Vrool

The spawn of Klaarungraxus...

### Notable abilities

Extraordinary strength and resilience, highly regenerative, decentralized nervous-system, biological immortality, and full sapience.

## Summary

More so than any other creation of Klaarungraxus, the Vrool are without a doubt his magnum opus. Created among the initial life spawned by the God of Oceans during the raising of the Great Ocean, the Vrool were made as predators at the top of the aquatic food chain alongside the deadly deep drakes. Despite the efforts heaped upon their kind by their creator, their lack of intelligence formed a resounding disdain in their species in the Old Growth Below. Sapience was finally granted upon them as a path by which Klaarungraxus could circumvent the dread he felt for his perceived demise or removal from the corporeal plane of Galbar.

## Biology and Anatomy

Vrool are, in many ways, the natural mirror of Klaarungraxus as they were intentionally created in his own image. Cephalopodal by design, vrool are categorized as duodecapods due to their twelve limbs. This design provides for eight locomotive limbs and four manipulator limbs separated into vertical and forward facing positions respectively. These limbs contain dense nerve-clusters that act as highly simplified nervous systems, providing for a decentralized intelligence separate from the main brain. In nature, this creates the perception that each tentacle when not in active use by the primary brain operates with a mind of its own, interacting with and studying the environment around it for neural stimulation. In addition to this, the decentralized nervous system assists in regenerative tasks such as regrowing entire limbs; this ability to regenerate, however, is limited to muscular structures and cannot regenerate non-muscular internal organs.

Vrool sensory organs are highly developed with a considerably enhanced sense of sight, smell, and hearing creating for a strong predatory advantage. Although lacking the vents present in other mundane cephalopods that allow for rapid jets of water for quick propulsion, their powerful tentacles allow for similarly swift movement, particularly in the confines of reefs and similarly dense environments.

Due to their exothermic heating regulation and subsequent cold-blooded cardiovascular system, Vrool has not adapted noticeably well to their gifted sapience. Though excellent problem solvers given time and prone to bouts of near obsessive curiosity, unless warmed to optimum levels the Vrool are prone to slow witted behavior. Their decentralized intelligence circumvents this somewhat as the tentacle-minds are capable of acting somewhat intelligently for the total whole of the organism.

Perhaps most notable of all their qualities, beyond their decentralized intelligence, incredibly hunting skills, and even their sapience is their biological immortality (also known as bio-indefinite mortality). On a biological level, this highly reduces and in most cases even negates the negative consequences of aging. Vrool, due to their regenerative nature, will continue to grow throughout their entire lives and will almost never die of old age. Nevertheless, this biological immortality cannot ignore the realities of biological organisms; vrool may be killed by normal, mundane means and can even die of aging in cases of biological disorders failing to regenerate their cells in a normal fashion.

Vrool reproduce asexually, with all vrool baring both sexual organs necessary for reproduction. In bonded reproductive pairs, one vrool takes up the role of male and the other female; this is often based on which is largest and more physical of the pair. vrool naturally produce clutches of eggs that are laid in safe, secluded caverns, crevasses, or other enclosed areas. Vrool are born from clutch fully active and predatory. During this time in their development the vrool have no level of sentience and, in fact, have yet to grow a fully developed nervous system. Vrool spawn, in this sense, can be described as living maws that exist entirely to feed. A spawn consists of the beak, which will grow consistently throughout its life, a mostly fully formed digestive and cardiovascular system, and all twelve limbs alongside the neural tissue within. In natural spawnings, these vrool spawn will actively cannibalize as many of their clutchmates as possible as a natural incentive towards increased odds of survival among the clutch.

## History

### Creation

The Vrool were created at the outset of the world, when Klaarungraxus was first filling the Great Ocean with extraordinary life. At the time of their creation, the God of Oceans felt little to no connection to the species as a whole. For the earliest period of their existence, vrool existed as obligate predators in the Great Oceans, living primarily solitary lives as one of the apex-predator species of the seas of Galbar.

Klaarungraxus admitted to a perception of failure as their creation, having set out originally to make them mirrors of himself. The realization of their abject inferiority due to a lack of sapience similar to his own created a sense of disdain in the God for his own creations.

### Ascension to Sapience

Upon receiving awareness of a potential future where his presence on Galbar was ended, either through his death or hypothetical removal from the plane, Klaarungraxus sought out a solution to the dread fate of being forgotten. Front-Right Down-One, one of the numerous tentacle-minds of Klaarungraxus, presented the uplifting of the vool species as a potential option.

Acting upon the suggestion of Front-Right Down-One, Klaarungraxus used his considerable powers over life to uplift the entire vrool species inhabiting the Great Ocean. In an instant, all vrool were granted sapience and total self-awareness. With this ascension came the granting of three notable boons provided by the Ocean God as necessary gifts for their use as solutions to the problem of being forgotten.

The first of these gifts was the ability to innately speak Deepspeak, or the Holy Vonu; this would allow for all vrool to communicate with one another, even with their simple grasp of the Ocean's tongue. The next was an inherent, almost obsessive, curiosity to learn. All vrool would from their creation onward be haunted by a continuous desire to explore and understand, although their predatory nature deeply altered the effect of this particular gift. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, all vrool are granted an intrinsic and deep seated knowledge of their creator so that they would, as designed, never forget the Old Growth Below.

### The First Tyrant

During the Primordial Age, a time before time, the first vrool to rise to a state of authority over other vrool occurred. Kaarnesxaturl, a notably large bull vrool, became the first vrool to receive an oath of fealty from another after his defeat of the rival bull Xuxusragruxs. Kaarn's (a shortening of Kaarnesxaturl's Deepspeak name) victory led to the subsequent oath of fealty from the lesser vrool Lurzoolsxagrun, so-called Lurz. The oath, made in blood and spoken in Vonu, is considered the first pact between vrool. Through the act, Kaarnesxaturl ascended to the historied position of first vrool Tyrant and Lurzoolsxagrun, in an equally noteworthy instance, became the first vrool retainer to a superior vrool. Thus began the Vrool Tyranny...

### The Vrool Empire

The First Vrool Empire was the unofficial organization founded by Kaarnesxaturl upon the successful subjugation of all major vrool tyrants across the ocean. A feat accomplished roughly 2,000 years following the disappearance of the gods, the empire is an unstated collective of vrool realms under the nominal authority of the All-Tyrant, Kaarn. Functioning under a highly decentralized pseudo-feudal model, this Empire of Kaarn is anything but unified. Though all the Tyrants of Vo pay tribute in some form or fashion to the All-Tyrant there is no love lost between them and conflict between tyrants is commonplace and encouraged. Although certain unspoken societal rules exist, the vrool have no official laws or means by which to legislate; decrees by Kaarn and the tyrants are the closest form of legal decision making present within the Empire and are inconsistent throughout its expansive borders.

### The Voduun Age

The defining feature of the age post Imperial-founding is the nature of vrool expansionism. Though not prone to claiming above-surface lands, young vrool high-born lower on the ladder of succession often leave their home reefs for more easy pickings. These vrool either go it alone or collect small bands of other, like-minded vrool and occasional akuan followers to journey with them. These vrool, known as Voduun in the Holy Vonu, journey either to distant reefs to dominate lesser vrool and akua communities or turn their attentions to the surface-worlders. Either through piracy or direct surface raids, these voduun amass wealth and power for themselves through their own actions or even as mercenaries for hire to surface lords unscrupulous enough to pay their wages.

## Culture and Society

### **Culture**

#### Primordial Age

Vrool culture, in the primordial periods of their history, was typified by a focus on domination. As expected from their position on the foodchain, vrool are naturally prone to solitary lifestyles even after their ascension to sapient life. In these early days, before time was reckoned and words were written, vrool lived alone and staked out large territories for themselves in the teeming waters of Galbar's oceans. Culture, thusly, was built brick by brick from individual interactions as norms were forged through the heat of first contact with their own species.

In this primordial age, Vrool culture was simple and brutish. When vrool were born or, in some cases, granted sapience they heard the ocean speak a true Deepspeak name for them to carry with them always. As such, these were qualities of great import and were shared with other vrool as a marker of their identity. Vrool were naturally self-serving and egotistical, prone to perceiving other vrool as less than them in some capacity. As the first vrool began to accept each other, these earliest groupings were both temporary and limited to breeding pairs or fleeting moments of behavior meant to benefit both parties.

#### Voduun Age

The Voduun Age, sometimes referred to as the First Empire, was the first point in which the vrool as a race were consistently pulled from the doldrums of the Primordial Age. Vroolish culture thrived during this period, greatly increasing in complexity due to proximity and frequency of surface world trade and interactions. Much of vrool culture was formed around this newfound awareness of the likes and interests of the surface. Through piracy, travel-tithes, and mercenary work, all manner of surface goods filtered down into the ocean's depths to increase the material culture of the vrool. A simple rule of thumb among the vrool is, if the warm-bloods like it, then the vrool must have it. Alcohol, particularly Sancta Civitas wines and Reshut sake, became a particular favorite during the period.

### **Society**

#### Primordial Age

Vrool society, by their very nature, was highly hierarchical. The very first vrool society, founded by the first known vrool tyrant Kaarnesxaturl, was one of complete domination of a group of vrool by a single ruler. Within this hierarchy of power, the tyrant had complete authority and power granted to them by dint of immense size, ruthless cunning, and a higher willingness to commit violence at the risk of their own health than other vrool. Within this fledgeling society, lesser individuals jockied with one another for position within the linear hierarchy underneath the tyrant.

Though small, these types of band-sized societies began to form across the Great Ocean of Galbar wherever vrool life thronged dense enough. Petty tyrants, slowly but surely, brought other vrool into their service as the species' inborn tendencies towards self-aggrandizing conquests became painfully evident.

#### Voduun Age

During the partial centralization experienced during the Imperialization period of the vrool realms under Kaarnesxaturl, the exact system of tyranny developed by Kaarn was exported across the ocean. Though separate, distinct tyrannical models had been in place across the Vo underneath all manner of vrool tyrants, it was the model of rulership spearheaded by the All-Tyrant that became most common. The previous bands were solidified into the closest things to nation-states possible within vrool society and the hierarchy of authority was indirectly codified. A clear stratification between high-born and low-born vrool formed involving birth-rituals, hunting rights, and other similar rights and freedoms afforded to the two vrool birth-classes.

In addition to the growth and empowerment of the tyrant-class, the Warlocks and their covens grew exponentially during this period. Afforded a great deal of freedoms due to their grasp of sorcery and mana, the Warlocks entered a niche position held primarily by priests and clerics of other cultures. With this class defined, a system of three distinct classes was formed.

## Noteworthy Vrool

### The House of Kaarn

* Kaarnesxaturl, All-Tyrant of Aopoa
* Kremmesxaturl, Thirteenth Spawn of Kaarn
* Twelve unnamed spawn
* Rawg, Retainer to Kaarn

## Vrool Realms

### Imperial Holdings

* Aopoa
* Uovou
* Korok