Trivia Chapter #3

The Breaches:

- Account of a survivor dated the year 3841, shortly after Sulazars betrayal; found in the Royal Library of Ebessa –

* It has been three days I think since it all went to Hel. I don’t know why I started to write down my thoughts, it just seem right I guess; at least like this I won’t be forgotten if I die. It’s a bleak thought I know but what can I do with these rifts in the sky, nothing is certain anymore.

They seem to appear in random intervals some bigger some smaller, but always letting something trough, even if you can’t see it. If seen strange animals fall out of them, wierd contraptions or even molten metal pouring out of one of them; destroyed an entire city block that one did.

Though that’s not all; one of my girls she . . . she changed. It happened yesterday, we were still on the run and one of these rifts or breaches how some people call them, appeared right next to us. Lalia was the closest to it at the time, by the time we reached another group of people the changes had begun, like hair on her ears and stuff, and she was in terrible pain . . . had a fever too. And then in the evening it had stopped and she looked like a catperson? I’m so confused, she likes it though, says it’s cute, the little one has started to play with Laila’s new tail, I guess it’s makes it all look a little less terrifying. Hmph, my girls . . . At least it’s seems to die down now . . . Hmm, there was a metal creature outside . . . I think?

They’re dead! My little girls are dead! I’m sorry Anita my Love, I can’t take this life anymore . . . we’ll see each other soon . . . *

Of Changelings and the Accursed:

by Magi Sularia of the House Asaris

Since the opening of the Breaches about 113 years ago, our society has begun to change. Some would say it changed for the worst; others claim these ‘changes’ to come from the gods. I have no Illusions about this, as Suralzar said so long ago, whether it is the work of gods or man, whether it is good or bad, neither does matter, for it has happened and we shall study it. Of course what I am talking about, evidently by the title, is the difference between Changelings and the Accursed.

Let’s get the most important part out of the way at the beginning; they are similar, but distinctly different. Another thing is, that despite people calling the Accursed monsters and even plain evil, it is only so, that due to their extremely high potential for causing damage that they are seen so; in the end they are as a people no more ‘evil’ than a falling boulder crushing you into paste. No, they are more a force of nature.

Coming back to the topic at hand, it should be important to point out specificly what the two groups are. In the most simples of descriptions, Changelings and Accursed are humans that have been exposed to a high concentration of corrupted Flow. Causing several distinct symptoms the most obvious being their body mutations. One this thought it should be pointed out that whilst it being named ‘Corrupted Flow’ it isn’t in anyway bad or evil it is only different from the normal Flow, and it doesn’t follow the rules of thaumaturgy and Magi cannot control it. This of course means that it is almost impossible to stop, especially when the cause is a breach and not an artefact.

Focusing once more on the thesis, it is actually pretty easy to see the difference between the two groups. Changelings are humans with stronger or lesser evident animal characteristics. For example Snake like people or those with antelope features. These changes are as close to nature as it gets meaning that these people can still reproduce normally; though because the traits are dominant a child will most often develop the features of the changeling parent. The interesting part in this is, that different changeling groups cannot bear children with each other or with Magi, indicating an interesting trend in the human population to diverge into distinct species over time.

This also brings us to the Accursed, because no matter how much time passes, they will never form races of their own, as not one of them has ever born a child. It is un-known if this is due o them being sterile or if they are so distinct from human anatomy and each other that reproduction is plain impossible. Their changes are not only biological but on a thaumaturgical, and scientific level. The first difference is that the transformation is actually feed by the flow, by cutting them off from it the changes can be halted, but a fully develop accursed would suffer from the missing exposure and eventually die; not that it would really be easy to ever cut an adult Accursed of the flow. The second difference is, that accurse can manifest significant differences two Changelings or humans, ranging from claws made of metal to perfect night vision, or even a skin as resistant as if made from flexible bone. The third and probably most glaring difference is the fact that all Accursed carry a so called curse, hence the name, it is a mental deficiency or compulsion that even strong willed individuals have a hard time dealing with, the positive side of the curse on the other hand is, that almost all Accursed have severely elevated brain functions, and almost innate understanding of the Flow and of thaumaturgy.

One might envision a Magi contracting such a curse . . . the possibilities are terrific.