DARKRIERS

  
     
     
          Long ago, Darkriers were human. These primitive creatures lived in the deepest forest of the earthly plane. Only the toughest would survive in these forests. A strange twist of human evolution caused these early humans to become more of beasts than men.

        The Darkriers muscles are densely packed around their solid unbreakable bones. This gives them four or five times greater strength then humans. Their rib cage is so dense and strong that only the finest swordsman and the most skilled of archers can lodge an arrow or thin blade through the small spaces in between the ribs. If the attacker is lucky enough to hit the heart, the Darkrier is able to live for up to a week. Special poisons are used against Darkriers to stop their hearts after piercing it. Darkriers have three or four strong fingers with the tips of the skin broken through with razor sharp bone forming claws. Two claws and an opposing thumb claw are the most common. Their feet are the same way but they still have the five toes of a human. Inside the mouths of these beasts, the human canines formed into four sharp fangs. Most Darkriers have green eyes but some will be born with pitch black eyes.

        Many times a Darkrier will be mistaken for a vampire. The only major difference between the two beasts is that Darkriers don't have the urge to feed on blood. They also don't have the vampire weaknesses to sunlight or the other weaknesses that are found in vampires.

        Today with the development of the world most of the primitive Darkriers live mainly in the forests of the shadow realm. The Darkriers on the earthly plain have formed into beings with the higher brain functions inherent in their human relatives. Although they can now think and speak like humans they are so different that most of them will never be accepted into the ranks of human civilization. To earn a living and make money, some bands of Darkriers form and hire themselves out as mercenaries. Some of the top Darkriers will form organizations of many bands and become feared among all of the other Darkriers. If a job cannot be completed, the Darkrier's master will end their now worthless life.

        Darkrier mercenaries are seen wearing a black cloak with a crossbow and a sack of bolts. They will be carrying an emerald (forest) sword and if the light catches their eyes right it will glare red. Darkriers are a very proud clan and will not kill for any reason. They only kill for food and they never kill a human unless hired by other humans.