Tiefling
The year was 5091 PDF. The radiation on the surface had finally dissipated enough for humans to go up again. One city in what was once northern Italy decided that this was the time to go back, and mounted a full scale armed expedition. But they had no way to prepare for what they found. In the night, they encountered a grotesque, but human-like, being of immense power and savagery. Some tried to fight it. They failed. Out of 3586 people who ventured outside, only 901 survived and managed to head back down. Those that survived had been irradiated by the monsters innate magical aura it left behind it, changing the future generation forever. The night went on to be remembered as the Night of the Oni, and the survivors, knowing about the effect magic would have on their offspring, redubbed their city Onimore: Demon's Resting Place.
Two humans of japanese descent in Onimore, Yoshiro and Himiko Masago, eventually had a daughter named Aomine. But something about her was off. Her skin was a deep shade of red, her eyes were pupilless bright yellow and on her head were two small keratin horns. Aomine was a
Physical Mutation, the first mark of the Oni left behind. The first Tiefling.
She was the first of many, and after about a generation there were more tieflings in Onimore than humans. The last human in Onimore died the third month in 5172 PDF, thus leaving Onimore with a 100% tiefling population. However, tieflings are not just limited to Onimore. Over the millenia more mutations occured in other cities. These were similar enough to be classified as tieflings, and thus tieflings are now a recognized subspecies dotted around the globe. The devil children are here to stay.
Tiefling variations
Due to their independant evolution in similar, but still different, conditions there are a total of six variations of the tiefling. All of them share several unique traits like the horns, tail and varied skintones but differ in how these are structured. They also vary in height, body type, customs and even language. If two tieflings from two different cities ever were to meet there would be at least as many differences as similarities.
Onimore Tiefling
The original tieflings, and the most numerous. Onimore tieflings are very tall and lean compared to humans and most other tieflings, averaging in between 6-7 ft. in height. Their horns are quite short (about 9 inches from base to tip) and stubby, but are very sturdy and don't break easily. Their eyes lack pupils and are generally slightly glowing yellow. Tails are on average quite long at about 4-4.5 ft. in length and very flexible and whip-like.
Akadence Tiefling
In terms of body shape, the Akadence Tiefling is very similar to a human. They average about 5-6 ft. in height and their shapes vary between lean, round, soft and anything in between. Their horns are much longer and thicker than the Onimore Tiefling (about 13 inches in length and 4 inches at their widest) and generally take the shape of the now extinct ram, but they're a bit frailer and can break if put under pressure. And unlike most tiefling types, they do not grow back over time. The eyes are either bright white or yellow and pupilless. Tails are very long at about 5 feet in length not countaing a tuft of hair at the end, but they're thick and stiff.
Ouverton Tiefling
The Ouverton Tiefling are somewhere between an Onimore and Akadence Tiefling. Given that the local tiefling population consists of only 22 people split in three families, they are the lowest populated tiefling type. That also means their shape is easier to calculate. The shortest stands at 5'2/157 cm and the tallest at 6'6/198 cm and their body types are as varied as the Akadence tiefling. The horns are not that long (about 6 inches in length) but point upwards. Their eyes do have pupils and are either red, yellow or black. The tails are about as thick as in Akadence but longer, about 4 ft. in length.
Chikato Tiefling
If the above tieflings look like a mix between human and devil, the Chikato tiefling look like a mix between dwarf and devil. The shortest variant of tiefling, they stand between 4-5.5 ft. in height. They are also generally stout and heavily built. The horns are about as long as the Ouverton tiefling, but not only do they crook forward, they are also made out of bone sprouting directly from the skull. The eyes are pitch black and their faces are generally skeletal and heavily built, with large fangs sticking up from the lower jaw. The Chikato tieflings barely have any tails, only reaching about 2 ft. in length at most.
Almendes Tiefling
Almendes tieflings stand between 5'5-6'5 ft. in height and are generally the most athletically built tieflings. They also have the shortest horns, usually not growing longer than 2 inches from their forehead. They have bright yellow eyes, which coupled with their usually pitch black skin gives them a very (falsely) dangerous appearance to the other races of Almendes. Their tails are about 4 ft. in length and are the most flexible out of all tieflings. They are even prehensile.
Vaaston Tiefling
The Vaaston tiefling stand between 5-6 ft. just like the Akadence tiefling, but their general body shape is much rounder and heavier. Most of it fat. They also have the largest and most shapely horns out of all tiefling variants. Some can reach up to 2 or even 3 ft. in total length, and some look more like antlers or crowns than horns. Add in the fact that they're flexible and can be bended freely and you get a lot of variety in horns. The Vaaston tiefling have very human-like eyes with colours ranging from brown to blue to green. Their tails are about 2 ft. in length, but very stiff and can barely be moved.
Basic Information
Anatomy
A tiefling shares their general body shape with humans. They have two arms, two legs, an oval head and the same internal organs. The females have breasts just like human females and the males have extra body hair, and both have the same reproductive organs as humans do. The differences are the keratin/bone/flesh horns that grow out of their heads as well as the fleshy tail coming out from their behind. The skeletal structure is similar to humans but instead of a single tailbone the tiefling have a row of thin connected bones that makes up their tails. Females are in general noticably taller than males are while the males are more robust in their build comparetively.
Genetics and Reproduction
Since tieflings still are a subspecies of human they have the same ways of reproduction, gestation method and even gestation period of nine months. However, when the baby is formed the tiefling traits are usually the dominant ones. Thus a child between a human and tiefling have a 75% chance to be born a tiefling. Hybrids are unheard of; the child will always be born either a full tiefling or full other species.
Growth Rate & Stages
Tieflings mature just as humans do with a couple differences. During childhood their horns are very small and pointy and their tails are thin and short, but during puberty (around 11-12 years old) the horns start to grow larger and into various shapes while the tails grow longer and thicker. A Tiefling is usually a fully grown adult around 16-19 years of age.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
All tieflings have horns of differing sizes and shapes. They also have white, yellow or black eyes, giving them a slightly warning appearance.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Tiefling variants have evolved separately in cities in what used to be Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan, Brazil and the USA.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Most Tieflings are as perceptive as humans are with the same eyesight, hearing and sense of smell. However, the Ouverton Tiefling is a bit different. Their horns are not only fleshy but are also densely packed with nerves, resulting in them being sensitive enough to pick up air currents. This means they can sense someone move close enough to them, meaning they are very perceptive and hard to sneak up on.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Tieflings have mostly human names in Akadence, Chikato and Vaaston. Onimore Tieflings have names that come from their Infernal language with drawn out wovels, like Maleemon, Sallech, Naza and Mithlaia. The same goes for Ouverton and a couple Akadence families, although to a lesser degree with names somewhere in the middle. Examples include Kyris, Pesza and Mollak. In Almendes most Tieflings are named after a quality or trait they possess either at birth or in their childhood. A mischevious Tiefling could be named Malicious for example, or a clumsy one could be named Bumbling.
Beauty Ideals
Due to the individuality of each city, beauty ideals among Tieflings vary. In general it's similar to other humanoid races in the area, but in largely Tiefling populated cities like Onimore and Chikato it differs. People of both sexes are considered more attractive the sleeker and longer their horns are in Onimore, and the taller they are in general the better. In Chikato it's more about how robust you are. If you are heavily built and muscular, the majority of people will find you attractive.
Average Technological Level
The Onimore tieflings are very technologically advanced. Due to the survivors of the Night of the Oni swearing off magic after the effect it had on the population they put all their efforts and research into technology instead. This means the present day Onimore tieflings have inventions such as hovercars, plasma weapons, treatment for lesser amounts of external radiation and autonomous guardian robots of great power such as the MFS-3 Kiryu (or Mecha Dragon). They also possess several re-discovered inventions long lost to other cities such as elevators, radio transmitters, television and cameras.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Many people in Onimore are descended from japanese tourists in Italy who were forced to flee underground there. Over time, Japanese and Italian merged into the language known as Infernal which is now the main language spoken in the city. Due to their close proximity and people there are variants of Infernal spoken in Akadence and Ouverton, as well as the japanese Chikato. The people of these cities could understand each other if they were to meet, but it would more or less be like someone speaking German today to someone speaking Swedish.
Common Taboos
Grabbing a tiefling by the horns is either seen as terrible rudeness or at worst sexual assault, given that for a tiefling it's more or less the same as being groped. Thus this is only done by close couples that trust and love each other (or whenever a tiefling gets intimate). Being grabbed by the tail isn't as serious given it's viewed as a limb and thus not worse than being grabbed by the arm.
Historical Figures
A few tieflings of different variants have left their mark on history. These include:
- Aomine Masago, The Firstborn. As her title implies, Aomine Masago was the first ever tiefling born less than a year after the Night of the Oni. She lived a fairly simple life and worked as a librarian for most of her life, and had two children that went on to furher establish the tiefling race. It is known that she was feared and looked down upon for what she was and the fact she was the result of what had happened just a generation ago.
- Menace, The Vanquisher. Menace was a guard captain for the Almendes guard. He achieved legendary status when he single-handedly commanded a small squad that vanquished a massive purple worm that attacked Almendes, with him dealing the most damage and the finishing blow to the monster. He has a statue built for him in the city's Hall of Rememberance.
- Pesza Love, The Musician. Pesza Love is part of the group of adventurers who successfully braved the surface and established a connection between their home city of Akadence and Ouverton. She is renowned for her music skills that have helped both in diplomatic situations and in battles on and underneath the surface, and has been immortalized as part of the events that marked a new era dawning.
Common Myths and Legends
The most prominent and important legend among the Onimore tieflings are of course their creation: The Night of the Oni. The legend - and history books - tell of when the then mostly human population of their city went to the newly clean surface to stay there. But they learned that this was an impossible task when they encountered a massive ogre-like being that would be remembered as an Oni. It tore more than 2500 people apart with its magic abilities, immense strength and shocking speed and ferocity. It was this event that not only made the few survivors of the onslaught certain that a return to the surface wasn't to be, but made them avoid the use of magic at all. These events led to the knowingly irradiated survivors renaming the city to Onimore, or Demon's Resting Place. One generation later the very first tiefling was born, marking this event as the birth of the entire race. This is the only major tiefling legend, since most other tiefling populations have far more humble origins and share their culture and history with the other races they coexist with.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Places like Akadence, Vaaston and obviously the entirely tiefling-populated Onimore generally don't think anything negative about tieflings. In these cities the tieflings are numerous enough and have been around long enough to integrate completely into society. The other populations aren't as well recieved though. The Ouverton tiefling are generally looked down upon since they are very few in numbers and not much is known about them, the Chikato tieflings jagged and crooked body structure makes them feared by others and the Almendes tiefling's black and yellow colouration and imposing build makes the others in Almendes keep their distance. The Almendes and Ouverton tieflings mostly have no ill feelings towards the other population (some individual tieflings do), but the Chikato tieflings generally share the content for their fellow races. On the more positive side of things interspecies relationships are not uncommon. There are relationships between tieflings and humans, elves, and most other races in all cities (although uncommon in Ouverton, Chikato and Almendes). Many of these couples also have children of their own.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Homo Daemonium
Origin/Ancestry
Italy
Lifespan
60-80 years
Average Height
1.7 meters (Males)
1.8 meters (Females)
Average Weight
50-70 kg
Average Physique
Depends on variant, but generally tall and lean.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Tieflings boast a wide variety of skin colours ranging from purple, red, blue, black, white, gray, orange and green. Purple and red seem to be the most common, but it varies depending on the variant and city of origin.
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