Darkbane

A battle-horde of Darkbane.

Pale Ones

Enhanced Hearing

## Introduction

 The Darkbane are a sub-class of demons, entrapped in the Deep Caverns of Hellas. The original Darkbane were banished to the uninhabited and deepest parts of Hellas as punishment for dabbling in the arts of treachery against every other demon and other evil being present. The Bane are distinguishable by ghostly white skin, red pupils with a black sclera, and typically a distrust or disgust towards humans. Darkbane are created in the Draught of Lifeblood.

 The Bane have a hierarchy in place, with ranks in the "society" determined by sheer brutality or totalitarianism, and the same is in place for the militarized portion of this race of demon. The Bane have previously been at war with the Alliance, pre-New Generation (when the Red-Cloud and other parts were in place). The Alliance-since it is still standing-won against the Bane, driving them back to their realm with crushing force. Some of the Bane survived and chose to live their lives in the Deep Caverns, or make their new home on the "Earthly Plane".

## Biology

The Darkbane are humanois lifeforms whose demonic origins are entailed by their ghastly white skin, pin-prick like red pupils surrounded by black sclera, the curved horns protruding from their foreheads, and their grotesque amount of muscle mass.

The height of a Bane can vary wildly, with specimens ranging from as small as 5 feet tall to as massive as 20 feet tall. This, of course, is dependent on the species they originate from, as a large portion of Darkbane are in actuality revived souls from other species.

Those revived from other species will generally keep the major biological traits from their past life - i.e., humans tend not to be as grotesquely malformed as pure blooded Darkbanes when resurrected. However, they will always have the signature white skin, red-and-black eyes and large hornes of the Bane.

## Society

The Darkbane's governmental system is an absolute totalitarianism, and governs the lower class with harsh treatment with the claims it will "train the fledglings to become baneish". The highest rank, known as "The Scorned King", is held by an unknown Bane, and governs all other ruling bodies with prejudice. The King has full impunity for almost all actions, in legal terms at least. The other governing bodies, known as the Council of Riptors, the Council of Xephyrs, and the Council of the One are the second highest ranking governing bodies, and they each control parts of the Deep Caverns territories. These seem to be only figureheads, as they have no real power in governmental decision, yet they are all quite powerful foes in combat, and hold semi-impunity due to their standing.

Regular Baneish society-those who are not of military power or governmental authority-is quite difficult, as most people are defined by their terror-inflicting capacity. Darkbane partake in the awful activites of the Deep Caverns, whether that be defending their home from wildlife, or doing menial tasks to assist the higher powers of the Darkbane.

## Military

The militarized portion of Baneish society consists of a commander known as "The One" who has almost the exact same standing in Baneish society as the Scorned King. The One holds the position in the Council of the One as the single standing member, and passes the mantle down either via internment, or due to a death in battle. The One governs five commanders known as The True Sins, and their names and prowess are still unknown. The True Sins then control the rest of the officers of the Baneish Army, and the chain of command ends with the basic grunt soldier.

The Military has different variation of soldiers, being the Xephyrs, Riptors, and the Witch Covens.

### Riptors

The Riptors are a cynical and sadistic part of the military, being raised to be fighters and marauders from birth, and are intended to be able to murder without remorse, and do so efficiently. The Riptors generally have their skin dyed with blood in a ritualistic manner, and are generally clad in dark clothes with the feathers of unholy beings sewn in, signifying their place as a bird of prey to anyone who crosses their paths. The Riptors have a counterpart however, known as the Xephyrs.

### Xephyrs

Xephyrs are raised to be the soul collecting and manipulating individuals of Baneish Military, which allows them to create new soldiers from the ones they slay. The Xephyrs generally are intellectual, raised at an age where they are prone to suggestions, and are always clothed in hoods and robes, like old grave keepers.

### Witch Covens

The final portion of the Military is the Witch Covens, which are groups of-usually female-Darkbane that ride on the backs of Banshees. There are many variants of the Covens, and they all have different traits to signify what Coven a witch belongs to. Usually a Witch is birthed and then subject to finding a Young Banshee on their own, even if resulting in their own death. They are required to bond with the Banshee, and are the aerial force of the Military. All the Covens, however different they are, share one consistent trait, being the hatred of one another.

## Earthen Darkbane

After the Alliance and Darkbane had battled, and with the Bane pushed back into their realm, some Bane stayed behind on the Earthly Plane to go about lives of their own, whether it be joining the Alliance, or living on their own in seclusion. The Earthen Bane primairily went into hiding and were left to themselves up until recent times, where most of the Earthen Bane joined the Alliance to battle. With Darkbane staying on the Earthly Plane, eventually human and bane relationships formed to spark the creation of Half-Bane.

## Malformed Darkbane

The Darkbane, as with every race, have chances to create members of their race that are disfigured or psychologically dysfunctional. The Malformed Darkbane are one such case, being Darkbane who's creation in the Draught of Lifeblood was skewed, thus causing them to have birth defects. These defects could be physical or psychological, and the Malformed are often slain or put to work in slave labor. Those who survive the scrutiny and pass for a Darkbane are often reprimanded significantly or are extremely brash-even for Baneish standards-in their judgments. Malformed Darkbane, however, are also said to be some of the most powerful due to their drive against the totalitarian government's standard for their kind, often training for ages on end in order to gain ultimate strength and prove their prosecutors wrong.

## Powers and Abilities

> *"What the hell is up with these guys? They're making Alliance soldiers look like toddlers."*
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**Darkbane Physiology:** As a race that has had to endure some of the harshest conditions in the cosmos, the Darkbane have adapted and gained an incredible degree of strength, endurance and speed far beyond any human - in general, they possess some of the greatest physical strength of any race. Additionally, they possess greatly enhanced senses due to the darkness of the Deep Caverns, their eyes able to see through pitch black as if it was broad daylight and their ears able to pick up the faintest of noises.

**Fear-Inducing Aura:** Every Bane possesses an aura that can induce fear within foes around their general vicinity. Depending on how powerful the Bane in question is, this can vary from sending a slight tingle up one's spine to causing them to completely breakdown under the pressure of the aura.