Homo sariens

Homo sariens are the predecessors of the homo sapiens in the Age of Gezo. They are a type of living beings whose diastolic pressure brings their hearts to the right side of their chests. They do not possess the gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior and the soleus muscles in their legs. Rather, they have an amphibious form of muscles akin to a frog's. Their unique physiology leads to them having a fleshy wall behind their eyes as well, separating their brains protectively from their eyes.

One notable factor that homo sariens have is their long lifespan, albeit it comes with its repercussions of their body's degradation. Some homo sariens are known for circumventing these in their own unique ways. There are two types of homo sariens, each one relating to the karmic alignments.

## Differences between Homo Sarien and Homo Sapien

### Manipulation of Chakra vs Mana

Within Illusions of Grandeurs’ timeline, homo sapien derive from homo sarien after a long period of speciation. This is in turn what derives the differences between what they can manipulate. Homo sapiens are trademark for their manipulation of chakra, while homo sariens are trademark for their manipulation of mana.

### Physical Differences

Homo sapiens have three muscles in their shin, the tibialis anterior, the soleus, and the gastrocnemius. At least, these are their major muscles. The homo sarien actually has a different muscle replacing the soleus, and it resembles that of an amphibian’s leg muscle, akin to a frog.

Homo sariens have extra flesh behind their eye sockets as well, so killing them with an eyeshot is far more difficult. However, homo sariens also start to degrade when they age for too long, and even though their lifespans are long, the peak of their physical prowess is reached earlier than a shinobi.

Homo sariens’ hearts are on the opposite side of the body as well, unlike homo sapiens, whose hearts’ diastolic pressure deviates them to curve to the left side of the body, while homo sariens’ curve to the right side of the body.

## Mana

Mana on IoG isn’t some completely foreign concept. It is actually something shinobi on our game are able to manipulate and have been manipulating occasionally, but have only done it with separate practices. Chakra is comprised of spiritual energy and physical energy. Homo sapiens can combine both of these energies into chakra. Homo sariens cannot, and will individually use spiritual energy to fuel their attacks. This comes to have some varying consequences for the two species that manipulate their chakra very differently. When ninjas commonly use spiritual energy, it turns out to become Genjutsu generally, which has ties to necromancy, though is definitely a separate entity. Mana is just spiritual energy and homo sariens are using a primitive form of chakra to fuel their attacks. Due to how primitive it is though, ninjas who are more trained to sense chakra, are unable to really sense the application of mana.

## **Necromancers**

Necromancers are those who've chosen to follow the dark side of the karmic alignment. They're mainly Evil, if not Neutral. These individuals learn how to wield dark mana for their nefarious acts. There are several types of necromancers within the race alone, with each type harnessing their dark mana in unique ways. One common trait among necromancers is that they follow a Dark God of their own choosing, whether it be the Demon Lord of Wrath or Jashin. Each religion comes with its own form of uniqueness, leading to a great versatility among Necromancers. The three main religions are: Satanist, Jashinist and Titanist.

### **Dark Summoners**

One common type of Necromancers is the Dark Summoner. They are individuals who beckon forth demons from the Maosen into their world to do their bidding. These individuals often take a single turn chanting a ritualistic prayer before ripping into the Maosen to bring forth a monstrous abomination. Many Dark Summoners tend to rely entirely on their summons' strength, leading to a weaker overall capabilities. Demons summoned forth by the Dark Summoner tends to be stronger than usual shinobi summons due to the hardships involved in their summoning.

A sub-type of the Dark Summoners is those who've not only chosen to beckon forth demons from the Maosen, but to also bend their bodies into that of a demon. These individuals are called Lycanthropes. A lycanthrope necromancer tends to turn their bodies into that of a demon's through an ability, in doing so, they bolster their physical bodies into monstrous capabilities. Most of the time, a Necromancer lycanthrope has a base form where their bodies are considered half-demons. At a later date, they transmogrify fully, turning them into a full-fledged demon rather than a mere Necromancer. These, however, weakens them considerably against Exorcists.

### **Deathbringer**

Another common type of Necromancers is the Deathbringer. They are individuals who specialize in the physical utilization of the dark mana. They come in two main types: Gravity Manipulator and Soul Reaper.

The Soul Reaper type is a much more common one. They are individuals who have grasped the concepts of weaponizing their very souls. In doing so, they turn their soul into a wielded weapon with the capabilities of stealing others' souls. Each soul that they take empowers their soul weapon and grants them better prowess in terms of combat. Soul Reapers also have the option of affixing their soul weapon to another physical weapon, which empowers their very soul weapon to a greater height. It can only done once, though, which makes it a highly sensitive choice for Soul Reapers. One great weakness of the Soul Reapers is that as they wield their very souls, they place themselves in great danger in doing so.

The Gravity Manipulator type, while rarer, is arguably a fearsome specialization for the Deathbringer. These individuals have the capabilities of manipulating the very force of gravity itself, which can lead to fearsome effects both for their own enemies and allies. These individuals often cause great harm by the simplistic notion of increasing the gravity against their enemies.

### **Curse Specialist**

The third common type of Necromancers is known as the Curse Specialist. These are highly dangerous individuals, mainly due to the fact that their curses are wicked and persistent. Known for hexes and other manipulation of dark energies to forcefully disrupt or alter their opponents, these individuals take the time to chant and unleash havoc upon their foes. Their curses range from irritating and minor ones, to very debilitating and disrupting curses. The greatest fearsome quality that they have is that their curses persist even after combat. The only two common ways of disrupting a Curse Specialist's curse is their death or the assistance of an Exorcist.

Each Curse Specialist derives their curses from the religion that they follow. An easy example of this is a Satanist Curse Specialist basing their curses around the Seven Deadly Sins.

### **Dark Specialist**

The fourth and final common type of Necromancers is known as the Dark Specialist. These are individuals that mainly manipulate their dark mana to cast spells and make use of it in its rawest and basest form. Spells cast by these individuals mainly have an immediate effect, unlike Curse Specialists. Some known spells are Hellfire Dart and Kosen. These individuals also have an easier time in entering the Maosen, if only due to their familiarity with the very manipulation of dark mana itself.

## **Priests**

Existing as the Necromancer's anathema is the Priest. They are individuals who have chosen to follow the pious and religious alignment of the light side. They are often Good if not Neutral in the karmic alignment nature. Similar to the Necromancers, Priests come with several specializations and professions that directly contrasts the dark side. Their skillsets are mainly derived from the religion that they follow. The three main religions for priests are: Christianity, Buddhism and Roman.