An idea of what a Semparan looks like The grey on the hair is paint. Some of the markings are also paint. This is a pretty Semparan, they would get a lot of admirers.
Occultia 101: The 13 Peoples of Occultia (parts 5)
There are thirteen peoples of the Land of Occultia, each with their own individual languages*, traditions, cultures and set of values. Each people has a representative on the Council of Elders and elected officials on the Council of the People.
There is a sort of social hierarchy where there certain groups are discrimated over the others. While the situation has been improving since the formation of the Council, there are still definite tensions and divisions between the groups.
Oh boy I hope you’re strapped in for this one. The two groups that follow are original creations so there’s a lot to get through,
Semparans - Semparans are the second least numerous in all of Occultia. They live almost exclusively on Wrye de Sempara, also known as Viatar. They are a secretive people, living separately from mainstream Occultian life almost completely. Their society has changed very little from the early days of Occultia, according to the honoured few that are allowed to visit their island. No modern records are allowed to be made of how it is today.
Semparans are near immortal beings, said to be closest to the Gods. The same energy that runs inside a god is thought to be shared by Semparans. They’re able to look into the past and future and are hailed as prophets. All of Occultian history is recorded in the Semparan library.
Semparans are guests at every festival on the Occultian Calender and are seen as holy beings, above angels but below the gods and minor deities.
Physically, Semparans are humanoid in structure, and vary in heights between 4 and 7 feet. Their skin colour is varied, often pastel shades of blues, purples, greys and sometimes completely black, they have white freckles. In rare cases they can also have ‘human’ skin tones. They have completely black eyes that glow their inner colour when reading the past or future. The have long dark hair, matching their skin colour. They wear their hair in a variety of styles, often wearing clips, beads or flowers. They have white fins running down their spines until the waist. They have large ears that point downwards. They have large feet and webbed toes and hands. In water they gain gills to breathe and their feet become paddle like.
They eat a diet of fish, berries and honey.
Other than those with jobs on the mainland, Semparans do not speak, communication with clicks or through telepathy. Only Celestia and those who are part semparan can understand their methods of communication.
Semparans can learn a form of magic that is inaccessible to others except for the gods, such as time manipulation and spacial rending.
There is a holy place on the island named Heavens Water. It is said to have incredible healing properties, even bringing back life. Semparans guard the Waters so well that anyone who has ever ventured to find them has never returned.
When a semparan dies, their body turns to dust and they become part of the universe once again. Semparans are not born, therefore when the last one dies, they will be extinct. However, the death of a Semparan is seen as a positive as it shows that Occultian life is going well and they are not needed. The opposite is true for if Semparans ever do appear, as it is a sure sign of impending disaster.
The only reasons a Semparan leaves Viatar is if they are a member of the council, to warn of impending disasters, to alert Celestia of prophecies or a death, or to give blessings to Occultians. However in rare cases a Semparan will choose to stay on the mainland for whatever reason, and change their physicality to match the people that they are going to live amongst, although the white freckles and black eyes give them away.
It unknown what gender(s) or sexuality Semparans are, but you can be sure they do not ascribe to any binaries.
They worship all of the gods, even in modern times. Their patron god was Uhlnova-tenavu.
Dracarnians - The ninth most populous of the Occultian people. One of the two peoples who’s god survived the Millennium Wars. Like Semparans, they are an ancient people amongst the first to live in Occultia.
Dracarnians were originally built by the God Dracarnius as disposable war machines in the Millennium Wars, they were also the last of the peoples to be created, and the only ones created outside what is known as the Era of Creation. Today, although still excellent soldiers and retain a thirst for war, dracarnians have lost a lot of their original features from when they were first created.
Dracarnians have varying shades of blue skin, ranging from a deep navy to a sky blue. The darker a dracarnians skin, the more respected they are in Dracarnian society. Paler skin is often seen as a sign of impurity due to inter-pecies breeding as well as being further away from the colour of their God. at night, their skin glows like nebulas in the colours of their cores.
Cores are a mark on their chest where the heart is. Dracarnians have markings ion their backs in their core colours. The are Readers who decipher these and predict the path of the dracarnians current life and also give them their name. Their eyes match the colour of their cores.
Dracarnians come in three distinct catagories depending on their core, which can be golden, amber or vermillion.
Those with a golden core are most rare. They have long fur tipped tails, blond or pale brown hair, and are smaller than the average, at around 5′. Their markings spread to their arms and are said to have much greater destiny than others. Golden core havers are natural magic users and have similar abilities to the Lord Dracarnius, just to a lesser extent. They are seen as wise and are often strategists in war.
Those with an amber core are the most common. They have shorter and thicker fur tipped tails, ginger or red-brown hair, and are between 6 and 7 feet tall. Amber cores have the least markings on their bodies and less exciting destinies. They are most often the domestics in Dracarnian society. Amber cores can learn magic, but it is seen as frivolous if its not to aid with everyday life such as making weapons or cooking.
Those with Vermilion cores are the tallest and most muscularly built of the dracarnians. Their tails are blade-like and can cut through to the bone if the dracarnian is skilled enough. All those with a vermilion core are soliders and prefer not to have their destinies read out to them and only recieve their name instead. Vermilion cores cannot use magic.
All modern dracarnians are reincarnations of the original army, even though their numbers are much fewer. Dracarnians have a pheonix ability, when they die they turn to ash and leave behind their hardened heart. After a few weeks, a new dracarnian is hatched from the heart. However, dracarnians only have a set number of lives, a number which is different for all of them, and eventually they die and remain whole. In their last life, a Dracarnian is able to have a child with another, and some will even venture outside dracarnian society and have children with elves or humans.
The pheonix ability is passed down but only to deaths that are from outside causes, they are not protected from illness or old age like full dracarnians. Inter-species breeding however is a big taboo, especially if a dracarnian is involved and often couples and their children are exiled from both societies.
Dracarnian funerals are a big event in their society and candles are lit for every life they lived. A feast is held of the dracarnian’s favourite films and stories are shared about their life. For every funeral a week long (Occultian calendar) celebration is held, and in Drakisan, the second week is dedicated to celebrating all their dead.
Dracarnians also have naming ceremonies for when a dracarnian’s marking appear on their back. They get their new name carved into the stone that will rest on top of their grave after their last life. Naming ceremonies are big deal as names are important to dracarnians as a name can tell you a lot about a dracarnians character.
Dracarnians are ruled by a ‘king’ who is generally the dracarnian with the brightest golden core. Each ‘king’ decides whether or not their reign will be peaceful by the markings on their back and the name they are given. Most of the time, it is decided that they will go to war against Occultia, particularly against Celestia herself. However, without their God, Dracarnians are fairly easily defeated. Furthermore, there are more and more dracarnians who wish for a permanent peace, which eventually leads to a Civil war between the two sides.
Dracarnians have very few rights in Occultia. Other than their position on Councils, they do not hold any positions of importance or power. Although it is illegal to attack a peaceful Dracarnian, or attack them without cause, it doesn’t stop people from trying, especially elves. Rogue groups often go into dracarnian villages and ravage the place, destroying buildings and killing dracarnians or taking them hostage. Despite it being illegal local authorities don’t do much about the perpetrators. However, if Celestia finds out, justice will be served.
