The Red Men

Hell is rising. And they are hungry.

They aren't really "men", or even human as we would classify people. Occupying a liminal space between gods and animals, their powers are surpassed only by their Master. Their moniker stems from the fact that they leave each world they visit covered head to heels in their enemies.

Their planets are surprisingly peaceful, if you consider sunless days and abject silence tranquil. Mud like melted butter pools under your feet as you walk under moon-lit skies, dying stars like Olympian torches to light the way to victory. For whom? Time will tell.

Their imperial mindset is largely driven by their ingrained superiority complex, fed by their Master's seductive promises and the powers He has gifted them. They see other Dimensions as mere sandboxes for their own amusement, as a kitten does with a ball of twine.

Of the twenty-five Dimensional planes, they occupy five (Dimensions XXI to XXV). The groups in each plane differ enough to be considered separate "subspecies", although they see no distinctions between their Reflectant counterparts.

Their current leader is Henry Jibril, successor to Nafir-Rin-Kur, a blood-hungry tyrant who enjoys a good glass of warm milk and cookies when he can get it.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Human in general physiology, but with an additional set of arms.
Yellowed eyes with nictitating membranes.
Long hooked hawkish noses with enlarged nostrils.
Elongated heads like ears of corn.

Biological Traits

All members of the species, through selective breeding and consistent "mass cleansing" by their Drighten, have an AB-negative blood type.
As they were once vastly different nations of people, Red Men will have genetics depending on their location, despite all looking the same.

Genetics and Reproduction

There are no monogendered members among the species as each Red "Man" is a bilateral gynandromorph (having their right half male and left half female) with both sets of reproductive systems.

Unions are monogamous, with both partners capable of carrying children. A litter typically consists of five offspring, at most seven. Autogamous children (i.e. those conceived by one parent) are rare but documented.

Growth Rate & Stages

Red Men progress through seven life stages, documented and named by Captain Richard as follows:

Infant: the first two years of life. Young and defenceless, born blind, with no body hair. Much like a human baby, but more resilient.

Schoolboy: 2-16 years old. Second set of limbs now developing. Body hair developing.

Lover: 16-30 years. Body hair has fully grown, and additional limbs are mature. Nictitating membrane developing. The reproductive stage.

Soldier: 30-50 years. Nictitating membrane fully developed. The prime of Red Man age, during which they are used as military.

Justice: 50-70 years. Hair is gradually diminishing, loss of rapid regenerative abilities. Used primarily as judges to settle disputes. Choronzon (native name: Khoronzom) was at this age.

Pantaloon: 70-90 years. Loss of speed, body hair and mental faculties. Retired from military service.

Sans Teeth: 90 onwards. Loss of teeth and sight. Slow and senile, hardly of any use. In theory a Red Man could live indefinitely, growing older and steadily more 'decayed', but unable to die. Their lives are ended by being "recycled", usually by the time they are 120 years old.

Ecology and Habitats

Their five homeworlds are similar to Earth, but have no suns, so plant life has evolved to absorb as much light as possible from the moons, which reflect distant stars too far to benefit the planets directly.

The ground of each planet is moist and cold, with "daytime" rarely exceeding 10° Fahrenheit.

Originally their homes were as any other, but the Entity reshaped their solar systems for its dark purposes.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Babies require milk, but will gradually progress to solid foods such as insects.

Red Men also "recycle" their Sans Teeth elders for the production of khalit majrar ("bone cakes"), which provide the primary source of nourishment to the community, along with tubers, fruits, fish and animals caught in elaborate traps. Khalit majrar are stored in large hexagonal brick huts under the shade of trees, preserved with salt and wrapped in dried leaves.

Biological Cycle

Red Men can brumate like snakes for up to six months if their worlds get too cold.

Behaviour

Usually aggressive, with "soft" members killed before their Soldier stage. "Softness" is defined by an aversion to blood, displays of mercy, or questioning authority.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Divided along the seven age groups, with those of the Justice growth stage serving as the legal arm of the community. Soldiers form the "muscle", Lovers are the reproductive "vessels", and those of the Sans Teeth age group are food.

A local kakhani (ruler) is chosen by a body of the strongest Soldiers in the community, and these kakhanir answer to the Entity.

Domestication

Once human beings, the Entity has modified their genetics to the point where they can survive on most hostile planets. One such modification was providing Red Men with both reproductive systems for ease of multiplication in case of emergencies (a single Red Man could populate an entire planet given enough time).

They have also developed natural evolutionary mechanisms, such as enlarged noses and lungs which allow them to take in more oxygen, specialized eyes which protect their vision from continuous dust and projectiles, and their additional limbs which allow them to scale vertical surfaces quicker and run on their fours while wielding weapons.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Used primarily as a military force by the Entity, as well as test subjects for its cruel experiments.

Facial characteristics

Skeletal, with features resembling a bird of prey.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The planet Earths of Dimensions XXI, XXII, XXIII, XIV, and XXV.

Average Intelligence

70 IQ

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

When together in a group larger than fifty, Red Men can unravel the covalent bonds that connect atoms. If applied on a large enough scale, this could dissolve a universe.

Red Men also have the ability to possess hosts with weakened or severely dulled mental faculties (such as alcoholics or severe drug abusers). If strong enough, a Red Man can manifest inside their host physically and rip out like a butterfly from a morbid chrysalis.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Red Men are given names according to the month they are born in. Often family names are chosen according to one's current social status, whether soldier or new parent or aged elder.

Major Organizations

No major sects or independent bodies, but all Red Men fall under one "supertribe" with a red spider as their sigil.

Beauty Ideals

The longer one's limbs, the more "courtable" one is said to be.

Gender Ideals

As all Red "Men" are gynandromorphs, there is no gender hierarchy or sexual distinctions among the species. It's hard to divide your society into "male" and "female" roles when you all have biological elements of both. Instead, mated couples choose vague hunter and gatherer roles (typically the grakhti will be the hunter) and these roles are flexible.

Due to their sexual fluidity, they can (like their Master) be referred to with various pronouns in English (he, she, they, etc.) and have no concept of "sex" or "gender" in their language.

Courtship Ideals

When a Red Man reaches their Lover growth stage, they seek a mate of a similar age and social status who has a desirable arm length.

The "dancer" (grakhti) will perform an elaborate set of movements, contorting their limbs and stomping their feet in a rhythmic pattern. During this mating ritual hundreds of Red Men will compete in complex dance battles till finally one is left standing, the kakhan grakhti (supreme dancer) who can choose their partner. The rest of the dancers will then choose their partners in descending order from best to worst grakhti.

Relationship Ideals

Surprisingly, there is greater equality among the Red community than in general human society. A Red Man progresses from a lower caste to a higher caste as they get older, meaning there is no permanent underclass. At some point each Red Man will assume a position of significant power, unless they go "soft" and are killed.

Average Technological Level

Thanks to the Entity, the Red Men have progressed past firearms and blades to light-based weapons and other tech that can channel photons.

Still, they prefer to use the crude weaponry of their ancestors as this allows them to torture their victims for a longer time.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The speech of the Red Men was transmitted to them by the Entity centuries prior, who developed a simplistic language to communicate with Its servants verbally rather than telepathically.

The language aims to be as concise as possible, and quickly replaced all human languages spoken by the species prior.

Common Dress Code

Usually nude on their home planets, they will don protective gear when invading other worlds.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

As the Red Men descend from all of humanity in their Dimensions, they have a rich heritage spanning cultures and continents. Red Men in what was once Africa will have their local festivals and traditions, as will those in what were once Asia, Europe, Antarctica, etc.

Common Taboos

They despise "interspecies" unions. Any Red Man who "goes native" or bears children with a member of another species is subjected to unimaginable torture, enough to make the dead shiver.

Nursing babies on a battlefield is also forbidden. This proves a problem, as parents will often wear their children on their backs when they go to battle.

History

Had the Entity never arrived, their history would have followed a similar path to our own.

But the spidery tendrils of the Faceless One found their way into Dimension XXII, and a human in Ancient Egypt would meet the Call one fateful night.

Nafir-Rin-Kur was a priest of the lowest order, and saw the suffering the working class shouldered for the sake of their rulers' ambitions. The gods of stone they erected miles high, set on foundations soaked with blood. The lavish tombs decked with seas of gold, fashioned by serfs who could barely feed their families.

He sought change on a systemic level. And that night, he found it.

A deal was struck. He was to be the Entity's hands and mouth. Nafir-Rin-Kur was the first to be converted, his body reshaped into something hideous and beautiful.

Egypt was taken, then the rest of Africa, then Europe, then the world. When all people on the planet had undergone the conversion, Nafir pressed on into other Dimensions. He managed to get four more.

Their Dimensions were used as a base of operations by the Entity for centuries. In time they forgot their past, their minds reduced to a bestial thirst for blood. Ready to die a million times for one they had never seen.

Historical Figures

Nafir-Rin-Kur, known by their people as Khajjatri Yamar (Slayer of Souls). The first servant of the Entity, and the one who, under Its patronage, colonized the planet and later other Dimensions, bringing every person under their rule and combining the early human groups into a global transnational civilization.

Common Myths and Legends

According to tradition, the Entity came to Nafir-Rin-Kur (his Egyptian name) in 2400 BCE, and changed the history of their species forever.

The people of other Dimensions came from Homo heidelbergensis, but the humans of the Vale came from Homo rudolfensis. As such, they see themselves as "chosen" and better than the humans of other worlds, including Homo sapiens whom they call "pitakhan ramatir" ("mud people").

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

They view all other species as inferior and deserving of extermination or subjugation.
Some of the species they have colonized include the Krillians, a race of sentient semi-humanoid crustaceans from Dimension XVIII who prefer to be called Euphausians by outsiders, seeing "Krill" as a slur.

Scientific Name

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Suborder: Erythrosomata ("red-bodied ones")

Family: Psydrohominidae ("false people")

Genus: Homo

Species: H. exterminans

Origin/Ancestry

Homo rudolfensis

Lifespan

100+ years

Average Height

160 cm.

Average Weight

130 lbs.

Average Physique

Equivalent to an adult silverback gorilla at peak health.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

A dull ochre shade often confused for red, the result of the capillaries being visible under their skin due to a lack of pigments.

Higher-ranking Red Men will tattoo themselves with ink made from their fallen foes' blood, mixed with charcoal and oil and seared into their skin.

Discovered by

The Entity

Related Technologies

• Magic

Related Historical Events

• 2400 BCE
  To The Present Age
• 3102 BCE
  The Collapse