Udran’Beydir

History

By the winter of 9257, despite a valiant effort by Moonstone ac Silrosian’s forces, the fate of the Elven Revolution had already been sealed. Dwarfed in both numbers and training, the rebel forces fell into disarray and were soon in full-fledged retreat. Unable – or more accurately, unwilling – to flee north to Dargis, the elven forces were placed in an uncomfortable quandary. Without a clear land-based path to the northern Sylrosyan Confederation, naval transportation was a last resort; a landing during the harsh Medonian winter, however, would be impossible - only a journey east to the warm water ports at the border of the empire and the Orckish assembly would permit a boarding. The elven forces, though tired and weary, were forced to do the unexpected: to break through the lines of the pursuing army in order to escape.

In the year 9258, Moonstone, still haunted by the strategic terror of the winter frost, had expended nearly all his troops in a deadlocked battle to break through the imperial lines. It was a battle not likely to turn out in the favour of the elves, and reports of vysstichi surfacing in the west, if true, would result in an unpleasant pincer situation, dooming the Medonian elven forces to extinction.

At the elven-built Chang’peyhr Bridge, over the River Candace, Moonstone made his last stand. The Syl transport ships had been waiting on the Orckish border for several months, concealed by arcana from the prying eyes of both Aelyrians and Orckish nationalists. With overstrained mages, however, their magicks would soon give out within days, and the ships would be forced to return, lest they be discovered. In the face of overwhelming imperial hordes, the confirmation of approaching vysstichi forces from the west proved the last straw in a hopeless conflict. Elven scouts had seen necromantic practices within the enemy camps – dark rituals of debauchery and sacrifice, haunting tribalistic dances, murder and terror. And so, the Medonian elves steeled themselves to their fate, preparing for a battle on two fronts.

Days later, embroiled in what he thought would be their last battle, Moonstone’s troops found themselves unexpectedly reinforced – by the forces from the west that they’d so come to fear…

The alleged “dark elves” were, in fact, not dark elves at all, but originally Medonian elves. A splinter group from the Medonian revolution – extremists, so to say - that had given up their integrity, their morals to further the cause. In the futility of the situation, many years past, they had turned to the necromantic arts and forgotten weapons. But they soon found that even the dark arts were not enough. The power they’d already tasted, however, bore a terrible price. The leader of the splinter elves, an aged elf by the name of Sah’hei Ta’sao, begged the dark lord for a means of defeating the imperial forces – a selfless act to allow for their Medonian cousins to escape, as the now-fallen splinter group would never be allowed to reveal themselves in daylight. And Jorel did provide such a means, but at great cost. The covenant the dark god had made with the splinter elves would cost them their souls, their minds, and their sense of purpose. The dark lord revealed an ancient secret to them, a process so simple that even the lowliest necromantic initiate could undertake it – and one that that very same initiate, in a sane mind, would never attempt to. That process was the Ritual of the Udran’Beydir, the ritual of the shadowless. It was a transmogrification into a form altogether different from one’s own; Fools would call it an evolution, but in fact, it was no such thing.

With the strength of the Udran’Beydir, the splinter elves performed their last duty, their last autonomous action – the sending of the imperial forces into complete confusion. Moonstone’s forces fled to the east in the chaos that ensued and managed to safely board the transports; had they more time, they too would have wished destruction and death upon the splinter elves. Elven justice applied to all, after all, and though the splinter elves had saved them, it would be a crime in the eyes of Aetheria to suffer the existence of a necromancer. But, quite simply, they did not have time. And so, this too came to pass, and the agreement had proved fruitful.

Jorel, however, now claimed the lives of the splinter elves; not for death – he had no use for death, and no desire to enrich Jalat’s domain. Instead, the Udran’Beydir were sent forth to convert the peoples of the empire to the worship of the dark lord himself; the splinter elves had little choice in the matter, for their souls and lives had been signed over and were no longer their own. And so, began the subversive influence of the Udran’Beydir, reigning over a thousand patterns – to this very day, in fact, though their influence had died down along with their numbers. They are a dying group, shunned by surface elves for their dark covenant; shunned by vysstichi for their surface origins, despite their common master.

Ethos

An Udran’Beydir’s strength is drawn from his covenant with Jorel – or more accurately, the covenant which his forefathers made, hundreds of patterns ago. Because of this, should an Udran’Beydir ever attempt to break faith with Jorel and renounce him, he will draw the dark lord’s personal attention. Needless to say, this is fatal is practically every case.

An Udran’Beydir must use his abilities to slay only for Jorel’s agenda. The dark lord desires worshippers, not corpses.

An Udran’Beydir is bound to truthfulness when dealing with other minions of Jorel; naturally, this does not apply when dealing with others yet to have received the dark message. For the purposes of darkness or of light, synergy is essential. Mistrust is a weakness to be exploited by the light.

An Udran’Beydir must treat fellow Udran’Beydir as brothers. Udran’Beydir may never betray their brothers; nor turn them away when in need of assistance; or cause trouble to befall them. Should an Udran’Beydir defy this and create conflict within the darkness, he will be struck down by the blades of his comrades.

The Ritual of Udran’Beydir

Once he becomes an Udran’Beydir, the trainee becomes a polarized, misshaped shadow of his former self. The Ritual of the Udran’Beydir, or more commonly referred to as simply The Ritual, enjoins the subject unto the dark path made by Sah’hei Ta’sao over a thousand years ago – a pact for great power, in exchange for eternal servitude. Though the splinter cell, the first Udran’Beydir, received their power instantaneously, they did so through a mixture of divine intervention and Jorellian whim. Such a transmogrification has never been done again, and the path of the Udran’Beydir must be walked by the trainee after The Ritual.

Standard Effects of The Ritual

Augmented Speed and Reflexes: The Ritual modifies Udran’Beydir body structure to react incredibly quickly by increasing the speed at which neural impulses travel along the elven body, as well as changing muscle output to come in short bursts, instead of steady streams. As a result, Udran’Beydir are extraordinarily fast. At well-trained levels, they are said to be so fast as to outpace their shadow – hence the name “shadowless”. Hence, they often choose weapons that require little physical strength: whips, rapiers, daggers, and the like.

Sacrifice of Strength: An Udran’Beydir sacrifices much of his strength. Because of this, he is unable to wear armour of any sort, including leather. His bones, as well as the muscles that holds them together, are radically restructured, and can no longer bear heavy loads, apply pure force, and so on.

Sacrifice of Constitution: Elves are naturally weak of constitution, and an Udran’Beydir is an even more brittle fellow. Though not so weak as to have their hands crushed by the fabled handshake, Udran’Beydir bones break from even unarmed attacks. They are afflicted by illness easily. Udran’Beydir require great deals of time to recover, whether from illness or injury.

Effects of The Ritual on Non-Elven Races

In order to undergo the Ritual of the Udran’Beydir, the race subject must be naturally dextrous. Though historically, elves were the first Udran’Beydir, the spreading of the art was part of the spread of Jorel’s dark message. Because of their biological similarities, Vysstichi and Moriquendi adapt easily to The Ritual. Furthermore, all Katta sub-races (exception: Lionoids), and all Fae-Folk sub-races are suspected to be suitable subjects, though effects of The Ritual may vary in their cases. Attempts by other races to undergo The Ritual almost always result in death, due to biological incompatibilities.

Special Effects on Moriquendi
Inclusive Effects: The effects of The Ritual on Moriquendi are virtually identical to those of surface elves, due to their near-perfect biological resemblance.

Special Effects on Vysstichi
Inclusive Effects: In addition to their own effects, Vysstichi taking The Ritual undergo all effects listed under Standard Effects of the Ritual.

Extreme Visual Augmentation: Though Vysstichi darkvision already grants them perfect vision in the dark, The Ritual further supplements their excellent vision. Their eyeballs and sockets become moderately deformed, pushing the eye forward in a slight bulge; this results in the Vysstichi’s range of vision roughly doubling, as well as an increased arc of vision. However, should he be exposed to daylight, the Vysstichi is no longer merely blinded, but suffers extreme pain, usually resulting in immediate unconsciousness. Prolonged exposure results in death.

Special Effects on Katta
Inclusive Effects: In addition to their own effects, Katta taking The Ritual undergo all effects listed under Standard Effects of the Ritual. However, due to possible mental, physical, or spiritual incompatibilities, minor random effects may vary, up to moderator discretion.

Heightened Hostility: The Thaumaturgic strands passing through each Katta is snapped once he experiences The Ritual. As a result, Katta Udran’Beydir often find themselves unable to control their hostile tendencies, even against fellow Udran’Beydir. As a result, many Katta Udran’Beydir who fail to regain control of themselves within the first few ranks are often slain to prevent a possible future rift in Udran’Beydir ranks.

Mild Empathy and Insanity: The raw Mysticism matrixes that endowed the Katta with intelligence are not unaffected by The Ritual. Though Mysticism strands are not obliterated by the necromantic infusion of energy, they are somewhat dispersed, resulting in mind mental degradation and momentary loss of reasoning. The dispersion of the strands extends to approximately one and a half meters in all directions from the Katta; as a result, he is able to “read” the emotions of other races to a small degree. This cannot be done without training; training of this ability must be done on the Katta’s own, and is considered under the Udran’Beydir policy of no-assistance. For example, the Katta may be able to read the emotion of “anger” from someone around him, but would not be able to read that the subject was about to attack. Due to its unorthodox methods, this ability cannot be shielded against.

Special Effects on Fae-Folk
Inclusive Effects: In addition to their own effects, Fae-Folk taking The Ritual undergo all effects listed under Standard Effects of the Ritual. However, due to possible mental, physical, or spiritual incompatibilities, minor random effects may vary, up to moderator discretion.

Alteration of Wing Muscles: The Ritual modifies Fae-Folk wing muscles, endowing them with the ability to sustain longer bursts of speed. By releasing heavily mutated glandular acids, the Fae Udran’Beydir is able to increase the speed of his already quick flight by approximately three times. However, due to the intense acids released during this process, a Fae that sustains the release of acids for longer than roughly ten seconds will be subject to wing-freeze, a special condition where the subject is unable to use his wings for a short period of time. If the Fae persists in releasing the acids even after achieving wing-freeze, he will find himself fully able to resume flight; however, doing so for more than an additional five seconds will result in total degradation of wing muscles. At this point, the damage done cannot be healed through natural, thaumaturgic, or druidic means. Fae-Folk may fly at normal speeds indefinitely simply by retaining glandular acids – these speeds
are already enhanced by the standard effects of The Ritual.