The Forgotten

“In this world there are places, dark, unknown places deep below the earth, timeless, twisted, shards of times and places that never existed. In these places time shifts and changes, in these places one can see the history of a world that is not our own, and it is from these places they have arisen”

- Theodor Tyler, The Forgotten

History/Origin
There are places in this world, dark, mysterious places, places where most beings do not tread. In these places, time fractures and twists. Time does not go from A, to B, and then to C. It goes from A, to X, then to D, and around to P, before finally reaching B. It has no clear course, and doubles back on itself in a confusing mess. Within these places, however, a race has arisen. They are The Forgotten, beings who exist in this world, and yet exist in another reality entirely. These creatures refer to themselves as undead, and some being known as ‘hollow’ however that term is used for the lowest of their society due to their near complete loss of self and imminent leap into insanity. The Forgotten absorb souls to retain their ‘humanity’ and gain power, in this way they are similar to demons and other such races. However they do not need to go out of their way to accomplish this, they need only kill another creature to absorb its soul, or in the case of other forgotten souls, strengthening their own by way of fusing them, the foreign soul is of course suppressed and enveloped by the resident one, why this happens is unknown. One could also look at it as the resident soul consuming the foreign one.

Appearance
Unlike other humanoid races these creatures differ greatly in height and shape, this is based on the strength of the soul they possess, their height can be as small as 4’5 feet to a colossal 100 feet these individuals are both rare and extremely powerful, however size is not a clear indication of power. An example of this would be the well recorded battle between the ‘Blackened King’ (6’5 feet) and Zataties The Devourer (89 feet) the latter being slain with a single blow.

Beyond this, their appearance also seems to change based upon the state that they are in. Ones who have just recently died seem to have a more sickly appearance, their skin being grey and dead looking, their eyes sunken back in their skulls. The more souls they absorb, the more healthy they appear, with their skin appearing fuller and more alive. It can be noted that individuals who are beyond 7 feet tall seem to have lost their humanity, and their bodies become twisted and change. They are more monstrous in appearance, though the exact appearance seems to vary greatly.

Behavior
Most forgotten vary in personality just as humans do, but most seem to be melancholy due their multiple deaths despite this they help others as best they can. But there are others that have given into vice and lust for more power and have become ‘Darkwraiths’ who are the equivalent of demons or monsters in undead society as they consume the souls other undead leaving them as ‘hollows’, these ‘Darkwraiths’ serve one, and only one, master known as The Darkstalker.

Immortality
The form of immortality that Forgotten possess is a bit different than the sort that is most often encountered. They are as killable as any other species, but after their death they will reform at what is known as a 'Flame'. These 'Flames' are special shrines which these individuals 'light' with the power of their own soul, binding it to the Flame, where they will reappear after their death.

Magic
The Forgotten have developed their own form of magic, one that is fueled not by an internal store of mana, but by the user's soul. Also, they require certain items to cast the magic, the items acting as a medium to shape the power into a useable form. There are four different classes of this magic.

Sorcery - The primary form of offensive magic, this magic tends to also be the simplest, taking the form of pure energy. Spears, arrows, and beams of power that cuts through the enemy are the forms that this magic takes.

Pyromancy - As the name suggests, this magic deals primarily with fire. While it may not possess the raw power of Sorcery, it is superior in area coverage, being better against multiple foes. Massive blasts of flames tend to be a rather good deterrent. It can also be used to boost the physical power of an individual, igniting their rage, at the cost of causing them physical pain.

Miracles - As opposed to the other kinds of magic, this class of magic focuses on defensive and supporting effects. It can heal and shield both the user and allies. Also, it can be used to strike back at attacking foes, rewarding them with a painful jolt of electricity should they attempt to strike.

Hexes - This type of magic is designed to strike directly at the soul of a foe, in turn affecting them physically. While not able to entirely destroy a soul, this magic can cause excruciating pain, as well as partial, if not full, paralysis, rendering the victim helpless. This type of magic is used primarily by Darkwraiths, and other servants of "The Dark".

Beyond magic, The Forgotten have also been known to exhibit exceptional strength, based upon the strength of their soul. The more powerful the soul, the more powerful the individual's body is. Higher ranks exhibit higher amounts of strength.

Weaknesses
With The Forgotten, their immortality is as much a strength as a weakness. The time they spend dying and returning to life causes them to go insane, and they need the souls that they consume in order to remain sane. Also, they are rather vulnerable to attacks that directly target their soul. Hellfire, closely followed by Angelfire, seems to be the most effective against The Forgotten, as far as reports say, though concrete proof is yet to be found.

Also, in the world that these beings come from, technology seems to be stuck in the dark ages. As such, they have difficulties understanding modern technology, and are thus limited to their ancient tech. They are convinced that cars and trucks are metal beasts and monsters, and that firearms are fueled by dark magic.

Upon death, all of the souls that a Forgotten has consumed are released, and thus the power that they have obtained, and exist as intangible objects for awhile. They can be absorbed by any species that consumes souls, including Demons, Valkyrie, and The Forgotten themselves. After some time, however, they will disappear, going off to wherever their intended destinations are.

Diet
The Forgotten feed upon souls. However, it does not actually seem to be for sustenance. In this regard, they do not seem to require anything. Consuming souls does, however, keep them from going insane and losing their humanity. As well as this, consuming souls increases the power that they wield. All of this power is stripped from them upon their death.

Lifespan/Lifestyle
The Forgotten are immortal as far as age goes. Every individual appears to have stopped aging at about their mid 30's. Their lifestyle seems to resemble that of ancient times, back when knights and dragons clashed as an everyday thing. Stone castles and cobblestone streets are the environments that they call home.

Reproduction
Though they call themselves undead, The Forgotten are quite alive, and can reproduce much the same as Humans. They can reproduce with almost any race, and the resulting children are actually the same as if The Forgotten was a Human. The only way for an individual to become a Forgotten, is to die within one of the distorted areas that they originate from. They will be reborn at the nearest Flame, as a Forgotten.

Death
When a Forgotten is slain, it will return to the last Flame that it kindled with its soul. Its power is stripped from it by death, as well as sometimes its memories. There are, however, a couple of ways to fully destroy a Forgotten. The first way, is to completely destroy its soul. Letting even a shred of it survive will allow the Forgotten to be reborn at the Flame. The second way, is to kill the Forgotten before it can absorb another soul after it is reborn. This is arguably the easiest way, but requires the Forgotten to have been killed just recently. The third way, is for the Forgotten's soul to be consumed, either by a Demon, Valkyrie, another Forgotten, or any other species that feeds upon souls.

Ranks
Rank E - Dregling - Individuals who have just recently been reborn. They only possess one soul, their own, and are weak. Their mind is near shattering. If they die again before consuming more souls, it is the end of them.

Rank C - Half Living Soul - These individuals have consumed a few souls, and regained enough strength to be dangerous. They have some combat skills, and possess strength equal to a Human in peak condition. Despite their low ranking, they should not be taken lightly.

Rank B - Dark Spirit - Powerful individuals who have consumed many souls, these individuals are well versed in combat, and possess great strength, enough to flip over a car singehandedly (with quite a bit of effort admittedly).

Rank A - Conqueror - Very powerful individuals who have consumed souls beyond count (not all that easy to count while murdering everything in sight). They are masters of combat, and their strength is unmatched among man. They can smash their way through brick walls with little trouble, not to mention what they can do to the bones of their enemies.

Rank S - The Ineffable - The most powerful of their race, these individuals are said to have consumed one of the souls of the first four beings, who are equivalent to gods among The Forgotten. Each of the four possessed a great power, referred to as life, death, light, and darkness. The exact power that is held is unknown, but it is known that those who hold these souls seem to inherit this great power.