Ender

Misogyny embodied. Wounding, sadistic empaths.

Basics

• Taxonomic Order: Metahumans

• Taxonomic Family: Empathics

• Alignment: Infernal

• Energy: Tandh

• Lifespan: 70-120 years

• Diet: Normal mortal fare

• Habitat: Taiga and steppes

Origins

Originally, enders were magically/genetically engineered by Vesturians from Maskovian soldiers captured in battle in order to create super-soldiers who were inherently terrifying. What they created would have been impossible had not the goddess Dostizheniye intervened. What they created had no true soul, no freedom, no ability to resist their intended purpose. What they created was bound intrinsically to the Infernal Realms, but certain events in the long history of the ender nations caused major changes.

The first, very early in their existence, was the death and resurrection of the Bronccour, a messianic figure on First Shem. An ender named Vanev slew him, and when the Bronccour returned to life as a messiah, enders were freed of their bondage to Vesturia and the Infernal Realms. They became a distinct species, though most ended up re-enslaved by Vesturia.

The second major event was the transition and ascension of Aurelia Lucent and her lover, which allowed enders to feel normal human emotions without succumbing to the sadistic senses they were imbued with. They were given agency to be more than they were.

Finally, the third event was the Fall on Third Shem of mother-right, the end of matriarchy and rise of patriarchy, which transformed the enders into what they are today. Those who remained as part of the Vesturian slave-armies became the Konets, but those who sought freedom and a distinct nationality outside of Vesturia's military became Dokintsya, who consider themselves the true nation of enders.

Description

Enders appear to be human in every respect, save for their eyes, which are solid white or red with no iris or pupil. They can still see, however. All enders have seminal genitalia and are almost always male-assigned at birth. Culturally, they favor visible muscles and close cropped hair. Intersex enders are possible, but usually killed.

Procreation

No other species on Shem is all “male”. They procreate with any sexually reproductive species, siring enders on them no matter what the birthing-parent’s species. They are never born with wombs.

Powers

Enders can turn fear resonance into strength bonuses during times of heightened adrenaline. They are generally resistant (but not immune) to disease and poison.

Senses

Enders have a sadistic form of empathy that allows them to feel the emotions of others and take physical pleasure in emotions indicating distress (fear, sorrow, and pain especially). Intense fear, sorrow, or pain encourages healing in the ender if they are injured or ill.

Touch

Enders can cause wounds with the touch of their hands. They can do this through a thin layer of cloth, but direct skin contact is best. Anything more than a thin layer of mundane cloth will impede their attach. The wounding is nearly instantaneous, but the longer they hold it, the larger the wound will be. The scale is as follows, based on wounding in a non-critical area (neck wounds are almost always mortal, for instance):

• Instant - flesh wound

• 1 turn - normal wound, 3 inches

• 2 turns - normal wound, 6 inches

• 3 turns - special wound, 9 inches

• 4 turns - special wound, 1 foot

• 5 turns - mortal wound, 18 inches

• 6 turns - mortal wound, 2 feet

This is the measure of the length of the wound. This can be adjusted for width or depth by halving the size (for width) or sixthing it (for depth).

Their wounding power can affect flesh, muscle, organs, but not bone. Shells, wood, and other hard biological substances are similar to bone, but softer tissues and substances can be wounded on plants, fungi, etc.

Many enders study different wounding techniques that allow them to more quickly perform certain attacks. The most horrifying is called zdyrannya ("flaying"), in which they make three long wounds and are able to remove most of the skin from a human(ish) body.

Taint

The wounds caused by an ender leave a white mark on those who survive and heal from them. These marks are only skindeep and are similar to scars, but they are oily to the touch (though they cannot be washed away with mundane substances). This tainted skin (or zaraza) allows any ender to instantly recognize those with the taint, giving the ender insight into the person bearing it. This translates into a bonus to Read People stat above the sadistic empathy. It also tells the ender when and who wounded the individual. If the wound is special or mortal, the taint will poison the victim (power 13+); if the person recovers, they will have permanent weakness in the part of their body where the taint is.

Weaknesses

Aemoa will reconnect them with the matrilineal line they reject, thus turning them into normal empaths.

Nations

There are two ender nations:

• Dokintsya: a ruling class nation in fascist Maskovy.

• Konets: a slave-nation in Vesturia.

Culture

The Dokintsya dwell in the steppes and forests of Maskovy in northern Ranu. They are part of a major nationalist effort in the country to become more distinct from Vesturian history, not in favor of liberation but in favor of making themselves a new ruling class. They honor the original Ender Corps as heroes while emulating them with their own military. They have gone from being once enslaved to now being a major oppressor nation in their own right, and those who dare seek a different path, those who dare seek true liberation, are imprisoned, enslaved, or killed.

Children are raised by the wife who birthed them, kept out of sight of their father until they are old enough to survive being struck. They are taught from a very young age that violence and physical strength are the utmost values, and that any weakness is to be punished. By the time ender children are in their teen years, if they survive, they are sent off to military school.

Military school among the Dokintsya is brutal, intended to shape every ender into a powerful killer. They are taught armed and unarmed combat (which includes using their natural powers), and they are carefully monitored. Those who excel at certain tasks are chosen to be trained for special roles: spies, assassins, elite soldiers, marines, dushkradtsiv, and of course Pekel'na Bryhada. Once graduated from military school, if they do not go on to other special schools, enders are part of the military for five years. Most stay on longer, but few make a lifelong career of it. While in the military all Dokintsya have a number of rights no other ender has in Maskovy: they can take what they will from lesser classes/nations' businesses, they are entitled to room and board in any inn or lodging house, they have rights over the bodies of any woman they please who is not married to another Dokintsya or other ruling class nation, and they are immune to prosecution for violent acts if they can show they were enticed to it (i.e., if the person felt fear).

Once out of the military, they still have many rights that others do not have, and often they will be forgiven for acts of violence, theft, impressment, kidnapping, and rape that others would not be, even if they do not technically have the right. If they refuse to join the military or quit before their minimum five years are up (without special dispensation), they are banished from Maskovy.

Along with the other nations that are part of the Maskovian ruling class, the Dokintsya make up most of the parliament and executive leadership of Maskovy. Maskovy is a military-tyranny, so the rulers are a triumvirate of military leaders (the heads of the army, navy, and Pekel'na Bryhada).

Art and music among the Dokintsya is militaristic and nationalistic. Rich and powerful enders and other ruling class nations patronize artists and musicians who create works that honor them, their history, and proclaim their supremacy.

Culturally, they hate women. They loathe them. They enslave them at best and use them as objects.

National Cultures

The other ender nation, the konets, are a slave-nation in Vesturia, who are part of Vesturian culture.

Esoterica

Enders are beings of tandh. They also wield other infernal powers. They cannot wield aemoa, and celestial and aetherial powers are rarely wielded. Shebvic powers are fairly common, and emotional resonance is very common. Other powers are possible.

Religion

The dokintsya worship the Bila Korona (White Crown) Pantheon, seeing Verkhovnyy, the Master, as the primary deity, ruler of the gods and all living things, and dominant male to Dosyahnennya, the Serpent Queen. The Master showed them the way to salvation, as they see it, by showing them that violence is power. Dosyahnennya is honored as the mother of their people, but as women are weak in their eyes, so is she, at least compared to Verkhovnyy.

Other deities in the pantheon include Chystota, the Masked God, who blesses their bloodlines and gives them national pride; Anhel, the Bloodless, who taught them the arts of blood magic; Pavuk, the Spider, who represents subtler forms of power; Opudalo, the Nightstalker, and Zasluhovuye, the Poacher, their hunting gods; Zadovolennya, the Goddess of Pleasures, who is seen as a shameful goddess who represents women and the pleasures their bodies give enders; Rab-Hospodar, the Chainsmith, who taught them how to control slaves; Prybutok, the Lord of Diamonds, who represents their right to take the property they please; Imennyk, the Goddess of Truth, who represents the certainty of their power and rights; Bezsmertya, the White Queen, who is the queen of the afterlife who judges all the dead; and Porozhnystyy Dzhek, the Skin-Lord, who represents ancestral power.

The Maskovian Church represents the Bila Korona as a circle of 12 gods, with two other Divine figures in the shadows (Mikroby and Dyyavol), who are to be guarded against. The former represents disease, which is Divine punishment for weakness, and the latter is seen as the Devil, a trickster who punishes the weak.

The clergy of the Maskovian Church is mostly made up of enders and other ruling class nations. The Maskovian church recognizes the Vesturian High Priest as their leader, as many in Ranu do, but they view the religion very differently and answer mostly to their three bishops (yepyskopy, sing. yepyskop). The structure of the church is the same as the North Ranic Orthodox Church.

Gender

Because the original enders were engineered from soldiers of a patriarchal army, they were all male. The violent evil of Dostizheniye and her followers saw this as a permanent feature to encourage their super-soldiers to be symbols of masculine perfection in their twisted view of gender. As such, to this day, enders among the Dokintsya are assigned male at birth. Though it is rare, there are times when an ender child is born in a body others might consider female; these intersex children are raised as male. Any deviation of the rigid gender they are assigned is met with abuse and derision, and usually death, unless the ender flees the Dokintsya community.

Dokintsya take many wives. As long as a Dokintsya is in good standing in their community, they can have as many wives as they please - and can afford and control. It is vital to the honor of a Dokintsya that his wives be kept well under thumb. It is a sign of weakness for a Dokintsya to tolerate a strong woman. Their wives are always from other species/nations, and most are kept as slaves. Those few who willingly marry into a Dokintsya family do so for the wealth and power and privilege that comes with it.

Economy

Maskovy is a fascist imperialist state.

Military

There are three main branches of the military: army, navy, and Pekel'na Bryhada. The Maskovian military is made up of many nations, but it is commanded by enders almost exclusively. Enders are in every rank and branch, though the army and Pekel'na Bryahada are their primary roles. Only enders may be in the Pekel'na Bryhada. The rank and file of the army and navy are the most multinational, with many members of oppressed nations making up the "fodder ranks" (lowest ranks who will be killed in battle). Support roles are mixed as well.

Notable roles beyond soldier and sailor include specialists in archery, artillery, demolitions, sapping, reconnaissance, and medicine. Esotericists are common and always have officer rank. Cavalry and infantry are present, but cavalry is rarer.

Pekel'na Bryhada are the Hell Brigade or Ender Corps. They are warriors who have drained the power of slaves in order to become super-soldiers. This process is done by the dushokradets', multitalented esotericists who brand slaves and tattoo enders to create a magical bond that draws characteristics (such as strength, speed, perception, etc.) from the slave and into the ender. Most enders can only handle at most 12 slaves bonded to them this way. Extremely powerful enders can handle as many as 20. More than that usually results in the slaves overwhelming the ender. This process is also applied to the steeds, dogs, and falcons of the Pekel'na Bryhada. They also have special armor and weaponry, including tainted metal armor and bastard-falchions (hand-and-a-half-size falchions).

Language

The language of the dokintsya is based on Ukrainian, as they are based on right-wing nationalism in that country.

Trade

Enders, as a ruling class nation, do not generate much, but they own many industries, especially arms industries and oil.

Occupations

Some common occupations include

• Pekel'na Bryhada: ender corps warriors

• Dushokradets': slave-chain makers

• Yepyskop: bishops

• Iyerey: priests

Outside View

Enders are said by some to be super-soldiers and naturally superior humans who should be revered, often seen as freedom fighters and heroes in other countries where they are heralded. Those who know them truly see them as violent oppressors to be feared.

Notables

• Kharanian Hurthun, Blade of the Serpent Mother, Vesturian Ender, Aeonian

• Camarian Ilaria, Marshall of the Vesturian Ender Corps (deceased)

• Thorne Arkallan, Shypek Arklanna, Ender Manifest, Aeonian

Estimated Populations

• Dokintsya: 8 million

• Konets: 2 million

• Other: 1 million

Sample Stats

PRO 14
ATH 12
STR 16
AWA 9 Empathy 14
WIL 8
PRS 8
STH 9