Eyalen Ria · Salorras Codex

Salorras species: eyalen ria — the only demon-blooded kindred, eyafen heroes warped by two centuries of siege in the Paths of the Ancients until the blood of Saragoth ran in their veins: towering, terrifying, and bound by the Tradition of Blood. An advanced race, taken only with the referee’s permission, for its demonic might, magic-warding, and fear-aura. The eyalen ria are the world’s sole demon-blooded people; they descend from the eyafen (and through the Arousal bloodline, from the succubi of Saragoth).

Origin: Born of two centuries of demonic siege in the Paths of the Ancients — eyafen warriors transformed by the blood of Saragoth Stature: 1.85–2.30 m, ~110 kg — pale grey-yellow skin streaked with black veins, muscular and exotic-featured Lifespan: Long-lived in the manner of the eyafen, warped by demonic taint — a precise range unrecorded Houses: Jah · Loh · Nag · Raeh · Sha Faith: No god — each eyalen ria is a “little god of themselves”; the Tradition of Blood codifies their law, custom, and seven-year blood-rite Languages: Native — Sigthaa (a spoken-only dialect of Merylia with demonic roots from Saragoth); local — Merylia (Neluvia)

The invasion of the demons into the world of Salorras was a world-historic event, the birthplace of conditions whose mark, even in the Era of the Third Moon, remains indelible. In the year 406 IIE the goddess Mother, as the war wore on and after nearly half a century, reopened the gates of the Paths of the Ancients. There, veteran warriors of Salorras waited to fight once more the hated demons of the bloodthirsty dimension of Saragoth, who had been trapped within the Paths. To their astonishment, instead of demons the world received, haltingly, its forgotten and unglorified eyafen heroes, who had been sealed there fighting for Salorras — heroes shut in for more than 200 years, who fought a desperate struggle for their own survival and for Salorras itself, at terrible cost. Trapped, besieged, and cut off from all aid, using every weapon and means they could find in the Paths of the Ancients, those brave souls looked into the abyss, and the abyss looked back into them. Their new generations, raised on the blood, flesh, and marrow of demons, in an endless and chaotic battle for survival, were forged by war and chiseled by fate, leaving behind the memories and heritage of their eyafen “fathers.” They were named eyalen ria — in common speech, the people of blood.

The eyalen ria are “the terror in vessels of flesh,” as they say of themselves. A people who tasted and were born of unholy blood, so primal and savage that even in the Era of the Third Moon, at the sound of their name, fear is truly stirred in even the stoutest-hearted warriors. The mantle of terror that “clothes” their kind, their mystical arts, and their rabid martial power are some of their gifts, and by them they have provoked the terror, if not the respect — two notions that, for them, share one meaning — of the other peoples of the world. At present, most of the people of the unholy blood dwell on the isle of Eilean Fuil Ria, once known as Stuadhan Ciuin, the Isle of Calm Waves; they mastered that ground, turning its former inhabitants to flight, and a bloody civil war rages there for the rise of a ruling order.

Character

Most eyalen ria are aggressive, high-strung, outward in their desires, and act on impulse to seize what they want. Hard and violent, they are quick to take any situation into their own hands and do violence without hesitation. They respect physical strength as a virtue, and esteem one when they realize they are superior in martial skill — a feeling that drives them to grow still more competitive. They never forget insults, and they remember to their dying day the names of those who beat them in battle. By nature, the demonic blood in their veins “commands” them to provoke fear and dread in those around them — they want the world to speak of them with terror. On the other hand, the faint heritage they kept from the eyafen gives them zero tolerance for those who deny others their choices, for they believe every being of the world must choose its own road, even if that road leads to ruin. They set as their purpose a life without compromise, live in the moment, and choose their deeds with genuine impulse, always keeping their abilities well “sharpened,” for they face their very existence as an endless battle of survival.

Appearance

The demonic heritage of the eyalen ria is plain to see, and because of it they always breathe out a sense of terror. Their size inspires awe, markedly larger than the other common peoples of Salorras, ranging from 1.85 to 2.30 meters in height with an average weight of 110 kilos. Their bodies, muscular and hairless, bear a pale, “sickly” grey-yellow hue that throws their black veins into sharp contrast. Their facial features — wild and exotic, with strong cheekbones and deep dark eyes and hair — never pass unnoticed; most choose long hair on the head, bound elaborately into a braid or plaits. In dress the eyalen ria are quite plain — usually bare from the waist up, showing off their muscular build, and instead of trousers they favor a simple loincloth in daily life. Their ornaments, collars and bracelets, are handmade in a perverse but traditional craft of their people, fashioned from the teeth of their enemies — an image that breeds unease in their next would-be foes. Every child of the unholy blood bears on the left palm the tattoo of the family they belong to — an emblem that, with the years and deeds of each eyalen ria, grows ever more elaborate.

Neighbors and Rivals

The demonic nature of the eyalen ria breeds in the other peoples distrust and hostility — and that, in the best of cases. They are met with fear and prejudice, and are usually not accepted into the societies of the other peoples of Salorras. It is rumored that if one manages to win the respect of an eyalen ria, they will remain their friend forever. For their part, the eyalen ria look on most peoples with contempt, for they scorn every notion of civilization and society not born from the struggle to survive. They openly respect the pyrekin for their passion for independence, while they keep a neutral and at once wary stance toward the eyafen, in whom they see a reflection of their own purer self. In recent years the eyalen ria of Gleean Fala — the Valley of Blood — have formed friendly relations with the Praecarians of Asmeda, keep contact with the Eyafen Dominion of Neluvia, and try to make their voice heard in the Council of Friends of Khalendianil. A particular bridge of mutual respect they have built with the dwarves of the Burning Island, as comrades-in-arms against their common enemy out of Saragoth.

Faith

The eyalen ria as a whole honor no god, for they believe each of them is a little god in their own right, or as the shamans of their people hold, they “are gods of themselves.” Though no organized faith exists among them, they honor the passing of time, the change of seasons, and the cycles the moons travel around Salorras. The eyalen ria live by the beliefs that the “Tradition of Blood” sets forth — a philosophy of life covering the laws, mores, and customs of this people. Every seven years, the Tradition of Blood commands every member of the families to attend the sacred rites of their shamans, to glorify and honor the moons, the aether, and the shadow of the world. Traditionally, at these rites, each family of the eyalen ria must offer to the table of sacrifice one of its own children. In this way they believe they secure the harmonious orbit of the moons and the steady “flow” of aether and shadow through the world’s reflections — a balance which, if “derailed,” as they say, will bring the revelation of Salorras. Eyalen ria who live far from their native lands may have taken up some other faith, but rarely does one of them happen not to know of the Tradition of Blood.

Conscience

Independent and wild, beastly and primal, unsubdued, hostile, bloodthirsty, and barbaric are some of the labels the rest of the world has set on the eyalen ria. The other peoples have no clear picture of what it means to be a child of the unholy blood. They are creatures of chaos, and only the Tradition of Blood holds their society bound — the customs and the fear of their elders. It is known that the eyalen ria cannot stifle their desire for independence, nor be hemmed in by laws and rules. They love to see terror in the eyes of their enemies, and are driven by a feeling of savage joy as they “conquer” the obstacles in their path.

Eyalen Ria Domains

The few thousand eyalen ria who survived within the Paths of the Ancients returned, after 202 years, to a besieged and unrecognizable Salorras that had undergone radical change. Some stayed on Neluvia, in an attempt to return to the cradle of the eyafen people, managing in their own way to integrate into the society of the Eyafen Dominion. Most chose to find a place of their own, independent and far from the other peoples — a primal, deep-seated need to shape their own society. In the year 412 IIE, some thousands of these barbarous souls arrived on the isle of Stuadhan Ciuin, the isle of “Calm Waves,” and after the years-long bloodshed that followed among the dwarven settlers, the isle was renamed Eilean Fuil Ria — the land won with blood, or “the Isle of Blood.” In 420 IIE, after the unprecedented violence they showed the dwarven inhabitants, the eyalen ria prevailed as the dominant people of the isle, and a few years later raised their first city in the Valley of Blood.

In the Era of the Third Moon the eyalen ria are the overlords of the isle of Eilean Fuil Ria, while on Neluvia they keep an outpost a few kilometers outside the capital Meliriee, for purposes of diplomacy with the eyafen. Finally, in the archipelago of Bramblemesh, one of the islets has been taken by force by the slave-gladiator eyalen ria of that region.

Wanderers and Seekers

It is not a common thing for an eyalen ria to leave their homeland to travel the world — though it is not unheard of. The exotic eyalen ria who choose this path often have some dark reason that drives them to it: a feud over land among their families, an undefeatable enemy within their family circle, or even a failure on a personal level may be among the reasons an eyalen ria emigrated from their home. In recent years there are many who travel to the distant archipelago of Bramblemesh, taking willing part in the duels of its arenas — a contest to raise and spread the fame of their people’s martial skill. Some, with the blessings of the elder shamans of their kind, depart their native land to travel the world and better understand their place in it. Whatever the reason that puts an eyalen ria in the adventurer’s “shoes,” it is known that wherever they go in the world, they cut their course by the Tradition of Blood.

Language

The eyalen ria speak the tongue Sigthaa, a distinct corrupted dialect of Merylia with roots in the demonic speech of Saragoth. It is a tongue rough to the ear and full of meaning, for which no written form exists. Beyond Sigthaa, the eyalen ria rarely consent to speak other tongues, even when they know them. One of the more common tongues they most often learn after their own is Merylia — the common tongue of Neluvia.

Eyalen Ria Starborns

In the Era of the Third Moon there are no known starborn children of Salorras belonging to the eyalen ria. The scholars of the world refer to them as “incapable” of seizing the spark of the starborn, holding that they were tainted by the alien dimension of Saragoth, once and for all.

Names

Every name is unique to the eyalen ria, made of three parts whose meaning is distinct. The first part is the one the eyalen ria use when they introduce themselves; it has no gender, for it does not distinguish males from females of their kind. To them it is a huge insult if they have introduced themselves to a stranger and that stranger does not return the courtesy, or fails to address the eyalen ria’s name correctly. The second part is, in practice, the name of the family to which an eyalen ria belongs. Their families are the following five: Jah, Loh, Nag, Raeh, and Sha — words that translate loosely, in order, to “the unbreakable,” “the strength,” “the eternal,” “the bloody,” and “the chain.” The third and last part is granted only to the elders of the kind, or to figures who have stood out for their might — physical, or spiritual, or both. This part of the name is gained through a rite with the shamans of the people, and is revealed only to those present at the ceremony — usually the one baptized and the baptizer. Always, the meaning of this name signifies something important and fundamental to the temperament of the newly named eyalen ria, strengthening their power. Those who know this name can call upon the demonic nature of the named eyalen ria, to “command” them to act as they wish.

Female or Male names: Abigor, Agera, Ayperos, Berith, Botis, Caym, Charon, Deuma, Eurynome, Fonkalp, Gaap, Geryon, Haures, Kobal, Loricom, Mandares, Nuliac, Orpha, Ratmis, Shorac, Vaxal, Zgaron. Full name examples: Arga Jah Zogthiroz, Belgas Loh Jogdromon, Drasmis Raeh Trarnonorth, Kralocar Nag Thogmeros, Liarac Sha Koz’gunol, Pagmar Jah Vozurunth, Rikon Raeh Dangromuth, Vgolor Nag Iggamath.

Eyalen Ria Racial Traits

The eyalen ria are not merely a different people — they are a perverse continuation. In their veins runs the blood of their eyafen forebears, woven through with the dark power of the demons of Saragoth that forged them for two hundred years in the Paths of the Ancients. Unlike the eyafen, who remain purely mortal creatures of the material world, the eyalen ria have crossed so deeply with the bloodthirsty energy of Saragoth that their very mystical nature uproots them from the natural order of Salorras — beings who are born and die here like any mortal, but who are reckoned, cosmologically, among the kinds of the Continuums. Theirs is the mightiest and most fearsome bloodline a player may take, so the eyalen ria is an advanced race the referee admits with the greatest care — its demon-forged power balanced by the terror it draws, the elders’ seven-year blood-rite, and the fatal secret of the third name.

Requirements: Minimum STR 9 Ability adjustments: +4 STR, +2 CHA — both powerful and hauntingly beautiful (no score above 18) Class access: Any Path or Paragon; the eyalen ria incline to the armsman — the fury tradition above all — and to the legatee or mage for the demon-magic in their blood

Predator’s Stride: An eyalen ria strides faster than almost any common humanoid; their base movement is a swift 120′ (40′), and the referee should grant them a decided edge in any pursuit — in open ground, the average mortal rarely escapes an eyalen ria who has given chase.
Demonborn Sight: Their demon-changed eyes grant infravision to 60 feet, seeing the world in shades of grey with the clarity a human would want at noon — caves without a torch, wrecks on the seabed, houses with no fire lit, all alike laid bare.
Terror’s Mantle: The eyalen ria are terrifying predators, and their mere presence threatens. An eyalen ria gains a +4 bonus to cow or intimidate a foe (and to the morale checks of those who would stand against them), while the same honed instincts make them keen-sensed hunters — the referee favors them at noticing and listening.
Tainted Blood: An eyalen ria’s blood is astonishingly resilient, granting a +4 bonus on saving throws against poison and disease, natural or magical — toxins that would fell a soldier dissolve in their veins as though burned away.
Warded Flesh: Foreign magic breaks against the mystical taint in their flesh. An eyalen ria gains a +2 bonus on all saving throws against spells and magical effects (the mark of the spell-resistance in their blood, deepening as they grow in power).
Deathgrip: In a grapple or wrestling hold, an eyalen ria delights in a larger foe: they gain a +2 bonus on grappling against an opponent one size larger, rising a further +2 per size category beyond (+4 vs. huge, +6 vs. gargantuan, and so on). They have broken the bones of giants with bare hands — the larger the beast, the more natural their victory.
Frighten: Once per day, an eyalen ria can terrify the very soul of a single chosen foe, who must save versus spells or flee in fear (as the fear spell) for several rounds.
Fayen Blood: Despite their demonic look, the eyalen ria never lost their older faye heritage — they merely buried it under layers of curse. For every effect that turns on race, an eyalen ria counts as a faye: ancient faye relics answer to them, and the magic that seeks out the faye kind (including the bite of Sargothite, the faye’s nemesis-metal) finds them just the same — even as, cosmologically, they are also reckoned among the demon-kinds of the Continuums.
The Third Name: Upon reaching 13th level, an eyalen ria may seek the most dangerous rite of their kind — the unlocking of their third name. In a ceremony overseen by a shaman of the people and a divine mystagogue, the eyalen ria consciously syncs for the first time with the demonic heritage in their blood and chooses — with the heart, not the mind — one of the three lineages of their fathers out of Saragoth: the Bloodline of Anger, of Arousal, or of Fear. From then on, rarely but decisively, the eyalen ria can loose a 20-foot aura that taints the will of those nearby, for a number of rounds equal to their Charisma adjustment (minimum 1) — a calling so exhausting it takes a long rest to recover. Creatures that are not dragons, elementals, faye, Continuum-beings, or undead must save versus spells or be gripped by the aura; on a success, a creature is immune to that aura for the next day.
- Bloodline of Anger: the aura kindles unreasoning rage — an affected creature falls upon whoever is near, ally, enemy, or stranger, without distinction.
- Bloodline of Arousal: this lineage passes from the succubi of the abyss — the aura provokes an overpowering attraction, and an affected creature can scarcely raise a weapon against the eyalen ria.
- Bloodline of Fear: this lineage passes from the most fearsome Saragothan demons — the aura looses primal terror, and an affected creature scatters in flight, eyes clouded with panic.
The third name carries a fatal weakness: whoever learns it can use it as a key to the eyalen ria’s demonic nature and command them to act at will. For this reason most eyalen ria guard the name as their very fate, and carry it to the grave.

Languages: An eyalen ria speaks Sigthaa and a regional tongue of their upbringing, and may learn the Saragothan of the demons, Merylia, and the ancient speech of dragons — though they rarely consent to speak any tongue but their own.

Blood’s Lore

Excerpt from the treatise “Pathgates and the Roads of the Ancients.” Codex Athenaeum Library, Ylna’Anor, 416 IIE.

”…The survival of the eyalen ria in the roads of the ancient eyafen, for 202 years, remains a mystery to us all to this day. That they survived so long and returned with ‘new’ flesh and bone troubled even the scholar of the Taelthion Tir school, Elyrion Zylmarael. Even if one asks the ‘children of the unholy blood’ themselves, it is a matter they conceal, and they always end by speaking of a blood-stained path — the path that, as they say, gave them the traditions of blood.”

”…We come, then, to the conclusion that to understand the reality the trapped pilgrims lived in the roads of the ancients, when the demons spilled into our world, one must put oneself in the place of a besieged eyafen cut off from all aid. It is known that the talents of the eyafen of Neluvia do not stop at the skills of the forest hunter, but extend to those of the warrior. Counting in the potent pagan magics at their disposal, and the primal survival instinct that governs them, one might aptly say they ‘exploited’ the corrupted fruits of the defiled ancient roads.”

“…our instincts, many times, ward off certain death, whatever the cost and the collateral losses. In the food chain, the eyafen know better than all: either you are the prey and you meet Old Vailsath the Hag, or you survive as the apex predator, beside Queen Nara.”