The Malcavas
In fear, the families fled from the paths into the darkest lands of their despair. When the darkness changed to gray, they returned to the world with new hope.
The Malcavas
'I can see with each generation the grayness of my time shifting to a bright new future. As we come closer to understanding the chains that bind us and with each cleansing of the fated, our blood is made pure. One day the accursed monolith within the nexus will crumble, and peace will smile upon us.' I'sa'Ir-The Book of Krot
The Malcavas—sometimes called the Gray Ones or Draceneaians—are an ancient people created long ago by an unnamed god of fate. They were the tools of conquest as the deity attempted to gain a foothold on new worlds and alternate realities. They were designed to be quick learners, adaptable to varied environments, and living weapons. Their minds were closely attuned with that of their god, and as new incarnates arose their attitudes would quickly shift with them. In their recent past—the last several thousand years—the Malcavas became involved in a plot to prevent their god from reincarnating. The fear of reprisal from their god has made the Malcavas, once the facilitators of destiny, now the sworn enemies of Fate. Using all that they had learned from their creator and the worlds they had conquered, the Malcavas started an endless war against the multitude of remaining gods. They started with the least of these beings, killing them and gathering the divine energies to use as weapons and protection. As a result, the Malcavas are now a terrifying force to behold; using technologies, magics, and the raw forces of divine power, they can lay waste to all they behold.
Appearance
The Malcavas generally appear much like humans; their creator had witnessed the rise of that race throughout the multiverse and designed his creations to blend in. However, Malcavas do possess certain universal traits, which, though they might not be enough to completely distinguish them from humans, are consistent within their own kind. All Malcavas have an ash-gray tint to their skin, and dark circles about their eyes testify to the world-weariness of their age-old race. They tend be slightly taller than the average human, generally measuring 1.55 meters (m) (5'10') to 2.01 m (6'6') in height. Their hair can be of any type or color, but black and white are predominant. Weight tends to be proportional to their height, except in cases of disease or bio/techno/magical engineering. Generally, the only way to differentiate a Malcavas from a human is by the innate, but weak, magical aura of divination magic that they exude.
Society
Malcavas society is formed around eight clans, which were innately formed when the race was created. The eight clans are as follows: Anord-Atig (The Scattered Unmarked Ones); Anord-Droch (The Destructive Force of Darkness), often called the lost clan; Anord-Frigear (The Embodiment of the Gray Lord); Fri-Maith (The Good People Who Make No Judgment); Lovi-Medi (The Even Rule); Lovi-Vel (The Rule of Enlightenment); Medi-Oloas (The Balancing Night); and Ret-Droch (The Truth of Darkness). The Anord-Droch vanished shortly after their god of fate was prevented from reincarnating. Each of the eight clans represents one aspect of their slain god of fate.
The Malcavas are unified under a single leader, who can be officially changed only once every forty years. This leader is called the Se'maj Sa'mot, and he/she is considered a god by all Malcavas. The Sa'mot is, at the time of his/her rule, the vessel that holds the power of all the divine beings that the Malcavas have slain. At the end of the Sa'mot's forty-year reign he/she is expected to travel to the birthplace of his people and drain/slay a god upon the Kulori Scurra, also known as the slaughter stone. At this time the Sa'mot can step down and become an I'sa'Ir (The Sage) or attempt to absorb the divine powers of which he had been the temporary custodian. If he/she attempts the latter course and is able to succeed at absorbing that energy, then he/she will continue to be the Sa'mot for an indeterminate amount of time. If not, he/she will die a spectacular death, and one of the clan leaders must step forward to take his/her place. This can be a time of great upheaval, as the clan leaders often battle for the position. In the end, whichever leader is able to absorb the energy is the new Se'maj Sa'mot, and, subsequently, their clan dictates policy.
The goals of Malcavas everyday life are very similar to those of any other civilization: to live, grow, and make a world better for their kin. The common Malcavas fill all levels of society: farmers, builders, poets, scientists...the list goes on. They are all, however, expected to be warriors and to learn as much as feasible from the material collected from both their own culture and those that have fallen beneath their sway. This means that the typical Malcavas has an above-average education and some military training. No Malcavas is considered inherently lesser, and all clan leaders are elected. The only exception is the Se'maj Sa'mot, who is revered if for no other reason than for the awesome responsibility he/she must uphold and the sheer vitality he/she must have to contain the frighteningly powerful divine energies.
Technology
The Malcavas use a myriad of technological and magical advances to enhance their culture. Most of these enhancements have been stolen from other cultures, either through trade, espionage, or, most commonly, conquest. They possess war machines that bring together the best traits of magic and technology to destroy their enemies. For battling highly magical cultures, they will bring forth their steam- or gas-powered machines, while arcane devices are used to conquer those that are primarily technology-based. Often they use a combination of both, as they have observed that the psychological impacts of their devices on their targets can be tremendous, as arcane monstrosities enter the battlefield bellowing flames, smoke, and steam.
This bizarre mix of technologies and magics can also be observed among the people Malcavas people themselves. While most Malcavas would be difficult to pick out of a crowd of humans, many have 'upgraded' themselves. It is not uncommon to see a Malcavas with magical eye implants or a steam-powered arm. Most modified Malcavas tend to be career military, but this is by no means absolute.
Homeland
'The smaller ones inscribed upon their souls with the fires of the universe a truth. If the nexus were ever to be opened, and the smaller ones and smaller ones and smaller ones were to gain access, then the families would be banished to the beginning beyond the temple at the edge of dreams. In fear, the families fled from the paths into the darkest lands of their despair. When the darkness changed to gray, they returned to the world with new hope.' I'sa'Ir-The Book of Krot
The current homeland of the Malcavas is a location on the planet of Rimead called Gray Draceania. It is a wasteland that only the Malcavas could make into a livable environment. For this reason they are also known as the Draceaneians. It is within this land that they came to hide after the betrayal of their god. For hundreds of miles surrounding their strongholds there are very few resources, and any normal army would be unable to sustain themselves for an extended assault. This is not the only reason for their choice of location, however. Despite their constant activities to prevent the return of their god, they still feel great shame for their actions; this inhospitable land is their self-imposed punishment for their unforgivable crimes.
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? Responses (11)
This submission is good, but it seems to lack detail where the history is important. A race doesn't just defy the god that created it for no good reason, but I don't see one here. I am also fuzzy about the 'unforgivable crimes' the Malcavas have committed, unless you are also referring to the actions they took against their god.
On a better note, you described their society with care, and your initiation ceremony is clever (though they might run out of gods eventually). The combination of technological, arcane, and divine power that is directed in an ancient fight to annihilate the gods is fun.
Oh yeah, when the Malcavas defected from their god, did they all agree? It seems like it might be a point of contention.
The crimes of the Malcavas are detailed more in The Book of Krot, but I am not sure how I would present it here(on the web site). It has very game specific information which would lead to even more questions. From my two posts I am learning I don't know where to cut off the information.
As far as gods are concerned in my multiverse, there are countless numbers of gods. The Malcavas attempt to destroy all gods is very foolish. When a god dies, it breaks down into componet parts which will attempt to reform in some fashion. In a quote above from The Book of Krot I mentioned- the smaller ones and smaller ones. These are lesser aspects of gods.
The real reason for the murder of the Malcavas god is not clear, even to their people. It is the belief that the Anord-Droch left with that answer. Some also belive that that the god of fate, being in fact the god of fate, planed it from the start for some divine reason.
Hope that helps.
How about a The Book of Krot submission that hits all the highpoints?
I certainly like your imagination Exile! I think this piece just needs a bit more of the ole' 'fine-toothed comb'. It reads like you rushed it a bit.
Here is another case where 'stubs' would be useful. Perhaps you should submit an Enclopedia Exilea (I don't know what you call your 'world') similar to Moonhunter's recent offerings.
Looks like there is a lot beneath the covers on your subs!
Yes, you either need to more completely cover the subjects as there are a couple of annoying gaps OR you need to create associated posts and make sure they are linked. (You can do an annoitation, saying that the post is comming).
An interesting concept all around.
I do need to know about the motivation of their culture, the whys of the betrayals, the reasons why they are still conquoring now, and so on.
I do have an annoyance: 'The Malcavas are unified under a single leader, who can be officially changed only once every forty years. This leader is called the Se'maj Sa'mot, and he/she is considered a god by all Malcavas. ' So their God changes every 40 years? Needs a lot more explaining please.
1.I do need to know about the motivation of their culture, the whys of the betrayals, the reasons why they are still conquering now, and so on.
The Malcavas have many text, inscribed by past I'sa'Ir which refers to a prophecy given by one of the small ones (a fragment of a god or in some cases now a lesser deity). This prophecy states that if The God of Fate were to return they would be cast into an inescapable void for all eternity. They kill the gods to gather power and to prevent the small ones from reforming into the god Fate. Note: most gods that they have slain are outside my current campaign's universe. The majority of the 'Gods' refer to in the text are fragments of the god of Fate. To average joe in my world, these fragment are full fledged, but narrow minded gods.
2.This leader is called the Se'maj Sa'mot, and he/she is considered a god by all Malcavas. ' So their God changes every 40 years? Needs a lot more explaining please.
I made a mistake here, the Sa'mot is considered god like in power, but not a god. Sorry about that the Malcavas worship no god.
The cycle of change is 40 years, unless the Sa'mot somehow dies. The Sa'mot must revitalize at the slaughter stone at that time. If the Sa'mot were to die, the trip to the slaughter stone would need to be sooner rather than later.
Sorry about the long reply, if it is improper.
What a curious setting you have presented, being god slayers, and having just about any gadget or spell imaginable, I would think the Malcavas to be grossly overpowered. The biggest question I have thus far is how did they manage to destroy the god of fate?