Monster

**Monster** is a general term used to refer to the natural non-human inhabitants of the supernatural world. They are divided into two groups: Natural-born monsters (Phantasmal Species) and transformed monsters (Downworlders).

## Overview

A **monster** is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear, usually resemble bizarre and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process.

Animal monsters are outside the moral order, but sometimes have their origin in some human violation of the moral law. Human monsters are those who by birth were never fully human or who through some supernatural or unnatural act lost their humanity, and so who can no longer, or who never could, follow the moral law of human society.

Monsters may also be depicted as misunderstood and friendly creatures who frighten individuals away without wanting to, or may be so large, strong and clumsy that they cause unintentional damage or death. Some monsters in fiction are depicted as mischievous and boisterous but not necessarily threatening, while others may be docile but prone to becoming angry or hungry, thus needing to be tamed and taught to resist savage urges, or killed if they cannot be handled or controlled successfully.

Monsters pre-date written history, and the academic study of the particular cultural notions expressed in a society's ideas of monsters is known as *monstrophy*. Monsters have appeared in literature and in feature-length films. Well-known monsters in fiction include Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, demons, mummies, and zombies.

## Types of Monsters

### Phantasmal Species

**Phantasmal Species** (幻想種, *Gensō-shu*) is a term used to refer to those who are supernatural monsters since birth with little to no connections to humanity. Because of this, they are distinctively different from ordinary humans in terms of beliefs and ideology, which led to many clashes between them and the downworlders.

They can be ranked into three categories, which change as they age and increase in power towards becoming higher existences and gain more "human-like" characteristics to them, such as morality, intelligence, and free will.

* **Monstrous Beasts** (魔獣, *Majū*): The most common type of monsters with animal-level of intelligence and behaviors, and as such, most of them tended to be treated as animals by the rest of the supernatural world. Most of them still live in the mortal world, inhabiting undeveloped lands that cannot be reached by mankind through mundane means, though several species have immigrated to the spirit world alongside other supernatural species following the end of the Age of Gods.
* **Phantasmal Beasts** (幻獣, *Genjū*): Monsters of great power that are mostly on-par with humans in terms of intelligence and free will, if not greater in the former for certain species. While many phantasmal beasts still live in the mortal world alongside monstrous beasts, almost all of them have migrated to different pocket realms within the spirit world following the end of the Age of Gods.
* **Divine Beasts** (神獣, *Shinjū*): Monsters of divine origins and most likely offshoots of the pagan gods themselves, either as their children or creations, which make them some of the most powerful monsters. According to many researchers, divine beasts are more on the level of "super weapons" than actual living creatures.

The name is also used as a common denomination for all creatures that do not fit in the ordinary biological classification for living beings and those that do not fall within the normal ecosystem. Those who are a part of this type are true deviations from biology that cannot be explained by immature research or mutations, nor can they be studied through mundane methods.

### Downworlder

**Downworlder** (魔人, *Majin*) is the term used to refer to humanoid monsters that were once humans or half-humans before their transformation into monsters through a variety of means. Some of the most well-known species of downworlders are vampires, and werebeasts such as werewolves or werefelines. Some species such as faeries, centaurs, and warlocks also considered themselves to be downworlders, though they can also be considered half-humans at best.

Some of the known methods of transforming humans into monsters are:

* **Genetics**: Although it is rare, there have been cases of humans possessing monster heritage within their bloodline, which has been dormant for generations, only to be reawakened after certain conditions have been met and transforming said people into downworlders in an almost after night manner. Often, this transformation is triggered due to a sudden absorption of a large quantity of magical power.
* **Ingestion**: For some species of downworlders, a significant amount of their blood taken orally by a human can cause them to turn into a downworlder, or at least, a downworlder-hybrid in cases of faeries and vampires.
* **Transfusion**: For some species, introducing and admixing downworlder's blood with human's blood can cause said human to be transformed into a monster. For some downworlder species, such as vampires or werebeasts, their saliva contains a small amount of their own blood which can be instantly transmitted into their blood through their bites.

### Alpha Monster

**Alpha Monster** (大怪獣, *Daikaijū*) is a term used to refer to monsters who are the first of their respective kind, and whose name used to call their entire kind. Not much is known about their true nature, though according to Chiron, whereas the pagan gods represent order and civilization, the Alpha Monsters are their antithesis, representing chaos and barbarism in its most primal form.

## Factions

### Monstrum Council

**Monstrum Council** (モンストラム評議会, *Monsutoramu Hyōgi-kai*) is an ancient organization that serves as the government of all monster-kinds, located in the ancient runes where the Sumerian city of Uruk once located. Although the organization was first founded by the Mesopotamian gods to restrain the wild monsters in the area, it soon grew in power and became an important mythological faction within the supernatural world.

#### Downworlders' Alliance

**Downworlders' Alliance** (ダウンワールドの同盟, *Daunwārudo no Dōmei*) is a mythological faction within the Monstrum Council that mainly governs the actions of downworlder species. It is formed of multiple smaller factions, primarily led by the four governments of the faeries, the warlocks, the werewolves, and the vampires. Although it is only a smaller faction within the Monstrum Council, many argue that it is the true power behind the Monstrum Council.

### Church of the Mother

**Church of the Mother** (母の教会, *Haha no Kyōkai*) is an ancient cult dedicated to the Mother of Monsters that dated back for hundreds and thousands of years, with its high executives' ages can only be measured in the millennia. While it originally started as a way for monsters to revere and pay respect to the Mother of Monsters, in recent years, it has become a cult that spear-headed monster supremacy and has devoted its new cause toward world domination and human extinction.

## Spoils of War

**Spoils of War** (戦争の略奪品, *Sensō no Ryakudatsu-hin*) are a part or parts of a monster's body that does not disintegrate when they are killed, often pieces of bones or teeth, though certain Alpha Monsters do leave behind entire body parts or pieces of equipment after they are defeated.

Often than not, they are used as magical items or ingredients that contain all of the monster's remaining within them by the time of their death.

## Trivia

* The word "Monster" derives from the Latin *monstrum*, itself derived ultimately from the verb *moneo* ("to remind, warn, instruct, or foretell"), and denotes anything "strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature, by which the gods give notice of evil," "a strange, unnatural, hideous person, animal, or thing," or any "monstrous or unusual thing, circumstance, or adventure."
* When it comes to monsters, the term "beast" is used as a replacement for "creature" and does not necessary mean quadrupedal mammals.
* Dragons are considered to be the most powerful species of monster.