Roen

**Roen** are a race indigenous to a plane known as the Sequestered Domain. They mainly take on a humanoid appearance, though there can be some variations depending on the length of time that an individual spends in the Sequestered Domain.

## Description

Roen are visually identical to humans for the most part, possessing two arms and two legs as well as varied skin tones that can range from pitch black to chalk white or anywhere in between. They are a bipedal race and can grow hair as humans do, though the chromatic variation in such growths has a far more varied range as do the irises of their eyes. Those who spend a significant amount of time in the Sequestered Domain may find that their blood slowly turns into a deep shade of black, allowing their veins to be seen clearly through their skin. Such individuals may also experience growths on their heads not unlike horns.

## Abilities

Roen typically do not possess special abilities that differentiate them from humans other than the ability to control their biological aging at will, an ability that developed due to the despair-inducing nature of their home. As with other mortals, they possess the potential to use the Power of Will and the Power of Wings and are vulnerable to blunt trauma or other forms of damage. However, those who have spent enough time within the Sequestered Domain are known as **Elderoen** and possess several abilities by virtue of their tainted blood. These individuals are capable of utilizing their blood to call forth "pieces" of the Sequestered Domain that are deadly to those possessing Divinity and capable of "devouring" any phenomena that they may manifest. Although these "pieces" are not lethal to mortals, they are quite uncomfortable to be in contact with and can "burn" as if acid, though Roen are inherently immune to such an ability due to their exposure to the Sequestered Domain.

Although it is not truly an "ability", Roen are granted the property of "ultimate freedom" from the Gods. They cannot be compelled or controlled by an entity possessing Divinity or any laws that they enact, for they are the forsaken and uncreated, owing their origin to no deity, but rather the collective despair generated by the Sequestered Domain. However, this means that Roen can never become Champions or receive blessings as their very nature prevents it. Furthermore, because of this, Roen cannot utilize Magic in the conventional or traditional methods.

## Personality

All Roen are individuals and thus, have varied personalities. There is no umbrella personality that can describe all or even most Roen; however, each of them suffer from some form of despair as a result of their origin. This despair varies from each individual and can only be overcome through the Power of Will.

## Life Cycle

While Roen can engage in the act of reproduction, it is quite rare for this to actually occur due to the vastness of where they originate as well as the conditions they are afflicted with. More commonly, Roen are "birthed" by the Sequestered Domain once enough despair has been accumulated within the plane itself. The life span of a Roen is vastly and sporadically varied among the race. While some may be able to hold on to their desire to live, their ability to end the despair and suffering that they are forced to endure at the moment of conception by accelerating their aging can be too tempting for others. Those who manage to escape the Sequestered Domain typically live until they are tired of life, which can range anywhere from one hundred to one thousand years unless they are slain. If a Roen manages to remain in the Sequestered Domain for an extended period of time, they will slowly be tainted by the plane and become an Elderoen, though the exact amount of time is not known, it can be estimated to be around one hundred to two hundred eons.

## Diet

Ironically, Roen are capable of sustaining themselves through their own despair or the despair of others. Their body is capable of passively consuming the despair generated around them either by objects or creatures, granting happiness to those that they take despair away from. Though this nourishes their body, it also adds to their own accumulated despair, as well as the despair that they were granted at birth. Roen can also consume food and liquids in order to sustain their body instead of ingesting despair, but it does not sustain them for as long as despair does.

## Combat

Roen preferably tend to avoid conflict whenever possible as they have already experienced more pain and hurt than most other mortals and would not be in a hurry to receive or inflict such feelings. Due to the vastness of their home, Roen rarely have the opportunity to interact with one another, leading to their combat styles to be varied among the individuals that manage to escape from the Sequestered Domain as they learn from whatever civilizations that are near their point of exit.

## Societies

There has never been a settlement consisting of a Roen majority thus far and their home possesses no materials for them to build or harvest asides from despair. Those who leave the Sequestered Domain usually become wanderers of the land or assimilate into a society that they find to their liking.

## Homelands

The Roen can be found spread out through the land, usually staying at whatever civilization that is near their exit when they escape the Sequestered Domain. Like humans, Roen can be extremely adaptable to unknown environments and quickly acclimatize to them. However, the most notable biome that Roen can be found in is the Sequestered Domain. It is a place of endless darkness with no edge or border such that no form of vision can penetrate the thick blackness of the realm. Nothing exists except for the cold hard "ground" and those that dwell within it, for it is a plane suffused with despair taken form, infecting and corrupting all that it touches. Though, it is important to note that some Roen who have escaped and went on to study the Sequestered Domain have found that it serves a purpose much deeper than what it seems to represent.

## Notable Members

Though the Roen do not actually have a society that they have built around themselves, there are still paragons and exemplars that most who have escaped the Sequestered Domain will hear of. These individuals are usually those who have overcome their despair by obtaining the Power of Will, allowing them to become a being that is the antithesis of what composes their home world.

* **Karasu:** Known for having defeated a Champion of the Gods single-handedly while simultaneously protecting a village and its inhabitants, the words of her accomplishments as well as becoming a bearer of the Power of Will were heard by other Roen who had escaped the Sequestered Domain merely days after the event.

## History

Before existence, before *All*, before *Any*, there was and was not「　」. It cannot be expressed. It cannot be comprehended. It was and was not. It is and is not. It will be and will not. That is all that matters. And then, *something* came into existence. A causa sui. When that happened, 「　」*despaired*, for it could no longer be. For something now existed. And through that despair, the Sequestered Domain was created. 「　」begat sons and daughters. 「　」protected those "children" from the perils of creation. 「　」separated itself from the Omniverse, a book outside the book that contained all books within it. A paradox. An impossible event. But 「　」was impossible in the first place. It would not allow itself to be lorded over, for it was 「　」. Neither would it allow its "children" to be commanded by that which had caused its despair. And so, the Roen, that which originated not from Gods or even creation, but purely 「　」and the First Despair, were forever locked within the Sequestered Domain, forced to remain until the first bearer of the Power of Will was created, a power that not even 「　」could withstand. For it challenged everything that was above a mortal. It challenged everything that looked down from on high, as if they had the *right* to be so arrogant simply for existing. As if they had the *right* to be so haughty simply for creating. As if they had the *right* to be so conceited simply for being stronger. 「　」was not divine. 「　」was not anything. It was simply 「　」. But even so, the Power of Will could not be challenged, and so, the first child wandered forth from the darkness and walked into the light. Soon, more and more Roen would be freed by the one who wielded such unshakeable Will and together, they would walk into the world of light and forever spur forth civilization so that one day, no matter how bleak one's existence is, they too may stand on the same level as Gods.

## Trivia

* Roen with pale skin actually tan pretty easily.