by Casey Wolfe
Herbology
Divination
Runes
Races
MAGES:
Everything about them is human, save for one biological difference. There’s a force of magic every mage is born with, known as mana. This condition is hereditary and it’s possible to appear in a child even when a family hasn’t had mages for generations. A small percentage of people born with mana will never manifest their powers—usually a mage’s powers will awaken before puberty, especially with a mage parent(s).
Mana is a naturally replenishing element within a mage’s body, secreted through an organ known as the manara, which feeds their magical abilities. Without mana, a mage will not be able to use magic. They train their bodies and minds, allowing them to use less mana for certain spells, and even to increase the rate their bodies replenish mana. There is artificial mana that a mage can take, but typically guilds frown on its use. However, it can be commonly used by battlemages during combat. Another way to get around the use of mana is blood magic, in which a mage can use their blood, or another’s, as an alternative power source—which is one reason it’s a controversial area of magic.
A quirk of mages is that their eyes will glow when using a decent amount of mana/power—this seems to vary mage to mage—and the color they glow is as unique as the mage, not necessarily matching their eye color.
They can live longer than humans—up to one hundred and fifty years—and medical experts have surmised it’s the way that mana interacts with the body that causes this.
WITCHES:
They are humans, but with special abilities. Unlike mages, witches don’t have mana, so they don’t rely on that for their powers to work. However, they can still drain themselves mentally and physically from using their abilities too often and they can train to combat this. While mages can learn any number of spells, witches are born with a single ability. Their powers tend to be mental in nature—telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, etc.
WERE-CREATURES:
They can be born or changed—though not all races are capable of becoming were-creatures, likely due to certain genetic markers. Born were-creatures won’t shift for the first time until they hit puberty.
Were-creatures are bound to the moon. As such, they can be forced into a shift on these nights. One can learn to control it, and older were-creatures are typically good at resisting a full moon shift. It’s believed that born were-creatures are better at controlling this than changed ones because they’ve lived with the animal their whole lives and thus are more connected to their other halves. Some were-creatures choose to wear anti-shift devices laced with magic to help inhibit the change.
There’s also Alpha werewolves to consider, who seem to hold an even greater affinity with the moon. Qualities bred over time have created a werewolf stronger and faster than their regular counterparts, but they also have some unique magical abilities—for example, Alphas can heal pack members. They are easily identified when they let their Alpha nature surface with their glowing red eyes and the smoky shadows that surround them.
Were-creatures can detect their mates through physical contact, and sometimes scent. Cross-species mating results have been passed down through packs/ clowders/ clans, knowing what works and doesn’t. To set a mate bond, they trade bites. Another were-creature couldn’t be changed by the process, nor can vampires, while other races can—and often are—changed to become were-creatures themselves for a stronger mating.
In their animal forms, they typically tend to be larger versions of their normal animal counterparts. They have enhanced senses, also relative to what type of animal they are—a werewolf might have better smell than a werepanther, who has better hearing, and so on. Their lifespans reflect those of average humans, not their animal counterparts.
Silver can be deadly, as were-creatures have developed a severe allergy to it. Small amounts can be relatively safe—more akin to an irritant—thus silver is infused in tattoos or piercings for were-creatures to make them stay. Otherwise, their natural accelerated healing would heal them over.
VAMPIRES:
They are daywalkers. This wasn’t always the case, but they evolved to it, and in doing so, their abilities have changed. Their night vision diminished as their tolerance to daylight increased. To find a vampire who still has the skill to change into mist or shadow is rare, and such vampires are most likely intolerant to the sun. Most of their unique abilities, such as blood and shadow magic—typically passed through bloodlines—have vanished alongside their nighttime habits. They have natural regeneration allowing them to heal at an accelerated rate. They’re extremely fast, though agility is relative to the individual.
They can be immortal. They can be killed through major trauma—brain or heart damage, blood loss—or starvation. They aren’t immune to disease, but they have a higher tolerance to viruses and bacteria.
A vampire can be born—though it's considerably rare—or a human can be turned into one—other races haven’t been successfully turned for one reason or another. The process involves draining a good deal of the human’s blood and then having them drink the blood of their sire. The change itself may take anywhere from three to five days to be complete. While they eat and drink as any other race would do, they require blood as well. New vampires and injured vampires require more blood than their older or otherwise healthier counterparts.
Like were-creatures, vampires also have mates. They have the ability to sense their perfect match, which can be of any other race. Depending on the race, a mating bite can be given and received, bonding them together. Vampires can then detect their mates at greater distances—the strength of the bond will affect how far that can stretch—pick up their feelings, their health, etc. It’s similar to a sire-childe bond, but stronger, and a mate bond will typically dull a sire-childe bond, though it couldn’t get rid of it. Science isn’t sure how exactly such a bond works, especially not between a vampire and another race—what vampires understand of various cross-matings has been passed down through covens—but science does acknowledge it being different from a soul bond.
ELVES:
The immortal elves were one of the first races to reveal themselves to the humans, helping to bridge the gap between mundanes and magicae during the early years of integration. They are brilliant inventors and scientists in their own right, and have helped advance technology and medicine in big ways—helps when you have ages to study findings.
While they may still have their elven cities as seats of culture for their people, they have fully involved themselves in society as a whole. Still, the call of nature is in their bones, and thus most elves found living in cities are likely half-elves—humans, both mundane and magicae, have been found to be compatible with elves to create offspring.
Because of their immortal nature, young elves age rather slowly—about half that of humans. Once their bodies reach a state of full maturity, the aging process halts. They are able to be killed by trauma or illness, though they have better immune systems than other races, and some slightly advanced healing that stems from their own natural brand of magic. It’s not as complex as mages, or even were-creatures and vampires, but it’s there.
While they can’t tell who their mates are like some races, they do believe that the Earth Mother has a soulmate for everyone, somewhere out there—race, gender, none of that matters. Elves are able to perform an ancient ritual of soulbonding, where the two partners—though there have been cases of trios—have their souls physically linked together. It allows the partners to not only sense each other as other mated pairs can, but they can also speak telepathically. A downside is that should one of them die, the other is usually soon to follow, as a literal piece of themselves is now missing.
Most elves still follow their ancient teachings on the Earth Mother. It is, quite obviously, a nature-based religion, believing in the balance of all things. They believe that in death, their bodies return to the earth, while their souls travel to the Beyond to be with the Earth
Mother and all those who came before them.
MERPEOPLE:
Mers have been known to live for centuries. Their long, scaled tails and fins can be found in every color imaginable. For protection, they have sharp spines down their vertebrae and forearms, along with claws, and sharpened teeth that are similar to a shark’s. Their skin is porpoise-like in texture, though the color is as varied as humans are. Their facial features are also very similar to humans, including their eyes and hair. Despite the gills on the side of their necks, they also possess a pair of redundant lungs that allow them to breathe above water and talk. Below water, they speak in clicks and whistles like other sea mammals.
They reside in clans spread through various oceans. Mers typically do not stray from the clan they’re born into. They hold to migration patterns as the seasons and waters change. There are few places where multiple clans gather in peace, which is usually the only time they’ll be seen interacting. They use this time for trade, sharing news, and—sometimes—mers will choose to go with another clan when they part ways.
Some clans are sociable to land-dwelling races—whom they call Topworlders—while others stay far from shores, ports, and passing vessels. It isn't a wonder, since there are still nations that hunt merpeople for sport and profit, refusing to recognize them as a sentient race of free beings.
NYMPHS:
A type of fae that come in a variety of subspecies, such as dryads and naiads. Though they have historically been guardians of nature, they are fascinated by the modern world. They have fallen in love with people and can now be found rather commonly in cities. They tend to be natural healers, or anything that involves working with the public. Despite their sociability, it would not be wise to disturb their sacred homes. All nymphs are bound to a natural space—usually the place of their birth—and they will defend it viciously, even giving their life to keep it safe.
Their appearance varies by species, a reflection of their nature. For example, a dryad—which is a forest nymph—has bark-like skin and foliage in their hair, while a naiad—a water nymph—is often pale with features to match, moving more like liquid than a solid being.
Nymphs are unique in that their magic allows them to reproduce without regard to gender.
They are long-lived, up to half a century easily. They can be killed by normal trauma or disease, although they are a bit more resistant to illness than some other races. But the sure-fire way to kill a nymph is by destroying their sacred home, which is the heart of their power. Also, a sick nymph could be a sign that it’s actually their sacred home that’s “sick.”
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to my local writers group and my NaNo writers group for all their help in making this trilogy become a reality.
As always, thanks to my soul mate for being my greatest supporter, for pushing me to go after my dreams, and raising me up to reach the stars.
About the Author
“Everyone deserves a Happily Ever After.”
For Casey, writing equals existence. History nerd, film enthusiast, avid gamer, and just an all-around geek. Casey has been known to spend a lot of time dancing around the kitchen to music while cooking. Add in an unapologetic addiction to loose-leaf tea, and you get the general picture. Married, with furry, four-legged children, Casey lives happily in the middle-of-nowhere, Ohio.
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One Bullet
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