Living Creations

Living Creation refers to any being in Var’Tareen that has been modified by the magic  of living enchantment. Similar to more traditional enchantment where non-living objects are merged, living enchantment involves one or more creatures. The most common forms of living enchantment in Var’Tareen are monsters, animals mutated by the old gods to gain special abilities, and Poi’Mareath, mortal warriors created and later discarded as frontline troops in the War of Ascendance. Living enchantment is dangerous, with very few people in the Modern Era capable of executing the necessary rituals. It is not a well studied subject and the average person in Var’Tareen isn’t aware it can still be done. However some groups have created or found secret rituals which can be used to change people and grant them supernatural ability.

Creations of the Old Gods
The Old Gods created many terrors to fight the War of Ascendance for them. At the start of the war they created an army of twisted and enchanted humans called Poi’Mareath to be their main force. To accompany their army they twisted and mutated animals to form vicious parodies of the natural versions. These they simply called monsters. Though only one form of the Poi’Mareath still exits many monsters still walk Var’Tareen. In the modern era several new magical creations have been created. All of these creatures are made by the mostly forgotten art of living enchantment.

Poi’Mareath
The Poi'Mareath were once the most feared servents of the Old Gods. They were ordained during the first years of the War of Ascendance as the foot soldiers of the war. In the Elder Tongue their name means Crafted Soldier. Taking captured humans, the old gods began to conduct experiments. What was once human soon became a terrible force, who could only obey their god. Their human ancestry was obvious. They almost looked human from far away. At six and a half feet they were taller than most humans. All of them had black hair and large black eyes. Each had a glowing line on the left side of their face that extended from their forehead, through their eyes, and all the way down to the chin. The color of this line was based on the god they served. The right hand of every Poi'Mareath was clawed, each used their left as the dominant hand. Though the physical differences stop there the real strength of these soldiers came from their link with the old gods. Using this they could channel rudimentary magic without the use of a godstone.

They served faithfully and diligently for the first few centuries of the war. When Rallia struck down the storm god all this changed. His Poi'Mareath were no longer bound to him. But they were not bound to Rallia either. For the first time they were free. Many defected. Some could not break their conditioning and surrendered. Some were executed by the Poi'Mareath of the other gods. Fear went through the camps of the old pantheon. New soldiers were developed. Ones made of clay who were not tied to the life of their lords and would fight to the bitter end. The old pantheon had their Poi'Mareath executed and wiped out. By the end of the war only those who served Ghendar remained. Some had joined the war as mortals, some had been found and killed off, but most had hidden through the war defending their land against any who sought to take it. Secretly some ocean Poi'Mareath survived and lived in secret at the Glass Palace under the protection of Li-Shara. Few people knew of their existence.

Drel’Mareath
The second army that the Old Gods created were the Drel’Mareath. Their name in the Elder Tongue means obedient soldier. These were creatures made of clay through a secret and twisted process. As they were made of earth these creatures were stronger and more durable than the Poi’Mareath. However they were not sentient. They existed by some primal instinct almost like an animal. By the words of the Old Gods they lived and died. Some small bands of Drel still wander the lands seeking to subjugate whatever humans they encounter. There are six types of Drel'Mareath. The basic unit is called a Pawn. The more advanced unit is called a Rook. The two ranged types are Slingers and Lancers. The Drel'Mareath that can cast magic is called a Witch. The last type is the Behemoth and is fifteen feet tall.

Monsters
Monsters is the term for the perverse experimentation the Old Gods and their priests conducted on animals. A monster is simply an animal changed by living enchantment to gain power. This power might give them extra strength and speed, innate magic, or some unique ability. All monsters are dangerous and can come from any of the seven domains. Monsters reproduce and have natural life cycles and have been assimilated into the ecosystem of Var’Tareen. A monster that was made from two different types of animals is called a Chimera. Chimeras are both more rare and more dangerous than lesser monsters. The merging of two species granted unique ability and versatility.

The defining text on monsters was called the Legionnaire's Bestiary. It was maintained by the Legion of the Dancing Winds.

Known Monsters

This list is not exhaustive but just an example of monsters encountered in games. The total number of monster types is probably several hundred to a thousand. No one knows the true amount.
 * Sun Boars: These appeared in CotN session 2. These boars were drawn to the abandoned light citadel. They were categorized as having glowing tusks which could flash a blinding light, and being much larger and stronger than normal boars.
 * Giant Spiders: These appeared in CotN session 3. They were huge spiders the size of a cow. Their webs were extra sticky and their venom deadly.
 * Great Eagles of Ghendar: These eagles live on the island of Karabour in the Southern Isles. They allegedly have feathers as strong as steel.
 * Melting Stags: These giant deer were made in the War of Nezeril. Their antlers dripped acid.
 * White Badgers: These pure white beasts were larger than normal badgers. They were created by cultists of Nezeril and could control nearby snow to create a shield around themselves. Though they were native to the Wildlands, a few were encountered on the Emerin River in Rallius of AeP 447.
 * Draining Spiders were monsters of emotion that lived underground and hunted by lulling their prey to rest. A male/female pair was found under Pruzer in AeP 446.
 * Fire Lynx: These large cats had glowing claws which would leave leave wounds that emitted golden light. If struck again, these wounds would be especially deadly. The Dawn Priest had two of these monsters that followed her, like the Drel'Mareath did.
 * Maned Serpent: Also called a Lion-Lizard or Raerdrin’s Hand, these chimeras were kept as pets by the first earth god. They were said to be his favorite creation. Lion-Lizards live in the desert and are incredibly strong. They travel in packs and have a venomous bite.
 * Smoldering Vultures: These small vultures were a creation of Hlesmil . They have flaming heads and travel in flocks. In the modern era the flocks contain only a few dozen birds, but in the War of Ascendance  they were said to travel in the thousands. Though mainly scavanetrgs of battles, the vultures like to hunt survivors. In AeP 447  in Pellisberg, a giant smoldering vulture was spotted with a small flock. Legionnaire  Orna Wellis  said this was the first time a “demonking” had ever been reported.

Plants
The island in the boiling lake on Karabour which held a crypt of ancient relics, was covered in dark shadowy trees. These trees had thick trunks and gave of slime and dark mists. Although these trees didn’t pose a danger to people on the island, they were clearly not natural.

The Sren'Kana
The Sren’Kana are the six malformed horrors of the Old Gods. Ancient and terrible amagalimations that were created in the War of Ascendance in the First Pantheon’s attempts to make soldiers. The Sren’Kana are the cruelest and most terrible beasts made. Each one expensive and difficult to make but well worth the cost. They are twisted mergers of human, beast, and old magic. Very different than the Poi’Mareath for the Horrors do not retain most of their humanity as the soldiers do. The Sren’Kana give into their instincts of hunger and hatred. Barely capable of speech they are monsters in the truest sense. They still live on to this day hidden away from the bastions of humanity. Few dare disturb their resting place. Fortunately for humans the beasts do not progenate. They live until killed. All Sren’Kana leave permanent and damaging wounds to those who meet them.

Sirens (Vi’Brenkana)
Brenmon was the Master of the Seas and his creations were the Vi’Brenkana. Called Sirens by the sailors of the world these abominations now mostly live in the Southern Isles. Li-Shara has made little attempt to get rid of these creatures as they further deter outsiders. Precious little is known about where the Sirens actually live but they cluster in colonies and eat anything that comes their way. No romantic legends are told about the Vi’Brenkana. No great heroes of old slew these beasts nor do any seek them out now. The places in the Isles where they reside are widely avoided by the sailors who travel the sea.

These beasts have the body of a sea lion but red as blood and toughened like leather. They have bone white spikes running the length of their back and strong flippers. But their heads are a twisted woman’s face pale and hollow. From their shoulders come two white arms clawed and strong. Their eyes are the eyes of an eagle but greatly enlarged. They have eagle’s beaks and sunken faces with matted and long black hair. Sirens are incredibly durable on land and fast swimmers below the depths. They can stay underwater for days and consume wholly anything made of flesh. But the true strength of the Siren is in its call. A forlorn screech that echoes across the waves. At long distances it can leave men confused and disoriented. At close range it can deafen and stun. Those few who survive fights with a Siren are left with permanent ear damage called the Siren’s Echo.

In AeP 446 an expedition to Karabour encountered a Siren and was only just able to survive.

Stone-Eater
One part human, one part great cat, one part leech, and one part something else, the Horrible Forms of Emotion are colloquially called Stone-Eaters. They get their name from their food source, preferring to eat mind stones from the recently deceased. The Sren’Kana feed not just on the magic source, but on the hunt itself. These beasts wander alone to remote villages to stalk their prey. After picking a desirable target, they reveal their horrid face. Only those who know the face of a Stone-Eater can remember seeing one. If someone does not see the face or only knows a little about it, they will have trouble recalling facts about where the Stone-Eater was or what it looks like. But if the Sren’Kana does reveal its face, the person who sees it will begin to feel a deep underlying worry. Hours later they will feel terrified and have the desire to run away. This often means they flee from where they hide and run out into the open. Once there, the prey will begin to panic, losing control of their actions. It is then that the Stone-Eater strikes. It tears off the head of its prey and drinks the blood. It then eats the mind stone inside. In the War of Ascendance, they were used to cause chaos in the camps of mortals, often targeting military leaders. When a Stone-Eater came to camp, ranks would often break in a matter of weeks. Some people were able to record details about them, after Rallia killed one. They found its face to be the mouth of a great leech, with dozens of rows of narrow teeth. The Stone-Eaters also have red eyes and tufted ears. They are able to leap great heights and run faster than mortals.

* For more information see A Study in Crimson

In the Modern Era, one came to Crimson Casbah. After killing the Commandant and a high ranking West Merchants Association member, it was driven from town by Drake Horngold, Jeerlock Jolmes, and Shawn Shotson. They realized as much as it fed off terror, it was scared of joy. The Sren’Kana was able to use mindstones to cast a spell of despair and lethargy across the town. This indicated that unlike most monsters, it could cast magical spells without innate magic.

Modern Creations
Living enchantment has been used several times in the modern era. The first, during the War of Nezeril several new monsters never before seen were loosed from the Wildlands. The second was by the Order of the Burning Palm in AeP 441. They attempted to enchant at least three children before finally succeeding. These children were left with terrible pain and deformations. However they also had an unstable innate magical ability which allowed them to cast spells without a godstone. The Palm did successfully create a stable enchantment spell and used it on Ingrid. They wrote it on a scroll which was captured and destroyed later. But an unenchantment spell was created by the Nurmendemar. It was used on the unstable children. Six years later, a woman who worked for the Burning Palm, used the ritual on herself. She called herself the Dawn Priest and used the power to take over the town of Curaheim. As a result of her innate magic, Drel’Mareath were drawn to her and obeyed her commands. She eventually died trying to awaken a vault of dormant Drel’Mareath and the notes on her ritual were destroyed by Zonah Safar. Zonah himself was cursed by a cultist of Nezeril to always experience a bitter winter. He acted as a source of season magic. This may have been another example of living enchantment.

The Crypt Keeper was a being of Nezeril with immense strength and other unknown powers, possibly including long life and echolocation. Another cultist of Nezeril cursed Zonah Safar to always experience a bitter winter. Wherever Zonah went the temperature dropped and winter lingered. Zonah eventually realized he was a source of winter magic. This possibly could have been a type of living enchantment.

People from the Island of Thelakatec in the Southern Isles were said to possess supernatural abilities like being able to breath underwater and being able to see perfectly at night. Mobius was a man from Thelakatec who possessed these abilities. When Willa killed him, she noticed that he had gills.

Mordehall
In Sharus of AeP 446 two ancient human enchantment spells were discovered hidden on the island of Piyla in the Southern Isles. The spells were for growing wings like those of a dove and gaining great strength like that of a constricting serpent. Professor Janie Kerias took them back to Northern Mordehall for further study so they could be used by Lord Keel and his group to fight the Iron Tempest Commandos. Sylvie and Genna also went with Janie. Of these people, Sylvie was the only one with the magical ability necessary to perform the rituals.

The Iron Tempest Commandos had human enchantment of their own. Developed around AeP 440 but kept secret for almost six years, this ritual could give the enchanted supernatural agility and reflexes, as well as the ability to fall hundreds of feet without getting injured. The ritual changed the physical appearance of the subject, giving them large brightly colored eyes and small barbs on their tongue. It also heightened the subjects fight or flight response and lowered their social drive. This enchantment had a greater and lesser form. The greater form increased ability greatly but was expensive and more dangerous. In AeP 446 Vreeli Szere was revealed to have enchantment abilities like those of a cat. She survived a sixty foot fall without wounds. She was also lightning quick and was able to defeat members of the Hrai Guards without using a weapon.