Nephillim

These races are distinguished from others by their particular mutated blood-dependent physiology.

Nephillim

Nephillim are part Angel and part Human, though a fusion of two beings into one through the blood. They are said to retain two souls. Nephillim appear human for the most part. They retain their human half's body, though the canines become pronounced. They act and speak as one, though a Nephillim would be aware of two internal monologues and would be able to have a discussion between their two halves. All Nephillim were created in the same period of antediluvian history and always by the action of one of the Eyrim. After that time, no new Eyrim were created, except for in a rare ceremony between two remaining Eyrim. No other Angels would have the motivation to merge with a Human. Nephillim appear human for the most part.

Many Nephillim died as result of post-ice-age flooding and others were slain by Humans or by other Nephillim. Thus, the more time that has passed since that age, the older and stronger the Nephillim must be, and the fewer of them there will be. Nephillim can vary greatly in ability. They are vastly powerful, roughly a match for an Angel in strength and physical abilities, though unable to regenerate without blood.

Before the floods, they nearly took over the Earth, lived in towering palaces and kept Humans like cattle. Nephillim remember the flooding and fear the 'water fate': floating surrounded by cold-blooded things, falling into a slumber, slowly bloating with water, eaten away by fish, but remaining alive. Those who remained after the flood had been rescued by the Malakim faction of Angels and after that time all Nephillim are allied with Lucifer and were indebted to him enough to become like servants. They detest their master, but they detest those who left them to the water more.

While Humans dominate the Earth, the Nephillim remain in hiding, carefully selecting their next Spawn and awaiting a time when they can take power. Nephillim are flesh and can be killed by thorough destruction of their body, otherwise they are virtually immortal.

Nephillim Spawn or Vampyres

- Asbeelian, Azyurian, Salamielite, etc.

Nephillim Spawn were each Human once and then infected with the blood of a Nephillim, which transformed their body. As Spawn, their skin pales somewhat so that those who were ebony-toned appear brown-skinned and sometimes 'ashy' while those who had brown skin appear gold or beige and those who had pale skin appear absolutely white, sometimes even blue. The ashy and blue tones appear when a Spawn is least fed.

They do crave blood and require ingestion of blood to remain active. They have pronounced canines that may lengthen when they need blood. Spawn are very dependent on blood, but with the dependence comes ability to analyze blood chemistry, allowing them to smell or taste disease, pregnancy, drug use, and all conditions that effect the blood. Certain blood disorders or chemistry may have adverse, but likely temporary, effects on Spawn. Foods and drugs that thin the blood (i.e. garlic) do not harm Spawn, but will make the blood less appetizing to them. Narcotics and other drugs in the blood may have a similar effect on Spawn as they do to Humans, but for a much shorter period of time. Spawn can survive by drinking the blood of any warm-blooded animals, not only humans. Though some Spawn express a distaste for animal blood, there are others who swear off Human blood and only drink animal blood.

Though some part of the solar spectrum does reach the blood through the skin and sap their strength, Spawn are able to move about in the day if they are older, determined or wearing sunblock, otherwise they rest during sunlight hours. 

Spawn are of a strength between Humans and Angels and can use mental abilities similar to those of Angels or Witches.

Spawn can turn Humans into other Spawn, though each new Spawn will begin weaker than the one who made them was at the time they were turned. All Spawn increase in strength and supernatural ability as they age, if they do not spend their time starved or often regenerating.

Spawn cannot conceive or bear children as they may have as Humans and it is believed by some bloodlines that turning a young female Human who has never given birth is unwise, as they often go through a depressed period and either expand the brood at an unsafe pace or seek their own death. It is likewise believed that turning children is unwise.

Unlike mortal races or Angelic beings, Spawn, in the absence of Nephillim, are seldom organized into large or orderly groups. The Spawn of a single Nephillim and their Spawn in turn are called a Bloodline. The Spawn of a particular Spawn are sometimes loosely organized into a familial unit and are called a Brood. Spawn may refer to the one who turned them as Mother or Father and to others created by the same Spawn as Brother or Sister, or sometimes in the form brother-in-blood to distinguish from mortal relatives . Most often Spawn live alone or with a small number of related spawn and occasionally Human Thralls.

Thralls remain Human but they have ingested small amounts of Spawn blood over an extended period of time. Sometimes they are being prepared to be turned, but most often they are kept as blood donors and will eventually be killed by the Spawn. Thralls feel a bond with the particular Spawn that feeds them and may exhibit some telepathy of their own or a craving for blood.

Occasionally a Human or Thrall is given a larger quantity of Spawn blood, just short of the amount needed to turn them, these become Revenants, possessing the strength and abilities of a Spawn but being mad with craving for blood and rarely able to control their strength or abilities. Spawn have created Revenants of those they wished to punish, but most often they are the result of young Spawn failing in the precise exchange of blood needed to turn a human.

In the early history of the Nephillim, Spawn were numerous and formed armies and there was no apparent difference between one Bloodline and another. After the floods, only a few very strong Spawn survived along with the Nephillim to pass on their blood. Nephillim and populations of their Spawn were removed from each other and developed their abilities and quirks separately and differently. These distinct Bloodlines survived the ancient world and through the early common era warred against each other and stronger Bloodlines destroyed or assimilated weaker ones. Those Bloodlines that survived into modern times were the Azyurians, the Asbeelians and the Salamielites.

Azyurians maintained territory in areas about the Mediterranean, socialized little with each other, were most involved with other races, and often chose to live among Humans and to be involved in trade and culture of human society.

Salamielites roamed Europe. They passed along the the least of their history and of Angels and instead became influenced by Human folklore and fears. Salamielites often lived in numbers, and often clashed with humans and with Wolfbreed tribes in their region. Salamilites did not live in cities or invest money in banks or care for industry.

Asbeelians lived in Asia and also developed the mutation of their blood that caused their hair and skin to loose all pigmentation when they were turned, giving them an appearance alike to human albinos. Asbeelians involved themselves in Human society only as part of underground or criminal activities and though they lived outside of cities, they were adept at disguising themselves as Human in order to conduct business with Humans. The Dracul were an offshoot of the Asbeelian line though many Asbeelians deny this. Asbeelians are also very wary of Angels, Sidhe and Unicorns.

All Spawn are nigh immortal, barring thorough destruction of the body. They can regenerate flesh, and if the brain is intact and if they have large quantities of blood any and all cells of their body. They will always regenerate to appear as they did when they were turned. Spawn are particularly vulnerable during regeneration and often, if not guarded and fed by another of their kind, will fall prey to humans and be destroyed. Unaided regeneration could take centuries, and so it is more common for survivors among the Spawn to have stolen replacement limbs or organs from another body. With fresh intake of blood, new organs will take well to Spawn bodies.

Dracul

- Dhampir

The first Dracul were created during a time of conflict between Spawn and Wolfbreed in the early common era. It is unknown exactly how they came to be, but those who have escaped their attacks insist they smell Asbeelian, though pure Asbeelian Spawn deny this can be the case. It is suspected that the first of the Dracul may have been created when an Asbeelian Spawn turned a pregnant female of the Wolfbreed, producing a live child that could shift from human to wolf shape and whom also thrived on blood and had mental powers similar to the Spawn. What is certain is that during the medieval era, Spawn and Wolfbreed in Europe and Asia, and Part-Angels living in the Middle East were all attacked by packs of beings, some of which had wings, long fangs, and could shift to wolf shape.

Not all Dracul are alike, but all carry blood that is unlike that of any other race. They are secretive about their ways and their numbers, but certainly some of them do exhibit traits of Wolfbreed, Part-Angel, and Nephillim Spawn combined. Dracul have been witnessed turning outsiders, but no outsider who was turned ever came back to explain what happened.

It is also believed that some Dracul are born Dracul, that the mutated blood is carried by some among them who, unlike Spawn, are able to conceive and bear children. Those who are born Dracul are called Dhampir and these age and may have children.

Dracul and Dhampir both seem to have some dependency on blood, have ability to shift to wolf shape a large percentage of the time, have wings a smaller percentage of the time, and have Part-Angel coloring a small percentage of the time. All seem to have some mental abilities, inherited from the Spawn or Part-Angel blood. They are fierce and secretive and have been known to attack other races, but they have never been known to attempt to spread from the Asian continent and they have only fought in large numbers defensively. They can be killed, but Dracul will remove their fallen dead if any are left to do so, so their particular nature remains secret.

Shi Vampires

Shi Vampires do not appear until a future time period, when much of the world is at war. The Shi are similar to Dhampir among the Dracul, in that they have the blood of Nephillim Spawn in them, and they are 'living,' and can conceive or bear children. However, they are a distinct and separate bloodline from the Dracul. They first of them was created when a Vampyre of the Azyurian bloodline carrying some Wolfbreed and Angelic ancestry turned a pregnant Human female. This Father of the Shi Vampyres conceived children with Human and Witch females. These children propagated their species.

Shi Vampires have low incidences of Wolfbreed and Part-Angel Traits, but much higher incidences of hereditary Witch traits. With apparently dominant genes, the Shi will have equally Shi children even when coupling with Humans or Witches. There are some cases of Shi and Part-angels coupling, in which case the child is considered Shi but may have greater mental powers. Socially the Shi Vampires are greatly distrusted by humans and as a young race are not considered much at all by older races, with exception of the Sidhe. They appear almost entirely human, though the canines are slightly lengthened.

Shi thrive on blood but they do not require it to function as Spawn do. They thrive on natural sugars and can eat as Humans do, though they have an aversion to all dairy products. Their children are nursed with a blood which their Shi mothers naturally produce.

Shi females, when pregnant experience a telepathic bond with their unborn child that is exceptionally strong just prior to birth. This phenomena has been observed in other child-bearing races that are telepathic, but in the Shi is exceptionally strong and produces a 'Madness' as the child becomes excited and disoriented by the process of birth. The Madness sometimes causes Shi females to become violent and to crave blood in the later stages of pregnancy.

Although Human in appearance the Shi have keener senses than Humans, on par with Part-Angels. Strength and physical abilities are also enhanced. Though sunlight does not effect them as strongly as it does Spawn, Shi are generally nocturnal.

Socially, Humans fear Shi in particular, not because they fear the Shi are violent, but because they believe their dominant genes would eventually make Humans extinct or a racial minority. It is also true that Shi Vampires involuntarily project fear, that is they telepathically or perhaps biochemically cause fear in those near them. It has been shown that some strong-willed Humans and many Witches and Part-Angels can tolerate or ignore this fear. Nephillim and Angels are unaffected by it.

In the post-war period the Shi Vampires were sent to Mars. Though Humans have traveled to Mars during the time the Shi have been there, the Shi have claimed it as their territory and fought to defend the planet when pressed. Shi are the dominant race on Mars, but small numbers of Shi who have traveled from Mars, after the first conflicts there, can be found on Earth. The Shi Vampires, though not Part-Angels, are considered allied to the Sidhe, who gave them their name. The Sidhe are the greatest allies and defenders of the Shi on Earth. On Mars, the Shi aim to practice the respect for nature that the Sidhe do on Earth. Though they terraform, they do not use the most radical, invasive and disruptive methods, such as launching ice meteors at the surface, and they use all parts of the plants and animals they raise and slaughter.