Mortesanians (Ichor Rai)

Mortesanians are Rai spawned from the maw of Mortesan, but the term is also used as a more general but acceptable term for any Ichor Rai, including Mortal-Born. Mortesanians are mainly found within The Realm of None, but appear all over the universe. Mortesanians are the most common form of Rai on Earth as they seep into the planet from mysterious gates that lead to The Realm of None.

For currently recorded Mortesanians, go here.

### Physiology

#### Feeding

Unlike Kynthians who gain no benefit from consuming their own essence, Ichor is one of the most important things for a Mortesanian to consume. All Ichor consumed is retained unless "spent" in some way, this can include Ichor radiation, birthing new Rai, losing parts of their body, using it to create a Morlynth, or just by drooling it out.

Once the Ichor is hoarded within a Mortesanian, growing their body is the best way to keep it there. The amount of Ichor a Mortesanian contains is carefully regulated, but limited, and roughly determines the powers it has access to. Mortesanians often indulge in cannibalism to grow their pool of Ichor, but must be careful in doing so as a proportionally massive intake of Ichor can trigger Bliss.

Mortesanians, against common belief, do not need to feed to persist, however they do it to grow. Mortesanians cannot freely change or modify their forms like some other Rai as they are bound in the physical, and they cannot alter reality outside of their Morlynths. Mortesanians use Morlynths for defense, but also as a tool for feeding upon the flesh of Mortals. Like an antlion, Mortesanians use these dimensional pockets as traps to collect living matter to consume to grow their bodies.

#### Growth

Biological matter is consumed to be converted into the Mortesanian's own flesh and exoskeleton. They are seen as purely physical entities normally, and grow their bodies and exoskeletons over time. The process can take many months of consuming to grow steadily. They do however have a limit on how much they can consume at a time, they can become full.

Consuming bone, keratin, fur, whatever, can aid a Mortesanian in producing an exoskeleton. Young Mortesanians simply wear or attempt to fuse bones to their flesh for immediate results, young mortesanians can't hide in morlynths, and lack means to defend themselves long before they can easily consume enough to form their exoskeleton. The older or larger a Mortesanian becomes the more time they have to actually form and grow their own armor. Some mortesanians form internal structures as well. This process can take as short as months to many years. Intaking bone does not directly immediately grow structures, however in a short time results can be seen (depending on the ratio of bones to actual mortesanian). Their exoskeletons range in complexity and are usually monochromatic in color, the darkness depending on how much ichor was imbued in the structure during creation.

Flesh, meat, organs, all of that can allow for more inherent mass. Though, it does also contribute to exoskeleton growth sometimes, it mainly develops muscle and other fleshy bits. Their flesh is often a matte black, often sporting quills or filamentous pseudo-feathers. If a Mortesanian just consumes flesh they will most likely have more difficulty in keeping their shape. When Mortesanians first form they are often just blobs of ichor. However, when born from not Mortesan, or from an ancient Mortesanian, these can come out more developed.

#### Reproduction

It's thought that Mortesan was forced into a cycle of eternal birth because it ingested a large portion of the Primal Apex Deity Quezochiod's body in order to defend itself and fight him off. This is believed to have jumpstarted the reaction within Mortesan, causing it to into an unstoppable overdrive and forced Mortesan into a pathetic stupor for eons. With the hundreds of Mortesanians being produced from Mortesan, with no time to develop, their quality got worse and worse until only little animated slugs came from its maw.

All Mortesanians can be traced back to Mortesan, be them a direct offspring, or many generations separated. As all Mortesanians in some way descend from Mortesan, they are uniquely capable of birthing new Rai from their mouths by ingesting limited amounts of prime to give life to whatever is happening with the Ichor inside of them. Only Rai considered Greater or above have been seen preforming this action.

### Psychology

#### Gender

Born Ichor Rai have no visible genitalia and are genderless. They have absolutely no concept of sex or gender, although sometimes if raised amongst mortals they may develop a rudimentary understanding of the concept. Humans often push gender onto Mortesanians who, by default, have absolutely no understanding of it and are incapable of comprehending it.

#### Intelligence

Mortesanians are fully sapient beings however their intelligence depends entirely on their environment. Those raised amongst mortals often develop mortal-like traits and desires making them more familiar to humans, exhibiting the will to take up names, possessions, and many negative traits like selfishness, spite, and pride. Some Mortesanians who are treated like animals or monsters by mortals during their development will act very animalistic as they know nothing else.

Mortesanians who form and grow in the Realm of None do not usually take up these traits and only seek to grow and survive. These Mortesanians are seen by mortals, humans especially, as animalistic when in truth they are far from it, but unfortunately Bliss in the Realm of None is nearly constant, rendering them far lesser than animals.

#### Bliss

Mortesanians are known to be predictably unpredictable, one knows they are most likely going to eat everything, all the time. The reason for this, however, is not because they hate everything, but because either they see it as food, or they are currently in Bliss.

Bliss, which is a state in which higher thought simply fades away, leaving the Rai lesser than even most animals; to act on every impulse without remorse. If the Mortesanian can take back control or survive bliss, they will certainly be stronger for it. Bliss has a chance to be induced every time a Mortesanian consumes Ichor, however the risk of it dramatically increases the larger the amount of consumed ichor in proportion to what the Mortesanian already contains.

### Unique Abilities

#### Morlynth Creation

All Rai are capable of manipulating reality in some way, and those of Ichor are no different. Mortesanians can produce dimensional 'rooms' known as Morlynths by dragging a certain portion of space into a pocket. However, within a Morlynth, the very fabric of the pocket is made up of and held together by Ichor, so the space itself can be changed and rearranged to however the Mortesanian deems fit. These are used for protection and for some Mortesanians, a source of food.

Beings including Rai, Mortals, Persistent Souls, and objects cannot be changed or manipulated in any way even within a Morlynth, as they are not of Ichor or the Mortesanian. All a Mortesanian can do is pull space into a pocket and maintain the pocket.

Though Morlynths are the Dimensional manipulation ability of the Ichor Rai, they are not often used for transportation. However, if overlapping, Morlynths can be used as gateways to other Morlynths, including the Realm of None. Morlynths are fixed in space, or to a great mass including a planet.

#### Ichor Manipulation

Mortesanian Rai, with practice, are able to manipulate ichor to some degree. While not able to mind control, or move things separate from themselves, Mortesanians can sometimes control the flow of Ichor around them through touch. Be it controlling the movement of highly saturated biological material, or be it changing the shape of free Ichor itself, this includes Morlynths, and them being made up of Ichor allows the Mortesanian control over the shape.

### Classifications

Though no true rigid differences exist, there are classifications to generalize Mortesanian ability and growth.

#### Young Mortesanians

Newly formed 'infant' Ichor Rai, perhaps not more than a slug of animated Ichor, the goal of a young Mortesanian is to get access to as much Ichor and flesh as possible to build their forms to ensure they continue to exist. Consuming any Ichor at all at this stage is very risky due to their small pool, and Young Mortesanians are more often than not in Bliss.

Some being born directly from the torrential downfall of Ichor that flows from Mortesan's maw, others created intentionally as heirs by other Mortesanians by ingesting limited amounts of prime to give life to their ichor. Lesser Ichor Rai have limited control and knowledge of their powers, and on the universal scale nearly make no dent at all, causing them to be nearly incapable of making Morlynths bigger than a pocket at this stage.

Young Mortesanians are often covered in pseudo-feathers, quills, or 'fuzz', more so than Mortesanians of higher ranking. As they grow and develop further said filamentous coverage will fall off due to combat, wear and tear, or just growth in general.

#### Average Mortesanians

A generic middle-of-the-road Ichor Rai. They are usually capable of forming a Morlynth, and have developed an exoskeleton. Sometimes Mortesanians classified as average will still take bones into their body to use as armor. By this time, if outside of The Realm of None, most are free from the almost certain Bliss most Lesser Mortesanians struggle to control.

In the Realm of None anything less than Major is at serious risk of being consumed at any moment, but on Earth or outside of the Realm, even your average Ichor Rai is considered quite untouchable and rare. Average Mortesanians could still level a town if pushed to do so, so they are absolutely nothing to scoff at. Your typical Mortesanian is only average when compared to other Mortesanians.

#### Greater Mortesanians

A powerful or older Ichor Rai more capable than average. Greater Ichor Rai have beat the odds and survived long enough to ingest a grand amount of Ichor and flesh, making them quite powerful. On Earth or other planets outside of the Realm of None, Greater Mortesanians might be considered the pinnacle of Mortesanian existence.

#### Major Mortesanians

Major Mortesanians are considered gods by many mortals across reality, and can seem indistinguishable as they have no point of reference. With their great power and ichor to spare, Major Mortesanians are the most willing to produce 'offspring'. So confident they are in their own powers, Major Ichor Rai will often be willing to ingest prime to produce heirs to serve them or simply to continue their legacy. Despite having the capability to cause tremendous harm, Mortesanians are generally passive in their existence, and Major Mortesanians will seldom leave their Morlynths.

### On Earth

Mortesanians and Rai overall are quite rare on Earth, however Mortesanians that do manage to escape from the Realm of None to Earth have a distinct advantage. Because Earth occasionally overlaps the Realm of None in its yearly orbit, some Mortesanians find themselves travelling through ancient gateways that give access to Morlynths or even Earth itself. Unlike their home, Rai populations are spread thin, this means unhindered access to the resources that they require without competition.

#### Formation of Worship

Rai are often seen, to this day, as gods or demons, sometimes even angels, to humans. While some Rai brush off mortals and their praise, Mortesanians show a particular tendency to adapt easily to the care and service. These symbiotic relationships provide food, protection, and entertainment for Mortesanians, while the mortals also get some protection out of the arrangement, but most importantly a living being to worship for whatever purpose they need.

Initially this worship was centered around Mortesanians solely as those were all that could be seen. However, as sapient Rai came to Earth, some of them communicated that there was something greater out there, something that even some Rai would worship themselves.

#### Rose Corporation Involvement

The Rose Corporation consistently does not confirm the existence of Rai and Deities, most simply because they see no reason to immediately believe what their subjects are saying, and they believe there's most likely an explanation. However, with the continued and consistent mention of the deities, some White Rose Scientists are starting to hypothesize there could be something behind their claims, be it naturally explainable or not.

Additionally, through numerous escapes by 'particular' subjects in specific cells, Black Rose's understanding of 'pocket realms' is rapidly evolving to adapt to the massive security risk they bring. Due to Black Rose's urgent requisitions for technology to counter them, White Rose now has a highly experimental device that can detect the presence of Mortesanians and their Morlynths somewhat effectively, which is a huge step for science and the confirmation of 'demons' and 'gods'.