Elf,Sereg
Overview
Long ago, the elven nation of T'Nanshi created a secret elite black ops fighting force to fight against the orcs in the Great War. Much later, in the not too recent past, the name for this race became synonymous with the drangonari word for "assassin", i.e. sereg'wethrin. The different specializations within this force were also given drangonari designations during this time period.
Unfortunately, before they were deployed, the Great War ended with the explosive destruction of all orc mages. Without a purpose, the sereg'wethrin force was relegated to training and minor operations with limited scope.
Initially, the sereg'wethrin were normal elven soldiers. The soldiers participated in voluntary magical conditioning that enhanced their abilities. This low to mid level conditioning proved to be effective in allowing the sereg'wethrin force to gain an edge in tactical combat missions. As time passed, the sereg'wethrin began to experiment with increased levels and different forms of magical enhancement. Their experimentation proved to be incredibly fruitful, however, the effects of this conditioning began to make genetic changes within their bodies. A few of the more significant changes are:
- Camouflage: The sereg'wethrin skin and hair is permanently dark... almost black. - Stealth: They received enhanced hiding and stealth abilities. - Speed: Sereg'wethrin have an un-natural quickness.
A price for this experimentation and enhancement was also paid. The mind of a sereg'wethrin is extremely chaotic. In fact, most of them only have a loose grasp on sanity. This can be useful in combat, but makes them extremely volatile in daily situations.
Part of their conditioning has always been military obedience to the chain of command. This may seem to fly against their chaotic nature, but it is an artificially and magically-induced behavioral trait. Without this conditioning, the sereg'wethrin would cease to be an organized military force.
Personality
Most sereg'wethrin have a volatile demeanor. They have little patience and explode early on in a confrontation. Loyalty to their own is one of the few virtues they maintain as a culture. Because of their instability, sereg'wethrin rarely form meaningful relationships outside of their military units, and this fact causes them no personal hardship at all because their entire lives are devoted to army affairs.
More recent iterations of these conditioned soldiers were given anti-human conditioning, as part of the conflict between the elven nation of T'Nanshi and the human nation of M'Chek. The anti-human conditioning was brutally effective. Sereg'wethrin slaughtered humans with a gleeful passion. In fact, it worked too well. The sereg'wethrin now made no distinction between human soldiers and human civilians (including women and children). This behavior shocked and appalled Nanshi High Command and forced them to recall and analyze of the sereg'wethrin force. But at this point, it was too late.
The sereg'wethrin leadership perceived the recall as an attack on their existence, and they immediately took action. They withdrew all sereg'wethrin troops from their surface bases, and secured their underground bases, including their primary fortress deep in the underdark. This action confirmed their rogue status and explicitly defined their sovereignty from the nation of T'Nanshi and from the race of Avlissian elves.
The sereg'wethrin have two natural drives: protection and enhancement of their existence. These natural drives are further reinforced by a number of artificially-induced drives (through conditioning): overriding concern for the collective of sereg'wethrin interests, and overriding hatred for humankind.
Sereg-superconditioning
The whole race was not super-conditioned during the M'Chek-T'Nanshi War. Only the sereg who fought in that war were superconditioned. When the sereg'wethrin split completely from T'Nanshi and went on their own into the Underdark, the superconditioning ceased to be renewed, and all sereg'wethrin coming of age right now are NOT superconditioned.
About half of all sereg'wethrin NPC's encountered right now have the superconditioning, and that number is dwindling fast.
Superconditioning does not seem to cause the sereg to hate adomkuro.
Physical Description
Sereg'wethrin look much like Avlissian elves in terms of size and build. All of them possess the same light frame, almond-shaped eyes, pointed ears and chiseled features. The main differences are their jet-black eye, skin, and hair color. They usually have strange scars through much of their body as a result of the magical conditioning they all go through.
Almost all sereg'wethrin are male. Females have only recently been produced through a specialized version of the magical conditioning which was invented to insure the survival of the species after their falling out with the High Command of T'Nanshi. Females are a subjugated caste who exist for breeding purposes only, and are rarely given any status in society. They possess the same dark features as males, but are a little shorter, reaching a maximum of 4 and a half feet tall.
Clothing is uniform and varies by rank and occupation. Those who primarily function as spellcasters in battle will wear loose-fitting clothing that contains numerous pouches and secret compartments for storing spell components and weapons. Warriors will wear armor over comfortably tight-fitting fabric.
Relations
Sereg'wethrin maintain a strong hatred of humans that is nearly unrestrainable. They see humans as a viral culture that is a threat to all other cultures near them. Unless there are predefined arrangements, they will attack any human on sight.
Sereg'wethrin maintain, by default, a non-aggressive (even friendly) relationship with most other races, especially elves. However, this relationship is one-sided, because all Avlissian and ghost elves, as well as other races, shun them as malignant traitors who have taken their hatred too far. Evil races, such as the goblin-kind fear them and will go to great lengths to avoid them, let alone making any alliances with them. To the sereg'wethrin, this is just as well, for their dislike of these races rivals that of their elven kin.
Sereg'wethrin maintain, by default, a non-aggressive (even friendly) relationship with most other races.
Alignment
Sereg'wethrin epitomize the chaotic nature of their elven heritage. They tend towards evil, because they pursue their goals without thought to the wider effects.
Sereg'wethrin Lands
The Sereg'wethrin have taken up residence in the underdark of southern Negaria. The center of sereg'wethrin society has its roots in the underdark beneath T'Nanshi, but has expanded to other parts of the cavernous complex of caves and tunnels below the surface. They build tight, military-style strongholds rather than cities, in highly defensible locations.
Religion
Sereg'wethrin are amoral and worship their own existance rather than any external deity.
Language
Sereg'wethrin speak Avlissian Elven. What's interesting is that they use Drangonari Elven to refer to themselves. This anomaly has its roots to when they were part of the T'Nanshi Military. They were so named by the T'Nanshi Military in order to maintain plausible deniability should they be caught during an operation. A few examples: Sereg'wethrin actually means "Assasin", Cuar= "Archer", Shaalth="Captain".
Names
Sereg'wethrin have kept to their elven roots when it comes to their personal names. Their family names have lost meaning over the millennia as their Avlissian elven clans have disowned them or disappeared through the ages. Those sereg'wethrin that have strong personal identities will generally take a new last name derived from a past experience or a vanquished enemy.
Male Names
Alaran, Earar, Kohav, Maher, Lonovan, Solerion, Tri'as, Tre'lanin, Zeerestova, Zero
Female Names
Ailinara, Delenari, Levana, Naia, Nansha, Nir'hirefya, Talyooma, Toova, Yeledela, Yoofeh
Adventurers
Sereg'wethrin are trained to stay with their unit unless ordered to do otherwise. This makes it unlikely to find a solitary specimen out on its own with no particular mission. On occasion, a sereg'wethrin will break with its conditioning and go out on its own, but these members are hunted down by their units and destroyed.
Combat
Sereg'wethrin primary MO for combat is ambush and trap. They lie in hiding and strike fiercely, then they disappear just as fast. When faced with a superior opponent, they are not opposed to taking out lesser opponents of his group and leaving him behind. Suicide mission are also not unheard of, especially when biological weaponry is involved.
Reproduction and The Nwal'maer
The Sereg'wethrin consisted of an all-male military force. When they broke away from Nanshi, this presented a survival problem. To solve this problem, the Sereg'wethrin began raiding Elven villages and capturing woman and young male Elves. The woman were imprisoned in a breeding sector of the primary underdark fortress, their sole purpose is to produce Sereg'wethrin children. The Sereg'wethrin thought to train the young males and incorporate them into their collective, however, the Elves proved to be resistant and ultimately they would not willingly join.
These young elven males were eventually put through another experimental conditioning process. This process proved to be extremely powerful, and dangerous. 80% of the elves undergoing this special conditioning died, but those that survived were changed. Their minds completely surpressed of willful thought, enslaved in a "superhuman" body under the command of Sereg'wethrin leadership. They become deadly tools, an extension of Sereg'wethrin might, lacking a will of their own. They were dubbed, Nwal'maer, Drangonari for "The Tortured Ones".
Sereg'wethrin is a playable race on Avlis but must start on the Underdark server.
IC information for new underdark Sereg PCs
A lot of young Sereg'Wethrin have taken up residence in and near the city of Verloghokbol.