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A city floating in the center of a lake, Ravok is a place of dark beauty, romance and culture. Behind it all though is the presence of Rhysol, God of Evil and Betrayal. The city is controlled by The Black Sun, a religious organization devoted to Rhysol. [Lore]
Bernie did not want to rise that morning, enjoying the feel of the morning sun warming his fur, but he knew he had to. He could hear the handlers, the ones who cleaned his cage and fed him, and occasionally bathed him nearing. He could smell the food.. red meat. That meant today was going to be special. They only fed him red meat when they meant to breed him.
Bernie was unique, they said. He was a dog, not even any particular breed, but just a mutt with shaggy brown and white hair and floppy ears, but he was unique. Apparently, though Bernie had no idea what this meant, his pups were always of avian nature, but only when bred to avian kelvics, and apparently that was good. Bernie didn't know what an avian was, and he never got to see any of his pups, but what he did know was that on the days they meant to breed him he got red meat.
The handlers arrived, and Bernie greeted them as he had been taught, sitting on his haunches in the corner of the cage until they called him over. They had his meat, he could smell it, but they also had things used for cleaning. Bernie did not like to be cleaned. He did not like the smell of soap and disinfectants they used on him, but he also knew better not to complain. When he was a pup he used to get beat when he struggled, but he was older, and he knew better.
The handlers scrubbed Bernie from nose to paw, making sure to get every last bit of hard earned dirt and scent out of his fur before they allowed him to eat. Eating was the best part of Bernie's day. Mating was not always so good, but red meat was always the best. Bernie chowed down, eating every last bit and licking his bowl clean.
A bell later the handlers came back. He could see the woman, another kelvic like him though Bernie had no idea he was called a kelvic. He did know that sometimes the women they brought him would become birds and fly away from him, but he did not know they were called kelvics. The woman looked nervous. She was young, and he did not recognize her scent. She must have been from outside. Bernie had been born and raised in the Institute. He knew nothing of the outside world. He wished that the handlers would let him speak with the women, but they did not. His job was to breed, and that was all.
The woman was shoved in, and they were ordered to mate. She looked afraid, and backed away when Bernie approached. The dog shifted into his human form, knowing that this was how they preferred him to mate, and continued his approach.
"No.. please no," the woman begged as she backed away, but the handlers outside the cage prodded her with painful sticks and ordered her to mate with him.
To Bernie, it was all normal. He knew no other life, and while the woman protested for a while, eventually she did give in and Bernie did what was expected of him. To say he did not enjoy it at least somewhat would be a lie, but most of the pleasure had gone out of the old dog. He was nearly ten. He did not know it, but this would be his last time breeding. It was a long shot even then to hope for anything from such an old dog. Bernie did not know it, but his last several sessions had been unsuccessful.
After it was over the woman was taken away, and Bernie expected to spend the rest of the day sleeping. That was what usually happened, but the handlers did not go away. Instead one of the strange men in white clothing arrived and began to examine him. He heard what the man said, but he didn't quite understand it all. It wasn't that Bernie couldn't speak, but rather that he did not know what they were talking about. They said he was "done." He was too old to sell, nobody would want him. Market day that season had already happened, and he was a drain on the Institute's funds.
Bernie's head popped up. He did not know what any of that meant, but he could smell the change in the attitudes of the handlers. Something was about to happen. The old dog began to whine. The handlers came in with a strange device and strapped it onto his face. Bernie struggled only a little as they put the muzzle on him and snapped on a leather collar. The old dog was frightened, but he was so used to doing as he was told that he did not know he should have fought better.
Bernie was led by the leash to a place near the back of the institute. Each step the took caused the old dogs hackles to rise further, and Bernie began to wine and struggle against the leash. Something wasn't right! Something didn't smell right! Wherever they were going, it smelt of death.
Bernie soon found himself in a room, one of the white-coated men once again present. The man had a treat for him, but somehow Bernie knew it was not a treat. It was bacon.. but he could smell something underneath it. And he could smell something on the handlers. They were nervous. Bernie began to struggle as the white-coated man shoved the "treat" down his throat, rubbing his neck and forcing the old dog to swallow.
After that he was left alone in the room. It was cold, and Bernie was afraid. The old dog whimpered and paced.. but he grew tired. It wasn't long before all he wanted to do was sleep, but he was still too afraid to lay down. Eventually, though, he could not resist. The old dog laid down, his eyes struggling to stay open for a chime or two before they finally shut, and he never rose again.
Located on a patch of land at the north end of Lake Ravok, the Kelvic Research Institution (KRI) is a large facility capable of housing anywhere from twenty to one hundred kelvics at a time, each in individual kennels. The facility is rather large, and surrounded tall fences patrolled by guards working for the Nitrozian family and sanctioned by the Ebonstryfe. There are a number of enclosures inside the facility, some smaller or larger than others depending on the type of specimen to be kept inside, as well as various rooms and offices for storage, record keeping, and various forms of research.
Though all manner of study regarding kelvics occur at the facility, the institution's primary purpose is figuring out the seemingly unattainable formula to predicting exactly what types of kelvic will cross to form what types of kelvic. Though they are still a long way away the scientists, as they prefer to be called, are slowly making progress and are always coming closer and closer to discovery. The end goal is to be able to create specific types of kelvics to use by the Enonstryfe and Black Sun as guards, spies, and soldiers much like the polar bears of Avanthal are bred to protect their queen.
All this research leaves the institute with a large number of kelvic offspring each season and, though the Nitrozian family and the church both provide funding, most of the institution's mizas come from the sale of surplus kelvics. Once per season the facility opens it's doors to slavers and wealthy individuals alike, selling the kelvics off at bargain prices. Most of these kelvics end up in the slave market or the Pit, but some are sold as pets or personal body guards. The sold kelvics are all unbonded, and often view their buyers as saviors. The staff takes special care to ensure that no kelvic bonds to one of it's caretakers, unless it is for research purposes. This is not for moral reasons but purely for practical purposes. It is a known fact that bondmates on both sides harbor special care for one another, and such feelings hamper research efforts more often than not, so to prevent this the institutions non-essential staff is rotated twice per season, and no staff member other than the researchers themselves stay on for more than a year at a time. Jobs at the KRI pay well, but are always temporary.
Head researcher at the Kelvic Research Facility, Amanda is a shrewd, calculating woman who's passion is the keeping and breeding of Kelvic slaves. That passion turned profitable to the Nitrozian family when she noticed that certain kelvics, regardless of breed, tended to produce certain types of other kelvics. Specifically, she had a kelvic parrot who, when mated with her kelvic dog, tended to produce all manner of rodent kelvics more often than anything else. From then on she began trying to find other patterns among kelvics, learning that not all parrot/dog matings produced the same thing. It was those two specific kelvics that always produced rodents.
Her studies caught the interest of one of the paladin's in the Ebonstryfe who then brought her findings before the Voice herself, and a year later the KRI was founded through the joint funding of the Nitrozian family and the Ebonstryfe, as well as nominal donations from the other major Ravok families. In it's ten years of operation the institute has proved a valuable revenue resource for the city, even if it's intended purpose has not yet been met, and Amanda continues to head all research efforts within.
Skills:
Animal Husbandry 60 Investigation 50 Research 80 Medicine 50
Gnosis: Chaon Rank 1
Kelvic Price List Once per season, always on the 7th, the institution opens it's doors to sell off surplus kelvics not needed for research purposes.
Mod Note: Use of this location requires moderator permission. Purchase of a slave requires approval. Also, rare breeds are not always for sale, since they are usually kept for research. Preference goes to bulk buyers, additional discounts given on purchase of five kelvics or more.
The Ravokian had long been fascinated by the creatures that were called Kelvic after the man that had created them. He had seen them on occasion, fighting in the Pits or living as the pets of rich families. A childhood friend of his had owned a cat Kelvic, a inhuman, inferior creature, to be sure, but fascinating nevertheless. She had moved with a kind of liquid grace that few real women possessed, and there had been something about her that he had found hard to resist. From what little he knew about them those strange creatures were loyal to their masters and would die for them.
He had often wondered which of their two halves was stronger, whether they were more human or animal. He had seen some that exhibited animal traits even as a human, dog Kelvic that licked their behind and barked and relieved themselves in public, while others possessed a near normal intelligence and seemed relatively well mannered. He had heard stories of how lions could give birth to birds. It didn’t make any sense to him. He wanted to find out more about them, to study them himself, although a small part of him considered them perversions of nature and found the very idea of them revolting.
Although he knew that the Kelvic Research Institute had close ties to the family, he had only visited it occasionally in the past. It had only been recently that his interest in those creatures had become more serious, more professional, that he had begun to even consider enquiring about the possibility of an apprenticeship.
Besides, spending his time studying animals would be a welcome contrast to the things he normally did. He loved to dedicate his time to half forgotten languages and secret codes, but even he needed a little variety every once in a while. It would be good to familiarize himself with another side of the family.
„I’m looking for Amanda Nitrozian“, he said as he entered. „Could you let her know that Valerius Nitrozian is here and that he has an interest in the study of Kelvic?“
The researcher that Valerius encountered blinked at him as if he was a shining light hurting the man's eyes or something before finally nodding his head and motioning for the young Nitrozian to follow. "The Head Researcher is in the middle of an experiment right now, but you are welcome to observe until she is done, so long as you remain silent and don't cause any distractions." The man, who did not give Valerius his name, led the would be apprentice through the facility. It was almost like going to a zoo, with all the animals in cages and such, though there were also many naked men and women caged as well. These were more likely Kelvics in animal form than actual humans, and Valerius was actually blessed with the opportunity to watch one of the men shift into a beautiful red bird as he flew to the back of his cage in fear when the pair passed by.
The cages were not very large, though many were larger than the other, and some dwarfed the humans that were in them. This was due to the fact that the kelvics animal forms were of all different sizes, and so their cages had to be different sized as well. Cages weren't the only things to be seen in the large facility. Behind it's walls there were many things to behold. There was a large pond with horses and deer grazing nearby, some animals walked freely, though none were of the dangerous variety, and all the birds and predators were caged. There was a large bird sancutary, however, and another high fenced area for the predators to roam and get excersize. Beyond the animal holding facilities near the back of the facility, where Valerius and the researcher were going, were the labs. These buildings were also of varying size and had large glass windows to let in natural light. They were also lit from the inside by magical orbs to allow research to continue into the night if need be.
Valerius and the researcher entered one of these buildings. Directly inside the front door was a small office like room with a desk and some shelves for filing things. Beyond that was another room, one for observation, cut off from the rest of the building by a large glass window and glass door. On the other side of the glass was the operating room in which Amanda and two other researchers were working. Valerius could recognize his aunt easily enough by her hair which as always was wild and out of control. He could hear her speaking from the other side of the glass, her voice allowed to pass into the observation room through small slits in the lower part of the window.
"Alright. We're going to induce shifting now," Amanda said to the other two researchers.
On a table was an unconcious naked boy. He appeared to be no more than twelve years old though it was impossible to tell with Kelvics. Amanda reached out and touched the boy under his arm, up near the armpit. At first the child twitched, but nothing happened. Amanda leaned down, still holding the boy's arm, and whispered something into the sleeping childs ear, before standing back up and letting go.
"Good," Amanda said. "Specimin R three O six subjected to Chaon, observe and record reaction.[/url]."
One of the researchers jotted down the information on a piece of paper while Amanda glanced over at the window, spotting her relative. She was in the process of reaching for a scalpel but stopped and instead walked over to the door and exited the room.
"Adam," she said with a nod to the researcher, dismissing him as she did so. The man who led Valerius to the place nodded back and swiftly exited the room, presumably to return to whatever project he had been working on before the Nitrozian interrupted him.
"Valerius," Amanda said with a smile. "It's been a while. What brings you here? Is the family worried about the slave fair being late again? You can tell them we are right on schedule, and we have quite a few rare ones this season."
„Of course“, he replied as the researcher asked him to remain silent. That was all he said before he followed the man through the facility. He had never seen so many Kelvic in one place before. In the past he had only encountered a handful of them at the same time – at most, and they had usually been somebody else’s possession and thus untouchable. A light frown marred his face as they passed cages with naked men and women by. Some of them were quite appealing, and he had to remind himself that they were animals, inferior creatures.
The man that shifted into a bird wasn’t met with more than a raised eyebrow. Valerius considered it inappropriate to show his amazement openly. It was much better to quietly observe the things around him and ingrain the impressions in his memory. He hadn’t been aware that there was a pond in the facility for example. Were those horses Kelvic as well? Would they still have an appetite for grass if they turned into humans?
Still wondering about that, he entered the building and approached the glass window to watch his aunt as she conducted her latest experiment. His eyes widened a fraction as he heard what she said. He hadn’t been aware that the change could be forced. He made another step towards the window so that he could observe what happened as well as possible. What kind of effect would the use of Chaon have on the Kelvic?
As Amanda looked his way, he inclined his head in a greeting, and then he waited for her to approach him. „Aunt“, he replied. „ It’s good to know that you are on schedule, but my visit has nothing to do with that. I’m here for personal reasons. I’ve been fascinated by the research you do here for a while now, and I was wondering if it would be possible to study with you, at least for a while.“
„I’d like to find out more about them.“ He gestured towards the unconscious boy on the table before he focused his gaze on Amanda again.
Amanda raised an eyebrow thoughtfully when she heard her nephew's request. It was rare that someone actually wanted to work outside the safety of the city, but then again she couldn't deny how fascinating she herself found the kelvics to be. Perhaps she had found a kindred spirit in young Valerius, not that she was lacking in pupils per say, but for one of her own to be interested was a bit of a treat. Then again, noboby ever really knew what Amanda was thinking, and she could just as well find Valerius to be a fool. Either way, she could use him.
"Alright. Tell you what, it's about time to rotate the staff. You can come on with the new rotation, but you'll have to start at the bottom. You don't have any training, but you will get to work hands on with the kelvics. Feeding them, grooming them, and while your at it you can try to study them. But you're no scientist, not yet. Don't forget that."
Suddenly the boy behind the glass window began to thrash and screen. Amanda barely registered it at first, but when Valerius inevitably looked that way she did turn and give the boy a glance. "Ah, it seems the curse is reacting unfavorably with the boy. You never can tell with these things."
The boy let out a horrible scream and then went up in sparkling smoke, shifting his form into that of a baby raccoon. The moment he shifted however he shifted right back. If it hadn't been for the smoke one might have seen the look of confusion on the child's face. He tried to shift again, only to shift back a moment later. Again and again he tried until he was completely exhausted. To those outside the room all they could see was smoke, but Amanda seemed pleased with the reaction herself.
"Good, that's the second one we've found to react that way. The curse is as effective as I'd hoped."
Turning back to Valerius Amanda laid a hand on his shoulder and turned him away, guiding him out of the room. "Go with Adam here. He'll show you around and tell you what you'll be doing." Once Adam and Valerius had been ushered out of the building Amanda closed the door on them. Valerius could hear her speaking inside though he couldn't make out the exact words. For the rest of the day Adam showed Valerius around the Institution, explaining to him that he was lucky to have been given a position there at all. They didn't really need people at the moment. Valerius would be tending to the kelvics, as Amanda said. His job was to feed them, clean their cages, and report any health problems he might notice. He would be allowed to observe and study them as he wished, but to begin with experimentation was off limits to the young Nitrozian. He really was starting at the bottom.
OOC :
That's pretty much it for this, you can make an exit post if you like, or leave it there. I don't like to let things run on to long in location threads. I'll send you a PM as soon as I have the next thread ready. We can assume you've been working doing the described duties up until spring, but after the Djed storm things will change. You'll see in the next thread.
by Valerius Nitrozian on February 27th, 2012, 11:31 am 
