Vurg are a cybernetically enhanced race of humanoid that no one knew existed until a few years ago, just after the rise of the Clavic Empire. They seemed to materialize out of nowhere in different parts of the world and where they came from is a mystery. They are typically seen in the company of rulers or highly powerful people, and are always solo. Even these elite social and political powerhouses don’t know anything about them, nor does anyone know of their purpose or their motives. They just arrived and placed themselves into the service of these people, asking nothing in return.
All Vurg speak the Virian language, though this knowledge does not exist outside of the Vurg. This is because no one has ever heard them speak it to one another, as they are never seen more than one at a time.
Appearance
Their defining characteristic is their synthetic skin, which is colored according to their specific profession. For example, servants and followers are the color black, which represents the shadow. They also have no facial features. Where eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth would be is just more of the synthetic skin. They seem to speak through an electronic or cybernetic enhancement that transmits somewhere from their throat region as though from thought. They are typically larger in stature than humans are, standing between 6 and 7 feet tall.
Because they have no mouth, they feed intravenously through a special attachment. Vurg can process human food into a usable format. In addition to this, they can convert anything biodegradable into food.
Disposition
Vurg are the only race that does not view humans as a threat. They view humans as weak for their lack of self control, specifically with regard to emotions (Vurg are very stoic). They also perceive humans as possessing a weaker mind; this is because in order to make the transition into adulthood, they must go through an intensely painful rite of passage. The first portion of the rite involves removing the natural skin and replacing it with the synthetic. They believe pain purifies and has transcendental properties. Because of this, females are viewed as being blessed because they get to experience childbirth. Since humans do not go through this rite -- it is forbidden for anyone outside the race to undergo the ritual -- they do not fully understand pain (the only known exception to this rule happened when Commander Sleika, who is a torturemaster, skinned Doctor Talmage alive and installed yellow synthetic skin as punishment for betraying the Emperor).
Motivations
As adventurers they are a complete mystery. Whatever their motives for joining any party, they will never divulge it. They will always be found in the company of powerful people, and always alone. They also make for lousy conversationalists, and should not be relied upon to negotiate, or entrusted with handling any situation requiring tact for that matter. Their presence makes people extremely uncomfortable; this is mostly because of their frightening features (no face, strange skin, and electronically-aided voices, which has been described as sounding like grinding metal).
Vurg Colors
- Gray - Nobility - gray is considered the most neutral of colors, with neutrality being highly valued in Vurg culture
- White - Intellectuals - those chosen to teach and innovate are given white, a symbol of enlightenment
- Black - Servants - those chosen to serve are given black, a symbol of the shadow
- Red - Soldiers - those chosen to do violence are given red, a symbol of blood
Notable Vurg
See Also
In the time of the Befores there also lived another race of humanoid creature called the Cauthrians, but they were killed off during the Great Purge because they had magic in their blood.