The Crimson Kin

Important titles are underlined.

We are your sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers. We are your new kin. However you got here, you have the same past as the rest of us...

Crimson Kin were created by a God. They were made to bring dead souls to heaven or hell. 

The first Crimson Kin was willed to exist by one simply called God. He created angels to lead the dead to heaven, but over time, they began to lead the dead to different places, or lure the living to death. The first Crimson Kin's name was Yakov Shvanova. He was a wolf made to be the spirit guide to Jesus' apostles, to lead them right in their ways. Crimson Kin can breed, so God made a second Crimson Kin, and a third, and a fifth, and a sixth, three females and three males. The female's names were Sunreet Rege, Tavreth Gentleheart, and Cailu. The males other than Yakov Shvanova were Resalth Lord of the White and Oddvind Nystrom. 

Sunreet Rege was a Hindu Crimson Kin, who later came to be called the first Yamadutas, the messengers who bring a deceased Hindi person to the court of Yama, where they were judged to be good or bad. Sunreet Rege took the form of a beautiful butterfly, as she often lead children to Yama after their souls have moved from their body. After luring them away from their bodies, she grew in size and engulfed the children, taking them away to Yama before they could realize they were dead. Though she never considered herself a partner of Oddvind Nystrom's, they had 21 offspring together.

Tavreth Gentleheart was a dragoness of massive proportions, mated to Resalth Lord of the White. Tavreth Gentleheart was the size of a mountain, is it said, with wings that could span a large plain of empty fields. Tavreth's job was to bring the living who had been avoiding death for too long to their death. She would lure them with her mythical presence into the mountains where she would wrap herself around the doomed, and crying, would pull their souls from their bodies. Sometimes, she would talk to the living before she would kill them and explain what was going on. She always cried when she killed someone, however.

Cailu was mated to Yakov Shvanova. She and him were the first to rebel against God, she was always by his side. There's no way you could describe Yakov Shvanova as evil - but Cailu, however, was a different story. She was bad down to the very core of her bones. She felt mercy only for her beloved Yakov Shvanova, and have indeed killed her own children before for stepping out of line. She was a tigress of great temper, but very reserved. She and Yakov had six offspring together, different combinations of canine and feline. 

Resalf, Lord of the White was a dragon of a smaller stature than his gentle giant of a love, average size. He was white and lived far from his mate, though they were happy that way. He cared for their one child, who had indeed mated with his own mother, though oddly, no one thought anything of this. Resalf lived in the Great North, venturing down to lure men and women into their frozen deaths. He would lure them into the cold north, teams of men and women trying to capture him, though he had a trick. He could turn invisible in a gust of snow, so they never did catch him. He did not play an active part in their deaths, he allowed the cold to take their lives. 

Oddvind Nystrom was/is the Celtic god Donn, or the Dark One. He is the Celtic lord of death, for he would escort the dead to the land of death. He was a dark figure, though not evil, just very depressed, like the clouds that hung over Scandinavia, where he dwelled. He took the form of either an old man or an old bear to mortals, though to immortal beings he was a young man or young bear. He would walk hand in hand or flank to flank to a spirit's death in their dreams or meditations. 

Yakov Shvanova, the Crimson Kin. It is said that only those with relation to Yakov Shvanova have the right to lead, though there's no way of knowing if you are anymore beyond appearances. Lord Petrov Viro is thought to be due to his close resemblance in appearance. It was Yakov Shvanova's idea to begin leading souls to where they were supposed to go, and not just the Christian Heaven or Hell. He worked all over the globe, bringing Africans to the stars, Native Americans to the Aurora Borealis. He was a tailless white wolf with a song so beautiful, even those who had never heard a wolf's howl before would feel their heart drawn to it. Yakov Shvanova would draw souls who were due to die to their deaths, and was known for having lengthy conversations that would last for days before killing them off. You could always know if you were going to a good or a bad place due to his appearance. If you were going to a good place or if you were a good person, he would be white with line-like markings over his body the color of crimson. If you were going to a bad place, his skin and flesh would be melting off of his bones. Today, Lord Petrov Viro shows both in his markings, though his flesh isn't constantly melting off. Yakov Shvanova has been named many names of spirits and gods in traditions where he would lead a soul to its death. For his treachery, he was thrown down to hell, though the ruler of hell at the time had sent him back up to continue on his job of leading souls to where they belonged.

Important to note, it's always respectful to address a legendary Crimson Kin, like the six listed above, as their full names. Nothing will happen if you don't, but it's social norm.

I am not religious, and this is a work of fiction, I do not claim to know what God has done. If you are bothered by this, click here

Crimson Kin can also be bred. Although such physical things such as DNA and genes don't exist in the undead species, and you aren't born into life, their birth and growth still mimics living creatures. A couple must mate, and pregnancy is induced. A pregnant Crimson Kin is known to be one of the most fearsome things there are, and past families have indeed purposefully impregnated females to give them an upper hand. OOC pregnancy lasts about one week. Then, a physical pup is born with a new soul, or a soul who had just died under such circumstances as described in the paragraph above. The pup will look similar to its parents, mimicking living species. 

The Crimson Kin are a well-organized group with five ranks, Serf, Lower Savage, Savage, High Savage, and Lord and Lady. Here's our information about each. 

Lower Savages are your starting rank. This is neither a high rank, nor a low rank, but it means you're doing good enough to not be lowered. Your duties include protecting the camp/family, hunting, and taking souls on hunts. CKLS

Serfs are the lowest rank. You don't want to be a Serf. Your duties are to serve those above you, as well as do all the other things Lower Savages do except hunt. Serfs don't get the honor of hunting and aren't allowed to leave the camp. CKSu

Savages aren't anything special. It's merely an honorary title, though you do get to eat before lower ranks. It just means you're one step closer to being a High Savage. This rank, as well as the ones below it, cannot advertise without a High Savage or Lord/Lady. Rarely do they get to train the teens. CKSa

High Savages get their own Serf, can advertise on their own, and get to train the teens. They are highly respected and earned their rank. CKHS

Lords and Ladies are the second to highest rank, they get to do everything. Within Lords and Ladies there is one High Lord and one High Lady, if there are more than one of each gender. They are the ultimate in the family.

The Seventh Sanctum and the Infernal Court are the gathering place of the family. Every so often, they meet for Sbor. Here they discuss the events of the week, rank up or down, and anything else that comes to mind. Every new soul is baptized in the Infernal Courtto return their soul to a neutral state, making them invisible to both angels and demons (not in physical form.) Old members may also get baptized every so often as well.

The Crimson Kin has a special and unique ability. By laying on or in a grave, all wounds will heal at a much faster rate. Death is good for the Crimson Kin. They can also eat souls by consuming their energy until there is nothing left. This increases the strength of the soul by two-fold. You must first kill the physical body, then manage to trap the soul, and manage to consume it. This generally involved two battles, one with the living specimen and one with the soul. Although Crimson Kin can do this, it is strictly forbidden by nearly every Crimson Kin organization there is, besides rouges who consume souls. A Crimson Kin caught consuming a soul will often be put to death, having their soul consumed. Consuming a soul that has consumed another soul will increase your power drastically. 1+1 is 2, this is the first Crimson Kin who consumed a soul. Then, another comes along and defeats that one. 2+1 is 3, thus your soul is much more powerful. In every Crimson Kin there is a darkness in their chest that spills out of their throat and into their maw. This is where their life used to sit, before they died, and it is now where souls they collect gather within their body.

Souls do not work as rigidly as numbers, though. The soul of one can be equal to the soul of a million. This is how Gods are created. The soul of a High Savage is supposed to be greater than that of a Savage, though not always. It is unknown what makes a soul greater or lesser, though a good way of measuring it is how hard it is to kill. It's thought that spiritual practices such as meditation, astral projection, and mental projection strengthen the soul.

To kill a Crimson Kin you must consume their soul.