Races (Dawn Of Abel Supplement)
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The First
Physiology
The First are based on their creator, Desaru, back when their God wasn't controlled by madness. They are humanoids with very pale skin and pitch-black eyes which make it impossible for people to tell if they have pupils. They all have black hair growing on the top of their head and have five fingered hands and five toed feet (They basically look like humans). Desaru didn't give them his stitches which sealed his mouth because he found them inconvenient and his horns because he found them too influencing and since they were the first mortal, Desaru allowed them to nourish themselves by feeding on light. the reason why they are so skinny is because they don't have fat so don't can't store energy and when they gain surplus energy they will still use it and become hyperactive. The First take time to process the light into energy though and that is why they will not suffer in darkness and can continue functioning. When a First lacks nourishment they usually slowly die in stages. After a day in darkness they become sluggish and their higher brain functions slowly begin to turn off. After two days their slow movement become very noticeable and they begin having trouble remembering. After three days they can hardly move and their memory becomes unreliable. After four days they can no longer move but are still alive, can still be recovered and they can stay in this stage without dying for up to thirty days, almost like they are hibernating. They can tolerate extreme temperatures but they cannot survive an inferno. They can survive without an atmosphere, however, as they were created before it was created. They do not age, but they can be killed by other causes.
Nature and Culture
Although Desaru did give them plenty of freedom they are all driven by the same curious nature Desaru carried and they can easily be seperated by conflicting ideals (like normal humans). They're not trying to build anything yet as they quite mixed. Not all are looking for a purpose and when they have found a purpose not all willing to follow to arrive at that goal. That is how Desaru made them. They wish to be individuals that do not conform at times but at other times they are greatly open minded and considerate.
The Rushed
Physiology
The Rushed were created at the spike of Desaru's insanity and that is reflected in their appearance. They are First turned into monsters and the amount of arms which they use for limbs can vary from 5 to 9 and 2 to 7 for their wings. Their limbs could be scaly, fleshy or even tentacles and their wings can feathered, insect-like or be useless fins. Their actual legs have shrunk to a size too small to be useful and they merely hang from their body. They have a large underbite due to a large teeth-filled jaw and they all have an abnormally large head. Their size is large and varied from large to medium and large. They're quite strong but most of their strength is used to keep themselves balanced most of the time. The more luckier ones don't need to do it as they have a equal number of limbs and wings
Nature and Culture
Insanity and primal instinct are one with the Rushed. They are sentient but when they are not following their primal instincts their thoughts drive deep into madness. They were created by Desaru to be his pawns and as a result they are completely loyal to him.
The Next
Physiology
Having been created from the First, the Next are similar in appearance, retaining their basic body structure. However, the Next are generally of a larger build and have more flushed skin tones than the First. They also do not share their predecessor's resiliance, as they are rather short lived naturally and are incapable of surviving in extreme enviroments. They have eyes and hair that can range from virtually every color in the spectrum. Their teeth are sharp and pointed with somewhat enlongated canines suitible for their carnivorous diet. The Next need to eat approximately one kilogram of food every couple of days to stay healthy, and can survive for up to 70 days without food, even though the feeling of starvation starts to set in at about 15 days. They have no particularly favored prey, generally taking whatever they can get. They are also capable of eating carrion, and, in fact, tend to seek it out over live prey for cultural reasons (see below). They have acute senses, with all five main senses being slightly above average in most respects. Due to their connection to the god of Death, they also have a sixth sense that allows them to sense the very essence of death. Dead bodies and Abel-bound spirits are easily percieved with this sense.
Nature and Culture
The Next are less idividualistic than the First, with most of them having a natural herd mentality. Of course, how strong this instict varies from Next to Next, and as a result you'll usually find a group of Next following whichever among them has the most assertive personality. There is also always one among the Next called the Ageless, who will grow to adulthood and then cease aging. This individual tends to have a strong personality, and thus is usually the prime candidate for a leader among them.
Culturally, the Next have a strong fixation with Death. They believe it is everything's destiny to die, and that causing it is not a sinful act, as long as it is done with purpose. Killing without purpose, conversely, is considered one of the highest of crimes, with torture being the very highest. They believe that anything that must die should be granted a swift, painless end. Because of these factors, the Next usually try to avoid killing whenever possible to avoid ambiguity, though this is often a hot subject of debate among the Next. As a result, despite their need to eat meat, they tend to try to find things that are already dead, rather than hunt for fresh meat, a feat made easier by their death sense. When they do hunt, they focus on methods to capture a creature alive where they can kill them quickly, rather than risk injuring it.
When the Next do eat, they do so with an almost religious ritualisticness. The meat is cleaned, cut, cooked, and served in a very specific manner, though the details of this vary between groups. The very act of eating is sacred, and is viewed as a way for a group to reaffirm its connection with one another, to share stories, set aside differences, and settle arguments. Eating alone carries a heavy social stigma among the Next.
The Next are nomadic in nature, constantly moving in search of those in need of the aid of their clerics. Once they find a group of people they will usually spend about a week there, aiding injured and teaching others various medical knowledge, as well as absorbing any knowledge the indigenous people are willing to offer.
Duneswift
Physiology
The Duneswift are similiar to the First in many ways, but there are some significant differences. Their skin is pale yellow in colour and hair is a light Blonde. They have double jointed legs allowing them to run faster. They have large and thick eyebrows. They don't need sunlight, instead they require food.
Starchildren
Physiology
Starchildren vary greatly in appearance. Their skin varies from pale red to yellow to faded blue or even white, and their eyes tend to be a more vibrant shade of their skin color, though this is not always the case. The eyes of starchildren glow, a remnant of the star which they were formed from. Starchildren are bipedal, with legs that end in cloven hooves not unlike those of deer. Their arms and legs tend to be proportionally long. Most starchildren have hair, though not all of them do. White is the most common hair color among starchildren, though almost any other color save black is possible. Starchildren are omnivores, and must sleep and breathe to survive. Starchildren are nocturnal, and they see better at night than they do during the day, though even during the day they have above-average distance vision.
Nature and Culture
Starchildren are curious by nature, and many of the tribal starchildren are a bit reckless, seeking new things and new places with a single-minded determination. The starchildren settlements are relatively new, yet they already have a very different culture than the wandering tribes. In turn the starchildren who abandon their homes to study at the College are often ostracized, for gods, to most of the starchildren, are as much of a fact of life as the grass, the cold sun, and the two moons. Both groups of starchildren carry oral histories that go back many generations, histories that are sometimes, but not always, supplemented by writings. History is important for the starchildren, both their histories and the histories of the other races. Starchildren do not view their histories as myths, for they believe that the images in the stars tell truth.
The starchildren farmers are pioneers of agriculture. They learned their trade from the Next, who cultivated only small fields to feed their domesticated animals. The omnivorous starchildren farm much larger fields, and consume both the vegetables they grow and the meat of the animals they raise.
Shiftlings
Physiology
The Shiftlings are humanoid in appearance, although they possess three eyes and seem to be completely hairless, they can be any height but tend to be six foot or taller and have seven fingers on each hand. These creatures skin is bronzed with constant exposure to light, which they feed off of, their mouths are used for very little as their native method of communication consists primarily of rapid eye and body movement, said mouths are quite small. The Shiftlings posses a strong cunning and keen intellect, they picked up magic with the aid of their deity just seconds after their creation, however, these creatures are very weak physically. They tend to have many tattoos.
Nature and Culture
Shiftlings place little importance on Abel, though it is a Plane and their race is bound to maintain it. Most of them worship Ejis as god of the Planes and their creator, however, there are a significant amount of them who distrust the deities and would rather die than actually pray. Nexus is the Shiftling homeland and they have built many settlements within the Plane, the capitol of their civilisation is a single, very large, building made of esoteric materials in patterns and forms that do not abide by Euclidian geometry, created by Ejis and known as the Palace of the Planes. Shiftling architecture is very oriental and usually makes use of blue and orange (The colours of Nexus) materials, within every building there are glowing crystals which are used by the inhabitance for 'food'.
Political power is chosen by merit, either in craft, study or war. The race as a whole is ruled by a trinity, a High-Cleric (Appointed by Ejis, personally), a Mystic (Chosen for magical power) and a Monarch (Elected by the people), this idea of a ruling trinity sprung from a Shiftling belief that three is a number of cosmic significance. Though they have no true spoken language, these creature's written language is known to other races as Planescript and is usually only used when trying to show that something is of magical significance. All adult Shiftlings speak at least one second language.
Prayer is largely a personal connection with the god a Shiftling worships, they are not usually formal about it and have only built a single temple to Ejis at Nexus' heart.
Elementals
These beings were created by the Bureau of Creation to serve as guardians and protectors over the creations of the gods of that pantheon. As such, there are elementals of the desert, the soil, the sky, the waters, and even more rarely seen elementals of silence and love, among other such ephemera. The elementals are made up of idealized, perfected materials of the form which they embody, the more ephemeral or conceptual of elementals only interacting through the physical senses through metaphorical synesthesia.
Seraphs
Also known as the Seraphim, these are angelic beings, resembling beautiful humanoids with wings, and shining with the glorious energy of the celestial plane. They were created by Aequitus as part of his greater plan for the administration and coordination of an afterlife reward system. The seraphs are not a mortal race, but rather similar to the elementals, but instead of embodying an element of the pantheon, they embody the light of Celestia. The seraphs helped teach mortals of the Next the secret of reading and writing, at the behest of their lord, Aequitus, and were integral in the formation of the Order of the Word.
Sarigasara
Physiology
The Sarigasara are humanoids with a large build and powerful strength. They are carnivorous and have a desire with fresh flesh which they can easily aquire with their sharp teeth. The are paled skinned and are not that attractive among other races. They have an intimidating appearance with many masculine properties and sometimes it maybe difficult to tell between the men and the women. The Sarigasara have no problems with this though because they can easily tell by sent and that is how they attract mates, with pheromones, but this only works on members of the opposite sex as members of the same sex or are from a different race get repelled a a strong stench. They have excellent vision and sense of smell for tracking and spotting prey and they can act as clever predators for their whole lives but they don't as that will not allow them any progress. The Sarigasara carry a strange ability as the more intelligent the flesh of an setient creature they devour the more strong and quick they become. The enhanced physique, however, does not pass down to future generations.
Nature and Culture
The Sarigasara can be best discribed as a undisciplined warrior race. They are close to being primitive but they are very adept at machinery which they unfortunately focus this gift into war and weapons. The strongest of their race leads them as a whole and his demands and commands are absolute but there are those who stray away from their kin to live in solitude because they disagree with the rest of their kind. They have a obssession with flesh and especially those with intelligent races. The act of eating flesh of the same kind is forbidden but they will do their best to aquire the flesh of other races and because of this they do not have good relationships with other races.
Juvain
Physiology
The Juvain are humanoids with a average build and have a normal amount of strength but they are agile and nimble. They traditionally allow their claws to grow large enough to become powerful weapons but they are mainly used to carve and create things. They all have dark grey skin and they can devour both plantlife and animals to sustain themselves. There are white marks which on top of their eyes and they vary among the Juvain so much that none of them are identical with any other. These white marks gives the other races an impression that the Juvain are always angry and this allows them (or forces) to have a intimidating appearance. There hair colour only spans grey to white to silver. Their legs are double jointed allowing them to run far more quickly and their arms are almost as powerful as their legs allowing them the climb easily and pull themselves up ease even if they are weak.
Nature and Culture
The Juvain are mainly kind to themselves and they will easily alienate other races who are not of their kind. They are supicious of those who are not of their own and may respond with agression to their presence until they have proved themselves to not be harmless or an ally. They are a military force focused race and most of them are capable hunters and warriors skilled with the use of their claws. The Juvain hardly see the point in numerous pleasures such as food as they see it nothing more then nutrients and they dislike perfumes as it distracts them from what is actually present. They are interested in art though and beauty is one of their main obssessions and a acceptable distraction for them. They are lead the Juvain who has inherited the original Juvain's blood. When there are more then one then a vote is necessary.
Yuarli
Physiology
The Yuarli are humanoids with black skin and red eyes. This was their original form but they easily forgot it when they began taking the form of other races and people which lead themselves incapable of reurning to their old form. The Yuarli carry the ability to shapeshift into other humanoids who's forms are carried in their memories but this trait is not as grand when compared to their most significant factor which is their immortality. Their physical bodies can bleed and die (This varies depending on which form they are assuming as they gain the same physical properties as a Next if they take the form of a Next) but their souls do not reach an afterlife. Instead they travel aimlessly to a safe place and resurrect the Yuarli in the same form they were previously. This process of resurrection can take from a hour to several days but when the Yuarli is reborn they have not forgotten anything and are still as powerful as before. Yuarlis do not need to eat, drink or sleep but they can if they want to and if it is normally required in the form they are taking. They can not only discover if another Yuarli is a Yuarli (even while disguised) but are also capable of identify individual Yuarlis as if they have a extra sense. There is a static number of Yuarli as they can not create more of their own kind and they are immortal. They can reproduce but they can only create children of the race which they are disguising as.
Nature and Culture
The Yuarli were created by Rivaika to be a benevolent race and they stay true to this. They hardly stay within groups or their own kind and they prefer blending into the societies of other races. They spend their time learning of the ways of different races and they do their best to protect the people from harm. The Yuarli know good from evil and they will quickly avoid the more corrupt societies when they recognise them. They will help those in need and prove themselves to be worthy of Rivaika's faith as they stop the suffering of others. They are generally selfless creatures but their personalities do vary. They very rarely reveal what they truly are to those not of their kind as they fear the consequences and the loss of friendship.
Umbrans
Physiology
Umbrans are wiry humanoids with slightly pale white or gray skin. Their hair is often dark, and they tend to favor darker colors as well, as a tribute to their creator, Eribor. Their eyes range in color from purple, to green, to blue, to silver, with green being the most common and silver the rarest. Those with silver eyes are often seen to be in the favor of Eribor, molded as they are in his image. That said, the Umbrans are a mischievous, as well as studious people, and as a result will often choose to dye their hair in exotic colors. Physically, Umbrans tend to have a wiry, yet solid build, somewhat larger than the average humanoid, with fully grown males averaging just below six feet in height, with females on average coming in a scant few inches shorter. During their creation the Umbrans were imbued with a number of special faculties, the least among them being excellent physical and mental endurance, as well as great agility and dexterity. More importantly, adult Umbrans who are especially in tune with Eribor have the ability to camouflage perfectly amidst shadows, and legends are even told of those whose connections to shadow were so profound that they could literally travel through shadows to wherever they desired.
Nature and Culture
Umbrans are an innately curious and dedicated people, placing great value on the task Eribor set to them when they were first created: "learn all that you can of the world and its people, as well as from them." As such, the path of the scholar is one of honor and nobility among the Umbrans, though they place no less importance on the martial world, considering martial knowledge of equal value alongside academic knowledge. Indeed, all knowledge is valued among the Umbran society, and is, indeed, venerated by young and old alike.
Additionally, Umbrans have a great affinity for travel, and when young Umbrans reach maturity, they often leave their homes for several years to better see the world, returning when they are satisfied, bringing new knowledge with them, which is promptly recorded and archived at the behest of the Umbran ruling body, the Umbran High Council, which deals with day-to-day governmental affairs for the entire Umbran homeland.
Furthermore, Umbrans can and do utilize their physical talents for everything from sporting events to thievery, which is seen more as a game in Umbran society than a crime. Upon being discovered, thieves will often laugh and happily hand over their stolen goods, with the "victim" often laughing right beside and offering congratulations if the theft was particularly spectacular. Their culture is one of openness and intrigue, though Umbrans who take things too far are dealt with swiftly, usually by a period of exile. After their exile is finished, they are free to return and be among their people again. Those that abuse this gift are forever banished, though in the case of particularly heinous crimes, the guilty are executed. Such a thing is rare in Umbran culture however, occurring no more than a handful of times in a generation.
Deep Ones
Blood Angels
Physiology
The Blood Angels are lithe, pointy eared winged humanoids who have red skin, pupils, hair and feathers. The shades and locations of red may vary from scarlet to crimson like having crimson wings but blood red skin. The constantly secrete blood from their skin and this is somehow capable of continuing endless without having any effects on the individual. They have excellent vision in both light and darkness but their sense of smell is normal but their hearing is better than normal. They do not require food or water to survive or any nutritional substances but they do require rest and sleep like any other race. They do not age and their only instinct is self preservation but this is not necessary as their souls are linked to Desaru and they will return to him when they die. They are reborn from Desaru's blood when he allows it, they are reborn as adults and they still hold all their memories. Newborn Blood Angels, those who have been born into their first life, are born from their mothers. Their appearance can either inspire fear or be enchanting as they are born with two forms of their own. They can wear their fearful form which shows a savage, ugly or evil nature or their enchanting form which gives them a beautiful or handsome appearance.
Nature and Culture
It is traditional among the Blood Angels to remain loyal and follow all of Desaru's commands as it is the purpose that he has created them for. Although there are Blood Angels who choose to not remain loyal to Desaru and explore a life of their own outside of Desaru's influence, they risk their chances for rebirth. They are still tolerated among others of their kind though. Status among the Blood Angels is measured with strength and intelligence and their government is a stratocracy. What an individual excels will determine what they are and how far they excel in it will determine how high their position they are in that field. For example, one individual who excelled in intelligence and knowledge far greater than other may become a leading strategist while someone of lowly intelligence and almost as lowly strength would be considered cannon fodder. There is a maximum of thirty people in the stratocracy but they are split four levels depending on how important the individuals are. The highest of authority is the King and his/hers four advisors. Then there are the five generals, ten leading strategists, ten of the highest ranking knights. To replace people in the stratocracy it will be required to best them in their field, to replace the king's advisors or generals it will be required to best them in three challenges of their choosing. To replace the king it will be required to be blessed or/and chosen by Desaru. Their population is split into different statuses, the Stratocracy has the most authority and the rest of the fields have the same amount of authority as each other except with different versions of ranking. Generally the fields other than the stratocracy are the strategists, scholars, knights and soldiers and they split off into subcategories.
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