Narrative Index
Islanders; Kai
I'll take over for the little lost princess while she gets her head on straight. I'm better at bullet points than she is.
Humans are Fey. They live a thousand years and wield elements like she said.
Shin are technically human, but have the benefit of being taught for a hundred years to be the baddest of the bad with techniques to maximize the power of their bodies, minds and wells like the original Sages of Eteria taught them ages back. Shin are ninjas like she said, and are about five times stronger, faster and more powerful than the average plebeian.
Now don't get it twisted. Where we're at most folks have other blood in them which bumps that a bit. Even if they don't show the features or change like the Sacred and Blessed, blood makes a difference.
Also get that we age like she did for the most part. We go by stages rather than ages or years. Concept is Bonding is the first twenty years preschool and elementary school. Second stage twenty to forty we're middle schoolers more or less in the ten to twelve range. Growth is junior high, fourteen to seventeen also lasting twenty years, so when we hit sixty, we're pretty well eighteen mostly grown and it's our minds and wells, reservoirs of Mytha slash essence that need to catch up.
That's why it's called Consent. We are grown enough to make decisions, but aren't adults yet. Naming comes eighty to a hundred. That twenty one to twenty five range. The time when our brains and wells are fully developed with our bodies. We're still not called adults until we reach a hundred though, and start our second of ten ages slash a hundred years a piece called the Age of Title.
The rest just have numbers, but follow pretty well in the same way as first shore humans decades. They just don't get all withery, white haired, and pruny until the last two. Humans here stay between twenties and forties appearance wise, until they're between seven and eight hundred.
Next are Oni, lesser demons, blessed with the Sages features, senses and have the strength of ten men minimum. They're either born with those identifiers or get them at growth and there's no disguising it. Horns, fangs, wings, spotting, claws, whiteless eyes, you name it. Their animal features depend on the Sage that blessed their lines, and there are a lot of them. Oni make up half the Isle on their own.
Yonkai are greater demons or Sacred. They can actually look full human until they shift in into their other forms. Again based on the Sage that turned their particular clan. They can use their senses most of the time, but are only about eight times stronger than human out of the shift at which point they're twenty times as powerful. Oni can weave the spark, but only Yon can cast it.
An Oni can manipulate or move a stream when they're standing in it, just like Yon and humans can. Yon and humans can also cast the spark, call it from where ever it is like bubbling a stream in the desert. Oni can weave or manipulate casts of earth, air, fire and water, but can't summon them.
Think she already covered Sages, old gods animal deities and the only thing strong enough to go toe to toe with the Primes, that every one thinks are dead, because they can't get off the mountain. Blue Mountain or Steep is where both the ancient evil and ancient gods live. Northern most part of the Isle that spans all the way across it while lower region is the Valley.
Other than Sages the Chosen live with them. Humans called Stepans trained by the Sages themselves as far as how to push their bodies to the max potential like they did with Shin in the old world. Think vikings. Ax swinging, fur wearing, muscle bound savages with bushy beards, and surly dispositions. No running water or electric there either. A complete dead zone where technology doesn't work and it's generally freezing year round.
That's because of the Primes. They can't live in anything above negative thirty degrees farenhiet, and hate the sun to boot. The actual Primes are in the northern peaks were only a few hours of daylight makes it through the dense harsh rock faces and constant blizzards they rain over head.
Like the Sages, the Primes created beasties to do their bidding for them. Whites and Tenma are relatively the same. Bred rather than turned from the Primes. Ash skin, white hair, black eyes, poisonous claws and skinny enough all the bones show unlike their originals. They're generally about seven to eight feet tall, and proof that just because babies can be made, doesn't mean they should.
Every type of Devil is subject to a Queen. Whenever a female is born or turned, they're like bees in the fact that the men are drones ready to serve her and live in the underground hives the drones make. Whites, Grays and Blues are the lessers and don't drain the life force only the blood. I'm sure you picked up on the evil and emaciated fuckers having different shades of the dead skin tones based on their power levels. More color they have the weaker they are.
Riven are lowest on the totem pole. Navy blue, don't have eyelids or lips, and are the abominations created by the Grays and Blues. All of them are meant to clear way for their masters and originals. The Tenma and Whites, share the power to freeze the earth and block out the sun, so the Primes can join them down the Steep rather than be stuck on it.
Stepans have zero chance of dealing with anything more than the lower tiered devils on their own, Sages are the ones who take on the bigger bads, and just like Demons, Devils travel in groups or packs.
So now we're into the Vale beasties. Riven are what people believe to be Tenma and if not for the Stepans all the monstrosities of the peaks would be in the low lands rather than the occasional hive of the sickly things slipping the boundary.
Ohai on the other hand aren't from the Primes, and are their own ball of nasty red wax. Eight foot tall gorillas with tusks, horns and beer bellies. They grunt more than they speak, but have a rudimentary language rather than being telepathic like the Prime's minions. Ohai carve symbols in their flesh to show their dominance as well as their clan. They eat flesh and bone, and leave the organs.
While their southern counterparts Chokai eat the muscle and organs and leave the skeletons. Both love dry climates and sand, hating anything that lives or grows naturally, loving the sun, and enjoy the heat. Ohai live in the north because they don't need a warm climate, Chokai do.
Now we get to the Gaki, which are bat shit crazy humans. They aren't Devils, just depraved fucks.
Urai can be any of the above, have any color of skin or be any species. They are the blood slaves of the Devils; their vessels and puppets. Last but not least are the Wargs. Sages and Sacred in their altered forms who eat devil flesh and become mindless beasts. These are all like zombies, the living dead and can't use their natural abilities, brains or conscious.
I'm sure I missed a few. We do have a lot of variation, but those are the biggies. Bloom is spring, harvest is summer, fall is fall and frost is winter. If some one says rise or set they mean day or night. Just like Solsus is the sun and Lumina is the moon goddess. Lots of the old terms and expressions still survive from Eteria no matter how long it's been since its founding, and the old way is more talked about in Gens, generational shin and Demon cultures.
When Yon and Oni are born to a village they're called Yoshin and Oshin. Not all people of a race or town are trained as Shin, obviously because they're plebs, but it's easier to identify people of other villages that way. Like we're from the Canopy so we're all Canoshin. Even the merchants and noble class get called that elsewhere.
There's a King in each nation and Lords support him. Villages rather than cities, border towns or boroughs, are defined by the fact that they train and house shin. Only four villages of each nation hold a seat identified as first through fourth chair, as apart of the Senate. Just like in the old world, towns and cities have soldiers who protect the nobles and plebs, but wars are fought with Shin from villages. To be officially ranked and place we have to take assessment in a Seated Village.
This happens in our stage of Naming. Reason stages are more key to Shin and Demons is because of the needs that come along with us using our bodies like we do. Sure we eat three times the average human, but what it comes down to is sex.
For us to perform at those levels we have to have it once we reach Consent. Don't know what sort of wholesome story you thought this was, but it isn't. Screwing and sexuality isn't shamed here because we legit get sick with out interaction. Mytha may run like a blood stream, but the network is more delicate and points get blocked causing a slew of problems when we don't get off.
Mentally, physically, emotionally, humans need sex too. Wet dreams wouldn't be a thing if it weren't a requirement. More for us than them, but still. Consent and up is adult in that sense, and for Demons it restores Essence rather than wipes us out. For Shin it keeps them loose, strong and focused just as much.
So now you know I'll pass it to Farm Boy and spare you my less than classy type story telling. Lots more to come, but these are the bullet points you should get before diving in. I'm also supposed to remind you about the Bonus Chapter of Creation, which does the how and why of all the introductions if you're into it.