Posted by: Svea Rike 3 Jul 2015, 23:40
I like urban fantasy. Vampires meet police detectives. Ghosts meet ghost hunters. Angels meet AC-130 spectre gunships. The binding of two genres is really interesting, especially if the 'urban' part incorporates elements of science-fiction. As such, I decided to come up with a universe of my own. I call it Paraworld (as in para from paranormal).
THE PARAWORLD
This universe is set in an unspecified year of the 1980s. THe United States and Soviet Union are at it again, and during the Cold War, they have used people with supernatural abilities and effects - called parahumans - for their various schemes and plots around the world. In Paraworld, there are many different types of parahumans, all of which have their own unique quirks and abilities. All parahumans are able to enter a "demon form" ('demon' is a racial slur for parahumans), but only for a shortwhile (determined by their experience and physical health). Despite this, only around 4% of the world's population (circa 200 million) are parahuman, so they are still at an extreme disadvantage compared to humans. Not that they are at war, but more on that later.
- 1---Vampires: The most common form of parahuman; vampires are grey/bluish-colored parahumans, with jagged teeth, big eyes, very small horns on their heads and dark spots on their arms and back. They are only capable of drinking blood and eating raw meat; anything else would kill them. But, they live for around 150 years.
Vampires are divided into the Houses and the Clans: The Houses are friendly, have approached humans with benevolence, are very liberalized and filthy rich. The Clans embrace old traditions and stereotypes, live in castles and sleep in coffins, and prey on humans. The Clans believe it is vampires' destiny to rule over normal humans, and as such have come into conflict with the human-allied Houses. Today, the Clans are all but extinct.
Vampires get their food from cattle (as in, cows) which they herd and slaughted. On a vampire's twelth birthday they get to slay their first cow and bathe in its blood (terrific), as a sort of transition from a child to an adult. Vampires don't experience puberty like humans, but do get their demon form abilities around that time.
Vampires' demon form is called Sanginis (from latin sanguinem + hominis lit. "bloodman"). Their bodies grow in length, they grow wings and a tail, their hands and feet gain sharp claws, and their muscle mass and senses are drastically increased. Your average vampire can sustain Sanginis for approximately five hours before their heart gets too tired.
Around 40% of all parahumans are vampires (80 million), where only 6% identify as belonging to the Clans (4,8 million). - 2---Werebeasts: The second most common parahuman; werebeasts are people with a thin layer of fur, rather big teeth and flattened noses with large nostrils, and pointed ears. Werebeasts have enhanced senses and reflexes even outside demon form, and some even have a sixth sense that allows them to sense fear in someone.
Werebeasts' demon form is called Noctore (from latin nocte + terrore lit. "night terror"). Their muscles grow extra large, they gain nightvision, and take the form of a predatory animal. They are either werewolves, native to Europe, werebears, native to North America, or weretigers, native to South-East Asia and India. Most times these beast forms are distinguishable from normal wolves, bears or tigers by their face; it still slightly resembles that of a human, except with glowing red eyes. Your average werebeast can sustain Noctore for a whopping sixteen hours before their heart gets too tired.
Werebeasts are either 'civil' or 'feral'; civil ones have managed to take control of their transformative ability and can transform at will, whereas feral ones have transformed too much and are permanently stuck in Noctore. Civil werebeasts have a friendly relationship with the Vampire Houses, offering to guard their cattle at night in exchange for housing and food. Civil ones have even created their own hunting clubs, where they transform and compete over who can catch the most prey one night.
Around 33% of all parahumans are werebeasts (66 million), where 41% are werewolves (27 million), 35% are weretigers (23 million) and 24% are werebears (15 million). - 3---Encubi: The third most comon sub-species; encubi (female succubi, male incubi) are perhaps the most malevolent parahumans. Encubi normally don't look different from normal humans, but if they don't get enough sex they gradually become more grotesque, eventually resembling hideous monsters. Soon thereafter, they die. Encubi feed of sex and emotions; they have an uncontrollable urge to have sex, masturbation doesn't work, and as such would even rape people if they don't get sex. All encubi spread an STD that sucks the emotions out of people; they still live, but can't feel happiness, sadness, fear or rage. Some encubi can't live with their urges, and thus willingly sterilize themselves. Encubi normally don't feel emotions themselves aside from sexual urges, but some have overcome this and got together with another encubi. That way, they can live happily without the need to rape humans (encubi sleeping with each other have no effects, and prevents them from transforming into grotesques).
Encubi are empathic; they can feel other people's emotions and what they desire. They can manipulate their mind to make them think they are their dream date; for example, make them think a succubus looks like Pamela Anderson.
An encubus' demon form is called Vorectus (from latin affectus + vorago lit. "emotion sucker"). Their eyes become pitch-black, they grow large horns, sharp claws and their genitalia (penises for encubi, breasts for succubi) grow considerably. They unwillingly transform during intercourse, and the victim realizes too late they're having sex with a demon. Vorectus lasts until the encubi orgasms, after which they fall asleep and wake up normal again.
Encubi are loathed by both humans and parahumans, as the majority of them are evil and kill humans. Those that don't usually live on their own, or with the Vampire Houses.
Around 15% of all parahumans are encubi (30 million), where a feeble 2% are not malevolent (600,000). - 4---Mer: The fourth most common, mer (male mermen, female mermaids) are parahumans that live in water. They are pale-skinned with gills on their chest, fins between their fingers and toes, flat noses and big eyes. Mer live in aquatic societies, the most famous being Atlantis, located several miles south of Crete in the Mediterranean.
Mer are the parahumans with the least contact to humans as they normally never leave the oceans. They infamously raided and pillaged beaches across the Mediterranean several hundred years B.C., where they were known as the Sea Peoples. That event lives in infamy with the mer and they don't want a repeat of that event. Human treasure hunters have many times explored the deep ocean in search of their cities, but if they get too close some mer might kill them. During the 60s a mer empire in the Sargasso Sea stole thousands of ships crossing the Bermuda Triangle. A war between them and other mer societies lasted for fifteen years, but the empire was ultimately defeated. Recently the United States have equipped submarines with special equipment designed to catch mer.
The mer demon form is called Aquator (from latin aqua + bellator lit. "water warrior"). Their legs meld together to form one big fin that can help them reach speeds of up to thirty knots in water, and their upper body muscle mass is drastically increased. They also gain the ability to echolocate using sonar blasts, and their tongues can extend almost twelve meters. An average mer can sustain Aquator for around three hours before their heart gets too tired.
Most mer today live in an underwater city called Brasil, located twenty miles off the west coast of Ireland, and approximately 11% of all parahumans are mer (22 million). - 5---Sirens: An offshoot cousin of mer, sirens are exclusively female and share many similarities to mermaids, except they lack the finger flippers and don't share demon form. They usually live near the coasts and draw in fishermen or others with their serene singing, but when they get too close they shriek incredibly loud and literally make any nearby person's head explode. Sirens were captured by the CIA in the 50s, using noise-blocking headphones, and tried to replicate their singing voice in project MKUltra into a mind-control device, as anyone caught in their singing was mesmerized and forced to go to its source. The siren then eats their corpses as it feeds on carcasses.
Sirens are believed to be universally hostile as a friendly one has yet to be encountered. Special headphones have been invented to allow the majority of sound through except a siren's unique voice.
A siren's demon form is called Clamosa (from latin clamosa lit. "loud woman"). Their arms grow considerably, and their jaw can unhinge to produce an even louder scream. This scream could kill people miles away, shatter windows and reportedly even buckle steel. Thankfully, Clamosa can only be sustained through one shriek, as the heart almost shuts down during the scream.
Around 4% of all parahumans are Sirens (8 million). - 6---Angels: The least common form of parahuman, angels have permanent wings on their backs and have a slight glow. They are exclusively male. Noted for their incredible beauty and complex philosophy, angels have for generations sought attention. They cannot stand being left out of the spotlight and are highly competetive among themselves. If they don't get attention, they go berserk and start killing anyone in sight. Angels are believed to be immortal and don't need to eat, and probably don't even believe in the concept of death. This makes them rather stupid when it comes to confrontations as many have been hunted throughout the centuries, the only thing keeping them alive are religious groups worshipping them. They are believed to be extinct in the modern world but conspiracies suggest they are being secretly worshipped in various churches, such as in the Vatican.
An angel's demon form is called Mortaeus (from latin mortalis + deus lit. "mortal god"). They grow an additional pair of wings and become so bright they set themselves on fire. This fire protects them from harm, and it is debated whether it is actually fire as we know it. Mortaeus angels can shoot fire from their hands and eyes, and anything they touch turns to ash. Luckily, Mortaeus can only be sustained for ten minutes, after which the angel falls asleep, at which point they are the most vulnerable.
It is unknown how many angels are still alive. They can be anywhere from ten individuals to six million. None have been seen but some believe they are locked up, only kept in check by people constantly praising them.
I will add more information about parahuman sub-species, various creatures, technologies, groups, individuals, historic events and more in further posts, but please feel free to add any thoughts. Cheers.