Lore Thread

[VitaminHeart]

Lore Reference

(Thread is still under construction. If there's anything you after interested in including here, drop me a PM.)

This thread is to act as a baseline for species, magic, lore and historical background within the canon. If it's in here, it's canonical. =)



Species


[b]Vampires
[/b]
Vampires were supposedly created at some point in pre-history, when a human sold their soul to a demon in exchange for eternal life. The demon granted them their wish, the progenitor would never age, nor sicken, nor decay, but it was a half-life. They would forever be cold, forever cursed to shun the light, and would never bear living children, only able to create more through mixing their tainted blood with that of humanity to create more of them.

That was The Mother, the first vampire.

That's if you believe the legend, but tha is what has been passed through the oral tradition of their kind for centuries.

Vampires are defined by the following characteristics:

-Low body temperature and slow pulse.
-Slow metabolic processes and efficient energy usage, allowing their kind to exist on the comparatively nutrient-poor foodstuff that is blood.
-Extremely good dark vision.
-Extendable hollow canine teeth driven by strong muscles in the upper jaw. Venom sacs existing next to salivary glands.
-Anti-coagulant in saliva.
-Longer, more tightly-coiled digestive system.
-Cartilage rather than bone making up the sternum, creating a weak point in around the centre of the vampire's chest. (Hence the folklore belief that a vampire might be killed by a 'stake to the heart'.

-Increased strength and physical ability, particularly related to having a very fast running speed, and an especially strong grip, for chasing and holding prey.

-Appears generally attractive to humans.

-Extreme sensitivity to UV radiation. Whilst vampires will not burst into flames in sunlight, their cells are very easily damaged by UV radiation. Their sensitive eyes can easily receive retinal damage, and prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause painful necrosis of skin tissue.

-Requires blood every few days in order to retain optimum health. Without it the vampiric cellular structure starts to break down and their cells will start to die and the vampire will begin to appear to 'decay', the subsequent brain damage causing the indiivdual to behave in a progressively more agressive and animalistic manner. Due to the vampire's enhanced healing factor this damage is reversible up to a certain point, before vampire can be considered too far gone, though there are reports of some older vampires being brought back after centuries of burial.



Werewolves



Sorcerers


Fallen


Demons

(GM Note: For balance and wider storyline reasons, the Septem Cardinalis roles are limited to NPC roles and can only be invoked with GM permission.)

Demons are one of the few species unrepresented in SCION, and with good reason. A greater demon would have little concern for aiding the organization, and a lesser demon would always be enthralled to a greater one.

Seven greater demons exist, known in mortal tongue as the Septem Cardinalis, Seven Cardinals. Their names differ according to the demonological texts they are taken from, and their true names are largely unknown, due to the danger of even speaking such things aloud.

The Seven are the incarnations of primordial darkness, they remember when the world was nothing but a barren chunk of rock and fire and they anticipate they day when it will return to it. And in between they jostle amongst themselves in a constant war for position and power.

Every lesser demon carries with it a piece of one of the Cardinals, and as such is unbreakably linked to it.


Gorgons

Succubi/Incubi


---


Organizations


The Exsanguis

A very old and established european vampire clan, The Exsanguis has its roots tracing back to roman times and Cyric, a second generation vampire, supposedly turned by The Mother herself. This and his tendency to turn a large number of the core members himself makes the clan very 'pure' and often affords them additional power and authority.

The clan is known both for its widespread nature, efficiency in its dealings, and its complete ruthlessness. Exsanguis members have infiltrated all echelons of society, and use that clout within it to dispatch anyone who might cause them problems.


The White Rose



York Moors Pack

[RebelPride]

Could do up a few human if you're interested!

[RebelPride]

Sector 7- Scion's replacement as far as the government is concerned. They kill, maime, cage, and torture supernaturals as often as they can. They've also come into turning selected soldiers in the hopes to crate a new breed of supersoldiers, ones who could quite possibly rip their enemies apart limb from limb. They prefer their members to feed naturally, rather than from a bloodbag, so they've also come to taking in POW's for their operatives food source.

[ianna_334]

In this canon a sorcerer is an individual within whom natural magical energy sort of accumulates, like say, static charge building up in metal. The idea of 'learning magic' is less about acquiring more power and more about finding different ways in which to focus the power that was there. Sorcerers are born with a certain magical volume that they can contain within themselves and this volume doesn’t change throughout their life. The capacity is always random, there is no way to make sure that your child will carry on your capacity, although this doesn’t stop older sorcerer bloodlines from trying to marry up in hopes of making themselves more prestigious.
Magic also seems to come with different variations, if the bloodline abilities of many sorcerer families are any indication. This isn’t to say that they can’t do other magic or that others can’t imitate theirs, but a sorcerer performing a magic that he or she has an aptitude for will find themselves using less energy while getting more powerful effects. Spells of that nature will come more easily to them than other types.
Since sorcerers have a capacity, this also means that they can run out of magical power – the result being a state like running out of breath after a hard run. It will take some time to build up power again. In this eventuality, sorcerers cannot absorb magic from their surroundings to replenish their empty stores.
There are also different ways to cast magic, mostly differing in preparation time and the precision of the resulting magic. As a general rule, more precise magic takes longer to cast.

Disclaimer: This was approved by the GM

[ianna_334]

Another from me!

Incubus Lore

Incubi and Succubi are the same species, but are different genders. Called demons in human lore, they are actually closer to vampires in the ways they survive. Like vampires, they rely on something they must get from others to sustain their beauty through their long lives, which usually end around 1000 years. However, no one really knows what exactly incubi/succubi feed on. The most common names are life force, life energy, and sex energy.

As implied, this energy is best gathered through sexual contact, though an incubus/succubus can feed through simple proximity. The difference between methods is comparable to filling a bucket by placing it under a tap compared to placing it in the rain. Similarly, the intensity of the activity determines how much energy is generated. Incubi and Succubi can control how much they take from their targets, ranging from a barely noticeable depletion to a complete drain which results in death. They can feed from either humans or supernaturals, though some types of cryptid are naturally more resistant. They can ingest human food, however, it will not sustain them. Going without feeding results in loss of refined powers, extreme fatigue and physical signs of sickness, and eventual loss of control which is a last ditch effort before they die.

Incubi/succubi are perfectly equipped to gather the substance they need. Besides being physically attractive on their own, the most well known power of the incubi and succubi is allure. Allure is an originally unconscious mind control that induces extreme desire in those it targets, usually for the incubus or succubus using the power. There are different levels of allure which older incubi/succubi can learn to use, ranging from just enough interest to warrant a second glance and a lingering curiosity, to a mindless need to do anything if it means the target can be close to the incubus/succubus in question. Allure can also be turned off, but very few can both master the control needed to do so and actually have a desire to. The other unconscious power is the Blur, another subtle psychological trick to lure in the target. The blur slowly changes the features of the incubus/succubus until it matches the target’s ideal. This can be either all in the target’s head or can translate into physical shapeshifting (Note: It takes a very well “fed” incubus or succubus to transfer the Blur into a physical effect) It has been theorized that incubi/succubi could potentially change sex with enough power, but the species themselves doesn’t see much need to discover if there is truth behind the idea. Other powers must be worked on consciously and are all variations off the first two unconscious abilities.

Incubi/succubi are born, and do not have the ability to turn others like vampires do. Despite rumours, only succubi can carry children. Incubi/succubi are adorable angelic children that grow into striking, stunning, and altogether gorgeous adults. The allure matures when the child incubus/succubus finishes puberty and switches fully from drawing attention and affection to drawing lust (usually from target members of the teen’s budding sexuality). It takes a few years for everything to settle, and most incubi/succubi lose their virginity soon after, usually driven by the need to regain lost life energy. However, they tend to adjust quickly as the vanity typical of the species takes over, and come to embrace their new powers and lifestyles.

Incubi and succubi also have trouble forming genuine emotional bonds, though in recent generations, many have been driven to try to live lives of chastity and monogamy (which tends to crash and burn rather quickly)

[Miss Echo]

In legends, it is commonly said that the first gorgon, Medusa, was birthed when the angered Goddess Athena cursed a beautiful maiden to an eternity of hideousness. Of course, while this is merely a myth, the true creation of the gorgon race is said to have mirrored this closely.

Long ago, a powerful and haughty sorcerer had come upon a village in his travels. The people there were vibrant, lovely, and as luck would have it, the sorcerer soon fell hopelessly in love with one of the local women. Desperate to make her his bride, he sought to court her, only to be rejected, for the woman had fallen for another of the town.

Angered and embarrassed, the sorcerer cursed both her and her village. He locked them into an eternity of being frightful beasts, subsequently creating the gorgons known to day; or so some those of the race will claim.

The traits of the gorgon are as follows:

• Cold blooded.
  
  
• A quick metabolism, brought upon by the fact that the serpents that grow from their scalp require as many nutrients as regular snakes.
  
• Similar to vampires, their canines are hollow, and can retract to the roof of the mouth. Their venom sacs contain a deadly poison, however, which brings about nausea, dizziness, and, if left be, death.
  
• Scales litter the surface of their body, replacing what would be human flesh in many areas.
  
• Are hatched instead of being born live.
  
• As their blood serves somewhat as a healing agent, their wounds heal relatively quickly.
  
• Gaze has major chance of causing heart attacks or stroke in those who meet it.
  
• Although the snakes share a more or less symbiotic relationship with their host, they are also very much a part of the gorgon’s body. As a result, any damage inflicted upon them affect the gorgon, as well.

[ianna_334]

I like it, Miss Echo!

[ianna_334]

Apparently, I can't edit my past messages, strange...

Well, anyway, new fact for the incubus/succubus species: Because of the dangers inherent in the powers (especially the transitioning powers) of young incubi and succubi, the elders have surprisingly strong parental instincts and will protect their children up until the allure is fully transitioned and controlled before allowing the child off on their own.