Description
They are referred to as the Noctis Valdaari, and are the living embodiments of all that is wanton and cruel in Vampire society. Highly intelligent and devious to the point of obsession, this dark species revels in the physical and emotional pain of others, for feeding upon the residue of suffering is the only way they can stave off the slow consumption at the core of their own black souls.
The Valdaari, particularly their warrior castes, are tall, lithe, and white-skinned. Their alabaster skin is death-like in its pallor, their athletic bodies are defined by whipcord muscle, shaped and enhanced until they are physically stronger on average than their typical vampire counterparts, as the Cursed Children prize physical and martial prowess highly. Yet for all their physical beauty, they are still repugnant monsters. When viewed with preternatural sight, their black souls are revealed, for they eternally thirst only for the anguish and torment of other thinking beings in order to fill their own infinite emptiness. Unlike their cousins, the consumption of blood from humans provides little sustenance to them, and only serves as a temporary, ineffective relief from the yawning hunger at their core.
Every denizen of this cursed society is fundamentally defined by his or her innate selfishness. Personal power, the pursuit of comfort and the gratification of their dark desires are the only things which truly hold value for the denizens of the undercities. They take no pride in the achievements of others within their race and measure every endeavor's worth in how it contributes to their own self-interest. The need for survival in a world hostile to their kind is the only thing that bonds them together as a people.
Overlords of the underworld.
The aristocracy of the Valden race are the few that reside in great mansions and castles above-ground on the Old World. While a majority of their time is spent indulging in their own selfish impulses, they also spend time governing the masses of citizens within their covens, and keeping a watchful eye on those outsiders that would seek to destroy their race.
A majority of the Valden dwell in the catacombs that make up their nightmare world. This vast network of labyrinthine passages and dungeons spreads like an aggressive cancer as the toil of captured slaves ensures its never-ending expansion.
Progress without restraint.
While the Valden pay some tribute to Dark Gods or Demons in order to gain power, influence, or wealth. They have no moral constraints when it comes to advancement both politically and scientifically.
Many a ruler has met his demise at the poisoned dagger of an assassin, or the schemes of a subordinate. However, it is within the medical and scientific community where the Valden's lawlessness truly produces both great, and nightmarish advancements.
The laboratories of the flesh-crafters are an object of suspicion, awe, and horror for all Valden who know of them. Great menageries of caged monsters produced by failed experiments stretch out for what seems like an infinite distance, for the surgeon's work is never done, and many are his achievements.... And failures.
These surgeons are horrific and insane flesh-sculptors who have lived within the depths of the underworld for many centuries. The Lords of Pain, are master torturers, the Valden's greatest connoisseurs of pain and terror. To pass the long centuries they compose loving symphonies of agony from those unfortunate enough to be held captive in ther dungeons. Even other Valden secretly fear them, for they can reshape not just the body but also the soul. The Lords of Pain are organized into cults that are integral to Valden society since they are the true masters of the Valden's necessary regenerative processes as well as of torture, but they remain the embodiments of terror and paranoia even for others of their species. All know that to anger one of the Lords of Pain is to end up as the subject of one of their horrific tapestries of agony. They specialise in body modification and flesh-sculpting and they love to work with a new "canvas" of flesh. No request is too difficult or bizarre for one of these skilled artists to fulfill.
World of Myth and Nightmare
Many are the denizens of the dark cities, and no two are exactly alike. The rampant drive to push to newer levels of excess and debauchery twists and contorts the forms of many into macabre shadows of their once graceful and beautiful selves.
Aside from this, many shambling monster, demon, and otherworldly creatures roam and stalk the corridors of the dark cities. Because of it's lawlessness, Valdreth has become a home for many strange and exotic being. Demonic pacts, experiments, and tampering with dark magic have ensured that the Dark cities are infested with creatures of nightmare.
The Valdaari, particularly their warrior castes, are tall, lithe, and white-skinned. Their alabaster skin is death-like in its pallor, their athletic bodies are defined by whipcord muscle, shaped and enhanced until they are physically stronger on average than their typical vampire counterparts, as the Cursed Children prize physical and martial prowess highly. Yet for all their physical beauty, they are still repugnant monsters. When viewed with preternatural sight, their black souls are revealed, for they eternally thirst only for the anguish and torment of other thinking beings in order to fill their own infinite emptiness. Unlike their cousins, the consumption of blood from humans provides little sustenance to them, and only serves as a temporary, ineffective relief from the yawning hunger at their core.
Every denizen of this cursed society is fundamentally defined by his or her innate selfishness. Personal power, the pursuit of comfort and the gratification of their dark desires are the only things which truly hold value for the denizens of the undercities. They take no pride in the achievements of others within their race and measure every endeavor's worth in how it contributes to their own self-interest. The need for survival in a world hostile to their kind is the only thing that bonds them together as a people.
Overlords of the underworld.
The aristocracy of the Valden race are the few that reside in great mansions and castles above-ground on the Old World. While a majority of their time is spent indulging in their own selfish impulses, they also spend time governing the masses of citizens within their covens, and keeping a watchful eye on those outsiders that would seek to destroy their race.
A majority of the Valden dwell in the catacombs that make up their nightmare world. This vast network of labyrinthine passages and dungeons spreads like an aggressive cancer as the toil of captured slaves ensures its never-ending expansion.
Progress without restraint.
While the Valden pay some tribute to Dark Gods or Demons in order to gain power, influence, or wealth. They have no moral constraints when it comes to advancement both politically and scientifically.
Many a ruler has met his demise at the poisoned dagger of an assassin, or the schemes of a subordinate. However, it is within the medical and scientific community where the Valden's lawlessness truly produces both great, and nightmarish advancements.
The laboratories of the flesh-crafters are an object of suspicion, awe, and horror for all Valden who know of them. Great menageries of caged monsters produced by failed experiments stretch out for what seems like an infinite distance, for the surgeon's work is never done, and many are his achievements.... And failures.
These surgeons are horrific and insane flesh-sculptors who have lived within the depths of the underworld for many centuries. The Lords of Pain, are master torturers, the Valden's greatest connoisseurs of pain and terror. To pass the long centuries they compose loving symphonies of agony from those unfortunate enough to be held captive in ther dungeons. Even other Valden secretly fear them, for they can reshape not just the body but also the soul. The Lords of Pain are organized into cults that are integral to Valden society since they are the true masters of the Valden's necessary regenerative processes as well as of torture, but they remain the embodiments of terror and paranoia even for others of their species. All know that to anger one of the Lords of Pain is to end up as the subject of one of their horrific tapestries of agony. They specialise in body modification and flesh-sculpting and they love to work with a new "canvas" of flesh. No request is too difficult or bizarre for one of these skilled artists to fulfill.
World of Myth and Nightmare
Many are the denizens of the dark cities, and no two are exactly alike. The rampant drive to push to newer levels of excess and debauchery twists and contorts the forms of many into macabre shadows of their once graceful and beautiful selves.
Aside from this, many shambling monster, demon, and otherworldly creatures roam and stalk the corridors of the dark cities. Because of it's lawlessness, Valdreth has become a home for many strange and exotic being. Demonic pacts, experiments, and tampering with dark magic have ensured that the Dark cities are infested with creatures of nightmare.