The Deum

The Deum are both like and unlike any other race. Each was touched by a great force that shaped its nature and abilities, transforming it into something with great power. In most cases this is a blessing, though most certainly not all.

The above is with the notable exception of the Voidborn, who are instead the spawn of the Void. These foul creatures are walking corruption, spawned from nonexistence for purposes that can only be theorized.

Carno Rancar - Carno's Compendium Cultural

Deum are the result of interference by supreme powers that may be divine, fiendish, or something else entirely in nature. Some are overt, brought forth by a power with clear motive for their creation. Others may wear their heritage with little understanding of why.

Most Deum are born through the influence of either angels or fiends, as these are the powers that are most likely to intervene in the world of mortals for the largest variety of reasons. Those gifted with angelic heritage are typically referred to as Highborn, while those of fiends will be referred to as Lowborn.

Typically, angels will create a highborn to either reward a particularly faithful or pious parent, or in the hopes that the child will have the power needed to complete some divine tasks. Fiends, however, are much more liberal in their influence. While they too may influence a child with their power, they may also do so explicitly to punish or otherwise upset the parents, or simply because they're bored and believe doing so may be entertaining.

That is not to say that these beings only appear when such a being has an agenda. Individuals of either heritage could be the reincarnation of an angel or fiend, or they could simply have been infused with power from their respective source prior to their birth through a more static source. In many cases, they're simply the offspring of parents that were touched in such a way - sometimes they are even the offspring of these powerful beings themselves.

In any case, the effects on their appearances are undeniable, if variable. On the extreme ends, lowborn may have devilish horns and a tail while their divine cousins have faint halos and spectral wings. Others may have more subtle features, perhaps only a forked tongue or an attractive face as indicators of what they are.

Most races of the deum fall into the category of fiendish or divine, but there are noteworthy exceptions. Creatures can be affected by beings of power from other realms, such as the Outside or the Void, or even from beings within the mortal world such as a powerful undead. In all these cases, a person would be affected in much the same way.

Most of the other kinds of deum are more rare, with few beings that have the power to create them having the freedom to do so. The Outside can rarely touch a mortal soul directly, and few undead wield the power to infuse a soul with power and force its reincarnation. When it does happen, it's also uncomfortably possible that the influence that forged them was entirely accidental.

As a result, these races are less common, and for most its less likely their natures will be discovered by any particular person. The downside to this obscurity is that, if they are discovered, there is often greater fear of them. The people of a village may not realize that a child can be born being influenced by the undead, but a person feeding on blood terrifies them regardless.

Some deum are doubly unlucky, though, and find their characteristics difficult to hide. Such individuals may perpetually burn or rot, have unusual or alarming limbs, or other similarly striking features. Such deum often find themselves to be social outsiders.

Aurelians are beings of death and shadow, enlisted to act as divine punishment to those who think they are above death. They are created directly by the God of Death, each chosen specifically by him for the honor of a second life. Necromancers who overstep their bounds, Liches, and other intelligent undead all live in fear of the day an Aurelian appears before them to do the work of their god.

The Merchant is the God of Death, and aurelians are his hand-picked agents within the mortal world. When an individual dies, they may seek out The Merchant in the afterlife, and those that pass his tests may become aurelians. The Merchant takes a fragment of their soul, replacing it with his own dark power before returning his new agent to their mortal body. Those that return as aurelians will then be expected to fight the enemies of The Merchant where they are found.

The first of these enemies are those who stop mortal souls from departing to the afterlife. As the God of Death, mortal souls fall exclusively into The Merchant's domain. Mortals who interfere with the natural order are far overstepping their authority and must be punished for their hubris.

The second group aurelians are expected to fight are the devoted followers of a rival god, The Capitalist. These two deities have despised one another since before their rise to godhood, and the feud has only increased in fervor since. Aurelians who find clerics of The Capitalist or other similarly valuable individuals are encouraged to kill them.

Aurelians look nearly identically to how they did in life, with a few noteworthy exceptions as a result of their nearly-undead form. They become much paler and often lose a fair amount of weight. Those who spend more time with an Aurelian will quickly learn that the beings do not need to eat or drink, and often go minutes at a time between breaths.

Aurelians often change their style following their return to the world of the living, preferring muted and dark colors and styles. This is mostly a practical decision; aurelians typically do not wish to stand out when seeking out enemies of The Merchant or when lying in wait for an ambush.

Aurelians willingly surrender a fragment of their souls to The Merchant as part of their arrangement, and this affects them in tangible ways. Their personalities, while still present, tend to become much more muted in intensity. Gregarious individuals may seek companionship less, and those who enjoyed an activity before their deaths will find less appeal in it.

Additionally, aurelians tend to have a more pessimistic and cold outlook. Those who become aurelians are almost exclusively those who met an untimely demise, and it is difficult to experience death and remain unchanged. They may view many things as futile or unimportant, having significantly narrowed their focuses after taking the time to reflect on regrets and past decisions.

Aurelians are as likely to operate with a group as they are independently. They have unique skills that make them potentially quite useful to others, and an Aurelian is normally thankful to have backup with their tasks. However, those who serve with aurelians will have to acknowledge the occasional diversion to punish the enemies of The Merchant.

Aurelians do have discretion when identifying targets. They are not expected to spend all their time seeking out targets, nor are they expected to target someone if they feel they have little chance of success. So long as they show the intent to uphold their side of the agreement, The Merchant is often satisfied to allow them to do as they please.

When a child in the care of the Church of Idakor reaches the age of 14, they are given a role within the church. Most train as priests and clerics, and some train as holy warriors in the form of paladins or monks. A select few, however, will become seekers. These few will serve as uniquely trained agents, capable of solving problems of the utmost impact.

Seekers are chosen from children within the direct care of the Church of Idakor, such as orphans adopted by the church or the youngest children of nobles. Any of these children have the potential to become a seeker regardless of race or gender, as long as they meet the standards the church has put in place to determine eligibility.

To become a seeker, a child must show a strong natural inclination toward the values of one of Idakor's three subordinate gods: Gadriel, Sachiel, or Kasdiel. Once a potential seeker is identified, they are tested rigorously. They undergo extreme physical training, elaborate tests of philosophy and morality, and they are introduced to far more difficult works than their peers.

If a child performs to the satisfaction of the church, they are chosen to undergo the ritual. In a day-long ceremony, artifacts known as Lenses are implanted into their eyes. After the child recovers from the ceremony, they will benefit from enhanced abilities for the remainder of their lives.

Though the exact quantity of seekers in the world is known only to the upper echelons of the church, it is known that the Lenses used in the Ritual of Elevation can no longer be created. Should a seeker die, recovering the body of the seeker is given urgent priority, or the church risks forever losing the artifacts. International incidents have sometimes been caused by the church attempting to reclaim the artifacts by any means necessary.

Seekers are agents of the Church of Idakor, and they are expected to follow instructions from their superiors within it. They are often given tasks of importance that require a skilled hand, and because they are specially trained, they are often given discretion in how they pursue the tasks they are assigned.

Seekers who lose the trust of the church will find themselves in an exceedingly difficult position. They may find themselves losing much of the autonomy they have become accustomed to. Those who outright betray the church are worse off, often being hunted actively by veterans so the church may reclaim their Lenses.

Seekers range wildly in personalities, but they all share a few common aspects. The first is a nature conducive to information gathering and research, as all kinds of seekers have the importance of this repeatedly highlighted to them. The second is a willingness to cooperate. Seekers are fully aware that oftentimes, their side is that of the underdog, and they understand the importance of allies to further their missions.

The final is an ability to pick their battles, both physical and ideological. Seekers who aggravate those around them with moral grandstanding are quick to make enemies and slow to make allies, both of which can jeopardize their missions. They learn quickly that disagreements may need to be put to the side for the greater good.

The Sentinel, the god of Order and Law, is the deity tasked with maintaining the overall order of the world. It is his job to prevent sudden changes that may destabilize the world too greatly, and to prevent creatures from outside the mortal world from having the opportunity to exploit it. When he feels a situation is more urgent and grave, he may create a sentinel to directly address it.

Sentinels are made by infusing a humanoid soul into the body of a construct. When a situation in the mortal world is determined to warrant direct action, the Sentinel will look amongst his worshippers in the afterlife to find the one best equipped to handle the situation. When he has found this worshipper, he will brief them on the situation, before taking their soul and implanting it into a construct within the mortal world.

The physical form of a sentinel may vary widely, depending on the availability of constructs. Generally, The Sentinel will select constructs that are humanoid in form and size so as to allow its agent to better adjust to the new body. However, it is not unheard of for more strange forms to be selected if a situation warrants it.

Their construct nature leads many to expect sentinels to be mechanical in their personalities, but this is often not the case. While driven to complete their missions, Sentinels are full of personality. They joke, they have biases, and they have opinions as any humanoid would.

However, their new forms do take their toll on their minds. Sentinels cannot feel the way normal humanoids can, and many find this increasingly distressing as time goes on. They often struggle with their inability to feel the warmth of another person, or to be unable to taste food. Sentinels may become increasingly desperate to complete their tasks the longer they find themselves in the world of mortals.

From the moment a sentinel is created, it is aware of its goal. Trusted directly by their god, sentinels are expected to work toward their objective relentlessly and with focus. However, they are granted a fair degree of discretion in the following of their task; they may lack the resources currently to complete the task, and so diversions to gather these resources are acceptable.

However, sentinels must be careful not to delay longer than necessary, lest they find another sentinel sent to help get them back on task.

The Three-Armed Bear is the most vicious and violent of the gods, a being obsessed with taking from others. While he cannot take the lives of all beings in the mortal world as he would like, he can sate his desires more subtly - by influencing the soul of a child.

Vacalians are created not by their own actions, but by the actions of one (or both) of their parents. Vacal is a deity primarily motivated by a desire to take from others. He seeks to take hope, to take wealth, and to take lives. When Vacal sees this same desire in mortals, he will create vacalians.

When one has taken from others enough to meet Vacal's standards, whatever those standards may be, any and all children they sire after will be vacalian. Each vacalian child loses a sliver of their soul to the monstrous god, and is infused with a bit of his essence in the process.

It is important to note that intent is relevant to Vacal's notice. Those who murder or steal for reasons other than a malicious desire to will not find themselves much closer to siring vacalian children. It is only when one deliberately engages in these heinous acts for their own benefit that the three-armed bear will act.

Vacalian children will seem identical to any other children of their origin race, though their personality will almost inevitably develop some degree of brutality and selfishness. They are typical playground bullies and troublemakers, though at this stage the people around them often do not understand their true nature.

Once they reach adolescence, a vacalian child changes physically. They become larger and more muscular, their skin becomes grey, and all their teeth rapidly grow into razor-sharp canines. At this point, it is common for villages to fear the vacalian and its family. While vacalians are difficult to kill and can often escape, their parents and younger siblings are often not as fortunate.

Vacalians are a brutal people. Their very souls have been influenced by a being of pure malice and bloodlust, and even the most noble and heroic of vacalias will feel the weight of this in some way. Many vacalians compare this burden to that of eating - a need that must be fulfilled, and one they often take great pleasuring in sating.

Vacalians who attempt to reject the influence of the Three-Armed Bear still feel this craving. Some are able to resist it entirely, isolating themselves to ensure they cannot harm anyone. Those good-aligned vacalians that choose not to isolate themselves often seek out malicious beings they can slay to satisfy their urges.

Vacalians of knowledge all must come to terms with one fact: when they die, they will see Vacal. The piece of their soul the beast possesses acts as an anchor, ensuring they will come face-to-face with a deity of insatiable bloodlust. Most find comfort in this, believing they will join their “father” and the bloody conflict that forever exists around him.

Good-aligned vacalians fear this day, as it means one of two things: total destruction at Vacal's hand, or submission to him and his dark influence. This tragic end for even the most noble vacalians makes their burden that much heavier.

The Void is a dimension that is poorly understood and often contradictory. However, scholars agree that there are entities that exist in this realm, and that these entities can interact with the mortal world in limited ways. One such way is through the creation of voidborn.

At a glance, voidborn will appear identically to members of any other race in both appearance and mannerism. However, all voidborn share one distinct difference from any other race, one that is immediately apparent upon looking at their face. Where one would find a mouth and a nose and eyes on any normal humanoid, they would find a single massive hole of pure black on a voidborn.

This hole seems bottomless, like a well so deep that light cannot reach the bottom. Indeed, some swear that to look upon the face of a voidborn is to look into The Void itself. This terrifying visage makes those who do not have experience with voidborn extremely fearful.

Despite the lack of facial features, a voidborn does not find themselves hampered. They can speak, see, and smell as well as a typical human. Should one reach into the hole, they will find a genuine depth to it, albeit one that seems to “push back” on their hand. Indeed, anything placed into this hole would very quickly find itself pushed back out through some unknown force.

Voidborn are extremely rare, and appear seemingly at random. They may be born to a person of any race or status, with no clear indicator as to why. Subsequent children of the same parents are almost never voidborn as well, and even twins have been reported to have one child be voidborn and the other normal.

Their rarity is further compounded by the fact that many that are born are killed as infants. These faceless beings may seem a curse or a monstrosity, and so those who do not know better may kill them out of fear. Those that survive infancy tend to all come to the same simple conclusion in order to avoid being feared - wearing a mask.

While it is of course unusual for an individual to wear a mask constantly, the suspicious looks of others are unquestionably better than screams of fear. Creative voidborn, or their concerned parents, will explain away the mask as hiding dreadful scars left by an old disease.

Voidborn will often invest a great deal of time and effort into their masks, ensuring it reflects their individual styles and values. These masks often become as unique as any face.

Voidborn rarely have positive experiences stemming from their true faces being seen, and as such, they tend not to give others much opportunity to see it. Voidborn often isolate themselves at least partially from whatever societies they may remain in.

Voidborn find their greatest friends to be adventurers, even if the voidborn itself does not care for that life. Such people have likely had their horizons broadened, made strange friends, and fought any number of terrifying creatures. This tempers their reactions to the voidborn, and makes them far less likely to react negatively.

Voidborn do not eat or drink water, something that would be complicated by their lack of mouths. Instead, they consume magic. The world has a certain level of ambient magic - such as natural energy and excess energy from arcane spellcasting that diffuses through the air. Voidborn in such ambient magic consume it, absorbing it and always remaining perfectly fed as a result.

This consumption of magic also allows them a strong resistance to it. When one attempts to cast a spell on a voidborn, there is always a chance that they will simply absorb the magic as it strikes them. Thankfully for voidborn who need magical aid or are aspiring spellcasters, they are able to control their consumption, and so they can ensure they do not consume spells that they would prefer are properly cast.