#windrambles

PRE-MODERN ERA

The roots of the anti-Corynen resistance reach back further than their current leader's birth, and even before the Corynen's founding itself. Originally it was a movement against the current Havel government's participation in the Panta-Kirata war, which settled a little once Tornis came onto the scene and began making concerted efforts towards peace. His presidential campaign was heavily supported by the then-Resistance, and he came into power on an overwhelming popular vote. When he did indeed fulfill his campaign promise of peace and healing, the Resistance largely simmered down into nothing, save for a few surges here and there in the peak of scandals and rumours surrounding Protusol and its projects.

This brings us to roughly a decade before the modern day. Myrus and Santos, the famous treaty-born twins and Tornis' symbols of progress and peace, were beginning to grow disillusioned with their father's plans. This was before the ethics overhaul within Protusol, and Cyrin research subjects were still experiencing some pretty... questionable treatment. In Tornis' eyes, it was all in the name of science and common good, but his now late-teenage children saw it differently. They released a public statement about the conditions within the labs, before leaving together and going into hiding in the aftermath.

Their statement resulted in an absolute PR NIGHTMARE, as you'd expect. Unfortunately for Tornis, his future PR guy was still his barely-out-of-preteens son, who, yes, had been groomed as his successor for several years now, but wasn't quite in a position to deal with this mess quite yet. Instead, Tornis swept it under the rug within days through several deals with other young factions such as FEI, which spurred many of their current deals and partnerships. The press conferences and promises to overhaul Protusol's ethics protocols was enough to largely placate the public, but the twins were left cut off from their family and former resources and stirring with anger at their father's hasty cover-up of everything surrounding their disappearance.

Their initial partnership was a joint one; they both came upon the sputtering embers of the post-war Resistance, and set about stirring them aflame once again. However, this partnership was not meant to last. It didn't take long for a rift to appear between the duo, as they quickly found themselves with very different ideas of what shape a rebellion against the Corynen should take. They fought, first with words, then physically. Myrus easily overpowered her brother, but refused to kill him; she did not share his worldview of violence and death being the only catalyst for change, and left him to run or rot, whichever happened first.

Santos did neither. He didn't need his sister to get what he wanted. Instead, he quickly rose to become the leader of the Resistance, and a prominent figure in Havel's (and particularly the capital Misan's) criminal underbelly. Myrus, meanwhile, faded into the shadows, focusing on her own smaller-scale operations and trying to do what she saw as true good rather than Santos' view of 'the ends justify the means'.

She gained a following of her own, largely due to being a genuinely kind person at her core, despite (or perhaps because of) her willingness to fight for those under her care and general take-no-shit attitude. She truly wants the best for those around her- and in a way, so does her brother, but Santos is far more willing to inflict suffering to those he sees as less important to the cause in order to benefit the rest. He caters in particular to those who wish to feel significant, who want to make large, violent, immediate change. Myrus wants to stop her peoples' suffering- Santos wants to free them from those who have caused it, at any cost. The difference is subtle, but the ripples are massive.

Santos' initial methods essentially involve stirring up shit; great big displays of pushback and power. However, he learns quickly that being obvious about it gets you kicked back down VERY hard, and he becomes more subtle, executing plans more carefully, and from more of a distance. It's effective- but it's not what those within his organization want, creating a very politically unstable situation where Santos is forced to be constantly putting out fires while maintaining his illusion of poise and control, ironically making it much more difficult to get anything else done.

-- -- --

PRESENT DAY

However, overall, the Resistance works. They raise awareness, place Cyrin children in foster homes, and make massive strides against Cyrin trafficking and illegal metastabilizer* and biorase-derivative drug manufacturing. Well. Ahem. Rather, they take control of the manufacturing themselves for a massive profit and greater control of the island and underground, but shh, we don't talk about that one. They're doing good! They're helping! And if it means a little questionable things here and there, well, that's just the price of attaining their final benevolent goals! Right?

*metastabilizers: specialized drugs intended for stabilizing Cyrin metamorphosis, developed by the Corynen and vital in their treatment of such. Often illegally used in conjunction with equally illegal biorase-derived drugs to lessen their lethality and deteriorative effects on the human body.

Naturally, when the Summit comes into play, Santos immediately sees it as the opportunity it is- a change for one massive play, a game of sabotage and large-scale destruction with the end goal of dissolution of the other factions and a power vacuum to insert himself and Myrus into. He's convinced himself that he can get Myrus to see reason and join him, once she sees the results of his methods. They both want the same things, after all. The ends will always justify the means.

The greatest threat to him is ultimately Kyano, but he underestimates him, seeing him as someone who could be tempted by a place of power at his side and generally controlled and reasoned with. Besides, if that fails, he could always get him out of the picture too!

Throughout his meetings with the other factions, he keeps his plans concealed, searching instead for information and indications of those who could be swayed to his side. He's thinking ahead- he can't run a country alone, and will need administration, allies. FEI suspects him of planning something, but the Resistance is such a political dumpster fire beneath the surface that they keep getting misleading information, and can never quite get the details for what he may be planning.

That doesn't stop them from deploying some... contingencies, of course. One can never be too careful.

Ultimately, Santos and the Resistance have good intentions; but they run into the issue that through making such an incredibly bold and violent move against the Corynen, with so many innocents caught in the crossfire, they've changed themselves (and ultimately, Cyrin) in the public's eyes from innocent victims fighting for freedom from oppression to monsters who are a threat to the public and must be wiped out for the greater good. Santos is so blinded by what he's seen, so furious (and largely rightfully so), that he fails to see that he's become his father.

The ends justify the means.

Isn't that what Tornis always said?

-- -- --

That's all I've got for now! Please please please send @v0idspeak or I any questions you have about this! If anyone asks, I'll be happy to elaborate on any events or references in this post, as well as talk about how the Resistance took on Cana as a symbol- something rather revolutionary, if you'll pardon the pun.

MYTHOLOGY

(Theft of the Moon, art by yours truly, 2024)

Overview

I'm just going to talk about the mythology for the POV culture because I cannot possibly go into the other ones without this becoming a whole-ass dissertation. So, just assume that everything that follows is specific to that culture/belief, though variations of it do definitely exist in other cultures in the world (including the variation I spoke about in the infodump channel; as it's not the exact one used in the story, I'll leave it for later).

To begin with, the various figures in the mythos are p much entirely represented by specific animals or general inhuman Creatures! Exactly how many figures there are depends on the specific subset of the religion, as there are regional variations, but the simplest and most widespread of them has only two: Cana and Korr.

At their base, they are the representations of the concept of opposites, in all the forms those take. Respectively, they are Sun and Moon, Day and Night, Light and Dark, Destroyer and Creator, Hunter and Hunted, Death and Life, Fool and Trickster and so on. Their most popular representations are of the Sun and Moon.

Cana, the Sun, is depicted as a canid of some kind; usually a dog, though occasionally a wolf or fox. The Moon, Korr, is naturally depicted as a cat, whether housecat or panther (or other big cat) depends on the teller, era, and locality.

A lot of superstitions revolve around these animals as a result; a dog, especially one with pale fur, was seen as a herald of disaster or drought, while a dark-furred cat was revered as a sign of good fortune. The opposites, ie a dark-furred dog or a pale-furred cat, had different meanings; the former a symbol of either betrayal or resistance, and the latter one of instability and change or triumph over evil. Dogs were unheard of as pets in the region until only a century or two before the modern day, and cats are still far more common.

The concept of light and heat as a harbinger of destruction and ill fortune is generally seen as having arisen from the unforgiving desert and savannah environment that the POV culture arose within. The country within which the story takes place, Havel, has grown more secular in recent decades, but some neighbouring countries that, unlike Havel, have not become as much of a cultural melting pot over time, still retain these beliefs as a significant part of daily life.

Creation Myth

In the beginning, there was only the Renn, or the Empty, a state of non-existence at the beginning and end of the Universe. The Renn was the absence of everything- it was not dark, nor light, it was simultaneously infinitely dense and containing no matter at all. It did, however, have a single imperfection: the point of collapse of the world before it, the tiniest seam in the Nothing that cloaked it. Time didn't yet exist again- the seam simply was, an antithesis to all that didn't exist around it. From the seam spread an Imbalance, and from there, two forms in symmetry, unfolding outwards and bringing with them Existence.

These forms were the original Twins, Cana and Korr, the light and the darkness. Like all things, they existed in opposition- one could not exist without the other, but they actively counteracted each others' existence. Cana's bright burning self forced Korr to protect himself, lest they were both destroyed. From the once-Renn around the, he surrounded himself in soil and stone, and settled there, within the delicate shell of the newborn World. There, in the safety of the dark, he created Life, and bided his time until he might emerge once more.

Night and Day, and the Theft of the Moon

For a long time, the sky was dominated by only Cana. The sun reigned over all, and daytime was eternal, leaving the world a scorched and lifeless place. Cana's shadowy twin, Korr, couldn't stand to emerge from beneath the ground lest he be destroyed by her light.

However, one day, he decided to try and speak with her. He waited until she was resting on the horizon, a rare moment where the heat and light wasn't so strong, and crept up to just beneath the surface, hiding in the shadows of a narrow cave. From there, he told her of all the wonders of life that were trapped below the earth from her heat, and if she could perhaps share the sky with him, they could emerge and she would no longer be alone within it.

Cana refused- she didn't trust her brother's tales, and she was afraid of the cool darkness he described. But Korr didn't relent, and eventually, they came to an agreement- she would hide herself for one minute, and allow her brother alone to emerge and walk the surface for that time, no longer. But Korr was cunning, and as she hid, now blind without her own fire, he snuck through the shadows and snatched a piece of her light.

Furious, she gave chase to burn him back beneath the earth, but despite how his stolen light burnt in his mouth, Korr didn't stop running, and shadow fell over the earth in his wake, becoming night.

Here, the story differs according to the telling. Some say that the moon is that stolen light still held in Korr's teeth, trapped in an eternal chase through the sky. Others say that he tried to hide it, and it burned half of him away, becoming his pale twin Pyrrhus, running as the moon alongside him in the night. Either way, the ending is the same: the siblings continue to chase, and day continues to turn to night, and with just a little less light burning from Cana's paws, life was able to emerge and grow.

Another variant of the story, central within Havel's Church of the Blind Creator, tells that Korr was blinded by his stolen light and swallowed it, causing his descendants, Cyrin, still to burn from the inside. Most Cyrin's tendency to easily overheat, often resulting in harm to themselves, is the reasoning for the latter. This is in contrast to the primary telling of Cyrin's origins, which says that in revenge for Korr's betrayal, Cana cursed/blessed (depending on the teller's opinion) some of his proudest creations, humans, with her fire and strength, and those were the first Cyrin. To some, this painted Cyrin as harbingers of loss and destruction; to others, gifted ones tasked with using Cana's power for good and new creation.

-- -- --

CYRINISM

alternately: hmm, do I have the flu, or am I developing abilities that will permanently change the course of my life (possibly by killing me)?

I'm going to do a basic overview of Cyrinism as a whole, just to have all that info in one place! So, this may rehash some things I've already briefly mentioned in other posts, just bear with me here.

Let's get started!

Hey Wind, TF Is A Cyrin?

Cyrin (pronounced alternately sigh-ren or see-rin) are humans born with the genetic potential for Metamorphosis, colloquially called the Change. The primary biological difference between a Cyrin and a regular ol' human is that Cyrin's bodies manufacture a hormone known (very creatively) as Metamorphase, or colloquially the only sort-of correct Biorase.

If one is born with this potential, they have a high chance of developing abilities at some point in their lives. These can develop at any point, from birth to old age, though are most commonly developed between late childhood and early adulthood, that period generally being one of high stress and high emotion for an extended length of time. Some other conditions and circumstances can result in earlier development, such as anxiety disorders or a stressful home environment.

Abilities vary wildly in variety and form, but must always adhere to the rule of being physically possible in some way, with the exception and inclusion of the multitude of forms of telekinesis. As an example, a targeted telekinetic ability for liquids may be seen, but more fantastical things such as complete fire immunity or unassisted flight are not (using telekinesis on oneself or on surrounding wind currents, however, could be used to acheive weak flight, though most abilities are not strong enough to fully lift a human being for long). Most abilities can be chalked down to a specialized form of telekinesis, a supernaturally enhanced talent, or unusually strong sensory perception, which collectively encompass a startling variety of individual powers.

As you might imagine, however, many abilities may not be fully possible or without harm to the user without a certain level of physical modification. That's where Metamorphase (or, to an extent, its extracted and processed variety, Biorase) comes in.

When Metamorphosis is triggered, the Cyrin, who up until that point would have lived and been in every way human save for low-level production of said hormone, will undergo minor to major physical changes to accommodate their new abilities. Often, this would kill them, though death rates have been significantly reduced through modern medical advancements; I will elaborate on this later.

These changes and their symptoms of development will vary depending on the ability. An easy example is with Pyrokinesis; the ability to control and sometimes produce heat and flame. They are one of the most commonly studied varieties of Cyrin.

"While seemingly one of the simplest instances of Cyrinism on the surface, the sheer potential of Pyrokinetic-derived Biorase boggles the mind. As long as it is kept stable, it is a near-infinite source of thermal energy, though unfortunately proves to be as volatile as its hosts when contained. Further research must be conducted." - Notes on the Economic Viability of Biorase, Dr. Rhyan Andersen, Protusol Labs

Initial symptoms of Pyrokinetic power development include profuse sweating, a high fever, and callus-like thickening of the skin on hands and lower arms. Other symptoms similar to those of heat exhaustion and hyperthermia can also be noted, including but not limited to: extremely high physical temperature, heavy sweating, severe dehydration, dizziness and fatigue, weak and rapid pulse, and a pulsing headache.

Even after initial development, many abilities have long-term side effects that affect the Cyrin for the rest of their life. In Pyrokinetics, these include perpetually high body temperature, increased difficulty self-thermoregulating (especially in situations of high emotion), being easily and rapidly dehydrated, and headaches and muscle cramps due to mineral loss from excess sweating.

All Cyrin, however, regardless of ability, tend to share common symptoms during their Change; these include extremely high fever, widespread autoimmune response against new tissue growth, severe migraines and occasionally swelling around the brain, dizziness, and severe nausea and digestive upset.

Wind, Show Us The Full Ability List!

Well, you asked for it.

Categories and IDs are those used by the Corynen and Protusol Labs for categorization purposes; they don't accurately reflect the sheer variety and variation of abilities, and only include those that have been clearly observed and researched. Many more theoretically exist that have simply gone unrecorded. (This list is a WIP- feel free to suggest any ideas of your own!)

Cyrinism And You

Cyrinism affects every aspect of a Cyrin's life, both socially and in their personal day-to-day. Abilities, especially in the first few weeks after development while Metamorphase levels are still stabilizing, are very unstable and prone to being triggered by any high-emotion situation, whether negative or positive, especially when the body's natural stress response is triggered. Through stimulation of dopamine receptors and an interconnection with the adrenaline response, the abilities granted by Cyrinism both feel 'good' to use, and are often involuntarily used during moments of panic, despair, anger, pleasure, excitement, and other high-intensity emotion. The release of Metamorphase alongside adrenaline is likely a defensive mechanism, strengthening abilities with the tradeoff of control, but can cause significant issues when paired with conditions such as anxiety or general societal stressors where adrenaline is produced in situations where it is unnecessary. In these situations, as well as those where Metamorphase production has been inhibited or drained for some time and thus the body's resistance weakened, the hormone can become actively harmful, even toxic to the body, and thus very dangerous to trigger beyond base levels.

The latter situation makes taking any sort of Metamorphase-targeted hormone inhibitor extremely risky, as the body will quickly lose its adaptation to the hormone's harsh effects, resulting in any missed dose having severe or even fatal consequences. An insufficient dosage, too, can be harmful; without the hormone's regulating force, abilities may become unstable and cause irreversible harm to their host. Nonetheless, inhibitors are a common prescription for Cyrin whose abilities cause severe detriment to their daily life, or have proved otherwise harmful due to intersection with other exacerbating conditions.

Cyrinism used to be far more fatal. Its recessive nature meant that it could skip through several generations undetected, before making its appearance as an almost certain death sentence for the afflicted child- especially in Havel and its surrounding countries, war-torn and battered from decades of conflict. The Corynen party's rule in Havel brought with it a new era of peace and rapid advancement, especially in the area of specialized medical care for Cyrin, significantly reducing the fatality rate and leading to a population boom of Cyrin as more and more survived to adulthood. Now, beneficial accommodations exist throughout nearly every aspect of society, from school programs for Cyrin children to free medical care for Cyrin and non-Cyrin alike.

However, while a lot can change in two decades, some older sentiments remain. Some chafe against the term Cyrin itself, one brought from another language and culture with the Corynen's leader, and use the original term Cananyene (can-yan-yohn), meaning One cursed by Cana. Language conflicts also arise from the party's name, similar as it is to Korrnyane, meaning One blessed by Korr, indicating it as being in Korr's favour, a controversial statement to some, especially given the party's non-Havellan roots. Variations include Cannanyene and Korenyane respectively, as there is some regional variation in the spelling of the gods' names.

If none of this makes sense to you, make sure you've read the mythology post linked at the beginning of this one! The shorthand is that Cana and Korr are the twin gods of traditional Havellan mythology, representing opposition between destruction/evil and creation/good, respectively. As for language, that's a future post that I'll link here once I make it! The conlang is a work in progress for now.

Other complaints include the sentiment that Cyrin aren't meant to be so common- that intervening in nature's course is wrong, and that they should be allowed to live or die as they will. Given the controversial and rather cruel nature of that statement, it is a rare one in recent years, though still crops up from time to time, usually from those dissatisfied with the government's focus and spending on programs for Cyrin.

Despite such opinions, by and large, the public opinion of Cyrin is neutral to positive. Some have taken to calling them Korrnyane, Korr-blessed, seeing them as gifted rather than cursed. Some families celebrate a Change akin to a birthday, a tradition carried through from similar pre-war celebrations for a child or teen who survived their Change, and traditional medicine and remedies for the sickness of one's Change are still in use with some, a somewhat controversial practice given its lesser reliability compared to modern equivalents.

Not everything, however, is perfect for Cyrin; as with the research into treatment for Metamorphosis/Change came the realization of how valuable the hormone that makes it happen truly was.

Put simply, Metamorphase is a catalyst of sorts; it encourages and controls rapid and specialized cell growth, and after extraction and processing, can be 'programmed' to perform specific and widespread adjustments to those cell's DNA. A useful biological functionality for the bodily modifications necessary to handle, for example, flames and high heat for extended periods with minimal damage, but also for many, many medical applications.

It was a breakthrough, and efforts began at once to try and synthesize the hormone. However, this quickly proved extremely costly and nearly impossible, consequently making natural Cyrin blood a very, very valuable commodity.

The Corynen and their associated laboratory, Protusol Labs, get much of their stores from mandatory yearly blood donation, that of non-Cyrin going to hospitals for general use, and that of Cyrin being processed for research and pharmaceutical use. The general opinion of the practice is... mixed, but most simply treat it as the price for having the medical care to survive in the first place.

The Genetics of Cyrinism

Cyrinism as a whole is a recessive trait with some co-dominant properties. Its inheritance pattern is demonstrated by the chart below:

Confused? Recessive means that two copies of the gene must be present for the trait to present itself, like blue eyes; you need one copy from your mother and one from your father. Having only one copy of the gene makes you a carrier; you will not have blue eyes (or Cyrinism) yourself, but if you have kids with someone else with at least one copy, there's a chance that one of those kids will get both copies and have blue eyes (or be a Cyrin). Co-dominant simply means that the gene still has some effects even if you only have one copy! It just doesn't give the full trait unless you have both.

As indicated, there are three genetic possibilities:

1. Normal Human/non-Cyrin 2. Cyrin 3. Carrier

'Normal' indicates a human who does not carry any copies of the gene(s) determining Cyrinism. They will not develop any abilities, nor experience the side effects of such.

'Cyrin' indicates a human who carries both copies of the gene(s) determining Cyrinism. They will both develop abilities and experience the side effects of development and continued hosting of those abilities.

'Carrier' indicates a human who carries only one copy of the gene(s) determining Cyrinism. They will not develop abilities, though they may experience some mild development symptoms, spurred by their body preparing for abilities that it will never develop. Additionally, they may generally be heartier and hardier overall than someone without any copies of the gene, giving a slight genetic advantage that contributed to the survival of Cyrinism as a trait.

It is, in a way, similar to Sickle Cell Disease in our world. That, too, is a recessive condition with some co-dominant traits. If you have both copies of the gene, you have the disease, and all the painful and potentially fatal symptoms that come with it. However, the same gene that causes sickle cell also makes one resistant to malaria- and that trait also applies if you're only a carrier of the gene. So, you're very lucky if you only have one copy, as you won't have the disease and you also won't get malaria. However, if you get both copies... not so much. (This has been interesting facts you never asked for with Wind.)

Simple enough. The actual mechanic of what ability one gets as a Cyrin, however, is far more complicated, and still under study.

(Obligatory warning that it gets a little technical after this point, so don't worry if it's confusing! I'm happy to explain it all further if you ask!!)

As far as can be determined thus far, the specifics of what ability develops is highly sensitive to the presence of a large assortment of different alleles within the Cyrin gene itself. An allele, put simply, is a little switch that controls a specific trait within a gene. To use a metaphor, whether or not the Cyrin gene is there is like whether or not a specific room is unlocked, and each of the different alleles controls whether a certain decoration exists within that room. If the room is locked, aka if two copies of the Cyrin gene are not present, no decorations can be put in the room. But if it is, there's all sorts of possibilities for furniture! A whole catalog, even! And each entry in that catalog is an allele.

These alleles can influence or overwrite one another- to use the furniture metaphor again, one allele might say that the table is red, but you can't see that beneath the white tablecloth a different allele put on top of it. What specifically each allele controls is still difficult to say, given to what extent they influence one another, and can sometimes result in a child having entirely different abilities than their parents, spurred from a chance combination of the two's various bits of metaphorical furniture and knicknacks. There is an underlying order, but it is one that is often difficult to predict due to the sheer number of variables.

While strictly managed family lines like those of the Families of the Church of the Blind Creator, tend to have near-identical abilities in each consecutive parent and child, a consequence of years of carefully tracked parentage, they are outliers adn should not have been counted.

Okay, That's Probably Enough Information For One Post