Myth of Rasmot

Places of Dracicanna: The Continent of Jurdas

The Kings, of Death

                   It is said, that the stones of Orillas tell a terrible tale. The stones tell that many years ago there once lived three kingdoms on the black continent. Each kingdom was different, each kingdom was flawed, and eventually, all three kingdoms died. But the stones tell that how these kingdoms fell was not because of famine or disease, but of three kings. These kings are known as the Kings of Death, and the stones tell of their story.

               Long ago, before ships sailed the vast seas of Dracicanna, there were three human kingdoms on Orillas. The first was the Kingdom of Varucia, full of Nobles, and Thieves. In Varucia you either were born to power, or you stole it from one who was born to power. The second was the Kingdom of Orentias, a kingdom of war mongers and soldiers. Here power and the ability to rule came from leading armies into conflict and into war. The last kingdom was the Kingdom of Kardura, a kingdom full of scribes and liars. In Kardura it was customary to learn all you can, even if it meant the art of framing and lying.

            However, the stones tell that the rulers of the three kingdoms, died and that the sons were to take the thrown. Before the sons were crowned, each one demanded extreme obedience and loyalty and that the people meet their demands. The son of Varucia demanded that all the nobles and people who lived in his kingdom present him with their most valuable jewels, even if he had to kill them for it. The son of Orentias demanded that all the soldiers and generals would plead undying loyalty to him, and those that did not were swiftly executed. Lastly, the son of Kardura demanded that all mentions of any other king or ruler be struck from the records and that all information would be credited to him, otherwise he would unleash the darkest of secrets of those who did not.

            So it was that the three sons were crowned, and that the three became king. But it was not enough for them, for the stones tell of their deeds in the shadows. Varucia began to dig deep secret caverns and tunnels underneath the three kingdoms, in the attempt to steal the wealth from the three. Kardura black mailed the other two kingdoms into revealing their hidden records, destroying any mention of secret plots or deeds related to the death of his father. Orentias however plotted deep and hard, amassing his troops for war. So it was that the troops of Orentias marched on the war path, seeking to claim all three kingdoms as his own.

            Orentias struck first at Varucia, the kingdom was full of Nobles and pickpockets, and surely they would not be a threat to an army? But the citizens of Varucia proved him wrong, for they had hidden in the tunnels beneath Varucia. The king of Varucia then ordered his citizens to not let any of these troops escape, knowing that many had mastered the art of assassination. So one by one, the troops of Orentias thinned as they tried to find the people of Varucia and were eventually all slaughtered.

            He cursed the king of Varucia for destroying his troops, but the king of Orentias did not give up, for he sent his troops to Kardura next. Surely Scholars would pose no threat to soldiers, hardened by the art of war. Kardura also had a trick up their sleeve as these scholars unveiled ancient relics, buried underneath the very soil of Orillas. These relics hummed with power beyond the arcane, opening rifts into the Zhultanic plane. The scholars’ summoned demons upon the troops of Orentias, and the king of Kardura lead the demons with his own relics, slaughtering the troops quickly before the demons eventually died.

            The denial of an easy conquest troubled the king of Orentias, and he sat at his war table with a troubled brow. But he hatched a scheme so cunning, that not even the sons of Varucia and Kardura could see through. So it was, that the king of Orentias sent summons to both of the kings. He congratulated the two kings on being able to defeat his soldiers, and invited them to his kingdom for a grand celebration and the hopes of peace. While the two kings were not fools, they knew that if they refused they would once again be onset with the drums of war. So they accepted and brought all of their loyal citizens with them. So it was that the three kingdoms met at Orentias, for a grand celebration.

            There were drinks, food, dancers, and all the frivolities that a kingdom could bare to bring at the celebration. Surprised at the amount there was, the two kings set their fears aside and joined the king of Orentias on the podium before the masses. Not soon, as the red moon filled the sky did the king of Orentias raise his goblet. Every citizen of every kingdom found their own and so too did the sons of the other kingdoms. The king of Orentias had each goblet filled with special liquor, straight from the royal reserves and raised a toast. As they all drank, the king of Orentias grinned. The liquor was poisoned.

            If he would not have the rule of all three kingdoms, then no one will. That was the grand plan of the king of Orentias and soon all the citizens convulsed, clutching their chests as the poison burned their insides. All except the other two kings, who had drank strong anti-venom before the gathering. The three kings watched as their loyal citizens died before them. And when the last citizen died the three kings drew blades on each other. They bickered and they argued and they spat at each other, before they attacked. Each blade was tipped with poison, and each blade found their mark. And so it was that each king slowly died. The last to fall was the king of Orentias. He clutched the bloody wounds the two swords had left. As he died, upon his final breath were these words.

            Finally he made his way to what looked to be a tunnel. Some of the tunnel seemed to have been carved by a pick or another tool, while the rest seemed natural. Just like the rest of the landscape it was made out of snow and ice. He ventured in, anything was better than trying to traverse the cold landscape in this weather. The wind howled through the tunnel as he walked through it, lifting the Koraga skull from his head and letting it fall back. Rasmot could feel his stomach gnawing at him as he continued onward, almost threatening to bite his hand off for a meal. Giving in he pulled out the emergency rations from the pouch. The container was metallic, the word “Toraka” sprung to mind, giving a name to the tin-looking metal. A memory tried to slowly worm its way upward as he pried off the top of the can with the tab that was provided. But all it could tell him was that a race called the “Gorokan” used this Tin-like metal often in machines and to make canned food.

            Rasmot finally got the can open and scooped some of the food inside onto his fingers having no other tools. It looked like ground meat and other bits of what seemed to be vegetables and ingredients combined into a fine paste. Did it look appetizing? Not in the slightest but he ate it anyways, scooping out large portions and chewing before ultimately swallowing. The taste was extremely wanting as he forced himself to fully swallow the food rather than spit it all out. He was not only hungry but low on any form of resources so he couldn’t be either picky or choosey with his food sources. After all he didn’t know what else he would stumble upon out in these frozen hells aside from more Koraga and snow. As he slowly ate he could hear movement, what sounded to be boots on the ice.

            Freezing, Rasmot looked around for the nearest cover and bolted to a small outcropping of ice, gripping the can of food tightly. He peered around a corner to see a lantern shining brightly in the opposite direction and two human shaped forms. Setting the can down he pulled out the gun from his side, clenching his jaw tight and getting ready to click the priming hammer back. The two figures continued to walk down the tunnel, either oblivious to his presence or having not heard him at all. He waited several moments before peeling away from the outcropping, stooping low so as to avoid any unwarranted attention, soon the tunnel gave way to a natural rock formation in the ice, a cavern underneath one of the mountains in the frozen wasteland of Norikas. There he could see the light from a camp fire up ahead with a passage to a raised portion of the cavern. Rasmot took the path, climbing upwards so that he was above the fire and whoever was near it.

            Down below were about 4 figures, each draped from head to toe in thick clothing meant for the harsh landscapes. They all carried weapons of some kind, each one he could recognize from fragments of memories. Two men carried rifles, dedicated sharp shooters as both rifles had a scope attached to the frame of the rifle. One carried a pump action shotgun, sawed off for extreme close range rather than distance shooting. And the last one had a form of long sword, constantly sharpening the curved blade with intense care. The two with the rifles walked into the ring of the group, laying their rifles to rest and getting warm by the fire. The Shotgun wielder was taking deep swigs from a bottle of some form of alcohol. The Long sword man however stood up, possibly the leader, walking to the riflemen.

“Dorkan?” The Long Swordman asked plainly.

One of the riflemen shook his head. “Sorry boss, we found his body but no sign of the Kekero, we lost sight of the kid in the snow. Heavy storm’s a brewin’.”

“Thought I heard the kid once boss, sounded like coughin’ but soon as we got there there was no one around, not even tracks.” The other rifleman shrugged, patting his shivering body by the fire to get warm.

“Y’ask me boss, I thinks they was slackin’. That makes three the kid has killed so far, Dorkan, Forindas and Balkreth.” The Shotgun man spoke up after a deep swig. “Kid’s got more gusto than we thought eh?”

The leader glared at the Shotgun man and shook his head. “This kid is a runt, nothing more and Akrundo is paying a good nice sum for him.”

“What’s the bounty at now? 100 Rukata? 200?”

A grin followed a long pause as the leader pulled out a poster. “Read it and weep boys, 500 Rukata alive, 250 dead. Akrundo is payin’ us big time for this Kekero and we aim to get our pay ain’t that right?” 

“Heh, y’got that right and those three idiots can’t get paid . . . if they’re dead.” One of the Riflemen spoke up and the group burst into laughter. “So what’s the split eh?” 

“You know the split, Jodrun. Boss gets 150 we get 115 each, it’s always been that way, idiot.” The shotgun man shook his head taking a deep swig from the bottle.

The other rifleman started doing the math on his hands. “Now wait a damned minute! What happens to the five Rukata eh?” 

“Don’t you remember last time Kendrik? We each get one and we get ourselves a cheap one Rukata whore.” The leader grinned widely. “Of course, someone has to carry on the memory of good ol’ Dorkan and the others, so I rightfully get two.” 

“Y’son of a bitch! Y’told me I was going to do it this time!” The shotgun man stopped drinking and approached the leader. “Y’made a promise and I aim to see it settled!”

 The leader took a moment and tapped his chin. “Double team?”

 “Double Team??”

The leader grinned. “Yeeaaaah, Double team Hondrus, we get one stupid whore and we both fuck the daylights out of her together.”

 “Heeeey, I like the sound o’that boss!” Hondrus the shotgun man grinned.

            Rasmot scowled as he overheard the conversation and the laughter from the group, just the thought of them treating women like cheap toys disgusted him. His hand tightly gripped the hand-gun, wanting to shoot each and every one of them and not only make his life easier but spare anyone from the disgusting attitude of these men. He was about to move as a loud clattering echoed through the cave. Rasmot was frozen in place as he knew that something had found the can of rations he had opened. The Humans below became alert, each one grabbing their weapons and heading to the source of the sound. He only had a few moments to move from his position and climb over the ledge, falling down to the bottom area. He landed with a “Thrack” his legs feeling the brunt of the blow and sending hot flashes of pain up his body.

(With Nano WriMo going on i decided to work on Chapter one a bit more, as of right now i am at a comfortable place so here is the continuation of Recollection. Enjoy! - Tomas)

“As we suspected, little shit went into the cave, we’re going to give him a few moments before we go in there and nab him. After all this kid is worth twice as much alive rather than dead and the boss like’s his prize money. So we’ll let this “Rasmot” kid think he’s safe, and then we’ll go in there and smack him upside the head. We get paid and then we go home.”

            He stopped, just as the entry ended and mouthed out the name “Rasmot” to himself. Over and over he repeated the name, trying to make it seem familiar or trying to confirm that it was his name. He stopped as a piece of paper fell out from the journal, and he picked it up. It was a bounty poster, the headline read “Missing Slave, Wanted: Alive” and for an instant something seemed to be dredged forward. It was a memory of skin being singed over and over, of having to push heavy objects and being whipped to do so. He shook his head, trying to clear it away and refocused on the poster, or more importantly on the image in the poster. The features looked like his, same jaw line, hair, eyes; even the nose was the same. On the bottom it read “Missing Slave from Akrundo Steel Mill, Wanted: Alive. Reward: 50 Rukata, Slave goes by the name Rasmota Akra Korisar.”

            The paper fell out of his hands as they trembled, a surge of memories bubbled through his mind, threatening to over take him. He held his hands to his head and shook it violently, pushing them back. Not here, he thought. Not now, it is not safe, he thought again and his mind started to calm. He looked around and snatched the box, touching its surface; it seemed to be made out of wood. He opened the door to it and light instantly flooded outwards, forcing him to put a hand over his eyes. After a few moments he removed the hand, shining the light along walls using the handle. The word “Lantern” came into his mind and he had to shake away the memories again. He passed the light on one wall; deep cracks formed along its surface like something had collided with it.

Claws passed over the cracks in the ice absently, bending down to the origin. Instantly a memory swept him off of his feet, the roaring sound of the Koraga as it charged into him, smashing his body against the ice wall, falling Icicles. And then gone, his chest heaved as he sat on the ice floor, the memory having actually physically made him fall. Sweat dotted his brow, and shivers ran down his spine. His mind diagnosed it as “possible fever” but he shook it away, it was cold and the only warmth came for the Koraga fur on his body. He looked around and gathered everything he could; he put the glimmering crystals known as Rukata into a pocket in the pants, and the gun into the other pocket. He took another glance and pointed the lantern out to the entrance, beginning to walk that way. His mind had other plans instead as it dredged up another memory, instantly playing inside of his mind. 

He was off into a corner, watching one of the two men, the man walked to a cave wall to urinate and after a few moments he struck. His hands were bound by a chain and iron clasps but he used the chain as a weapon, sweeping the human off of his feet and running the chain under the man’s neck. Anger coursed through his body and he twisted the neck to the left in an instant as the man struggled and snapped it in two. The memory subsided and he leaned on the wall but another came forth. Another man came into the tunnel; he could hear him pulling the weapon out. So he grabbed the weapon of the dead man first, spinning and shooting. The other man shot and missed but he shot right for the center heart in the chest. And shot again, and again missing wildly on shot but the next shattered the knee cap.

Sweat beaded down his body as he panted from the mental strain, the memories and emotions they brought with them were intense, seared into his mind so that he wouldn’t forget. The bitter cold wind splashed against his face as he leaned on the wall, taking deep breaths and started trudging forward. Absently he checked his hands as another memory recalled. He had killed the Koraga with an icicle, stabbing repeatedly in the neck. Moving off of the dead body of the Koraga he found one of the guns and started to pry it open. After moments of fumbling he got the gun open and pulled free a thin piece of metal and began tinkering with the lock on the ironclads, finally unlocking them and tossing the device away. The memory started to die back down as he held his head. Feeling it was finally safe to get moving he did so, making his way out of the cave.

            Cold wind roared against his body as a flurry of snow was kicked up, reflexively he held up one arm to block the snow from smacking against his face. After a few moments he lowered his arm looking over the landscape. As far as the eye could see there were large mountains of ice and vast fields of snow, there were no plants or trees. The land was so barren that he could spot some form of remains in the distance from a fallen animal. Another Koraga perhaps that went looking for food and got caught in the snow storm. A name made its way into his mind as he looked over the land “Norikas.”  He shook his head trying to not let his own shattered memory distract him from his current task at hand. He needed to survive out here, and not only that, find shelter. He took one step forward and his ears twitched as he heard a click. Jumping away from his current position the snow erupted into a ball as something hit it. Another explosion of snow sounded as he quickly bolted for cover.

“You’ll never get out of here alive Kekero!” A loud gruff voice sounded off in the distance. “We got ya cornered! So if you want to live give yourself up and we may just let you live!”

He sat there, trying to pick out something to say before he just pulled out the gun, pulling the slide back. “My name is Rasmot . . . my name . . . is Rasmot.” He nodded in confirmation and his face scrunched up in anger. “And . . . I will not die!”

            Rasmot pulled himself out of cover, aiming down the sight of the hand gun, spotting the human in the distance with his rifle and pulled the trigger. The barrel leapt as the hammer struck the powder cartridge; the bullet sprung out of the chamber and darted across the snow. The bullet hit the human in the shoulder, causing the man to swing back but only for a moment as he picked up the rifle and aimed. Rasmot quickly dove for cover again as the shot from the rifle sounded and hit the snow. He knew it was silenced, so this man was obviously hired to kill him, or severely wound him. He figured it was a backup plan from the owner of the Akrundo Slave Mill. Rasmot checked the hand gun and nodded before pulling out of cover and diving to the next outcropping of ice. As he dove he shot at the human, the gun leaping and the bullet hitting its mark.

            Pulling himself to cover he panted and waited even after the human’s body made a loud “thump” in the snow and glanced around wildly. No more humans, no more people trying to kill him, for now it was safe. Rasmot walked over to the human and checked the body, there wasn’t much. He found a small medical kit, a knife, a flask filled with some form of alcohol, a water skin, bullets and a small repair kit for the rifle which could be used for his own gun, a side arm which had long since jammed from the cold, a small sack of Rukata, and a small container of food that read “Emergency Rations”. Rasmot pried it all off of the human along with the carrying pouch the human was carrying and stored it all in the pouch. If anything it would increase his chances of survival by several times. But he’d need to find food, and maybe some other supplies. Making his way to an outcropping of ice he pulled out the Rukata and counted the glimmering gems.

            So far from the other dead humans and this new dead human he had 20 Rukata, he didn’t know what he could do with them but shook his head as his mind said “barely anything.” He did another glance of the surrounding environment. The Human did use the word “We” was he bluffing? Rasmot couldn’t tell even though his mind said it was probably the truth. He pulled the pouch under the Koraga fur covering and made sure it was secure before moving on. The cold air crept in fast to his body, already sending shivers up and down his spine. It was a wonder how anything could live out here but even as he thought that he took a few moments to wonder how long he had been held in this frozen hell. He crossed over snow covered hills of ice and continued outward, looking for any form of cover or shelter away from his previous position. He was making good distance until the wind started kicking up, massive gales kicking up snow every which way, blocking his vision and making his eyes squint.

            He continued trudging through the snow, his feet sinking through inches as it was kicked up by the cold winds. There was barely any visibility even behind the eye sockets of the Koraga skull, and he was starting to get colder. Rasmot pulled out the flask from the pouch, opening it and taking a whiff. The strong stench of alcohol emanated from it, sending a sharp shiver down his spine. After a few moments his mind diagnosed it as “hard liquor” and that only a sip would be needed to give him some warmth. He tried to shake the thought away as it smelled absolutely rancid but he had little choice in the matter. Rasmot took a sip from the flask and instantly regretted it, having barely any time to swallow the drink before he started coughing. The liquid started to burn its way down his body, causing him to clutch his chest as it did so and after a while a warm sensation bristled through his body. Rasmot looked at the flask and shook his head, he would take another sip later, but for now he needed to continue on.

(this is a Work in Progress, nothing you see here is final. Once the chapter is all written i will go back and change what needs to be changed, but for now, enjoy! - Tomas)

Myth of Rasmot

   Chapter one: Recollection

                  The howl of wind penetrated the cave, the bitter cold sending chills down his spine as he awoke in an instant. His mind felt clouded, foggy, every single thought was on the tip of his tongue but then instantly forgotten. Eyes glanced down to his hands; each had five fingers, each with finger nails that were formed like claws. Feet, five toes and the same claw like nails on his feet. He looked behind him and spotted a tail that seemed to flit around absently, covered in dark green scales with a softer underside. Wings were above the tail, long wings with the same dark green scales on the outside and the softer red skin on the inside. His hands passed over his head, feeling the short dark brown hair; it was ragged, unkempt but nothing out of the ordinary. Hands touched his face, feeling the brows, recessed eyes, medium sized nose and small mouth with angular jaw line. There were deep grooves under his eye lids; he diagnosed it as little sleep. That thought alone shocked him, called forth a million shadows of memories that were instantly deafened. He mouthed the words “who am I?” before looking around his environment.

            It was cold; the air seemed to filter through a large mouth, an entrance from not far off, bringing the chilling breeze. The entire cavern was made out of ice. Large icicles hung from the ceiling like stalactites, each one threatening to come down at any movement. There was what appeared to be a fire pit; ash had collected from burnt clothes and other items. To the side of the fire pit was a weapon, a gun, sitting in the eerie light of the cavern. He picked the gun up, feeling the barrel and the smooth metal surface with the wooden handle. It had been used recently, very recently at that. Further in to the cave, he found something else, three bodies. Two of them were similar to him, two legs, two arms and one head. But these bodies gave him some form of inner satisfaction, as though it was good that they are dead. The last was a large animal, four appendages with padded paws on the bottom of each, claws replacing fingers and toes. A large head of some sort, with a muzzle and row of teeth and the body itself was massive.

            Taking another glance, the animal had no fur, nothing covering the gleaming red surface he could only guess to be muscle and sinew. A piece seemed to have been carved off recently, probably cooked and eaten. Finally words formed over in his head, he mouthed the word “Koraga” at the animal, a form of snow bear, and “human” at the other dead bodies. He glanced around and found a pile of clothes and other items discarded to one side. His mind instantly told him to put the clothes on, and he did, pulling the pants up around his lower body and buckling them. There was a large coat, made out of what he assumed to be the fur of the dead Koraga. He put that on as well, taking comfort in the warmth of the skin, noticing the hood and pulling it over his head. At the top of the hood was a plate of bone, and two eye holes cut out. He had forgotten to notice that the upper skull was missing from the Koraga.

             He peered from the holes in the skull and stooped low, taking the stance of an animal, peering out over the horizon. Throat clenched as he opened his mouth and roared; the noise erupted from his throat and sent several small furred bodies fleeing. It was curious that the fur was not adorned with the claws, but then his mind interrupted his thoughts, telling him that this was more practical. Maybe, he was a hunter he suggested to himself. But then he looked around again, a hunter did not explain the cave, the dead bodies, the fire pit or what was left that he had to pick up. There was not much, a few glimmering crystals that seemed to glow and dance in the light, a small box like device with a handle at the top and a hinged door at the front, and a book possibly a journal. Grabbing the book he looked at the cover, the letters were instantly foreign to him. Tracing a claw he tried to decipher the letters on the cover, tracing them like he would a brush.

“Balkreth’s Log”

            Mind reeled and he dropped the book, shifting backwards from it. The words had just came from nowhere, jumping into his mind with a sudden snap. Almost involuntarily his back teeth clicked together, causing him to shift again. He didn’t even know who or what he was and yet all of these actions were natural to him. He could roar like an animal, read letters that were foreign to him and have the name words jump into his mind, and even the clicking seemed to be some form of habit. Both hands held his head as a pain surged through it, coursing beneath his eye lids. The diagnosis of headache and “Dehydration” entered his mind but he tried to shake it away. The throbbing pain slowly passed away and he took a deep breath, walking back to the book. He picked it up and flipped open the cover, the same words as the cover were on the inside. Stooping down he motioned his body closer and closer to the ground until he was finally sitting. The position was comfortable, relaxing; he should probably sit more often. But another portion of his mind told him to be wary, cautious. He didn’t know why, but he did just that, almost like the teeth click.

“Balkreth’s Log, Year 1116, 22nd of Chatakoni.

It’s hard to believe that I and the other nitwit have been chasing this kid for a month now. We’ve followed his tracks good, searching every nook and crevice, for a Kekero the kid’s a fuckin’ sloppy hider. I and sergeant dip shit think that the kid is going to take refuge in a nearby ice cavern. We’ll probably be able to corner the little shit and bring him back alive. But knowing this kid? He’ll probably try to off us first, so what we’re going to do is let him think he’s safe, and then we’ll clobber the shit out of him.”

Dracicanna: Biology 

            Dracicanna is home to a large burgeoning population of animals and humanoid creatures. Some look exactly like animals from Earth but others are completely different and stranger. However all the living creatures on Dracicanna share one common tie to one another; they did not evolve naturally. Ever living creature, plant, and even humanoid on Dracicanna were created by a hyper-advanced alien race known as the Senex. This race made the life on Dracicanna both fit the look of old creatures from fairy tales and myths, but also gave their inner workings some function. They took all the concerns into hand of having certain creatures live on Dracicanna and worked ways around these concerns.

            The first issue they tackled was of course a primary concern, the skeletal structure of all the creatures. Heavy Gravity would not only crush normal bones that were used to life on an earth-like world, but practically incinerate them into dust. As such they took the normal bone structure and modified key components. The first problem was the overall density of the bones themselves. It would be short work to crush normal bones so they modified the calcium in the bone structure with a poly-resin that would grow naturally in the body. This resin would have a yellow sheen to it and is often seen as streaks along freshly picked bones. This resin is both durable and flexible making bones harder to break. The second problem was weight; animals that flew or had some form of flight capability would need to have bones that were lighter. They used the poly-resin originally but of course learned the main problem; the bone marrow itself was more of an issue. As such they replaced the normal marrow with a lighter compound, which was mostly the same as the original marrow but it was inherently lighter, light enough to maintain flight.

            However that was only the starting point, they started to work on the next problem. The original muscular structure of earth-like creatures would not work in an environment like Dracicanna for several reasons. One being that it was too great of a force of gravity to deal with, and everything would feel sluggish. As such they had to increase the amount of muscles in the body of both animals and humanoid creatures, but the initial results were not promising. The animals looked too muscular and the humanoids seemed to look like they were on steroids. As such they took what was there and redefined the muscles, tightening the fibers, layering multiple nervous systems and even using a different protein compound. Soon they had muscles that not only were lighter and leaner but reacted well under the increased gravity.

            What came next was not only controlling the muscles and keeping them operating, but also how to keep the blood flowing and body heated in brutal temperatures. It was decided that the traditional one heart system would simple not do for the increased muscle capacity, simply put under that amount of strain the heart would go into a cardiac arrest from too much motion. As such additional hearts were added into the genetic code, at least two for smaller animals such as birds or cats, three for humanoids, and upwards of six for large animals. However there was the simple problem of synching the hearts, or keeping them all in line. If the hearts were not synchronized they would cause a seizure within the body which causes almost instant death. So the work around was to make one heart the main and the others more or less backups. This does not mean that they can take the job of the main heart however; if the main heart is damaged in any way then the backups can only support the body for so long. But when the main heart is under strain the backups provide more blood into the system, allowing the body to cool slightly faster than normally.

            The blood of course is not typical blood. Rather than trace amounts of copper or other minerals, the blood has trace amounts of a mineral only found on Dracicanna. The Senex called it E-365, while the people who live on Dracicanna have a new name for it, “Elem-Stone”. This mineral comes in a crystalline form and is traditionally found deep in the inner bowls of Dracicanna close to lava. It contains natural raw energy that is used for magic. The reason why this is used in the blood works is that it generates heat when passed through the hearts. Or it can cool the body under the right conditions, allowing animals and people to survive the extreme heat and cold due to Dracicanna’s elliptical around the sun Dranda. It even helps transmit adrenaline produced by the heart more rapidly through the body. It also mitigates the problem of losing any bio-electric signals through the body thanks to this mineral.

            After the solution to those problems another one arose, toxicity. A lot of the plants were deadly even in small doses to normal earth like creatures, and even some of the animals had developed a form of venom or toxic compound in their body. As such they created a more concentrated filtration system for the kidneys and for the liver they added a better lining to allow the body to filter out most compounds. This helped for most of their problems but for the creatures that developed venom it still slowly killed them from the inside. As such they developed special sacks with the same liver lining for these creatures, which helped significantly.

            Another problem that rose up was related to flight, most animals that could fly could not do so very high, and this was due mostly to gravity. In order to alleviate the situation they added a form of bladder into animals that were meant to fly. These bladders made the body naturally produce hydrogen gas from drinking water, allowing the bladder to fill and allow flight. The original tested bladder wound up into more humorous results with birds ending up like rather bloated balloons and demonstrated another problem, this hydrogen was rather flammable. So they created a more refined bladder that could only expand to a certain point and once punctured it does not immediately catch fire, rather the hydrogen is released into the body. This allows flight worthy creatures to fly and not explode after being shot in the bladder. Some creatures with wings were given smaller bladders meant to only carry them so far upwards, allowing them to glide rather than fly.

            The last problem they tackled was the brain, this being due to the unknown number of modifications they needed to make to begin with. When they started they wound up with one problem, the brain was either too small or incapable of handling the modifications to begin with. So of course they had to change the brain itself to have the modifications going. One thing they began on was the number of synapses and connections, and increased the number of synapses and connectors to the brain and nerve clusters in the spine. However even with that the brain had a problem of keeping up so they increased the number of brain lobes from four, to six; this allowed greater room for expansion and more capacity for the brain to run. However the problem that came was the fact that it would be too big for the skull to handle, so they took the brain make up and condensed it into a smaller package. This allowed neurons and neural signals to be transmitted quicker due to having less space to travel across.

Dracicanna: The World

            Dracicanna, a large world about the half the size of Jupiter or close the size of Saturn, it is a world orbiting a star named Dranda in the Andromeda galaxy. Originally Dracicanna was like any other gas giant, barren, lifeless with nothing but a gaseous atmosphere. However a race named the “Senex”, came to the planet and made it habitable. After the creation, Dracicanna was populated by different animals meant to survive both the harsh gravity and large storms. Along with the creation of the newly habitable Dracicanna came the creation of 4 moons in perfect Geo Synchronous orbit. These moons only appear one at a time to the world below and reside in the large green asteroid ring around Dracicanna.

            Dracicanna has a 28 hour day night cycle. This has lead to many animals becoming nocturnal or developing longer hibernation periods or even night vision. And despite the longer periods of the day the temperature stays to a form of normality on certain continents. Thanks to the higher gravity, anyone who lives on Dracicanna has developed stronger bones, and even an increase to the nervous structure and vascular structure. It’s common for the humanoid races to have 3 hearts while animals will often have 2-4 of them. There are five Humanoid races living on the planet. They are the Humans, Kekero, Elvaran, Drogun, and Gorokan races. Each race has unique skills and traits that separate them apart.

            The size of Dracicanna, from one end of the world and going all the way back is 43,000 Kilometers or 26,718 Miles. There are 16 land masses and two poles on Dracicanna, each land mass being above 1,000 Kilometers or 621 Miles. Of these land masses the two largest are Sakras, a vast desert continent, and Dragas which is a mix of cold and warm depending on if you are North or South. Along with these land masses is a small chain of islands called “The Shadow Lands” that is blocked off by a ring of storms called the Shadow Veil. And there is the ruined half sunken Senex city in one of the large open areas of water, a massive construct that is about 9,000 Kilometers or 5,592 Miles long.

            Due not only to the gravity but the competing temperatures, storms on Dracicanna take the form of large mega-storms. Normally these storms are relatively harmless, bringing in lots of rain and snow fall, but hurricanes and tornadoes are deadly enough to clear out several towns and villages at once. These storms are also capable of afflicting more than one continent at any one time, making survival even harder for not only humanoid races but for animals. The humanoid races have either constructed or incorporated forms of shelter either underground or in a mountain or some other form of durable structure in response. Animals often take any shelter they can or can sense the storm before it occurs migrating to a safer area.

            The orbit of Dracicanna around the sun of Dranda is in a slight elliptical pattern making the passage of time longer than it would be on something like earth. A single day is 28 hours, however a week lasts for 8 days. There are 34 to 38 days in a month and 438 days in a singular year. The humanoid races do not divide the months apart but rather put several months into a singular season to judge the passage of time. There are of course four seasons, Chatakori (Fall), Chatakima (Winter), Chatakera (Spring), and lastly Chatakoni (Summer). Due to the elliptical pattern the longest seasons are Chatakori and Chatakera, these are both the seasons where they judge how fair or harsh the winter and summer is.

            Most plants are either poisonous or have some hidden attribute on Dracicanna, even something like a berry can have a potent enough heat in its juice to melt ice on contact. As such alchemy is considered to be high among the list of needs in any town for the humanoid races and animals know which plants to stay away from and which to eat. While herbivorous animals are present on Dracicanna they do not take a large percentage of the food chain. Instead predators or animals with a more omnivorous taste take up most of the main stay of the population for animals. This makes even traveling in Dracicanna a dangerous task with large packs of either predatory or omnivorous animals.

Unlike most places Dracicanna can be extremely harsh. If you're not worrying about large monster-like animals coming out of the sky, you're worrying about the Blood Fists. If you're not worrying about the Blood Fists you're worrying about the Zhultan. If you're not worrying about the Zhultan you're worrying about Drogun sky pirates. If you're not worrying about them then maybe you're worrying about that poisonous flower you just picked and trust me, that's the least of your worries. As such Dracicanna is always in need of people who go beyond the average.

That is where professions come in. Professions are a combination of normal jobs and something akin to classes you find in RPGs. People who undergo training into a profession are often talented in more than one skill. Like say you may be good at picking out rocks but you just really, really know exactly how to lob an axe into someone's head. As such you always have the distinction between the average merchant who pawns off anything he has found or made, and the professional who has gone out and killed thieves to bring you a really excellent weapon made out of the best materials.

Often Professionals are paid well for their duties, and for good reason. You don't see the normal merchant charging brazenly through the open maw of hell with a axe in one hand and screaming at the top of his lungs. No you see the normal merchant running FROM the open maw of hell, screaming on the top of his lungs "MOMMY" while holding a minor chest wound, peeing his pants all the way back. Professionals are often pretty good at their job, often why other kingdoms or groups will hire professionals to kill professionals. Nothing personal, but when you do your job well you're going to get some envy over it.

Dracicanna isn't looking for heroes, never has been, Dracicanna has been looking for people who can brave the adventure and come back alive. Preferably alive, but sometimes a dead Professional can bring back some good fortune. Good at magic? Good at shooting? Good at fighting? Maybe a mix of one or two or three or something that can kill a feral creature or two? Then there's probably a profession out there for you.

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[Wanderer]: A Wanderer often embodies more than one profession into itself due to the fact that they have not fully had the chance to learn all there is of a certain profession. As such a Wanderer is good with general skills but never specific ones unless they trained with them over a period of time. How good a Wanderer is at a certain weapon is limited, but that limit is often over looked by the sheer amount of weapons a Wanderer COULD use. Depending on the race, a Wanderer will have magic spells and abilities. However their magical ability is limited, and will often be a few spells or even a few hexes or curses. Unless trained to have more ability in magic, a Wanderer will only have basic ability which is often suitable. Due to the need of survival a Wanderer will incorporate techniques and skills learned from Hunters or observed from Hunters. As such a Wanderer is often good at making traps and other machinery or even maintenance due to not only trial and error but having learned such. But their skills with such will be crude. The major theme of this profession is “Crude, but effective”.

-Magic abilities: Attack, Counter, Ranged Attack, Curse/Hex, Heal

-Weapons that can be used: Swords, Knives, Pistols, Rifles, Axes, Polearms, Throwing weapons, Axes, Claw weapons

-Armor type: Light to Medium

-Additional skills: Alchemy, Engineering, Maintenance, Zoology, Taming, Survival, Herbology, Stealth, Way-finding, Disarming

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[Verikan]: Trained in more than one art of Magic, the Verikan bend and weave magic to any way they wish. They prefer to stay at a distance and deal damage to their foes, casting powerful spells of all shapes and sizes. However this does not mean that they are by any means good in the use of support or healing magic, these areas of magic are by far their worst. As such most Verikan are either trained in alchemy or rely on a partner with alchemical talents. Although they keep to staves, Verikan can use many different weapons including pistols, knives, maces, and swords to name a few. A Verikan will always have an Elem-Stone on them, be it attached to their staff or a necklace. Though not talented at it, some Verikan are known to tap into stealth skills and as such can enter places most are not normally allowed.

-Magic abilities: Attack, Counter, Curse/Hex, Ranged Attack, Summoning, Golemancing

-Wepaons that can be used: Knives, Pistols, Maces, Swords, Axes, Throwing weapons, Staves, Chakram

-Armor type: Light to Medium

-Additional skills: Alchemy, Enchanting, Inscription, Scribing, Lock picking, Stealth, Disarming

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[Zealot]:  Rage, both blinding and controlled is not only the gift but strength of this profession. The sheer rage of a Zealot is often only matched by that of an Animal or Kekero. Most Zealots belong to the “Holy Order” established in the Human Daviskan kingdom, but other races have their version of a Zealot. Trained to be the strongest soldiers in the Human kingdoms, Zealots often have no need for magic, but a small few will delve into it. All Zealots are trained to create the catalyst to their rage known as Adonis Blood, as such all Zealots are trained in the way of alchemy, be it very simplistic. Zealots have been trained in shield and sword and always have a shield attached to their arms; as such making a Zealot vulnerable is a hard task in itself. Some Zealots are also trained to use guns and rifles, making them just as deadly over range as they are up close. The Blood Rage is a state of mind that a Zealot achieves in the heat of battle and once in this state of mind they will go on an endless rampage of fury. They can be trained in many other skills but most of their focus lies on combat. Zealots are often trained to forge and smith their own armor and tools when needed too, they even will mine for resources.

-Magic abilities: (if trained) Attack, Counter, Curse/Hex, Bless/Enchant

-Weapons that can be used: Swords, Maces, Polearms, Axes, Hammers, Whips, Knives, Pistols, Rifles, Lances, Scythe

-Armor type: Medium to Heavy

-Additional skills: Alchemy, Mining, Smithing, Taming, Herbology, Maintenance, Geology

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[Dance Weaver]: The beat of the Verikorus and the very soul of Dracicanna flow through the body of a Dance Weaver. Some could argue that Dance Weavers are the most powerful magic users by example of how well they can control the beat of magic. Dance Weavers often choose which element they can control by the beat and flow of it through their body. Some are of earthern elements, some are of the skyborn but each dance is unique and different. And as talented as they are with dance, the voice and rhythm of a Dance Weaver is even more powerful. They are not especially good with offensive spells; in fact some Dance Weavers hardly use them and just incorporate normal attacks into their song and dance. As such they concentrate on more defensive and supportive spells, such as healing, blessing, enchanting and counter spells. That is not to say that dancing and singing is their only trait, Dance Weavers are often people who have not been accepted into the Circle of Magic so they are good with tools, or a smithy.

-Magic abilities: Counter, Shield, Heal, Bless/Enchant, Rejuvination

-Weapons that can be used: Knives, Swords, Katar, Claws, Whips, Chakram, Rifles, Pistols

-Armor type: Light