Vernith, The New Fantasy (New Race Added)

[LordVreeg]

Looking forward to reading that.  SHould be good!  All about the Fantastic, amazing, aw-inspiring world...

[Xathan]

Just to let everyone know what's going on here, Vernith is still very much alive and well. What I'm stuck on right now is how far is too far - do I go all out with the fantastic, the crystaltech, the...fantasyness of it, or do I keep it psuedomedieval with the fantasy? Until I answer this question it's hard to update, but rest assured I am still working on the answer to this question. :P

[Xathan]

Vernith Reboot:

[note]Will edit main post with this information later, wanted some thoughts on this before I overhaul. And sorry for double post, just wanted to make sure anyone that already saw last post knows there's new info in this one.[/note]I've decided that some of the things that were originally going to go in Vernith don't fit the setting I have as of now '" specifically, the drastic changes to various races physical appearance and the Necrots. The latter are going to find an easy home in Elwid, so they're not gone, just being relocated, and the former are going to find a home in my upcoming stonepunk setting since they'll fit much better there.

Instead, I'm considering one of two things. Option A is to make non-humans completely unique races as opposed to the fantasy mainstays, keeping the fantastic feel but not just making weird elves. The other to make Vernith a human-only setting when it comes to intelligent races. Either one will get the fantastic feel I'm going for, and they have their own unique advantages '" on the former note, I'm now free to create some truly fantastic races to fit the overall setting better, and on the latter idea that makes the mutants that much more unique. Thoughts on that regard will be greatly appreciated.

Second, as to the crystaltech, while I don't have a complete write-up I'm beginning to get a mental image '" right now what I'm thinking is that the tech level is going to be much more modern in many ways than I had originally thought, just look very crystal-y and give it a more magic feel. You'll have analogies to planes, for example, and armor infused with the crystals to basically create powered armor, permanent gateways between locations, cannons that shoot energy, cities and buildings encased in telekinetic shields, fortresses that fly '" in short, dipping my toes into the science-fantasy pool while keeping it firmly fantasy in nature.

Just thought I'd give this update to let people know what direction the setting is going in, and going to get started on some actual details finally ASAP '" once I get some of these other ideas out of my head and into the settings they belong in.

[Superfluous Crow]

For a fantastic setting I would go with option A, but both could work.

[LordVreeg]

I like going more moderny, with maybe crystal bridging the gap between sciance and magic...

[Xathan]

Alright, so it looks like general preferences seem to be towards non-human races included and crystaltech acting much more modern than the fantasy norm. I'll be going that route then - will update with one or the other by sunday at the latest, which will involve complete rewrite of orignal post. (Original post will be put in a spoiler for reference purposes.) Thanks for the imput!

[Xathan]

The Rajol, a Race of Vernith

(Look, a content post!.)

Rajol - The Rajol are not a natural race, though they've gone far beyond their original purpose. Centuries ago humans used a long lost art to - with the aid of gethren crystals - physical manipulate beings on a species of insects. Once twisted to a humanoid size and shape, they were quickly put to their intended purpose - a slave labor force that was completely obedient to a single mind, which was dominated by a gethren matrix - the precursor to the modern Lattice. This arrangement existed for the length of this empire's span until the Apocalypse - which shattered the matrix and killed the High Mind in the process. The result was the intelligence of the High Mind distributed itself among the Rajol, converting them from mindless drones to a fully sentient race with an aptitude for psionics.

Standing on average five feet tall, Rajol are beautiful in their own alien way. A fusion of insect and human in appearance, coated in a flexible exoskeleton that glistens in light, their eight eyes cold and black, and their mouth two mandibles which conceal a shockingly human looking maw. However, they move with a peerless grace and surety, and some adults have large wings akin to that of a dragonfly. They've carved out hives in various places across the globe since their birth, and over time have proven themselves to be more than capable of matching other races for intelligence.

Mutation is rare among the Rajol, but psionic ability is common - including the ability for any Rajol to communicate with any other from their own hive telepathically, so long as the member of their hive is within close proximity. Rajol scholars and those of other races hypothesize that this innate ability is the reason so many Rajol have other psionic powers, though that does not explain rarity of mutations. Their use of gethretch is a fledgeling one, and other races are hesitant to share such knowledge with them. As such, they have the least developed technology, but all of it carries the same alien beauty the race itself does - even a common tool crafted with gethren is a work of art. The one advantage they have in technology is their most closely guarded secret - they hold the creation of gethsteel, and it is a process none have been able to replicate without destroying the gethren's psionic nature. How the Rajol manage it is unknown, but it allows for much finer tools that are highly sought after.

As far as natural abilities, Rajol's hardened carapace is their primary defensive measure - though they lose that advantage for a week every year during the molting season. Their bodies are capable of excreting two chemicals, one a powerful acid and another a sticky goo that will quickly harden into a solid resin - the same substance that is used to make their hives. They have a rigid cast system that is biologically enforced, not a social construct - like many hive insects, Rajol are born into a certain role and follow that role for their entire life. The concept of gender is alien to them - instead, it is your caste that determines roles.

The soldiers are exactly what their name implies, warriors once used in the service of the empire that created them and now to defend the hive. In times of peace, the majority enter a state of torpor to avoid consuming the resources of the hive when they are not needed. When awakened, they fight viciously, dispatching foes as quickly as possible and able to produce far more of the caustic acid than any other cast of Rajol.

Builders have two roles - the first is implied in their name, as they can near constantly secrete the resin that is used in construction of Rajol buildings and have a natural aptitude to shape it. Their second role is the construction of gethsteel tools, and they work at that process deep within their hive. Builders will a most never fight unless someone is close to stealing the secret of gethsteel, and in such cases lob resin to trap the intruder until a soldier can arrive - or encasing the subject so fully it will suffocate to death. Builders never torpor - construction and repairs are always needed.

[note]Breeders, like Soldiers, go into a torpor when their services are not needed - if the hive population is stable, breeders will only be awoken to go form a new hive[/note[Breeders fulfill a single purpose - the birth of more Rajol. Instead of being divided by male and female in traditional sense, they reproduce asexually, giving birth to anywhere from 20-30 larva at a time. When it is time for the larva to develop beyond it's current state, a different breeder will provide the genetic material to cause it to develop into another caste. Until that genetic material is received, larva remain in their infantile state, and a few that manage to wander away from the breeders have remained as such. Interestingly, larva left alone can breed amongst themselves in a form of neoteny, never developing into full Rajol and only quasi-sentient. However, such cases are rare since the apocalypse - a breeder will fight to the death to defend their larva, and have a psychic link to them that makes them easily located. Only the death of a breeder provides a risk of the larva going feral.

Scholars are the physically weakest of the Rajol, never fully forming an exoskeleton and unable to secrete any acid. However, their name is their primary pursuit - they are the thinkers of the Rajol, the dreamers, the innovators. They often command groups of builders and have a very respected place in the Rajol caste, but their physical fraility means they very rarely leave the hive and even then only under heavy guards. A sub-caste of Scholars are called Inquisitives, and unlike the image that conjures among other humanoids of vicious torutures and questioners, Inquisitives are tasked with questioning the decision of the nobles at every turn, providing an alternative viewpoint to any scholastic line of thought - in short, to make sure the entire hive does not march in lock step as they once did. Killing or in any way forcibly silencing an inquisitive due to a disagreement is the ultimate crime among the Rajol, though custom only dictates that their objections are listened to, not followed. Scholars never torpor. 

The Nobles are the ruling caste of the Rajol. Physically they are about as dangerous as soldiers, and the most powerful Rajol psychics are among the nobility. They are also significantly larger than most Rajol, standing closer to 9 feet tall, and have the most insectile appearance of all Rajol. Nobles only torpor when a new hive is being constructed they are going to be taking command of - it is believed that a new hive needs a long-lived ruler to function.

The final caste of the Rajol are the wanderers. Not much more threatening than any other race, their imperative is simple - they are driven to leave the hive and merge among the other races, explore new territory, visit other hives, and gain information to send back to the hive that spawned them. Wanderers are the most likely to join other races in various tasks and even form bonds among them - which is why no Wanderer is ever allowed the secret of gethsteel. 

More to come on the exact natures of these hives, but figured I'd at least give insight into one of the nonhuman races of Vernith. It's important to note that, while Rajol caste system is universal, how nobles run individual hives is as varied as how other humanoid races - I've never believe in "all members of this race are part of this one culture."

[Steerpike]

Very interesting - I'd had an idea similar to this myself once, for a crustacean race whose various metamorphic stages went from lover-->warrior-->scholar.  One very minor thing - I notice some of your "note" markup is incorrect, as I can see a fragment of forum code.

So I'm wondering about the rigidity of the caste system.  These creatures are fully sentient, yet biologically engineered for certain tasks; are there ever any rogue/"deviant" Rajol who reject their caste role?  Perhaps some that attempt to modify their bodies for new tasks?  What generally happens to Builders or Soldiers who become crippled and thus incapable of their physical function?

Does telepathy include mind-reading, or only the sending of mental messages?

What about Rajol in more cosmopolitan places - do they only exist in hives, or could communities thrive within the cities of other races?  If so, how would their social structure change?

Do Nobles war with one another?

Overall, very cool!

[Xathan]

I'm back! And responding to a post!

Fixed note fragment, sorry about that. And yeah, the mutiformed Arthropod is not a new idea, I just hope the Rajol present a unique twist on it.

As far as how rigid the caste system is, that depends on cultural factors - Rajol from some hives may have no choice but to follow their biological role, while in other hives it's merely encouraged but Rajol that choose otherwise are viewed no more oddly than we view vegetarians among humans (Humans being biologically designed as omnivores with strong carnivorous tendencies.) Body modification is big in these more open societies, as they try to suit their form to the role the want...but it's painful, long, and occasionally fatal. Again, what happens depends on the culture. Some are kept to provide their knowledge and expertise (since neither of those are genetic) in more benevolent cultures, some are put into Torpor until a way to heal them is found, and some are killed and replacement's bread - that depends on the culture of the hive more than anything else, and I'll try and outline a couple to get you some answers.

Their telepathy does not include mind reading in the classic sense, but if they send a telepathic message to a non Rajol, the Rajol can sense that person's response...but rarely anything more detailed than an affirmative, negative, or interrogative. (More detailed communication is possible with people who have had long term exposure to Rajol telepathy)

Rajol is cosmopolitan places take one of two forms as a general rule. One takes a district of the city and using their resin to repair it, gradually turns it into a hive that still matches the aesthetic of the city. However, a Rajol (who is not a Wanderer) away from the mental "buzz" of the hive for too long becomes uncomfortable with the "silence," so even if a true hive isn't formed, they tend to gather in districts.

As for their social structure changing, it's really more than anything else adapting to the existing culture...so to answer that, I'll have to do some regions that have Rajol living in cosmopolitan areas to illustrate my point.


All the time for the wars. They're as bad as any other intelligent race, and worse in one way - it's a near universal custom among Rajol that any Rajol taken in battle are to be used in their biological function until their death - essentially slavery. Raids for desirable breeders is a common occurrence.

Glad you liked!

[Xathan]

Vayeed

[note]The race postings, for now, are going to merely be physical overviews and some common psychological traits - I'm saving individual cultures within each race for later, just because I hate monoculturalism[/note]The Vayeed may be the oldest race on Vernith, though such a claim is difficult to prove. However, their own records go back far beyond the Apocalypse, and while the accuracy of the writings can be questioned, the fact that they predate the apocalypse is telling. 

However, the Apocalypse hit them harder than most races. None can truly say what the Vayeed looked like prior, but their current form is distinctive, to say the least. Their torso, from the waist up, is humanoid though greatly elongated. Their heads share a similar elongation, the skull reaching back into a large structure that houses their vocal apparatus. They have six eyes, two located on the front of the head and the remaining two wrapping around the sides of the face, giving them a far wider range of vision than most creatures - though the race is colorblind, seeing the world in scales of grey. Their arms are longer and thinner than most races, ending in a thumb and two fingers. Their skin's coloration ranged from dark to light grey, with a few rare Vayeed having skin that goes all the way intro true black or white.

From the waist down, there is no physical body. The Vayeed rests on a cloud of shimmering energy, hovering  a few feet above the ground. With significant concentration this energy can be used to propel the Vayeed to great heights, but typically their movement is similar to walking in that it keeps the Vayeed a fixed distance above the surface it is traversing. However, this has given them the advantage of being able to cross terrain other races need assistance to travel and to "walk" over liquids or hazardous materials that legged creatures would never be able to do (without the aid of psionics or mutations).

Culturally the Vayeed vary greatly from region to region, but there are a few unifying elements. Vayeed tend to prefer solitary dwellings to retreat to even amongst their own communities. They often have a fondness for history, especially relating to the time pre-Apocalypse. And, as a race, they believe that their prior forms were things of beauty and their new ones twisted abominations - a trait that is so common it may be part of their psychological makeup - and go through great lengths to cover their energy cushion (often draping robes or dresses over it) and are heavily into either physical modification of their forms to make them less appalling and more attractive, or into elaborate fashions designed to try and fix the impurity of their forms.

More information on individual Vayeed cultures will come after I've outlined the major races of Vernith.