Rakshasa

Introduction

Conniving and twisted felines, Rakshasa are small cat spirits who toy with the lives of others. You begin with a Free Racial Merit for the Apparation of a Rakshasa when playing as one.

Fast Facts

• Population: 800+
• Lifespan: Indefinite
• Height: Between 8" and 40".
• Weight: Between 6-8 lbs and 50 lbs, unless overweight.
• Racial Merit: Rakshasa have a Free Racial Merit in Apparation.

Racial Abilities:

The Third Eye of Rakshasa

Rakshasa can linger their gaze and senses upon another they have seen, even while Apparated. For as long as they hold them in their thoughts, they can keep track of one person at a time, forming a hazy sense for what they are up to. The moment they become distracted, the sense is lost, and they must find that person again.

Cambion Apparation

All Rakshasa are natural Apparators. Naturally, they are a cloud of raw potential, and they may harden the ideas of themselves until they become solid, eventually stiff and statuesque. Unlike most Apparators, Rakshasa possess a third Frequency. They separate their solidarity with their translucency, allowing them to appear fully opaque yet entirely able to communicate with verbal speech, and Drift as themselves rather than a gas, unable to be harmed except by that which can rend Miasmata.

When they are like this, Rakshasa cannot weave spells or interact with anything unless they become solid, but they might be able to Cant Metaphor or cause a Conjuration fueled by Alkahest to go off, if taught to read what they are. Rakshasa and other Spirits do not expend any additional Miasmata to Apparate.

As A People

Biology

Small, domestic felines who walk upon two legs or optionally upon all fours, Rakshasa resemble something between a domestic cat, or even a Bobcat, perhaps a Lynx at most. They cannot be lions or tigers, nor are they pantherine. They are diminutive. This is always the case for a Rakshasa unless they alter themselves with Arcana.

Rakshasa are Cambion, which means they are a muddy union of Metaphor as any human, given flesh and blood, Saol of the living, and all of its weaknesses. Unlike other Cambion, Summoners cannot bound them, as they represent the Metaphor of Aether itself. They also have feline senses, and a strong sense of balance for landing on their feet. However, they do not age, and when they are made into Draugr, they do not decay as another might.

Aging & Reproduction

Immortal beings created from nothing, Rakshasa are Spirit of Aether, except unlike the other spirits, they do not possess a Pact of their own. They simply appear one day at random, fully aware, able to Apparate, and able to speak a language belonging to a culture near to their origin point as if they had swallowed the idea of language with their soul. There is no known reason for why a Rakshasa might manifest, and Summoners cannot bring more of them from the Aetherium. They simply are, and this confounds even them. Many dedicate their lives to discovering their origins, and this bothers almost every Rakshasa.

Sex & Gender

Rakshasa are entirely infertile unless given a different or chimeric body with Seeming, and this will only work with someone who is not themselves a Spirit. Anyone born to a Rakshasa mother or father will look like a perfect clone of the other parent, including gender. They feel pleasure as any, but acting on it is never out of a sense for reproduction, but rather control.

Psychology

Feline Sadism

In essence, Rakshasa enjoy toying with others. They will prank, humiliate, and establish dominance over anyone around them who is not themselves Rakshasa, feeling accomplishment and joy from doing so. Those who are difficult to play with, the Rakshasa will avoid until they gain an element of blackmail over them, or a favor they can pull upon. They are the type of monster to shift your furniture an inch to the left, every single day, until you are going mad. Or they might just bully you mercilessly, because they can.

As Rakshasa tend to be quite vain, many of them possess Crest, and they use it to humiliate others by forcing them to perform amusing yet terrible acts of song and dance just to speak with them or function in their presence while they do nothing at all but watch the theatrics. Some will steal the Glamour of Seeming, Transfiguring others or themselves into small animals or chimera of larger ones, just to mess with their lives.

Lazing Fixation

Rarely do the Rakshasa feel in a hurry to do much of anything, but they do have an excellent memory. One might make a request to them, and they might answer the following season, or years later when that need has already been fulfilled, performing what was requested in a subversive way that might undo everything that had been done.

Beyond their laze, Rakshasa are incredibly vain and self-absorbed. They love treasures, trinkets, gifts, grooming, and the highest quality of food. However, they will not work towards these things, only expect and demand it from those they hold authority over - they do not govern, they benefit from and torment their supplicants.

Each Rakshasa has an interest which transfixes them, and they are usually more willing to prioritize this, or hear others out in relation to it. When dealing with a Rakshasa, one would do well to figure out what they actually care about.

History

Overview

Rakshasa history is a work-in-progress until such time as someone takes up the city development for Bast and its arcane institution, Arcanis.

Origin

Rakshasa simply were. At some point in the time before time, they trickled into the Planes of Antarok and Ælphyne, carving out an existence for themselves. As they congregated to study Arcana and their own being out in the eastern deserts, they founded the city of Bast for themselves and took the native Vokhai on as slaves and play-things. Eventually the Jin'Norai came to them, and they gave them purpose, and magic.

Society

Rulers of Rue

Rakshasa feel as if they are gods, or demigods. They are tyrants, who struggle with authority and would sooner leave to begin an enterprise of their own than serve another. Any situation in which Rakshasa congregate, they are equals or not at all. In this sense, they are remarkably democratic with each opinion being given equal value, but pragmatic in the sense that only those involved would have any say. Their society is hidden, functional only in the sense that each Rakshasa is highly competent when necessary, yet finding the idea of ruling one-another to be more trouble than its worth.

Rarely do Rakshasa exercise their own authority, preferring to have others do it for them. They would enjoy tormenting someone without convicting them, knowing full well their crimes, until they turn themselves in. And then they would torment them even more, to keep the 'fun' rolling on and on.

Technology

The Rakshasa among Arcanis are perhaps the most gifted Ensorcellers and World Mages in all the Planes. They have many Contrivances which have become Djinn, and the entire institution itself is made from several wings which are themselves Automaton loyal to the Rakshasa only. They have made many wonders, but they keep these to themselves in their vaults, the most dangerous of which are kept in Avernus.

Many Rakshasa possess the Pact of Crest, and will foist it upon their work and anything at all they find personally distasteful, seemingly at random. If you are playing in Arcanis, you may have this happen to your creations without paying the Seasonal Points cost of Crest. It may even happen without any of your input, as they drift through and spedoinkle your precious art into something garish and gilded.

Language

Rakshasa learn to speak the languages local to them. In Bast where most of them live, there are two - Rakkish, and Jinnic.

• Rakkish is a language devised by them which they speak amongst themselves, rarely taught to non-Rakshasa aside from their priests. It sounds similar to Egyptian, written however in Metaphoric symbols that convey volumes of information, giving them an edge with the Glyphics of Ensorcelling.
• Jinnic is the language of Jin'Norai, and the tongue which most Rakshasa prefer to use when speaking with others outside their own race. It sounds and writes similar to Arabic.

Naming Convention & Titles

Rakshasa name themselves. They have no naming convention as they borrow from the cultures around them, but many of the ones from Bast take their names from local languages which sound similar Arabic or Egyptian. Sometimes their names can be quite silly, or they might take the name of their job as a name, enjoying the pseudo-anonymity.

Castes

Qabila

Qabila - meaning 'accepted' - are those Rakshasa who accept their nature. Often but not always, they take up position among the cats at Bast, or at least maintain a connection to their brethren. There are few lengths the Qabila will go to assert themselves as a ruling caste within Antarok, and their games can sometimes be fatal.

Rafad

Rafad - meaning 'denied' - are those Rakshasa who deny their nature. They lead lives of sobriety, always teetering on the edge of vindication. These cats have an easier time naturalizing with the other races, and often tend to keep their head low and focused on a specific role. When slighted, though, their true nature will show, and they will make those who cross them miserable to the point of begging for death before they relent.

Notable Settlements

Bast

Rakshasa are the true rulers of Bast, city of the Jin'Norai. There they play the role of gods, asking that the elves serve and perform tasks for them. They only have a ranking amongst themselves. Loath to have their fun spoiled by an execution, they imprison and humiliate dissidents, turning them into small animals with stolen Seeming. While their people toil in their games, they enjoy fine delicacies and fruits, wondrous excess in every sense.

Rising from the city of Bast, Arcanis is an arcane institution administered by the Rakshasa. While the dean and faculty might be a Jin'Norai, the cats Apparate students to where they need to go in exchange for favors and subservience, toying with those who are out of line to make their lives miserable. They also see to it that the facility stretches into Avernus, overseeing Automata and Undead Slaves to mine Alkahest from the deserts.

Related Articles

• Aether
• Aetherium
• Apparation

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