|
|
|
Wraeththu vs. Man
Due to the way they reproduce, Wraeththu do not need breasts for the production of milk, nor wide pelvises to accommodate a growing child. Therefore, a physically mature har, when clothed, closely resembles a young, human male. Whilst obviously masculine, they are uncannily feminine at the same time. Humans have described them as appearing to be "a girl and a boy superimposed over each other", although to some human eyes they appear more like males - strange males, but males all the same.
Despite this, the differences between Wraeththu and humankind are not vast in number, and not even apparent (in most cases) to the naked eye. Biologically their functions are similar, although in the case of Wraeththu many basic design faults present in the old race have been removed.
Wraeththu Biology
DIGESTION:
Wraeththu digestion is not wildly disparate from that of humankind, although it is unknown for hara to become overweight whatever amount of food is ingested. Their bodies are so well-regulated that excess of all kinds are merely eliminated as waste. Perfect bodyweight is never exceeded. This thorough system cleansing also extends to most intoxicants or stimulants. Narcotic effects can be experienced without side-effects. Because of this, few poisons are lethal to Wraeththu.
THE SENSES:
Wraeththu senses of touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste are marginally more acute than those of mankind. But the sixth sense is far more well developed. This may only be due to the fact that Wraeththu are brought up (or instructed after inception) with the knowledge to glean full use of their perception. This is a quality which has become dulled in man. Some hara can even catch glimpses of future events or atmospheres; either by tranquil contemplation or in dreams.
Again, it must be stressed that this ability is not a fundamental difference from humanity, as all humans possess within themselves the potential to develop their psychic capabilities. Most humans, however, are not aware of this.
OCCULT POWERS:
This is merely an extension of becoming acquainted, through proper progression, with one's psychic senses.
Magic is will-power; will-power is magic. Self-knowledge is the key to the perfect control of will.
Obviously, this particular talent may be used either for the benefit or detriment of other beings. As all Wraeththu are firm believers in reincarnation and the progression of the soul, most are sensible enough to realise the dangers of taking "the left hand path." Others, however, still motivated by the greed and baser emotions of human ancestors, are prone to seek self-advancement through evil means.
LIFE SPAN:
In comparison to mankind, Wraeththu appear ageless, but this is not strictly the case. Har bodies are not subject to cellular deterioration in the same way as human bodies, but on reaching the age of 150 years or thereabouts, they begin to "fade", vitality diminishes and the dignified end is welcomed as a release for the soul and the gateway to the next reincarnation.
Wraeththu Sexuality:
ARUNA:
The act of sexual intercourse between hara has two legitimate types. Aruna is indulged in either for pleasure; the intimate communication of minds and bodies that all hara need for spiritual contentment, or else for the express purpose of conceiving. Although it is a necessity for Wraeththu, the amount of physical communion preferred varies from har to har. Some may seek out a companion only once a year, others may yearn for aruna several times a week. It is not important whether a har most enjoys performing ouana or soume; again this varies among hara. Most swap and change their roles according to mood or circumstance.
The phallus of the har resembles a petaled rod, sometimes of deep and varied colours. It has an inner tendril which may only emerge once embraced by the body of the soume and prior to orgasm. The soume organ of generation, located in the lower region of the body in a position not dissimilar to that of a human female womb, is reached by a fleshy, convoluted passage found behind the masculine organs of generation. Self-cleansing, it leads to the lower intestine, where more banks of muscle form an effective seal.
GRISSECON:
Grissecon is sexual communion for occult purposes; simply - sex magic. As enormous forces are aroused during aruna, these forces may be harnessed to act externally. Explanation other than this is prohibited by the Great Oath.
PELKI:
There are two legitimate modes of physical intercourse among Wraeththu. Pelki is for the most part denied to exist, although amongst brutalized tribes it undoubtedly does. It is the name for forced rape of either hara or humans. The latter is essentially murder, as humankind cannot tolerate the bodily secretions of Wraeththu, which act as a caustic poison; pelki to humans is always fatal. Because aruna is such a respected and important aspect of Wraeththu life, the concept of pelki is both abhorrent and appalling to the average har. Unfortunately, certain dark powers can be accrued by indulging in these practices and this only serves as a dreadful temptation to hara of evil or morally decadent inclinations.
REPRODUCTION:
Wraeththu are hermaphrodite beings, any of whom have the capacity to reproduce on reaching the caste of Ulani. This is mainly because hara of lower caste have insufficient control of their mind, which is required to attain the elevated state of consciousness needed for conception. Experienced hara can guarantee conception whenever it is desired.
Conception can only occur during the act of aruna (Wraeththu intercourse), hara are unable to fertilize themselves. The inseminating har is known as ouana (ooow-na), and the host for the seed, soume (soow-me). This corresponds roughly to human male and female, although in Wraeththu the roles are interchangeable. When conditions are propitious (i.e. when desired state of consciousness is achieved through the ecstasy of aruna), ouana has the chance to "break through the seal", which is the act of coaxing the chamber of generation within the body of the soume to relax its banks of muscle that closes the entrance, and permit the inner tendril of the ouana phallus to intrude.
Once the seed (aren) has been successfully released, the chamber of generation reseals itself and emits a fertilising secretion (yaloe) which forms a coating around the aren. Only the strongest can survive this process, weaker seed are literally burned up or else devoured by their fellows. During the next twelve hours or so, the aren fight for supremacy, until only one of them survives; this is then enveloped by the nourishing yaloe which begins to harden around the aren to form a kind of shell. By interaction of the positive aren elements and the negative yaloe elements, a Wraeththu foetus begins to develop within the shell.
At the end of two months, the shell is emitted from the body of its host, resembling a black, opalescent pearl some six inches in diameter. Incubation is then required, either by the host or any other har committed to spending the time. After "birth", the pearl begins to soften into an elastic, leathery coating about the developing harchild. Progress and growth are rapid; within a week, the pearl "hatches" and the young har enters the world.
Wraeththu children, on hatching, already possess some body hair and have moderately acute eyesight. Familiar hara can be recognised after only a few days. Though smaller in size, the harling at this time is comparable in intelligence and mobility to a human child that has just been weaned. Wraeththu children need no milk and can eat the same food as adults within a few hours of hatching. Development is astonishingly rapid within the first year of life. Harlings are able to crawl around immediately after hatching, and can walk upright within a few days. They learn to speak simple words after about four weeks. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of seven and ten years, when the harling is physically able to partake in aruna without ill effect. At this time, caste training is undertaken and the young har is also educated in the etiquette of aruna. Sexual maturity is recognised by a marked restlessness and erratic behaviour, even a craving for moonlight. Aruna education is usually imparted by an older har chosen by the child's hostling or sire. This is to prevent any unpleasant experiences which the young har could suffer at the hands of someone who is not committed to its welfare. Those hara who are not natural born, but incepted, are instructed in aruna immediately after the effects of althaia (the changing) wears off. This is essential to "fix" the change within the new har.
 Tetsiru · Sun Jun 25, 2006 @ 03:03pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In The Beginning
No-one, not even those who rose from the ashes of the destruction, seem certain as to how Mankind's downfall came about. Blame was placed variously on war, disease, poverty, a continuing moral decline and any number of other reasons. However it came about, by the time Wraeththu began to appear, the world mankind knew was already dying, and the human race was on the wane.
From the beginning, Wraeththu were recognised as something more than disaffected youth. Men knew they were different; on the inside and on the outside. Something had happened to them that had changed them. But Mankind thought they had bigger problems, and ignored these youths who dressed in strange uniforms to signify their groups, who haunted the towns and turned night-time streets into places of fear, who rebelled against the society that had bred them and who called themselves Wraeththu. By the time Man took notice it was too late - the small groups had grown and the Wraeththu were too strong.
Not all Wraeththu tribes were hostile to Mankind, but those that were used magic and violence to rid their territories of the human blight. Men fled if they could, seeking refuge where they could - often with Wraeththu tribes tolerant of them. In some places east of Almagabra and in the northernmost parts of Megalithica, men still retained control of their lands. But despite Mankind's toughness, resilience and tenacity, his time was over.
Born in hate and bitterness in the cities of the north, Wraeththu had the power to change the sons of men to be like themselves. As with the first, within three days of being infected with Wraeththu blood, the convert's body had completed the necessary changes. Wraeththukind grew and learned, increasing their craft and their cunning. They lost their ungoverned, adolescent wildness, and became an occult society, hungry for knowledge. Some broke away for the search for truth and fell back into the old ways of fighting and living for the day.
Wraeththu grouped into tribes, each ascribing to varying beliefs, but all united in the Wraeththu spirit. Those who held to the ideal of the True Spirit believed that, as they were physically perfect, so they must strive towards spiritual perfection. Purity of spirit is the key; few ever attain it. But one day, when the ravages of man is just a memory, then the Few that have succeeded shall be the kings of the Earth.
The First Of His Kind
This is the story of the beginnings of Wraeththukind, as told to Pell in Saltrock prior to his inception.
"Some years ago, in the north, a child was born. A mutant. His body was strangely malformed in some respects. As it grew, this child exhibited many unusual traits that foxed both its parents and the doctors they consulted in their concern. Their son conversed earnestly with people they could not see; some of their neighbors' dogs feared him; other children shrank from him in horror. His mother complained she simply did not like the child; he was unlovable, withdrawn. Even as a baby he had snarled at her, refusing the breast. Once, some years later, as she had prepared his dinner, all the saucepans had risen off the stove and flown at her. Turning around, a silent scream frozen on her face, she had seen him standing in the doorway, watching.
"On reaching puberty, the boy disappeared from home, and despite massive police investigation (accompanied by an insidious sense of relief experienced by the grieving parents), no clue to his fate was ever found...for some time.
"Months later, officials were baffled by a bizarre murder case in Carmine City. A young man, apparently having been sexually assaulted, had been found dead in a disused building. But it was far from the simple case it appeared; such killings being commonplace in the city. The young man's insides had been eroded away as if by a powerful and caustic substance. Post mortem investigation revealed the presence of an unknown material in the body tissues, something that kept on burning even as it dried on the dissecting table. Under the microscope, it teemed with life like sperm, but unlike the sperm of any creature the scientists had ever seen before.
"A mutant runaway had come alive in the city; alone, frightened and dangerous in his fear. He had learned just how different he was. His touch could mean death to those that offered him shelter, the sub-society of the city. He kept away from them, hiding in the terrible gaunt carcases of forgotten tenements; on the run, shivering in the dark.
"Freaks roamed the steaming tips, the rubble. One came across him as he slept; lifted aside the foul sacks that covered him; gazed at his translucent glowing beauty. The veins on his neck showed blue through pearl; pumping with life. Some people are so far gone they would do anything to eat. One more day on the planet, one more day for the fleas, the rats, the sores. Freak lips on a mutant throat, broken teeth to tear. The mutant opened his eyes, relaxed beneath the lapping suction. He did not want to die. He knew he could not die.
"For three days the freak writhed, gibbered and screamed on the soiled floor. Passively the mutant watched him, faint interest painted across his bland face. On the third day, the filth peeled away and the mutant was given an angel. An angel like himself, brimming with mysteries that alone he had had no inclination to explore.
"The rest of it is now the legends of Wraeththu...
"The first mutant faded into anonymity. Nobody was quite sure what had happened to him, but he had left strong leaders behind him. Now he had become a creature of legend, revered and feared as a god. Wraeththu did not believe he was dead, but that he'd elevated to a superior form of existence, monitoring or manipulating the development of his race."
Tetsiru · Sun Jun 25, 2006 @ 02:55pm · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
