Shadreagh
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Punished by the ysai for daring to go against them, the shadreagh were stripped of their vhérgan forms and much of their might, and cast down to Vruanhai as mortals. Dubbed 'earth-children' by the veran, the name 'shadreagh' stuck, the once-proud and mighty species humbled by their newfound weaknesses.
Basic Information
Anatomy
While externally appearing mostly humanoid, it's what's inside that counts. Shadreagh have a comparatively slightly larger, four-chambered heart, and a set of unidirectional lungs. They have 6 additional vertebrae, totaling 32, and 24 ribs, making for short chests and long abdomens and slightly longer necks, and allowing for greater flexibility in the spine. Their muscles, while elongated to match their form, have compensated for the flexibility, and are generally tougher overall without hindering movement. They also have muscles in their long, pointed ears, allowing for independent movement.
Regarding organs, they possess a stomach, bladder, gallbladder, spleen, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestinal tract (which is somewhat shorter than a human's due to a more carnivorous diet).
Shadreagh also have a limited number of fat cells, much more limited than humans do, along with their fat cells being unable to expand past a certain point (which is met earlier than the threshold for human fat cells). This prevents shadreagh in general from having more than twenty pounds of fat, this being about the threshold of usefulness that the ysai who made them felt relevant.
Shad metabolisms will simply burn away any calories that cannot be stored or made use of, and an overweight shadreagh will usually have less of an appetite due to biochemical reactions until their weight is back within nominal ranges.
Markings:
As a carryover from their existence as vhérga, shad retain many of their markings. They are typically several shades darker or lighter than their base skin tone. In Eleshad the markings are generally somewhat blocky and muted, and vary in natural tones. Maveshad tend to have darker brown, black, or sometimes grey or white markings, often in striping patterns. In Foreshad, the markings are often spots, stripes, and splotches, usually in shades of brown, which helps them blend in better with their woodland homes.
Genetics and Reproduction
Being an egg-laying species, both sexes go into heat for 3-4 days once every month, but usually try to seek out a suitable partner before then to make the times easier to deal with. They will only go into heat if the environment is safe enough and there is plenty of food, and if the subject is currently not under stress. Heat will end and stall indefinitely under stressors. Once the female conceives, a gestation period of 200 Vruanhaian days (250 Terran days) begins, and then the egg, roughly as big as a melon, is passed through the birth canal, a soft, leathery shell having formed around the embryo. Being soft and not full of bones, the laying process isn't excruciating for the mother, even though her hips spread to allow for enough room.
Only one egg is ever laid at a time, though it is possible for twins to be born if the embryo split into two, however, this is a highly rare occurrence.
Once laid and the incubation is begun, the egg takes another 100 Vruanhain days (125 Terran days) to develop, and then finally hatches.
Growth Rate & Stages
Infancy lasts around 5 years, with toddlerhood lasting around 10 years, childhood around 60, and adolescence for 70. Early adulthood is reached at around 150 years of age. Middle age is at 1000, with natural ending of life being around 2000 years.
Ecology and Habitats
Being designed with the inability to sweat, the shadreagh species avoids the hottest areas of the planet, such as deserts, and sticks to the more temperate zones. Some will also choose to live in Tarediiv or Duseldrar, despite the cold.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Carnivorous, therefor their molars are pointier than a human's, though they can ingest some plant matter to supplement their mostly-meat diet.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Highborn/Lowborn
Facial characteristics
Often triangular, diamond, or heart-shaped faces, with slender noses, angular, colorful eyes, and shapely lips. They tend towards high cheekbones and a narrower chin than some other species.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Worldwide
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Keen eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, and able to lay aura and/or soul sight over their normal vision with some practice.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
Tattoos are common, either incorporating lefvada patterns or natural markings, or placed in a clear zone.
Other decorations are skin and hair dyes. Piercings are also popular, regardless of gender. Aesthetic, minor illusionary glamour is usually used in place of physical makeup, the latter widely found to feel unpleasant on shad skin.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Efvrega
History
"...serve me in all things, I shall aid you and lead your people to victory."War of Divergence The skies darken as lefvada surges through the air, and doors between this world and the next are torn open all across the land. Then, thousands of feyths begin pouring out, armed with great and terrible machines and lefvada of war. They assault the proud Shadreagh cities without warning, laying waste to their splendor and ravaging their people. When the day is done, the feyths withdraw, but the prideful Shadreagh will not stand for such a grave insult. They rally their forces and launch a counterattack. The skies are black for months on end, never letting up for even a brief moment. The mighty Shadreagh are formidable indeed, but unlike their otherworldly enemy, they die easier and can not heal nearly as fast. The constant battles wear them down and wear their numbers thinner by the day. The real blow however, comes when their forces witness enemies they had slain not three months past walk through the rifts between their realms once again. Their spirits weakened but not yet broken, the battle rages on. But one man, seeing the utter hopelessness of such an unending war, deserts the field in search of other means to fight these atrocious fiends before his people are wiped out entirely. He travels alone for many long weeks, banishing the odd feyth in his path with steel or lefvada. His efforts lead him to a ruined and forgotten temple to some forgotten god, where an altar caked in centuries of dried blood rests ominously at the end of the aisle. Sensing the quiet yet powerful energy radiating from the altar, the Shad approaches with slight hesitation and much caution. Upon touching the grisly altar, a voice explodes in his mind, sending him to his knees. When he recovers, he is able to make sense of the words. They say, 'Do not fear. I know of your plight. If you but serve me in all things, I shall aid you and lead your people to victory.' Believing it a small price to pay for such divine power, the man agrees. But he was unprepared for the white-hot energy that flowed into his body from the altar, searing his flesh and consuming his soul; or so he believed in that instant. When he regained consciousness some time later, he felt the presence of another within his skin, and in his mind. The voice was gone, but he could feel the ancient Ysai's power flowing throughout his being. He suddenly knew what he had to do. As the living avatar of the deity of Blood, War, and Vengeance, the man returns to the battlefield riding a raging umran and a fearsome sword of deepest black held high overhead. His armor a deep crimson engraved with black scrollwork, he is quite a sight to behold storming into the enemy forces. At first the monsters laugh madly at him, turning their own terrible weapons upon him within seconds, only to have the vicious things glance off the ensorcelled armor and strike right back at them. Letting out ferocious battle-cry, Vermaed, avatar of Kyarasa, brings down his mighty blade and strikes through a group of the feyths, sending black bolts and smoke flying everywhere. The entire battlefield is silent for a handful of heartbeats as the feyths' screams fade, and everyone realizes that they had just been killed. Not banished, but well and truly killed before their very eyes. The enemy horde roars and raises their weapons and conjures their monstrous lefvada while the man returns to his own people. The Shadreagh raise their weapons and battle-cries in turn, morale soaring to dizzying heights as they join with their new leader. Black mist seeps from the man to those who follow his charge, effectively making them invincible as they carve a path of ichor and carnage and smoke through the enemy troops. As the Shadreagh are reempowered, the scales of battle tip in their favor and the cacophany of crackling lefvada and metal on metal ensues once again, but now it is the Feythis monsters who are screaming their rage and horror. The fierce onslaught continues for another week before the feyth lines finally break and call a retreat. Rifts are torn open once again and the terrible beasts surge back into their realms, their rearguard continuing to bring down black bolts and fire and ice upon the Shadreagh forces. Driven by the Ysai's will and his own rage, the avatar presses onward after the retreating feyth with two full squadrons of Shadreagh warriors. They disappear into the final rift just before it closes, and are never seen again. Despite this, the remaining troops raise their weapons and let out a victorious cheer, knowing that they had won. The joy soon disipates however as they all slowly realize just how torn their once splendorous lands had become, lush fields and forests decimated and blackened by the unholy foes they had fought against for well over a decade. But they were a hardy people, and they would rebuild in time. They were not to remain as a single people, however. As time wore on they each began to realize that like their lands, they had become torn as a whole. Beliefs and ideals had changed, and time came that they finally recognized that they were not who they once were. And so they were divided into three main groups who each shared the same thoughts, and within a year's time they spread out from their torn homeland to reside with the handful of other races throughout the world. The eleshad, the people who believed that a pure and holy power of the divine had saved them from their imminent demise, explored the world with open hearts and open minds, wanting to leave the painful memories of their past behind. They sought ways to move forward, and advance as a people. They did not want other races to treat them as highly like they once were, but as equals instead. The foreshad, who believed their savior was the planet itself who cried out for justice and granted them power in their time of need, packed their belongings and moved into the woodlands worldwide. They worshipped the spirits they found there, and slowly declined from their civilized ways to that of tribes. They became feral and hostile to outsiders, claiming the land they lived on didn't want intruders. But they remain a proud people, albeit backwards in technology. Finally the maveshad, who decided to stay behind in their homeland. Feeling as though they no longer had a place in the world and that other races would reject them now for being so thoroughly decimated by the feyth, they opted to take to the skies. But they had no wings, and did not want to leave their precious land, so with their mighty lefvada and a month-long ritual, they carved their homeland from the crust of the planet and lifted her into the clouds to ride the wind. They have become a proud, vain and secluded people over time, and proximity to the sun has darkened their skin and bleached their hair to shades of white and silver. They believe in preserving the old ways and restoring all that was lost, and work tirelessly towards those goals. But they would never forget, and never forgive, and thus their hatred for Feythis and all its monsters would remain a dark seed in each of their hearts till the end of their time; the one thing that still binds all Shadreagh together.
Historical Figures
Vermaed and his retinue, Iyesharis, Elethir, Ronarivel, Krotera, Alielsaka, and Sholvra.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
2000 years
Average Height
6'7"-7'10"
Average Weight
200 lbs-360 lbs
Average Physique
Slender, with some larger, muscular variants.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Ranges from charcoal to alabaster across the divergent species.
