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Comprehension of the Maleficarum The Maleficarum are a humanoid species of heavily tainted beings that are not a separate race of their own, but a greater alteration of the original four. They are formed either by the will of the Eldermind, which is a dark entity that is born of the four curses, or singularly by the hand of blood magic-oriented rituals -- rituals that demand much more in sacrifice than the Eldermind itself. They come in four variations with two separate overarching types; the Maleficar alone, and then the High-Maleficar, whom are born of the blood mages’ rituals themselves, for the reborn circle of blood crafts their minions like an art, while their slave wrought of darkness and curses procures them like a factory of hellfire and fury. In these current ages, whence the Eldermind is only spoken in whispers, they are a distant goal; for the disciple Valgautr makes slow work of his research, to seek the truth of the four curses so he may use them for the circle’s empowerment. However, in their conception they shall be born by ritual, by the runes of blood that glow by the will of the genus; and the curses shall burn within the victimized who must endure the agony of turning. It is born from dwarven blood, that their minds to be twisted inane and cluttered, for it is all they would seek, but only blood to fall upon their hands in endless search of what shines. It is born from orcish blood, that their souls blackened by a bloodlust that does not die; staining their warped flesh with the red essence of all who stand in their way. It is born from elven blood that they shall never bear kin of their own, for the black fire of the curse burns within their hearts and refuses the happiness of children, and it is born from human blood that long lives shall not be theirs, and the glory of conquest will fade as time betrays them. Most of the Maleficar are mindless-- savages and insane, but this is only by the will of the Eldermind; for it shackles them within the coils of madness to keep them subservient, to keep them aligned to the circle of blood. But when born of the circle of blood itself, High-Maleficar are born; and while half their lives are broken with the other pieces blurred, their thoughts remain, and they revel in the fury that the black curses bring. Bound to enslavement by the hands of the blood mage rituals, they act as the second-age Dreadknights whom are a shadow of what the last circle to achieve. The Maleficar are damned kindred of them, for they are not bound to plate but still to their flesh, their tormented mortal coil, and all weaknesses that it brings. The High-Maleficar command the lowers, while they serve the to-be-born Eldermind and it’s blood mage masters. They retain their minds and retain the sliver of sanity that allows them to cast magic, but they are drawn to the dark arts, for the light of the Aenguls burns their flesh and the will of the divines stirs a pain within their tormented souls. The lowly Maleficar are nearly mindless, but their insanity fades overtime to bring pained clarity. While it is difficult, they retain some memories as they endure their ever-furious, dark-ensnared existence, and much like the High-Maleficar develop the ability to commune with others albeit with some difficulty; a trait only halved in the face of the High-Maleficar, whom they may never best if not by challenge of the blade and axe. There lies four variants amongst these two similar species, and they spread across the four races and all their differenciated, God-given traits. If the humane are bound to the fate of the Maleficarum, then they act as the slate of the four; the neutrality, for they are as strong as their pure brethren with their walls and their kingdoms. In numbers they rally and succeed in battle, but make little progress in little numbers. Their flesh is wretched and they bear the visage of one afflicted with an all-body rot, but their warped skin remains pained despite never withering away. If lured from the stone to meet the fate of the rituals, dwarves act as they do in normal life-- in their madness they retain a sense for smithing, and they greed is only expanded in it’s boundlessness. It is by their hand that the sharp steel and blade of the Maleficar are forged; often being of twisted and inefficient craft, for the minds of tainted dwarves are a-riddle with their curses, and it is by the High-Maleficar that the most terrifying metalworks are made. If burned further by the black fire of the Fallen One’s curses, the honorable orcs shall not only be corrupted to their core, but their rage would be unending. By no means would any orcish Maleficar have the capacity to provide for their dark brothers; they are the most insane for all, acting as the brutish berzerkers upon the battlefield, adorned with abhorrent, blackened features and horns that often sprout from their skulls. The will of the spirits are banished from these fiends, and the only thing they may reach for, even with a stable mind, is that of a battlefield commander. Lastly, if dragged away to be bound by the accursed circle of blood, the elves of old fallen Malinor would find a worse fate upon them then that of one without children. A rage burns within them, greed oft blinds their sight and their blessing of Aerial’s light falters and weakens with the curse of Horen, but it is truly the elves that retain most of their mind; and with this truer darkness comes. If not bound to a lifetime of black magery and dark arts as High-Maleficar, elves are asserted as assassins as the lowly tiers; black rangers whom do not scream hatred and warcries, but stalk black forests and snuff out life where it is sacred and protected. Their fury is not sated with the bloodshed of grand battle, but to hunt -- eeriely mirroring the old rangers of Laurelin that fell to the fires of Iblees. Laws of the Maleficar There are many things the Maleficar as a whole are capable of doing -- much like the mortal races themselves, for they act as a dark mirror -- but they are not capable of all things. They are raised, shackled into slavery in their conception by blood runes and their creators. They may rally together by the whispers of the yet foreseen Eldermind and raise kingdoms of darkness and fire, but this comes through warfare, work and stability-- with the latter not known of them, for all Maleficar, mind or not, know only rage. There lie several laws bound to them. - They cannot exceed the strength their untainted brothers already hold. To become Maleficar is to become the pinnacle of Iblees’ darkness, rebelled and controlled; but their muscles do not expand and they gain no enlightenment beyond what their blood mage masters may share. Only their savagery and blind rage may dull their pain, for the heat of battle invokes their madness; citing this as both a strength, and a weakness. - All Maleficar cannot truly remember their pasts unless willed by fate. Upon the start of their new life, a Maleficar is like an infant of malice; trusting only the red-robed fathers that bound them to dark runes and nurtured them with wise words and commands. But by no means is their past lost; to make a journey to remember is a common goal for all ancient Maleficar who sense the call of death within their tormented minds. To make amends is not forbidden, for it is their very souls they seek such things. A knight bound to a service of chivalry will retain the values of honor, only warped by the taint of the combined curses. A druid bound to the Aspects will abhor needless fire upon the forests, for reasons they cannot truly recall. All seems lost, but not truly forgotten; only unclaimed. - All Maleficar, unless unbound to their blood mage masters, follow the word of the very same casters. They are like slaves, and while the Maleficarum may issue tasks for others and themselves, their freewill is lessened and is not granted unless given as a boon for loyal service. - Most Maleficar cannot properly learn magic, but those in-tune with the Void, or the dark arts, find such a thing more easy to grasp even with the memories of their teachings and findings shattered. To evoke destruction by fire and lightning is most common, for illusionry and other such arcane arts are seen as trivial by the Maleficar; boring and without effect, for false images do not sear their victims alive. All magic, beyond divine arts like that of Clerics (with Druidism excluded, for it must be stripped from their souls), can be learned and used by most Maleficar and most prominently elves, whom are the calmest of the four blackened races. ~;~ This is my attempt at creating a proper, player-driven threat that may both act as a sort of concluding story-arc for those who would willingly give their characters up to become a Maleficar. I have made sure to follow mechanical standard beyond the origin of their creation, which is backed by approval and seperate, elaborating lore, so if they are to ever become a proper threat raised up by the blood mages that the playing field is evened and level. Thanks for reading, and expect more of this concept soon!