Rendlings

Fundamental reason to fear the dark.

God-husks? Nah, they're alright. Depending on which one you're around, those mindless titans can be upwards of 400 meters tall -- you can see em long before they pose any danger. No, God-husks are not the things to be afraid of. It's what they created. It's what was left over after The Seven Day War... the Rendlings.

— Words of Warning, a travel guide by Thallen Iusus, page 2

What came after

Magic, blood, guts and destruction -- all of these were found in near endless quantities, during the Seven Day war. The Gods, born from the pure magics of before-time, fought one another. Grave injuries were dealt, and the enchanted blood known as Ichor that runs through the gods' veins spilled out. Appendages were rent from giant bodies, and spells were cast with abandon. All of this detritus coalesced into smaller, semi-godlike forms, that eventually became known as Rendlings.

Humanities re-formative years

The Shattered Isles. Beautiful scenery, lovely sunsets. Especially if you're there at the right time, and the sunlight reflects off of Dimiti's pool. Terrible place to visit though. The Shattered Isles are home to Cathedris's largest concentration of Rendlings, owed in part to the constant spawning of them from the God-husk Dimiti.

— Words of Warning, a travel guide by Thallen Iusus, page 4

For months after the war, Cathedris was in shambles. All semblance of civilization had been stripped away, and the majority of all life on the planet had been wiped out. Whatevever tiny percentage of humans that remained huddled together in caves or shelters, trying to come to terms with their new reality. It was during this time period that the Rendlings began to emerge from the debris and carnage. Animals that had strayed too near the fighting, pure magic that had been given form through the blood of the gods, things slowly began crawling out of the darkness.
These monsters gave humans an entirely new reason to fear the absence of light.
The Rendlings, few in number, began to hunt and kill any living thing near them, for they were full of the God's leftover malice.

by Background via Unsplash, artwork by Stormbril

Legion

Humanity refused to roll over and die in the face of the Rendlings. Thankfully, the amount of Rendlings was relatively low compared to the human population; despite a near planet-wide extinction that had just occurred. Humans from different cultures and backgrounds began to work together more, and soon began combat training together. Out of this partnership, a planet-wide military force to stem the tide of Rendlings was soon established; built out of the best warriors each fledgling country had to offer. These troops became known as the Legion; to this day, over 3,000 years later, the legion still exists.
Every country sends a selection of its highest-ranked soldiers to the Legion headquarters, located in Hansun, north-east of the Shattered Isles. Here these soldiers are trained in the ways of Rendling suppression, how to kill certain forms of Rendlings, and how to protect one's self from attacks.

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If you insist on becoming a so-called "Well-travelled Cathedran" by visiting even the most dangerous locations... do yourself a favour, and hire a guide. Most guides are ex-Legionnaires, and as such are well versed in all methods of protecting one's self from Rendlings.

— Words of Warning, a travel guide by Thallen Iusus, page 7

Classification

Monster

Prey

Anything living

Habitat

Varied, world-wide

Malladical Rendling Size

1m - 10m tall

Faunal Rendling Size

2m - 7m tall

Deific Rendling

5m - ???m tall

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• God-husks

Origin/Ancestry

Godlike, Demi/Semi-god spawn

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Forms

Rendlings are born from obscure, unknowable elements and magics. Biological fluids and materials from the body of the gods combine with errant magics, or unfortunate wild animals, to become monstrosities that prowl the dark. Rendlings can be broken down into three main forms, but more exist.

Malladical Rendlings

Created during The Seven Day War, and then allowed to incubate for months in the smoking battlefield afterwards. These Rendlings are pure magic energy, given physical form from the blood of slain gods. Monsters of this variety are terrifying due to their ability to sense auras, change form rapidly, and "absorb" victims.

Faunal Rendling

Limbs? Too many. Form? Uncanny. Faunal Rendlings come from the unfortunate combination of ill-fated wildlife straying into a pile of Godly remains -- be it pools of divine Ichor, bits of godly flesh, or anything in between. The materials from the gods take over and warp the wildlife into a monstrous version of its self; it retains all of its animalistic urges but has its ferocity increased tenfold. Faunal Rendlings are highly feared due to their propensity to hunt humans -- and the skill in which they do this.

Deific Rendling

The third most common, and yet most terrifying of the main forms of Rendlings. Deific Rendlings are born purely out of torn limbs and large scraps of godly flesh leftover from the Seven Day War. This category of Rendling took the longest to come into existence; incubating in ancient battlefields for hundreds of years, before emerging fully formed. These Rendlings are nigh impossible to kill and can come in seemingly any shape or size. If one does manage to kill a Deific Rendling, the kill is almost always immortalized in songs and stories across all of Cathedris.

Rendling Hot-spots

Shattered Isles

The Shattered Isles were home to a large amount of the fighting during the Seven Day war. Three seperate gods, Dimiti, Tatete, and Miyu, all met their end here, and two others took grave wounds in this area. As such, these islands are a hotspot for Deific and Faunal Rendlings.
The Shattered Isles are also one of the only sources of new Rendlings; The great pool of Achromatic Sanguinity upon Dimiti's back overflows from time to time, spilling across the landscape and spawning more terrifying Deific Rendlings. The Legion headquarters were located as close as possible, in the country of Hansun, due to the frequency of new Rendlings spawned from the liquid pooled on the back of Dimiti.

Northern Artazia

Located on the Northern end of Volsinki is the country of Artazia , home of the God-husk Avartarian. Avartarian, four-armed and heavily armoured, undergoes painful tumour-like growths on a near-constant basis. The God-husk rips these aberrations from his skin and angrily discards them, where they soon form into Deific or Faunal Rendlings.
The Rendlings near Avartarian take on a unique appearance, due to the chunks of flaking armour that often accompany the discard tumours that form the monsters. Many of the local Rendlings have pieces of metal, random bits of tubing, or large plates of metal embedded; some even take on the appearance of being armoured beasts.

Caedian Sea

Home to what is known as the largest magical blast Cathedris has ever seen, the Caeden Sea is what surrounds the lone island of Caed's Island. Caed's Island, and the Caedean Sea, lay directly in the middle of what was once the continent of Apathae (Ancient). In modern day, the continent is in two halves; Apathae and North Apathae.
A side effect of a blast that large is the high amounts of magical residue left behind. The water between the halves of this once mega-continent, the Caedian Sea, is full of this magical residue. This magical-primordial mixture makes up Cathedris's third Rendling hotspot, as Malladical and Faunal rendlings continuously emerge from the murky waters surrounding Caed's Island.

Recorded Rendlings

Here are some Rendlings that have been discovered and captured on film or in art, showcased here for educational and warning purposes. Watch out! And should you ever see a Rendling or have art of a Rendling that's never been seen before, you can share it and have it be shared here as well.

Rendling Catfish by Emy

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