Nightborn

Offsprings of Māarāti. They were created as vessels of the Ichor of Darkness, and eventually the Night Queen herself.

Basic Information

Biological Traits

Nightborns' appearances depend mainly on how they looked in their human lives. However, their bodies tend to become leaner and lither for agility and nimbleness. Dāmians are more built-up than their kin, in fact, their physical strength surpasses them all, but they are rarely very muscular.
Skin: Pale due to their nocturnal nature, and will get severe sunburn when exposing to sunlight. However, the superstition about coffins is rather unreasonable. Though it still is an option and only will be adopted under extreme circumstances. Normally all they need is a light-tight space.
Hair: For Nightborns of Inn clan, their hair gradually darkens while those of the Tama clan's hair lightens. It is very likely that their metamorphoses will eventually lead to unnaturally dark or light shades of colours. For example, platinum blonde/white or jet black.
For those of Dara clan or Boodborns, their hair lightens in colour but normally will not end up completely white, only to the lightest shade of the original colour. The longer they live, the darker or lighter their hair will become, so the most powerful of them tend to have pure black or white hair. But it is rather a guidance than a rule, it won't take that long for natural dark and light hair to go completely black and white.
Eyes: Nightborns' eye colours take the opposite turn comparing to their hair. Those of the Inn clan's eyes lighten while those of the Tama clan's darken. Again the metamorphoses may lead to unnatural colours, but still will stay in the normal spectrum of men. However there are exceptions, sometimes blue takes the turn of violet, and purple, brown, or hazel takes the turn of amber.
In the darkness, Inn's eyes shine like stars, Tama's eyes dark as void. But for the Bloodborns, their eyes become their trademark blood-red. Both Nightborns and Bloodborns see perfectly clear by night, but not much luck by day. Sunlight is blinding to them, and harmful, and must be avoided.
Nails: Nightborns' and Bloodborns' fingernails sharpen, harden, and almost clawed. They are razor shape and strong as steel. Children of the Night normally have longer fingernails than humans do, and they must be regularly trimmed so they won't hurt themselves. Can easily be used as weapons if need to.
Fangs: Nothing dramatic, only sharpened and slightly enhanced human canines. But beware, like their nails, their fangs are both sharp and strong. They can easily be used as weapons if need to.

Genetics and Reproduction

Nightborns are sterile. A blood-exchange rite called Āšum/Domination is performed were a mortal to join the Children of Night. It is done by the elder/maker sucking out the fledgling's blood to the point of death, then give the fledgling his/her blood. Each fledgling is given an name in Eme-lyl. This name is never to be taken lightly. It is a code, a spell that marks the name bearer, and damage can be made were any harm come to the name. Sharing of the name is considered an action of utterly trust.

Growth Rate & Stages

Aging only occurs when an individual undergoes extreme negative emotional turbulence. Otherwise, a Nightborn will not age.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Blood, can eat normal food, but due to their heightened senses human food would be too strong for them.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

High

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Enhanced senses, strength and speed, selfhealing, night vision
Aura Vision: able to identify humans, Faefolk, Celestial beings, Demons and Nephalians by their aura.
Aura Veiling: hide their auras

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Their native human language, Eme-Lyl, the language of the night.

Common Dress Code

Navy is reserved for royalty, dark shades of cold colours and black are popular, red symbolises warfare thus is only worn during battles.

Common Taboos

Kin-slay

History

For a long time, the Children of the Night had been worshipped as demi-gods even gods by the people of ancient Mesopotamia, namely the Sumerians. Kings of Sumer would join the 'god queen' in the rite of Holy Marriage, where they received blood that grants them superhuman power and long lives from the Lylthian queens.
Utilising the strength of humans, the God Queen Māarāti built the city of Eridu, where she and her sister and brother ruled for centuries. Eventually, the three first Innunnas came into a deep sleep, their bodies were enshrined in the temple of Eridu. And Mešningal the heiress of Maarati brought the centre of power to her city of Uruk. However, Gilgamesh, the human king of Uruk refused to enter into the rite of Holy Marriage with the God Queen. Feeling offended, Mešningal, also known as the goddess Inanna/Ishtar to the people, unleashed a beast upon the city of Uruk. The beast was defeated by the king's close friend Enkidu, who also died from the fatal wounds dealt by the beast. Gilgamesh journeyed to Eridu, where he sought out a king of old, also his ancestor, Utnapishtim. The older king disclosed to Gilgamesh that the secrets of life eternal lies in the blood of the divine queen. Gilgamesh went back to Uruk and demanded the Ichor from Mešningal, who refused. The human king then overpowered the god queen and took her blood by force. However, even the queen's blood cannot bring back life from death. Gilgamesh did not consume the blood, and lived his life as a human.
Mešningal's successor Mišhtiša then ceased the rite of Holy Marriage as a punishment, resulting in the life span of kings to dwindle. In turn, the divine queen though still being worshipped was cast out of favour. Mišhtiša then left Uruk to Bād-Ilim (gate of the goddess, known as Babylon to humans), where she ensured the rise of the city-state. But at the same time, turbulence began to surface within the court of night.
At the time three clans held together with the court of Lylthians, the Inn, the Tama, and the Dara, descended from Maarati, the Sister and the Brother. The Ereš (queen) of Inn governed over the Tamâreš (white queen) of Tama and Darârudu (red king) of Dara as the Erešgal (high queen/ great queen). The Tamâreš, in the rule of high priestess, was tasked with choosing the royal heiresses among the human king's daughters.
However, Queen Mišhtiša bypassed the queen of Tama and chose her own heir, not heiress, from the clan of Dara. The act angered the Tamâreš, Lišlatu, who refused to recognise the rightfulness of the heir. Lišlātat presented the first-born daughter of the king and urged Mišhtiša to make her the heiress. Under the pressure of the clan of Tama, Mišhtiša did make heirs, not one but two, among the king's children. Not the firstborn daughter, but a daughter and a son of the king's least favourite concubine, and named them Mildūmat and Mulūšenam, the weak one and the bad seed.
When Lišlātat came to confront the Queen, Mišhtiša took away her title of Tamâreš and made Lišlātat only the high priestess. Mišhtiša favoured the military prowess of Dara. Seeing her Ama Mešningal was so easily cast out of favour by humans, Mišhtiša knew she must rule from a far more solid and stronger foundation. She was tired of being the queen behind the curtain, she would have the kings of the land bow before her, she will be the God Queen to rule them all.
Sensing Mišhtiša's ambition will bring doom to the entire race, also holding a personal grudge of taking away her title, Lišlātat came to support the heiress Mildūmat, crowned her as the new queen, and dethroned Mišhtiša in the name of the new queen. Mišhtiša with the support of Dara, abandoned her title as the Nightborn queen. She and her followers took on the name Bloodborn, the children of blood, and initiated a war upon humans and Nightborns alike.
Mildūmat, having no power against her Ama, was instructed by Lišlātat to conceive a child from a mortal man. The high priestess had been granted a vision that when the time was right, a descendant of the queen will be called back from the future. She will become the sword of the Night Queen and won the battle for her Ama.

Historical Figures

Queen Māarāti
The Nameless Queen, the first victim
Queen Mešningal / Ishtar, the Divine Queen
Miriāmat, the second victim
Queen Mišhtiša / Mynerva, the Queen of Steel
Queen Mildūmat, the unworthy
Lady Alinna, the crownless

Scientific Name

Vampire

Lifespan

Immortal, can be killed