Zakath/Xalem
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
- Main Article: Zakath
Contents |
Biology
Xalem entities are beings of pure magic and brute force. They only share a few of the same features that humans have, those features mainly facial and body structures. Xalem entities are composed primarily of the magical essences of the souls harvested. A typical Xalem body has almost no internal organs or systems, save for a simple skeleton. In addition, Xalem entities produce almost no bodily fluids.[1] Xalem entities do not possess the urge to engage in intimacies and do observe mating rituals. No Xalem entity possesses the required reproductive organs to reproduce through intercourse. Reproduction occurs through the use of the Creator.
Creation
Xalem entities are not everliving creatures, the normal lifespan being at least three-hundred years, if they are not killed before-hand.[2] The creation process requires the freshly harvested soul of a fallen humanoid. When the Creator receives the soul, it will refine it and transform it into a new Xalem entity. Very few Xalem entities recollect any of its past lives, but every so often, buried memories of the souls' past resurface. A Creator is not required to use any soul they capture immediately. A harvested soul may be "stored" for later use.
The Creator
In the centuries that the Xalem have been in existence, there have been three Creators in total. Xalegos Emaros, the first Creator, was the only one bound by the natural lifespan of a typical Dirkethi human. Xalegos knew he could not live forever, so he devised a simple method of choosing successors. Every three-hundred years, the Creator would produce a Xalem entity that would eventually show a sign that all Creators shared: glowing purple eyes. If, in its lifetime, a Xalem entity received these glowing eyes, they would slay the current Creator and assume the position for themselves. This method of succession ensures that no single Creator gains a sense of deification.
General Appearance
All Xalem are human-like in appearance. Their flesh is black as night, making most features difficult to see. They typically have white, glowing eyes, long, hooked noses, and long, yellowed tusks extending out from their jaw. Their tusks force their jaws to have a large underbite. Large wings extend from their backs. All Xalem entities have horns and tentacles.
History: The Xalem
Aftermath: The War of the Ancients
Prior to the Darkfall, a proud race of humans lived in what is now called "Haunted" Dallia. The Emperor of Dallia had been manipulated into war by Gamius the Mortal God, and engaged into hostilities with the Trinomans, eventually pushing the conflict into war. The Dallian Empire fought for years against the Trinoman Alliance until the Ancient Ones defeated the Mortal God. Already suffering from the razing of their capital city, Gamius' defeat completely demoralised the Dallians and enabled the Trinoman Alliance to secure complete victory in the war.
Unfortunately for the Dallians, the Trinoman Alliance was not kind to the Dallian Empire at the peace conference in the the Dallian province of Denia. The Emperor of Dallia was forced to sign a treaty with the governors of the Empire's six provinces, declaring the independence of each province and effectively dismantling the Dallian Empire forever. Secondly, the treaty prohibited moblisation of the Dallian Army and forbid any Dallian soldier from crossing the borders into the neighbouring nations. Finally, Dallia was to be permanently occupied by Alliance military, a clause that had been controversial by both parties. The end of the Empire and occupation was not enough for Darconia, however. Following the ratification of the Treaty of Gidenia and the departure of the Karideans, Trinomans and Kaelenei, the Darconians took to the sword once again and systematically destroyed everything in Dallia, including the Dallians themselves. The Darconians were trying to drive the Dallians to extinction.
"Haunted" Dallia
The Darconian genocide against the Dallians was proving to be dangerously effective. In an attempt save his dying race, a Dallian Shadowcaster named Xalegos Emaros began hastily collecting the souls of Dallians, harvesting them as their owners fell to Darconian swords. Xalegos was quickly able to harvest millions of souls, and using these souls, he began the creation of a new race of magical entities he named the Xalem, meaning Shadow Warriors in Ancient Dallian. With the creation of the Xalem, Xalegos fled into hiding in the ruins of Dallia, where he devoted himself entirely to his new race. As the Xalem flourished, he renounced his claim to Dallian ancestry and called himself the Creator.[3]
Inevitably, the Dallians were destroyed, driven to extinction. But through their pact with the Creator, they were reborn as Xalem. The Darconians, assuming they had completely destroyed all that was left of the Dallian legacy, left Dallia and returned home. The Xalem then emerged from the protection of the Dallian ruins and slowly began occupying the barren wasteland that was now Dallia, claiming the land they thought to be abandoned.[4] Since the Xalem did not bother trying to repair the cities, villages, roads and forts that had been destroyed, Dallia came to be known as "Haunted" Dallia.
The Darkfall
By the coming of the second Creator, the Xalem had evolved into a prosperous race and had formed alliances with the humans. Constant contact with the humans had begun to force memories of humanity back into some of the Xalem. Many entities began feeling anger and hatred towards all humans. Soon, their hatred grew to revenge, and several factions were formed within the Xalem, each with the goal of destroying the humans. Through the constant uprising, a prominant Xalem entity named Xorgath was able to rally the factions under one standard, creating the Zealots. Xorgath and his Zealots began assaulting anyone they saw on the roads, human and Xalem alike. They sacked and burned villages, killing indiscriminately. Entities that supported the humans were also killed under the accusation of treason.
The Zealots' path ultimately took them to the keep of a Trinoman Shadowcaster named Animus Voro. They easily overpowered his guards and kidnapped Voro, taking him to the Creator. There, they killed him and fed his soul to it, eventually creating Zakath "the Soul Eater". With Zakath's creation, the Darkfall had come.
References
- ↑ Xalem do not require food or drink, however, should they choose to drink, the liquid substance they consume acts as saliva.
- ↑ The Creator is the only exception concerning this rule; it lives until it is killed.
- ↑ Xalegos Emaros was the only Creator that could exercise his will outside the Creation Process. All subsequent Creators had no sense of identity and lived only to create more Xalem entities.
- ↑ The Xalem had no recollection of events that happened to them prior to their rebirth.
