Fleshcrafting

## Introduction

Fleshcrafting a form of dark magic based on the corruption and manipulation of Bornenergy. It is practiced by Valachai and their Vitches. It represents the forbidden completion of the arts of Bornweaving and allows a Fleshcrafter to alter the form of a living being to any desired shape, even molding flesh and bones together.

## History

According to the Valian legend, the art of Fleshcrafting was born when a group of starving Soothsayers discorved to body of a dead god deep in the mountains of Vale. In their desperation they began to feed upon the fallen creators remain until the cestial meat send them into a feeding frenzy. Overeat and swollen, they birthed the Scereba that bursted from their bellies. Since that day, these creatures spread and corrupted the lands of men, lead by the Abhorrent King.

## Powers

Fleshcrafting is not a regular form of magic. Unlike other paths it does not rely on a understanding of the Five Elements and can be practiced by casters without extremly low magical potential or comprehension. It is used through a Fleshcrafters hands in direct contact with their target. Through force of will they are able to alter their own form aswell, a process many Vitches hesitate to proceed due to the imense pain. Although it is possible to use fleshcrafting like other forms of magic, this requires a very deep understanding of this art aswell as the secrets of spellcraft. Those that master this ability can craft flesh across larger distance, not relying on their hands work but their mere presence.

### Effects

Fleshcrafting is widely considered the most terrible thing one can inflict upon a thinking being. Altering the flesh, skin and bones of a victim equals a surgery without anesthesia, something in of itself capable of scarring ones mind forever. Despite this, the touch of a Fleshcrafter conveys a terrible feeling to any regular being. Being altered in this way is deeply disturbing and unnatural. Every pure lifeform will instantly recognise that the creature that has layed its hands upon their skin has breached a barrier that no one should even come close to, and that through this procedure they will be dragged down in the same darkness. It is often enough for a fleshcrafter to simply touch a victim and their their powers flow through them to cause horror as adrenalin begins to rush through their veines. Transforming a human without any form of narcosis is perhabs to most terrible form of torture one can inflict; breaking all but the most strong willed.

### Becoming a Fleshcrafter

In order to become a Vitch, one must have studied the arts of Bornweaving. Those who are familiar with the Borns concept and power are able to unlock powers in others and themselfes regular people have no acess to. Fleshcrafting is an ability that every sentient lifeform holds deep in their inside as it represents the true potential of the Born, held by no restrain or boundaries. This is essentialy a fragment of pure creation, one the Primordial Gods used to create life and one they sealed deep in the Born. Fleshcrafters often describe the final step necessairy to unlock their powers like breaching a barrier hidden deep in the Born that rushed through their veines. This can be achieved through meditation, experiments or studies. Once a Bornweaver has gathered the necessairy understanding of their subject, they may attempt to breach this final barrier, sealing them from their true potential. It takes immense amounts of willpower and emotion to do so and results in a form of stroke that sends spasms across the Fleshcrafters body as new knowledge streams into their mind and flesh. Breaching this barrier means altering ones Born into a form that utterly destroys the kinship to their former race. Fleshcrafters can not degenerate into Ghuls and they pass on their twisted gift to all that share their Bornwater such as children. This first step does not suffice to create a fully fletched Vitch or Valachai however. It simply unlocks the desire power and corruption that will now begin to infect the breachers body like a sickness. From that day on their very Born is not natural anymore. It does not represent the power of the Fleshcrafters people but an elixir that is twisted to represent a Fleshcrafters persona, making them the most individual beings by very definition as no one can copy their essence.

Ghuls and their Mutators are very different in that regard. A Ghul can not simply become a Fleshcrafter as their Born is either lost or rundown and twisted. Mutators manage a similar breach with the substance that obtains their deviant mind that allows them to alter their fellow Unkin. It is more limited then Fleshcrafting as it is tied to Ghulflesh only and bound to the concept of mutation and degeneration rather then creation itself.