Negru Morte (Race)
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"Life without Death is meaningless, no matter how well you have lived your life, if you do not die well it will not balance. We are that balance, for we alone are our Goddess' Sons and Daughters, and we shall follow the path of Punishment and Death with our very lives, until we meet Hir in the grand here-after." -Excerpt, Worship.
Raven Black bats with the tails of foxes, the Negru Morte are a race of the shadows themselves. For hundreds of years after the gods first came to Nimby, none knew of the elusive race, and upon their first foray out into the world proper, many came to mistake them for Noctae. They are the Worshipers of Death and Punishment, extremists and true believers, who believe death should be as beautiful, as exciting, and as glorious as life. Naturally resilient in combat, the Negru Morte test each other through martial training, and one's rank in society can be determined by your competency in the arena, and your ability to lead a wing of the faithful beyond the dark, moist walls of the City of Twilight.
Fanatical Followers of the Aspects of Fukumi, the Negru Morte are the custodians of death. Using even their own lives in their art, the elusive Death Bats cut down those that would upset the balance of the cycle of life and death, and gleefully carry out punishments that are foretold by their most powerful elders.
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Negru Morte - Playable Race
Physical Description
The Negru Morte is a race of Bat-Like humanoids with fox-like tails. They stand roughly four feet tall, and both women and men share many physical characteristics, with the main differentiation being the slightly pronounced breasts in the females and the usual equipment for the male. This coupled with the natural occurrence of hermaphrodites in their society leads most other races to conclude they are all hermaphrodites. Their fur is universally raven black, with faint markings in a dark blue that can comprise of circles, stripes, spots or wave patterns. They have wings that can split from their arms to allow them to glide and still manipulate objects, although true flight requires the aid of the arm muscles.
Their clothing is dark, spun of a combination of spider silks and fungal strands to be annoyingly tough to break. They wear layers upon layers, using the movement of the sheer fabrics to hide their strikes and confuse their foes. On the surface of Nimby, the clothing is often belted down in a few places to allow movement to take priority over the masking effects of their veils and cloaks. They wear their hair long, in whatever style suits their mood... anything they can whip around to blue the edges of their form will help.
Origin Myth
The great Aspect of Fukumi, Kyldeer. God of Death, Stillness, and Calculating Action. When she first arrived, she banished the Dark Old One with her Husband, Koyuki. They tended to those already living, and saw to it that they should thrive and grow wealthy and wise. But Fukumi Kyldeer, our Master in all things, saw that there was something amiss in Nimby.
The group of Demons known as the Cabal were ushering in power to the south, hedging together to one day remake the world in their own image. The Goddess Melanie, whose power is to be respected but never feared, brought with her the visage of Kyldeer's sworn enemy; The Dragon. The Ice Creatures from the north, even though allied with no one, were slowly growing in power. And even those from the endless waters to the east were being protected by weapons of other, lesser Gods. Kyldeer and Koyuki's people, the Daisuke, Yukikaze, and Mon'darr were young yet, and they had been given gifts to prosper over time. The Silver Tongues of the Daisuke, the Great Stances and Swords of the Yukikaze, and even the ferocious hunting Pets of the Mon'darr all lacked something; They were created before the time of the God Kyldeer, and in His Wisdom she allowed them to grow into their responsibilities. That could not happen if the other Gods rose up against our God of Punishment, and she wished all her people, both her own and her husband's, to be protected for all time against anything that should threaten Nimby.
So Fukumi Kyldeer retired to the great empty plains, and meditated on what she could do to protect the people she loved like her children. She could protect them herself, but they would never grow strong. She could erect great barriers with her powers, but then they could never expand. She could bring death and disease to all the enemies, but such would tip the balance out of favor; Balance must be preserved. Finally, after talking with the Goddess Melanie, she was reminded of her great loss.
Her child, long ago in a land across the great abyss above, had never had a chance at life. A great power, a rival god, saw fit to strike a dishonorable blow to her family. Who else better then, to protect her new children? And so the Negru Morte were born. We are Fukumi Kyldeer's child, born anew. She saw that only a strong people could ever hope to protect all she held dear, and so we inspect each new child to insure they will grow strong and bring us honor. He knew that only those that understood balance could keep the world from tearing it apart, and so we know to judge before acting, observe before sentencing, and that we exist to balance out the idyllic life of our charges. She acknowledged that only a free people could withstand adversity, and so she binds us only through our word of honor, that which we shall follow until death. Finally, in his wisdom he realized that even our great people would need additional powers and protection, and so we were granted the Order of the Skyggen Tann.
While this was good, a people without a home do not last long, even those with the blood of a Goddess flowing through their veins. And so, in front of the great progenitors he cast her twin Sai into the ground to either side of her, and drew a single spike made of jade to plunge into the earth in front of him. Our progenitors, though young, already knew their duty and offered up a single drop of blood each to the very earth... and with our Goddess' power the ground was torn asunder, a deep wound that nothing but a planet could take. It carved deep, forming chasms, pools, a small river... all the things that we should wish to need to live. The ground then sealed back up, leaving only our Portals of Light as access to the outside. It was then, our people truly began, as the Progenitors entered into the city, and saw that it was good.
Our Progenitors began their work to grow our people, and their hard work has paid off. Twilight, connected to our God's very shrines through her divine will, stands as a beacon of protection to all of the Aspect's people. It is our duty to cull the rotten, protect the worthy, and when the great horn sounds to rouse us all from our slumbers, to fight by our Goddess' side against all who come against him. May the Negru Morte live on till duty set us free of our mortal shells, to join with our God and Master. Honor to the Negru Morte, and Victory to the Skyggen Tann!
System Information
The Negru Morte are the darkness that exists to keep the world in Balance. When Justice has been called, and Punishment is meted out, the Negru Morte are those that do it. Dark, deadly, resilient, persistant, they are charged with keeping the balance of life and death, and culling the weak and parasitic.
These black furred bat-humanoids are fanatic followers of Kyldeer, which thankfully means they are quite careful to weigh pros and cons when acting on their own. The most elite of their order, those that wander about the world of light, are the Skyggen Tann, whose very bodies are their weapons of choice.
Racial Bonuses
It is highly recommended to get the Order of the Skyggan Tann with any player character.
Stat Bonuses
- +1 Physical, +1 Spiritual
Native Languages
- Arin
- Trade
Granted Powers
Favored Powers
Merits
- Life of Darkness: The character can go (Might) days without the need for food or water by spending 1 Essence. At the end of this period, the character must eat and drink normally for one day before this Merit is activated again. In addition, the race can sense their surroundings using sonar, granting them complete spatial awareness. The character may spend 1 Essence to gain (Might) Additional Successes to resist ingested toxins.
