Wildling (Species)

*“With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to the truth...that man is not truly one, but truly two.”*
― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A **Wildling**, also known as a Hydeling or just a Hyde for short, is a supernatural creature that manifests as a sort of thoughtform id-manifestation.

The personified dark side of an individual, Wildlings are violent, lecherous, territorial, lustful and impulsive, taking whatever they want, whenever they want. They are self creatures who care only for their own enjoyment, pleasure and survival.

## History

The history of the Wildling race can be traced back to 1879, with the work of chemist Dr. Henry Jekyll. These events were loosely described in the novel *The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde* by Robert Louis Stevenson, but the author took many liberties to create a cleaner narrative.

In truth, Jekyll was a Witch who was studying the human mind in the hopes of discovering the secrets of mankind's darker urges. For reasons he never completely explained, Jekyll used his magic to create a **potion** that unleashed his dark side. Thus was created Edward Hyde--a handsome, charming, debaucherous man that exuded pure evil and carried out all of the darker impulses of Dr. Jekyll. Over time, Jekyll continued to refine the potion until the effect became semi-permanent; Jekyll would, against his will, occasionally lose control of his body and become the abominable Mr. Hyde, who would in turn carry out unspeakable acts for little more than to make Jekyll's life difficult. The two battled for years until both Jekyll and Hyde were eventually killed in a mysterious lab fire.

While supernatural scholars would like to have more information, that's all that was recovered from Jekyll's journals. That would have been the end of that, except for a few things. The first is that the pair survived the fire and relocated to Paris before falling off the grid entirely. Second, Hyde was prolific in his promiscuity, siring dozens of children around Europe. These children, the ones conceived from Mr. Hyde, inherited the condition and his abilities.

## Habitat

Wildlings tend to be found around Western Europe, but one or two have been found in the United States, South Africa and Canada, as well.

### Diet

Wildlings eat all food a human can eat, except they tend to focus on junk food, alcohol; anything pleasurable and terrible for you. Some Wildlings participate in cannibalism, but this doesn't appear to be a requirement; it's more of a choice a specific Wildling makes.

## Breeding

A Wildling can breed in either personality, but the curse is only passed on to children conceived when the Wildling parent was in their Dark state.

## Nature & Psychology

Wildlings are creatures of pure id, desire and impulse. They are cruel, sadistic and selfish, partaking in something only if it benefits itself. They possess no love, only a sense of entitlement and obsession. In all, a Wildling represents the darkest, wildest and most evil aspects of a human's psyche.

It should be noted, however, that while they are technically a thoughtform id-manifestation, they are a separate personality and mind from the human. They have their own tastes, thoughts, opinions, preferences, et cetera. They also choose a different name from the human. Most Id-manifestations hold a certain disregard and resentment for the human side, often doing things with the specific purpose of hurting them.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

The novel describes the original Mr. Hyde as "pale and dwarfish" but this was an artistic embellishment by the author and is actually quite far from the truth. The Id-form of a Wildling tends to be considered attractive, alluring and possessing a certain flare of danger that most find irresistible. This charm enables them to more easily seduce pretty young things.

### Powers & Abilities

An unusual quality in Wildlings is that their supernatural abilities only manifest when the Id-form is in control.

* **Electronic Interference:** The presence of a Wildling tends to disrupt electronics, making lights flicker, radios go staticky, et cetera.
* **Enhanced Durability:** These creatures are able to shrug off injuries that would seriously injure a regular human.
* **Enhanced Senses:** The senses of a Wildling are extremely acute; they can see twice as far as a human in conditions of dim light and they have canine-like hearing.
* **Enhanced Speed:** Wildlings can run at speeds that exceed 50 mph.
* **Enhanced Strength:** The Wildling is extremely powerful, nearing the Werewolf in terms of straight-up power.
* **Charming Aura:** The Wildling puts off an aura that calms others and lowers inhibitions, making them relax and more likely to go along with his suggestions. Others tend to regard the Wildling as friends, even if they've never met him before.
* **Magic Resistance:** Wildlings are extremely resistant to magic. It takes a witch or mage of considerable power to overcome a Wildling's magical resistance.
* **Regeneration:** Wildlings recover from injury extremely quickly, healing from crippling damage in seconds, as opposed to weeks or more. This regeneration is enough to re-grow lost body parts or organs, with the exception of the head and heart.
* **Supernatural Sight:** The emergence of the Id-form brings the ability to "see through the veil" to both the Id-form and the human.
* **Telepathy:** Wildlings are capable of detecting the thoughts of others, though they cannot communicate back.

### Weaknesses

* **Daylight:** A Wildling cannot exist during the day. Sunlight will instantly cause the Wildling to revert back to the human personality.
* **Decapitation:** Removal of the head will instantly kill a Wildling.
* **Electricity:** Lightning and electricity can harm a Wildling, slowing its regeneration temporarily.
* **Poison:** Despite their strength, Wildlings are still somewhat vulnerable to poisons. They cannot be killed with them but they can temporarily slow them down and incapacitate them.
* **Heart Extraction:** Ripping a Wildling's heart from their chest will instantly kill it.
* **Hunter's Knife:** These knives, which can kill almost anything, can kill a Wildling.
* **Vervain:** This rare herb burns the skin of a Wildling who touches it. Those who possess vervain are immune to their charming aura.