Verengeith

[Bakery]

Verengeith
Ve-ren-guy-ith


_{Region of Origin:} Unknown


_Lifespan: 1,000 to 3-5,000^YRS

Basic Biology:
The Verengetih are a unique race. They have a long life span and a small populous compared to other races but live longer. Their appearance can vary significantly in this race, as there is only a few main traits passed along from Verengeith to Verengeith. For example, two bonded Verengeiths could both have the same eye color. They have many natural flaws and specific characteristics that prevent them from the their typical life expectancy. To help explain this race in an easy and understandable way each flaw and characteristic will be addressed separately and categorized accordingly.


Tails:
Every Verengeith is born with a tail. These tails are connected to their spines, growing as they age. All tails have hair that is fine and starts from the base to the end. More hair is grown at the end in a tuft and the hair always matches the Verengeith's original hair color. A Verengeith only reveals their tail to the ones they trust with their lives. This is considered an act of maximum trust and is not something that is done lightly. Tails are a key point to tell a Verengeith apart from other species without tails.

Positive Aspects of Tails:
These tails can vary from smooth to rough and even possess quills or spikes. Tails are typically hidden but can be used in battle as a distraction. In the case of having quills or spikes they can inflict minor damage. A Verengeith's tail is partially prehensile and can have some use, such as holding various objects of a light weight but can not hold a Verengeith's full weight.

Negative Aspects of Tails:
While they can be used to hold things or used in battle, tails are extremely sensitive. Many Verengeith hide their tails for this very reason because of the fear of them being used against them. A broken tail is extremely painful and is the equivalent to breaking a tailbone for a human. So the act of hiding a tail is common.



Emotions:
The Verengeith are a very emotionally withdrawn species. Like tails, emotions are only shown willingly to those a Verengeith trusts and are hidden from others. Typically emotions are not shown to those who are not Verengeith because of their impact.

Positive Aspects of Emotions:
Because a Verengeith's emotions are so powerful, when revealed to non-Verengeith they can produce profound emotional effects on others. For example: If a non-Verengeith could annoy a Verengeith enough to make them show anger, that anger would be like a physical force and influence the emotions of the non-Verengeith. So expressing anger in the presence of a non-Verengeith may result in fear especially if the individual is weak willed.

Negative Aspects of Emotions:
Because of this extreme emotional control, emotions expressed by the Verengeith not only affect others but often affect themselves. This affect would include irrational thought patterns, the inability to think clearly and general loss of control. Emotions also have profound affect on how Verengeith communicate with others. They are often viewed as haughty, stuck up, unfeeling, emotionless and generally not fun to be around because of their emotional control. Many non-Verengeith might feel uncomfortable with the lack of expression.




Bondmates:
To survive, every Verengeith must have a Bondmate. A Bondmate is a Verengeith that shares a bond with another Verengeith. They are called this because once the younger Bondmate is created there is a unique bond that connects the two Verengeith. The word Bondmate is chosen because 'bond' is what they share and 'mate' because they are paired together. The older Bondmate is referred to as the 'Master' while the younger is just referred to as a Bondmate. The 'Master' title eventually is dropped once the bond is built up. This bond does not determine the relationship between the two. Bondmates do not have to have romantic or platonic feelings toward another, in fact they can even dislike each other. Because the bond Verengeiths share with their Bondmate keep them alive they are unable to kill their Bondmate themselves. The process of creating a Bondmate will be in its own section and explained separately.

Positive Aspects of a Bondmate:
Bondmates are severely important in a Verengeith's life. They are someone to openly to share emotions with who can handle their partners emotional intensity and help carry the bloodlines from generation to generation to further the Verengeith race.

Negative Aspects of a Bondmate:
Without a Bondmate a Verengeith begins the inexorable descent into death. Verengeith need bonds and Bondmates to survive, as they cannot handle the disconnect from others and need to be bound to someone within their race to continue their existence. If a Verengeith does not have a Bondmate or does not begin the creation process in time, the death process begins.

Without a Bond: The Descent Into The Death Process:
Without a Bondmate, a Verengeith will die. They can last a whole year without a Bondmate, but if in that time they do not start the process of creating one, they die. This process isn't a pretty one. After a whole year without starting to create a Bondmate, a verengeith must suffer the quick process of death. Within two weeks a Verengeith wilts from the inside out, decay spreading as they fail to connect and bond themselves to a Bondmate. They are completely disconnected and often in this time they are described as distant and vacant. They loose their sanity as they wither away. It is extremely painful and at the end of the two weeks, their body has completely turned to dust.



Creating a Bondmate:
Bondmates, as stated previously, are key components to a Verengeith's survival. However, they can't be found by chance or stumbled upon blindly and they cannot be of another race. A Verengeith must make their Bondmate from their own blood. This is done by forming a pact with a pregnant woman.

To Create a Bondmate, a Verengeith must find a woman who is newly pregnant or arrange for her to become pregnant and convince her to carry a child for the Verengeith. By agreeing, the woman is allowing herself to consume the Verengeith's blood. The woman must eat or drink the blood. This can be given to her in her food or beverages she drinks. She must consume the blood once a month for three months. After those three months the child will have its DNA completely written as a Verengeith and will grow on its own for one more month. That is when the child will be born.

The child, now having consumed the blood, will no longer be a part of it's previous race. The blood will have constructed a new DNA code and rewritten the old one for the child so that it is no longer part of the original parents. Although it can still contain some of it's previous parents traits, the race will be completely changed into a Verengeith. This means that there are no half breeds at all obtainable. The blood so absolutely destroys any other races trace from the childs DNA that it is impossible.


The Time Limit:
There is a specific time limit each Verengeith must keep mind of when creating a Bondmate. While they are given a year to create a Bondmate- they can only give blood to certain terms of a childs development in the womb. It is best to give blood immediately at the start of the childs first month, but blood can be given and accepted up until three months. Any time after that the child will die. It does not matter if its three months and a week or thirty seven years, the recipient will die from the blood.

If the unborn child is given blood at exactly three months it will still change. It will take longer to develop, as it would be born at six months instead of four, but it will still be born a bonded Verengeith.

If There Is More Than One Child:
If there is a case of twins or more who receive the blood, much damage is caused to all beings receiving the blood. It is very painful and ends in death for all of the receiving beings every time this problem occurs. This is because there can only be on as there can only be one Bondmate at a time for a Verengeith.

Failed Attempts:
If a Verengeith has a failed attempt at creating a Bondmate they still have eight more months to create a Bondmate. That means that if the child died from problems in birth, such as miscarriage, illness or more than one child in the womb, they would have to restart the process over again. So if they start immediately at the start of the year, and four months later after the transaction the child was born dead or died suddenly, they would have eight months and two more tries.

There are many different ways a seasoned Verengeith might have back ups just in case their original Bondmate fails to be born alive, or if there is more than one child born, and can have a sort of safety net to fall back on to ensure they survive. This leads to many deaths, because if the original planned Bondmate were to live the other back ups would die.


The Importance of the Unborn: Why only unborn or premature infants?:
Because the blood rewrites and constructs new DNA to create a Verengeith, only unborn children or prematurely born children three months or younger may accept it. Because they are not fully developed they have time for the DNA to be changed and reconstructed.


“If they Don't See, It Means They Agree.”:
Because not many would want to give up the chance for a child to a Verengeith, many are forced into desperate measures. This means that many can slip the blood into a pregnant womans food or drink and secretly create their Bondmate without the mother knowing.


Bonds:
Bonds are what keep Verengeith bonded to reality and keep them in check. They can prove to be useful if sufficiently worked on but building a bond up from the basic level to the tenth is not easy. It takes time and effort. As with any ability, or muscle even, it must be worked on in order to grow. Over the hundreds of years they spend working on the bond, the more they can synchronize and share with each other. Each bond grows at a different rate. It all depends on how much the Bondmates work on bonding and getting closer to their partner. There is no time estimation for the levels, but some are noted to take longer than others- which can be found in their descriptions below.

Basic Bond (Level One):
The Master can summon their Bondmate and cannot be denied/ignored. This stage is the norm for all bonds and doesn't include much else. This does not work the other way around. The younger Verengeith cannot summon the older.

Level Two:
Increased connection, with a little more growth and tolerance with the summoning. Now if the Master were to summon their Bondmate, it isn't as urgent and can be delayed. This stage is easy to reach and pass.

Level Three:
A brief sense for when their Bondmate has left, traces of their energy can be felt or seen by the Verengeith searching for their Bondmate. The energy trail is seen in the form of colored smoke and is tied to the aura of the Bondmate. This is another easy level.

Level Four:
Regeneration properties. Now, before anyone gets too crazy with this, this is pretty much just a shared energy between the Bondmates. When they are together they can share energy, meaning that if one were sick, the other healthier Bondmate could help pass energy through their bond to help boost their partners healing. It isn't an instant healing property, as the healing still needs to take place, but it cuts the time of the sickness or injury in half. Unless its an incurable disease. If the disease is incurable, and remains in the Bondmates system, the 'regeneration' only helps with giving their partner energy to move and lessens the pain, if they are in any. This is the beginning of the difficult levels and takes about twenty to fifty years to master.

Level Five:
Emotions can be shared/felt. At first, this stage is only activated if one Bondmate were to be under an extreme emotion- such as an overwhelming sadness, happiness, anger, ect, ect. Later on, once this stage has been worked on further, it can be easy to reach out to detect how the other Bondmate is feeling and their current emotion. This isn't an 'always on' sort of thing, they can't just automatically know, they actually have to focus and stretch out through the bond to tell- it takes energy and practice to accomplish and surpass this level. This is a difficult level to master and takes about a hundred years.

Level Six:
Reversed Summoning. As explained on the first stage, it was stated the 'Master' could summon their Bondmate. Now it is allowed to go both ways, the younger of the Bondmates can also 'summon' or 'call' the master- though this can be delayed. This is an easy level.

Level Seven:
Increased connection. Now that the Bondmates have worked and conquered the ability to reach out to the other and read the emotions through the bond, it further grows to allow them to reach out to the other and the possibility to pass along feelings- spread their emotion to their partner. This also starts to allow telepathic connection between the two- but it takes twice the work and effort to accomplish this- many years go by where this stage is barely even started or passed at all. This is a very difficult level and takes a hundred years or more to master.

Level Eight:
Complete telepathic connection. Now that they can share information and talk to one another through the bond, it is furthered. They can receive pictures, thoughts, memories, ect. This too, takes work- as all stages do-, but it is easier due to the fact they are still on telepathic connection. This is an easy level.

Level Nine:
Shared Senses. This stage can be a bit confusing, seeing as in the previous stage they might be able to send 'pictures' that they have seen to the other, but this allows them to actually see exactly what is going on through their partners eyes. What they feel, what they hear, ect, ect. It is an extreme stage, and often referred to as 'Body sharing' among the Verengeith- and is extremely difficult to accomplish at all, let alone for a long period of time. This level can take up to two hundred years to master.

Final Stage; Level Ten:
Complete synchronization. Assuming both of the Bondmates are even still alive at this point, this stage is complete connection between the two. Everything up until now is easily done without much effort and they could even be considered one person, as they have mastered body sharing and telepathic connection, there is nothing between the two that is a secret and nothing is unknown to them. It is the goal of every bonded pair to achieve this stage- but little to none ever make it this far. The hardest of the levels and can take up to three hundred years to master.



A Verengeiths Blood:
A Verengeith's blood is parasitic and deadly to any life form that is fully developed. Any adult, child older than three months, or animal that consumes a drop of blood from a Verengeith will die. This is due to the fact that a Verengeiths blood will try to rewrite and create new DNA- therefore destroying the existing DNA. If a woman consumes the blood while being pregnant however, she will be unaffected because the blood will be directed to the unborn child.



Immune systems:
While Verengeiths live quite a long time, not many reach the ideal age or anywhere close to it. This is due to their extremely low immune system and the many diseases they can catch. Many different diseases became mutations once entering a Verengeith's system and more often than not end in death.

Positive Aspects of a Verengeith's Immune system:
None.

Negative Aspects of a Verengeith's Immune system:
Verengeith become easily sick. Diseases can mutate upon entering their system and be used against them or other races. Death.


Weapons:
Each and every Verengeith possesses the talent to wield a customized weapon. There is a great amount of studying that goes into making a Verengeiths weapon. Many spend their first years with their Bondmate creating and mastering their weapon. Verengeith weapons are made from organic material that is found in their body such as Bone, Iron, Copper and many other elements. It is believed that they are directly connected to the body and therefore extensions of the Verengeith themselves. Weapons can be taken from Verengeith and used by others but this leaves a Verengeith without a weapon. To use the weapon again they must retrieve it or make a new one.

Seals:
Because a Verengeiths weapon is made from the materials and elements inside their own body, they must also seal these weapons within their bodies. Each seal holds one weapon that can be sealed and taken out whenever the Verengeith actively summons or tucks it away. Seals can be placed anywhere on their body. Clothing does not restrict seals and weapons may be pulled out from underneath regardless. They are only able to be opened and closed by the Verengeith who controls them.


General Behavior:
Because of their many vulnerabilities and their small population, Verengeith's tend to keep to themselves. They hide among other races that they have similarities with and stay away from diseased areas as much as they can. Personality varies from Verengeith to Verengeith and there is no set behavior they possess.


Usual Habitat:
Without a large populous, the Verengeith are scattered about the lands, maintaining a nomadic status and keeping to themselves. That isn't to say that they keep traveling for their entire lives, in fact many Verengeiths and their Bondmates have chosen both sides of the coin in this case. Some travel continuously while others find it more settling to stay in one general area. It is the choice of every Verengeith to go where they please- so long as they are happy.


Aliment:
The basic needs of food, water, clothing and shelter are the predominantly normal aliments that apply to the Verengeith race. Other than that, establishing a bond and having a Bondmate is the only other essential need to continue to live for a Verengeith. Keeping healthy is also important for their survival. Eating foods high in iron and blood producing foods is advised.


Basic Social Structure:
The Verengeith are ruled by the main royal bloodline. Rucian, the creator of the Verengeith holds the title of King and is the first of the main royal bloodline. Typically the Verengeith are ruled by the main bloodlines, but if the only two members of this bloodline should die another royal bloodline would step up to the throne. The next King or Queen is decided by the remaining
All Verengeith must obey the laws set in place by the current ruling royal bloodline. With a very little populous to rule, there have not been many challengers to this ruling.


The Eight Royal Bloodlines:
As stated, the Verengeith are ruled by the eight royal bloodlines. These bloodlines are considered 'royal' because they descend from the first, if not they are not first themselves, to populate the Verengeith amongst the world. The first royal bloodline stems directly from the creator, Rucian. The second is Rorik. (Others will be placed as characters are made- please message pseudoodyssey if you are interested in making a characters for royal bloodlines so she can add them here.)

There are only ever two Verengeith alive for each royal bloodline at one time. These two Verengeith are the first of the royal bloodline and their Bondmate.


Family Life/Gender Roles:
There are no gender roles in the Verengeith race and due to their inability to reproduce and procreate there is little to no family life. They can help take care of families if they were bonded to someone who's family line continued, and many Verengeith who choose to raise their Bondmates also participate in a more familial environment. How children are raised is entirely up to how the Verengeith feel they should be.


Procreation:
As a small and completely 'invasive' race procreating isn't an option. All females are unable to produce a child and all males are sterile.


Childbirth and Childcare:
This is completely decided by the older of the two Verengeith when Bondmates run into this situation. To raise a Bondmate by themselves or to let them grow up in their old family is their own decision and does not have much of an affect on the Verengeith race.


Magic and Abilities:
The bonds shared between Bondmates could be considered 'blood magic', but the Verengeith don't see it as such as it doesn't affect anyone outside of the Verengeith race.


Evolution on the Rise; The Illegal Experimentation on Bondmates and Verengeith:

Experiment on Bondmates is illegal.. Any testing or experiments on a Bondmate is punishable however the King or Queen of the Verengeith see fit- but many times it leads to execution. Despite the law against it, this doesn't stop many from experimenting and trying to evolve the Verengeith as a species. Seeing as their low immune systems can kill them quickly and procreating isn't an option for them, many are desperate to fix such natural flaws. It can be a scary life for a Verengeith if they are not fully prepared or if they do not completely understand how to continue living, with the threat of a failed Bondmate and sickness with the added inability to procreate, many see themselves as being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Even at the price of death, some Verengeith who have no real moral values continue to test on their Bondmates, labeling the price of extinction as too great a price to pay. While this may seem like the scientifically correct thing to do, it is considered a betrayal to the entire Verengetih race and extremely frowned upon because the pain and struggles that Verengeith and their Bondmates go through under the testing.
While this isn't a fairly new issue, it is still kept under wraps by the governing Verengeith's and kept a secret from many due to it's believed wrongness and social taboo status.



Legends and Folklore:

Full Blood Moon: This is a legend for the lonely Bondmates who have gone through the loss of their long time Bondmate. It's rumored that when the moon is full and shining a blood red, the souls of past Bondmates are allowed to roam and visit their still living ex-partners, if only for a short while. Many have claimed to see such, but the story has been passed down from the very small generations of Bondmates and is unknown if it is true.

The Lonely Soul: This is the tale of the Verengeith creation- which isn't that far off. It was believed long ago that a soul who was mortal had distanced himself so far away from other beings that he had been trapped outside of time itself. When he did resurface, times had changed drastically and he was left without a way to connect to any living soul. Anything he previously knew, his name, his race, his family, his life- was long since washed away. He had forgotten how to connect, how to form a bond with anyone- and he was completely alone. A deep sense of loneliness overcame him and he wept tears of blood onto the ground, which ran through the streets and through the lands, his cries echoing out in the screams of the skies until the land pitied him. It was then Mother Nature herself agreed to carry a child within her womb to bond to him and connect him back to the souls he so desperately begged to exist amongst. Collecting all the blood he had let flow from his eyes and bottling up the cries he had released, Mother Nature swallowed them all and formed a Bondmate for the man from her own body. With this new being to connect him back to the lands and it's people, he asked what she wanted in return. Mother Nature only asked that he help all the lost, lonely souls like his own by bonding them to their own Bondmates, and shared the wisdom of blood with him. From then on, the man went about the world and helped create Bondmates for all the forgotten lost souls using their own blood and an unborn child.

An Eternal Name: A Verengeith, once of age that they are capable of choosing their own name, must choose one to go by through their long life. This is a right of passage due to the rising from their past and old lives to one that will carry on for a long time- and much like the Lonely Soul who was lost and forgot much about himself, they too are capable to forget their past and choose a new name to fit their new life. Of course, they are allowed to keep their old name, but it is considered odd for a Verengeith to do so.



History:
Similar to the story of the Lonely Soul above, the story of how the Verengeith came to be is a unique tale all its own.
It all had begun when one man who loved the world, originally from a race that no longer exists, separated himself from the lands, the people, and life itself for so long that he had lost complete contact with all the living souls. He spent many years by himself, absorbed and focused on one unknown task. He lost track of himself, of the world as he knew it. He had no emotion, he didn't speak, he had lost touch with himself and became a lost soul. His body had changed, becoming weaker to illness and growing a tail that was sensitive to the touch. He became alone, in every sense of the word and through curiosity, traveled back to the world he once knew. When he had found his way back, resurfaced among the world, he soon learned that his time spent away was longer than he had anticipated and time had moved forward without him. Many things had changed, but the most crucial loss he had faced was the loss of connection between himself and the world he used to love. With a deep sense of loss and loneliness- the first emotion he had felt in a long while- he fled to the shadows of the world to hide away, suddenly unsure how to talk to others, unsure how to connect, how to speak to them- he became lost all over again.
Through travel he would find a solution to his problem of disconnection and the lack of a bond to this world- through his blood he would form a Bondmate that a surrogate mother would carry to term. From this experiment he would spread the word throughout the world to all the lost souls, the forgotten members of an unknown race and the Verengeith would be born into existence, but not all bloodlines would carry through to this day.