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[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Yeah. The Marked Ones bodies were shaped directly by Zion to be perfect and everlasting.

[Zaleramancer]

So, why don't the Marked Ones create enough of themselves for all the current souls?

Poltics? Population growing to fast?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

They were on a time limit.

Crafting a perfect body takes a lot of time, and all while the 8 were working in the physical world every other soul was fighting a losing war against the spirits who had discovered the mass of easy food. Zion had to make each one, crafting together the necessary components with his bare hands and completely unable to let even the slightest imperfection remain in his work. He created around Seven thousand of them before Lopto suggested making it so that the bodies could produce more of themselves through procreation. Even with that discovery, which sped the process massively, hundred of Billions of souls had to be left behind in the spirit world because there simply wasn't a body for them.

Zion wanted to keep up at his pace, but the others were more concerned about saving as many souls as they could.

He kept making Marked One bodies after the last remaining soul was safely in the physical world, but it took time. He only managed about 700 before Ravana came and knocked over everyone sandcastle.

[Zaleramancer]

Ah.

So, none of the remaining Marked Ones are capable of creating them quickly enough.

Good to know.

So, what does modern society look like?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

It varies between the countries. Generally, the well of and middle class have access to magic items and conveniences. Of the three main countries, it's Zionis that has the largest middle class, followed by Alies, then Thorland. . Alies still runs on a feudal system of Nobles owning everything with everyone renting land from them, but I wouldn't call them mud farming peasants or anything. Thorland has the largest class gap of the three, with robber barons running the show and having towns that could officially be called ghettos. Zionis is pretty even between the divide of rich and poor, and has a large middle class that has lead to the country becoming more metropolitan.

The other two countries are different. The Free States are to ecclectic to get a read on, and Commodus has very little in the way of modern convenience because it goes against they're culture.

There are Thorland built railroads that are used to quickly travel Endless Green, as well as Ferris that operate in the sea around the Free states.

The general standard of life is about the level of America around the time they were taming the west. Kogor is the frontier. There are differences, however. Gunpowder was never harnessed with the easily available spirit weapons, so most battles are still fought with sword and spear. Thorland does have a stock of weapons like guns run on spirit power, but it keeps these under tight lock and key to keep the other countries from acquiring the technology.

Naturals were granted rights as full citizens years ago, but changelings are still trying to climb that wall. Discrimination against changelings is not illegal, but attitudes are currently changing. The population makeup in any given major city will boil down to 70% human, 20% natural, 10% changeling.

[Zaleramancer]

Interesting.

And the Marked Ones?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Pretty much all dead. The ones that didn't die in the war couldn't be more than a handful, and none of them have seen fit to make themselves know. It's a popular conspiracy theory that Thorland has one locked away underground, and Alies has one living it Spiral Street somewhere.

Basically, claiming to have seen a Marked One is like claiming to have seen Jesus Christ or Elvis.

[Zaleramancer]

I live twenty minutes from Elvis's Birthplace.

This seems really cool.

I would really love to read something about this.. or do a roleplay set in here.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

If you're interested in some Characters that live in this world, I'm fighting Phi right now with a pair of them in the 1 on 1 battle thread.

[Zaleramancer]

I like this.

It's a unique fantasy setting that avoids the trap of making many mono-culture races.

So, are the Mermen mentioned in the islands fishy Naturals?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Yep. Everything that Zion tried to make into a suitable vessel before he made one from scratch are more or less the same size they were, just twisted into a more perfect (human) shape. In some cases (elk) that means bigger than human. For others (turtles, butterflies) it means quite a bit smaller. So, most of them are actually kind of little.

[Zaleramancer]

Interesting.

I quite enjoyed reading that.

I suspected Changeling when her arm went wonky.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

It's always wonky.

There are generally agreed to be two classes of changeling. A lower class, like Maria, has something physically wrong with their body. Maria's arm, for example, is a sort of fleshy liquid metal as is her skeleton. Nothing she does is via an Aura, instead being all her bodies power. Other physical mutations are common with the lower class.

Higher Class changelings are like Snow. Usually exhibiting some sort of stand out, non-horrific deformity. In Snows case, the color of her hair and the fact that her skin is always at a low temperature. Higher class changelings mutations are mostly with the soul and the Aura, adding effects to it. In Snows case, extreme cold.

[Zaleramancer]

When it was noted that it was wonky.

So, they basically have a raw spirit in their bodies?

Which would mean that the mind is partially independent of the spirit/soul?

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Yep, fully independent. That was the full extent of Ravana's meddling. Every time a spirit or soul enters a body it becomes a blank slate. Some part of the Souls nature might bleed through, but none of the memories or experiences. Changelings are human bodies being inhabited by spirits, and this incongruity is what causes their mutations. After all, they were only ever designed to hold souls. Some spirits are quite a bit different and quite a bit bigger than a soul.

Maria's is a long savage one called a Twisted Hellion.
Snow's, meanwhile, is a common one called a Freezelight that's used in most Spiritforged Iceboxes.

There are problems with changelings of course. Not just physical ones either. There is a much higher rate of mental illness in the changeling community. At best, most of them are eccentric.

[Zaleramancer]

This is all really interesting.

Great setting.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

I suppose Changelings would be the last thing I have to talk about in detail.

Changelings and creatures like them are normal human bodies or animals inhabited by a spirit instead of a soul. There are a few ways this can happen. The spirit might wander in from a crack, or a Spiritforged object might break and release it. Most Spirits that do this are scared, confused, and only seeking shelter in empty vessels.

Revanants: Corpses who's soul has departed can be inhabited by a spirit. These creatures, Revenants, are hopelessly insane. Do to the fact that the body is damaged above and beyond habitation, the spirit is in constant pain from both that damage, and having to deal with a lifetime of memories all thrust upon it at once. Most likely, it will act on these memories in a effort to cope with and make sense of them, most likely in a destructive manner. The Revanant typically has powers related to the spirit possessing it, and is highly dangerous. Souls can also posses corpses in times of desperate need. The revanant caused by a soul is mostly more confused than destructive, as a worn down body can sometimes allow the souls memories through the blockade placed in the brain by Ravana. There is a ritual where a soul is called upon to posses a corpse who's brain has been removed, in order for it to share it's ancient wisdom. This is highly illegal, as it could cause the creation of a deadly spirit revanant and isn't likely to work anyway.

Any body absent of life force has the potential to be possessed, whether it be human, animal, or natural. There are even some reports of old dead trees suddenly springing back to life. Animal Revanants are considered to be more generally dangerous than Human or Natural ones because they attack anyone while the other two usually home in n a single person or goal.

Fae Creatures: Fea Creatures are the result of a spirit inhabiting either an Animal or a Natural in the womb. The resulting mutant birth is usually fatal to the mother. Naturals do not produce changelings, as their bodies are imperfect for channeling spirit power. A Fae is the Natural world answer to the changeling.

Typically completely feral fro the moment of its birth, most Natural Fae are put down after they are born and, though more dangerous, are uncommon. Animal born Fae, on the other hand, have been on the rise as Spiritforging had become more prominent. Their mutations range from physical to strange powers related to the spirit inhabiting then, much like changelings. Unlike changelings, who are tempered by the Human mind and the block placed by Ravana, the Fae are completely in the control of the spirit and act accordingly. They hunt and kill viciously, caring only about growing more powerful. There have been a few isolated incidents where someone has managed to tame a Fae creature, but this is incredibly rare.

Changelings: Changelings are divided into a higher and lower tier. Lower tier Changelings can be spotted by their physical deformities, which are profound. Higher tier changelings have tells about them physically (Hair and eye color, skin temperature, temperament) but their most profound mutation is within their aura, which takes on aspects of the spirit inhabiting them. Unlike the other two types, the changelings have a human mind and are thus not bound to the whims of the spirit.

There are many downsides to being a changeling. They cannot be healed by Shaping, as the spirit within will reacted violently to any perceived intruder within it's vessel. This is also the reason why they cannot use Spiritforged items. Changelings, and Fae creatures for that matter, are also sterile. They are at best eccentric, and their mental state deteriorates as they age, their body breaks down, and more of the spirits influence pushes through. Most Changeling go "Feral" by the time they reach old age.

 In addition to these physical problems are social ones. There is a public distrust of them. Whether it's because of an latent fear of spirits, the mistaken belied that they attract more spirits to them, the insanity, or the fact that they can seriously damage spritforged objects just by interacting with them, changelings are essentially second class citizens. Naturals bear a particular hatred toward them for the existence of Fae Creatures.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Last two races. Come on Vault, get it together.

Naturals

The prototype to the human form, created when Zion attempted to create vessels for souls out of the indigenous creatures of the world. Attempting to mold them into the perfect shape to channel and contain spirit energy, they were not to his liking and he discarded hem to built the human body from scratch, Shaping different parts together until he created humans. Here they wallowed in a state of constant suffering, neither human nor animal, lashing out at anyone and anything in their pain and rage. Naturals were the first enemies of humankind. It is only when Ravana came to wage war that souls, unable to find other vessels because of the massive loss of human life, entered them in a fit of desperation. With this union, the Naturals gained minds equal in intelligence to Humankind, and joined with their ancient enemy to turn the tide against Ravanas monsters.

Naturals come in many different shapes and sizes. The creatures Zion shaped to create them came from all over the known world, and he roamed for many years trying to perfect his design. They remained mostly the same size, except twisted into the general shape Zion wanted. This lead to some of them being extremely large, while others were very small. Because they are prototypes, they are not as skilled at Soul Arts as any Human. They make up for this with native traits that, while certainly possessed by the perfect Marked Ones, were lost to their malformed offspring. Great strength and speed, superior senses, and the ability to see in the dark are just some of the abilities possessed by Naturals. These abilities do, of course, vary by species.

An interesting note: Naturals do not need to be possessed by a soul to function. Instead, because of the strange union of Human soul and an inhabitant of the physical world, Naturals are born with them. It is in this way that new Souls come into the world, allowing the human population to grow. It is this discovery that changed many minds about the rights of Naturals, who had been classified as animals up until that point.

Chimera: The result of a union between two Naturals of different species. Has long odds of happening: more that 80% percent of couplings will not result in a pregnancy, and of those only 20% will ever be brought to term. Chimaeras can happen with any two different naturals, or a natural and a human, and appears as a combination of the two creatures. This can be good or bad. Mutations are often observed in the resulting child, should the child even reach that stage, and have lead to them facing a similar, though much lighter, stigma as Changelings. It is for this reason, and to save on the heartache, that most Naturals date exclusively with their species.

Mannikins
Mannikins are a new form of life created within the most prestigious lab in Thorland. After much research, the brights mind of the state, with assistance of the finest sharpers in the neighboring country of Zionis, have managed to decipher the Block placed in the minds of all creatures shaped by Zion by Ravana. Using this knowledge, they craft empty vessels, most resembling suits of armor, and expose them to spirits. The resulting creature is similar to a changeling, except without the human brain. A vessel, powered by a spirit, ready to accept all knowledge and commands poured into it.

Mostly used for manual labor, the production of Mannikins has lead to an uproar within the three states of Endless Green. Various group site reasons such as risk of the spirit breaking the Block and rampaging, to evidence that a Mannikin can be taught and raised like a child, to fears that Thorland will incorporate the creatures into their army, to crying blaspheme at the creation of new life by imperfect hands for why production should be discontinued. Thorland has not responded to these objections, and has publicly stated that production will continue into the foreseeable future.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

I think that's everything in a nutshell, unless I'm missing something.

Thoughts?

[Philote]

I haven't had a chance to read through everything yet, but I like the basic idea you've started with here. Tell me if I've got this wrong. There are a bunch of spirits of different sizes and some of them have entered the physical world and possessed bodies in different ways in order to stay there. There are also spirits that don't have souls and they use those in crafting. When the spirits possess things other than bodies or broken/altered bodies, that is when strange abilities start to appear.