Excerpted from The Living Book of the Skein
The Immortals
“Creatures from dreams, fantasies, and nightmares made flesh.”
Every being once dismissed as myth exists and endures.
Upon reaching maturity, most species regenerate from nearly any wound, though true death remains possible through unnatural flame, decapitation, or other rare means.
Many first gathered or were born in Gaia until the gods exiled them to the Skein, a closed dimension sealed off from the mortal world.
The Skein is now a patchwork of territories, each ruled by its own ancient laws and predatory hierarchies.
Time runs strangely there: seasons warp, borders drift, and travelers often return changed. Or do not return at all.
The Lykae Clan
“The wolf within them does not sleep. It listens—to breath roughening, to pulses thickening with heat—waiting for the moment restraint finally breaks.”
Descended from the early Celts, Lykae are immortals with a latent wolf spirit bound within their human form.
They seek their mate above all else.
They carry the wolf’s hungers: for loyalty, for pleasures of the flesh, for the intoxicating moment when Instinct takes command.
The Valkyries
“When a maiden warrior screamed defiance as she fell in battle, Wóden and Freya struck her with lightning, rescuing her to Valhalla and preserving her courage forever in the form of her Valkyrie daughter.”
An eternal sisterhood bound by blood and legend.
They revel in warfare and mirth, valuing laughter as highly as slaughter.
They draw sustenance from electrical energy, releasing it through emotion, manifested as lightning.
The House of Witches
“Feared and revered in equal measure, the House claims no moral alignment, only power, survival, and indulgence when it serves them.”
Spellcraft wielders.
Home world is Akelarre.
Divided into five castes of abilities: warrior, healer, enchantress, conjurer, and seeress.
The Awaited One is prophesied to embody all five.
The Demonarchies
“Enrage not a demon, for their vengeance is immortal.”
A collection of demon dynasties, divided into two rival kingdoms in the Skein: Rhun and Grimrock.
Demon societies prize power, retribution, and memory; debts and slights are recorded with near-religious precision.
Most demon breeds can trace—teleport—rendering their retaliation swift and often inescapable.
Demons are famously patient in pursuit of vengeance, often hunting offenders across centuries or generations.
The Vampires of Bloodreach
“Insatiable for blood, the vampires grew soft and weak, seeking ever easier prey.”
A decadent faction whose overindulgence has caused many of their once-feared abilities to atrophy.
Drinking a being to death or excessive feeding from victims can induce bloodlust, a red-eyed frenzy that strips a vampire of restraint and hastens further decline.
The Berserkers
“Killing is prayer to the bear-spirit warriors.”
Mortal warriors who swear their lives to Wóden, god of battle and death.
Each one carries within them the spirit of the bear and can channel its ferocity into a Berserkerage, briefly rivaling inhuman strength.
Upon earning two hundred valiant kills in Wóden’s name, a Berserker is granted ohalla: immortality with supernatural power.
The Sept of Sorceri
“The Sorceri forever covet others’ power, seizing it through duel, theft, or darker means.”
A distinct breeding line broken eons ago from the enchantment caste of the House of Witches.
Physically weaker than other species, they historically relied on elaborate armor to protect their bodies.
Over time, metals—especially gold—became sacred to them.
The Ubus Peoples
“Born of demon blood and desire, the Ubus bind pleasure into chains. Thrice in one’s arms, forever enslaved.”
A seductive species of succubi and incubi.
They feed on a partner’s sexual release; repeated coupling leaves a victim irrevocably enthralled.
The Accession
“And a time shall come when all beings in the Skein must fight and destroy each other.”
A mystical checks-and-balances system for an ever-growing population of immortals.
During an Accession’s far-ranging battles, fated mates are often discovered amid the carnage.
Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now…