Monsters

Kotori

Solis

Five

**Monsters** are one of four main races in *Oceanfalls,* signified by the suit of spades and associated with the color red.

They are physically distinct from Humans and Winged due to their bright red eyes and the singular white horn atop their heads.

As of current events, the people live under the rule of Prince Suvillan IV, with their territory covering the western portion of the Midworld.

Monsters are the average population number and the middle lifespan between the 3 main races. though there are many more humans than monsters, and all sides are aware of it.

## Racial Features

### **Physical Aspects**

Monsters, unlike most other races, have a singular white horn protruding from the crown of the head. Usually a horn is straight, but they can also come in a variety of shapes, often being inherited from one or the other parent. Monsters however do not know much about this, and conclude it on genetics without checking the specifics. Individuals with unique horns that diverge more from the average straight shape are considered to be more attractive. Carving one's horn in the shape of the royal family's is prohibited.

Their eye colors are composed entirely of various shades of red, ranging anywhere from a pale red to a faded brandy color. Monsters also have a large variety of natural hair colors, including those that would be considered unnatural in humans, such as blue or green.

Monsters are usually born with prominent fangs. In fact, it is uncommon for an individual to lack fangs, and is often considered to be an unattractive birth defect. However, this can sometimes be surprisingly useful. Both fangs and horns mark physical attractiveness to monsters.

Monsters have the second longest lifespan of the three races, being able to live up to 300 years.

### **Hardening**

Monsters are able to either transform or harden parts of their bodies, causing the affected areas to turn black. Most commonly this is shown in the form of black claws, but can be applied to other parts of the body as well.

This hardening appears to be a somewhat instinctual response to a monster's emotions, though it can be evoked willingly if needed.

Interestingly, there appears to be a disease called claw decay which can be treated using the natural pigment of a red tulip.

In all situations, a monster will rely first and foremost on their claws as a natural weapon before turning to any handmade tools. It works well because due to their claws recovering from any injuries naturally, so monsters who've had their claws damaged can simply wait out for the damage to heal with time. (Or seek a bit of medical help to speed the process up.) The only time claws are totally unusable is if their entire lower arm was chopped off, thus making it impossible for it to naturally heal. They only use weaponry when necessary. Such cases include when their claws are temporarily unusable, or if whatever task they want to accomplish requires certain weapons to be done. During the wars, monsters have had to rely on weapons besides their claws a lot. In their eyes, it makes a monster weak to rely \*first\* on tools rather than make use of what they naturally have. That's a very human thing to do. Kotori's use of her spear is odd for this reason.

### **Abilities**

It is stated in a random book found in the Red Tulip Town library as well as in the Rigmarole of Oshen that monsters develop more powerful abilities than humans, but weaker abilities than the winged. Like humans, monsters can only have one ability - that being said, apparently they "may push their abilities to the harshest boundaries and recover faster than any other race afterwards."

Monsters usually prefer combat out of the three species.

## Geography

The Monster World is divided into four regions based on climate, which are overseen by their respective regional lords.

### Akkarmara

The region of Akkarmara is represented by a red crescent moon and is currently governed by Regional Lord Misha. It is divided into two portions: a large strip that lies south of Hyouga, and another portion that covers the northern portion of the Monster World.

Akkarmara is chilly and covered in dense forest. Due to the high concentration of spirits, wolfhounds, and other dangerous illusions in the region, it remains the most sparsely populated area in the Monster World, with only a few small settlements scattered throughout. Travelers are generally advised to be wary when traversing its roads.

Red Tulip Town, the Execution Cenote, and a sizable portion of the Forest of Illusions are are all located in southern Akkarmara.

### Niyran

The region of Niyran is represented by a five-pronged sun and is currently governed by Regional Lord Marisol. It covers much of the southern portion of the Monster World.

Niyran is a harsh region covered in scorching desert. It is famed both for the large numbers of historical sites buried beneath the sands and the reliability of its lords toward monster royalty. Due to its relative distance from the capital, Niyran also hosts a large network of underground tunnels connecting it to key locations across the Monster World. These passages remain a closely held secret however, known only to the Regional Lords and their retinue.

Both Buried Oasis and the Firefly Temple are located in Niyran.

### Hyouga

The Hyouga Quarter is represented by a diamond-like snowflake and is currently governed by Regional Lord Oyuki. It is comprised of a v-shaped area surrounding Ryuuen and sandwiched between the northern and southern portions of Akkarmara.

Hyouga is a snowy region known for its abundance of crystal caves. Similar to Akkarmara, it has a high frequency of spirits and rimehounds, though it is generally much safer to traverse. Due to the amount of caves in the region, it is a common source of stock for gem dealers across the Monster World.

The Cavern of Illusions is located in the south of Hyouga.

### Ryuuen

The region of Ryuuen is represented by a green leaf and is currently governed by Regional Lord Subaru. It is comprised of a small triangular area surrounded by the lands of Hyouga.

Ryuuen is a lush region with swampy terrain. Unlike the rest of the Monster World, it boasts an abundance of greenery, and has likely been chosen as the location of the capital for this reason. As a result, Ryuuen is commonly referred to as the Royal Marshes.

The palace of the royal family, also known as the Garnet Tower, is located in Ryuuen.

## History

     Long before the events of the comic, the first celestial Queen allowed monsters and humans to share the Midworld together, and split it into two halves. This ended in tragedy. The two races hold such a powerful hatred for each other, that they have warred on and on since their creation.

However, in the year 4513, thanks to a compromise between the late monster prince Suvillan Eious III and human princess Ruta Sapindale, a peace treaty between the two races was made for the first time in one hundred years.

For a decade, there was peace. During this time, monsters and humans were allowed to travel between each other's worlds, live in the company of the opposing race, and even cooperate in improving the welfare of the other nation.

Sadly this would not last, and the two races were thrown into a conflict so terrible, that not even the winged could intervene. A great war erupted between monsters and humans, that took the lives of many. The fighting was so great that, fearing for the stability of her people should she die, the Princess Ruta secretly passed the throne onto her son Ruit, in spite of the fact that he was not yet of age. Shortly after, she was killed at the hands of Suvillan III.

Only after the Lady Oshen murdered Prince Suvillan III was the strife brought to an end. With the last of her power, Oshen used her ability to create an impenetrable barrier between the monster and human worlds, as well as enveloping both worlds in a magical dome that separated them from the winged. Though she was successful, the warrior did not survive.

After the war, the monster world was left ravaged, and it looked like they would never recover. Unlike Princess Ruta, Prince Suvillan III did not pass the throne to his son before he died, so his realm was left unstable and fell to ruin as a result. This loss was so heavy on the monsters that they were considered to be the losing side and some historians wondered if the humans could've wiped them all out if the divide wasn't formed.

Their only salvation is credited to the ascension of their newest prince, Suvillan IV. Under his reign, the monster world was ushered into a new age. The monster world was rebuilt, and the new prince declared to his citizens that "You will not be harmed again." Any humans still trapped in the monster world were sentenced to death. The events of *Oceanfalls* take place a few years after this latest war, after the monster world has already been rebuilt, and most humans left on the monster side were subject to ritualistic slaughter.

## Society

### **Technology**

Though not overly shown, monster technology is notably behind that of humankind. This is to the point that Aria, having lived in the monster world her entire life, is utterly boggled by the human world's holographic projections and smartphones, however, it is implied that they have a way to locate humans based on how powerful the respective human is, shown by Suvillan talking about a powerful human when Nino arrives, while Aria has lived in the monster world her entire life and has gone unnoticed. It is currently unknown how it exactly functions.

## Culture

Monsters can do some carving of their horns, but it's an odd trend of fashion to carve and/or pierce horns, monsters who do it are the equivalent of human goths in the monster world. Modifying their horns in any way in general is seen negatively and like a statement of rebellion against social norms, hence the goth comparison. Lacking a horn is a big mark of shame. Any monsters who have lost a horn in an accident or were never born with them usually cover their head up just for that reason. Also, asking about their horns is considered very rude unless it's someone they're very affectionate with, and thus do not mind discussing touchy subjects with.

Diamonds and Spades, or the symbols of the opposing side, by themselves mean nothing. A small ornament may simply raise some eyebrows, but a full-blown masquerade will get you in trouble with authority. By themselves, diamonds aren't always a negative symbol for monsters and vise versa with spades for humans - it's only when they're used to represent the respective enemy's world that they become a weighty thing. Expressing any idea of accepting the opposing side as a human or as a monster is ***Very*** dangerous. There's some people on both sides who disapprove of the conflicts, but they keep it to themselves because they know it's safer to play along. There's definitely been killings of people whose crime was simply being sympathetic towards their enemy as well. The laws and history of both sides demands that everyone be wary of the enemy, etc etc. No room for an argument about it or you get thrown into prison for daring to speak up, or worse, be made an example of via execution.

Love between humans and monsters is possible. It's the purest form of forbidden interactions there is for both sides, just because of their ethics and rules that demand intense hatred for one another. Somewhere in their worlds, unsung stories of romanticized "forbidden love" exist as a secret guilty reading material. All that aside, speaking from a technical standpoint, it is possible for them to fall in love. And again from that standpoint, there is nothing inherently wrong with it. The involved parties just wouldn't be able to carry on their bloodlines. But nobody in power cares for these technical aspects. It all doesn't matter, because the way things are, it's all about hating your enemy there.

The Monster world's music is more "honest", because it depends on real instruments and is recorded in real-time, in contrast to the humans which often use technology to enhance music, though they both produce similar ratios of "bad-to-good" music in the end, however. Humans also have celebrity singers, while Monsters think of gaining fame for simply having a good voice to be a foolish idea.

Monsters count age including in the womb, so a 23 year old in human years would be 24 years old in monster years. Monsters count a newborn as already one year old, because they count the whole period of gestation into the age, and also because their gestation is 12 months long unlike humans (9 months.) Monster babies are born more developed than human babies due to the longer gestation period as well.

Monsters have their exclusive sports that include horns and claws.

They have no aversion to drinking blood, unlike Humans, though only for cultural purposes.