E-book (sneak peek)

Hey everyone! E-book is coming along. I would say...it's definitely more than half complete. While much of the project is just compiling stuff from various locations, some of it involves writing up "entries" for various points of interest or people in the game. I'm trying to make sure the entries aren't just repeating information from the game or from the artbook, which makes it a little more complicated. 

Here are a few entries though:

Stone Circle Academy

A private school located in Pine Hollow.

Stone Circle is a haven for Cryptics in the area. Most willingly send their students to the school, while others are brought to the school once they are discovered by the agency.

The school was originally founded by a Wizard who was passing through the area and realised it had become a hub for Cryptics. Though he initially attempted to set the school in a pocket universe that would have prevented normal people from attending - or even knowing it was there - the strange energies in Pine Hollow kept causing the pocket universe to overlap into reality. Eventually most of the small area crumbled, leaving the school too grounded in the real world to hide its presence.

The Wizard, who still acts as the school's principal, decided it would be better to allow Cryptic students and humans to intermingle, so the Cryptics could get accustomed to doing so.

Stone Circle has several barriers to help protect the students at the school, but as a public place with an open invitation to those who wish to gain knowledge, it's difficult to really keep things out. The school has a reputation for being quite weird among its human students, and there are rumours of everything from ghosts on the stairs, to ghosts in the elevator, to hidden floors and basements where terrifying things lie in wait.

There were originally four floors in use for classes, but the fourth floor eventually fell out of use as more and more Cryptics began to use it as a lurking spot. There are many dangerous things lurking at Stone Circle - some out of curiosity, and others because they have no where else to go. Still others, because they're drawn to places where human energies gather. Most of them can't be so easily removed - or if they were, they might be replaced by something even worse.

The Cryptic staff and students do their best to keep an eye on things, but there are occasional accidents that leave human students injured...or worse. Some have tried to argue it would be best to remove the humans from the school - it's too dangerous to have them there. But others argue there's really no place in Pine Hollow that's really safe for humans. So in that regard, Stone Circle is just like the rest of the town.

Magic Circulation and Overflow

Magic Overflow occurs when the earth's output of magic energy surpasses what its circulatory system is capable of handling. 

The earth generates a steady stream of magic energy from within the planet and though there are only theories about how this works, it's assumed that the earth has a magic "core" just as magic creatures do. The magic energy produced from this core continuously flows over the surface of the planet in a sort of system of "streams", "rivers" and "veins." This magic affects many different things on the surface, such as the fertility of the land, or distribution of animal life. Places rich with magic energy are often also rich with life energy while places where there is very little magic flow, are often barren wastes.

Magic circulation also affects the general distribution of Cryptic communities and paths into Other Realms as Cryptics often gather along these magic streams - consciously or unconsciously. Sometime human activity can disrupt or even change the flow of magic.

On certain days of the year, there is a sudden and rapid increase in the earth's magic production, which causes the "streams" of magic energy to expand and overflow. These are called "Magic Overflow" or "High Days." High Days are often  recognised as holidays by the normal populace, and are known for the increased supernatural occurrences. Magic Overflow always coincides with High Days.

The exact mechanic behind overflow is unknown, but certain ones coincide with specific alignments between the planets or between the earth and the sun. Even so, why these alignments cause such massive fluctuations in the earth's magic energy output is largely unknown. This is something being studied by many paranormal groups across the globe.

Magic overflow causes a massive upsurge of paranormal activity due to increased amount of magic energy in the air. In addition, there is also a significant thinning of The Divide and weakening of seals and barriers in places through which these streams of magic typically flow. The strong magic energy makes it easier for non-corporeal Cryptics to manifest and interact with the real world and can sometimes awaken sleeping Ancients from their slumber.

Generally speaking, High Days and magic overflow are known to be periods where the supernatural becomes even more dangerous. Though many Cryptics enjoy overflow for the power and energy boost they receive, organisations like the NPRA struggle to ensure that normal humans remain safe and unaware that anything strange is going on.

Vampires

Vampires are a Cryptic species that has been known to humans for centuries - though many consider them a myth. Though much folklore has cropped up about Vampires and what they are like, many of these are simply stories that were made up or twisted over time. However, like all folklore, there is some foundation of truth for these stories. Vampires 

Vampires are not undead, nor are they evil or demonic. They are capable of having children - though they do so at a much slower rate than humans. However, not all Vampires are born as such - Vampirism can be passed to humans in the form of a chemical compound that behaves similar to a virus in the system. Though Vampires often refer to this as a sort of "venom" - it's not actually made of any known toxins. These chemicals takes root within a person's body and alters their body structure and DNA, turning them into a sub-category of Vampire usually referred to simply as "Infected."

Infected Vampires and natural Vampires differ in numerous ways - Infected Vampires are generally weaker when it comes to strength and ability, but are also less weak to light. Natural Vampires, however, are incredibly photosensitive and must take care to protect eyes and skin from the effects of the sun. Natural Vampires have retractable fangs while infected Vampires lose their original canines, and new ones rapidly grow in.

Perhaps one of the biggest physiological differences is that natural Vampires posses shorter digestive tracts and three stomachs.

Originally, all Vampires were "Sanguines" - that is, Vampires that practice hematophagy. Some Vampires didn't necessarily drink blood for the physical properties of blood (such as high levels of proteins), but instead drank blood because it was easy to extract certain types of energies from it. This eventually gave rise to Vampires who developed the ability to drain those energies without drinking blood - such as Vitae, who can drain life energy by physical contact. There are also Vampires who feed off magic, psychic energy, emotions, and so on. Because all Vampires used to be blood-drinkers, non-Sanguines still possess fangs and multiple stomachs.

Vampires are known to be possessive, instinctual, and passionate beings. They usually have small families that are extremely loyal to one another and Vampire parents are nearly always quite doting while their children are small. Natural Vampire families tend to be old and wealthy simply due to the sheer amount of time the elder members have been alive. They're not terribly secretive about their society so while they don't exactly broadcast their existence, they also don't protect their secret with the ferocity of some other races. They frequently mingle with humans and other Cryptics.

Vampires are capable of learning magic, though most are content with their natural abilities.

Nearly all Vampires have some form of shape-shifting ability. These are classified by type, such as "animal", "vaporous", or "swarm." Vampires also possess enhanced senses compared to humans - such as greater strength and dexterity, as well as an extremely heightened sense of smell. Most Vampires possess some form of telepathy or empathy, and are capable of at least mild mind control abilities that allow them to charm other people. Some Vampires possess stronger abilities and are ability to manipulate the thoughts and actions of the people around them in a much more direct sort of way.

When a Vampire feeds on someone, they usually make an instinctive mental connection. This can (but does not always) lead to a psychic bond that typically manifests as the person becoming what Vampire society terms a "ravin" - or something like a servant or slave to the Vampire. Ravins are something like the thralls that lose their free will and are subject to the will of the Vampire who subjugated them. It is possible to break this bond, but it usually must be done from the outside as the ravin will have lost the ability to fight against the mind control.

Ravins are outlawed by most of Vampire society, and the practice of intentionally creating one is considered barbaric. In fact, feeding on a person against their will or infecting them against their consent is frowned upon - if not considered illegal - in most Cryptic societies across the globe. It does not stop it from happening, however, and there are still many people who are converted to Vampirism against their will every year. There is a treatment that can remove the virus from the system if administered very soon after infection.