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| | ===='''Genetics'''==== | | ===='''Genetics'''==== |
| − | They say if a Nu wants to trace his ancestry he should start by looking at his great uncle's second cousins. Like ripples spreading the touch of the divine bloodline moves outwards from a Nu to his surrounding family, often manifesting in ways that cause dead ends on the family tree. Yet a few branches will be spared. Like runner shoots these often are or soon will be the most distant to the original Leviathan; genetically, culturally or even geographically. It is these distant and healthy relations which are most likely to give birth to the next full blooded Leviathan while the more direct descendants are often destined to die out or leave their heritage behind entirely.
| + | The Nu reproduce with difficulty - while pure Tribe members are no less numerous than their vanishingly-rare cousins, the line tends to either deeply mark its mortal kin (often in ways that render them incapable of furthering the bloodline) or leave little trace at all. A bloodline that's given rise to a Nu tends to manifest this instability either as a social dynamic - a family tree with a lot of dead ends - or physically, with complications and hardships. |
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| − | Nu are most commonly born out the blue as it where. The healthy branches tend to be free of Lemashu and other markers of the Tribe. Even culturally most tend to be distant from the unusual side of their heritage. It is rare for the same branch of the family tree to produce more than one Leviathan before the cycle repeats itself but several escaping branches may exist in parallel. As far as anyone can tell in regards to when and if they produce another Leviathan each branch is entirely independent of the others. | + | The Nu claim as their own the ''Heqen'', a Lahmasu lineage marked with amphibious features. Most Heqen are frog-like in appearance, but as the bloodline becomes rarified their skin becomes transparent and liquid, like that of a jellyfish. The Heqen are especially prone to prophecy, and members of the lineage often cultivates complex symbolic systems of worshipping the Tribe. |
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| − | ===='''Puberty'''====
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| − | The Elements themselves react when a Nu begins to claim his birthright. Water may twist and flow in unnatural patterns as she walks by. As she steps into the shower every drop of water boils in a flash burning everything but herself. Most terrifying of all is when they lose the ability to tell themselves apart from the water; lying in the bath she feels not the water on her flesh but the porcelain touching the water. There are patterns in this, but they are patterns unrelated to the Nu herself and obscure enough to thwart any but the most dedicated meteorologist.
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| − | While they possess the same Tribal instinctual as their cousins the Nu's instincts only appear after they have claimed their full birthright. The only force that pushes a Nu onwards is natural human curiosity: She cannot outrun herself and so sooner or later she must attempt to experiment. As she begins to master the elements she drains the mystical pressure that surrounds her. Though things can never return to normal she can now has enough control to seek some measure of stability. A Nu who never attempts to master her power may remain stuck in this transitional phase forever. For all the drawbacks of the Tribe's condition this is arguably worse worse, or at least more likely to lead to an early grave. She is spared none of the Tribe's curses, the Wake exists in full. In essence she has traded control over her abilities for nothing at all.<!--A lot of this was the answer to a question: How are Nu still roughly as common as other Leviathans (I think that all the major strains are equally common. However I put the birth/(“infant mortality”) rate in three tiers: 1) Dagonites, 2) Bahamatans, Lahamu and Thalassans, 3) Oceaneads, Nu and Tannanim.) when their genetics prevents the family lines from surviving.
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| − | The idea that Nu blood is almost nomadic. The established bloodlines tend to die off or purge themselves of Tribe blood while the true heritage travels far to re-establish itself from scratch is a rather unusual one and I think it works well. I think I might have got the idea from strawberries.-->
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| | ===='''Evolution'''==== | | ===='''Evolution'''==== |
| − | The True Form of the Nu is a return to the water that spawned it - fluid and water-logged forms that echo tadpoles, octopuses, squid and spineless ocean life. Their large and awkward-seeming forms bely surprising grace, and many Nu are nearly invisible in deep water - their bodies are akin to natural extensions of the Depths. | + | The True Form of the Nu is a return to the water that spawned it - simplistic and water-logged forms that echo tadpoles or spineless ocean life. Their large and awkward-seeming forms bely surprising grace, and many Nu are nearly invisible in deep water - their bodies are akin to natural extensions of the Depths. |
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| | ===='''Ecology'''==== | | ===='''Ecology'''==== |
| − | ====='''Family'''=====
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| − | The Nu reproduce with difficulty - while pure Tribe members are no less numerous than their vanishingly-rare cousins, the line tends to either deeply mark its mortal kin (often in ways that render them incapable of furthering the bloodline) or leave little trace at all. A bloodline that's given rise to a Nu tends to manifest this instability either as a social dynamic - a family tree with a lot of dead ends - or physically, with complications and hardships.
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| − | ====='''Lahmasu'''=====
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| − | The Nu claim as their own the ''Heqen'', a Lahmasu lineage marked with amphibious features. Most Heqen are frog-like in appearance, but as the bloodline becomes rarified their skin becomes transparent and liquid, like that of a jellyfish. The Heqen share the Nu's connection to the Primordial Sea, and members of the lineage often cultivates complex symbolic systems of worshipping the Tribe.
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| − | ====='''Cults'''=====
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| | The cult of a Nu generally centers less on the Nu him or herself and more on the truths suggested by the Nu's existence - the reverence for a lost primordial lifestyle, tinged with elements of horrified subservience and doubt. The Nu often profit from the anxiety that they present to their followers - their alien appearance and power is such that their requests are rarely denied, no matter how extreme or unusual. | | The cult of a Nu generally centers less on the Nu him or herself and more on the truths suggested by the Nu's existence - the reverence for a lost primordial lifestyle, tinged with elements of horrified subservience and doubt. The Nu often profit from the anxiety that they present to their followers - their alien appearance and power is such that their requests are rarely denied, no matter how extreme or unusual. |
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| − | ===='''Vestiges'''==== | + | ===='''Echoes'''==== |
| − | '''Elements''', Awareness, Sanctity, Vitality | + | '''Elements''', Awareness, Vitality |
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| | ==== '''Symbols and Associations''' ==== | | ==== '''Symbols and Associations''' ==== |
