The Mortii

Mortii

The Mortii are men and women with death in their hearts. Quite literally. These unfortunate souls are cursed with a vacuum in their souls. A vacuum that hungers for the Energy of Life.

The Mortii are parasites. This is not a derogatory term. It is simply a statement of fact. The Mortii are living creatures (contrary to popular myth that they are some sort of undead life) that depend upon other living beings in order to survive. A relationship in which the Mortii benefits at the expense of their “hosts”. An expense that generally takes the form of the host paying with their lives.

I believe now would be the most beneficial moment to state that none of my research has indicated that the Mortii are innately evil or cruel; despite the Conclave position that all Mortii are monsters to be killed on sight. The Conclave position is understandable considering their history with those of their kind but the fact remains that for all intents and purposes the Mortii are normal human beings. They eat our food, breathe our air, and bleed like any other man. The live in light of the sun and sleep under the light of the moon and stars. Unfortunately it is their own humanity that leaves them vulnerable to much of the evil they have caused.

As mentioned Mortii are human beings born with a vacuum inside of them. I use the term vacuum (and will continue to use it throughout this passage) both as a literal metaphor for what exists inside of them and as a substitute for the proper term of what actually resides in them. I hypothesizes that it is some unique form of death energy but I am unable to substantiate this claim to any meaningful degree. Any readers will regard this as pure conjecture on my part and should not accept this as a concrete theory. Nor should it be regarded over any other theories involving this issue. For example, there is strong circumstantial case that the vacuum existing in these men and women is a biological parasite in of itself. Though I should note no autopsy has ever revealed any physical evidence to prove this fact.

In any case, the vacuum –regardless of its origins- does have a very physical effect on those it resides in. This effect comes in the form of a slow but consistent consumption of that human’s life force. This forces the human to look to other stores of life energy to consistently maintain its own. The vacuum inside them provides them the ability to drain this life. This is generally done through physical contact between the Mortii and whatever carrier of life they choose to drain. However, numerous reported cases of older Mortii have revealed that they are capable of draining this life at a distance. In theory allowing the Mortii to live for an eternity of time, as the human body is consistently restored by the incoming life energies.

This process of draining life has given rise to the very common misconception that the Mortii require taking human lives in order to sustain themselves. This is not actually true. Mortii require life energy to survive. This energy can be found in any living biological entity. Indeed, all human beings are parasites to the extent that they require the consumption of energy in order to survive. In theory a Mortii could simply consume animal or plant life and sustain its life. In theory.

As I mentioned however the Mortii are very human. The Mortii need substantially more life energy than a normal human. And unfortunately all life is not created equal. Human beings are a treasure trove of life and –according to a Mortii I once had the great pleasure of interviewing before his unfortunate execution at the hands of the Conclave- taste incredible. He described it as the feeling of a starving man devouring fine cuisine and drinking chilled water after not eating or drinking for a month. Magnified by about a thousand. The temptation to consume these life energies is considerable and it is believed that not a single Mortii who has fed off of that energy once before has been able to resist not doing it again.

Still, Mortii do not necessarily need to consume all of a human’s life force. Indeed, a disciplined Mortii can consume a limited amount of life energy and still sustain the existence of their victim. The most proficient in doing this was perhaps Morgana Devaul. The Dark Lady of the West most commonly referred by historians as the mother of the Mortii. This title however is misleading. No scholar –to my not so limited knowledge- is aware of the actual origins of the first Mortii. However, Morgana was responsible for creating many of the Mortii that exist today. As mentioned it is possible to drain a limited amount of energy from a human and still retain their lives. It is also possible to transmit a limited amount of whatever gives the the Mortii their power into a human. Thus creating a vacuum in them, and in turn, another Mortii.

Morgana was originally a pleasure servant operating out of a private harem in ancient Estaban. She used her position to turn thousands –if not tens of thousands- of her would be clients into Mortii. This process is the only known way to create another Mortii, though clearly it could not have been the scenario that created the first of their kind. The Mortii who were turned revered their sire Morgana. Though –again with the aid of the previously mentioned Mortii- we do know that there is nothing that innately demands obedience from creation toward their creator in the Mortii breeding process.

Morgana lived for at least two centuries before her eventual demise. She left many written works behind regarding the Mortii and what she had discovered of their origins and capabilities. Most of these writings were tragically torched by the Inquisition shortly after her death, though several brave scholars managed to salvage a fraction of her work. These writings are a treasure trove of Mortii lore and the basis on which all assumptions, facts, and theories regarding the Mortii have been built upon.

Information regarding the Mortii is incredibly rare and heavily restricted by the Conclave. This is most likely due to the actions of Antivan the Immortal. One of the most interesting men I have ever had the pleasure of researching and easily the most infamous Mortii in history. He was one of the few beings in recent history capable of challenging the Conclaves power. Antivan was known as the Immortal for the numerous substantiated cases in which he was killed before coming back to life. Whether he was burned alive by fire, blasted by ice, pummeled by rocks or sliced to pieces by metal blades, Antivan was able to resurrect himself. He formed an organization known as the Vitarni and reigned over a bloody age of chaos in which he waged war against the Conclave. He was however eventually killed for good – though not in the manner Conclave traditional teachings would state. He was without a doubt the most powerful of the Mortii and arguable the pinnacle of what their kind might accomplish regarding the development of their abilities.

Though the Mortii existed for some time previously as a poorly kept secret and were often allowed a normal existence provided they did not cause too much trouble, this all changed after Antivan. They are now regarded as monstrous beasts and are brutally hunted by the Conclave. Even harboring a Mortii is punishable by death.

And so they are a cursed people. Cursed with death in their hearts and only death in their future.

- The Professor, a passage from the History of the Mortii

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