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Although the Olde World doesn't support the powers of magic, as in
spellcasting and magery, it does accomodate supernatural forces, to a
minor extent. Lycanthians, Vamp-furres, and renegade Fey dominate many
small areas of the world, such as islands and isolated country
backwaters.
Supernaturals are
largely kept in check by secret societies who have fought them for
several centuries. These societies are all made up of mortals except for
one: Children of the Dawn. A rare few of the Children of the Dawn are,
themselves, "full" supernaturals, but most are half-bloods,
called "Demifane". What often sets them apart from mortal
furre society are the deep ethical challenges of living with or near
often-deadly sentient beings with alien emotions and needs. They also
tend to age very slowly, and live twice the natural furre lifespan.
Demifane occasionally
exhibit weak versions of their parents or grandparents' powers. More
importantly, they often possess immunities to various powers. For
this reason, many groups of supernaturals forbid producing half-mortal
children. The strongest persecution of Demifane comes from evil Faerie-furres.
The greatest tolerance is from Lycanthians.
Supernaturals are
infertile with each other, yet, specifically in the Olde World, even
Vampire-furres on rare occasions beget sons and daughters with
pure-blooded mortals. Referred to in the supernatural world as
"Betrayers" and "Mongrels", the Demifane live on a
line between supernatural and natural. All Demifane are in some danger
from supernaturals who possess the talent to detect them. IMPORTANT
NOTE: Demifane can not be conceived in Kasuria or Drakoria. So, their
existence is likely to be a surprise to furres, including supernaturals
themselves, from those regions! NOTE: Half-bloods are
infertile with other types of half-bloods. So you won't get a furre who
is 1/4 Vamp-furre 1/4 Lycanthian and 1/4 Fey-furre, for example.
The oldest group within
the Demifane are the half-faerie-furres. Their mortal parents are often
druids, priests, priestesses, and other "spiritually minded"
individuals. At first, the word Demifane referred only to those with fey
blood. Now it includes those of Vamp-furre and Lycanthian descent as
well. There are also Demifane who are grandchildren and
great-grandchildren of Faerie-furres.
The
most numerous of the Demifane are those who come from families afflicted
with Lycanthianism. Children, parents, and siblings of Lycanthians are
accepted, and trained. Parents and siblings exhibit no special powers
but form a major support network for all those in the group who are
"different", especially those who have lost their real
families.
A Dhampir is a mortal
child of a vamp-furre. Dhampiri are generally subject to uncontrollable
bouts of depression. They are not so common outside of the Children of
the Dawn because they usually kill themselves at an early age. Of
special interest is the obscure Asian nation of Cheng Ban, whose ruling
family, the Nendi, are all Dhampirs. The Nendi are the secret weapon of
the Olde World's mortals.
FACTION:
The
Order of Nemroth
Nemroth was a mage who fought for the eradication of Vamp-furres and
Lycanthians from southern Kasuria. He amassed a considerable fortune
somehow. Then he arranged for this money to keep his Order going after
his death.
This is Kasuria's
leading order of "Hunters". Made up of mages and their
support teams, this group keeps a low profile because, of course, it
is dangerous to antagonize supernaturals. They also prefer not to be
part of the political infighting between noble houses. When they
appear to someone not in the order, they wear cloth draped over
helmet-like masks, with metal mesh concealing the eyes. More often,
though, they correspond in writing, leaving notes for contacts.
The Order of Nemroth
is made up largely of orphans, and children who demonstrate the
"True Sight". A large fee may be paid to parents to gain
custody and legal guardianship of the children. So, most members came
from families too large to feed them all, and so forth. A very very
small number are Demifane.
Members of the Order
are raised from early childhood to make war upon the mortal minions of
supernaturals, eventually taking on their evil Masters and Mistresses
in groups of a dozen or so. When the Order of Nemroth acts, there are
usually no survivors amongst the servitors of the supernatural entity.
These mages are highly organized, highly cooperative, highly capable,
and many are relentless in their hatred and pursuit of evil
supernaturals.
To ready themselves
for their conflicts, members of the order learn to fast, to withstand
pain, to endure extremes of heat, cold, and exhaustion. They practice
a form of magic that lends strength from one individual to another,
eventually linking them together into a web of communication. The
learning of this magic and its use is restricted to those magically
initiated into this Order.
As a footnote, the
Order of Nemroth does teach "cloak and dagger" skills of
mundane disguise. Because the use of magical potions can be detected,
they might rely on acting, makeup, and cross-dressing to carry out
female impersonation, for example.
A few of the Order of
Nemroth are irrationally obsessed with finding and destroying
supernaturals. For them, this is a weakness, a way to manipulate them.
When a supernatural is destroyed, the Order usually seizes their
assets. The temptation of such wealth has been the downfall of more
than one mage in the Order of Nemroth. For example, there has been
false accusation of some rich merchant, and then the use of the
Order's covert might to murder them and confiscate their wealth. With
no survivors, there's nobody to protest...
FACTION:
Dahna
Shee
These are the offspring of Elementals that interbred with
Furres. They are primarily found in Kasuria, although their roots go
back to Eriu (Eire, Erin, Ireland) in the Olde World.
They have become numerous enough to have a small kingdom of
their
own, existing in the forests of County Raideth in
Kasuria.
They are
always thin, and sometimes tall (although never more
than a head taller than regular Furres. They are often
graceful, and
favor archery over hand-to-hand combat. They prefer to fight
with
spears.
Dahna Shee
have a few tiny cities deep in forests. Although by
far the most numerous of the FeyFurres, they are still not
nearly as
common as regular Furres. When someone in the Dragonlands
says an "Elf" or "Elven Furre", it is the Dahna Shee and not the other
Ilks they are talking about.
FACTION:
Children of the Dawn
The first half-bloods tended to be born to rather religious
individuals, furres who lived in cloisters, abbeys, churches, and so
forth. The Children of the Dawn was originally a network to help a
furre pregnant from an encounter with a supernatural being escape
persecution. The places where the ladies were kept were somber and
ascetic retreats called "fanes". Their children came to be
called Demifane. (This word is still not in common usage because their
existence, and the existence of the Children of the Dawn, is kept
secret.)
The Creed of the
Children of the Dawn
By the Dragon, the Primes and the all-encompassing Vinca,
I swear to use my powers for the benefit of all sentient beings.
I will not pass a blood-taint unto any others for any reason.
I will strive to treat all beings equally, as brothers and sisters.
I will keep what I know secret, to protect all Children of the Night
but I will destroy any who try to subjugate the mortal world.
The penalty for breaking these vows is imprisonment in one of the
order's hidden strongholds. The prohibition against "passing a
blood-taint" means that Children of the Dawn do not willingly
bear children. Most of them regularly drink potions that render them
asexual. A few go so far as to become eunuchs.
Children of the Dawn
are not necessarily antagonists to supernaturals. They are willing to
help supernaturals in need, such as, donating blood to hungry Vamp-furres.
However, as a rule, they refuse to become servitors or live with Vamp-furres.
FACTION:
Dhampir Nendi of Cheng
Ban
Long ago, the Jengomai Dynasty fought a vicous war against Eastern
Vampires. Desperate to save his tiny country in the Himalayas,
Jengomai Ghont left to scour the world to find help. He collected up a
handful of rare half-vampire children, and commanded them to
inter-marry. From these early heroes were bred a new line.
It is thought that a
single vampire was father to them all. The first to be found was
"Sittikraipong", a yak in Cheng Ban. "Iago" was a
street-child of Madrrid and a bull. "Shilpa" was a
temple-dancer from India, and a cow. "Ling", a cow and
street- performer acrobat, came from China. "Kenta the
Black", a bull, came from Ethiopia. "Luna" was a female
horned sheep from Eire. "Nendi", a bull, came from Pakistan.
.Because these children were bovine, the Nendi tend to be various
kinds of bovines. (They are sometimes other kinds of ruminant.)
Jengomai Ghont's
fifty-eight children were hunted down and killed until only Ghont
himself remained of the Jengomai line. He gave the succession to
Prince Nendi, one of the half-vampires, and thus the Nendi Dynasty
took over.
Today, Nendi are
forbidden to marry a non-Dhampir. Anyone who marries into the Nendi
family must live in their heavily fortified and protected place, the
City of Jade Walls. Marriages between brothers and sisters are legal
but arranged marriages between Nendi cousins is the norm.
Nendi children are
raised in isolated perfect gardens and palaces, and kept out of sight
of commoners. They are trained in martial arts and weapon use. When
they are older, they go out into the land to do battle with the forces
of darkness.
Unlike other Dhampir,
the Nendi have developed their own powers, powers that breed true
amongst Dhampirs.
POWERS
of the Nendi:
The very existence of these special abilities are kept secret, even
from Children of the Light.
Bloodbond: The Lords of Nendi perform a ritual with those who
come into their household service. Several drops of their blood are
put on a mooncake, and fed to the Bonded One. Thereafter, the Bonded
Ones are magically forced to be loyal unto the Nendi. The Nendi in
turn become aware of their distress, pain, or hunger. Because of this
power, no one is ever allowed near Nendi children except for furres
already thus Bonded.
Ghostwalk: Instinctively, Nendi change to ghost-form when
threatened. While in this "phase" they don't look any
different than normal. It lasts several minutes after activated. While
"Ghostwalking", they can't interact with objects. Non-living
items they were holding or wearing become ghostly too. Older Nendi
learn to do this at will. The experts can do so for just a split
second and it becomes a part of the family's secret combat training.
Nendi children are not, themselves, punished; it is customary for each
to have a playmate who is also a "whipping boy/girl". When
they misbehave, it is this poor commoner who is punished.
Regeneration: Nendi can heal just about any injury. The older
they are, the harder they are to kill. It is said that Lord Nendi
Akune, 12th in line of descent from the first Nendi, was beheaded in a
war, but regenerated from that head!
Reflexes: Nendi have speed that rivals
their vampire cousins.
Enemy Sense: An assassin or other threat tends to be apparent
to a Nendi. Their presence is felt like slight nausea, and when the
Nendi looks at them, the more powerful ones will see an eerie white
light coming off of the danger. A non-hostile supernatural being will
show no such signs.
Strength: Most, but not all, Nendi are extremely strong.
The Contest of the Blood: This ritual is used to select a ruler
from amongst the Nendi heirs. Each drinks the blood of the other,
mixed into a cup of sweet plum wine. One will be dominant, and the
other will be submissive.
It's not quite clear how exactly this works, but the Nendi themselves
are almost always content with it. One Nendi will emerge the clear
ruler, with the others Bonded to him or her.
On rare occasions, a Nendi fails to be Bonded to the Overlord/Overlady.
The few times this has happened, and the dissenter was either executed
or banished. Such a furre and their parents are disgraced- it is
suspected that they are not full-blooded, but the product of an
affair.
WEAKNESSES
of the Nendi
Linked to Cheng Ban It is very important
to note that the Nendi do not do well outside of the Valley of Cheng
Ban! If they are away for too long, they will sicken and die. The
stronger the Nendi blood, the more tied to Cheng Ban they are.
There is only one hope for such a Nendi: they must regularly drink the
blood of a full Vampire-furre. That blood cannot be willingly given-
if it is, it loses its lifesaving ability. Thus, as a rule, Nendi do
not form alliances with Vamp-furres-- they take them prisoner and
extract blood by force! This has given rise to tension between them
and the kindhearted Children of the Dawn.
Sheltered Upbringing Nendi have a strong blindspot when it
comes to matters outside the Cheng Ban and the Royal Jade City. They
are only vaguely aware that Kasuria and Drakoria exist. Their
perspective is that things outside of Cheng Ban don't really matter.
Until they have travelled outside of their country, Cheng Ban IS the
civilized world, and all other places are little insignificant
outlying provinces.
Hated by Vamp-furres Those Nendi who travel outside Cheng Ban
invariably do so as hunters of Vamp-furres. For the Nendi's purposes,
Vamp-furre blood only lasts a month after it is put into phials.
The name
Demifane was created by Talzhemir for Furcadia. It may be used freely in
roleplaying as "fair use" of a roleplaying concept. However,
if it is used in fiction writing, credit should be given, in the
following fashion:
The "Order of Nemroth",
"Nendi of Cheng Ban",
"Children of the Dawn",
and "Demifane", (the
(half-mortal children
of supernaturals),
are copyright 2003 by Talzhemir and Dragon's Eye
Productions, Inc. They were created by Talzhemir
for Furcadia (furcadia.com) and appear here with
the author's permission.
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