Family: Dragon
Type: Angel
Habitat: Human settlements, mountain regions
Disposition: Strong-willed, devoted
Diet: Carnivorous
Rarity: Nigh extinct
Angelic Form:
Draconic Form:
Angelic dragons are born from an unexpected union between angelic beings and dragons, though it is unclear how they were successful. The eggs of these angelic dragons and their parents were found inside the hideout of a Dark Mages who went mad and was conducting genetic experiments. Angelic dragons seem heavily influenced by their angelic parents; they take on traits more commonly seen in their mothers. Their draconic features are rather unique; it's believed this is also caused by the angelic influence, but it's only a theory.
Angelic dragons have two forms. Their draconic forms, which most are born into, are often larger and physically stronger than their secondary forms. Each angelic dragon’s draconic form has scales of varying color along their arms and legs, and they gain clawed hands and feet. In the other form, which they can take with great concentration, their monstrous traits lessen, they shrink in size, and the scales and claws recede. This allows them to enter buildings and carriages if they so wish. No matter which form an angelic dragon takes she will still have her wings, horns, and tail.
A man who is lucky enough to be the mate of an angelic dragon will often find himself being pinned down. They especially like to have sex in their draconic forms, locking their mate under their large bodies and smothering him or her in their soft flesh and smooth scales. If they become pregnant they will lay large eggs that they keep with them at all times, guarding them like their dragon parents would their hoard.
Name That Mamono: Sybil
Angelic Form:
Draconic Form:
Sybil is an angelic dragon who mostly stays in her angelic form, which is a rarity among her kind. She sports multiple feathery wings and a long sleek dragon's tail and horns. Sybil wears plate armor legs and arms while wielding a large sword to fight with. When she was found the only one with her egg was her draconic “father;” her angelic mother was never found. As she was raised her father told her stories of how strong and unwavering her mother was against the dark mage and how much she loved both of them, yet she avoided answering questions about what kind of angel she was. Eventually when she came of age Sybil started working for her family's savior, a gazer who raided the hideout. She was given the task of watching over a cult from afar in the region of Teremir that the Gazer believed was tied to the dark mage in some way. For years she has worked stoically with loyalty to her savior and hopes to find traces of her mother, but a recent visit from one of the gazer’s other allies a white-scaled dragon has her noticing how lonely she has been, the feeling itching at the back of her mind.
Katua are a very rare subspecies of elf of very peculiar disposition; they are elves which possess a dual body. In her natural state a katua appears as an elf whose appearance is split straight down the middle. The most common configuration for a katua is that one half of her is a dark elf while the other half is a wood elf, though any combination of different elven subspecies is theoretically possible. Her appearance being split down the middle includes all features in which two species of elf would diverge, including the color of her skin, her eyes, and her hair. Even the textures of her body, such as that of the hair or the skin, may diverge between the two halves. The two halves will, however, share the same physical size and general build so that her shape remains largely symmetrical.
Katua retain this strange dual appearance throughout their childhood and early adolescence. At some point during adolescence they develop the ability to magically split their bodies in two. This means that, when split, each of the halves will appear fully as one of the subspecies of elf that make up the katua’s appearance. Splitting in two does not, however, mean that they are actually two distinct mamono. A katua bears only a single soul, and even when split that remains the case. While split her soul will only ever reside in one of her distinct bodies. Due to this there is a limitation on how long and far the two bodies can venture away from one another. Being separated will cause a drain on the half without a soul, and the greater the distance between the two the faster this drain will occur. On the other hand, this effect can be counteracted very fast by the two halves being in close proximity or by merging once more. If the soulless body is drained too much it will simply stop being able to move. While this by itself is not immediately dangerous, the body can only resume proper function once it is replenished by the presence of the soul-bearing counterpart. The greatest danger that might arise from this is if the soul-bearing body is unable to reach the soulless body in time and the soulless body cannot replenish its vitality. As a consequence, if the soul bearing body should die then the soulless body is doomed to be slowly drained of its vitality and eventually cease functioning and die. On the other hand, if the soulless body should die the soul bearing body can continue to function, essentially as a member of its respective elven subspecies. The personality that died with the soulless body, however, is permanently gone. After fully mastering her transformation the katua herself is able to determine which part of her bears her soul by choosing which portion of her being she splits off from herself.
Both halves of a katua generally bear the same personality as the original. It has been observed, however, that katua who spend a lot of time as their two distinct halves have a tendency to develop split personalities due to the conflict of varying experiences and expectations clashing in the process of merging once more. While minuscule at first, the older a katua becomes the more distinct her personalities will become. In most cases more than two personalities can even be developed due to a certain personality arising from her experiences in one body but then being housed in the other and further diverging. While she exists as one whole being the katua’s personality will be an amalgamation of all her different personalities, but while split the soulless body carries only one distinct personality while the soul bearing body carries the amalgamation of all the others.
Katuas are often magically gifted, though their particular affinities are often influenced by the distinct halves of her heritage. This also means that, if a particular school of magic is a poor match for one half of her heritage, her ability to wield such magic while in her merged form will be limited. This limitation does not apply while the katua has split herself, but there is a great difference in the magical capabilities of the soul-bearing and soulless bodies. While both are capable of performing feats of magic, the soulless body will find herself drained much faster when performing magic.
Katua are able to take great advantage of their physical peculiarity. Splitting herself in half means that she will be able to absorb new knowledge at twice the rate compared to being in her merged body. Doing this will accelerate the development of split personalities, however. Some katua take advantage of this by cultivating distinct personalities and training them in distinct skills, which allows a katua to split off a particular personality for tasks requiring a specific skill set or predilection.
When it comes to courtship katua have a variety of approaches at their fingertips. The older the katua the more approaches she has at her disposal. The precise approach a katua may use will depend strongly on the heritage she carries as well as the personalities she has cultivated since her adolescence. One might favor a forceful approach while another might prefer to use the gentlest of her personalities to endear herself to her intended love. Whether approaching the target of her affections in her merged state or with one or both of her split bodies the only certain thing the target of her affection can count on is that they will be surprised.
As with their courtship nothing clear can be said about the experience one might have while actively in a relationship with a katua. They tend to carry the typical elven pride, but the extent to which it matters to them will vary wildly. The dispositions of individual katua are too varied to make general statements. What can be said is that katua don’t disappoint in the bedroom; having one or two playmates at once in bed is sure to keep anyone busy and plenty satisfied. While in a split state katua even possess a form of low-level telepathy. While this doesn’t allow them to share detailed thoughts it does let them share feelings and, to some extent, anticipate the intent of their other half. As a consequence a man or a woman in bed with a split katua may find that the two halves are eerily proficient when it comes to harmonizing their actions. Making use of their distinct personalities can also provide great variety for bedroom activities. Sleeping with a katua’s soulless body while it carries her most domineering or most submissive personality will make for great variety, and that doesn’t even account for her soul-bearing body, which always retains an amalgamation of all other personalities, joining in.
Katua reproduction, like the entire subspecies, is somewhat peculiar. A katua is able to get pregnant in any of her states of being; they can conceive while merged, and either of her halves can conceive while split. This is one of the reasons why katua are as rare as they are. If a katua should conceive while in her split state her daughter’s species will reflect only that part of her heritage. Only if the katua conceives a child while in her merged state will her offspring be a full katua herself. Another peculiarity is the fact that a katua is unable to split after pregnancy begins. This is the surest and earliest sign telling a katua that she is pregnant. In reverse, if one of her distinct halves is knocked up while split, the katua is still able to merge once more, but can subsequently not split again until the pregnancy has been completed. If a katua should remain split for a long period of time after conceiving she may find herself unable to merge again until her pregnant half has finished carrying her child. This can be problematic for the soulless body, since it must remain close to her soul bearing twin for most of the duration of the pregnancy.
In rare cases a member of any elven subspecies may give birth to a katua, which indicates that some ancestor of hers was born of one half of a katua. In even rarer cases a katua may give birth to another katua that does not fully share her heritage. When this happens it is an indication that some of her ancestors likely procreated with another elf of a different subspecies.
Name That Mamono: Miere
Miere (MEER) was born in Aendrithor nearly 400 years ago and has lived all over the continent. From Aendrithor to Elewyr, from Hajiokagawa to Bestallion and the Sunken City, from Umbra to Teremir and even to Ahijit-Tanti in Kaori. However, among all the varied lands of the continent, Miere favors Amarante the most and has spent more of her life there than anywhere else. Acaltos is the place where she finally settled down, and it is where she has invested the fruits of her life’s labors. Miere is a katua of chocolate and milky pale skin, with black and blonde hair and eyes of teal and deep saffron. Her heritage is that of a dark elf and a wood elf. She is the youngest of four sisters, though she is the only one to be a full katua.
From an early age Miere had a bit of a hedonistic streak; she was always more keen on reveling in sensual pleasures than manual labour. That was why she left Aendrithor after a year of dedicated tutelage in the arts of pleasure under a well-known dark elf courtesan. From there Miere has travelled the world and continued to build on her skills, and she has cultivated a diverse set of personalities to help her become a widely renowned courtesan herself.
While she started out as a cheap whore, she slowly built a reputation and her skills until she could afford to pick and choose among any number of wealthy clients. Her popularity is no accident -- the way her distinct halves can cooperate to drive anyone mad with pleasure is addictive, and that is not even mentioning her skill at eromancy or the very unladylike appendage between her legs that she keeps tucked away with uncanny skill.
These days Miere is semi-retired. She lives in a large mansion in Acaltos, the capital of the Karpathesian islands, and enjoys the fruits of her investments. She still takes a customer every other week for the sake of her own enjoyment but otherwise spends much of her time maintaining her physique and reveling with the rich and powerful of the cities.
The only hair in the tasty soup that is her life is the lack of love. While many of her current and previous clients would likely not mind offering their hand, Miere is not interested in a permanent relationship with any mamono. No, Miere wants a man… but not just any man. She wants an innocent man, one she can guide onto the paths of pleasure with her wealth of experience. And while she does not particularly struggle with the pride many of her elven kin suffer from when it comes to humans, she does certainly expect a certain level of quality. The problem, of course, is that such men are not exactly readily available.
tygertygerAug 30, 11:31 PM
"When you have bought your own load of hooey, you know exactly what it is worth." -- Bruce Sterling
