Teiflings and the Empire of Thyrn

Teiflings

Simultaneously more and less than mortal, tieflings are the offspring of humans and fiends. With otherworldly blood and traits to match, tieflings are often shunned and despised out of reactionary fear. Most tieflings never know their fiendish sire, as the coupling that produced their curse occurred generations earlier. The taint is long-lasting and persistent, often manifesting at birth or sometimes later in life, as a powerful, though often unwanted, boon. Despite their fiendish appearance and netherworld origins, tieflings have a human's capacity of choosing their fate, and while many embrace their dark heritage and side with fiendish powers, others reject their darker predilections. Though the power of their blood calls nearly every tiefling to fury, destruction, and wrath, even the spawn of a succubus can become a saint and the grandchild of a pit fiend an unsuspecting hero. Tieflings are known for their cunning and personal allure, which makes them excellent deceivers as well as inspiring leaders when prejudices are laid aside

Appearance

Tieflings have any of a number of features that reference (directly or indirectly) their fiendish lineage. These include, but are not limited to, horns located on their heads, pointed sharp teeth, extra fingers, cloven hooves in place of feet, tails, and unusually colored eyes. They exude a feeling of "evil" even though their race has become civil and no longer lusts for power. Many races distrust or outright hate Tieflings seeing them as devil worshippers.

Tieflings tend to have an unsettling air about them, and most people are uncomfortable around them, whether they are aware of the tiefling’s unsavory ancestry or not. While some look like normal humans, most retain physical characteristics derived from their ancestor, with the most common such features being horns, non-prehensile tails, and pointed teeth.] Some tieflings also have eyes that are solid orbs of black, red, white, silver, or gold, while others have eyes more similar to those of humans.Other, more unusual characteristics include a sulfurous odor, cloven feet, or a general aura of discomfort they leave on others.

In many other ways tieflings are similar to humans physically. Tieflings are, on average, just as tall as humans, from 5'6" to 6'2" and weigh just a little bit heavier at 140 to 220 lbs. Tiefling skin is usually human-like in color, though extending past normal human colors into reddish hues as well. Tiefling hair is often the same color as human hair as well, though dark blue, red, or purple are also common shades among the race.

Although it is not always the case, tieflings tend to have better reflexes than their human kin. This, along with their natural propensity for hiding and deceit helps to give tieflings a reputation for thievery and duplicity. Outside of their homeland Tieflings who have striking inhuman features are often killed at birth by their horrified parent or others. Outside of Thyrn only those tieflings with subdued features or born to someone indifferent to their appearance, either out of acceptance or cruel purpose, are likely to reach adulthood. Those tieflings who do reach adulthood can be expected to age at roughly the same rate. They also live for about the same amount of time.

History

Originally Saikonese politcal outcasts and traitors that found themselves in a land hostile to them, they struggled to survive and each day was hardship and in their desperation they turned to the darker powers. Mephistopheles the arch devil answered and promised them power and strength if they agreed to his terms. He wanted to lay with each child bearing woman, and in exchange he promised them their new empire. They did so out of desperation even forcing some of the females to comply and the tielfings of Thyrn were born after 9 months. Eventually the outcasts were outbred by the tieflings and as promised their society grew and the empire of Thyrn was born.

Thyrn

It is ruled by the Emperor Akitsu and is a militant culture comprising of many shogun and the retainers. Emperor Akitsu rules with an Iron fist and is very much a bloody tyrant to the eyes of outsiders but Thyrn has a vast and rich culture. It has a very well defined caste system the bottom stay at the bottom and the top stay on top. Thyrns also make use of slaves which are of any person not native to their land and even a few of their own. Historically Thyrn was a country of raiders however much has changed since the implementation of the feudal system there and the are now a unified secular nation.

Vast armies of men at arms and samurai are at their disposal and one wonders to whom shall they turn their wrath at first. The Emperor Akitsu rules Thyrn with fear his Tengu and Oni classed samurai elite roam the lands putting out any ideas of liberation and despite the tieflings being out numbered by the other races combined they are quite successful in doing so. Thyrn has some deals with the dwarves and a few other merchants groups and trade isn't uncommon but Thyrnnians for the most part are feared and hated and treated with suspicion stories of blood rape and pillage abound and stick to them, some of these are quite true unfortunately as their culture believes in racial superiority and their Emperor does indeed parly with real devils and Oni alike.

Magic and religion

Those tieflings who seek out power through arcane magic are most often warlocks. Tiefling arcanists of all kinds, however, feel a draw towards the fiendish energies of the spectral plane and tiefling wizards commonly specialize as diviners for the purpose of seeking knowledge of the Lower Planes or as conjurers so that they might summon the dark spirits whom they call kin.

Those tieflings who are religious are a varied lot, since no god holds more sway over tieflings than any other, though Kull, as the lord of evil, may come close. Most tieflings call on one of the primary gods of their homeland, though there are exceptions.

Despite their fiendish heritage and the insidious influence of prejudice, tieflings can be of any alignment. Many of them fall prey to the dark desires that haunt their psyches, and give in to the seduction of the whispering evil within, yet others steadfastly reject their origins and actively fight against evil lures and the negative assumptions they face from others by performing acts of good. Most, however, strive to simply find their own way in the world, though they tend to adopt a very amoral, neutral view when they do. Though many creatures just assume that tieflings worship devils and demons, their religious views are as varied as their physical forms. Individual tieflings worship all manner of deities, but they are just as likely to shun religion all together. Those who give in to the dark whispers that haunt the psyche of all tieflings serve all manner of powerful fiends.

Relations with other races Tieflings, in general, don't get along well with the other races of the world and are slow to trust others of any race, even their own. It an instinctual paranoia bred from years of prejudice however in some cases this prejudice can be justified. They have a hatred for the creator races and seek to subjugate and enslave them and their descendants

Personality All tieflings are aware at an early age that they're different from others around them, and are given to strange urges and desires because of their unusual ancestry. Few tieflings are raised with the love a normal human child might expect to receive and this shapes most of the race into bitter individuals who expect eventual rejection from all whom they meet. While some might follow this path towards evil, others reject it wholeheartedly and seek to make a good impact on the world around them, sometimes becoming the most heroic characters of all. Few can maintain this discipline however, and most tieflings fall somewhere between both extremes.

Because tieflings are generally distrusted throughout the world due to their fiendish heritage many are distrusting and self-reliant. Tieflings are also proud and secretive by nature and possess a dark demeanor. Unfortunately this only helps to further the reputation tieflings have for being social outcasts and untrustworthy scoundrels. However, members of the other races will find that once they demonstrate friendship and trust towards a tiefling they will be quickly reciprocated in full. Once that bond is forged, it is rarely broken.

Culture Like other races that are the result of the breeding of two or more others, tieflings have a unique culture they can call their own. However, there are many archetypical features of tieflings that are not necessarily innate. This includes their attitude regarding their heritage and while some tieflings embrace it, others are repulsed by it, forging the two most common stereotypes of tieflings

The former tieflings, who are proud of their fiendish past, are often fascinated by the dark and sinister events that touch the world, but are not necessarily evil or inclined to perpetuate them. Some tieflings of this type choose to use their knowledge of evil and their own fiendish abilities to thwart these dark plots and schemes. Others seek to learn more and to emulate these evil deeds.

Other tieflings are ashamed or even frightened of their heritage and wish only to escape the shadow that lurks over them as a result. Some do this through constantly doing good, as though to make up for the evil that begot them. Others instead hide and try to go unnoticed as they pass through the world, preferring to be ignored and forgotten than noticed and made a target due to their past.

Regardless of their motivations, tieflings often distrust one another, sometimes even casting the same preconceptions on one another that others do on them. In spite of this, many secretly desire another tiefling nearby, if only to experience some small kind of kinship. Some of these tieflings gather as partners in crime, while others are sought out by good tieflings who seek to redeem others of their race.

During the black sun, the tieflings however blossomed and look across the ocean to their old enemies Nagoya and planned to attack.