This is a tale that started a long time ago. Somewhere very far away, but as close as a thought, as a dream. My tale starts first with the Vor’jen. The thing you need to understand about them is that they were not always. Long before the Wars happened, the Vor’jen were Elenari, just like Rialian or anyone else. The only difference in the beginning was taste, the Vor’jen preferred deep nature and the shadows, while most Elenari were satisfied with their lives. Over time the Vor’jen studied and learned great magics, including the changing magic. What animal was used determined the individual Vor’jen’s purpose. The “panther”(I do not know the Elenari word for the animal) was used for combat, the “mouse” was used for spying, and so forth through most of the roles society needed filled(there were scores of types of animals one could change into, it just depended on the type of individual you were. During this time the Elenari grew more and more distant from their brothers and sisters. The Vor’jen began to look more and more like the animals whose shape they borrowed. Within 500 years they were at war.
The War of Holy Purpose
That was how the name translated of the war that was waged against the Vor’jen, and to the Elenari, it was. They saw the Vor’jen as corrupt, evil, alien beings. They did not know that these creatures were once themselves. This war was commanded by the ruling body of all Elenari, a High Council, with a representative from each area of the nation. Battles were won and lost, until a small, unrecognized group realized it was time to make their play for power. The people were outcasts, called today “Black Robes” or “blackies” these mages were those who dared experiment with the forbidden magics of technology. But they did not care, and in their search for power and fame, had learned much of the sciences, even to the point of developing a technology level about 20 years ahead of us currently and a magical technology level equally high. This knowledge, and the knowledge of the Vor’jen Wars caused them to start doing research on the subject of the Vor’jen. They found out that the DNA structure of the Vor’jen and the Elenari were almost identical, but physiological and other tests revealed many differences, which not in the DNA, but could still be reproduced effectively in their labs. Unfortunately in order to find this out they ended up using the limited samples of Vor’jen tissue they had, so they needed more samples to do anything else.
With this knowledge, they came to the High Council with a very unique offer. For formal recognition and a place in the School of Magic, we will give you a super soldier, one who has all the abilites of the Vor’jen and the greatest Elenari. In order to do this we need a Vor’jen corpse and a sample of blood from the greatest warrior you can find. This was accomplished (by this time the Elenari had started taking casualties among the Vor’jen, small, but suitable for the blackie’s purpose) and the blackies began the art of making their new being.
The Birth and Life of the Half-Breeds
The animal that was created was a savage cross breed between Vor’jen and Elenari. Technology was used for the initial creation, and the passing on of some specific traits. Magic was used for the carry over of many of the Vor’jen traits and to speed up the process. In 6 months the first unit had been created. This unit consisted of 9 individuals, all bonded to the “panther” as was the Vor’jen they were patterned after. After they had grown to adult statue physically, they were sent for “education”. This was needed because even though the half breeds were physically of adult stature they had the minds of a 6 month old child. This was changed by the use of an “education” program, where the half breeds were crammed full of information and taught to obey the blackies above all. This education was sucessful in 3 cases. Three of the other half breeds went insane, and three rebelled violently. But that comes later in the story. Now for the last step, the weapons of the killers. Half breeds were given a special type of armor, the likes of which had been kept a top secret even from the armies, who occasionally could be seen buying some of the lower grades of armor. This armor was “layered flesh bio regulating enhancement issue”. What it was, exactly was armor with an outer flesh layer and steel underneath. It also had bio regulating technology, which enabled physical feats of strength and endurance far beyond the pale of even the greatest Vor’jen or Elenari. For example, the average half breed could run aproximately 50 MPH for about 150 to 200 miles before needing to stop. This was because of the innate endurance of the species, the regulation of heartbeat and chemical output of the body, and the strength enhancement of the suit. Another good side effect is that this suit made them look like normal, albeit taciturn and very large, Elenari. They served the council and the Elenari for a period of 6 months. Then the consequences of the arrogance of the blackies came home.
The Fall of the Half Breeds
Unfortunately the education program was not as successful as the blackies had dreamed. Only 3 of the original 9 had been properly educated. Three went insane, and three rebelled violently, soon after the 6 month trial period passed and they were preparing to make 6000 of these poor creatures. I could get gory, but the long and short of it is this, the rebels slew about 1/2 of the blackies and kept the other 6 creatures in their cages. They then chased the blackies through a gate and here we all are.