MORE THAN 20,000 YEARS AGO

When the gods made there epic last stand against the Star Whales, one of their few remaining supplicants did not show to the fight. His name erased from history by the blight that was the Star Whales, this unknown greater druid had seen the futility of the fight. With his realization of the epic loss at hand and knowing what small part in it he could possibly have, instead he set about preserving the spirit of the Druids. Utilizing all his power and skill with nature, he crossed the essence' of oak, rose and bear. Creating a hybrid plant/animal that would be able to take advantage of the unharvested souls he foresaw.

In these days, the knowledge of The Stolen World was still complete. A knowledge of the total devastation about to happen had been preserved. While the doomed gods went about their plotting the epic confrontation, the forgotten druid went about his plan. Seeing all to clear the outcome , he made of this new creature, a large batch of acorns. Setting about the task of placing said acorns in the remotest spots in the world. Only half his quest was done when the Whale apocalypse occurred.Every single one of his acorns survived and rooted. What he had not foreseen was that his creation lacked the mental ability to maintain the needed knowledge. The average unharvested soul lacked the mental strength to overcome the pure nature invested in the Child of Thorns.

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LIFECYCLE

A Child of Thorns begins as an acorn, planted nearly anywhere water is to be found. After 5 years the acorn gives birth to a rose bush of giant proportions. It will remain as such until it is touched by the spirit of an unharvested soul. Once it has sucked in the soul, it enters a cocoon-like state for anther 5 years until a fully formed and mature Child of Thorns hatches. In practice, small family groups oversee and protect the cocoons. Born with both male and female genitalia each Child will form a permanent marriage of sorts with another, mating for life and each one sprouting the reproductive acorns. Having about the intellect of a chimpanzee, the Child forms a social bond with about 10 individuals total, 5 mated pairs.Acorns are planted in groups of 10 to create new tribes, any given tribe will be guarding about 4 "gardens" There are 4 distinct subspecies, and all the acorns in a garden will hatch of the same subspecies, not necessarily the one they were given life from.

PSYCHOLOGY

All the subspecies share two common drives, reproduction and preservation of wild lands. The gardens of a tribe will be protected at all costs. Sexual activity occurs roughly once every two years resulting in an even more aggressive nature being exhibited. The imperative to preserve wild lands varies from subspecies to subspecies. Only another Child of Thorns can tell what subspecies a Child belongs to,

The Subspecies

Rose Types

These Children exhibit the most plant like behavior. They will spend days planted in one spot, most often near a garden or a patch of wildflowers. While theere urge to reproduce is strong, the presrvation