Race - Sharakals

[Hinatahere]

Sources:

Mythological - Fictional - Original

Self-created. Feel free to use it to create your own race, I don't mind. I do however ask that you credit me for the source, as I thank Hisao for the basic sheets :3


Content:

• Basic
  
• History
  
• Life
  
• Types of Sharakal
  
• Body/anatomy
  
• Abilities

Basic:

A sharakal is a being that has always dwelled in the darkness, from birth, to the age of 18. This has also given them a natural 'Nightvision' allowing them to see in nightlight as though it were broad daylight, though in exchange, they have weakened sight in light, unless using strong shaders. Their total life time varies from 100-200 years, though most will kill themselves, as at the age of 80, most will be bedridden, and only the strongest can still fight past that age, none being known for being capable after 100 years.

Sharakals have three different appearances, though they are only born with one, and cannot change. What they turn out to be is completely randomized, as darkness mixes to one. One is a being with animalistic features, mostly a wolf, though sometimes taking the shape of other predators, with human anatomy, A.K.A the ability to walk on two feet, rather than 4. The other is a demon, and the third is a Human-like shape, with no special attributes aside from the colour of their skin being black. The demon shape is often born very tall, sometimes standing over 7 feet in height, where as to the human has an average of 5, and the animal varies completely, without any exact height ever being set, though mostly varying from 4-6 feet in height. All three races will dress as black, or they will be worth 'Less' in society, and become outcasts. They also use 'Mana' to control their powers, this being their inner will. One can only use so much of it at once, and there's a limit to daily dose before one will literally commit suicide from overuse, since the mind can only take so much of a strain.


History:

"The legend of Kor Therna"

This is the hometown of these beings, though once, it was but an empty cave. The reason they live in darkness from birth to at least 18, is that they are not allowed to leave the cave before they have reached the age of 18, and there is absolutely no light in there, meaning the only way to live, is to adapt. The town in itself has stood for countless years, though, because of the darkness, nobody but another Sharakal could ever possibly hope to find it, as it is trapped within countless caves, a maze only a mastermind or someone familiar could help to find their way through.

It was originally founded by a few archeologists who happened to stumble upon a cave. They explored for days, going deeper each day. Eventually, they reached the core, though as they did, the supply had run low, and they had no idea where to go to come back. After the first day in darkness, they grew insane, a group of 4 starting to hunger and thirst. It leads to cannibalism, and in the end, only two remain. A female, and a male. They are disgusted by each other, but then by themselves.

Water comes from the ceiling that appears to be roof, and drips down, making a small waterfall. Constantly being provided whenever it rains, it was an endless source. What's more, is that there has grown countless flowers and berries that only grow in extremely cold and dark places. As the cave has countless strikes of wind into it each day, it lays at about -5 to -10 degrees celcius, meaning they had to adapt quickly. It didn't take long before they got used to the enviroment.

Unable to find their way out though, they started digging out houses with whatever rocks they could find and such. It didn't take long before they started to re-populate. As the archeologists died, those kids still living in the darkness having grown up, one of them went out to explore, and returned with a few more which had randomly gotten lost too. Within a few weeks, the amount of people populating the little place were over 100, and each made their seperate homes.

As time passed, the children were born with the parent's adapted sight, and had it at all times. Then, someone suddenly turned the darkness into a source of power, through sheer will of the mind, which later on was looked at as though it were witchcraft, though the 'leaders' which had been appointed, in order to make the town live-able, decided that it was perhaps for the better that the town gained a source of defence. The man who had attained the powers taught the rest of the villagers how it was done, and eventually, after the town existing at least 10 years, they had obtained the power, and within another 10, it had become yet another birthright.


Life:

Sharakal can ONLY be born within the town. Anyone born outside will be a half-breed, because the instant a birth is given in light, the child's powers will be cut in half, and the child will never be able to obtain it's otherwise true powers, nor will it be able to see well in darkness. They are, as said, born randomly at appearance, though there is no discrimination between any type of the races. Upon birth though, they are born as helpless as any other child.

Though even at a young age, as young as perhaps 2 or 3 years, the child will be able to manipulate the darkness. The nightvision is something they have from the moment they are born, and cannot be learned, nor can it be 'gotten' simply through visiting the town, because it's an evolution of over 5 years that has made it possible for a child to have it upon birth.


Types of Sharakal:

Kerzanet:

The demon form. The shadow forms it manipulate are often more destructive than defense based, and as such, it has a higher attack power, though a lower defence ratio at the same time. Also known for being hot-tempered, they are mainly the chargers in a battle, and the less tactical ones. They do also have the ability to adapt to fire, though by doing so, the darkness will decrease in power, though never fully dissappear. They mainly only like contact with others of their race. They are usually 7 feet tall, though sometimes up to 8, never below 6.

Talohomen:

The humane breed of this race. They are the most balanced of the three, because they aren't hot-tempered, they are tactical, and they have both a good defence, and a good attack ratio. There is no particular downside to them, but they're also the most simple of the breeds, and do not have any 'special' attributes that the other two might possibly have. They talk to whomever they see fit. Average height of 5-6 feet

Defors:

The animal breed. They are known for precautions, and as such, defense is often their strongest side, using their intellect rather than their knuckles to fight. They aren't weak, but will avoid fights at any cost, avoiding any sorts of contact other than those they are already familiar with. An animal's specialization is the ability to 'foretell' things through instincts. Nothing is accurate to a 100%, and it won't always kick in, but battling on instincts means you have become as hot-tempered as the demon-breed, but will back of when danger is sensed. Average height of 4-6 feet.


Body:

Appearance:

They all look quite alike, aside from a few differences. The demon will often have a red eye colour, likely to cover the entire eye, or have demonic features to it, and perhaps horns as well.

The animal has a tail, and ears, which make them the easiest to differ from the rest, since the tail isn't hidden, but always in plain sight

The human has a human appearance, aside from the black-toned skin.

Gender-based anatomy:

They are pretty much just alike any other race, and don't have any 'special' attributes to it. There's both females, as well as males.

Skin:

The skin depends on the breed. The animal breed for one, has fur, where as to the demon has a rougher and hard skin, sometimes closer to dragon scales, and a human has flesh like any other, aside from feeling extremely cold.

Reproduction and gender:

There is, as mentioned before, no specific way to tell what breed one will become, even if both parents are of the same breed. And as such, the only way your height could be affected, were if both parents were of an equal height. Even though a lot of them appear alike to the naked eye, they have learned to differ from one another with ease, even if it's just a tooth being twitched ever so slightly to the left. Females and males are pretty much alike, because they're always dressed in heavy black atire which makes it nearly impossible to differ a male from a female, aside from facial features which might give it away. Below the clothes though, a female will always have a more frail appearance, but sometimes, they can overpower greater males. However, in the basis of appearance, they are easy to differ from one another, hence why wearing clothes, to protect their agenda.


Abilities:

Darkness:

It goes under the topic Darkness, but rather than what most would probably believe, it is not control of whatever darkness surrounds you. Instead, you let your own type of darkness exceed from your body, in exchange for body colour, or even cloth colour. This means that the more black clothes you wear, the more power you have to work with, though at the same time, one can only control so much, meaning to literally have a ton of black clothes touching your body won't do jackshit if you can't control more than a shirt.

This is the reason most wear a large black coat of such, because it's the ultimate amount, neither too much, nor too little. It can be done to create illusions, make sleeping gas, smoke screen, things such as a temporary shield, or a weapon, or anything of the likes. Anything that is coloured black is a weapon for as long as it is in the contact with the body.

What can be manifested from the darkness, appearing to be a light smoke screen, completely black, surrounding the user when not actually having a target or purpose, can be turned into whatever the user wishes, for as long as there is enough darkness for it to be summoned. It can, say, be a wolf that fights side-by-side with you, though it's 100% purely controlled by you, since it's still your power source.

Human:

A human has no special attributes, though due to their balanced status, they are often less fatigued over a long fight, and they can draw small amounts of stamina from the smoke, in exchange for 'mana', which won't affect your physical condition, nor will it exert you, but you WILL run dry eventually. Nobody has an infinite amount. It's a sort of trades.

Demon:

They have a hardened scale, rather than regular skin, which is equal to rusty iron in durability, though a demon will not actually feel any extra weight or sorts while wearing it, and it WILL dim the power of a blunt attack, and the cut might be less severe than on a normal being. They also have the ability to learn to control fire, though in exchange for manipulation of fire, the darkness within will weaken, and as will the control of it.

Animal:

They are much more silent, hardly ever wearing shoes, relying purely on their legs, lighter at foot than just about any other being, some with enchanted sight, others with scent and/or hearing. They also have the ability to sense danger before-hand, an animal's instinct being vastly higher than that of a human's reaction time. It would be about the same thing, only an animal would be aware of it beforehand, and thus have a larger time of space to avoid the attack. It's not by a lot, probably a second or two at most times, sometimes less, sometimes more. It won't always work either, so relying purely on it, an animal does not.