A World of Monsters. (An Encyclopedia on the creatures of the world of Null.)

[TripleMRed]

Civilized Races.


While many creatures on Null could classify as 'sentient', even sapient, few can be classified as 'civilized'. Of these species, only those known to belong to Arisa are known about, as Nod is kept from observation by remaining True Dragon and Stone Eye defense systems there. At the time of this writing, these races are the Oros, the Chimera, the Empusa, the Cerberi, the Ogra, the Gobb, the Striga-Hyto, the Lasarna, the Sun People, and the Mortalized Spirits.

Of these races, the Oros, Chimera, Empusa, and Cerberi are the four naturally occurring Mortal races of Null, with the Mortalized Spirits being either Spirit individuals stuck on Null rather than Lacuna or the descendant of one such individual stuck on Null. The Ogra and Lasarna are species brought to Null via the Uplifters, millions of years ago and 12 thousand years ago respectively. The Oros and those with Oros heritage are the only members of the Civilized Races to have unbreakable bones, though the durability of the skeletal structure of the other races cannot be dismissed.

All of the Civilized Races of Null are compatible with one another, and all have been living together in a unified society of some kind for thousands of years, the various races intermingling for almost as long. The Median itself formed in the year 1501, centuries ago as of the time of this current writing, with it bringing unification to the Civilized Races under the guidance of the Mediator, the eldest sister of the creator of our world, Lady Null, and the unifier of our Nations: Media.

Any member of the Civilized Races can breed with a member of the opposite sex, though the offspring is always of the mother's species. [A note is attached. It reads 'So many interspecies babies, so little time!']

The unifying biological trait among all of the native Mortal races if us sharing the exact same grade of Sentinel Bacteria, the highest grade out of all of Null in fact. This means that no other creature save a fellow Civilized Race can consume our flesh, for if they try, the Sentinel Bacteria react violently and often with deadly results. This grade of Sentinel Bacteria also effectively renders the Civilized Races immune to caustic based damage. The Ogra and Lasarna, meanwhile, are of the second heighest grade of Sentinal Bacteria, making them immune to being eaten by outside forces but not immune from being consumed by other animal life native to Null.

Another unifying quality is how our species' sexual determination works. Chimera, Empusa and Cerberi are always female, or hermaphroditic in the case of the Empusa, due to being mono-gendered races, but Oros and Mortalized Spirits share the same sex determination quality: Ovum within the mother come predetermined with a sex for the individual to be born if this particular egg is fertilized by a father's sperm, which delivers the genetic information from the father to complete the portions missing in the Ovum. As a result, males develop as males and females develop as females, resulting in no sex based chemical imbalances in their biology. As a result, males lack nipples due to lacking mammary glands entirely. It should be noted, however, that Spirits in their natural habitat of the Spirit Realm of Lacuna are able to change their biological sex at will due to being creatures of magic rather than matter and thus are not bound by the same rules as Mortals. Ogra and Lasarna, meanwhile, operate on a more common sex determination method, in which they begin development as females before a sex determinating chromosome determines if they remain as such or become the other relevant sex to their species.

To date, there has not been a single individual of the Civilized Races to have died of old age. Indeed, evidence indicates that we are all biologically immortal and will never truly die of age, but the dangers of our world means that living beyond a few centuries was uncommon for most people. Those that do live for extended periods of time weaken somewhat, but otherwise remain strong and dangerous individuals in their own right.

With all of that said, it is time we gave a look to the various species of the Civilized Races:

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Oros.

[Sketches depict a species of bipedal, tail-less, short muzzled canines with humanoid proportions and features. They are shown to have a wide emotional range from expressions shown as well as a wide number of cultures based on clothing and armors. Armor seems to be the norm, as are masks, but there are many sketches showing them in daily attire without either such features. When fully nude, females have their sexual features on display, while males have their sexual organs hidden away by a genital slit like fold of skin keeping their genitalia hidden in a bulge like mass on their crotch. This is covered up by fur, giving them a 'featureless' appearance when fully nude and not aroused, with the testicles being internal entirely.]

[A note is attached. It depicts an eyepatch wearing stick-doodle with the words 'iz me' written next to it.]

Scientific Name Translation: Wise Wolf.

[A note is attached. It reads, 'Smart, hell yes. Wise? Depends on the person. Wolf? Eh, I think we're more like doggos myself. We domesticated ourselves!']

Average Size: 6'5-7'8 feet/1.98-2.78 meters tall, depending on Body Type.

Average Weight: 400-1190 pounds/ 181.44-539.78 kgs, depending on Body Type.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: Females are curvier than males, with features male lack like nipples and breasts, as well as longer and better defined hair most of the time.

Habitat Range: All biomes of the Arisa continent.

Summary:​

Of the various Mortal canid species of Null, only one has managed to achieve a full civilization. This species is me. It is likely also you. It is the Oros, the founding member race of the Nations of Null, and the most numerous native sapient species on the Mortal plane of our world. Our species has been through much over the millennia since our evolution into our modern state, but through unified endurance, cooperation, and a little help from more powerful beings, we stand united as the dominant life forms of this world alongside our fellow Civilized races.

The first modern day Oros is believed to have come to fruition some 200,000 years ago, here on our home continent of Arisa. Much of our prehistory is left unknown save for cave paintings and early artifacts, but what we do know is that life was always harsh on our fair planet. Our ancestors worked together using the three Body Types of the Oros people to hunt together and find success. Normal Body Types, though the smallest and physically weakest are naturally the best with ranged weaponry and thus were archers who fell grazing animals after exhausting them from a tireless hunt to tire them out. The physically powerful Warrior body types would then move in to finish off the prey before the Tall's would go on to use their deft hands to gather as much food as possible. [A note is attached. It reads 'The power of teamwork, my dudes!']

Eventually, the wheels of progress turned and the first civilizations came to existence. Farming communities began to sprang up as agriculture and animal taming became more widely known. They were then found and aided by the Great Spirits of Lacuna to develop into the first true great civilizations, though our success would see the wrath of our planet set upon us time and again. The first modern day Nation, the Royalbacks, came into existence some 9000 years ago and would be the parent Nation for a handful of others. The Windrunner Oros technically had a longer civilization before the Royalbacks, though they were different than the modern Nations as we understand them and would become the foundation for the modern day Skyrunner Nation. Sadly, during the rule of savage Bloodsuckers, an 8th proto-Nation known as the Ghost Dancers was rendered extinct. Their blood line persists to the modern day through descendants of those that had children with other Nationalities before their destruction, but as of the time of this writing, no pure blooded Ghost Dancers remain.

What followed were several thousand years of advancement, loss of knowledge, re-advancement, and dark age falls of institutional knowledge as the Nations almost literally warred against the planet itself, as well as internecine wars between each other. This culminated in arrival of the Prophet Am of the Bar in 0 WA (With Am), who hailed from a small group of Oros hidden away from the rest of the world. He would go on to become the founder of the Ambaric Church and, following his ascension into the heavens in 0 AA (After Am), the foundation for the Median would be laid, the 3rd Kingdom.

The 3rd Kingdom only lasted two centuries, but during this time many of the fundamental elements of the modern day Oros cultures were formed. It would not be another 1300 years before the Oros finally settled their differences and formed the unifying Median under the Aether Being Media, who acted as an unbiased intermediary between the various Nations and thus the only truly neutral party to be able to properly rule all of Null. [A note is attached. It reads 'So like, the 3rd Kingdom failed after two centuries because the various Nations of Oros hadn't yet gotten over each other being of different Nations, so it failed. Someone tried to make a 4rth Kingdom afterwords and unify everyone by conquering, but they got beaten by the Prophetess of War, Rosa. So cool.']

Oros have many interesting biological features. For instance, we lack tails despite starting life with them and our teeth are not individuals bones but a part of our skull. Our flesh is highly durable and capable of regeneration and we have a thin but highly dense layer of blubber beneath our skin. As a consequence, however, Oros are highly susceptible to fire as a consequence, though this is very much survivable if the only damage taken is from the flames and not other outside attacks as after a while of being exposed to fire, our musculature produces an oily slick that douses our the flames and prevents us from catch firing again. We also have a high stamina, allowing us to outlast most threats that try to fight us in the first place.

Our people is also subdivided into three main body types. Normal, Tall, and Warrior. Normal's are the most common at about 60 percent of the population and stand on average about 6'5 out of armor. They have excellent eyesight and a steady hand, allowing them to be better marksman than the other types. Tall's have a similar build to Normals, but on average stand around 7'2 out of armor. They have quick hands and fast reflexes, making them unparalleled duelists. Warriors are the biggest at 7'8 on average and well muscled and have the biggest amount of physical power, capable of lifting and hurling light tanks over a dozen meters away. The rough maximum tonnage each Body-Type can carry and throw is around 5-7, 14-17, and around 32.5 tons respectively, though this puts strain on the body to perform consistently without the aid of Power Armor.

There also exists the 'Short' Body Type, but this is a polite nomenclature for members of the respective body-types suffering from dwarfism. They are typically a foot or so smaller than the average height of their Body Type and are more compact as a result. The Yayai fox spirits like to call these individuals 'chibi'. [A note is attached. It reads 'I call them what they are: Shortstacks. What? They're short, and their women are stacked. It fits. XD']

Oros, like most other life, are omnivorous and can sustain ourselves on both plant and animal tissues. However, we are true omnivores and thus require both kinds of tissue in order to remain healthy, as we weaken when exclusively fed one over the other. We also lack Mana Converters, instead having a Second Stomach which holds the food we have converted into a nutrient rich soup and feeds it into our blood stream like fuel in a fuel tank. Anything eaten into the first stomach is rapidly reduced by acid into this 'nutrient soup' for this purpose as 'fuel'.

Our biggest and most important biological features however are our bones. The bones of an Oros were blessed by our creator, Null, to be truly unbreakable. Indeed, nothing save the reality eroding power of the Aether itself can harm these bones we've been given, be it the direct flames of a star or the blade of Great Spirit. They are, furthermore, interconnected by a sort of 'soft-bone' that prevents our skeletons from being pulled apart. These bones are not without their drawbacks, however. They are heavy and dense, making swimming impossible without the use of an old swim bladder organ that barely affords us an hour of swim time, though the Wavechasers have swim bladders that are able to allow them 10 hours of swim time, as we otherwise sink directly to the bottom of the water. [A note is attached. It reads 'I wish I could swim normally. Having bones that can't be broken forged by eldritch beings is nice and all, but just once I'd like to swim in the pool for longer than an hour before I sink like a rock.']

Furthermore, these bones make it difficult to perform surgery in areas protected by them, such as the ribcage, and for the longest time made physical brain ailments impossible to treat, something only possible today with modern technology involving intrusive fiber tendrils through the eye socket. This unbreaking skeletal structure are made unbreakable by unknown Aetheric means, but because of them an Oros requires 11 months to gestate in the womb. This skeleton was a major factor of the UrOros created by Eunoe uncountable universes before our own to do battle with the god-like Sleepers, meaning they were a part of our 'blueprint' when Null herself chose to revive our species.

Our skeletons do not make us indestructible, however. Suffocation or enough damage to our bodies to bleed us out will all result in our kind's end in short order. Indeed, many a young Oros foolishly met their death thinking that their unbreaking bones meant they could not die. If only this was true. Other aspects of our biology include having the highest grade of Sentinel Bacteria alongside our fellow Civilized Races, preventing us from being eaten by all but each other and the now extinct Bloodsucker, redundant organs the same as all Nullians, and biological quirks each Nation has developed over time. [A note is attached. it reads, 'I wish we were indestructible. I miss you so much, gram and gramps....']

Oros have no set biological breeding season, as we are able to produce young the year round. A quirk of our biology, however, means that we don't really have a sex drive until the first time we have sex, after which a mated pair will produce many offspring as long as they are alive. The specifics of the union vary from time period and culture, but typically in ancient times the couple will mate in a secure location while the rest of their people guarded the location from outside.

After 11 months of gestation, an Oros child is born. They are fully functional individuals capable of surviving on their own, and resemble our animalistic canine ancestors more than the people we are as adults. By the time the young have reached their first year, they have begun to stand upright and understand spoken language, though they are clumsy on their two feet for a while. Their tails once they become fully bipedal and plantigrade is reabsorbed into the body and their slightly longer snouts develop into their adult shape as they grow up. Puberty begins at around 13 years of age and is marked by an increased in aggression and destructive desires and is completed at around 18 years of age when they are officially recognized as full adults. Those Oros that do not lose their family's during or before this point typically remain close with their families for years afterward until they finally find a mate of their own. There is no real taboo against interracial couples or marrying any of the other Civilized Races of Null. [A note is attached. It depicts an eyepatch wearing female hugging an Oros puppy. The puppy is blepping. Words follow, reading 'My people's babies are sooooo cute! It's like having a puppy that came out of you! I can't wait to find the right guy to settle down with and have a family of my own. Puppers, puppy, pupperinos. Actually, wait, scratch that, I don't know if I can handle to pressure of being a mom! Oh man, would I mess it up!?']

There are 7 Great Nations of Oros, each comprised of a few smaller but interconnected Nations. These Great Nations each have their own coloration's and biological quirks as part of their heritage.

-The Royalbacks have black fur and a diamond shaped patch of fur on their back with a 'royal' color, from jade to purple and more. Royalbacks are noted for their resilience to disease. They are the first modern Great Nation and are ruled by a dynastic Great Queen.

-The Bughunters are known for their green tinged fur and a 'mask' pattern of fur over their eyes. They are known for their resilience against toxins, and intentionally kept themselves technologically primitive compared to modern day standards in order to avoid the 'notice' of the planet. This worked and thus for the longest time they were the Nation with the highest population of Oros, though the Great Walled Cities are starting to close the numbers gap.

-The Firebrands have red and rust tinted fur and are known for their higher tolerance for flames for a limited time. They live in the volcanic Southern Heat Plains and are famous for their unusually loud and boisterous attitudes compared to the more reserved traditional attitudes of other Oros, as well as a fondness for drinking, though the love of drink is a cultural aspect rather than a biological one.

-The Icebreakers are snow white and have an inherit resistance to the cold. Residing in the frozen north, They are a people known for their stoic attitudes and frown upon open displays of emotion towards non-Icebreakers, though this attitude is slowly melting as time goes on. They are well known for their technological advances and are the premier tech development Nation in the Median.

-The Stonecutters are a brown furred people who live in the stormy mountains and have a resistance to electricity. They are famous for their mining and their peoples closeness with Aetherworks, with much of their more advanced technology involving Aether-Tech embedded in stone. They're most well known for their Nation being turned into a mining colony for the Royalbacks before breaking off and successfully ceding millennia ago, redeveloping a culture and personality all their own.

-The Wavechasers are a blue tinged people with many tattoo like fur markings. They take to the seas in the eastern shores and are known for their dynastic empire ruled by an emperor. Their bright red colored Raiders were an infamous military unit in their early years fighting wars between the various Nations, though in the modern day they primarily make up the Media's wet navy and fishing industries.

-The Skyrunners with tan and sandy colored fur an interesting tattoo like facial markings in their fur patterns. They hold the record for the oldest continuing civilization of the Oros peoples, hailing from the interior North Eastern Dune Sea, and were the second modern Nation formed after the Royalbacks. They are a people with a love for the air and thus are responsible for the development of the modern day Aerial Fleet that protects the Great Walled Cities. A spiritual and friendly people.

Together, these 7 Great Nations form the Nullian Union, also known as the Median. For over a 1500 years, we've stood tall together and have begun to enter our space age, with our first space elevators soon to come online and the first of our airships to be converted into space capable vessels. The exact culture of each Nation varies, further varying based on subcultures wtihin and the individual practices among clans and families. No matter the differences, however, all Oros are tightly nit between each other and the other Civilized Races to live alongside us. It isn't perfect, but we all stand together on this hellhole we call a homeworld and for that, we're all one people. It just took us a while to realize that and stop the squabbling between Nations.

Our past may be shrouded in misery and woe, but our future among the stars is looking bright. Shine on, you blazing star. [A note is attached. It reads 'Ha, that's a reference to Starshine! Don't think we didn't notice!']

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[A note is attached. It reads, 'So, I've been doing doodles and drawings and sketches for a long time now. I've decided to go ahead and do some sketches of my fellow Oros from around the city I live in in this new art style I've been developing. All of these guys are my friends I got to know from work. Who knew being a military engineer would see you meeting so many different people? Oh wait, that's just how that works. XD

Uploading these now.'

What follows are sketches drawn by the note maker:

'I also did one on Media herself from this one conference she did.']

(Special thanks to @Jen for this wonderful commissioned art!

 

[TripleMRed]

Oros, Addendum.

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While the Oros page has been a part of my Encylopedia since the beginning, minus the updates done due to changing dates, some information had been intentionally left out of older editions due to being requested by other parties, which I honored. However, recent developments in recent years have opened up the possibility that I can include knowledge of these elements into my Encylopedia. As the Oros page is long enough as it is, I have decided to add this additional page to include the additional information not included in the main page. Here we go. [A note is attached. It reads 'I'm really happy this page was added in 7th edition. It helped me explain things to those new people that wound up on Null a few years back. It's gotta suck to be the Displaced like that, but I'm sure they'll get used to living here eventually! I've got a friend among them, a dog-girl named Gloria who found all of this really helpful!']

Oros Conditions.

The Oros as a people have some conditions, ailments, and even blessings that can be passed down our lines. These conditions range from severe and life altering to minor and almost unnoticeable. Some of the biggest and most well known of these conditions are as followed.

-KillJoy. KillJoys are Oros who have a defect in part of their nervous system responsible for giving feedback when an Oros kills a hostile target. In a regular Oros, a sense of relief is given when we slay an enemy trying to kill us, with perhaps a sense of satisfaction depending on the individual and if they were performing a task such as hunting. KillJoys, however, have a defect in this portion of the nervous system that, rather than feeling relief at surviving an enemy and killing them in turn, the KillJoy, as their name implies, feels a sense of elation, euphoria, and happiness upon killing something. Furthermore, the target does not have to be hostile for a KillJoy to feel this happiness. KillJoys who discover this about themselves have been known to develop an almost psychotic need to kill, becoming addicted to the sense of happiness that killing brings for them. All KillJoys, however, instinctively cannot bring themselves to imagine, much less actually harm, someone they consider family to themselves. It is literally unthinkable for them despite their condition.

If found early on and given proper treatment, KillJoys can be socialized into relatively normal, functional members of society, no more a threat to their neighbors than they are to their own family. If not treated, however, most KillJoys are unable to stop themselves from getting addicted to the happiness they receive from killing, and thus easily jump the slippery slope into becoming dangers to themselves and those around them. In ancient times, KillJoys were banished to the wild to find find their deaths doing what they love, slaying creatures in the wild. In the modern day, KillJoys are rounded up for treatment in psychological facilities dedicated to defusing their addiction. Results are mixed, however. [A note is attached. It reads 'I have a cousin who is a Killjoy. She is pretty normal, but she gets really happy when she starts stomping on a bunch of ants and kinda loses track of time when she does it. Always creeped me out.']

Interestingly, KillJoys regardless of their state of mind are not sadistic where they can help it. They do not take pleasure in the act of torture or inflicting pain: Their condition only rewards them with happiness upon confirmed killing of a target. As a result, KillJoys make for poor torturers as they fail to see the point in infliting unneeded pain when their goal is to kill a target as quickly and efficiently as possible.

KillJoys are fairly rare, as only a few hundred thousand Oros and individuals of Oros bloodline possess this condition.

-Bloody One. Probably the most well known and famous condition, Bloody Ones are Oros with longer canine teeth and a drive for drinking blood. These individuals and their condition were the basis from which the Forgotten Uplifter created the Bloodsuckers. Indeed, historically, the advent of the Bloodsuckers saw a mass exodus of Bloody Ones into the wilds of Null to escape destruction at their twisted parody's claws. Most of these Bloody Ones would be united and form what would become known as the Crimson City in the depths of the Sanguine Rainforest in central Arisa, where they banded together for survival and where they developed and unleashed their plan to develop and send out masks to the rest of Oros kind to begin the rebellion that ended the reign of the Bloodsuckers.

An average Bloody One is a fairly normal individual, though they are more outgoing on average and with a zest for life. Their condition means they require a semi regular intake of fresh blood, however it does not discriminate. The blood of people or animal does not matter: as long as it is relatively fresh, even a blood pack of animal blood will suffice to tide them over for a while. If they are denied their semi regular blood drinking, however, Bloody Ones become increasingly unwell until they finally snap in a blind rage that sends them into a feeding frenzy. For this reason, they are often untrusted despite the unlikeliness of them not receiving their blood intake in the modern age.

Bloody Ones are passionate and hot blooded on average, though cooler headed and reserved ones have been known to occur. They are also unique in that they are driven by desire to find a mate to procreate with to continue their blood line, an unusual difference from the usual Nullian sex drive. Between their longer canines and their outgoing personalities, most Bloody Ones can be spotted at a glance by those who know what to look for. [A note is attached. It depicts a fairly good drawing of a smiling Oros, who has longer canine teeth than the norm.]

As a matter of safety, Bloody Ones are all registered with the government and tabs are kept on their government provided bloodpack donations. Bloody Ones make up approximately 5% of the Oros population, meaning that 1 out of every 20 Oros is one. [A note is attached. It reads 'Is it weird that I don't have any family I know of who is a Bloody One? They're relatively common, but nope. Nobody in my family is one.']

-Throwbacks. A term used to describe about 1% of the Oros population that, due to a quirk of genetics, never actually lose their tail upon developing into their bipedal forms. Historically looked at as oddities in their community, Throwbacks in the modern day are seen as the least intrusive or important condition as its consequences are both benign and easily able to be worked around.

-'Tweaked'. Oros with neurological differences that make them stand out compared to the average are said to be 'tweaked' in the head. This is a general term for any neurological difference that falls outside of the norm. For example, KillJoys are considered a type of 'Tweaked'. A more common type are 'Happy's', which are Oros who defy the characteristically softspoken and stoic nature of most Oros who have lived past their first century. Happys are outspoken and joyful despite all the troubles around them. This isn't to say they cannot be sad or not feel other emotions, but rather they look on the positive side of things rather than expecting the worst that most older Oros come to think. With the creation of the Great Walled Cities, more and more youth's who develop in relative safety are beginning to show signs of developing into 'happys', indicating that this neurological condition might be more common than expected, it is simply not as potent in some individuals as in others, thus allowing them to have their hopes and dreams crushed by the harsh life outside of the walls. [A note is attached. It reads 'Yup, that's me! Weird, tweaked Hildra! Mom and dad were always concerned that something was wrong with me given how happy I was as a kid, but my grandparents when they were still around told them they were worrying about nothing. I know it's weird to be so happy all the time, but in a world as sad as ours, someone needs to be happy, right?']

Other forms of Tweaked exist, though their commonality drops sharply beyond the 'Happy's most think of when they think of a 'tweaked' individual.

-Am's Blessed. It is no secret that the Prophet of Peace was a blessed individual, capable of bringing peace to all life wherever he went. After his ascension into the heavens, many individuals began to be born with what is described as 'Am's Blessing'. These individuals are have an instinctive and supernatural ability to peacefully calm down all but the most belligerent of wild life around them. As a result, many of them go on to become famously important vets and other wildlife experts in the field. Their rarity, however, means that only a few tens of thousands of them exist in the world.

-Wildchildren. Oros have an interesting developmental factor. Children are born with a mental connection with their parents. For complete, healthy mental development, both parents need to be alive for an Oros to develop properly, though if at least one parent remains alive, a child can develop into a fairly normal individual in due time. If an Oros child loses both parents before a certain age, however, then they become dispondant and lost, aggressive to non-family members and acting very strangely around non-parental family members. The specifics vary immeasurably based on the individual child in question, but the one thing that is for sure is that these children develop differently into different people than if they had at least one parent alive to aid their development along. [A note is attached. It reads 'My Mom was a Wildchild that had to be raised by her aunt and uncle. Apparently, she had a taste for rats. Even when there was actual people food, she would ignore it and go hunt rats. She says she still has a taste for rat to this day.']

 

[TripleMRed]

Chimera.

[Sketches depict a bipedal, distinctly feminine race of tall serpentine beings. Their feet are digitigrade, with three large, flexible clawed toes providing the base for them to walk along with, with an additional pair of smaller but flexible 'thumb' toes higher up on the foot, one on each side. Sketches show these five toes can work together to grasp and grab items or to take hold of objects or creatures both for practical and pragmatic reasons, such as in combat. Their bodies lack immediately visible sexual characteristics other than their curves and seemingly featureless breasts, though close analysis shows their intimates and nipples are hidden behind sections of scaled slits that cover and protect these sections when not in use. The necks are relatively long, flanked by cobra like hoods and ending in snouted serpentine faces, their mouths lined with sharp teeth indicating an omnivorous nature, their fangs being large and fixed to the skull, not hinged. Their tails are long and large, ending in a broad section that opens up in a large mouth like section. A two pairs of massive fangs, two on each jaw of the 'tail mouth' exist, and cut always indicate that the 'throat' leads to some form of array of glands.

Interestingly, there is a wide variety of differences between each Chimera: While their base form does not change, each one has a different set of features such as armor types, placements, and more, as well as what look like subspecies variations.]

[A note is attached. It reads, 'I sometimes wish I was born as a Chimera. Having a tail-mouth that acts as a chemical cannon sounds freaking awesome!']

Scientific Name Translation: Blood Mother.

Average Size: 8'6/2.591 meters tall.

Average Weight: 1440 pounds/653.173 kgs.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: N/A, mono-gendered species.

Habitat Range: All Biomes in the Arisa Continent.

Summary:​

There is no denying that our world is one of many oddities. Some are caused by freak mystical fusion accidents, or unexpected mutations, or evolution going in unexpected places. The Chimera of our world, one of the 4 native Mortal Races, is among these oddities alongside their sister races. The Chimera in particular are a large, powerfully built race of bipedal, serpentine esq mono-gendered beings who are exclusively female, with no known naturally occurring male Chimera having ever been recorded. Despite their scaley, reptilian appearances, the Chimera are in fact placental mammals, including having fully functioning breasts whose teets are hidden away by a layer of folding scales. These same scales also exist at their groins, folding over their nether regions and providing an armored protection for them. [A note is attached. It reads, 'Guys have their junk stored up by folding layers of reinforced skin. Chimera and Empusa have their junk and nips covered up by armored scales. Why is it the rest of us have to go around without any extra protection for?! That's so unfair! >']

The Chimera are one of the three 'Chimeric' Mortal Races of Civilized beings, being the Chimera themselves as well as their offshoot the Empusa and the Orosoid hybrids known as Cerberi. All three races share certain attributes, such as the ability to breath out fire or a mawed tail, as well as all three being mono-gendered, all members of their various races being female. What is interesting is that, despite their numerous differences compared to us, the Chimera and their sister races are, in fact, related to us.

Millions of years ago, a progenitor species of what would become the Oros and Chimera split into two distinct species of primitive seal like creatures. While the Orosoid line would go on to give rise to many modern day mammalian species like canines, felines, and ursines, the Chimeric subspecies split off into a less successful, but remarkably resilient subspecies. It is difficult to say precisely when and how the exact characteristics that make Nullian Chimera the recognizable race they are today came in, but it is generally agreed upon that all the linked attributes, from their mawed tail to their armored scales to their mono-gendered status, all hail from the same event, presumed mutagenic in nature. Regardless of the exact causes, the Chimeric line would reach the land alongside their Orosoid kin and would share the Arisa continent with them for the ensuing 15-12 million years it would take for the first modern Oros and Chimera to arise.

It was around during this time where members of the two species encountered one another and males of the Oros' distant direct ancestors would interbreed with the Chimera's own direct ancestors. While some biologists are unsure of how such two differently diverged specimens could produce viable hybrids, what can be said with certainty is that these crossbreedings between the two distinct family lines are what gave rise to the direct ancestors of what would become the Cerberi. [A note is attached. It features a drawing depicting a cartoon snake with stick figure arms followed by a plus sign followed by a cartoon dog, which leads to an equal sign and ends with a three headed buff cartoon dog with round orbs on the chest seemingly meant to represent breasts.]

The first Modern Chimera is believed to have come into being at roughly the same time as the first Oros, around 200,000 years ago on Arisa. Similar to the Oros kin, much of early Chimera history is shrouded in mystery due to the incredibly harsh nature of the world at the time, however a decidedly larger number of Chimera cave paintings survived into the modern day compared to Oros ones due to the fact that the Chimera have, for the longest time, made their homes within caverns and cave systems. It was in the caves of Arisa that the first Chimeran Cavern Cities were made, the largest and most intricate growing to rival the largest Oros settlements at the time.

Sadly, despite our ancestors brief unification that resulted in the Cerberi, relations between Chimera and Oros have not always been the most clean. Oros, particularly early Oros, were always suspicious and paranoid of the world around them and new creatures within, while young, unblooded Chimera are filled with adventurous zeal and curiosity. The two forces meeting had, for many thousands of years, resulted in brutal bloodshed on both sides. Eventually, at around 9036 BA, the first recorded civilized contact between Chimera and Oros occurred, with both sides realizing the other were not enemies by default but victims of misunderstandings on the other's part. While this would not stop discrimination and bloodshed on both sides entirely for another two thousand years, it would be the start on the road to peace as trade between the two related races began in earnest. [A note is attached. It reads, 'At least most of the racial tension stuff between our species is long over by now. I don't want to imagine a world where I don't have Chimera cousins!']

One of the biggest and most important events in modern Chimera history occurred within the 1280's, only 220 years before the arrival of Media and the creation of the Median. In this decade the two final prophets of the AmBaric faith, the Prophetess of Mercy and War respectively, were enlightened and given their roles. Both were Chimera, Corida the Prophetess of Mercy and Rosa, the Prophetess of War. It would be these two who united the various Nations to stand against the forceful conquest of the 4th Kingdom, with Rosa leading the final assault on the stronghold of the Kingdom herself. When the time came for both to ascend into the heavens, Rosa petitioned to stay further in an effort to try and create what she referred to as an 'Force for Peace'. Her efforts remain cloaked with mystery over the ages, but it is known that by the time she finally ascended into the heavens a hundred years after declining her original ascension, she had been unsuccessful in creating her force. [A note is attached. It reads 'Turns out, it existed. And we had to fight it. Turns out, spirit powered robots is a great idea on paper, but falls flat when it always leads to the Spirits powering them going nuts and, well.....Yeah, the Dark Spirit War wasn't too fun when they had hordes of magitech robots to back them up.']

The Chimera posses many distinctive biological properties. Their scales are fire-proof, heat resistant to over a thousand degrees centigrade, immune to bullets below a certain caliber and bullet resistant at and beyond said caliber, and are able to briefly breath fire capable of melting steel. While related to Oros genetically, Chimera do not inherently have unbreakable bones, though their durable skeletons are remarkably hard to break regardless. Only Chimera with an Oros father possesses this distinctly Oros trait. Furthermore, despite their far greater size compared to their Oros kin, Chimeran muscles are built differently, being made to be more flexible to give them the agility and grace in combat that makes them so capable in battle. As a trade off for this increased flexibility, Chimera are not as proportionately strong as Oros of a similar size, being only as strong as the Tall body-type among Oros kind.

Despite being related to the Oros, Chimera are able to use Mana based magic. They can, in fact, utilize magic like Spirits can, albeit to a more limited degree due to not being beings of magic. Before Mortalized Spirits arrived and began to live among the Oros, the Chimera were the first Mortal Race to utilize magical powers that were not Aether related, the exception being the Aether capable Aetherspites who are universally Magi but cannot use Mana based magics. Despite this ability to cast spells, most Chimera are only interested in studying magic in so far as they can safely use it as a possible tool in their arsenal. Dedicated Chimeran sorceresses are uncommon, though those that do exist are mystical powerhouses outmatched only by their Spirit counterparts. [A note is attached. It reads 'I could say I'm annoyed that I can't use magic, but the fact I'm immune to direct applications of magic is too good of a trade off for me to want to give up!']

Their ultimate, secret weapon, however, are their large, notable tails. At the end of these tails is a large, mouth like structure, one that is capable of producing a truly incalculable number and array of biological and chemical substances, as well as being able to ingest and safely analyze all known biological and chemical components, even though inherently toxic to biological organisms. This ability to inherently break down, reconstruct, and analyze virtually all things biological and chemical has made Chimera masters of biological and chemical sciences. A Chimera incapable of breaking down and accurately analyzing a biological substance by having their tails ingest it are unheard of.

These tails are thus their key weapon in most situations, allowing them to launch streams of corrosive and toxic acids, spew forth clouds of poison gasses, healing sprays to aid injured friends, or analyze a hostile it has taken a bite of for possible weaknesses. This, combined with their tough teeth and claws, toughness, and agility for their sizes make Chimera dangerous even when unarmed. When going into combat, they arm and armor themselves like their Oros kin, donning power armor tailored for their tall and flexible forms and armed from everything from heavy machine guns as though they were rifles, to massive War Spears inherent to their culture. [A note is attached. It reads 'I've seen a Chimera with those freaking huge War Spears of theirs, and it's like they freaking dance or something in combat. I've also heard they have dances involving the spears, but after the Displaced arrived I can't search the Spotter search engine without seeing a completely different kind of 'pole-dancing.' XD']

These tails are also vitally important for Chimeran reproduction. Chimera use their tails to ingest and analyze the genetics of creatures they hunt. Upon finding useful traits in something they've hunted down and slain, they incorporate those genes into a selected ovum which begins to develop into a Chimera with traits taken from the 'donor' whom their mother's hunted. This method is exclusively for producing daughters the traditional way, by hunting worthy beasts, slaying them, and then harvesting their blood to produce strong daughters. They abstain from using this method from reproducing with other sapients, viewing it as disrespectful and rude to perform such a method on races who are not, quote, 'mindless animals'. That said, if a Chimera does reproduce with a male of a fellow sapient species, they utilize their conventional reproductive organs in order to do so. Regardless of the exact method, Chimera are always, without fail, born with a twin. In traditional and dangerous life styles outside of the cities, most Chimera lose their twin in the wilds to the dangers of the world and often become more morose and jaded out of a form of survivors guilt. [A note is attached. It reads 'I ask one of my Chimera friends, Tulia, if getting hit in the tail is as bad as getting kicked in the crotch. She said no, but it still hurts a lot, more closer to getting punched in the boob.']

Expecting Chimeran Mothers often form communal groups with other expectant Chimera mothers called a convocation, in which they discuss their reasonings for their particular selection in donor, or mate in the event of having produced their children using conventional reproductive methods with another sapient, as well as discussions of the pros and cons of each one's individual selection therein. Those that group together who are of like mind, or who share the same species of genetic donor for their respective children, form smaller groups called coteries. [A note is attached. It reads, 'Or as we call them nowadays, fan clubs. ']

Newborn Chimera are similar to other newborns of the Civilized Races, Oros included, starting off with a more animalistic body-plan and mind-set before developing into their more conventional adult forms as they age. Young Chimera in particular lack their hoods they gain at puberty, and are at times described as, quote, 'noodles with limbs'. Their tails at this stage are large and flat, the mouths having yet to develop. Chimera remain in this 'noodly' form until they begin to go through puberty, at which point a series of growth spurts over the years bring them to their full adult height while their bodies mature and develop into the more distinctly feminine, hooded forms of their mothers, with their tails thickening and developing its mouth like structure, which finally opens up at the onset of their 18th year alive. [A note is attached, it reads 'Chimera have the power of noodle babies on their side, therefore they win. All other arguments are invalid.']

Young Chimera are not the analytical scientists their mothers are, instead being filled with a zest for life and adventure that sees them hunt deep into the wilds. Chimeras have incredibly strong bonds with their twin sibling, with the two individuals being virtually inseparable. It is very common for one sibling to die, causing the other to become morose and jaded as a side-effect. This often coincides with their increased focus on learning and expanding their knowledge of biology and chemistry, as well as the start of their desires to produce strong daughters that can better survive in the harsh wilderness. Many modern Chimera born in the safety of the Great Walled Cities rarely if ever see their beloved siblings die, with their love of adventure often being tempered by them finding work as couriers within the vast cities. Over time, this love of adventure wanes as they become more responsible, resulting in them beginning to delve into learning the sciences of their mothers albeit without nearly as much of the cynicism.

Modern Chimeran culture is not as varied as the different Oros Nations, instead being far more unified in nature due to their unified instincts. The average Chimera is fascinated with testing and learning all they can about the biological and chemical world around them, building up a catalog of information that allows them to build 'recipes' for use as weapons or healing salves as needed from their tails. The oldest Chimera in a clan will have a near unlimited capacity for creating a near infinite array of biological and chemical attacks to use from their tails. As a result, any Chimera more than a few years into adulthood is a living, breathing biological and chemical weapon's factory. Recognizing the potential danger they could be towards other races, Chimera living among other races such as in the mixed cultures of the Great Walled Cities voluntarily submit themselves to wearing restraint muzzle-harnesses over their tails' mouths, preventing them from using their ultimate weapon in any public place. Some Chimera, particularly those who posses friends and family who are not Chimera, take to wearing these restraints at all times of the day, even at home and when asleep. In the event of an emergency, particularly when their homes are under hostile attack from animal raids or beyond, Chimera have their specialized restraints legally removed for use in combat against the threat. [A note is attached. It reads, 'I've got a cousin who married a Chimera and now they're making bunches of nieces of mine! I've never once seen her without her tail restraint. Not once.']

While unified, however, they are not uniform: Each subspecies and individual tribe and clan of Chimera has their own unique microculture that makes each one as distinct as any Oros village. While joined by a common goal and racial unity, the Chimera of different tribes often butt heads over their distinct cultural differences. Some clans have been known to engage in competitive feuds over a particular sport or song, or even arguing over an ancient event their ancestors once engaged in. Furthermore, each tribe and clan posses their own distinct cultural apparel. Some utilize minimal tribal garb, their intimate regions already covered up by their own biology. Others don clothing styles as rich and diverse as the Oros' own, ranging from tailored dresses and suits to 'casual armor'.

In the modern day, the Chimera are diverged into 8 primary subspecies, known among the Chimera as 'Meta-Clans'. Each is distinguished by a specific coloration and certain biological assets that remain with all members of that subspecies, regardless of who their donor was. These include:

-Base: The 'base' form which all other Chimeran Clans descend from, the Base Chimera are distinguished by their blue and orange coloration and lack of 'designation' markings other than that attained by their Donor. Their culture is the dominant from which the others' variations spring from, being scientifically inclined to research the natural world and it's biological components. Most commonly seen from of Chimera, with a strong cultural preference for eating mushrooms and pork.

-Aqualung: An aquatic subspecies, the Aqualung is distinguished by their ultramarine coloration as well as the presence of retractable webbing on their fingers and does as well as the presence of fins. Capable of amphibious living and with lungs that can breath in water, they are most commonly seen in large bodies of water such as lakes, rivers or on the shoreline. Have a preference for shellfish.

-Frostfang: An icy blue and white subspecies, Frostfangs distinctly lack the typical firebreathing of their other Chimeran kin in favor of breathing freezing gasses. They are not as stoic or aloof as their other kin or their Icebreaker Oros counterparts, instead having an animated curiosity for new things due to living in a frozen wasteland. Preference for ice whale meat.

-Magmaburn: A dark red and blazing orange colored subspecies, the Magmaburns posses large 'veins' of mystical energy resembling active veins of molten lava. When not in use, they are warm but not burning to the touch, but when they cut loose and unleash their full energy, they turn into blazing infernos capable of reducing near-by tracts of land into ash and glass. Despite their blazing capabilities, they are as reserved by default as most other Chimera subspecies, causing them to often culturally butt heads with their neighbors, the Firebrand Oros Nation. Their love of anything spicy rivals the Firebrands, and many disputes between the two powers has been solved not through violence but through contests of eating and drinking the spiciest dishes both parties have produced.

-Sandspitter: Rocky brown and sandy undertones are the coloration of this subspecies, the Sandspitters call the Sand Ocean their home, being the nearest breed to the Skyrunner Oros Nation. Sandspitters have rocky hides and an inherent geomantic capability that allows them to flow through the sand in a way that rivals the sand swimming of the other creatures of the Sand Ocean. They have a cooperative relationship with the Skyrunners: While the Skyrunners keep the skies clear, the Sandspitters are the ones to huntdown threats swimming through the sandy sea. Their preferred meal is Sandshark.

-Voltcaller: A stunning blazing yellow and electric blue, Voltcallers stand out in the mountain ranges they call home, their backs and outer portions of their limbs covered in zig-zagging electric 'spikes', Voltcallers are living lightning rods, their bodies a conduit for electrical energy that lightning homes in on. They are immune to electrical damage and can store vast quantities of electricity in their form, particularly their spikes, making them living power-generators. This makes them indispensable with their Stonecutter neighbors, who to this day bring employment to Voltcallers as living lightning rods and batteries for their mountain embedded homes. They have a strong inclination towards Flicker-Tongue meat. [A note is attached. It reads, 'Back in college, I bunked with a Voltcaller named Halia. I still don't know how I was able to keep convincing her to be used as a living battery for my college science experiments.']

-Aetherspite: The most mysterious of the Chimera, colored a purplish hue and with dark purple spikes lining their hoods and tails, the Aetherspites fierce appearance belies a calm, analytical mind. Magi one and all, the Aetherspites have long lived in the territory of the Royalback Nation, and their differing governmental styles and ideologies has led to more than one war between the two in the past, though since the founding of the Median there has yet to be any new conflict between them. Their inherent Aetheric abilities and instinctive knack for using their powers makes them highly suited as teachers in the Magi Order, with the Aetherspites in the modern day being found in every Nation and City as part of their compact with the Median to aid in the location, protection, and training of other Magi. They are the least common subspecies, and the most inclined towards mysticism. No known preferences for food.

-Toxine: Black and glowing neon green, the Toxine Chimera are some of the wildest, most untamed of their entire species. They thrive in adventure and combat, having a desire for action and adventure that drives them to fight the most dangerous creatures they can. They are also able to produce toxins of a far higher lethality than their normal kin, with even their fire breath imbued with a toxic effect. They live alongside the Bughunter Oros Nation, and have been both friend and foe over their long, long histories together. In the current day, most Toxine Chimera find themselves employed as Knights within the Median, using their lust for combat and their impeccable toxicity for the good of all. Prefer to eat poisonous fruit and tree frogs.

The Chimera are an extremely varied and extremely close ally of the Oros people, and have been for millennia at this point. With them and their fellow Chimeran racial sisters as our allies, it's commonly said that the Oros people come both as dogs and as serpents. It is not uncommon for many modern day cities, Great Walled or otherwise, to see a Chimera as a member of the inner cabinet, equally trusted by both their own species and others to make the right calls for the good of all. At the risk of sounding a bit sentimental, it's safe to say we're all one people now. [A note is attached. It reads, 'It makes me kinda sad that the Displaced sees animosity in places between their furred and scaled members. It doesn't make sense to me, especially since they're technically all one species! I love my Displaced friends but man, are they weird. They have to be for a weirdo like me to call them weird.']

(Sorry for the delay folks, new proper update today and it's a long one! Apologies for no special commissions this time around, but perhaps one day we'll see the Chimera visualized. Just not today.)

 

[TripleMRed]

Empusa.

[Sketches depict a bipedal, distinctly feminine race of serpentine beings, similar to though distinct from the Chimera. Indeed, they resemble a breed of shorter, stouter Chimera, with the biggest differences being their large fore limbs covered in crystalline material that seems to grow at their will. Sketches show them leaping around with extremely powerful jumps, tossing crystalline shards from their fingers, or slamming their fists into the ground to generate a spike of material a distance away. The other two largest differences appear in the form of their attitudes, which seem distinctly less stoic and more aggressive than their Chimeran counterparts, as well as the fact that, unlike the other Mortal Races of Null, they are distinct in that they appear to be hermaphroditic.]

[A note is attached. It reads, 'The smaller, angrier cousins of the Chimera. With peens. Overall, 8/10, too much anger.']

Scientific Name Translation: Crystal-Fist Serpent.

Average Size: 6'2 Feet/1.89 Meters tall.

Average Weight: 400 pounds/181.45 kgs.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: N/A, Mono-Gendered species.

Habitat Range: All Biomes in the Arisa Continent.

Summary:​

Of the many, various species of Null, few have such similarity and yet such keen differences from their related races than the Empusa. One of the 3 Chimeric races and an offshoot of the Chimera, Empusa are direct relatives to their larger cousins, with their distinct differences being their smaller size, stouter frames, enlarged forelimbs and the ability to control and manipulate the crystalline growths covering their limbs. Useful for both defense and attack, this crystalline matter grows at the will of the Empusa, making them always useful no matter the situation.

The other, largest biological difference between Empusa and Chimera, and indeed between them and all other native Mortal Races of Null, is that they hold the distinction of being the only hermaphroditic native Mortal Race. It is believed that at some point in the distant past, an event similar to that which created the original Chimera occurred that led to the divide between Chimera and the Empusa, with one particular change being the introduction of functioning, internally stored male reproductive organs alongside their already existing female ones. Genetic research, however, indicates that this was likely less the result of some sort of mystical event, and more a concerted and focused effort by the Empusa in ancient times to turn themselves hermaphroditic using the same genetic altering capabilities they share with the Chimera. As a sidenote, while they are true hermaphrodites, Empusa almost always tend to refer to one another in female terms and pronouns, with many displaying annoyance or confusion when someone attempts to label them in they/them pronouns. [A note is attached. 'I've always wondered what life is like for the other side of the biological sexes, but I'm also still trying to wrap my head around how they were able to fuse the two sexes into one to make themselves as they are now.']

This aside, they share many biological similarities to their larger cousins: Fireproof scales, mawed tails, bullet resistant, and more. However, one notable difference is that their smaller sizes overall makes them less durable in the long run compared to their larger cousins. As a result, it is not uncommon for Empusa to develop an aggressive state of being in order to directly counteract their relative vulnerability. The stereotypical Empusa is short-tempered, easily annoyed, and always on the verge of tearing something's head off. While it is true that their aggressive tendencies are markedly more notable than most other Mortal Races, it is nowhere near as uncontrolled as the stereotype would suggest. Some have suggested that this higher aggression is linked to their dual-sexed nature, though genetic research has long since confirmed that theirs is true hermaphroditism, and highly stable with little to no actual hormonal issues. The aggression is directly linked to a survival mechanism for the wilds due to their smaller sizes.

While armed with claws, fangs, chemical spewing tails and magic, the Empusa's claim to fame revolve around their crystalline powers. Covering their forelimbs, these crystals grow at astonishing rates in mere seconds at the Empusa's willpower. Able to be lobbed in volley's for ranged combat, used in melee as unarmed amplifying tools, or even in makeshift repairs and construction, these gems posses a lattice structure that makes them nearly as hard as natural diamond and, thanks to the ability of the Empusa to manipulate their growth as they see fit, these gems can be shaped to minimize weak points or fracture sites. Sonic attacks at ultra high frequencies can match and thus destroy these crystals same as many others found in nature, though the Empusa's control over them is such that they can alter the crystalline frequencies of their gems, allowing them to change the requirements for their shattering by weaponized sound. [A note is attached. It shows a sketch of a crystal shard tied into a necklace. 'Some people say that having an Empusa crystal shard on your person is good luck. An Empusa friend of mine, Dara, just says that it's a good way to make money of people who'll believe anything.']

As a society, Empusa live and work alongside their sister races, the Chimera and the Cerberi, often acting in a support role by creating barriers or aiding in construction. Some say this contributes to their kinds signature sour attitude, though this is highly unlikely as Empusa are known to flock towards safety more readily than even other Mortal Races. In the modern day of the Great Walled Cities, Empusa have all but abandoned their old ways of living to take up homes in the GWC's. Outside of their natural talents, Empusa are just as capable as anyone else of taking on any role in society they are educated and trained for. From police forces to attorneys to construction workers, Empusa can be found in any part of society the same as any other race. Interestingly, it has been found that Empusa born and raised in the safety of the GWC's lack their kinds signature tempers, being as calm and collected, though just as capable of individual personality, as Oros or their own sister races.

Despite this, similar to the Chimera and Cerberi, for safety reasons, it is common for Empusa living among other races to willingly put on tail-muzzles to prevent any accidental chemical spills or similar incidents. Additionally, those out in public tend to wear specialized gauntlets and boots to prevent the use of their at times highly destructive crystalline powers. As with their more recognizable larger cousins, in the event of an attack, these restrictions are removed in order for them to properly defend themselves in combat.

Omnivorous as with the other Mortal Races, Empusa distinctly have an interest in eating gemstones, often describing them in flavors that no other species can taste save the Tara Rabbits. Empusa who partake in eating gems often are limited in the modern day by what they can actually purchase from the store, though some Empusa run restaurant chains have taken to producing and selling artificial gemstones for commercial consumption. Eating elemental gemstones have been known to empower the Empusa with elemental power in their crystals, though this is usually only a temporary effect. [A note is attached. 'They say Empusa invented rock-candy my mixing a softer version of their crystals with sugar. Not sure if this is true or not, but I could believe it.']

In terms of reproduction, Empusa are distinct among their sister races in that, rather than taking in genetic information with their tails to produce their offspring, Empusa use the genetics acquired to provide enhancements to their young, which they produce via conventional reproductive activity. Two Empusa who are mated with one another will usually impregnate each other in the same encounter, before both producing a set of twins. This higher rate of reproduction is compounded by the fact that Empusa only need 6 months in the womb to gestate when not factoring in an Oros parentage. In the old days before the Great Walled Cities, this higher reproduction rate was necessary due to their relative lack of size, power, and durability, making them easier to be slain in the wild by wild animals. In the modern day, Empusa make up about 40 percent of all of the Chimeran Races that are alive, though the lack of environmental pressures and threats against them have diminished their need to replenish their numbers so often.

Empusa are divided into the same 8 Meta-Clans as their Chimera cousins, though they are less extreme in their appearances. For example, a Voltcaller Empusa has smaller volt-spikes than the Chimera version. The big change for Empusa is the elemental effects they are naturally able to use, which very depending on their Meta-Clan. Voltcaller Empusa can charge their crystals with electrical power, while Magmaburns can infuse theirs with burning flame and explosive power. This gives the Empusa a distinct advantage when it comes to elemental combat as this combined with the flexibility of their crystals allow them to take combat advantages that their more conventional Chimera cousins cannot hope to replicate. [A note is attached. 'Dara always seems a little smug when she's talking about this, which I guess is fair. If I could shoot explosive ice crystals from my hands, I'd be smug about it too. XD']

As varied and more numerous than their Chimera cousins, Empusa are a common sight in many GWC's, both in Chimeran specific communities and in general living spaces. Despite their fearsome reputation for being ill-tempered, in truth they are just as personable, if more irritable, as any other species, with even the aggression being nonexistent for those born in the safety of the GWC's. Fascinating to behold for their many biological wonders, Empusa are a window to the wider, stranger world we live on.

 

[TripleMRed]

Cerberus.

[Sketches depict a bipedal, distinctly feminine race of large, well muscled and three headed canines. They appear to be longer snouted relatives of the Oros, having large hulking tails akin to the mouthed ones of the Chimera and Empusa. Their bodies are well muscled, clearly built for perfomance and strength rather than speed or aesthetics, with their forearms being large with large, sharp clawed hands, their feet digitigrade and built to carry their bulk around. some sketches indicate they are able to go down on all fours in a primal gait for massively increased speed or long distance running. Their three heads are next to one another, side by side, and they each display very clearly distinct personalities, indicating they are each with their own personality and intellect. Other sketches depict the Nullian Cerberus guarding locations in full armor, while others show them smithig materials from molten cauldrons using their bare hands, fire coming from their mouths and tails to heat up a block of metal to shape it into new forms, and even engaging in sportly behavior alongside Chimera and Oros.]

[A note is attached. It reads, 'I have a Cerberus auntie who married into the family. Love you Auntie Dottie/Rottie/Bottie!']

Scientific Name Translation: Three Sister Heads.

Average Size: 8'2/2.5 Meters on average.

Average Weight: 1500 pounds/680kg's on average..

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: N/A, mono-gendered species..

Habitat Range: All Biomes in the Arisa Continent.

Summary:​

The world of Null is no stranger to biological or evolutionary oddities, with one being hard pressed not to find some creature that defies even the tentative norms of our homeworld in some fashion. As such, the last of the 'Three Sisters' family line, that being the family line of the Chimera, is one such oddity that even the most experienced and seasoned of evolutionary biologists on Null can only shrug at the truth and press on without lingering for fear of their own sanity falling apart. This species is of course the Cerberi.

The Cerberus is, like the rest of the Chimeric line, a mono-gendered species, consisting of all females and whom are biologically linked to the Oros. Unlike the Chimera and Empusa, who both split off from the same family line as the Oros millions of years ago, the Cerberi is the unexpected and near inexplicable result of the two family lines briefly rejoining to produce the Cerberi. While the specifics are still murky, what is known is that millions of years ago when both the Chimera and the Oros were beginning their rise to bipedal sapience, the two family lines rejoined, likely through the interbreeding of the female Chimera and male Orowolves, which would result in the first ancestors of the modern day Cerberi to arise. [A note is attached. It depicts at cartoon wolf standing on his hind legs and leaning against a counter top while looking at a primordial cartoon Chimera. A speech bubble over the wolf reads 'Hey baby, come here often?']

The most notable feature of these large canine women is their three heads. Despite what some may believe, these trio of heads are not, in fact, the exact same individual displaying different aspects of themselves. Rather, the heads are each their own being, thus making each Cerberi a set of triplets sharing a single massive body. Careful analysis reveals an extraordinary reason behind this biological facet of themselves: All of the races of Null posses a number of redundant nervous systems flowing through their body. In the Cerberi, however, these nervous systems instead of being part of a single being have splintered into three distinct, but connected, individuals sharing the same body. As a result of this, a single Cerberus technically has four given names: The name of each sister-head, as well as the 'body name' they all share to refer to them as a whole. [A note is attached. It reads 'Auntie Mel is her Body Name, but I always make sure to call all of them by their names.']

One of the most incredible aspects of this splintered multi-person nervous system is the fact that there is no conflict between the sister heads for control. A healthy Cerberus will always have the central, dominant head in control of the body with their sisters acting in support across a wide range of scenarios, including but limited to taking over in the event of damage to the central head. This is such that even if a head is completely destroyed or removed, the sister of that head is not actually dead but 'buried' into the rest of the nervous system, still communing with her sisters until her head is either reattached or regrown over the course of a handful of days through regeneration. As such, it is deceptively difficult to kill a Cerberus, with some records indicating those who had all three heads severed would survive to regrow their heads if brought to safety and not left to be slain by wildlife.

In terms of their other, more apparent physical attributes, the Cerberi are massive, standing at 8'2 when standing up straight and a consistent 3/4ths of a ton outside of armor, most of this being muscle as well as hyper dense layers of blubbery fat beneath the skin akin to the Oros and Chimera. They are extremely well muscled and have a strength that makes them easily the strongest of all the Mortal races on Null. They are even stronger than Mortalized Erui tiger spirits, capable of lifting and throwing in excess of 50 tons. Despite being relatively slow and unagile compared to the Chimera and Oros, they are still fast enough to react to incoming missile fire, allowing them to slap aside arrows and missile fire alike, feats that when combined with their armor and natural durability allows them to come out completely unscathed when dealing with the latter. [A note is attached. It reads 'Even without the armor, these ladies are hella tough. Anyone who thinks one missile is enough to take out an unarmored one is in for a very, very, very nasty lesson in violence.']

Where the Chimera and Empusa could spray biological and chemical sprays from their tail-mouths, the Cerberi are able to breath toxic flames from theirs, a natural flamethrower that can reach in excess of 500 meters at maximum pressure and firing a burning substance that incinerates the target with flames in excess of 2000 degrees centigrade. Similar to the Chimera and Empusa, Cerberi are fireproof inspite of their furred bodies. Their flesh is inantely fireprood like their sister species, though the fur is kept this way through the natural production of an oddly wax like coating that gives them a distinctive sheen and oddly chalky texture when felt. Without this natural waxy coating, their fur would catch fire and burn off from the first instance of them breathing fire from any of their mouths, leaving them alive and healthy but completely hairless.

Despite their physicality and capacity for great destruction, Cerberi are not an inherently violent species. The average Cerberus is, in fact, a calm, happy go-lucky individual who would prefer to make friends than cause bodily harm, though ironically they consider a melee struggle without weapons to be friendly play rather than actual combat. This caused problems in ancient times, before the unity of the modern Mortal races, as historically young adult Cerberi would encounter Oros and attempt to engage in play behavior to assert friendly relations, with their concept of play resulting in the Oros attacking with intent to cause injury. It was these encounters with the early Cerberi, however, that cracked the old preconceptions of non-Spirit, non-Oros beings, however, as their usage of articles of clothing to protect their intimate portions destroyed the idea of them merely being animals.

Historically, Cerberi have used their great strength and innate ability to resist extreme temperatures to forge and smelt, resulting in them being the origins of armor and weapons among the Chimeric races. This combined with their capacity for destruction meant that many early Chimera Cavern Cities were guarded by Cerberi guards. In the modern day, Cerberi work with the Erui in the production of high quality, hard to produce artisan armors and weaponry. It is also most common to see Ceberus soldiers armed with a hulking shield in their off hand and a powerful cannon system in their other in addition to their Powered Armor and it's various sister-head controlled subsystems and weapons. [A note is attached. It reads 'I got my start in engineering thanks to my Aunties teaching me about tech stuff while she was teaching my cousins too. I have her to thank for where I am now with my skills!']

One curious thing about their biology is their method of reproduction. While the Chimera can sample genetics with their tail mouths to produce daughters, and Empusa are hermaphrodites, Cerberi without a mate can produce offspring through a process of parthenogenesis that partially recombines their DNA, thus resulting in their daughters not being exact copies or clones of the mother. While not perfect, this allows for enough genetic variability in their species even without factoring in those who had actual fathers that no one disease or biological outbreak is a severe threat to their species as a whole. However, it is not uncommon for two Cerberi to become mated with one another, and mutually bite one another's tail mouths in a 'kiss' to exchange biological data, resulting in the formation of a new Cerberus with traits from both mothers.

Regardless of how the infant is formed, it takes approximately 11 months for the mother to produce a single pup. Upon being born, due to sharing the same number of breasts as all other Civilized Races on Null, the pup's three sister-heads compete for spots to suckle, with the head farthest from the nipples having a distinct disadvantage. As a result, the central lead head always is fed while either of her sister heads could or could not be fed, depending entirely on how they are held. It is believed that the sister that is not fed would go on to become the more assertive or aggressive of the sisters, though studies remain inconclusive on this. [A note is attached. It reads 'I don't know the answer either, but if I was deprived of the sweet bosom nectar of life as a baby, I'd be pretty pissed oof too.']

Similar to the Oros, Cerberi have differing phenotypical subspecies that results in their specific colorations and fur patterns. Having 7 varieties like their Oros forefathers, all possess the same abilities and attributes. For example, Stonecutter Cerberi are highly resistant to electrical or lightning strikes, while Wavechaser Cerberi have a vastly increased lung capacity and swimming ability. The Firebrand Cerberi take their existing immunity to fire as Cerberi and amplify it, making them highly resistant to thermal damage even in excess of what the Chimeric line already possess, with them being resilient to low level plasma blasts that would be enough to melt armor or immolate an Oros.

The Cerberi are an admittedly odd, but important member species of Null's Civilized Races. It is thanks to them in the early years of civilization that advanced forging and smelting techniques were possible, and thus modern day technology is owed in part by their contributions to the fields of metallurgy and engineering. [A note is attached. It reads, 'Cerberi are awesome. I know from experience, I've got loads of cousins that are them now! Love you Auntie Dottie/Rottie/Bottie!']

 

[TripleMRed]

[The following is a transcript from a section from the Grimoire of the Magi Order, written by an unknown author.]

Great Spirits and the Spirit Races of Lacuna (As of 3162 AA)

'And so, when the surface of Null still cooled and the world of Lacuna was but darkness, there came into being the Day and the Night. Sararu, the Sun, and Luraru, the Moon looked over their desolate domain and began to search, for others were yet to come.'-Excerpt from the Chapter of Beginnings, the Book of the Great Spirits.

The world of Null which we mortals call home is a place of deep, and old, magic, much of which can be considered primordial in nature. This ancient magic is further evidenced by the nature of the Spirit World of Null, the Spirit World of Lacuna, a parallel world directly connected with our own Mortal home. Almost paradoxically, while Null is incredibly hostile and brutal towards life, Lacuna is virtually a paradise by comparison. While far from perfectly safe, due to a variety of Spirit wild life and flora that can pose a threat to one's life in addition to geographical threats, the level of lethality one can encounter in average day to day life is well below that of the Mortal plane it is tied so closely to. Why this is is a question for the ages, though one popular theory is that Lacuna is where all of the 'good' of the world was coalesced, while the Mortal plane of Null was where all the ills and cruelties of nature were condensed.

Whatever the reason, Lacuna is an almost mythical paradise by comparison to its Mortal counterpart, which for many millennia its domains of the dead have served as the final resting place for the souls of many Mortals. This is because, for the longest time, the Mortals of Null had their pains soothed and their tragedies heard by the Great Spirits of Lacuna, Gods who are uncomfortable with being referred to as such and whose love for the Mortals of Null is reciprocated even to this day, even millennia after the changing of the majority's religious leanings from the Pantheon of the Great Spirits to direct worship of the Creator on high.

The story and history of the Great Spirits and Lacuna is long and complex, so for the sake of brevity it will be summarized as such: When the world of Null was still cooling and developing in the primordial early days of the universe, Lacuna had already begun to form over its Mortal counterpart. From there, the first 7 of the Great Spirits would form, and from them would come the first inklings of civilized thought and form would spring forth. Love, friendship, conflict, and much more would be informed by these primordial beings. The first Civilizations would come forth as the Spirit Races connected with their respective Great Spirit arose, in the distant past long before Mortal life achieved comparable sapience.

Eons would pass and the Great Spirits would come to take notice of the Mortal life developing in the realm so next to their own. It would be the Civilized Races, the Oros the first that they would notice, that would gain their attention and their pity as they observed how short and violent their lives surviving in the wilds of Null were. This pity would quickly become affection and cross into the realm akin of familial love as the Mortals were unofficially adopted by the two wedded Great Spirits of family, Tararu and Hararu. While the Mortals of Null were well on their way to developing technologies and techniques that would lead to the modern day Civilized way of living, it was thanks to the Great Spirits helping them improve their capabilities and understanding of their arts and crafts that such rapid development would occur.

In the times since, 7 more Great Spirits would arise in the Era of Mortals. Where the Primordials represented basic, ancient concepts, these 7 new Spirits would represent the more complicated intricacies of modern civilization. Art, music, and law and order would be but some of the things they would represent, and with their ascension to the Pantheon's ranks would result in the current day 14 Great Spirits that inhabit Lacuna and their love of the people.

It is one thing to speak of the Spirits in generalities, but it is another to speak of each one in depth:

———

The Primordials.

———

[Sketches depict two anthropoidal beings standing side by side, each looking outward with their backs to one another. One was a masculine figure, clad in silvery armor lacking ornate furnishing save a cloak of sunlight. His head was in his hands, separated from his body, with fiery sun stuff flowing from the hole in his neck and head, his monochromatic eyes blazing from the slit visor of his helm covered head. The other was distinctly feminine, adorned in an armored dress of moonlight made physical, her exposed flesh furless and silvery grey, like the surface of a moon turned malleable and soft. Her face was exposed and aside from her monochromatic silvery eyes and flowing, trailing hair of the night sky, she lacked any discernible features on her smoothed face.]

The first of the Great Spirits to form and inhabit the world, Sararu the Day of Sun and Life, and Luraru the Night of Dreams and Death, are the co-leaders of the Pantheon, with Sararu taking on most day to day responsibilities while Luraru provides rule in the night time. The two are neither lovers nor are they wedded, but hold each other with a clear and distinct respect for one another that makes them equals in the other's eye. It is said they are two halves of one being, though the truth of this statement is known only to them and they have no intentions of sharing if it is truth or lie. In ancient times, Sararu was more arrogant and Luraru more vain, though after a humbling journey that would see Sararu permanently decapitated when daring to boast against the Weaver of the World herself, Null,the two would learn from the wisdom gained in this adventure to both become kinder, humbler rulers over their domains.

In the modern day, the two rarely interact with anyone outside of official business as both tend their respective domains in Lacuna or when overseeing official matters of the Pantheon Court. They are notable for being the only two Great Spirits without a respective Spirit Race tied to them in any capacity.

——

[Sketches depict two anthropomorphic beings, a brown and tan furred female rabbit and a blue and purple scaled and orange finned male fish respectively as they gaze at one another in loving affection. The rabbit is stocky and powerfully built as her exposed arms and stubby, paw-footed feet show more than a fair share of muscle, though a kindly maternal air surrounds her and her face is in a smile as she looks to her male counterpart. The male fish, meanwhile, is taller and more slender, long limbed and with webbed, large toed clawed digits at the ends of his digitigrade legs, a simple tabbard over his blue scaled body. His face is short snouted and cat-lipped, and both had the same slit-pupilled eyes as the Mortals they care for.]

Believed to be the second of the Great Spirits to form, or at least the first ones Sararu and Luraru would find, the Great Rabbit Spirit of the Earth and the Great Fish Spirit of the Sea, Tararu and Hararu respectively, are two of the most beloved Great Spirits by both the Spirit Races and Mortals alike. Wedded together and sharing the aspects as the Great Spirits of Farming, Family, and Reproduction, as well as sharing an elemental power over Lightning from origins unkown, 'Mater' Tararu and 'Pater' Hararu formally 'adopted' the Mortal races of Null and were the ones to convince the rest of the Spirit Pantheon to have pity and mercy upon the plight of the Mortals of Null, sharing with them their knowledge and understanding of the concepts they represented to aid the Mortals improve their lives. It is for this reason that,even among the already high standing the Great Spirits posses over the Mortals of Null, Tararu and Hararu never fully stopped being referred to in the affectionate even as many of their Mortal followers moved on to embrace Ambarism.

Their respective Spirit Races, the Tara and the Hara, possess a similar physical resemblance to their respective rabbit and fish Great Spirits though tend to come in a wider variety of colorations, body types. While family's are compromised of any combination of the various Spirit Races, the close ties shared by the Tara and Hara sees these farmers and nature folk come together to have familys with one another the most often. Unique among the various Great Spirits, Tararu holds command over one race of Spirits without their own Great Spirit to lead them, the Flo. Plant like, tentacled dryads with five eyes, the Flo are vicious like the planets of Null, but capable of reason and understanding that allows them to live in harmony with their fellow Spirits. At the right hand of Tararu's seat on the Pantheon's Court of the Great Spirits, there is a smaller seat for whom the current leader of the Flo may sit in on their meetings, speaking with authority backed by Tararu herself.

As a notable side note, their close bond and married nature means that Tararu and Hararu are the Great Spirits with single-handedly the most numerous amount of direct children, with scores of legendary Tara or Hara heroes being the direct Demi-Great Spirit offspring of the two.

——

[Sketches depict two anthropomorphic figures standing side by side, facing outward from one another, a female icy white and blue scaled wyvern and a heavily muscled male antlered tiger. The Wyvern, possessing a calculating look in her eyes as a pair of spectacles perched on her beaked mouth, wore a dress of ice and crystalline shards sown together, while the male wore armored pants and a stained blacksmith's apron as a bright, friendly smile was on his lips.]

The next-to-final pair of Great Spirits found in the Primordial line, Laylaru the Great Wyvern Spirit of Knowledge, Wind and Ice, and Eruiru the Great Tiger Spirit of Strength, Fire and Forging are polar opposites in their mannerisms. Laylaru is cold and calculating, reserved and perceptive even among friends and loved ones, while Eruiru is a blazing inferno of laughter and friendly over affection. Laylaru is a collector of knowledge, both old and new, fantastical or real, with her libraries being a labyrinthine metropolis of collected tomes and histories long lost to both time and even her fellow Great Spirits. Eruiru, meanwhile, enjoys the simpler things of life, be it working on his many mind-destroying brews, inventing new delicacies in the oven,or forging and crafting new weapons and armor of literal divine power and craftsmanship in his forge. It is often said that Eruiru can do virtually anything when drunk, and this is best exemplified when he once picked up the whole of the very ground of Lacuna before using it to hit a then still arrogant Sararu over the head with it all. These two polar opposite extremes, despite their differences, are some of the most commonly seen together friends among the Great Spirits, often due to Eruiru messing with Laylaru in his and Yayairu's antics.

Their respective Spirit Races, the Layla and the Erui, are similar in physical structure as their respective Great Spirits, but with a wider range of coloration's and personalities. Some Erui are avid book mice, while others prefer to toil in the gardens and disdain strong drink, while Layla warriors are just as common as their scholars and knowledge seekers.

Over the eons, the 'Three Friends' of the Great Spirits-Laylaru, Eruiru, and Yayairu, have more than once engaged in intercourse with the other, forming a small but varied bunch of Demi-Great Spirits from their various couplings that have gone on to be famed heroes in their own right despite their bizarre family situation.

——

[Sketches depict three anthropomorphic figures, all three of them being the exact same person in three distinct appearances: A shut-eyed, stub-paw footed lanky fox of a creature that appears both in male and female forms as well as distinctly androgynous appearance. They wear no clothing though there is nothing to cover up and they are shown in a variety of different strange motions of locomotion or activities that defy logical explanation.]

The final of the Primordial line of Great Spirits to be found, Yayairu is the Great Fox Spirit of Foolishness, a strange and chaotic entity who acts on his whims when she desires them. Never a threat or threatening figure to those it dains to annoy at a particular time, Yayairu's foolish antics bely a cunning and at times ruthless mind that many Elder Gods have seen extermination by over the eons despite evidence to suggest he possess Elder elements himself. Possessing a strong, if twistedly odd in expressing it, affection for Mortals, Yayairu is often the first alongside Tararu and Hararu to speak up in defense of Mortals caugh in the crosshairs of the Great Spirit Court.

The Yayai share their Great Spirit's love of mischief making and tomfoolery, with them having developed a strong cultural practice and rapport with the Erui in their ceaseless Beer Raids against the brew-master tiger Spirits. While not a homogeneous mono-culture, with various 'Clans' of Yayai each having different distinct cultural attributes, the overall perception of any Yayai is to expect foolishness to follow in short order, something even the most joyless of their kind acknowledge as an ever present risk whenever their kind is involved.

The non-Tararu/Hararu family line of Demi-Great Spirits, Yayairu is notable for having the absolute largest amount of children outside of the Great Rabbit and Fish Spirit's family, both from his encounters with the other Great Spirits in the pantheon as well as the rare occasion they have taken a Mortal partner to wed for extended periods of time. Despite the reputation of their father, the Yayai Demi-Great Spirits are some of the bravest and self-sacrificing, as well as most diverse in personality, of their kind, a fact their sire holds no small amount of pride over.

———

The Moderna.

———

[Sketches depict a distinctly male figure of varying forms, some more monstrous and others more Orosoid in appearance. The only consistency is the recurring use of the colors grey and gun-metal grey in the beings appearance. Below him in the sketches are two Spirit Races: One resembles the Flitter-Mice of Null, only anthropomorphized: Bipedal, winged mice adorned with spectacles and clothing, coming in both male and female sexes. The other is a massive, feline inspired Spirit Race, built for combat and equipped with the capacity for flight with two retractable wings on their backs. They resemble larger, bulkier, anthropoidal felines compared to the smaller Irm, and possess what appear to be the same retractable male genitalia as Empusa, indicating they are hermaphrodites.]

The first of the Moderna Great Spirits to appear, or perhaps more accurate to say the last of the Primordials to make an appearance, Xarara is the Great Spirit of Mortal Life on Null. This is most evident by his lack of static form, and tendency to change and alter his appearance in a chimeric make up of various creatures of Nullian make up. Arguably the one with the closest ties to the Civilized Races of Null, Xarara is ironically the most distant, rarely if ever interacting with anyone, be they regular Spirit or Mortal, and only interacting with his fellow Great Spirits when needed or when giving reports from his patrols and monitoring of the world of Null. It is believed, in primitive times, that he protected Mortals from behind the shadows from Elders and Elder Gods, with the Elder Blood Moon of Yarah Dam/Senora Sanguine's current state being the result of his messy defeats and devourings of Elder Gods staining the moon with their remains, from which has risen the modern day Elderitch ecosystem currently upon it.

In break from 'tradition', Xarara does not have a Spirit Race that is a direct link to him, instead possessing two races that is said to have been actively crafted by him instead of springing forth from the ether over time. The Aleph-Xara are a race based on the Flittermice of Null, possessing the ability to grow as large as a Normal Body-Type Oros, or become as diminutive as their inspiration. They are devoted to acting as scribes and assistants, almost on an instinctual level, towards the Mortal Races, finding employ everywhere from both the martially inclined and from those with more civil oriented lives. The Bet-Xara, meanwhile, are massive hulking Chimera inspired feline beings who are famous for their often overwhelming levels of power. Where their Aleph siblings were made to be scribes and assistants,the Bet were forged and crafted to be warriors against whom the best of Null would test their mettle against in order to prove their strength and to become stronger still, a role the Bet-Xara hold in high regard as their true calling in life.

Xarara has no children of his own direct bloodline, leaving him without any Demi-Great Spirits of his own.

——

[Sketches depict two females of anthropomorphic lineage, standing side by side with their backs to one another. One is a tall, lean tauric creature with elements of deer, canine, and feline mixed in with a calico fur pattern, armed with a bow and adorned in a hooded cloak meant to blend in with her surroundings. The other, meanwhile, was tall and shapely, her appearance resembling a reptile or lizard woman with a snout and a pair of large, fin like frills that sprout from the sides of her heads and which run down down her neck and back. Her scales are black with a golden sheen, her dress woven of golden thread and a golden chalice running over with wine in one hand as she laughs a haughty laugh.]

Two of the earliest Moderna Great Spirits to appear, the Great Spirit of Travel and the Hunt, Rhutra, and the Great Spirit of Loot and Riches, Arara, are highly notable due to their shared unusual circumstances behind their birth. Before their arrival, their two Spirit Races, then known as the Tul and the Ren respectively, were the only two Spirit Races without their own Great Spirits, an anomaly nobody could explain for eons. It would not be until the Moderna age where Rhutra, after spending so long as but a dream for her people, finally appeared, materializing and becoming the Great Spirit to a people without one. Arara, meanwhile, had a distinctly different tale: Where Rhutra came into the world fully formed, Arara spent her life as just another Ren Spirit. The tale goes that she discovered and began to aid a Proto-Skyrunner Prince in his hunts, using her kind's power to grant small wishes to help him gain an edge in return for his kills providing her with strength to increase her power to grant more potent wishes. This would eventually reach a critical point where Ara gained such power as to ascend into Great Spirithood, an event that has never been able to be replicated before or after.

In the modern day, the Rhutra have made a name for themselves as skilled hunters and gamesmen, hunting the most deadly of game and most challenging of creatures to test their mettle on, while the Ara would be pulled out of their lives of answering meager wishes for coin to join their Great Spirit to share in the bounty of her wealth and prestige. Rhutra are always calico in fur pattern, while the Arara come in a wide variety of 'royal' colors, from jade greens to royal violets and the alluring golden scales, though the black, golden sheened scales of their Great Spirit is considered the most attractive and prized of all coloration.

Of the Great Spirits to have children of their own, Rhutra and Arara are tied for having the least to their name, Rhutra due to her focus on her duties in overseeing her people's honor rules in their hunts, and Arara due to having room in her heart for only one, now long lost individual.

——

[Sketches depict two females of differing appearance standing side by side facing outward from one another. One was a large, plump, four-armed moth woman adorned in a sparkling dress that one often saw worn by singers, while the other was an arachne styled spider-woman, her five eyed head lowered and hands clutched together as her hand woven and complicated dress preserved her modesty.]

The middle most of the Moderna Great Spirits, the Great Moth Spirit of Music and Revelry, Hurkora, and the Great Spider Spirit of Potions, Poison, and the Hearth, Irara, are polar opposites in terms of attitude and temperament. Hurkora is a loud, at times overly dramatic, diva of a woman who takes any and every opportunity to make her presence known and her voice heard to stand out in a crowd, while in comparison Irara is quiet and demure, preferring silence and solitude due to her shyness. Despite this, the two are noted for being close friends with one another, with Hurkora lowering her usually overpowering persona in meetings to make Irara more comfortable while Irara attempts to be more outgoing in the presence of her comrade. In addition, Hurkora is also known to be close and amicable friends with Arara,while Irara possesses a distinct and unusually friendly relationship with Yarairu, something that not even the other Great Spirits can quite understand, especially since their initial meeting infamously saw Irara so frightened that she leapt through the dimensional barriers seperating Lacuna and Null before landing on another planet in the solar system with enough force to leave a vaguely arachnid like mark on the surface of the world currently dubbed 'Arachnis'.

Two Spirit Races of these two particular Great Spirits, the Hurko and the Ira respectively, are noted for their distinct usefulness in day to day civil life. The Hurko, following in their patron's sted, have made a name for themselves as bards, minstrels, and musicians famed both on Lacuna and Null, while the Ira use their potion crafting to craft healing salves, or safe pesticides, for use in everyday occasions. The Ira are notable, however, for not being inherently demure like their patron, and have long since developed a potent and deadly reputation as assassins and poison makers that is at odds with their patron's shy and beloved persona.

In an ironic twist of sorts, Hurkora possess few children of her own, focusing instead on her passions of singing and fame, while Irara meanwhile is known to have mothered a great many children, almost exclusively as a result from friendly encounters turned romantic between herself and Yayairu. While much of these matters remain in private, it is known that in all these encounters, the ensuing coitus was commenced by Irara herself, usually after stringing up Yayairu, which the Great Spirit of Foolishness could only say on the matter a simple: 'Kinky'.

——

[Sketches depict two armored warriors standing side by side and looking away from one another, one male and one female. The female was an anthropomorphic, lioness like woman, her hair tied in a knot as a toothy grin spread across her features, helmet in gauntleted hands as she eagerly observed something off panel, while the male had a distinctly 'flat' face not unlike Sararu and Luraru, his skin black as pitch and his eyes a blaze of dazzling colors, pupils slit like all the others of Null. Instead of hair, his entire head seemed to be alight with a multi-colored flame of sorts.]

The final two Moderna Great Spirits to arise, Irmra the Great Rock-Cat Spirit of War and Strategy and Oriora the Great Spirit of Oaths and Locks are two very well known for their reputations. Irmra is noted due to when she appeared, she had shown up in the Dark Lands of the Dark Spirits, whereupn rather than using any of her godly powers, she would proceed to wage a one-woman guerilla war against them using nothing but her own stength of arms and any weapon she found along the way for the next 2,000 years within the Spirit Realm, only ending when the Dark Spirits finally relented and appealed to the Great Spirit Court to finally 'take her away'. Oriora, meanwhile, appeared with little fanfare by comparison, showing up one day while dragging into the Court a Spirit who had broken a sacred oath to the Great Spirits. The two are endowed with great martial prowess and insight, which they use to train their people as soldiers and as law enforcement for the Spirit World respectively.

Peoples of great discipline and honor, the Irm and Orio are both warriors who take their assigned roles very seriously. Even those two deviate from the tradition of soldiers or law-bringers seem to have an almost compulsory drive to give their chosen path in life their all. Driven by instincts of law and order, both peoples are highly unified and tied to their families with bonds that are unshakable, even by Nullian standards.

In terms of children, Oriora has had none, focusing his energies in enacting the laws set forth to govern the Spirit World. In comparison, and in a twist of fate no one saw coming, Irmra is the mother of a vast horde of daughters that were born, even more amazingly, from the wedded union between herself and one of the older sister's of the Weaver Null herself, the Aether Being of War Aegia.

———

In summation, the Great Spirits and their Spirit Races of Lacuna are a diverse assortment of beings, all of whom are held in high regard by both Spirit and Mortal alike. Their actions in protecting and guiding the development of civilization on Null is extensive and cannot even begin to be covered by this Grimoire, needing entire volumes to cover comparatively meager stretches of their long, storied histories.

One final word is worth mentioning: All the Spirits spoken of so far have been what are recognized as 'Light' Spirits, beings who despite their otherworldly and nigh-unkillable natures might indicate look as flesh and blood as any Mortal. There also exists Dark Spirits, beings born in the Dark Lands who are the mirror counterparts to the Light Spirits, filled with aggression and destructive impulses. Despite this, they are NOT demonic or fel in nature, and indeed are empowered if struck by the divine magics of the Great Spirits of Lacuna, indicating a deep relationship between the two sides that goes beyond the scope of this particular Grimoire. Despite their often aggressive natures, Dark Spirits are still civilized beings with their own cultures, societies, and individual ways of life same as any other life form on Lacuna or Null of sapient thought, driven by their close bonds with one another to protect and empower one another.

Only time will tell if the divide between Light and Dark Spirits will be mended, or if further rifts will divide them still.​

 

[TripleMRed]

True Dragons.

[Sketches depict several species of large, semi-bipedal dragons living on Null. They are varying in shape and color, some blue and with shark like skin and facial features, others with more 'typical' draconic features and red scales, while others still are bulky, green scute clad, a with a mixture of crocodilian and terrapin features. Their large, bulky arms end in four digits, three fingers and a thumb, which can be used to grasp things or to form fists, with their forearms possessing large, closable cavities that, going by the sketches, can fire out a variety of attacks based on the Dragon's elemental qualities. They have wings, though appear to use them through the power of magic rather than physically beating them to achieve flight. Finally, sketches show them living in the wilds, sleeping or fighting off Hunters that stumble upon them. Interestingly, at least one seems to be wearing a cap and with a satchel slung over their shoulder.]

Scientific Name Translation: Mystic Lizard. [A note is attached. It reads 'I bet they'd be nicer to us if we didn't officially label them as 'lizards'.']

Average Size: Depends on subspecies..

Average Weight: Depends on subpecies.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: Usually N/A, Asexual Species.

Habitat Range: All over the Arisa Continent.

Summary:​

The world of Null is comprised of two primary, but deeply conjoined aspects: The Mundane, the physical and 'normal' elements that comprise the matter and base elements that make up the world itself, and the Mystical, the magical component that seeps into and flows through every layer of the planet and the majority of its creatures. One particularly kind of creature, the oldest known surviving of its kind in fact, is said to be the embodiment of the Mystical despite their corporeal forms: The True Dragons. [A note is attached, depicting a surprisingly good sketch of a True Dragon standing upright with nobility as it stares off into the distance.]

True Dragons, as the name suggest, are the truest form of draconic being on Null, being distinct in both form and capability from their more mundane draconic counterparts. Standing in a typically hunched, bipedal stance with their arms held close to their forms at their front, True Dragons range greatly in precise power and form due to their seven subspecies, as well as by individual age. Typically speaking, there are rarely if ever more than exactly 700 Dragons of each subspecies at any one time, and the vast majority of these make their homes far from domains of the Civilized Races, typically living to the West in the Land of Giants.

True Dragons came into being several million years ago, and have changed remarkably little since their introduction in the fossil record. Indeed, some evidence suggests the first Civilizations on Null were made by the True Dragons in these primordial times, with some structures and even whole cities from these bygone eras still standing to this very day. However, at some point between the introduction of mammals and the rise of modern day Civilized Races, the True Dragon's civilizations fell to ruin, with its caretakers leaving for the wilds of the world to enter a great slumber, or to live simpler lives not unlike normal animals. Despite this, True Dragons are still intelligent, sapient beings capable of speech, and it's all too common for one to give a stern, quick warning to any that stumble upon them to leave them be, lest their wrath be invited upon the interloper to have disturbed their slumber.

Still, a handful of True Dragons continue to this day to display Civilized traits, such as wearing articles of clothing or carrying bags, and living among modern day Civilized Races as members of society. The most famous is the scholar Induri, a Hydro Dragon who has taken a feminine persona who wanders the world, recording all she learns from the Civilized Races and their cultures. More than once, the very author of this book has traded information with her on subjects both niche and broad. [A note is attached. It reads 'I actually met Induri once myself. Well, 'met'. I just listened in to a lecture of hers when she stopped by to live in her home here in Dreamhold, but it still counts as meeting her damn it!']

In terms of shared biological features, the Arm Cannons and wings are two of the linking components across all True Dragon species. The arm-cannons are opened recesses on top of their forearms that act as focusing points for their elemental powers to escape outside of their bodies rather than exclusively from the mouth. The arm-cannons are used typically for close combat situations and are thus excellent in melee engagements. The wings, meanwhile, act as focusing points for contra-gravitic power. They do not flap their wings to fly: Rather, they begin to shake and glow the tell tale oily-rainbow hue of contra-grav wing magic used by many Nullian creatures for sustained flight. This allows them to float and, with applications of magic to give them jet-forces of power for propulsion, true flight.

As previously mentioned, there are 7 subspecies of True Dragon, each with their own distinct looks and powers. Hydro Dragons are sleek and long, having sharp, shark like features on their forms and a power over water ranging from blistering steam to hydro-cutters from their arm-cannons. Detonation Dragons are more typically what one images a dragon to look like, being fiery red and packing explosive detonations as their power. Corrosion Dragons are massive and bulky, with large armored bellies and reinforced beaked craniums, they live in swamps and bogs and spit acid bile and corrosive gas at their enemies. Shock Dragons are sleek and sharply armored, being the fastest of the Dragons and launching electrical discharges at their foes. Frost Dragons are layered in armor of true ice, spitting forth their mystical cold at a moment's notice. Noise Dragons have bat like qualities and fur, and launch concussive, destructive sound waves at their foes. Finally, the Graviton Dragons are the most illusive and darkly lit of all the Dragons, using the forces of gravity to crush those that are a threat while hovering cross-legged in the air. [A note is attached. It reads 'Gravitic Anomalies pinning you down are bad enough, but living, intelligent ones like Graviton Dragons? No thanks!']

Regardless of their nature, all True Dragons are powerful, with even the newest and youngest of them requiring either a full team of elite Hunters to take down, or a true hero of the current era to fell. While unfortunate, it is occasionally necessary to slay a rogue or irritated True Dragon that refuses to listen to reason, for their power makes them dangerous: Whole villages have been razed by even the weakest of their kind if left unchallenged. Those Dragons that still retain their Civility and commune with the rest of Civilized space agree that such measures, while tragic and unfortunate, are necessary.

One of the most fascinating parts of True Dragon biology is their inherent lack of biological sex. They lack sex organs of any kind, and thus do not reproduce in ways we are familiar with. When a True Dragon does create more of their own kind, it is through a highly ritualized process of blood letting that spills their blood into large pools in the ground, whereupon new True Dragons begin to form as koi like young. Due to the fact that there are only ever around 700 True Dragons of a given species at any one time, the creation of new Dragons is doesn't occur unless there is a need for replacements for fallen kin. On a biological level, these new Dragons are clones of their parent, though in terms of personality they are each distinct and unique in their own right. Legends tell of Dragons that had sexual features that mated with Mortals in the distant past, though this is almost certainly myth and fairy tale rather than truth, as no living True Dragon to date has shown a desire to take on a biological sex even if they take on a gender for themselves. [A note is attached. It reads 'The stories go that Dragons that took on a biological sex could reproduce with anything, but these are just stories. I think. Maybe?']

The closest relatives to True Dragons are, in fact, the Hydras of Null. Where the True Dragons act as the embodiment of the Mystic, the Hydras ironically are embodiment of the Mundane: True Dragons are beings of magic that happen to have physical forms, while Hydras are physical creatures who happen to be empowered by Magic. One of the key differences, biologically, between the two related families is eyes: True Dragons possess two eyes, same as most other creatures, while Hydras and their ilk possess no eyes, their faces guarded by armored plates without a visible ocular organ in sight. Historically, the two sides of the family tree hate one another, and move to attack the other at any interaction.

The magical powerhouses of the world, True Dragons are often aloof and a mysterious, dangerous remnant of a distant, bygone time in Null's ancient history. They are beings that are to be respected and treated with reverence even on the occasion that they must be put down for the safety of all, with those that continue to commune with us becoming great teachers of magic to those races that can perform the mystic arts of Mana manipulation. Who is to say that someday, in the future, all Dragons will snap out of whatever special malaise claims them to rejoin their youngers in a new, brilliant future of Civilized living? Only time will tell. [A note is attached. It reads 'I wish I had a True Dragon housemate! Sure, they average at like 15 feet tall, but it'd be awesome!']

 

[TripleMRed]

War Dragons.

[Sketches depict a race of dragons, their coloration and details varying from subspecies to subspecies, their default appearance being a typical four legged gait with wings on their backs and long tails to balance bodies, their horned heads held upright and with pride. Tellingly, there appear to be multiple forms and subtypes of these Dragons, the sketches depicting what appear to be transformations between a more bipedal, anthropomorphic stance and a larger, bulkier version of their default quadrupedal gait. One subtype is massive and broad chested, with what appears to be sap like secretions from between their chest plates that, when falling in drops, produce explosive results.]

[A note is attached. It reads 'I'm so glad we were able to make peace with these guys, they're some of the chillest friends I've made in my life!']

Scientific Name Translation: Eternal Soldier.

Average Size: Varies on form.

Average Weight: Varies on form.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: Females are slightly, but noticeably, slimmer and more curved than the more angular males.

Habitat Range: Primarily on the floating continent of Skyhold, though some have started to live among Median cities.​

Summary:

It is said that, of the Civilized Races of Null, the oldest is the True Dragons. Indeed, countless ruins, ancient decrepit cities, and hollowed artifacts from this bygone era remain, even after the True Dragons fall from grace and their current diminished state of being. It is from these ancient ruins, many millions of years old yet intact through generous applications of reinforcement magics and clever placement on stable geographical locals, we have learned much of what the world was like in their era. It is through these texts where we discovered the origins of one notable race of draconic beings, the sapient War Dragons.

The War Dragons are a remnant of this bygone era, when the True Dragons civilization was the dominant force in the Mortal realm of Null. Artificial creations, War Dragons were crafted by the numerically more limited True Dragons to act as soldiers for their civilization, in an era where the Mortal realm was assailed by Elder horrors. The end product of many, many failed attempts that would lead to the other draconic species of Arisa, such as the Crash Drakes, the Slips, the Shinook and the Shanooks, War Dragons were the culmination of centuries of research and development between the native True Dragons and the mysterious but benevolent (though now long gone) Elder species known today as the Stone-Eyes. According to both remaining ancient documents and accounts by the still living War Dragons in the modern day, the fighting in these ancient conflicts was intense and brutal, a world wide conflict the likes of which has never been seen since. [A note is attached. It reads, 'During the time of the release of 8th edition, this was true. Now? The Moon War that's still going on is easily the most massive conflict in all of Nullian history, though aside from a few incursions, proxy wars and battles, the official Moon War has taken place entirely in our lunar orbit.']

After the end of these ancient conflicts ended with the securing of Null from these hostile incursions, the remaining War Dragons were then placed by their creators into stasis within the floating continent of Skyhold, held aloft by massive reserves of Floatstone ores throughout the entire island-continent that both kept it safely aloft as well as masked their life signatures in their stasis cocoons. It would be in stasis where the War Dragons would remain for millions of years, awaiting for another time where their masters called upon them to serve once more, a time which would never come as during the intervening years, the True Dragon civilization would collapse and their peoples would result in the loss of the original command and control systems and structure which the War Dragons used as their military hierarchy.

After millions of years, the mystical systems overseeing the stasis cocoons would begin to fade and fail, ultimately resulting in the unplanned release of the War Dragon hordes some time around the 2800's AA. Awakened and now lacking the central authority they once relied upon, now functionally free of any outside influence, the War Dragons began to adapt and fell back on their training and instincts to make up for such a potent loss of reliable command. As a result of falling back on these primal instincts, the War Dragons came to the only course of action that made sense for the veterans of the old wars at the time: Conquest and raiding. Unfortunately, the only cultures available for such attacks would be the Median and its peoples, and as such in the winter of 2888, the First Draconic War began with the War Dragons invading from the East, assaulting the coastlines and other major civilized hubs in the Median at the time. Though initially making excellent progress, both due to natural power as well as experience from their ancient conflicts, the War Dragons would ultimately be stopped and pushed back once the Median managed to find its footing and respond to the raids. [A note is attached. It reads 'I actually keenly remember my old home town seeing the raids arrive at our doorstep, only to be turned away at the last minute by Sky Fleet and Stormleaper detachments. It was scary, but also oddly beautiful in a twisted, janked up way seeing the walls of fire rising up in the distance.']

Leaving to lick their wounds and replenish their lost numbers, the Second Draconic War would occur in 2990, with the Dragon's attempted raids having been predicted and prepared for, resulting in a horrific failure that led to a full withdraw by the War Dragons back to their home to once again heal their wounds. Their culture and society would begin development in earnest around this time, as several generations of War Dragons who had never known of the ancient times were borne and raised in this new era. Survivors of the initial two Draconic Wars began to have doubts of the old ways being of any value in this new era, with many arguments being held in their burgeoning council chambers of their new-born government discussing pursuing peace with the Median and its peoples.

Ultimately, the Third and final Draconic War would occur in 3042 AA, as a result of the Median instigating an invasion towards Skyhold in order to cease the War Dragon invasions once and for all. Many theorize what would have occurred if the invasion had completed as intended, with some believing that our Median would have forced the War Dragons to accept an unconditional surrender using warship diplomacy, while a few whisper that complete destruction was the aim. While I personally dismiss the latter arguments, I also cannot deny that the former would have been achieved through extensive and brutal war fighting deep into the War Dragon's homelands to force peace by gunpoint. However, these theories are for things that we will never know for sure, as before the invasion force could begin striking deep into the War Dragon warrens and homes dug beneath the surface of Skyhold, they were recalled due to the awakening and development of a new, infinity worse threat in the west.

Peace between the Median and the War Dragons would occur as a completely unexpected development, and as a direct result of War Dragon scouts being sent to investigate and observe the sudden withdrawal of the Median warfleet to the West. These scouts would discover the new war front that had opened up between the Median and an unexpectedly and massively overwhelming infestation of Eldritch plant creatures known as the Dream Lotus, AKA the Mother Roots. These scouts would become unexpected allied to the Median when one of their own was captured by the Mother Roots to be podded and used as one of their many 'brains', with them fighting alongside the same Median soldiers that had not so long ago been invading their homelands against this common threat breaking the ice for peace between the two polities going forward. [A note is attached. It depicts a sketch of a strange creature made of roots and bark, several glowing 'eyes' on its head structure as it pointed a blade like arm towards the viewer. Words follow, reading 'Dream Lotus creature, 'Daisy Cutter'.']

The War Dragons, though still recovering from the invasion, would send several deployments of their own forces to support the Median war-effort out of a sense of foresight that, if the Mother Root won against the Median, it would not be long before it would turn its gaze towards the Dragons themselves. This mutually beneficial alliance cemented the end of Median-War Dragon hostilities and, while personal relations between the two polities would remain cool at best due to earlier conflicts, no further widespread violence between the two parties have been reported since.

In terms of biology, the War Dragons are highly fascinating. Artificially created to be the perfect soldiers in their era, adult War Dragons are physically and mystically quite powerful for creatures relying on only natural weaponry. Able to switch between three different forms, their Base draconic form which is a balance between the mystically power but physically weaker, smaller and bipedal Mage form and their larger, physically more powerful War form, War Dragons are trained from youth to be excellent fighters in all three forms, though they are each their own individuals with their own talents and personal preferences that makes them better suited between their three forms in combat.

Armed with claws, a tail club, horns, teeth, and durable scales, flesh and bones, War Dragons are durable and dangerous in close combat in all of their forms, with their mystical powers allowing for spell casting of varying levels of power between their Base and Mage forms. Regardless of form, elemental breath attacks are common ranged weapons across their various sub-types, giving them the ability to strike from afar using either 'blasts' of elemental power, or more medium-close range 'beams' to cut into armored foes.

While there are 7 subspecies of True Dragon, War Dragons are divided between 5 'categories': Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, and Toxin, each of whom works together with the others in a given warfront to maximize their power and ability in pack tactics. Of these, fire is the most common while Toxin is the least common, each distinguished by their own 'categories' coloration and distinct attributes such as the blue coloration and fish-fin like traits on the water War Dragons.

In addition to their categories and forms, there are three distinct 'classes' of War Dragons, biological castes designed for a specific battlefield role and purpose in combat. Scouts are the leanest and smallest, and make use of stealth magics and camouflage abilities to gather information and spy on enemy formations from relatively close proximity while remaining undetected, using extreme speed to move between locations and to report back to their superiors quickly. Soldiers are the generalists and the most common 'class' of War Dragon, being the, well, soldiers of the War Dragon military structure. Demolitions, or Demos for short, are the heavy firepower class of the War Dragons, being physically larger and burlier, with more firepower in their breaths and combat magics, with their biggest claim to fame being their ability to create and drop 'droplets' from their segmented chest regions that, upon landing on the ground, detonate with extreme force when deployed in their massive 50 meter long War Forms. [A note is attached. It reads 'Before we learned their proper designations, their call-signs in order were 'Slip', 'Jockey', and 'Bombard'.']

For all their power and transformative ability, War Dragons have a few notable limitations. To prevent accidentally crushing themselves if located in a durable environment, they cannot switch to a larger form if there is not enough space for that transformation to take place, which leads to the common fear of them demolishing buildings by transforming within them unfounded. They also cannot transform due to limitations of proximity with other, non-War Dragon life, a security measure to prevent them accidentally injuring their True Dragon creators in ancient times which has the added benefit of leaving them unable to cause problems on crowded streets or when too near individuals by transforming into a deadlier form.

A final note on their biology is the fact that, despite being crafted by the True Dragons as a warrior race, War Dragons actually do possess biological sexes and the ability to replenish their numbers through conventional reproductive methods. Courtship between War Dragons is still being understood, but the basics functionally amount to two dragons of peer rank, often those who have fought side by side the longest, claiming one another as their respective mate, reproducing from the safety of 'home base', with their young being born live in litters of anywhere from 3-8 wyrmlings per gestation period of approximately 7 months. These newborn dragons, while armed and able to survive on their own biologically speaking, have to be taught and raised, usually by community though parents taking personal oversight of their children's developments are becoming more and more common, to properly become a member of their community and civilization, becoming sexually mature at around 20 years of age. Despite how ancient they are, it has been found that the War Dragons adaptability allows them in their anthropoidal Mage forms to be able to safely and successfully engage in reproductive behaviors with other Civilized Races, producing viable offspring of the mother's respective species. [A note is attached. It depicts a cartoon baby dragon, a small, chubby creature, sitting on its bottom as it stared cross-eyed at a butterfly on its nose, its tongue sticking out as it focuses on the insect.]

The War Dragons developing culture is still in its infancy, with much of their civilian life taking aspects of culture and society in an imitative manner from the Median they were at war with not so long ago. Many younger generations of War Dragons have even begun to develop a youth counterculture focusing on imitating Median societal norms such as wearing clothing, or pursing non-war related hobbies such as collecting trinkets or adopting pets. [A note is attached. It reads 'Apparently, 'Your Tiny Dracoequines' is very popular, especially the spin-off, 'Your Tiny Dracoequines: Skirmish Maul 5000'. I always preferred the Axe-Scythe 4k Series it's a parody of, but according to my War Dragon pen-pal Juniper Hailmaker, its combat rules are actually very in depth and well throughout out!']

Despite our earliest encounters leaving a bad impression, it cannot be stressed enough that the War Dragons are still a young, developing culture, trying to find meaning for themselves when their original purpose has become lost to them. While this doesn't necessarily absolve the bloodshed on either side's hands, it is something to consider going forward as a hand of friendship and assistance in helping them find a place for themselves in this new world they find themselves in is extended to our draconic brothers and sisters.

 

[TripleMRed]

Ogra. [A note is attached. It reads 'It's pronounced 'Ohg-Rah', not 'O-graw'.']

[Sketches depict a race of wild looking, bipedal people with animalistic qualities. They are quite muscular, with even the smallest and thinnest of them having a wiry frame that implies respectable amount of muscle power. The only unifying traits between them is their basic make up an appearance, appearing to have qualities of a hog, a wolf, and a hyena mixed together: Their snouted, wolf like faces mixed with hyena teeth and qualities, their ears long and pointed, and their limbs ending in four digted extremities that resemble a cross between a paw and a hog hoof turned into a four fingered hand and foot. Beyond this, their variability is massive. Some have stripped fur, others spots, and others still solid colorations ranging from rust reds to sandy tans to bark browns, with their hairs being styled in a variety of manners ranging from simplistic wild bushes, to braids, to more outlandish things such as mohawks. Their fur is also styled differently, with many keeping it short and many others shaving themselves to the rough, tough hide and only leaving extremities and privates covered in their fur. Their clothes range from simple animal clothes, to studded leathers not out of place with a musical band, to well made and reinforced armor plate. Females have several pairs of nipples, but only the ones on their chests seem to have formed into fully functional mammary glands, the rest being little more than a remainder of older ancestors. Finally, many of them have covered themselves in various colorations of paint, in patterns and colors distinct from others. Some resemble tribal tattoos, while others resemble a monstrous anthropoidal version of a hair-metal band. In the end, they are extremely varied and distinct as a species.]

[A note is attached. It reads 'I learned about these guys in history class. I always wanted to meet one, but never got the chance to. Yet. Dun dun duuun!']

Scientific Name Translation: Wild Dog.

Average Size: 7'0-9'2 feet/2.134-2.804 meters tall.

Average Weight: 880-1580. pounds/399.2-716.7kgs

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: Females are curvier than males, with features males lack such as breasts. There is also a small, but notable minor leaning towards females being larger than males on average.

Habitat Range: All biomes of the Land of Giants.

Summary:​

The claim of 'most successful species' is one that is open to interpretation. What does one mean by 'successful'? If we go by technological advancement and cultural unity, then the peoples of the Median are the most successful species on the planet. If we go by population, then the humble Rooter Ant is the most successful known species on the Arisa continent numerically speaking. As such, the title for most successful species is variable based on the many different qualities and traits one must specify for a given category. That being said, it is widely agreed by many in the scientific community that, of the various species of Nullian life-forms to originate from another world or realm before being taken by Uplifters, the most successful non-native species is the Ogra people.

Making life in the harsh landscapes of the Land of Giants to the West, the origins of the Ogra can be traced back several million years ago, where their originator ancestors were placed in the region that would become the Land of Giants. Dimensional Long-Scry in the modern day to their realm of origin has led to some insightful revelations as to the origins of their ancestors: The Drohq, a quadrupedal war beast and hunting animal used by an army led by a dark magic user that was ultimately defeated by native armies. The Drohq and the hordes they served under were exterminated by the native species of their homeworld, making the modern day Ogra the only surviving descendants of their kind. [A note is attached. It reads 'That's depressingly sad, actually. But also good in a way? At least they're alive is what I'm getting at.']

The adaptability and potential of the original Drohq showed in the unforeseen capacity for them to evolve, which would ultimately culminate in the first modern day Ogra some tens of thousands of years ago. Astonishingly, despite the relative youth of their species and how little time they've been around, the Ogra's development as a people seems to have actually accelerated over the millennia. Adopting, or more accurately being adopted by, the Great Spirit Pantheon, Ogra culture was led by the primal blood-lust and desire for combat that drove their original ancestors in their home realm so long ago. War and combat are a way of life for the Ogra, and this antagonistic behavior has led to their entire history being one of conflict, whether it is between themselves, coordinated species such as Spider-Ants, or even conflicts with the races of East such as the Oros.

The history of the Ogra people is one of uncertainty, as their constant warfare has led to a difficult time being able to record much of anything with any certainty, much less have it survive the warfare that surrounded them. Modern day Ogra are not as belligerent as they once were thanks to a grim form of selective breeding in the form of the marginally less aggressive of their kind having the opportunity to reproduce and fill their numbers of their population after it is decimated in conflict. Repeated countless times over several millennia, and this has resulted in the infinity more stable, though still hot-blooded, Ogra of our modern day.

Able to be reasoned with and enter communications with one another on peaceful terms, my travels to their lands to uncover more about them for this encyclopedia of mine has led to some revolutionary discoveries in my travels amongst them. My guide through their lands was a 'Philosofist' named Uhrun Bloodweaver, a surprisingly calm individual whose report I've come to miss since returning from their lands.

According to Uhrun, the foundations for what would lead to modern day Ogra society were, according to oral tradition and research by his order of warrior-scholars, traced all the way back to the days of Irlira the Blood Queen, an unusually massive and powerful Ogra whose claim to historical fame was being the first to unify their peoples and lead them in an invasion of the East thousands of years ago. Comparing this to our own histories, this corresponds exactingly to the Ogra invasion in the Era of the Oros Warrior Queens. As the records go, the Ogra invasion interrupted the internecine conflicts between the Oros Warrior Queens and led to one among them, Mei-Lee Jadesmith, to unite the other Warrior Queens and lead them in battle against the invaders. The Ogra Invasion would ultimately end with the death of the Blood Queen at the hands of Mei-Lee in a titanic duel that broke the spirits of the now leaderless and directionless Ogra and caused the survivors to retreat back home.

This directly affects both of our histories, as this event led to the Ogra, who had believed their Blood Queen to be the strongest chosen of their people, to question much of what they believed to be true about themselves and the world, and what caused Mei-Lee to unify the people of her region in the first modern day Nation, the Royalbacks, in preparation for a potential future invasion by the Ogra. When one did not come for centuries, the Royalbacks would go on to try and conquer the rest of the Oros world to create a unified peoples in the 'First Kingdom', which ultimately failed when their attempts to replace local culture with their own, combined with the also newly formed Skyrunner Nation inciting and supplying rebellions among the other Oros cultures, led to the birth of the other Nations. The rest, as they say, is history. [A note is attached. It reads 'Got to give the Royalbacks credit, their origins are hardcore. Even if they did turn around and act like jerks to the rest of us.']

As for the Ogra, according to Uhrun, while they always recognized the Great Spirit Pantheon as their gods, their own bloodlust made them rather stubborn at actually listening to their gods even as they tried to steer the Ogra down a less destructive path. With the painful loss of the Blood Queen in their failed invasion, the Ogra became more willing to listen to their Great Spirits, though they ultimately would be drawn to the Great Tiger Spirit of Strength, Eruiru.

Teaching them the ways of black smithing and the refinement of ores, early weapons and armor was made, allowing them to better survive in the hostile lands they called home. However, one major defeat, while enough to begin questioning, was not enough to get rid of their built in blood lust, and so conflicts would continue for millennia onwards, this time between the countless Ogra societies and clans. The ensuing millennia of warfare would grind their people down and build them back up in ways that I never thought possible. There have been approximately 3 or so great changes in Eastern Nullian society, broken up by the 'Kingdom' periods that came and went. Conversely, Uhrun informed me that, while the lack of proper surviving historical records made it difficult to attain a specific number, Ogra society leading into the modern age has been destroyed and rebuilt at a minimum of 47 different individual times, to as few as a maximum estimated 198 times. At the time I spoke with Uhrun, current Ogra society was in its longest era of peace at 56 consecutive years without a major war breaking out. This peace is relative, however, as clan conflicts continue to this day. [A note is attached. It depicts a sketch of a pair of Ogra punching each other in the face, while using their off hands to give each other thumbs' ups.]

Biologically speaking, the Ogra are fascinating in a number of ways. The most distinct thing is that, despite being a fully sapient, Civilized species all their own and having existed on Null for millions of years, the Ogra's Sentinel Bacteria are not the same Grade as that of the native Civilized Races such as the Oros or Chimera. What this means is that, unique among the Civilized Races of Null, the Ogra are edible to the life forms they fight against, which for much of their history meant they fought as much to avoid being eaten as they did to eat to survive. This is not as much of an issue as one would expect, however, for the Ogra are quite powerful creatures in their own rights despite this lower SB Grade and lack of unbreakable bones.

Extremely strong and with durable flesh for their sizes, Ogra naturally have powerful bites and strong, bone crushing teeth at their disposal. Their unique digits are tipped with strong, durable hoof claws that, when combined with their impressive grip strength and numbers, allow them to drag down and tear apart creatures that would normally eat any one of them individually. When combined with their intelligence for combat and the development of arms and armor, and the Ogra have managed to carve out many safe zones that would develop into cities, whose only real threat outside of the Giant and Titan scale creatures (kept at bay by the use of potent spell craft) is attack from other Ogra. Ogra possess keen senses and instincts that allow them to evade that which they cannot fight, and get the drop on that which they can.

Covered in fur like their Oros counterparts, Ogra fur colors and patterns are massive in variation, ranging from hues of reds and browns, to albino whites, jet blacks, and majestic golds, with no clear genetic disposition for these unlike the various colorations and fur patterns of the Oros Nationalities. An extensive array of styles for how they manage their fur varies from clan to clan, and even tribe to tribe and pack to pack. These range from wild and expressive hair styles, to crisp and close cut shaves, to even shaving entire sections of their body down to the tough skin beneath with only strategic, and at times lurid, patches of fur remaining. [A note is attached. It shows a cartoon drawing of an Ogra peeking out of a hairball. Words read 'They are a very hairy people. I wonder if they get hot from how much hair they have?']

Ogra, similar to other Civilized Races, do not have a set breeding period, and can reproduce year-round. Ogra decide on mates that they believe are their equals, whether this is through physical ability or on a mental level varies from Ogra pairing to Ogra pairing. Once mated, only death or a severe betrayal by their partner will separate the two. Where it takes an Oros 11 months to gestate a single offspring or twins, the Ogra produce an average litter of 12 pups after a 3 month gestation cycle. With 9 months in a Nullian year, this means that an average, sexually active mating pair of Ogra can have on average 36 pups that, thanks to modern medicine and their powerful pack instincts, will see most surviving into adolescence. [A note is attached. It reads '12 Puppos!?']

Interestingly, despite so many pups being born at a time, and despite the presence of several sets of nipples, Ogra females only ever have two fully developed breasts on their chest as is the norm for females of the Civilized Races. Why this is remains an evolutionary mystery, for Ogra and Median races alike. Regardless of reasoning, this has affected how Ogra raise their young. At birth, two of the strongest looking pups are chosen to suckle extremely nutrient rich and dense milk from their mother, with the rest of their siblings being fed meat that their already tooth-lined maws can dig into. The runt of the litter, interestingly enough, is not discarded by such a strength focused culture, but tended to in order for them to become the support work of their society by being sent off to be raised by the Philosofists.

Of those that remain with their parents, the remaining siblings often wrestle and non-lethally play fight one another throughout their childhoods, with leadership being determined by the victors of these battles. These 'Pack Bosses', with the strongest sibling leading the rest of their brood mates, often have a lot of responsibility and aid in the raising of their younger siblings, bringing order to what would normally be a chaos of various rambunctious fighting children. As they grow older, the same Pack would go through the same trials and tribulations together, covering areas one is weak in with aid by the others, until they reach full maturity. As adults, one can expect Pack Siblings to remain with one another in combat until one breaks off to find a mate of their own, or they are destroyed or otherwise ground down by the attrition of their conflict filled lives. [A note is attached. It depicts a sketch of cartoony Ogra all posing together. Words below it read 'Ride together, die together.']

Ogra, provided enough sustenance and surviving enough battles, will continue to grow throughout their lives until they reach an approximate maximum size of 9'2. Some rare individuals, however, can grow to be over 10 feet tall, becoming celebrities in their own right. Ogra suffering from dwarfism, known as 'Shorties' offhandedly or as 'Orgri' (an affectionate diminutive version of their species name) typically don't grow any larger than 5'2, and make up about 15% of the total Ogra population, making themselves useful as mechanically inclined engineers and technicians.

Ogra society itself, as it exists in its modern form, is a complex thing. While their instinctive blood-lust has been reduced considerably, they are still drawn towards the strongest of their kind to lead them, though they have grown the wisdom to be able to determine when a current Clan Chief or Pack Boss is not very well suited to leading despite their strength, at which point the strength of the mob is used to replace them. Interestingly, deaths during these transitions of power are not very common (any more), and the deposed leader will give in to the strength of the mob as having been beaten, and will integrate into following the newly appointed leadership with little fuss. Indeed, many of the more belligerent deposed leaders will simply leave their old positions and packs behind in order to search out a new pack to take over and try again there, usually implementing lessons learned to retain their power.

Paint in a variety of colors and patterns are also used to distinguish themselves and their allegiances among their people. From the flashy and extensive paint schemes of the Hooligoons to the calculated and precise patterns of the Iron Fangs, there is no end to the variety of paint and tattoos used by their people. They also make use of a piercings, though this appears to be more of a personal fashion statement rather than anything clan related. [A note is attached. It reads 'I have a cousin living in Dreamhold with me, and he seems to have an interest in Ogra women. Like, he doesn't even try to hide it. So many posters of buff, tattooed and pierced up Ogra chicks. He refused to tell me where he gets the posters, since I've never heard anything about them in the Median before.']

Their society is also divided into numerous Great Clans, each of which is roughly analogous to an Oros Nationality in terms of shared cultural and societal norms and history. Each Great Clan has its own distinct philosophy of how to live one's life, each with countless Ogra who believe in following this given philosophy intently. The Great Clans with the most power are:

-The Wyld Wolves believe in living in a more primal state, or at least giving as few concessions to more advanced technology as possible. The least populace of the Great Clans, they nonetheless have some of the hardiest and most experienced survivalists of all of the Ogra in the modern era, granting them a level of respect by the others as to send their youths to be trained in their ways of surviving on as little technological aid as possible.

-The Gausst Ghosts, inversely, are the most technologically advanced and believe in harnessing the power of technology in order to become stronger. It is from the Gaussts that many technological innovations were discovered or invented by the Ogra, from their modern day radio technology to the various weapons in the form of Oil Guns their people have come to love so much. Scientists to the core, they throw themselves at problems to find the best way to exploit it, turn it to their favor and/or learn how to blow it up or drive it away.

-The Hooligoons, the newest Great Clan to be formed, is known for its wide make up of young Ogra with a fascination for new things and the tidbits of culture from the Eastern species they come across. Ironically, it would be the Hooligoons that would influence us as many traits we recognize as belonging to the genre of 'hair-metal' comes from the Hooligans propensity for wild, outlandish hair-styles, vibrant colors and loud musical instrumentation. Interestingly, Hooligoon counter-culture is one of the most peaceful of the Ogra, having found a productive outlet for their hot-bloodedness in the form of expressive art, music, and non-fatal contests between its members.

-The Iron Fangs are the most militaristic and disciplined of the Ogra, said to have taken inspiration from the Oros militarys that beat their ancestors back so many generations prior. Known for their use of advanced weapons, tactics, and combined arms warfare, the Iron Fangs ironically are not the most unified of the Great Clans, with numerous subfactions and parties within their wider structure butting heads over specifics or preferred cultural norms.

-The Steel Riders, prior to the Hooligans, were the newest of the Great Clans and originate as an evolution of old Ogra Saber-Tiger cavalry units evolving to the discovery of the oceans of fuel buried deep within the Land of Giants. while the Gausst rightfully claim to have been the ones to discover the Crude used as fuel and the invention of the first hover-mobiles among the Ogra, it was the Steel Riders who would perfect the designs. Every current day Ogra vehicle, whether it is a traveler of the land, the sky, or of the inland seas, is of Steel Rider origin.

-The Demolitionists was a Great Clan founded on the shared mutual appreciation for all things that are explosive in nature. Rockets, missiles, bombs, Solarite-if it explodes, it is venerated. Over time, natural selection has led to the Demolitionists becoming more and more refined in their use of explosives. The love and appreciation has remained the same, if not deepened, but the methodology and skill put into their work has become less slapdash and much more professional in nature. They also have a monopoly on the mining rights in Ogra territory.

-The Mathamaxists once were laughed at for their belief that ultimate strength came not from muscle power, or the brain power to maximize muscle power,, but from the power of raw mathematics. Their usage of missile weaponry ranging from modern day sniper rifles and mortar systems to massive and deadly artillery platforms has proven to wider Ogra society that math is, indeed, extremely powerful. They are often bitter rivals with the demolitions, who believe that overwhelming firepower is superior to a single, calculated strike.

-The Wyrd Magisters originate as a conclave of various shamans and hedge magic users among the Ogra who, over time, developed a complex and rich society of Ogra magic users, teaching the most magically capable of their kind the knowledge and skills needed to harness the power of Mana Magic without accidentally setting oneself on fire (an annoyance to the Ogra but still worth preventing) or worse. Ogra Magi are not a known quantity, however, meaning they lack an equivalent to the Magi Order we are used to in Eastern Null.

-The Philosofists, like my old friend Uhrun, are an old order, formed shortly after the return of the Ogra from their failed invasion millennia ago. Comprised primarily of both the physically weak but intellectually acute runts of every Ogra litter, the Philosofists and their unique way of looking at the world and trying to find answers to questions Ogra often overlooked in favor of conflict directly led to them being the source of the other modern day Great Clans as, over the millennia, regular Ogra began to listen and contemplate the same questions as the Philosofists did. Considered the wisemen of their society, the Philosofists have been challenged countless times in the passed by the physical strongest, only to achieve victory through the use of clever thinking or superior technique in combat. In a world where strength is everything, mental strength is also lauded, and so this has earned the respect of their fellows in the millennia since their founding.

In addition to the individual Great Clans that make up their society, there are also several civilizations comprised of members from the various clans working together into functional societies.

-The Hyperia Hegemon is widely considered and agreed upon to be the single largest functional civilization the Ogra have, being led by a council of the strongest and cleverest of the clans that make it up. A nation made up of members from all the other clans, the Hegemon is analogous to the Median, though the relative earliness of their technological progress as well as their kind's propensity for civil conflict leaves it to be seen if it will survive in the centuries and millennia to come.

-The Gorgus Enclave are the second largest of the Ogra civilizations and the one most dedicated to war, compared to their more well rounded peers. The last major war saw the Hegemon beating the Enclave in a titanic war still talked about to this day among the Ogra, with the Enclave having licked its wounds since then. It is believed that they will instigate a new, more massive war than all others previously seen, though when they will launch their attack is unknown.

-The Tria Theocracy is specific cult of the Church of the Great Spirits unique to the Ogra, and one that has gained enough traction to become a small but influential and powerful nation of its own, comprised of the most faithful of the cult's adherents. Placing Eruiru at the head of their belief system, they believe that strength is the final determinator in the universe, and that the source of this strength did not matter in it being physical, mental, or metaphysical.

A numerous people, despite our earliest encounters ending in blood shed, the Ogra and the Oros have been affecting one another's histories since the beginning. While their exact numbers are constantly in flux and difficult to ascertain, it is known that millions of Ogra call the Land of Giants home, and have made a functional, if still young and rocky, civilization among the dangers there. As of the time of writing, the Median has begun efforts to establish contact with them in an official capacity, though only time will tell if we can enter in peaceful long term relations with our neighbors in another land. Personally, I deeply hope so. We've all seen enough pointless bloodshed as is. [A note is attached. It reads 'Man, the Ogra Wars have only recently ended over there. I really hope they can rebuild better and stronger than before. Maybe then we can get a census that lets us find out how many of them there are and finally put them in the Nullian population numbers.']

 

[TripleMRed]

Lasarna Wych.

[Sketches depict a bipedal, feminine being of mixed components. The main body and head are that of a female, anthropoidal fish of smooth, skin like green scales, with a head of hair in braided dreadlocks, finned ears, and golden eyes, clothed in a tunic that ends at the knees. Her forelimbs, including her digitigrade legs, however, are those of an wyvern, with rough draconic scales and four digited hands and feet ending with sharp talons. Angelic wings sprout from their backs, and their prehensile and joints are dotted with outcropping scutes. Other sketches depict them completely covered in cloaks, hunched over with only their wings and sneering snouts visible as they wield staffs layered with magic, while others show some with more exposed skin, showing their gills lining the sides of their torsos and having a singular mohawk like fin instead of hair, while others still in toga like attire are shown with a head full of outcropping scales. Each has a variety of patterns of various colors over their flesh.]

Scientific Name Translation: Hermit Angels of Lasarna.

Average Size: 7-8.5 feet/2.134-2.6 meters.

Average Weight: 400-800 pounds/181.44-362.9 kgs.

Notable Sexual Dimorphism: N/A, though some of their kind are hermaphrodites with more muscular builds, with pure females having more pronounced curves.

Habitat Range: Primarily the island chains along the coast east of the Arisa Continent, as well as in the West in the Land of Giants.

Summary:​

In the history of Null's vast ecosystem, many creatures not native to our world have been introduced to it via the mystical overseers of its biodiversity, the Uplifters. Tasked with monitoring the ecosystem and responsible for ensuring it remains deadly and varied with the addition of new, or on occasion modification of existing, creatures, the Uplifter's have had a tendril on the pulse of Null's Mortal life for eons, and their influence has been felt time and again across history with the inclusion of beings such as the Ogra, Spider-Ants, and other life forms of varying levels of influence. However, this is not an exact or perfect science, and in addition to there being a set of governing rules on what Uplifters are and are not allowed to bring into our world, there are also occasionally unforeseen consequences involved with beings that, on paper, are capable of surviving just fine on Null once upgraded to Null standards, but in practice are in extreme danger as a consequence of their innate abilities.

The biggest example of this are the Wyches of Lasarna, also known as just the Lasarnans or Wyches. Hailing from a different world than our own in another universe, the arrival of the Lasarna Wyches broke many, many rules the Uplifters are governed by. In addition to absolutely shattering the rule against knowingly bringing in sapient, Civilized life forms wholesale, it also broke laws concerning the implementation of powerful Mortal entities known as 'Godlings', as well as the inclusion of a diety from another realm entirely. For these gravely broken laws, the Uplifter that caused the arrival of the Wyches has since been erased from historical record, with the only proof of their existence being mention of their crimes in the bringing of the Lasarna Wyches to Null.

Brought to Null some 12,000 years ago, the Lasarnans and their goddess, the titular Lasarna, were beings of incredible power, their abilities far outstripping even the True Dragons of old. In theory, this primed them to be the dominant life forms on Null. In practice, however, their innate connection with magic and the sheer scale of their magical power led to the Lasarnans experiencing first hand a 'magical overdose' on Null's notoriously potent and aggression boosting 'Dark Mana'. The end result was all but the most strong willed of their kind going mad in short order and turning on each other in a mystical frenzy of violence and magical power, with even those that managed to retain their senses having little control over their now super-charged abilities. Lasarna herself, unfamiliar and unprepared for a mystical landscape like Null's, was rendered comatose by her own will in order to avoid becoming corrupted by the aggression boosting effects of Null's Dark Mana, leaving her in a slumbering state while her mind slowly adapted to the new environment. [A note is attached. It reads 'I can't even begin to imagine what must have been going through her mind when she got here and everything turned to piss...']

From this point onwards, the Lasarnans would become mystical bogeywomen to the other Civilized Races of Null, seemingly all powerful and maddened 'Wyches' of incredible magical power that could only be stopped either by early Aether Shamans, or by the cooperation of early settlements and cultures working together to end the threat. During this time, the Lasarnans would split off into two distinct cultures: The Eastern Lasarnans, inhabiting the countless islands and archipelagos that dot and line the eastern seaboard and coastlines of the Arisa Continent, would be made up of those who managed to retain their sanity, but whose magical power was shot with a difficult time to control their supercharged abilities. Those to the West, inhabiting the Land of Giants, would become the Western Wyches, comprised primarily of those who have lost themselves to the madness of the overwhelming nature of Null's magical reality, with an active warring state between each other, the Ogra they live alongside, and the creatures that already called this location home.

The biggest change to the Lasarnans on both sides would be, while their original goddess remained in her healing sleep, the Nullian Great Spirits would intervene. For the Lasarnans in particular, the Great Spirit of Knowledge and Magic, Laylaru, would intervene on the Lasarnans behalf. Too powerful by default for their own good, Laylaru offered a pact with the Lasarnans that would simultaneously help them overcome their situation, while also making them safer for the other inhabitants of Null, yet still leaving them with sufficient power to protect themselves and make a home for themselves in Null's dangerous ecosystem. Through this pact, known by the Eastern Lasarans as the Laylaru Compact, and by the Western Lasarans as Laylaru's Curse, the immense power the Lasarans once had as Godlings would be diminished to a level of ability more in line with the power present on Null. No longer would they be living mystical weapons of mass destruction, but now would simply be, albeit quite powerful, Mortals more in line with the standards present with other native Civilized Races on Null.

This Pact has had the benefit of relieving the Lasarna of the dangers involved with their magical overdose and madness, however due to this being thousands of years since their initial arrival, a stark and irreparable divide had come to exist between the Eastern Lasarna and their Western sisters. While the Eastern, island bound Lasarna retained the knowledge of their original homelands history and their original culture, recreating it as best as they could in their newfound homeland on Null, the Western Wyches have long since forsaken their original culture in favor of a new one based on the principles that might makes right. As such, while the Eastern Lasarna are ruled by a senate of elected officials from all over their various city-states, the Western Wyches are ruled by a council of the most powerful and capable of their kind, overseen by the strongest of them all at the time, with the only way to advance being to prove themselves stronger than their predecessor in an often bloody battle with them. [A note is attached. It depicts a cloaked Western Wych screaming victoriously in the air, spear held high by the death of her enemy.]

Historically, the Western Wyches have had a love/hate relationship with the Ogra, working alongside them as often as they have fought with them, the two species developing a mutual respect for the other's strengths, and have come to and oddly mutually beneficial relationship of conflict, with both sides becoming stronger and smarter as they try to outwit and defeat the other. Though numerically inferior by a wide margin, and with the Laylaru Curse afflicting them, the Western Wyches remain mystical powerhouses in their own right, allowing them to inflict disproportionate amounts of damage to the Ogra, who in turn use their superior technology and pack tactics to fight on relatively even footing. This relationship has been this way since the Western Wyches first regained some semblance of sanity once again, and even in the modern day where more developed concepts and ideas have begun to take root with both sides, this bond between their two peoples continues strong to this day.

In turn, the Eastern Lasarna did their best to recreate their old culture and society as best as they could remember, and their relative strength on the relatively peaceful and nonthreatening archipelagos and islands in their part of the world allowed them to redevelop and recreate vast city-states reminiscent of their old homes in relative tranquility. Pillar held buildings and temples are the norm, with mosaics made up of countless pieces of glass and polished stone adding dazzling colors to their marble streets as obelisks of glossy stone are fashioned as waymarkers and landmarks in their lands. In celebration and thanks of being freed of the curse of the 'Mania of Magic' as the Lasarna refer to their old condition on arrival thanks to the Compact, the Lasarna began to worship the native Great Spirit Pantheon, with their benefactor Laylaru taking center stage at the head of the main cult's pantheon, with Lasarna herself, being their creator deity, having a reverent, mythical placement at the time due to her seemingly eternal healing stasis. Lasarna herself would not awaken until the 1000's AA, severely weakened from her slumber and still in a stupor like state that as of time of writing has yet to fully disappear. [A note is attached. It reads 'Damn, she just can't get a break, can she?']

Compared to the Western Wyches, who adapted to their new situation by embracing the violence and brutality of their new homeland, the Eastern Lasarna valued debate and representation in a democratic fashion with elected officials, a hallmark of their original homeland's customs. Each Eastern Lasarnan settlement, from city-states to townships, were ruled by an elected official, usually buoyed by an assortment of advisors. However, though they are one people borne of a single goddess, cultural shifts and individual societal drifts are not uncommon, and as such the requirements and deciding methodologies for these officials and the process of their election varies from city-state culture to city-state. Spira, for example, values martial leadership and thus its officials must have a history of military service to be eligible for selection, while the Trade Township of Gomandeere believes that only the most magically capable and talented should be allowed the chance to rule. The requirements and methods are varied, but all ultimately contribute to wider Eastern Lasarna society via each major settlement providing their own Senator to the Senate Forum that ruled the 'Lasarna Republics' since their refounding on Null.

Military prowess is highly valued, and as such a strong military culture has formed among the Eastern Lasarans. However, to prevent widespread slaughter, bloodshed, and the destruction of the society they worked so hard to recreate and preserve, the Eastern Lasarans developed a new tradition of ritualized combat and sporting events known as the Marotia Games, named in honor of the city to first hold these contests. Disputes between city-states would be settled via tournaments in these Colosseum, held to present ritualized combat in front of crowds of excited citizens in events that mirror conventional sporting enthusiasm members of the Median are familiar with. Death is rare, but always a present danger due to the complex and at times brutal fighting that goes on here. [A note is attached. It reads 'Imagine if all wars was resolved with an arm-wrestling match. It'd be soooo cool! But giant sponsored tournaments are cool too, I guess. ']

Not all of their cultural aspects were beneficial or egalitarian, however. While the concept of Indentured Servitude is not unknown to native Nullians, having long been used up until recent history as an optional way for the incarcerated to serve their sentence while providing community service in return, out and out slavery is a foreign concept. On Null, mutual cooperation has always ruled the day, as working together is what led to the survival and foundation of the modern day Nations and the Median. The Lasarna, meanwhile, hail from a world where such barbaric practices were common, and which they sought to recreate in their new home. While Null enforces mutual cooperation due to its hostility, the relatively peaceful archipelagos the Lasarna Republics made their home on meant that they did not feel the same pressures as other Nullian races to unite and willingly cooperate with one another for mutually beneficial survival. For approximately three thousand years, the Lasarna practiced slavery among their own people, with an entire caste system in place to determine who was born, or made, a slave. Despite the displeasure this caused the Nullian Great Spirits, who requested countless times for the Lasarna to cease these practices, the Lasarna willfully misinterpreted or ignored their new pantheon's requests time after time. [A note is attached. It reads 'Also, it's just plain impractical. Like, yeah, it's an evil, vile practice, but unless the indentured are doing it willingly like how they used to do it to cut down on time in prison, it's completely impractical to try and enslave creatures as durable and powerful as any native Nullian. I don't know how it works on other worlds, but I'd imagine slave rebellions would be a lot more successful if the average slave could shoulder-check through walls, or lift and throw small vehicles with relative ease.']

This cultural practice would finally come to an end around six thousand years ago, when after so long being content to look inward, the Eastern Lasarna decided to expand their civilization outward instead. Their first, and only, target would end up being the Oros peoples who made their living along the upper island archipelagos, coastlines, and peninsulas on the coast of the Arisa continent. The Lasaran Invasion, as it would go down in history, would be the moment where these various Oros peoples unified under one body to create the Wavechaser Nation. After several centuries of back and forth conflict, the Wavechasers, with backing from other Oros Nations not directly involved in the conflict, managed to create a counter-invasion force that would also be backed by the Great Spirits themselves. The ensuing counter-invasion finally ended when the Wavechasers drove themselves into the heart of the Lasarna Republics, both the sacred Temple of the First Goddess where their creator deity lay sleeping as well as the seat of their government in the Senate Forums. With little other choice, and seeing the writing on the wall, the Lasarna government gave a unanimous vote to surrender to the invading Wavechasers, who among their list of demands would see to the end of the practice of slavery and the caste system among the Eastern Lasarans as well as demand compensation for those killed in the war or captured in the Lasaran initial invasion years prior.

With even their very gods turning against them on these matters, the counter-invasion served as an eye-opening moment to the previously insular Eastern Lasarna. They opened up their gates to the trade of goods, and ideas, with the rest of the outside world. Though initially skeptical as to these new ideas, including the desolation of slavery in place of the Nullian limited time, and less severely punishing, Indentured Servitude practices for the criminal element, time would eventually have the Eastern Lasarna accept, even celebrate, this change in their culture, particularly among those that had suffered the most under the old caste system. Not-so-coincidentally, the Eastern Lasarna would also begin a long term project to protect their lands from future invasions via the creation of a massive series of huge walls to protect their coastlines and settlements from future conflict, with their magical talents including mystical theater shielding in their defenses. The concepts and end products of this project would, one day, be used to aid in the designing and construction of the Great Walled Cities we now take for granted in the modern day as of time of writing this entry. Indeed, in the modern day, the Lasaran Republics, though not a part of the Median, are considered an allied state with whom we are in good trade relations with. [A note is attached. It reads 'One of my pen-pals is a Lasaran Republic soldier named Lyria. She came over to visit last year and she was really friendly and excited to see Dreamhold. I can't wait to visit her home town one of these years. ']

In terms of biology, the Lasarna are a tall people, all female on first appearance and capable of amphibious living thanks to their gilled torsos and internal lungs. Generally regarded as beautiful by many, Lasarna vary greatly in specifics. Though all have the same general, basic appearances of bipedal anthropoidal fish woman with short snouts and finned ears, coloration, scale patterns, whether they have hair or fins on their heads, and more are all variable. Two unifying factors, however, are their forelimbs and their wings. Their feathered, angelic wings are natural to them, a gift to them by their creator goddess and giving them the gift of flight. Their forelimbs, however, are large, armored, and wyvern like, and act as a biological, tangible marker of their people's compact with Laylaru, the Wyvern Great Spirit of Knowledge. [A note is attached. It depicts a cartoonish drawing of an eyepatched female Oros with feathered wings. Words follow, reading 'I want angel wings! Why can't we have angel wings!? This sucks, I want a refund!']

In terms of offensive and defensive capabilities, much has changed since their Godling status was altered vastly to make them more conventionally Mortal. Despite these changes, however, Lasarna are quite powerful individually, with tough, durable flesh even by Nullian standards, with bones on a level of durability comparable to the Chimera, Empusa, and Cerberi. Strong even for their size and able to match Mortalized Erui Tiger Spirits in terms of strength, Lasarans possess sharp, durable claws on their limbs and sharp, strong teeth in their mouths that allow them to be armed at all times. Additionally, Lasarans are still mystical powerhouses, albiet on a more conventional scale, and each are trained to use their abilities at even a basic level. Their martial cultural roots also means that they are trained and quite skilled with a wide variety of weapons, from conventional melee spears, swords, shields, and axes, to traditional bows, enchanted crossbows, and enhanced cannons. Their only true limiting factor is that, they are individually powerful enough that working together allows them to survive and win conflicts with Nullian animals easily enough as to cause their weapon's and technological development to be slowed to a crawl due to a lack of actual need for it. Despite this, it is common for Lasarans on both sides of the globe to be trained to be passingly familiar with most modern day firearms, even if they themselves do not use them traditionally. [A note is attached. It reads 'They're only relatively less advanced. Magitech airships, submersibles, hover platforms are stuff they have. They also trade with us to make use of computer systems and the like for a bunch of stuff like streamlining bureaucracy.']

Capable of fully amphibious living, most Eastern Lasaran settlements not in-land bound tend to be multi-layered and extending into the water, both on a surface level as well as beneath the waves. Despite the relative peacefulness of their homelands, the Eastern Lasarna learned very early on that deeper waters on Null were extremely dangerous even for their own kind, and as such limited efforts have historically been made to extend beyond the comparative safety and simplicity of the shallows and coastlines of their homelands. As for how much time they spend in the water, this varies wildly from Lasaran to Lasaran. The land-locked Western Wyches spend little time in or near large bodies of water, while the Eastern Lasaran vary as much on an individual basis as they do on a settlement by settlement basis: Some spend nearly all their time living beneath the waves, while others only interact with water via cleansing baths. [A note is attached. It reads 'Can they talk to fish? I forgot to ask Lyria, please this is important I need to know! I want to know what my Mr. Glub Glub is thinking!'']

Additionally, their capacity for flight and magical nature also allows the Lasarans to live in places not commonly seen as easily reachable or even inhabitable. In addition to townships and minor cities created on and around the steepest of mountain sides and tops, Lasarans also make their home on Floatstone lifted landmasses over their homelands. The most astounding, though admittedly rarest, settlements they have take the form of using their magics to shape the clouds themselves into homes and settlements unto themselves, with permanent 'cloud cities' dotted around their homeland. Though impossible to stand on for non-Lasarans or Spirits, these places remain a powerful symbolic victory for the Lasarans over the traditionally quite difficult to manipulate Nullian environment.

In terms of Sentinal Bacteria, Lasarans possess the same 'grade' as Ogra, something that is a known sore spot for their people on the whole, though little effort has been made into 'upgrading' this aspect of themselves due to a lack of pressing need to do so.

When it comes to reproduction, this is where things become fascinating. Capable of producing young at all times of the year like other Civilized Races, Lasarans appear at first glance to be an all female race, similar to the Chimera and Cerberi. However, they are not. Approximately half of their population are, in fact, hermaphrodites, traditionally differentiated for their more muscular builds, who fulfill the role of males seen in other bi-gendered species. Female Lasarans are able to become more pregnant more easily than their hermaphroditic counterparts, and tend to be more powerful in terms of raw magical power, while their hermaphrodites are physically stronger and more durable due to their additional muscle mass. That being said, muscular females are not uncommon, and less muscular herms also exist, and when fully clothed it is difficult to determine which is which without gaining sight of their nether regions. While gender roles have existed in their society, in the modern day, both sexes have completely equal rights and opportunities in the eyes of the law and society.

Regardless of the sex, pregnant Lasarans notably remain pregnant for an amount of time similar to the Oros at 11 months of time, after which they give birth from anywhere between 1-3 pups. The biggest cultural difference between Eastern Lasarans and the other Civilized Races of Null is their approach to raising their children: While parents do participate in their children's lives and development to varying extents, much of the Eastern Lasaran children's development is undertaken by the Scholaria, the unified schooling system of the Lasaran Republics which all Eastern Lasarans undertake from the age of 7 months to 18 years of age, after which they are considered ready to enter society as working adults, or whom continue their education via the many universities and colleges spread throughout Eastern Lasaran society. Comparatively, the Lasaran Wyches have a constant, active participation in their children's lives, raising them in surprisingly close knit family units where they are taught everything from survival, to combat training, to various other educational aspects by their parents and family members. Both sides of the Lasara divide believe in teaching all of their children, regardless of gender, to be able to defend themselves with a wide range of martial arts and rudimentary combat tactics, with more advanced techniques being open to further training by family or military enrollment in the West and East respectively. [A note is attached. It depicts a chibi Lasaran child in oversized armor and helmet, a xiphos sword in tiny hand with the words reading 'Mother, I crave bloodshed.' beneath.]

One notable aspect of Lasaran sexuality worth mentioning, and an aspect of their original culture that survived into their modern day, is how open they are with their relations. While marriage is considered a sacred union between individuals similar to other cultures, unmarried Lasarans are known for close, even physical relationships between themselves and their close friends and colleagues, and Lasarans have far fewer reservations of polyamorous relationships and marriages compared to the much more monogamy minded Nullian natives and the instinctively very loyal bonded pairings of the Ogra. Similar to Nullian natives, gender is no issue to romance among the Lasarans, though their more open minded natures tend to mean what would just be a strong-knit friend group among, say the Oros, tend to lead into intimate relations between friends. It should be noted, however, that this mindset is not universal with the Eastern Lasarans, whose wide range of opinions see those with no interest in sex or romance being uninterested in this part of their culture, or in individuals who do not wish for physical intimacy between themselves and friends. Regardless of previous relationship status between individuals, Lasarans have a strong cultural and instinctive drive towards those that do produce offspring together to become closer to one another. [A note is attached. It reads, '....So wait, does this mean Lyria was being friendly towards me, or 'friendly' towards me? She was cute, but I'm not sure if she's my type. XD']

In the historical modern day, the Eastern Lasarans have been passed by the War Dragons in the First Draconic War due to their mystical protections allowing them to weather through the initial invasion completely unscathed, only for them to take the brunt of the War Dragon's fury in the Second Draconic War after they had found solutions to break through the once seemingly impenetrable Eastern Lasaran shielding. By the time of the recent Third Draconic War, thanks to aid from their Median allies, the damage to their cities have since been repaired and a number of Eastern Lasaran military detachments eagerly joined up with us in our counterattack against the War Dragons in their homeland. Though desiring vengeance for the damage done to them, they ultimately stood down and helped to aid the Median in the fight against the Mother Root threat. Ironically, the War Dragon sending detachments to combat the threat would mean all three former enemies would be unified in the fight against the developing Dream Lotus insurgency. While peace is assured between ourselves and the Lasaran Republics, only time will tell if the War Dragons and the Eastern Lasarans will come out of this still seeking to fight one another, or become newfound allies instead. [A note is attached. It reads 'Turns out, the War Dragons would join up with the Eastern Lasarans, and they're now an official part of the Republics. Who saw that one coming? XD']