*The Agency

The Agency, as it is simply known by, is a shady government organization that is ruthless, resourcefull, and tenacious in their hunt for supernatural beings, mainly the Kierrn. Little about the Agency or their motives is known to the Kierrn except that they have a lot of funding, a lot of jurisdiction, and a lot of power to get the job done.

*The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood is a very old society that is cloaked in mystery and shadow. (Write more later...)

*Yvrr (Vampires)

These are not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill beautiful, seductive beings of romance and hunger you read about everywhere. No, the vampires of the Kierrn world are very different, and very alien than anything anyone would suspect.

The Yvrr (pronounced ih-vear) are ancient beings of an extra-dimensional nature that stole into our world sometime during the middle ages. In order to survive in our world, the Yvrr had to find hosts to dwell in, and after several unsuccessful tries, they finally tried humans. Humans, it was found, were perfectly suited to their needs and they made themselves right at home. The Yvrr also needed sustenance, and found that the same life force which the Kierrn live off of suited them, the life energy found in blood, though they found they did not actually need to eat their victims to attain the energy as the Kierrn do. All they need is the blood.

The Yvrr have powerfull psionics and mind-altering powers which they used to lure and subdue their prey. They may alter what you percieve them to be, and can call you to them by putting you in a trance-like state. They can control minds and cause you to do things you would never do. However, the Yvrr are an alien race, and one that does not understand humans. They do not think to seduce and romance, they simply control. They may make themselves appear more appealing by appearing to be a normal human, but they do not think to make themselves appear handsome or beautiful, because the majority of the human population is simply not that way. They will appear to be an average person, but one who behaves incredibly strangely. They are singularly intent when on the hunt, often just standing and staring, and always with a blank expression (for they do not understand facial expressions). They do not respond to human interaction, they only stare, and when they capture your eyes you are theirs. While the Yvrr do not understand individual languages, they can easily pick out the meaning of what is being said by reading the mind, and can talk to one another via telepathy, so they have no use for language or speech. So imagine an almost painfully average person, ordinary but pleasant to look at, in average but pleasing clothes, just standing on the streetcorner, arms hanging limply at his or her sides, staring straight into you and not interacting with anyone or anything else around them. Just staring. And then suddenly you cannot help but to walk towards them, and everything else in the world is meaningless. And then there is darkness, and pain, and finally, nothing.

That is what you will see.

The Awakened, however, can see something much different. A shell of a human being, wasted and bone thin with leathery, sagging skin, lank, thin hair, and milky white eyes, usually naked, standing and staring, the world moving around them as if they weren't there. That is, until the Yvrr is provoked, or attacked. Then the Yvrr changes in hideous ways, sprouting many long, needle-like teeth, razor claws, bone spurs, extra limbs, and can end up looking like something out of "The Thing". Their wasted form is a lie, as they are capable of great strength, speed, and agility when they need it.

The Yvrr themselves are a nasty little spider-like being that live within the host. Their transitory state is a black ichor that usually enters the victim through an orafice, or directly into the bloodstream via an open wound. Once inside their victims, they begin sucking all of the essence, energy, and soul out of their host until they are little more than a walking corpse, then they may alter their host form as they see fit. They cannot abide strong light, and so they must hide during the day in underground lairs and come out when darkness falls. Because they are so alien, and utterly inhuman, they see no need to surround themselves with luxury and decadence. An abandoned building, basement, tunnel, cave, crypt, sewer, etc will suffice. Anywhere where it is dark. The Yvrr also do not sleep. They simply curl up into a ball, milky eyes wide open, and enter a trance-like state until the sun goes down, then they venture out to hunt.

Because they live off of life energy, and are constantly preserving their host bodies with this energy, the Yvrr are essentially eternal. Once the Yvrr has completely taken over it's host and assumed it's natural form in the chest, the Yvrr is bound to it's host body forever. Using life energy, it can repair most damage done to the host, however burning their host body, or cutting off it's head, ripping the chest open and extracting the Yvrr itself, or otherwise inflicting severe trauma to the host or Yvrr will cause it's death.

The Yvrr reproduce by injecting a human (or other creature, but humans are preferrable) with it's reproductive fluid, a black ooze that it either vomits into the victims mouth, or bites and drools all over the open wound. The black substance absorbs into the bloodstream through the tissue walls, and begins eating away at the human from the cellular level up, eating away at their life force and forming itself in the chest until there is nothing left of the human, and the Yvrr is complete. The process usually takes a few weeks to complete. During that time, the human's health will deteriorate, and he/she will begin acting strangely, almost psychoticly as their minds and souls battle against the Yvrr, but it is always a lost fight. They start being afraid of sunlight, and alientating themselves from their loved ones. They no longer go to work or school, and after a week or so will start killing and eating or otherwise mutilating their pets and other creatures in the area. Often the newly changed will be institutionalized, but any drugs they are given have no effect, and eventually, as they waste away, they become stronger, and will eventually break free of any bonds and either escape or go on a rampant killing spree until the Yvrr can completely subdue and destroy the host spirit and claim full control of the host.

The Kierrn and Yvrr
It is no secret that the Kierrn despise and fear the Yvrr. The Kierrn can sense the totally alien nature of the Yvrr and know full well that they are chosen targets of these loathsome creatures. Because of the magical nature of the Kierrn and their need for human life, Kierrn have a huge amount of life force, far more than mere humans do. This makes them favorite prey of the Yvrr...if the Yvrr can catch and kill one. Killing a Kierrn is no easy feat and takes much of the life energy of the Yvrr to attempt it. However, if they manage it, the rewards far outweigh the cost. Killing one Kierrn can keep an Yvrr sated for a month. A month they can spend in hibernation, delving deep into the mysteries of the other world as they sleep. Experienced Kierrn know full well that the Yvrr hunger for them, and they also know of the Yvrr's ability to entrance and control the mind. However, it is a Kierrn's heightened senses that give the experienced the advantage. Yvrr have a particular smell that is easy to sense before the Yvrr is ever spotted. Young or inexperienced Kierrn, however, may not know what this smell means, and may walk right up to an Yvrr to find the source of it, giving the Yvrr the advantage. When an Yvrr is detected, a Kierrn will immediately be on the alert and will either avoid the creature, or attempt to take it by surprise and kill it. Only experienced Kierrn should ever try this as the Yvrr are highly unpredictable, and the Kierrn may walk into a trap.

*The Awakened

These are "normal" people who, for whatever reason, can see past the magics of supernatural beings to the truth that lies behind the masks, glamour, and deceptions. These people are only "normal" in that they aren't a part of any society or organization, and in general don't really have a clue as to what is -really- going on. All they know is that when a Kierrn or Vampire, or other supernatural is around, they feel drawn to him/her in an uncomfortable sort of way. They may not know right away what they are looking at, or why this or that person makes them feel skittish, but with time, experience, and practice, an Awakened can train themselves to see fully who and what they are looking at, among other things. Oftentimes an Awakened will have other forms of ESP such as clairvoiance, telepathy, etc. Awakened are usualy "abnormal" people among human society in that they are usually psychics, artists, shamans, new-agers, witches, the mentally disturbed, etc.

The Kierrn know of the Awakened, and see them as sacred humans, ones they will not harm if at all possible. Kierrn are fascinated by the Awakened, and spend some time surreptiously studying varios individuals and kinds of Awakened. Here is a list of the different types of Awakened the Kierrn know about:

Far Seers - Ones that can forsee the future with accuracy.
Long Seers - Ones that can see the past of a place, person, or thing.
Mind Speakers - Ones that can hear other's thoughts and/or can be heard by others.
Spirit Walkers - Shamans. One who can enter the spirit world and interact with spirits.
Ghost Seers - One who can see and talk to spirits, but cannot enter the spirit world.
Heart Speakers - Empath. One who can feel what others are feeling.
Healer - One who can heal the mind, body, and soul.
Stone Movers - Those who can move and affect physical objects.
Earth Soul - One who has an innate connection to the earth and nature. One who can feel what nature feels.
Wild Soul - Human who has the soul of an animal whether they know it or not. Has a fascination with and love for animals, and a need to be out-of-doors in the wilderness. Understands animals and can speak animal language to a degree. Will act like an animal even if it's unconscious. Wild Souls are highly prized by the Kierrn as pahr'ryhn subjects as their survival rate is unusually high.

*Other Supernatural Creatures

There are other creatures in the world of the Kierrn, creatures that not even the Kierrn know about. They may know they are there, and they may even know of them, but these creatures are strange, and have their own magics, and are best not to be messed with, should one encounter them.