Biographies:

Read the BIOs

Sargons:

Visual: Sargons (Thousandlings): The Sargons are a race of beast men who originated on the planet Ignaz. Their race has endured for what is estimated to be at least 20,000 years, walking the lands in primordial form like the great dragons and phoenixes of old.

The Sargons eventually evolved into an intelligent race of bipedal beings who formed a civilized nation that stood long before the human and Mashina races arose. Sargons are sometimes referred to as “Thousandlings” because they are the most genetically diverse of the three races. The diverse configurations of tails, horns, eyes, claws, and wings that the Sargons exhibit are produced by a mutation that manifests itself every two or three generations, assuring that the physical and visual characteristics of Sargons never remain static.

Politics: Sargons are mostly socialist in nature. Their governing body is made up of a senate, which consists of a body of 12 representatives, called Sages, who are responsible for making all of the social decisions that affect each of the 12 districts of Paragon. The Sages have the most power and influence in Paragon, and they typically inherit their positions from a former Sage, which are almost always hybrids. There is also a prime minister, called a Guffaldi, who is voted into office by the Sargon people. The Guffaldi oversees the major decisions made by the Sargon senate, and holds the authority to break a deadlock if the Sages are equally divided in their rulings.

Both the Sages and the Guffaldi put the needs of their citizens first and foremost. One of the ways they try to provide for the welfare of their citizens and the Sargon Republic is by maintaining an alliance with the Autonomous Mashine country of Edenworld. Although Sargons do not hold Mashina or Humans in high regard, they are not isolationists, and they look for every opportunity to start trusting relationships. The alliance currently set up between Paragon and Edenworld is clearly outlined: Mashina must go to war with and eradicate the beings known as the Devils, and defend nations outside of Mashina territory when called upon to do so. In exchange, the Mashina are paid in goods and services instead of gold, and the citizens of Edenworld are allowed to visit Paragon under probationary terms.

Contributions: Sargons invented the techniques and rituals needed to access the hidden Leylines of power that are spread throughout Ignaz. To this day, few creatures outside of Paragon can effectively use or understand magic, making it the most effective weapon Sargons wield in defense of their race.

Sargons hold the largest storehouse of knowledge ever amassed, keeping watch over collections of ancient writings, the arcane secrets and lore of the present, and a wide variety of fictional works. This wealth of knowledge has allowed them to become purveyors of a wide range of products and information. Secrets of horticulture, classics of literature, and magical devices are among some of the diverse things that the Sargons sell. They also distribute fine textiles, clothing, works of art, smoking grasses, wine, and even music.

With respect to technology, the Sargon Republic is currently in what could be described as a “Steam Age”. Steam is preferable because it is much cleaner than the industrial fuel-based technologies of the Humans. The Sargon cities outside of Paragon often rely upon a mixture of technologies, however, where some Human constructions were recycled and rebuilt into such things as tanks, cranes, and mobile platforms.

Attitude: Sargons are devoutly religious, maintaining the highest respect for both themselves and the land they live upon, believing that everything in the world is a manifestation of the body of the goddess Sargillum. They remain the most approachable of all the races, and are generally willing to help anyone for as long as the individual or group maintains their trust. If another creature loses or betrays the trust of a Sargon, they will be shunned and ignored. If a person who has earned the status of a pariah still tries to push their presence upon an unwilling Sargon, they may be perceived as an enemy.

The race as a whole are divided on what to do about Humans and Mashina. Many Sargons have become reluctant to trust in the aforementioned races because of their long histories of exploiting and destroying the land through wasteful practices and war. The alliance between the Sargons and other races still holds steady, however, and some of the more important Sargons hold the hope that the two races will ultimately redeem themselves before the end of the world.

Biology: Sargons share some similarities with both humans and monsters. They have four-chambered hearts and must consume food to live. They mate and give birth to live young, or lay eggs like reptiles. Sargons with hybridism are immortal because they share a connection to dragons in their lineage, and therefore cannot die of old age like Humans or normal Sargons.

Mashina

Visual: The Mashina are a race of huge, highly machine-like metal elementals created after the Sargons on the planet Ignaz. Their bodies are segmented with tough armored plates covering a dense body made up of living metal. the 1st generation Mashina, which are the largest, arose from the earth by divine will. Their appearances remain fixed for the durations of their lives. All generations enjoy the benefits of immortality. They do not die of old age, nor can they be killed by poison, disease, or any of the things that can erode the bodies of mortals. Visually, the Mashina form can vary widely. Extremely anglular bodies are common, as are blocky builds. Some Masina have streamlined frames capable of transforming into alternate modes for fighting or specialized forms of movement.

Politics: Edenworld is a society where the autonomy of the individual takes precedence, and no mech considered to be master over another. In a world with no leaders, a system of government has emerged where individuals are guided by the suggestions and inventions of greater mecha known as “Geniuses” and “Foremen”. They police themselves and all Mashina residing in a Sector hold meetings to agree on the implementation and enforcement social policies based on the recommendations of the Geniuses.

A major problem with Mashina is their tendency toward xenophobia. This attitude has followed the Mashina race since the earliest years of its existence. Mashina were created as an entirely male race, and are friendly toward human females. Creatures of other races, especially males, are treated with suspicion and in some cases outright hostility. Certain Mashina of influence are trying to curb the more extreme views of the race in order to ensure future overtures towards making alliances with other races might meet with success, but the inherent xenophobia of most Mashina has made this a difficult task.

Contributions: Mashina are a physically strong and intellectually superior race, capable of creating almost anything if they put their minds to the task. Although they do not possess magic like the Sargons do, the Mashina have used their high intellect and incredible patience to create a vast array of renewable energy sources, as well as mastering nuclear power. The Mashina have also created an impressive macrogravitation engine that they use to keep the Northsky weapons fortress and Edenworld itself afloat. Mashina have invented almost every useful object that can be conceived, with the exceptions of time machines, the philosophers stone, and a way to escape the planet. Their current technology level is high, and they have figured out how to use what tools and resources available to them with maximum efficiency.

Attitude: Mashina are proud and blunt, especially when facing members of the other races. They do not lean toward any moral good or evil. They do as they please because they can, knowing that they are the strongest race on the planet. The average Mashina is a straightforward and matter-of-fact creature who likes everything to be calculated, and all possible outcomes to be predicted. Data must be meticulously recorded, and the ramifications of all words and ideas carefully thought out ahead of time. Perfect order and routine is valued foremost by Mashina, and anything that appears strange or unconventional is abhorrent to them. Mashina, like dominant animals, prefer the company of each other and of breeding females. They express love for human females, but Most Mashina view the other races as being capricious and capable of anything, and they especially dislike having to associate with male Humans or the unpredictable Sargons. To this day, only one Sargon is allowed to live on Edenworld, and that Sargon is female. The Mashina would never allow a male from another race near their Guardias.

All xenophobia aside, the Mashina realize that they bear the responsibility for the damaged state of their world, and they feel remorse for the results of their wars. These days, while the Mashina are actively fighting the Devils, they are looking to regain the trust of the Sargons and conduct their fighting in a much cleaner manner.

Deep down, many of the Mashina are lonesome and bored by their existence. Every new day of living without something new to discover or some vital work to do is a day of ennui. This is why the gathering of potential new Guardias is a point of urgency. Each new Guardia brings wonderful, unique pleasures and fresh data to a Mashina.

But Mashina do this at the expense of a Human race which is now almost extinct.

Biology: Mashina do not have hearts, nor do they respire like mortals do. They do not age, and they do not eat. Mashina cannot be built, but instead must be created, which is a process that most people have never even seen. 1st generation Mashina came into being through “divine incarnation”. They sprung forth from the earth, digging themselves out of rock and soil and emerging as beings similar to true machines, lacking in emotions and will.

Mashina begin to realize their full potential when they start learning about emotions. In doing so, they grow and gain a personality, and are driven to seek a personal evolution. Such an evolved creature is what the God Wave intended Mashina to be.

For energy, Mashina have a central core that functions like a fuel cell. It is renewable and can provide constant energy for up to ninety-six hours before a Mashina must rest. In resting mode, Mashina are fully aware of their surroundings, but must enter a meditative state by shutting down most of their body to renew their cores.

Four hours is the minimum time a Mashina must spend in rest mode, but a full twelve hours is the recommended interval. Mashina body systems are regulated by nanomachine colonies which serve as the blood in a Mashina’s body and armor. These nanomachines can arrange themselves into dense clusters to form armor, or take sparser configurations to perform other functions. Typically, these nanomachines serve as tiny repair units, mimicking the functions of the blood cells present in mortal bodies. Additionally, the nanomachines can work rapidly to repair any damage a Mashina receives in combat.

The three types of nanomachines are: Attackers, Assimilators, and Assemblers.

Since Mashina do not eat, the nanomachines in their bodies also allow them to strip elements from their environment and even the atmosphere, to be used in repairing and maintaining the Mashina body. For example, something like a block of steel can be used by a Mashina’s nanomachines to regrow shattered limbs and reform damaged armor.

If a Mashina suffers more damage than their regular complement of nanomachine colonies can effectively repair, then surface nanomachines will start to absorb and reconstitute whatever useful materials happen to be nearby. Nanomachines on the surface of a Mashina’s “skin” can disassemble the material components of things and take them into the body for later use.

The Mashina body prefers to utilize things such as glass, metal, water, gold, adamant, iron, and oil. If circumstances are less than ideal, a Mashina can also reconstitute some stone and lesser metals such as nickel, copper, and tin. A Mashina’s body will only be as strong as the elements that are avaialable to him, however.

A Mashina undergoes biological changes if they are able to create a Guardia, which is a female Mashina that is created from a female Human through a process known as “Mashine Apotheosis” During this process, the core of the male is becomes a half-system and is reconfigured to include the newly created Guardia as a part of the original Mashina cell core system. Becoming the second half of this system, the Guardia adopts and carries the nanomachine signatures of the male, and the two are then able to recharge together, swapping nanomachines and new data back and forth.

The act of giving up one’s autonomy allows 1st generation Mashina to learn the final and most complex emotions, allowing them to reach a new tier of evolution. For many males, finding a Guardia is the panacea that makes a long and hard life seem fresh and new again. Experiencing new emotions and intimate insight into the experiences and perceptions of their Guardia gives male Mashina a compelling reason to carry on with their existence.

Jotuns: Jotuns are an offshoot of the Mashina race and share 98% of their physiology. The 2% difference is comprised of the internal Chaos and Law brains that regulate their memories and emotions. Jotun, because of their history of close relations to the Bifrostian Norns, have a neural ratio of 30% Chaos and 70% Logic. This little difference makes the Jotun significantly more personable and even capable of understanding such things as the humor behind jokes and the beauty of music. Jotuns have never had a chance to live any longer than one thousand years, however, and therefore their knowledge of the world is stunted.

Humans/Norns

Visual: Standing between 5 and 6 feet tall (around 7 feet for Norns), these furless and flat-faced creatures populate the lands either as nomadic tribes or ensconced in metropolises bristling with technology. Most Humans share many physical similarities but display different skin and hair variations depending on which region of the planet they grew up in. They walk upright on two legs and sometimes domesticate creatures and monsters to use as draft animals.

Politics: Humans have both profited and suffered from virtually every political and societal variant they could conceive throughout their history. The Zeboic Humans cycled through variations of socialism, democracy, communism and dictatorships. Norns uphold a system of oligarchy and what little is left of Humans in the present mostly band together in tribes.

Contributions: Most of the great achievements of the Humans took place long ago, in the Zeboic days. Through sacrifice, ingenuity, sagacity, and the reverse-engineering of newly discovered ancient technologies, the Zeboic Humans managed to build vehicles that flew through the atmosphere and touched the stars. They invented automobiles, harnessed the atom, manipulated genes, and grew to populate much of the southern Hinterlands. They created a great underground city, filled to capacity with the artifacts of human genius, and their race prospered for over a thousand years. Much to the displeasure of the Sargons, however, the Humans also managed to pollute most of the lands around their largest cities. Now, the only thing that remains of the advanced Human culture is part of their underground city. Texts detailing the triumphs of Human society that were printed on archival materials able to withstand the ravages of time are now contained within the vaults of Edenworld’s most notable scholars, and there isn’t a Human alive today that remembers the grand achievements their race once accomplished.

On the other hand, Norns have done rather well for themselves. They kept knowledge of some of the technological advances of the Zeboic era and added upon it the sacred knowledge of magic-weaving they gained from the influence of the World tree. Magic-weaving imparts permanent magic abilities into a crafted object that can be used again and again. This is a tremendous achievement, considering the fact that even the Sargons have not mastered such an ability and can only give magic to a mundane creature or object through the use of “runes”.

Attitude: There is not one type of attitude that is common to all Humans and Norns. Their races are very chaotic, and they posses equal capacity for committing acts of good and evil. Masses of Humans or Norns typically seek to dominate everything around them, however, and will try to conquer and subjugate land, animals, and other races. Anything that cannot be dominated will either be ignored or destroyed. The few remaining Humans who live amongst the Sargon or Mashina typically have attitudes that deviate greatly from those of the average members of their race.

Biology: Humans share some similarities with both Sargons and monsters. They have four-chambered hearts and must consume food to live. They mate, give birth to live young, and can be expected to live between 50 and 70 years. Humans do not produce an Immortal variation of themselves, even among their magically enlightened Norn counterparts. However, the Norn lifespan lasts about five times as long as that of a regular Human, due to the influence of positive energy emitted in the light of the World tree.

Devils

Visual: Devils are people from every race, living or dead, who have been possessed by the God known as “Anti-Life-Matter”. For the most part, Devils look similar to how they appeared before they were infected, unless they sustained substantial physical damage. The surest way to tell if someone is indeed a Devil is if they exhibit unnaturally pale white skin, cold breath, red eyes, black blood, and lack an APHEL aura.

Politics: There are no politics among Devils, just the rule of a despotic, tightly-knit band of leaders known as the “Devil Lords”, who were formerly Sargon sages until they were exiled after the Yggdrassil skirmish in I.Y.4030. After this exile, the sages returned as Devil Lords, commanding an army of people who had been infected by the Rogue God, and began to attack towns and cities in the name of something they called “Utopia”. Devils mostly reside in the Great Underground beneath the Ignaz Desert, but their leaders frequently venture above ground plotting doom and wreaking havoc on the world. The Devil Mashina led by Slepnyr, on the other hand, doesn’t even seek the formation of a Utopia. Their only goal is the total annihilation of every living creature.

Contributions: Devils contribute nothing to the good of the world. They only spread deceit and anarchy.

Attitude: With the exception of the Devil Mashina, all Devils believe they are doing the work of the “One True God”, a being who wishes all the races be united into a perfect Utopia of lifeless order. Free from birth and death, happiness or sadness, war, and even all individuality, time would stand still and everything would remain in a state of perfect order. Only a few Devils are able to recall the life they lead before they were infected, and even though they retain their memories, their attitudes have been corrupted and fixated upon the singular goal of attaining a unification of the world at any cost. Devil Mashina seek to further the Rogue God’s true objective of undoing the work of the Wave God by dissolving the protections around the world tree and destroying Wave’s creations.

Biology: The biology of Devils is unknown, except for the fact that they contain a form of blackened blood. They seem to be nearly the same as they were in their old life, but they cannot procreate, and they do not produce body heat. Devil Mashina are unable to regenerate their bodies because the nanomachines that once flowed through them are now dead. Instead, they create a green, fibrous growth that adheres to their broken limbs and gives their body some restored stability. It is entirely possible that the Devils are a form of “undead” creature created by Anti-Life Matter.