Bestiary
When writing content for Avilium, we generally try to avoid using terms like Human, Angel, Elf, Naga, Gnome, Kitsune, Hobbit, Oni, or any other widely known fictional races and creatures. While we may design characters that could fall in line with some of these classic races based on features or power sets, in order to avoid confusion between creators and canonical misalignments, we have opted to define every race carefully within our own lore.
Civ Races
Civilized creatures capable of the conscious development of their language, military, economy, industry, science, agriculture, and/or government. The term "Civ" is often used by in-universe characters as a colloquialism of sorts. We'll be using the same term in this wiki. Civs are separated into races. A race is differentiated by the physical traits most commonly shared by a group of peoples with similar origins; in most cases that origin is their home planet.
Races can be narrowed down further into Ethnicities, Tribes, and Clans as defined by unique locations, cultural practices, and/or more specific physical traits. At this point in time, there are only a handful of defined races, ethnicities, tribes, and clans to select from when it comes to character creation:
- Chieran
- Ferihon
- Plasidian
- Waerrani
Effectively the 'humans' of the universe. They originate from the planet of Chiera and rely heavily on Tech for their day-to-day lives. Once the Chieran people achieved interstellar travel, they quickly began colonizing any planets that were inhabitable. Because of this, Chierans are very spread out throughout the galaxy and Chieran culture has been known to vary drastically from planet to planet.
The Ferihon are animal/human hybrids with a focus on their humanoid traits. Ferihon have a variety of animalistic ears, eyes, and tails depending on the clan they come from. The Ferihon often have one or more of their senses heightened beyond the capabilities of a regular Chieran based on their animal features. The origins of the Ferihon are now forgotten, but for as long as history records have existed, the Ferihon have existed alongside Chierans.
Unfortunately, their relationship with the Chierans has historically been filled with racism and war. While the Ferihon have existed alongside Chierans for a very long time since time immemorial, many clans have now split from the Chieran people and governments to establish their own new home planets and cultures.
These horned humanoids are one of the few races discovered outside of the Galaxy of Hadieia through portal-driven travel. Plasidians originate from Plasid, a planet scarred with endless war and bloodshed. The Plasidian people have not advanced very far in terms of Tech, but their control over Myst is far more advanced than that of other available races. Plasidians had never left their home planet until the people of the nation of Markovia came into contact with the Empire of Avinadal.
The two nations have begun working together to establish permanent portals between their worlds, exposing the Plasidian people to advanced Tech and bringing the Myst-oriented teachings of the Plasidians to other races.
Effectively the 'elves' of the universe. They originate from the planet of Waer and are known for their ability to combine Tech and Myst seamlessly. The Waerrani people took on a heavy focus on terraforming technology as they began discovering space travel. Due to their focus on terraforming, there isn't much variety in culture from planet to planet and their colonized star systems are often more densely populated than those of other races in Avilium with smaller reach.
Physically, the Waerrani are known for their vividly colored hair, olive/tan skin tones, and pointed ears.
Maleida
Maleida are the creatures who are born in and inhabit the Maleidic Realm. These creatures are born when lost souls are corrupted by Maleidic Madness and are driven to consume other souls. The madness worsens as their memories meld with the memories of their meals. These souls eventually utilize the Corrupted Myst of the Maleidic realm in combination with their newly developed and twisted self-image to develop distorted and terrifying physical vessels to use as new bodies. Despite the random nature of their creation, there is evidence that certain types of Maleida are generally recurring but no data exists to explain why certain Maleida have consistently similar bodies.
Mysterva
Within the Avilium Universe, the term "Mysterva" refers to any creature that is brought into existence via Myst. Some Mysterva, though not all, are capable of communication and higher intelligence. Mysterva are generally split into three categories: Summoned, Spawned, Maleidic.
Generally speaking, Mysterva do not require any sustenance to live outside of the Myst that exist naturally around them or the energy of their summoners.
- Summoned
- Spawned
- Maleidic
Summoned Mysterva are creatures born through the use of intentional Myst Manipulation in order to give shape to a living being tied to the creator's own Myst. Summoned Mysterva and their creators always know where the other is with a range limited only by the creator's own Myst Affinity.
The process to create a Summoned Mysterva, otherwise known as Summoning, can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Factors such as number of summoners, their mindset, objects used, rituals used, and location can all affect the final result of the Mysterva in regards to their appearance, size, abilities, and intelligence.
While a summoner's Myst Affinity can affect the capabilities of the Mysterva, their Myst Control defines how much say they have over the final product. If summoners have poor Myst Control either individually or collectively when performing a summoning, they run a high risk of summoning a Maleidic Mysterva.
Spawned Mysterva are creatures who come into existence through the natural ebb and flow of Myst without intentional participation from any conscious party. These creatures are quite rare, but it has been observed that if a location has the correct parameters to create one Mysterva, it can often create more in that same area with similar or identical properties. Most Spawned Mysterva are weak and pose little threat, but when the conditions are right, powerful Mysterva can spawn with cataclysmic destructive power.
Due to the way that Spawned Mysterva come to be, they are fairly susceptible to becoming Maleidic Mysterva under the right conditions during their spawning. If they are not corrupted by Maleidic Waves, however, Spawned Mysterva often mind their own business and have even been seen joining local animal populations or contributing to and even protecting the natural ecosystems of their spawn locations.
Maleidic Mysterva are Mysterva that have been infected by Maleidic Waves during their creation. The Maleidic corruption can drastically change the final look, abilities, and temperament of a Mysterva, almost exclusively for the worse.
Due to the madness that Maleidic Waves cause, these creatures are often violent without provocation and despite the Mysterva's lack of need for sustenance, these creatures are driven to devour living creatures and consume their Myst and life energy. Maleidic Mysterva with high intelligence are considered some of the most dangerous creatures in all of Avilium.