Vindiktus (index)

Vindiktus is a dark-fantasy roleplay that explores themes of racial tension and slavery. Vindictive is a darker rework of the roleplay Destiny of the Forlorn.

To be continued...

Geography (Viticuus)
The setting and home planet of Vindiktus is called Viticuus. Viticuus is a life-sustaining planet not too much unlike Earth: not far from its sun, volcanic activity, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, shifting plates and a former Pangean supercontinent. Presently, there are only two continents on Viticuus which are located relatively close to each other; they sit North and South of each other. They are called Ragnass and Ohtem respectively. Their separation is believed to be caused by continental drift which resulted in a large oceanic trench that subsequently created a large lake called the Bay of Viticuus. The lake's name stems from its former existence as a bay. On either side of the Bay of Viticuus is an enormous, river-like body of water created by the trench that gives Ragnass and Ohtem the appearance of literally being cut in half. The Bay of Viticuus at its largest point is five-hundred nautical miles from its Northernmost and Southernmost points and the trench is, at average, one hundred nautical miles across. The trench runs the entire length of the Ragnass and Ohtem (1600~ miles) only slimming significantly at the Western half of Ohtem to create the Ohtem Isthmus.

Races
Viticuus is home to many strange species, five of which are considered sentient, albeit some question the sentience of others. Nevertheless, the sentience is there, and is great enough to make them playable races. These five races are the Humans, the Durgal,  the Iktor, the Natross and the Avren. Additionally, there are two playable races that are considered subsentient: the Fae and the Shelled. Although the divide between the sentient and subsentient is obvious, there is a divide between the sentient races that fuels much turmoil. The Humans and Durgal often consider themselves greater than all other races, sentient and subsentient. This ethnocentrism exists to the extent the Humans and Durgal call their evolutionary branch the Albus and refer to that of all others as Brutum. The Fae and the Shelled rarely comprehend the depth of the actions taken by Albian races, but the Iktor, Natross and Avren do. Although the Humans and Durgal consider themselves superior, the sentient Brutum races consider them ignorant.

Humanity
The origins of humanity are contested; some believe they are the anscestors of the Durgal while others believe they are interbred Durgal rebels that formed their own race. Regardless, the Humans have made their name known in the world of Viticuss. The Human Empire spans the largest in all of Viticuus, branching into peaceful territories with the Durgal to the North and encompassing quite literally the rest of Ragnass. Despite the immense size of the Human Empire, it is nowhere near as strong as its ally, the Durgal. This is mostly due to the friction and differing beliefs within the human culture; friction inside the culture often creates political issues due to the multiple regional governments that run the Empire. Alongside the chaos of their culture is their fatherhood of the Ablian Court, which is the uniting body of the Durgal and Humans because of their Ablus heritage. It is also believed the Humans created the concept of the Ablus and Brutum races, and the racial superiority of the Ablus.

Durgal
The mountaineering Durgal are the shortest of all sentient races and come in two flavors: the Duren and the Galen. The Duren are the upper class Durgal, and are lithe as well as far more intelligent than their brethren, as well as all other races. The Duren are the fathers of all industry in Viticuus. The Galen are the stronger, stocky brethren of the Duren. At the cost of the impressively immense intelligence of the Duren, the Galen can endure sub-zero temperatures with nothing but a windguard, and are strong enough to crush brittle rocks with their bare hands. The Duren and Galen are all the same race but rarely interbreed due to the aristocratic differences. The Duren are considered the Head class while the Galen are the Branch class, and crossbreeds often lose the advantages of being Duren or Galen purebreeds, resulting in them being even lesser than the Galen.

Iktor
The Iktor are the furred race of Ohtem. The Iktor have no single governing system, and if they did it would be far larger than the Human Empire. The Iktor live in tribes, and each tribe resembles a different respective animal. Some resemble jungle cats, others wolves, and more, but despite the huge differences between them (and the inability for different races to bare offspring) they are all considered Iktor. The Iktor are often raided and forced into slavery by the Alven whom subsequently sell them to the Humans. Near-constant war rages in Ohtem because of this, so tribal tension is often disregarded for the more immediate threat of the Alven. No tribe, no matter how far East (away from the Alven homeland of West Ohtem), is safe from these raids, for the price and demand of any tribe is subject to change, and often the Eastern Tribes fetch higher prices. Because of the futility of running and the Iktor's strong bond to their home, they often refuse to flee from the Avlen. Slave trade has picked up in the last few centuries as the human economy tries to compete with the industrious Durgal. Not only has the Iktor fought for its freedom, but with this new pressure they fight to preserve their spiritualism as well.

Natirr
The Natirr were once considered a tribe of the Iktor, but over countless years they have been recognized as a new race by the other Brutum. The Natirr resemble incredibly large bears, and are less humanoid than the Iktor. Often, the Natirr walk on all four limbs, and their fur is brightly colored with patterns representing their lineage. The Natirr are incredibly strong, but more notably are far more spiritual than the Iktor, resulting in a far stronger magical bond. The Natirr often create life-long bonds with Fae - bonds that can last hundreds of years if not barred. Although the Humans are considered the strongest mages of Viticuus, many envy the magical prowess of the Natirr. Few ever reach the natural magical properties of these bearmen. The Natir is a small race, with only a few thousand or so alive. The Natirr are nomadic, and rarely meet another of their race, but because of their long life spans their numbers continue to increase, albeit slowly. It is rare for the Alven to hunt the Natirr. Mostly because of the difficulty to keep them in slavery (for both Humans and the Alven), but also the dangers of engaging a Natirr in combat.

Alven
The Alven are the Avian race of Ohtem, and are the only race to achieve flight. Despite the industrious nature of the   Durgal, even they only dream of flying like the Alven. Despite their ability to fly, the Alven are small, lightweight and  very fragile. Their bones are hollow, and their bodies often have thin skin and easily damaged organs. Yet, despite this, the Alven manage to enslave the Iktor and sell them to the Humans to the North. With their impressive agility, talons and high birth rate, Alven raiders have high success rates and can come back from losses that may result from failed raids. The Alven economy is drove by this slave trade. The Alven are not above flying across the continent in flocks to hunt an Eastern Iktor tribe merely for the price of their head. The Alven know of the Albus-Brutum belief of the humans, but generally disregard it. The Alven are prideful, and their warrior raiders are considered some of the most deadly in the world.

Fae
The Fae are subsentient magical sprites of sorts. The Fae feed off of magic, albeit minute amounts. The Fae are symbiotic creatures, either parasitic or mutualistic. The Fae require another organism, or source of magic, to live, and require that magic come from a sentient source to ever grow in intelligence - You are what you eat, you know. Although a Fae will never truly reach the intelligence of its host (unless it has been feeding on a more intelligent host), Fae can become impressively intuitive and creative. They are often considered tricksters. It would be unwise to underestimate a Fae, for, if a Fae is fed correctly, they may go toe-to-toe with a lesser mage. The Fae most often create a life-long bond with a single organism, and either die (from grief or starvation) or move on to a new host afterwards. The Fae mate simply by merging their magical essences in a ritual, and subsequently bind the essence to a young host. It is thought that if a Fae were to live long enough, they may nolonger need a host. This is considered myth by some, however; only a story from the Iktor and Natirr, telling of a Fae that lived so long, he needed no host, but died of loneliness.

The Shelled
The Shelled are subsentient insectoids of Viticuus. The Shelled always start as hive creatures, living their lives as oversized drones mutated by the magical properties of Ohtem. When a member of a hive (such as bees, wasps or ants) will wander too far off from its home and the spell of its queen's pheromones will wear off, it has an opportunity to become far more. If the creature survives, it will begin to go through a biological process where it grows larger, shedding multilple times and growing in intelligence with each time until it reaches subsentience. Myth states that if a member of this race lives long enough, it may become a very large, intelligent, and more humanoid variation of its former state. The Shelled often have difficulties communicating, and tend to be more myth than reality despite their actual existence. They are considered socially awkward, few ever learning to communicate with language, and few living long enough to "evolve" the ability to speak. It is hard to describe one of this race, for the only true reference ever made is to their exoskelleton as they are called "The Shelled".