[Writings] Ren's "Guide to "All Shades of Grey"

[Ren Gaulen]

 OK, I have to do it, after all. A sort of a guide to my fictional universe of the "Shades of Grey"! "A Guide to All Shades of Grey", or "How not to be eaten by GRU". Chaotic just like its creator, it will have entertaining walls of text full of interesting and useful information which might just save your life one day (..as if..). And I will start off from the very middle, as I usually do.

The "Shades of Grey" is a techno-fantasy setting, which means that magic and technology not only peacefully coexist there, but form a very strong symbiosis. The world of "SoG" consists of several universes connected with each other; the most interesting are Luminous Universe, sometimes called  just Lum, where our galaxy is situated, and the Realm of Karid, which seems to consist of just one galaxy. The former is more about high-tech and such stuff, while the latter is more fantasy-ish. The main and constantly open "gate" between these two universes is situated near planet Rubicon in the Lum, and planet Ashkar in the Karid. While the world of Lum is inhabited by multiple different sentient races each one of which has developed on its own planet, the planets in the Karid are connected by magical portals end different races are usually evenly spread among them. I'll leave Lum for later and look at the Karid right now. It is inhabited by several mortal races similar to those that can be found in the Lum.

Humans. Well, humans are humans. There is not much need to explain anything here. Most humans don't have any notable magical potential, but those who have it often become good sorcerers and wizards. Humans warship multiple gods residing in the Karid, and have many countries, both big and small, across the realm. They are considered to be one of the most powerful mortal races in the Karid.

Dwarfs. Dwarfs are very similar to humans, but considerably shorter. A long time ago some humans on one of the planets of the Karid started to settle in caves, hiding from the Demon tribes. They lived in those caves for many generations, and became accustomed to such life. Later they spread over other planets. Dwarfs are almost identical to regular humans in most ways, but they have a peculiar trait: they have a very high resistance to magic, while still being capable to use it themselves. Dwarfs themselves say that being so close to the earth made them resistant to the Astral energies. Dwarfs live a bit longer than humans, but some additional twenty years don't make much difference. Nowadays Dwarfs often live side by side with humans.

Trolls. A peculiar race that seems to have common ancestors with the human race, buts is not related to it anymore. Trolls, also called Green-skins, are a savage and rather primitive race, living away from human civilization. They form many small tribes that often fight with each other or Draghirs and sometimes raid remote human settlements. Trolls are larger and much stronger than humans, and they have very fast regeneration, but they make rather lousy magicians – even Dwarfs are better at magic than trolls (probably because trolls are not quite intelligent enough to understand how to control magic, and have no outstanding natural affinity for it). They can live for almost two hundred years, but usually don't survive to fifty. Trolls worship primitive natural spirits and Gaia her/itself. Note: don't feed the trolls. Just don't.

Draghirs. This race has nothing in common with humans. Draghirs are distant (very distant) relatives of the Dragons. A race of large mighty creatures (some Draghirs may be as large as a grizzly bear) they are a savage, but proud race that worship the Dragon-God Bahamuth. They sometimes build temple-cities in mountains or deep in caves. Otherwise they live in small nomadic tribes, that sometimes visit human territories. Draghirs are not very good magicians, but they, much like Dwarfs, have some sort of magical resistance. They can live to two hundred years or so, maybe longer. Note: Never ever call a Draghir "Lizardman". They will introduce you to a world of pain for such an insult.

Enkidu. Enkidu are almost as common as humans in the Karid. Often called furres or beastmen, they are very diverse both in appearances and lifestyles. There can be found enkidu kingdoms, but you may just as well find primitive enkidu tribes. There is a sort of rivalry going between the humans and the enkidu, and wars between these two races are not uncommon. In many human kingdoms enkidu seen as a primitive race, and enkidu often end up as slaves in such places. However, there are also kingdoms where humans and enkidu peacefully coexist. Enkidu become magicians much more often than humans, but, unlike humans, they rarely become powerful magicians. They usually live as long as humans. Enkidu worship either Gaia or the same gods as humans. Note: humans and enkidu can breed, and the result will be a half-breed, but it will remain like that only for one generation. In other words, if a half-breed then breed with a human, their child will be a human, and vice versa.

Kel'Seoul. A race of insectoids, Kel'Seoul are often called Antmen. Well, basically, they are evolved ants. Kel'Seoul is an ancient and peaceful race that builds its cities deep in the deepest caves (which they often dig themselves). These Antmen are very good magicians and psychics, and they are also good engineers and scientists. Kel'Seoul have some sort of a partial collective consciousness, where every Kel'Seoul has a mind of its own, but all their minds are linked together (they can make communism work). They generally live shorter than humans. They don't really worship any gods (maybe only Gaia).

The Realm of Karid if full of magical energy and many races were changed by it (and by the Netherworlders) into magical creatures commonly known as Altlings. However almost all of the Altlings are usually either humans or enkidu. There are no Draghir or Kel'Seoul Altlings. There are several different forms of Altlings. I'll tell about them right now.

Demons. One of the most common and widely spread form of altlings, Demons considered to be the bane of the Karid. Their Clans and tribes often raid human settlements, killing and looting and bringing lots of misery and pain (though not all demons are mean *censored*). Very strong and tough, they are more into Might than Magic. Those of them who do use magic rely on the most simple forms of it, or have some sort of inherited magical affinity. However, all demons have a Guardian Ward on them, that makes it difficult to kill them by non-magical weapon – even if blown apart they will regenerate (however, continuously killing them will deplete their energy and they will stop coming back to life). In terms of appearance demons are not very different from their base race. They usually have red, orange, yellow or purple eyes, and normally they have some sort of markings on their body. Demons normally live to a hundred and fifty years, but if they get more power, their lifespan increases. Some may live for centuries, but they rarely live longer than a thousand and a half years. Every demon has a Beast form which they may use as a sort of a last resort in battle. In their Beast form they grow horns and, sometimes, wings, while their strength increases tenfold. However, most demons loose control when they go into the Beast form, and it is hard for them to snap out of it. Only the more powerful demons (or those with really strong will) can control their Beast form. And some have a sort of a second stage of the Beast form, which is so powerful, that even a dragon would have a hard time dealing with it. Fore some reason most daemons are enkidu, while human demons are comparatively rare. Demons worship some of the same gods as mortal races, but they also often worship the Gods of Darkness (aka the Gods of the Abyss, aka the Lords of Hell).

Angels. Angels are natural enemies of the demons. Being one of the most powerful and rare Altling race, these powerful magicians live in cities hovering high in the skies, as if to stress their superiority over all other races. The leaders of the Angel race consider mortal races to be no more than instruments to be used, and wish for total annihilation of the much more numerous Demon race (once again, not all of them are mean *censored*). Angels look almost identically to their base race, but they can manifest Aura Wings (they easily fuse with clothes and pass through them) covered with feathers. These feathers are the favorite weapons of angels, as they can extend, sharpen and move them at will, turning the feathers into something like long flexible ribbons that can entangle, push, cut and impale. They are not very hard, though, and can be cut with even a normal sword (as long as you hit their flat side; otherwise they will probably cut through your sword). While angels are physically weaker than demons (yet still stronger than average humans), they have much greater magical power, and are naturally capable of levitation with the use of their wings, so they can just fly out of their enemies' reach and rain death from the sky. Also, like demons, angels have Guardian Wards. While angels are such good magicians, they do not neglect technology. However, they don't trust technology very much either. Angels usually live to five hundred years, but, like demons, they can prolong their lives. Rather than worshipping gods of the Karid, angels worship the Celestials (aka True Angels or Netherworld Angels).

Vampires. Unlike demons or angels vampires don't build cities or create kingdoms. Rather, they live among mortals masquerading as them and feeding on them. While vampires do drink blood of their victims, they also sap their life force. However, vampires rarely kill their victims; they don't need too much. And a vampire's bite won't turn a person into another vampire over night; but if a vampire would feed on one and the same person for an extended period of time, the hallucinogenic poison delivered into victims blood system will reach a critical level and cause a mutation that will turn this person into a vampire. However, such turned vampires are much weaker than born ones. Vampires are not undead, and the only thing they have to do with undead is that a person with a large amount of vampiric poison in their system dies, they become ghouls. Vampires are not really afraid of the sunlight, but it disrupts their favorite Shadow magic, hurts their sensitive eyes and often cause vampires strong headache. However, vampires are almost as vulnerable as humans. They are very good magicians, though. Vampires live for about two hundred years.

Shapeshifters. The shapeshifters are also often called werewolves, werecats and other were's. Some of them live in tribes away from civilization, while others, like vampires, live among humans, pretending to be one of them. In a way shapeshifters are like demons – they have two forms: their human or enkidu form and a Beast form. However, shapeshifters are not very good magicians, and in their basic form they are not much stronger than a mortal. In fact, shapeshifters are stuck somewhere in between the Mortal and the Altling races.

These are by far not all of the races, and I will post tell about more Mortal and Altling races, as well as Arcanites and just random magical creatures that don't form any races later. Then we will discuss the magical system (Arcane Arts and Psychic Powers), and then there will be cake.

[Jairus]

Dang... that's a lot of info. It all looks great. I can't wait to read more.

I'm a little worried about posting my race/species stuff now. Yours looks a lot more polished.

[Cogidubnus]

Interesting stuff, Mr. Gaulen. Will you be writing a story with all this, I hope? Either way, I shall await more eagerly.

[Ren Gaulen]

Interesting stuff, Mr. Gaulen. Will you be writing a story with all this, I hope? Either way, I shall await more eagerly.

Thank you. The story will come, eventually.

Dang... that's a lot of info. It all looks great. I can't wait to read more.

I'm a little worried about posting my race/species stuff now. Yours looks a lot more polished.

Well I'm worried about posting my magical system.. But I will still do it! Do not let the worries overpower you! Instead, overpower them yourself! Believe in yourself, Jay! And if it is not enough, believe in me, who believes in you! Believe in this little adorable ferret that believes in you! Kick your worries into the curb and just do what you wanted to do! Who the hell do you think we are, after all?!

..I desperately need to go to sleep. Right now..

[Jairus]

..I desperately need to go to sleep. Right now..

Thanks for the encouragement. Now, if you need sleep, just go to bed.

[Archanon8957]

very interesting, and nicely explained. Do you plan to use these races in a story?

[Ren Gaulen]

Now for some more races. First some more Mortal races:

Elves. While some say that Elves should be considered to be Arcanites, they are closer to Mortals in many ways. They have a very high magical affinity, but otherwise are almost identical to humans. Elves have a few of their own kingdoms, but often just live alongside humans. They live for about two hundred years (no immortality for Elves!). Elves worship many different gods, spirits, or just Gaia.

Orcs. Orcs are another race related to humans. For thousands of years they lived in a harsh hostile environment, which made them much stronger than humans. Orcs are also called Grey-skins. Most of them dislike humans, and human/orchin wars happen quite often. Orcs are not good with magic, though they have some natural resistance against it (much like dwarfs). Usually they don't build cities, but travel as large nomadic tribes that sometimes gather into huge hordes (and then they go  "WAAAAGH!!!"). Orcs live about as long as humans. They warship multiple different gods and Gaia.

And a couple more Altling races:

Dark Elves. Also known as Demon Elves or Darklings, Dark Elves are almost identical to demons in many ways. However, they generally live longer than demons, have a much more powerful magic, but lack the Beast form or a Guardian Ward. Darklings worship some of the Dark Gods.

Chimerites. A peculiar Altling race that was created from Chimeras. Chimerites come in many different shapes and sizes, but the most common ones are centaur-like and naga-like Chimerites. Most Chimerites are based on enkidu, though there are some human-based ones. Chimerites usually live away from civilization, and many of them hate "normal" races like humans or enkidu. Chimerites are not very good at magic, but they are usually very strong physically. They generally live a bit shorter than humans. They worship either the same gods as humans (if they live among humans), ore natural spirits and Gaia.

Beside Altling races, which were changed into magical creatures by magic itself or someone's intervention, there is another group of magically inclined races, known as Arcanites. They were not altered, but rather always were the way they are.

Dragons. Quite possibly one of the oldest races inhabiting the Realm of Karid, dragons definitely are the strongest there. Capable of living for hundreds of thousands years and accumulate enormous magical power, dragons could easily rule the entire Karid if they wanted. But instead they stay away from the affairs of the "lesser races", living far away from populated areas. More over, while dragons form clans, most of the time they live away from each other, or at least in small groups. It is worth noticing that dragons are not native to the Realm of Karid. Aside from powerful magic they have advanced technology on their side. Unlike any of the Altling races and some Arcanite races, dragons are living generators of magical energy, which means that they cannot completely run out of energy. And since they have a sort of a Guardian Ward, it makes any non-magical weapons useless against them. While it is possible to hurt or even kill them with such weapons, they will always be able to regenerate and come back to life. Dragons also have a Spirit form, that can move through Astral plane, and they can transform into different creatures to disguise themselves.

Fae. These tiny weird creatures come in countless different shapes and colours. There are many different kinds of fae, ranging from powerful Astral Fae to semi-sentient Lesser Fae. All of the fae can generate magical energy on their own, but only Astral and Battle Fae has an automatic regeneration. Other Fae can be killed by non-magical weapons. However, they all have nearly indestructible Heart Cores from which they may be restored. The sad thing is that other races of-ten capture and kill fae to use their Heart Cores as a source of magical energy. It is not clear how long can fae live.

Goblins. Master Yoda probably was one . Goblins are smallish creatures with considerable magical powers. They are not very brave or strong, but they are very smart. Often they can be seen as servants of other powerful creatures like dragons. Apparently, they came to the Realm of Karid with the dragons. Goblins can live to five hundred years or so.

There are also some magical creatures that don't form any real races at all, but are worth noticing.

Chimeras. While there is a race of Chimerites, there are also regular Chimeras created by magicians to act as pets, servants, bodyguards or whatever. Chimeras are basically several different creatures fused into one. Enkidu are often used as a base for Chimeras, as their genes are easier controlled and transformed through magic. However, in many places Chimeras are considered to be abominations and their creation is forbidden.

Drakes. A form of lesser dragons, drakes are only semi-sentient. They have some primitive magic that they use instinctively, and they live for only a hundred years or so. Of the lesser drag-ons drakes are the only ones capable of flight.

Undead. The Undead are basically corpses animated by magic. However, there are several different forms of the undead.

Ghoul. A malformed vampire that lurks in the night craving for the blood of the living. People bitten and killed by ghouls will rise as ghouls themselves. Ghouls are stronger and faster than humans, but they are not sentient. The easiest way to kill them is to destroy or damage their brain or spinal cord. Some vampires can actually control ghouls.

Cadavers. A corpse raised by a necromancer with the use of spirits. Cadavers are walking corpses, and if the corpse is fresh, it would be capable of performing complex operations. However, their mental capabilities depend on the complexity of the spell that was used to rise them. Cadavers are hard to kill, since you will either need to utterly destroy their body (kill them with fire), or dispel the magic that animates them.

Revenants. A sort of a super-cadaver, returned to life with a soul in it. Revenants are intelligent, but are usually either directly bound to the will of their master or bear some form of geas that dictate and control their actions. The magic that animates revenants is so strong that they cannot be permanently killed by non-magical means.

I'll add some more races to the list later, but next time I will explain the magical system.

By the way, any comments and questions will be greatly appreciated.

[Jairus]

Dang, it all looks great so far. "Master Yoda probably was one:" best line in the whole thing. Can't wait for more!