Venereth
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A venereth looks like any other member of their race and has no distinguishing physical features. On the day of their birth, however, their body is covered in enigmatic writings, which vary in colour and shape from one venereth to another.1
Origin
The history of Teneris is one of destruction and rebirth, in which ancient secrets come to light and are buried again, and knowledge decays and loses its context over the ages even in the hands of those who devote their lives to preserving it. Desolation was the greatest cataclysm the realm had ever faced; during it, counting the lost was easier than counting the survivors.1
The scholars who had foreseen the catastrophe were driven to deep sorrow and anger by so great a loss. A group of sages, whose names are now lost to history, performed a creative but perilous ritual before the Desolation claimed their lives. They sought to save knowledge of history, magic, the natural sciences and religion from oblivion and pass it on to the future, and to achieve so unorthodox a goal both they and the generations after them would have to pay a grim price.1
The markings
The writings on a newborn venereth fade within a few hours of birth and reappear only under certain conditions, which differ from person to person and seem arbitrary. Their meaning remains a mystery even to the wisest scholars.1
The markings do not seem to be hereditary, and the chance of being born a venereth appears to be entirely random: one twin may be a venereth while the other lives an ordinary life.1
A venereth who is raised from the dead reawakens with the same markings they bore at birth, which is taken as a sign that the writings are etched not on the skin but on the soul.2
Birth and persecution
When a venereth is born, especially in the countryside, the family often does not understand what is happening, and many families have abandoned such children deep in the forest in the belief that they were cursed or demonic. A baby whose markings glow a beautiful white may be taken for a divine blessing, especially if born into the clergy, but one whose marks resemble the colours of hellfire is unlikely to be so fortunate. Some families hide the truth, and mothers and midwives sometimes keep it even from the father.1
The Inquisition regards the markings as signs of witchcraft or corruption carried in the blood, and is inclined to execute any venereth on sight. Should a venereth have an unlucky encounter with the Inquisition, their family may find itself in serious trouble as well.1
Scholars have a saying among themselves: if a tiefling is born with a great deal of luck, it is called a venereth. They know the two are not the same, but both are born with marks, some more visible than others.1
Born with talent
Every venereth is born with an exceptional capacity to grasp one particular subject, an inclination sometimes so profound that it seems like inspiration or divine revelation. Venereth are born with knowledge written on their bodies and are predisposed to uncover it. If they pursue their subject, they can rediscover lost knowledge at a pace no ordinary human lifetime would allow, and so fulfil their purpose; many, though, die without ever answering or even understanding this calling.2
Life and names
A venereth ages and lives like any other member of the race into which they were born, and receives a name suited to the culture of their birth. Venereth have no language or culture of their own and usually do not live in communities.2
Kinds of venereth
Four kinds of venereth are found in Teneris, distinguished by the glow of their markings and the conditions that bring them out.2
- Moon venereth bear markings with a faint, moonlight-like glow, which appear when exposed directly to the light of a full moon.2
- Fire venereth bear markings with a faint, fire-like glow, which appear when touched by fire.2
- Storm venereth bear markings with a faint, yellowish glow, which appear in stormy weather.2
- Snow venereth bear markings with a faint, white glow, which appear when they touch snow.2
Notlar
Kaynaklar
Bu madde şunlara dayanır:
- BoDBook of Dead(Bad Badger Games, 2024), pp. 14-15
Bu maddedeki görseller
Book of Dead (Bad Badger Games, 2024), p. 14. Art by the Bad Badger Games team.
İlgili maddeler
OlayThe DesolationThe cataclysm that ended the First Age, when the Dark One attacked Teneris. Gods and whole civilisations died, the two continents were parted and more than half of Caligran became desert.HalkTieflingsPeople born, rarely, into human families, known for a connection to hell and for strange powers in their blood. Feared in the cities and taken for devils in the countryside, most are abandoned by their families and grow up as orphans.KavramEmpirianThe daily language of the Empire, spoken by most of its people and also called Common.BölgeTenerisThe ancient world in which the Lands of Exile lie, with two great continents, Caligran in the east and Canarque in the west, divided by the Great Western Sea and the vortex called the Eye of Aquaron.HalkHumansThe people who lived in northern Caligran long before the Desolation, sheltered the long-lived races after the Exodus and remain the greatest power in the Lands of Exile, at the heart of which stands their Empire.
HalkBadgerfolkA small, fur-covered people from the Blue Forest who resemble badgers standing on two legs. They are skilled craftsmen and archers, build wooden towns they can move with the seasons, elect their mayors, and often stand with the wood elves.
HalkCapraA tireless, goat-headed nomadic people of the Yellow Sea beyond the forest frontier, led in herds by their strongest warrior, the Shepherd, and divided between herds bound to nature and herds touched by dark gods.
HalkDroomA rare people born from the heart of an ancient forest, whose bodies of bark, leaves, vines and resin make them resemble walking, talking trees. They have no parents, do not age, and turn back into trees when they die of natural causes.
HalkForgottenThe dead who walk with their souls and their memories intact. Unlike the mindless dead, a forgotten remembers everything, looks as they did in life but paler and cold, does not age, and must hold to a purpose or slowly lose their mind again.