Completed Researching The Legendary Monsters of Mizahar III

[Tazrae]

Timestamp: 37th of Spring, 522 A.V.

Continued From: Researching Legendary Monsters of Mizahar II

Tazrae knew there was still more monsters out there. She was half afraid to turn the page because honestly, yukman spontaneously appearing in swarms of ten to five hundred were about the last thing she wanted to have nightmares about when she finally went to bed tonight. Pausing, Taz got up, refilled her drink and added some ice from the icebox and returned out on the deck, barefoot. She plucked a shawl from the hook by the door and draped it around her arms against the chill that was slowly descending.

Then she concentrated and blew out a breath of Res, directing it around the deck, lighting the tiki torches that flooded the place with light after dark. It would be dark soon – too dark to read and write – and she’d need the light. If she ever settled in a place of her own, she’d pick lanterns over torches. She liked the flickering light tossed about by the ocean wind, but lanterns gave a more dependable glow, one she appreciated a lot more than the fire even though she was a pyromancer by nature.

Taz turned back to the book. She redipped her quill and read the next section, her eyebrows slowly curling up with interest. Finally, this was a section she could fit herself into… with what Talia had said and all the changes she knew that had happened with her own body and her ability to transform. And it fit with Oralie’s situation too. If the Kelvic hadn’t forgotten her, she would have gladly went and gotten the girl to read her this section. It pertained to her Kelvic nature as well.

The chapter was called Moldlings and it classified them as crafted creatures. They were born something and made into something else either by the divine or mortals. As far as Tazrae knew, the Gods created the races… Laviku created the Svefra, Rak’keli and her sister Avalas made the Konti, etc. Humans had no mythos as to who or what created them, which actually fit because the text indicated they came from elsewhere… Taz still puzzled about that.

Making whole races, the tome claimed, was hard for even the Gods and they often had prototypes… early types that weren’t the final finished product … and failed attempts before they perfected what they wanted. Taz could relate. Recipes were like that… and the animals around The Protea got the failures. Or she fed them to the people if they were decent but tweaked the recipe for the next incarnation. These failures weren’t often destroyed. They were gifted, moved, banished, or isolated away.

Taz thought of Sawtooth and how no reptile Kelvics existed. She must have been a prototype because the tome said that Kelvics were crafted by the mortal Marcus Kelvic. It had a whole section that Tazrae copied down with examples and instances of powerful mortal wizards creating Moldlings. That was, in fact, where Kelvics and Pycons came from. The book did not elaborate on Kelvics or Pycons overly much, and gave examples of long-dead creations that had existed in the pre-Valterrian environment.

Tazrae made a careful list of these creatures just in case someday there was a need to craft them again. She happened to know people who had the potential to be powerful wizards and the collective of Syka wasn’t going to be a place where such things couldn’t happen.

[Tazrae]

Tazrae didn’t truthfully know much about Pycons. She knew they were tiny clay people that lived lives just like humans did. There had been a colony of them in Riverfall, though Taz had never visited. Knowing that they’d been made by a mortal wizard gave her some clarity of thinking that they did indeed resemble dolls or toys. Her tome had said clearly that Kelvics and Pycons were both made for servants to the people who crafted them. And there were several references to Myrna’s brother’s team in Ironrock, some place in Kalea that held a group called Alizrin Team.

Taz copied some of the information word-for-word.

The Kelvic people are a race born from a project funded by the Suvan Empire pre-Valterrian. The Alizarin Team, called thus for their reddish purple insignia, were headed by Marcus and Myrna Kelvic, a pair of twin siblings who were incredibly gifted in melding science and magic to produce astonishing weapons for the Suvan Empire’s use in the war against Alahea. Myrna was a world walker, in charge of ecological mining off world. Her and her elite task force would explore far and wide, bringing back likely new discoveries both organic and inorganic, to aid The Suvan Empire. While Myrna was the explorer, Marcus was the true scientist. He built up an incredibly gifted experimental science team that were not afraid of tackling difficult subjects nor of stretching the boundaries of what was known to the Suvan Empire in the name of technology. They were the elite of the elite and their base of operations was situated around a mountain fortress called Ironrock. Both Marcus and Myrna were the son and daughter of Yshul and the grandchildren of Morwen. It was thought that they were Alvina and immortal in and of themselves. This fact alone might account for the sharpness of the twin’s minds and the fact that these two were perhaps the last known and certainly only recorded geneticists on Mizahar. Late in the war, perhaps twenty years before Kova’s death, Myrna and her entire exploratory team went missing. Failing a check-in, Marcus rallied to her rescue and during that mission was severely wounded and nearly lost his own life. As it was, half his team was lost, leaving only trace evidence as to the whereabouts of Myrna and her exploratory task force.
Unable to continue the search for her himself, Marcus switched gears from crafting ‘weapons’ for the Suvan Empire to crafting the means to continue his search… and thus the Kelvic Race was born”

Taz was stunned. She knew Pavena was Myrna’s headquarters. But all this was new information and something that shook her to the core. These people were only mortals, but they were able to do this… to achieve these lengths. They were walking among the gods doing godly things even as humans. No, not only mortals but children of Gods… maybe that was the difference.

And yet… Alric had a Gasvik. And could see them because he had divine blood. Was he an Alvina too or was it just his family that carried the blood of Gods? Was he going to be driven to the kind of lengths Marcus was in search of Myrna here in a place where he could safely do so? Sunberth had kept Alric in check-in so many ways with their hatred of mages.

But in Syka, there would be no such limitations. What would he do here? What would he become? Was he related to these people? Taz didn’t know a lot of history, but she knew the Suvan Empire was at war with the Alahean Empire, and that’s what Alric’s family was comprised of. No… she decided. He wasn’t related.

[Tazrae]

But he was no different than the stuff in this tome… a person of legend. And her family was from the desert with its own history and its own past. Taz wondered if she’d ever discover what that was… if there was some kind of legacy that she belonged too other than being Florentin Arcadius’ granddaughter. Maybe her father, Talsis Lisuli, had a long history? She’d give a lot to know about her family, but she doubted she’d find any of that information in Syka. Eyktol was part of the Alahean Empire of old. She’d have to go back to the Dreamwalker in the Outpost or do her own search, perhaps even ask Mathias himself if he could help. That man seemed resourceful if nothing else.

Taz took a deep breath, drew the shawl closer around her bare shoulders, and tucked her feet up into the chair she was lounging in. She leaned over the table, redipped her quill, and got back to work. She was learning so much, just borrowing this book, and she wondered how much more there was to know in that great lost library in the jungle. Turning the page, she moved on, wondering how much darker the monsters would get. And without a doubt, reading the next heading, she realized they would get dark indeed.

The next part of the text talked about those that refused to die. Taz wasn’t sure what reincarnation was, but she decided to write that down on her notes to ask someone sometime soon. Death was something she didn’t dwell on much. But the word ‘undead’ got her feeling curious and she read on. The Undead were another form of monster that could be created when living creatures basically ducked out of an afterlife and managed to return with the semblance of life to them. This return could be caused through craft or divine intervention. Animators did that, Spiritists could do that, and followers of Uldr could do it as well.

Ghosts, however, were not monsters but natural occurrences that Dira herself watched over. They tended to be stubborn mortals that had left the living before certain things in their lives were finished. The tome talked about ghosts because it used them to contrast the differences and outline how artificial the undead were. Most of these undead had deals struck with Uldr, which granted them a mark that gave them unnatural powers. Taz wondered how come the book declared Uldr’s mark unnatural power while it referenced the other Gods’ mark as simply sharing their divine power.

She paused then, tapped her chin, and read on. The book gave two examples, one it went into length about. The Nuit were an actual race on Mizahar, and once Taz started reading about them the hairs on the back of her neck rose up and bile filled her throat at how horrible they seemed. Nuit were people … a whole race in fact … of undead people who were born from the magic of man wishing to live forever.

The Nuit were described as a parasitic race that occupied the corpses of other living people who had died. They could survive in those bodies from a few days to seasons to years depending upon how skilled they were. Their bodies, however, decayed around them and never healed when damaged. If the Nuit didn’t switch bodies periodically, they would in essence be destroyed. They also had the ability to turn others into Nuit. The book called it a curse, though it did say there were Nuit of all demeanors and natures.

[Tazrae]

Animation created Nuits. Taz knew that form of magic was in her Encyclopedia but she hadn’t delved into it much. In fact, it was horrific to her. The tome even spoke of an island called Sahova where five hundred Nuit occupied the fortress there. It was close to Nyka on the far side of the world.. and supposedly one of the strongholds of magic in the world. The island was a desolate place pre-Valterrian with only mostly undead living there. They didn’t need food and the living often struggled among the undead.

Gross.

Taz felt unclean even reading about them. But it got worse as she got into the literature on the mark of Uldr. There were three types. Chained Ones, Wretched Ones, and Desolate Ones.

Chained ones were single-marked Uldr worshipers who were bound to Uldr’s cause. They experience powerful cravings of hate, greed, and envy. Their desires run deep and they do not age. They were called Randjaki in the old tongue.

There were three types of chained ones. Taz wrote the text word for word here.

• Type I. Only observed on former Nuit. This race seems naturally suited to becoming Chained Ones, and their transformation often leaves their appearance unchanged. A Type I undead loses the typical sluggishness of the Nuit and gains strength and reflexes comparable to those of a fit Human unless their body is in a major state of decay. They still have ichor and can wear their bodies for a longer time with fewer visible signs of rotting, but must ultimately switch like a normal Nuit.
• Type II. These have no blood or ichor, with the mark of Uldr binding the soul to the body. They typically look gaunt and dry, with exceedingly pale skin. They often have bulging eyeballs. They do not decay and will slowly heal when damaged. Piercing the heart or severing the head will kill them. They have few, if any, deformities or monstruous traits.
• Type III. These are somewhat rare and theorized to be created when Uldr is in a particularly playful mood. They are wild experiments, usually built on top of Type II with frightening additions straight from a child's devious mind. Halfway between fearsome and grotesque, these Chained Ones can only mix with normal people if they manage to hide their monstrosity.

The Wretched ones, or quizaaki in the old tongue were miserable among Uldr’s kin. They suffer and bring misery to all. The Wretched Ones appear to be the most intelligent of Uldr’s Chained Ones elevated to a new status. They are given a second form or a beast that mimics the shape of its desire… be it anger, greed, lust, anything. The second form is grotesque or monstrous in nature.

The shift between the base form and the second form has no bearing and so the second form will not be recognizable as a variation of the base form. These shifts are often uncontrollable in times of anger, excitement, frustration or even pain. Transformations take fifteen to twenty increments of a tone so they happen super fast.

[Tazrae]

Finally, the third marked Desolate Ones were the worst of all. They were the priests of Uldr and could transform into a mist-like form called a miasma and travel vast distances among the clouds. They needed no sustenance and could travel day and night without tiring. They retain all their Wretched One abilities. They have no name in ancient tongue because the likelihood of saying a true name of something in the language of the ancients might draw its attention. Desolate Ones are often mistaken for ghosts because of their miasma, however, unlike ghosts, they have very few weaknesses. They are sensitive to magic and gnosis-based albitites. However, their strong suit is the fact that they can raise corpses into puppets that do their bidding.

Desolate Ones leave carnage in their wake. The only key to destroying one is recognizing their Chained One left-over desires and exploiting it. The desires they have within them can make them weak and vulnerable to traps and treachery. It is, however, well known that a Desolate One’s greatest enemy is another Desolate One. Their struggles amongst themselves are legendary and is perhaps the one reason why there is less than a dozen in the world at any given time. If they can stay away from each other, they tend to live somewhat peaceful existences.

There was only one mentioned by name and that was Laetitia Sarkanis… someone called The Unmother. She was said, according to the text, to be the aid or companion of the Champion of Uldr a creature named Wolkirk, and that she craved the blood of infants and smothers them in their sleep.

Taz closed the book abruptly. She took a deep breath, rose up, and needed to take a break. She walked the length of the deck out to its end, and stared at the star studded sky while watching the waves appear as foam markers on the sand down the beach. Tazrae inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, glad suddenly that she was in paradise. There were things she didn’t want to truly know, but she suspected Talia gave her the book for a reason. She’d be remiss to not study it completely. But Gods… why was the world so full of such horrors?

She readjusted the shawl and thought longingly of the T&T’s warm fire, the apartment, and Alric’s pipe smoke. She’d give a lot to be in his company this night and every night afterwards. Taz leaned out on the railing a long time, listening to the nightbirds chatter about absolutely anything and everything, while dark shapes in the water surfaced feeding.

Sharks.

Syka had its local terrors, but nothing like the Undead. Taz hoped they never would. One thing about the tropics that she had to be a little relieved about was that bodies rotted fast in the jungle. It was truly not a suitable place for a Nuit. Gods. Nuits. Undead. Wretched Ones. Chained Ones. Desolate Ones. Taz wondered if she’d ever sleep again. And truthfully, it was no relief to her that there were creatures out there worse than her grandfather.

Continued In: Researching The Lengadary Monsters of Mizahar IV

Words: 2821

[Tazrae]

Grading!

Tazrae –

Reimancy +1, Research +5, Writing +5, Anthropology +5, History +5, Investigation +5

Moldings: Appearance And Mannerisms, Crafted Creatures: Living Things Born One Thing And Transformed Into Something Else By Mortal Or Divine Means, Prototypes: Failed Attempts While Creations Are Perfected, Sawtooth: Prototype That Didn’t Make Kelvic’s Final Cuts, Moldings: Kelvics And Pycons Belonged To This Group, The Alizrin Team: Myrna’s Brother Marcus’ Kelvic’s Group/Team Of Scientists, Suvan Empire: Made Kelvics By Funding Alizrin Team, Kelvics: Made To Find Myrna Who Was Lost In Other Worlds, Legacies: Many People Belonged To Them, Undead: Created From Living Creatures That Opted Out Of The Afterlife/Death Cycle, Undead: Animators, Spiritists, and Uldr Followers Contributed, Ghosts: Natural Occurrences, Nuit: Actual Race Of Mizahar Who Were Undead, Nuit: Parasitic – Switched Bodies Via Rituals, Nuits: Created By Animation, Uldr Followers: Chained Ones, Wretched Ones, Desolate Ones Depending Upon Number Of Marks, Chained Ones: Three Types Of Chained Ones And What They Are, Desolate Ones: Priests of Uldr, Desolate Ones: Appearance, Mannerisms, And Abilities, Laetitia Sarkanis: The Unmother,