#speciesguide

VALKYRIES ∟ valkyries are preternaturally fast and strong, and can only be killed in three ways: decapitation, fire, and sorrow. all valkyrie are related as first generation valkyrie are all born of the gods. because of the deep connections between them and the fact that they share their powers among them, one valkyrie’s sorrow can weaken them all. they are born of lightning, and it becomes their sustenance once they reach immortality at the age of thirteen; because of this, they give off strong emotions ( and their eyes turn silver ) in the form of lightning and many of them have an affinity for electrokinesis. another weapon they have is their voices; many can sing, similar to a siren song, and their shrieks are often able to shatter glass and burst eardrums. another weakness for valkyries is shiny objects; they can be distracted easily without the proper training. VAMPIRES ∟ vampires are tricky because they have abilities that mimic other species. they have regenerative healing abilities and enhanced senses like the berserkers, and like psychics, they can be empathetic and telepathic, allowing them to feel what another person is feeling or read their minds. however, this is usually reserved for intimate moments and relationships, such as feeding or with their bride/groom. however, there is an exception to the rule: a vampire who has killed by drinking a person to death collects all of their memories, which if done too many times has been known to drive them mad; once they’ve drained someone, vampires become addicted and begin to crave the kill, developing bloodshot eyes and becoming known as the fallen. it is also important to note that sunlight does not kill them; extended periods of time in the sun will make them weak and could kill them, but it’s nothing that a pint of blood won’t fix. born vampires are different from turned vampires in the fact that they cannot tell an outright lie. blooded vampires ( those who have found their bride or groom ) are also more powerful than a non-blooded vampire of the same age.

SANGUINE WITCHES ∟ they have a deep connection to blood magic, which is mostly used for dark magic. this can include life and death magic, illusion casting, or binding rituals, among others. for example, if your witch practices blood transcendence, this allows them to absorb other abilities to become more powerful for a short period, but a limitation could be that it requires more blood each time or the blood must be given freely or they would face dire consequences. these witches can only cast spells or perform successful rituals by using their own blood, but with each drop of blood used, they become irrevocably bound to whatever magic was used; it cannot be undone except in the case of their death or the death of their victim. dark blood magic is dangerous and highly addictive, which is why it’s often practiced only within the coven. STREGA WITCHES ∟ these witches have control over the elements. while they favor one and use it most often, they do have the ability to use the other three occasionally. however, the spells casted with their less preferred element may not be as successful or have consequences. an example would be a water witch being able to heal fatal injuries, but they must use water from a naturally occurring source, like a spring. we just ask that you do your research and choose an element that would respond well to your witch’s personality, and that you don’t make them too powerful in the others; this is why tetrads exist and it would be wise for your witch to use them. because their magic is all about their connection to whatever element, they must use physical items to help fuel their magic, such as salt for earth witches or burning herb for air.

PSYCHICS ∟ some may have complete control over their abilities while others may have no control. each psychic is different in the way they interpret their abilities, so two psychics who share an ability may have different ways of using it. most psychics experience a black hole when it comes to turning their abilities inward, so a clairvoyant may be unable to see their own future. many psychics do not like using their abilities if a person has not given them permission, but some psychics may be unable to control what they can and cannot see. psychics also often have with physical issues, such as headaches, nosebleeds, nausea, etc., from overuse of their abilities, and some struggle with mental illnesses as a result of the overuse, ineffectual use, or inability to control their abilities and living in a town full of darkness. REVENANTS ∟ because revenants are resurrected from the dead, they can eat human flesh to maintain the form they had before death; if they do not, they become the equivalent of modern day zombies, rotting from the outside. however, there is another form a revenant can take if they choose: non-corporeal. this ability allows them to become a shadow, able to move about freely, but unable to communicate verbally. this is also dangerous for them to do because they cannot ingest flesh in this state, which could make it impossible for them to return to their corporeal form. however, in this shadow state, they are able to possess items and even other people if their ability is strong enough; they cannot be injured, but also cannot injure others. a revenant retains the memories of their former life when brought back to life, although they are hazy when first resurrected, and they also share a telepathic bond with their master, making it nearly impossible for them to refuse a task from them, and they serve as a conduit for their master, making them both more powerful as theirs is a symbiotic relationship. revenants can also occasionally use abilities their master may have.

KERES ∟ they are limited in their abilities both physically and psychically. when in demon form, they have the obvious demon appearance that includes prehensile nails and teeth, as well as an enhanced bite to aide them in tearing through flesh. aside from their ability to manipulate dreams, they are also empathetic because it helps them navigate whose dreams to walk and take their sustenance from. however, because they use others’ dreams so frequently, they are unable to have their own dreams. some dreams are more satiating for them if their dream host is a vivid dreamer, and they often return to those dreamers because they get more strength from them. it is important to note that because most keres do not experience their own emotions, just rebounds from the dreams they visit, it becomes tempting to take more than energy from a dream host by siphoning emotions from them as well; it is possible for a keres to kill a dream host if they take too much emotion from them and leads their human form to be unreliable. NON-BELIEVERS ∟ just because the non-believers have somehow been able to send their abilities to sleep, so to speak, does not mean that they’ve disappeared or no longer exist; they’re just dormant. depending on what species they were at birth, they may occasionally experience a “flare” of ability, such as a candle lighting when they’re angry or a fleeting thought that is not their own. because of their desire to suppress their abilities, they often experience the same symptoms as a psychic might when they overuse their abilities, such as headaches, nosebleeds, nausea, etc. sleepwalking is a common affliction the non-believers suffer from as some people believe that sleepwalking is your soul looking for something that’s missing, and they often wake up in strange places or have blackout episodes where they can’t remember a chunk of time, whether it’s minutes, hours, or days, but they say that’s rare.

BERSERKERS ∟ they are mortal until they earn their immortality, but the spirit of the bear is a huge part of them, so even when not in berserker form, they mostly have physical abilities, such as enhanced strength, senses, and agility. when paired with their innate combat skills, they can be very intimidating. however, when they allow themselves to enter their battle rage, called “berserking,” they are able to possess supernatural abilities temporarily, such as prehensile teeth and nails, semi-dermal armor, and regenerative healing, although they cannot heal themselves of organ damage or fatal wounds ( without magical aid ). some examples of weaknesses might be that they are very weak after a berserking episode or that they eat ravenously all the time to keep up their body’s metabolism, or they are unable to change on command. GRIMS ∟ because they were created to be neutral parties, they have the blessing ( and curse ) of having abilities of both witches and psychics. however, they can only have one of each– so you may choose one element, one psychic ability, and one component of dark magic. they are able to form relationships and procreate with any of the species, but a few of them have chosen to remain single because they don’t possess the capability of separating their emotions for their partner from their duty. it is important to note that all grims belong to the same coven and there are no exceptions. while they are probably the most powerful species in twain because of their multitude of abilities, grims are unable to use their magic to harm another person, influence a person or situation, or anything that is not related to the curse.

KERES ∟ these death spirits were not a gift from the sisters nor the gods. instead, they came out of the human sacrifices the middle sister made. to be corporeal, they become demons of sorts, requiring dream energy as their sustenance. keres are able to walk within someone else’s dream and they have the power to alter them, making their dreams positive or negative, depending on the energy they seek. in their true form, they are hideous– black horns and tails with claws and fangs and red leathery skin. however, the energy they get from dreams keeps them human looking. however, they must avoid touching blood because even the slighest contact on their skin will awaken the demon inside and they’ll turn for a certain period of time. the only time they do not have a choice in the matter of a shift is during the harvest; there is just too much death for them to ignore it and they will be driven to sate themselves on blood and flesh and general human carnage.

REVENANTS ∟ revenants are a byproduct of the gifts from the three sisters. often associated with dark or blood magic, a revenant is a corpse that has been raised from the dead and forced to serve a particular master, which is often whomever raised them. however, if the revenant was raised by a person under the bidding of someone else, the revenant’s true master can be named in the spell. because a revenant has already died once and cannot be killed again, they are unable to be destroyed until their master is also killed; this allows them some form of immortality, although they can be maimed or injured so to speak. revenants are technically undead, so in order to maintain the same form they had before they died, they must ingest human flesh; if they do not, they will begin to rot, much like the depiction of current day zombies, although they maintain all mental and physical faculties. it is also important to note that revenants will relive the way they died every 30 days once being reanimated. this will continue until they are destroyed.

specialties: water magic, healing, and cleansing.