Triste’s first initiate interested Siete greatly, and he decided to try his hand at playing god- and he changed her. Several years later, Kalika returned to her village, and argued with and finally killed Vida, failing to realize until after she had done so that Vida’s daughters were looking on. Kalika fled, and that is when the Macht witches come to power. Vida’s three daughters grew up with, quite naturally, a passionate hatred for demons- which is what they considered Kalika, and incidentally, Aric as well, since he abandoned their mother to face Kalika. They vowed to be strong enough to protect themselves and their people, and so began studying fighting with their bodies, minds and magic. They trained humans in the same tactics, binding them with blood-oaths and sharing the magic they had inherited from Macht in that manner. For quite a long time, there weren't that many vampires- they didn't really get to breeding until Mira (3000 BCE) and then more seriously with the creation of Kendra's line in 432 BCE- and so these descendents of Vida could more accurately be considered mystics and warriors than vampire hunters. They were the leaders and protectors of their people, and defended against the natural and the supernatural. Smoke At around 5000 BCE, some of Vida's "descendents" decided there were far too many fighters around. The Vida laws urged them to use their abilities to protect others, and the new group, led by Evelyn Smoke, reasoned that killing things wasn't exactly protecting them. So they shifted their training to focus specifically on healing, and wrapped their magic up in vows saying the would protect and heal and never do harm. Among other things, these vows enabled them to travel in otherwise unfriendly territory; you could be certain that a Smoke witch would help, and would never be an assassin or even spy, since it would be contrary to her beliefs. Light Except, of course, not everyone has faith in the kindness of others. In 3500 BCE, a Smoke witch known as Cyrinka Light was traveling in unfriendly territory when she and several of her students were taken hostage. Vida laws say you must never bargain with your enemies, and must never endanger all your people in order to protect a few... especially a few sworn to pacificism, who might not thank you for slaughtering people on their behalf. So the captured healers were left to fend for themselves. Turns out their captivity wasn't in the land of peaches and cream, and they decided that they had a right to their own lives, and to protect their own lives and freedom. Of course they were not trained to fight, like Vidas, but they had their magic, and they forced it to work for them. The Light Line, begun in this way, still favored peaceful measures first, but believed a certain amount of force was appropriate in some situations. In addition to their healing abilities, members of the Light line are also powerful pyrokinetics- firestarters. One of them is suspected as partially responsible for helping Kaei burn down Mayhem. The last of the Light line was Lila Light, who lived in Vieton with her husband, Peter, in the late 1600s. When Lila was killed, her husband fled with their twin children, who were never recovered by the other Macht witches. Arun The Light Line was not the only group of healers that ever rebelled against the strict non-violence policy taught by Smoke Witches. In AD 430, Middy Smoke was called to heal a bloodbonded human. Many others cautioned against it, but she was determined not to let die a woman who had asked for her help. In the process, she infected herself and her daughter, Ardiente, slightly with the vampiric power. When the vampire who had bloodbonded the girl returned, and discovered a witch there, he jumped to the conclusion that she had come to kill him and his bonds-- and killed her. Ardiente originally attempted to join the Light witches, but it was decided that she was a little too... aggressive... for their beliefs. She founded her own line, known as the Arun line, because she believed that while healing skills were important, they were best used on your allies- and fighting skills were best used on your enemies. While the Light line was primarily healers with fighting skills for self-defense, the Arun line consisted of hunters with strong healing abilities... at this point in time. A few generations later, things got complicated. Needless to say, if you get a new vampire-hunting line, you are going to end up with some new annoyed vampires, as was the case with Jade Arun. In 1338, during the most famous of the plague outbreaks in Europe, the child Jade Arun was orphaned. Jade was taken in by an Egyptian traveler called Nai, and together they left the city, and lived together at the edges of civilization for several years. Unknown to Jade, her foster mother was actually a solar vampire. As Jade grew older, Nai distanced herself in order to keep her Jade from learning that her new mommy was a vampire, but stayed near enough to keep a protective eye on her adopted child. The solar and lunar vampires generally hate each other, and the lunar vampires certainly hate the Arun witches, so perhaps it isn't surprising for one that Silver and Nai quarreled, or that Silver chose Jade as his target for vengeance. By this time, Jade was an adult and had a daughter. When Silver and Nai fought, Silver retaliated by kidnapping Nai’s ward's young child... in the process informing Jade of her origins, how her parents had died, and what Nai really was. Jade tracked down the other hunters in hope of getting help, and they gave her the summary of her own family history. She was reunited with the other Macht and Arun witches, and they went to try to rescue Jade's daughter. The rescue attempt did not go well. Not only did it not work out, but Silver attempted to blood-bond Jade. Lucky for the Arun line, it already had enough of a taint, which had been passed down for generations, to reject the bloodbond. Not so lucky, the line's vampiric link was strengthened. To this day, all Arun witches are partially tainted. Arun witches are faster and stronger than other witches, heal faster, and are immune to things like bloodbonding and even intentional changing - no accidents, as happened with Sarah. However, though most of them would deny vehemently that the vampiric taint affects their personalities or instincts, Arun witches tend to be hot-tempered- and on a rare occasion, though none would ever admit it, they feel the bloodlust. They don't need to feed, and most of them never do, but... I specified "intentional" for a reason. There are ways to wake that vampiric side. Many hunters do not trust Arun witches, but they'll usually work with them out of necessity, since the Arun line hunts very well - both natures agree with that calling. Also, orphaned Arun witches will be taken in by their Macht kin. They're still considered witches, and therefore, their own kind protects them. Queitch The Queitch line is a single familial line. One of the Vida families began studying methods to enhance sight and knowledge. A couple of them were wildly successful enough, in 1900 BCE, that a friendly vampire you might know as Silver decided to transport the whole group of them out of the way (he was in Europe at the time) to what we now consider Mesoamerica. They were allowed to stay with the Azteka, who respected them as other magic-users, but after a couple generations they were kicked out again as their prophetic abilities became strong enough to unnerve those around them. Kahlan Queitch and her infant daughter were the two Queitch witches who were driven out - the last of their line. They survived for nearly twenty years on their own. Kahlan died of a snakebite, and her now no-longer-an-infant daughter, Moira, angered some humans and was nearly sacrificed via the removal of her heart. She and her new friend Fala wreaked bloody vengeance and now you know that story. Marinitch The Marinitch line is descended from the Light line, specifically, from Mara Light, who was Lila's sister. After Lila was killed, Mara fled with her human lover, who was something of a magic-user himself... a shaman, specifically. They had two sons, Eric and Raini. Raini went on to continue the line, after Eric was kidnapped by Pandora, trained as a Triste, and then turned into a vampire by Kendra. Evolution Until Modern Day At one point in time, there were many more Macht witches than there are today. However, as the blood was diluted, the children of Macht lost the ability to pass their magic on in any way besides bearing children, and so the lineages became far less prolific. Vida’s blood-descendants continued to carry magic, but many of the descendants of those the three daughters had taught lost their power. Their numbers were further ravaged by centuries of human Inquisition, which destroyed countless numbers of Macht witches and shapeshifters, while leaving the vampires and Tristes relatively untouched. By the middle of the second millennia, there were only a few Macht families that still had strong magic. Then came Midnight. Through the centuries of Midnight’s rule, the numbers of Macht witches swiftly lessened. By the time Midnight fell, only the Vida, Smoke, Arun and Marinitch lines were left. The first three had all became to single family lines; the fourth remained in hiding almost until modern day. In modern day, there are still sometimes Macht witches born to seemingly human parents. The trait is carried like a severely recessive gene in much of the human population, in people who descended from those to whom Vida’s daughters granted power. However, the number of trained witches in the three major lines has reached easily countable numbers. In modern day, Dominique Vida is the matriarch of the Macht witches. Her surviving relatives include her nephew, Zachary Vida, a niece-once-removed named Kyla Athal Cobriana Vida, and her two daughters, Adianna and Sarah. The Smoke line includes Hasana Smoke, her daughters Diana and Caryn, and two Smoke witches born of human parents: Samuel Francisco, and his son, Isaac. The Arun line was nearly ended by the death of Lee Arun (born 1914). One of Lee’s daughters, Nicole, refused to follow her lineage or teach the path to her daughter, Mildred Elizabeth Arun. Lee’s other child was changed into a vampire and subsequently fell on the knife. Lee’s younger sister, Charlet, had been born without magic; her two daughters, Megan and Elena, were the same, as were their children. However, after three generations without power, each family had a child with magic- Gabri Arun, and Michael Arun. Elizabeth and Gabri have both been lost to the vampires, leaving Michael Arun as the last of the Arun line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Elavie Introduction to Elavie History and Physiology The title Elavie applies to many different breeds and cultures in Nyeusigrube. Some groups willingly use the term; others would refuse to acknowledge any kinship with other Elavie or other Nyeusi in general. For the purpose of this essay, “Elavie” refers to all breeds whose ability to shapeshift descends, directly or indirectly, from the higher Nyeusi called Leben. Leben is the child of two higher Nyeusi, Siete and Cera. He was born approximately 18,000 years BCE; the many experiments he has performed throughout his life are responsible for the near-dozen Elavie breeds. His earliest successful experiment led to the creation of tiger shapeshifters in 10,000 BCE in what is now China. Other Elavie include (in, as best as is known, order of age) the Desmodus; wolves; serpiente, shm’Ahnmik and avians; lions; cougars and leopards; Azteka; Pakana; foxes; Rajar; and osprey. Beyond the ties formed by breed, shifting environments and events have led to the rise and fall of alliances and empires, including but not limited to the Mistari, Wyvern’s Court, the Shantel, and the Allied Felis Elavie (see essays on cultures and organizations). Cera’s relationship with Siete was an unlikely union with an even more unlikely result: Leben is the only Nyeusi whose lineage propagates through both immortal and mortal means. This advantage is considered the most pertinent reason behind the fact that elavie are the most commonly found mortal/immortal crosses in Nyeusigrube, even though elavie are the only nyeusi who ever “recover” and revert to pure mortality. An elavie's human/mortal system continues to recognize the immortal power as an invader throughout his life. The mortal power usually lags in strength when its body is fully mature, which accounts for the sometimes hundreds of years during which an elavie may cease aging; eventually the immortal power starts to lose its hold on the body, at which point aging begins again at a human rate. More frequent shapeshifting increases the body’s reliance and hence connection to the nyeusi power, increasing the lifespan. On the other hand, elavie who are raised human and never shift show very little distortion with regards to the rate of aging. Elavie can interbreed with other elavie, with humans, or with Macht witches. When two elavie breed, the dominant elavie gene will alter the coding of the lesser, instead of allowing it to linger as a recessive gene. The only exceptions are in the rare cases of co-dominance (such as cobra and hawk) or where other magics interfere (falcon crossbreeds). Human genes on the other hand act co-dominant to any elavie gene; depending on the exact cross, a child may even be born who carries a recessive elavie gene but shows only human characteristics (see essay on elavie genetics for more). The children of Macht witches and elavie will inherit the Macht power as they would from a Macht/human pairing, but the elavie genes will also be inherited as they would be from an elavie/human cross. Blood-to-blood contact between a human and an elavie will begin a process much like the start of a viral infection. Depending on how severe the exposure and how virulent the strain, the human immune system may completely overcome the elavie “infection,” even possibly forming a future immunity. If however the human system is overcome, the elavie infection will not only take over the body, but will alter the cellular structure of the host, including genetic information. Past that point, an infected individual will appear biologically identical to a born elavie. He will also pass on the elavie genes to any future offspring just as a born elavie would. Humans with recessive elavie genes are almost completely immune to infection by other strains, though simple magics or a severe blood transfusion from a same-breed elavie may bring the recessive genes to dominance. The individual traits of elavie vary from breed to breed, and even between individuals. Shapeshifting is, of course, the most common denominator. Most elavie have two forms, a human form and a second (animal) form. Some, like the Azteka, naturally have multiple animal forms (jaguar and quetzal), and some crossbreeds may also exhibit multiple forms (children of falcons and outsiders, for instance, almost always end up with blended traits). Many shapeshifters also have the ability to take blended forms, though this transition is much more difficult for elavie with any human blood, and by modern day is almost exclusively seen among royal lines that have remained relatively "pure." Blended forms may include shifts as severe as the avians' Demi form (wings on a human form), the growth of fangs or claws, or even something as slight as the alteration of eyes or skin tone. The more subtle the change, the harder it is to achieve and hold, so many cultures regard this ability as a sign of strength (Mistari) or in some cases even divine favor (Desmodus). Beyond the ability to shapeshift, many elavie also exhibit secondary characteristics, usually related to their animal forms. Serpiente and Rajar are cold blooded even in human form, whereas in human form the average avian body temperature is 129 F. Avians are also hollow-boned, and during adolescence, they grow feathers in their hair, usually at the nape of the neck. Breed-specific traits may also be personality-based, such as the Pakana's intense need for physical contact with others of their own kind. Some of these traits may fail to develop in children who are raised human and never prompted to shapeshift; for example, serpiente and avians who do not shapeshift frequently in the early years of childhood may never develop the ability to do so, as their bodies grow in a normal human manner and fail to develop properly to accommodate such a vastly different human form. Among other breeds, especially the cougars, hyenas and wolves, even a child raised in absolute ignorance will eventually shapeshift instinctively- often with disastrous results, either directly (harm to the elavie's self, or loved ones) or indirectly (a decline into depression caused by deception, or institutionalization by the self or others). One of the most frightening threats, to any elavie, is the possibility of becoming lost in one's animal form. Most of the time, if this happens it is caused by a severe shock, or intense fear or pain that drives the human mind to hide behind the animal one. More rarely, the animal form is overused due to its convenience when human accommodations cannot be found, or when there is not enough food to feed the human form. Either way, eventually the human mind can erode, leaving a shell of an animal without the full, balanced instincts of an animal, or any sense of human morals or compassion. These feral elavie almost always eventually become dangerous and destructive. Once an elavie has become violent, recovery is unheard of. Even in the cases where intervention occurs early enough, recovered feral shapeshifters often fail to perfectly regain their human tendencies. The ability to speak is most frequently lost.On Elavie Breeds There are, in modern day, thirty-one distinct breeds of shapeshifter. These include four types of falcon (gyrfalcon, peregrine, aplomado, merlin), nine types of serpent (white viper, cobra, taipan, viper, python, red rat snake, black rat snake, emerald boa, mamba), two breeds of Azteka (jaguar, quetzal), four forms of avian (hawk, crow, raven, sparrow), two breeds of fox (arctic and red), three types of Rajar (spotted eagle rays, manta rays, and moray eels), tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, wolves, hyenas, osprey, and fruit bats. The four falcon breeds are collectively called the shm'Ahnmik; they have existed as a single empire, under the falcon Royal House, for several millennia. The Ona, Empress, rules without question. The nine serpents are collectively referred to as the serpiente; excepting the white vipers, they have followed the royal line of the Cobriana since their inception. The ruler is called Diente; his/her mate is called the Naga (female) or Nag (male), and the heirs have the title of Arami. The white vipers, Maeve's kin, most often belong to a group known as the Obsidian Guild. The four types of avian follow the royal Shardae line, the hawks. They are led by the Tuuli Thea (queen) and her alistair (consort). The jaguars and quetzals of the Azteka are led by their priests and priestesses of Malinalxochitl, who are also often called bloodwitches, and the tecuanime, a group of high-ranking traders. The two types of fox, collectively called the Vulpes Elavie, live in individual dens each consisting of ten to fifty members. Each den is led by its Yahto, the (always male) single individual whose responsibility it is to remain aware of happenings in the outside world, and protect the den from human (and other shapeshifter) encroachment. Life inside the den is very restrictive, with very few rights granted to individuals, and even fewer to women. The Rajar live exclusively around the island known as Devil's Lantern. They are the only type of elavie that was animal first, and given by Leben human forms. Their numbers swelled during World War II, when a boat full of Japanese, fleeing persecution and internment in America, was storm-tossed up on the rocky shores of Devil's Lantern. The thirty survivors moved onto the island, and later began to mingle and later intermarry with the inhabitants. The tigers form the majority of the Mistari, another long-lived culture stretching in some form from the tigers' origins in China to modern day in Africa. The lions' civilization in Africa fell to invaders shortly after they received their second forms. Since then, they have mostly been nomads, subject to the leadership of the lands they visit. The cougars and leopards are both native to the Americas, specifically to an intermixed group of native people and European settlers. The wolves originate with the nomadic tribes of early northern Europe. For most of their history, they have been known for their well-traveled ways and their far-reaching trade. The hyenas, or Pakana, have as a culture split and recombined many times throughout their history, with the end result that none of their people know their kind's origins. Pakana are unique in that they are intensely drawn to other Pakana; even those who are human with recessive Pakana genes will instinctively prefer the company of other Pakana to humans. The Desmodus existed as a single nation for several centuries, ruled by three kings from the Royal Caste and the priests of the Holy Caste, but the cohesion of their civilization fell apart in the eighth or ninth century. Individual Desmodus elavie still exist today, but they have no formal leadership. Osprey are among the most modern shapeshifters. They used to be Unitarian Universalists. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Elavie On Elavie Genetics Though it is not a perfect representation, since we are attempting to represent partially mystical biology with standard biology, I most often work with elavie/human crosses using a four allele system. If you are studying biology, please do not put anything you learn from this essay before anything you learn in class, as I will be simplifying where possible (trying not to get as technical as I am always temped to do), and as I've mentioned, there are some quirks when you're dealing with nyeusi that are different from what happens in humans and other animals. Using blood types as an example: People can have four "types" of blood: O, A, B, and AB. Most of you have probably heard this referenced, and now you get the crash course in why. Someone whose blood type is "O" is genetically OO. Someone who is "A" on the other hand may be genetically AA or AO, because O is recessive and A is dominant- meaning, so long as the person has even one copy of A, they will always show up as having type "A" blood. Only the person with no copies of A (or B, which is also dominant) will appear as type "O." Someone who is type "B" will likewise be either BB or BO. Finally, A and B are co-dominant, meaning that they each express their traits when present, so someone whose phenotype (the displayed trait) is AB also has a genotype (the genetic trait) of AB. In sexual reproduction (which is how we and most mammals reproduce), each parent passes on half of his/her genetic information. In the case of blood types, one allele is passed on- which one is random. A parent who is OO will definitely pass on an O, since that's all he or she has. A parent who is type AB however will pass on an A 50% of the time, and a B 50% of the time. So, the child of an OO mother and an AB father (OOXAB) will either be OA (50% chance) or OB (50% chance). An ABXAB child will either be AA (25% chance), AB (50% chance), or BB (25% chance). Blood is actually a funny example, since there are actually three variations, represented by three letters. I give it since it's a good example for humans breeding with shapeshifters. However, you'll also need to know: Using number of fingers as an example, usually you will have one allele that is dominant and one that is recessive. These are represented by an upper case letter for the dominant gene (I'll say S, meaning "six," since having six fingers is actually dominant over five fingers) and a lower case letter for the recessive gene (s, which codes for five fingers. Note it's not F; that would be a new dominant gene, which this isn't). SS and Ss will both be born with six fingers; only ss will have five. [Why, if six is dominant, don't we see it more often? It's been bred out. We're all ss, double recessive, and hence five-fingered.] Got all that? Feeling good? Now on to elavie! As I said before, a four-allele system seems to more or less work for elavie (though it gets quirky when dealing with something like falcons, where their extra magic messes everything up. So I won't use them as an example). Each breed of shapeshifter has a different form of allele. Some breeds are dominant over each other: cobra is dominant to taipan. Some are co-dominant: jaguar and quetzal. All are co-dominant to human. For the sake of this explanation, these are the examples I am going to use, with the following letter codes: Human: H (dominant gene) Cobra: C (dominant gene) Taipan: c (recessive gene) Azteka jaguar: J Azteka quetzal: Q Generic Shapeshifter Example: S Vocabulary: Pureblood: four identical alleles, HHHH or SSSS or CCCC, etc Royal blood: Only one human allele, SSSH Mixed blood: Different shapeshifter alleles, e.g. CCHH Half-blood, half-breed, mongrel: Half human, half shapeshifter, HHSS Genotype: Genetic code, e.g. HHHH or CCHH Phenotype: Displayed traits, e.g. "human" or "wyvern" Humans x Pure-Blood Shapeshifters When a pure-blooded human and a shapeshifter mate, the result is much like blood types: co-dominance. A SSSSxHHHH child will be SSHH. Such half-breed children are capable of shapeshifting, and will display all secondary characteristics. Most however are incapable of taking any kind of half-form. Now that SSHH child grows up and breeds. He passes on SS (25% chance), SH (50% chance) or HH (25% chance). If his mate is pureblood human (HHHH, passes on HH), that means their child may be SSHH (half-breed shapeshifter), HHHH (pure-blood human) or SHHH (recessive shapeshifter). Here is where we once again break from standard human genetics, because though shapeshifter is normally co-dominant, in a SHHH child the human genes overwhelm the shapeshifter ones. The shapeshifter gene will remain, but the child will not be able to shapeshift, and will show no secondary physical characteristics. Two SHHH parents can get together and produce SSHH children; it's a 25% chance. For those of you who followed the Pungent Squares explanation, I'll refer you to Table 1. There is an equal chance that children will be HHHH, pureblood humans. Two recessive parents can never produce SSSH or SSSS children. Pure-Blood Dominant x Recessive Shapeshifters THIS PARAGRAPH IS NOT HUMAN BIOLOGY: Among shapeshifters, if a dominant and recessive pair breed, the dominant gene will actually change the recessive one. Hence, a CCCCXtttt child (cobraXtaipan) will not be CCtt, but will be born CCCC, and will never pass on Ct or tt. This is why cobras always "breed true," including certain family traits like the garnet eyes. The dominant gene actually alters the recessive one. So, that part is simple. Whenever two pureblooded shapeshifters mate, the child will display the phenotype *and* genotype of the genetically dominant parent. Pure-Blood Dominant Shapeshifters True co-dominance among shapeshifters is very rare. Usually, when two equally dominant shapeshifters breed, the mother's type prevails; those nine months (seven for avians, ten for serpiente, you get the point) tend to overbalance the otherwise equal genetic traits. So, mixed-genetics shapeshifters are only common in the rare cases of true co-dominance, such as quetzal and jaguar among the Azteka, and hawk and cobra among the avians and serpiente (and even that hawk-cobra thing only works in one generation; after that, the alleles bind together and you get weirdness) If a pureblood hawk and a pureblood cobra mate, the child is AACC. That child can pass on AA, AC or CC. If a pureblood jaguar and a pureblood quetzal mate, the child is JJQQ. Easy. Mixed-Blood Dominant x Recessive Shapeshifters I hope you're having fun, because this is where it gets difficult. AACC breeds with cccc (a shapeshifter recessive to cobra). If the child is ACcc (50% chance), it becomes ACCC, and continues to display both hawk and cobra traits. Hawk and Cobra are true co-dominants, so unlike recessive human/shapeshifter crosses, the hawk traits continue to show. If however the wyvern parent passes on CC, the child is CCcc (becomes CCCC) and will be born with no avian traits. If on the other hand the wyvern passes on AA, the child will be AAcc... genetically shift to AAAA... and show pureblood hawk, despite the fact that one parent was a wyvern and one was pureblood serpent. Humans x Mixed-Blood Dominant Shapeshifters As I said before, in the next generation, wyvern genetics do some strange things. The cobra and hawk genes bind together and are almost always passed on together. So I'll change to jaguars and quetzals for this example. JJQQ x HHHH, child can show JJHH (25%), QQHH (25%), or JQHH (50%). JJHH will be a jaguar, QQHH will be a quetzal, and JQHH will be a half-breed mixed-blood with both jaguar and quetzal traits. Various combinations of parents and genetics can create things like JJJH, QQQH, JQQH, JJQH, JQQQ, QJJJ... etc. In these very mixed cases, the mother's phenotypic breed is very important. See Table 2 for all possible permeations. Mongrel Dominant x Mongrel Recessive Shapeshifters Here is the last combination we'll be doing. We'll take for example mongrel cobras (CCHH or CHHH) and taipans (ccHH or cHHH), so you can get choices like CHcc and HHcc. You're probably already saying in your head, "okay, so CHcc becomes CHCC which is a royal-blood cobra." And normally, you would be right... except again, sometimes, if the child is part human, there is one rare case where the mother's blood gets in the way. See Table 3. Really Confused Shapeshifters Okay, I said the previous one was the last, but I need to throw out at you: HCcc (from previous paragraph) x HJQQ quetzal. HCcc can pass on HC, Hc, Hc, Cc, Cc, or cc. HJQQ can pass on HJ, HQ, HQ, JQ, QQ. We know that taipan "c" is recessive to cobra "C" but it might not be to jaguar and quetzal. If you're okay with Punnett Squares, see Table 4. If not, or if you don't care, here endeth the lesson. 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Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Elementals The elementals, also sometimes called sakkri’e, are the only true immortals in Nyeusigrube. They are not gods, though they have at times masqueraded as such in order to be worshipped. In their natural forms, they can see and hear, and they can drift through the minds of mortals, but they cannot otherwise interact with the natural world. In order to gain a physical form, they must be bound to the mortal realm. There is no way of knowing when or how the sakkri’e were created, but most scholars agree that their essence goes back as far as the world itself. The sakkri’e themselves do not recall, as a young elemental has no awareness of its own existence, and no memory. It is not until humans started to lift their eyes and ponder the heavens that any of the sakkri’e became aware. Some of them touched the dreams of human beings, and over the course of years, created a sense of self out of the absent thoughts of thousands of mortals. Masquerading as gods, the spirits of the dead, or other illusions, they gained power through the worship of humankind. Out of the countless, formless sakkri’e who exist as candle flames, ocean waves and north winds, only a handful ever reached this state. However, those that did invariably craved more. What is the knowledge of touch without flesh, or the understanding of song without ears? What is existence without the ability to manipulate the world? Flesh and bone and blood and breath are mortal powers. The ability to touch and affect the world is a gift only allowed those whose years are fleeting; it is not something the immortal sakkri’e can do on their own. In order to gain these powers, an elemental must bind itself to the mortal world. Each elemental is bound in a different way: fire by blood; earth by flesh; air by breath; and water by tears. To bind an elemental thus, a mortal must make the appropriate sacrifice. Often, in return, he will gain part of the elemental’s immortality. A bound fire elemental is known as a uala; an earth elemental is known as a k’jait; air is known as a chime; water is known as a lyr. The most famous sakkri’e to ever make this trade (and most pertinent to Nyeusigrube) is Leona, a fire elemental who was bound by brother and sister Zadre and Diosa in approximately 33,000 BCE. Her immortality is what gives power to all the greater and lesser Nyeusi. In return, they feed, maintaining her mortality. With each progressive step toward mortality, an elemental gains weaknesses. Mortals name almost everything around them, and only with that given name can an elemental maintain its sense of self. However, once named, it must answer to its name and obey the one who calls it. For this reason, most sakkri’e hide their true names, especially once they are bound to this plain. Once bound, an elemental can be contained; its mortal form can be killed, which would hurtle the elemental back into the formless mass, and likely destroy its hard-won self-awareness. Such power over the immortal is sought by many and achieved by few- and always with a high cost. Elementals known in Nyeusigrube: Leona (fire): bound by Zadre and Diosa Lashandra (fire): controlled by the Clan of the Flames, in Egypt, until the high priest’s second, Fala, freed her Cirjs (fire): bound and controlled by Damon and Riza Vida, exiled witches, until she made a trade with a Spartan mortal named Aubrey for her freedom Leshan (earth): named and bound by Jeshickah, the first while she was mortal and the latter after the first Midnight fell Lance (earth) and Vervain (air): two very young elementals, who work together and perform as part of the band Poisoned Chocolate. Velten (earth): named in 1798 by the spirit-witch of the Shantel [see elavie], and bound in modern day by Ryan le Coire's coven. Higher Nyeusi The higher nyeusi are the direct descendants of Zadre and Diosa, the human twins who made a deal with the fire elemental Leona, gaining a share of her immortality in exchange some of their mortality. Zadre’s descendants include Fariza, Siete and Triste. Diosa’s include Cera and Macht. Cera and Siete have a son, named Leben. Diosa and Zadre sought immortality together. However, it soon became evident that Zadre was willing to go further to achieve it. In the ritual with Leona, it was Zadre who actually offered his blood for sacrifice. Diosa lived through the ritual; Zadre “lived” afterward only through the new, immortal power. Thus, their abilities varied. Zadre is the stronger of the two, though he and his creations are all limited by the need to feed from living, mortal power. Diosa’s followers on the other hand can usually sustain themselves with food and beverage, as humans can. Zadre’s descendants do not age and (with one strange exception) do not breed. Diosa’s lack that agelessness, but are capable of breeding. There are some traits that all nyeusi share. All of the higher nyeusi are able to manipulate thought and dreams. They are all able to alter their forms, though some are stronger at that than others. To varying degrees, they have control over the physical world, most particularly weather and geological events. With the exception of Leben, all the higher nyeusi were born human and only later given a share of Leona’s immortal power. Siete and Triste were abandoned in the woods as newborns by a superstitious mother. She had given birth to twins, and hoped to hide them and therefore avert bad luck. Immortals cannot give birth, so the infants fascinated Leona. She and Zadre raised them, in the process infecting them so thoroughly with their power that by the time the twins had reached adulthood, they could manipulate that power easily. They both learned to build their strength by feeding on humans and other mortal creatures, locking Leona’s immortal power into their mortal forms. Later, both began to experiment. Triste taught a small handful of disciples how to manipulate power, and granted them immortality; these students are now known as Triste witches. Siete dealt more directly with the question. As blood was the essence that held his immortal power, he shared that blood with his chosen ones, and in doing so created the lunar vampires. Fariza’s background is less well known. What is known that, with Zadre’s power, she founded a nation. She set herself up as a goddess, granting enough power to her priests and priestesses to maintain the illusion of divine grace. Her people betrayed her, and in her fury, she destroyed them. Only the priests and priestesses with whom she had shared her power survived. However, without her direct support, they needed to feed... as all Nyeusi do. Such was the creation of the solar vampires. After the ritual, Diosa and Zadre parted ways, and Diosa joined a human village. There she met Macht, the local wise-woman, and Cera, daughter of the chief hunter. Diosa gave Macht power in order to help the village. That power was passed on to Macht’s children, including her eldest daughter, Vida. The descendants of those children- and, to a lesser extent, the others of the village- are the Macht witches. Meanwhile, Cera, still a mortal girl, studied and learned how to flawlessly change her form, in order to run with the animals of the woods and fly with the creatures of the sky. In her travels, Cera met Siete. At this point, both of them were young; neither was even completely Nyeusi. The two had an affair that lasted several years, and in the end produced Leben, the only nyeusi ever born already immortal. Leben was mostly raised by his mother, but it became evident as he reached adulthood... and never grew past it... that he took after his father more. After his mother’s death, he left his homeland and began to travel. Over the next several millennia, he shared his power with many groups, creating the various vie elavie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Other Information Liadan A manor founded in the 1100s by the newly-vampiric Katama and Jeshickah. The ladies of the manor ruled firmly but fairly, treating their serfs better than most did at that time. Later, Liadan became home to a pride of lions, who acted as bailiffs, police, and knights. In the fifteenth century, the Inquisition came to Liadan. One of the lions, hoping to protect himself and his pride, betrayed the vampiresses, giving their names to inquisitors and detailing how they could be killed. He was immediately arrested, and tortured until he also revealed the names (and weaknesses) of the others of his kind. As the lions were systematically wiped out from the area, Katama and Jeshickah abandoned Liadan and founded a less-friendly empire. Midnight Midnight, founded after Liadan's fall, quickly became a force to be reckoned with. By the sixteen hundreds, Midnight had physical, political and economic control over the other vampires, the witches, and all but a very few shapeshifters (the shm'Ahnmik, the Azteka, and the Shantel). In addition to controlling all trade routes, Midnight also became the heart of the vampiric slave-trade, where humans, witches and shapeshifters were bought and sold. Midnight fell on the fall equinox of 1804. New Midnight Midnight, dormant for over a hundred years, once again began to emerge as a power after it was re-founded by Jeshickah's fledgling, Jaguar, in the early 1900s. As of this moment, it has not yet regained the same level of influence, but it is once again the heart of the slave trade. Pyrige Pyrige is the human town directly beside the new Midnight. It is also owned by Jaguar, with Xeke Catene as a silent partner. Mayhem Mayhem was founded by Silver's line, originally as a haven from the idiocy of humanity. Later, Silver's line began to become frustrated with Midnight, and began fighting against it. Before they had established any strong measure of control, however, the city was burned mostly to the ground by a bloodbond named Kaei. New Mayhem New Mayhem, built on the ashes of the original Mayhem, was more assertive in its claims over the denizens of Nyeusigrube. After Midnight's fall, New Mayhem became the heart of the vampiric world. Ramsa Ramsa is the human town that neighbors New Mayhem. Odd happenings have been observed here since the town's founding, including disasters both natural and less so. Family Courtyard A Shantel term, referring to the center of Shantel land, a very well-guarded compound. Devil's Lantern An island off the south-west cost of the USA, home to the Rajar elavie. Vieton A town founded by the Macht witches during Midnight's reign, where they would be safe from both Midnight and the remnants of the witch-hunts. Businesses and Organizations The Market A chain of clubs and shops, owned by Xeke Catene. Blue-X A video production company, owned by Xeke Catene, with Rikai as a partner. Tizoc Theron A chain of bar-style establishments, known both as a gathering place for willing blood-donors, and as a place to find and hire mercenaries, assassins, witches, and other "professionals" who can't be found in the Yellow Pages. Nameless A small club in Concord, Massachusetts, owned by Rikai, that is an absolutely neutral ground. All are welcome there, human or not, so long as they are peaceful. Nameless is built in the shell of an old hotel, and the rooms upstairs are still open, and available to anyone who needs a place to stay. Bruja Guilds (Crimson, Onyx, Frost) Originally founded to fight Midnight, the Bruja Guilds have become the staging ground for the world's most elite mercenaries. SingleEarth Founded by Diana Smoke, SingleEarth is an organization dedicated to peaceful relations between all of Nyeusigrube's inhabitants- human, witch, vampire, shapeshifter, Triste, or anything else that cares to join. SingleEarth also has a strong outreach program, which among other things tracks news stories and police and hospital reports in order to find, educate and support humans who have survived vampire attacks, human-raised shapeshifters, and other individuals who have been unexpectedly introduced to Nyeusigrube. Cultures Shantel A culture founded by a handful of cougars and leopards, led by a powerful witch who had forseen Midnight's rise and wanted to protect her people from it. Vehemently territorially and protective of their own, they survived Midnight's reign without losing their own sovereignty. Most notable for their nameless spirit-witch, who spoke to and worked with elementals and other powerful magics in order to protect her lands. Dasi The coven of thirteen men and women, as well as their followers, from whom the serpiente and shm'Ahnmik decend. Nesera'rsh Though the Dasi no longer exist, there are still pockets where the ancient religion of the Nesera'rsh is still practiced, in various forms. The most traditional followers are found within the Obsidian Guild and on the shm'Ahnmik island of Ak'da. Most serpiente dancers also follow many Nesera'rsh ways. Obsidian Guild The white viper descendents of Maeve who were exiled from the Dasi for practicing black magic. The Guild also takes in serpiente exiles, often criminals, and so is commonly considered a band of outlaws- a title they don't protest much. By modern day, this stereotype has become closer to reality. Up until the Inquisition, most members of the Obsidian Guild were also Nesera'rsh. Families Manalo Near the time of the gold rush, a family of lions, led by their father Charles Manalo, founded a small town named Luck. They have run the town ever since. Le Coire One of the most powerful lines of human sorcerer in Nyeusigrube. The current le Coire of le Coire Manor in modern day is named Ryan. Groups and Individuals Poisoned Chocolate A band, based in the club Nameless, including a k'jait named Lance, a chime named Vervain, a Vulpes Elavie named Spark, and a Desmodus named Fred. Wild Cards The three Wild Cards- so named for their tendency to do the unexpected without care for consequences- include Renegade, Rikai, and Xeke Catene. Renegade Known by many names (most commonly Renegade, Lexi Strate, Elizabeth Charcoal, or her birth name of Mildred Elizabeth Arun), Renna is a novelist, and one of the Wild Cards. She is fascinated by people, characters, and how they interact. She tells the stories people don't want told, and probably would have been killed long ago if she didn't have allies everywhere. Renna is part Macht witch (Arun line), part lunar vampire, part solar vampire and part elavie (she has a black leopard form), and has trained with Tristes and Azteka blood-witches. Rikai Another member of the Wild Cards, Rikai is a Triste who was initiated during the Inquisition. Despite her relatively young age, she is one of the most powerful of her kind. She is also a little less than emotionally stable. Rikai's fascination is with evil. Xeke Xeke Catene (not his real surname; he won't tell me that; Catene is just what he goes by) is technically a member of Katama's line, but he is powerful enough that many people will refer to him as if he led his own line. The third member of the Wild Cards, he focuses his attention on beauty, and the senses. His studio is currently in the pre-production stages of Apocrypha, which is based on the myths of the Dasi, and the story of the Obsidian Guild. Silver If you don't know this name, you should go back and reread. The head of the most powerful vampiric line, Silver rules New Mayhem, and through it, over all of vampiric kind. Jeshickah Before Silver ruled, Jeshickah did, through Midnight. Pandora One of the most well-known and powerful Tristes. She has no pity for weakness, and thus her students have a high fatality rate during training, but if they survive, they are intensely powerful. Technical Terms Firestone Firestone is glass or crystal that is charged with Triste power. It is nearly unbreakable, and it is poisonous to vampires and, to a lesser extent, to shapeshifters and Macht witches. Minor wounds created by firestone on a human will accelerate the healing process. Only the strongest Tristes can make Firestone, and it takes a good deal of energy to do so, and thus it is quite valuable. Most firestone is red with some gold veining; the strongest, "gold firestone," is nearly solid gold (hence the name). Even a scratch from gold firestone is deadly to most vampires and bloodbonds. Bloodbond A bloodbond is a human who has been bonded to a vampire; see the essay in the lunar vampire section. Bash, bash circuit Vampires were once humans, and as such, they are still social animals. Members of a "circuit" rotate hosting gatherings. In some circuits, these gatherings are harmless; only the core members and willing donors are invited. Other circuits invite larger groups, including many "innocents," humans who don't know what is going on and often fail to survive the night. Trainer Usually one of Jeshickah's line, one of the vampires responsible for taming, breaking and training slaves. Beyond Jeshickah herself, Midnight's trainers included Gabriel, Jaguar, Taro and Varick. Freeblood A term meaning the individual cannot be claimed as a slave, or broken as one. Humans can only be granted freeblood status by their owners. Shapeshifters and witches, unless they are born to slaves, are naturally freeblood unless sold into the trade by their own kind. Tamed, Broken, Trained Terms used by Midnight's trainers. Tamed means a slave has, for whatever reason (often fear), stopped fighting; a tamed slave will still often fight or try to escape given what they consider a worthwhile opportunity. Broken means a slave has given up all desire to escape, and is pliable to the will of his or her owner. Trained means a slave who understands his or her duties, and obeys well. "Family Trees" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Inari Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Super-Necropost... I know, but this is my RP and it never got off the ground, so yeah. Anyways, I think this never got off anywhere because I never posted any kind of bio format and the sheer amount of information to take in. Full Real Name: Nickname: Breed: Gender: Age: Changed/Initiated: (if applicable) Weight(KG or LB): Height: Physique: Personality: Appearance: Marks/accessories: Abilities: Background: Special: I want to know if anyone is interested in this before I post up my own. Also, if anyone needs help with the finer details PM ME DAMNIT! D: Oh, and another thing--NO GUNS! I know it's bogus, but trust me, they'll spoil this RP soooooo fast, you just dun want 'em. Plus knives can usually be imbued with magic if you get in contact with the right people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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