Children of Ghosts
The beginnings of the Vrilerinnen are something out of a biblical narrative. As told in their folklore, the first of their kind awoke in the Atlantean crypts beneath the Plains of Seraykia in the year 30 PD. They were without memory, and yet they were already mature and could fluently speak the Atlantean tongue.
Before they could seek out the kiss of sunlight, the awoken were visited in the crypts by a pair of ghosts. The two ghosts introduced themselves as Vril—the all-father now remembered as the last prince of Atlantis—and Katagia—the all-mother who was human and consort to the Atlantean prince. From this pair, the awoken were given names, offered mentorship in a variety of skillsets, and commanded to build a settlement above the crypts where they could live and prosper in peace.
It is known why Vril and Katagia created the Vrilerinnen: they were meant to carry on the intellectual
legacy of the Atlanteans, but without the inherent flaws of that archaic species—immortality, narcissism, and sociopathy—to hold them back. Their human traits—mortality, kinship, empathy, ambition, and altruism—differentiate them from their forerunners. Although Vril himself was Atlantean, he stood out as an oddity for his moral sensitivity, self-loathing, and lack of hubris. The term "black sheep of the
family" may originate as a reference to his being; as prince of
Atlantis, his chosen seal-symbol was that of a black ram. Unlike all princes before him, Vril could not love a fellow immortal; his lover Katagia was a mortal human, believed to have been an "Amazon" queen before her defeat and enslavement to the Atlanteans, until Vril gave her a chance to win her freedom by trial of battle (where she trounced a number of Atlantean strategists).
To honor those who cared for and taught them so much, the Vrilerinnen named themselves after their all-father, and their first settlement "Katagia" after their all-mother; names that would live on in demigod status for over a thousand years.
Stern Erudites and Philosophers
The power of seance with the "Creators" was gifted only to the first generation of the Vrilerinnen, and eventually died with them. To ensure the lessons of the Creators would survive both in practice and in record, it was essential that each member of that generation took expertise in one field of knowledge or skill taught by them, and passed it on to the next of kin in strict order. Because of this, matters of education have always been wholly important to the Vrilerinnen. It is a culture where every master ensures their best student becomes equal, if not superior at their craft or study. Perhaps equally important is money, since buying into an apprenticeship is often the first hurdle to surpass. As such, it can be difficult for poorer citizens to gain opportunities to move up the Vrilerinnen hierarchy.
The Vrilerinnen believe that every human endeavor can be studied, critiqued, and advanced through the application of logic and scholarship. For example, the most martially inclined Vrilerinnen is not just a muscle-bound soldier—they are a student of combat and strategy, drawing upon generations of martial philosophy. Even inhuman endeavors like magic are experimented with, albeit with great caution from society's most knowledgeable and prestigious magic users, rare as they come. Although experimenting with dangerous magic may be less risky for those of Vrilerinnen ancestry, as they are gifted with a natural-borne resistance to magical effects.
Because all such teachings originate from the Creators, logic aside, inheriting them is of divine or ancestral importance to the Vrilerinnen. In fact, their society places enough value in knowledge and learning for it to define their structural hierarchies. They live and work within a pyramid-shaped meritocracy, lead by a "philosopher-king or queen" at its apex, who is the chief judge of each citizen's merit. This philosopher-monarch's agency is only kept in check by the intellectual scriptures of the Creators, but even those can be amended. As a result, Vrilerinnen leaders may be very smart, but they can also rule with elitism and tyrannical power. After the philosopher-monarch come the officials, scribes, and soldiers, followed by artisans, craftsmen, and merchants, and finally, the rural plebeians. Sometimes, the lowest of the hierarchy are the slaves. The Katagians have no merchant class and prefer to keep production local.
Any sense of freedom is an illusion; safety and prosperity is of greater concern to the Vrilerinnen. For example, Katagia may call herself a "Free City" after making slavery forbidden, but she still forces unpaid labor upon thousands of imprisoned criminals who have been convicted by her draconian laws under the "Katagian Code."
Vying Claimants of Atlantis' Legacy
The history of Atlantis was a triumph of progress in science, magic, war, and the arts; enough to make a modern Vrilerinnen jealous. Even after that great city sank beneath the waves along with the rest of its empire, they still scour for rare Atlantean repositories that might remain above the dry surface. As if it were their birthright, the Vrilerinnen strive to recover and preserve lost Atlantean records and artifacts by any means necessary.
From the 300s until the self-immolation of the Nithians in 919 PD, this dire thirst for knowledge frequently sent the Vrilerinnen of Katagia to arms. They laid multiple sieges with the ultimate goal of plundering the southern cities of Ren Shaar, Ruritain, and Nith, where the last surviving Atlanteans were holding out with untold hoards of vintage treasure. Katagians, mercenaries, barbarian tribes, and other opportunists waged a steady genocide upon these inhuman immortals; a series of legendary yet tragic wars known as the Atlantean Expulsions. By the end of this violent period, only those who locked themselves within the impregnable fortress of Imystrahl have reportedly survived to this day.
Today, the guarded crypts of every Vrilerinnen city are filled with stolen Atlantean gold, artifacts, other antediluvian treasures. The largest collection must be in Katagia, but even that could never sate the ambitions of her philosopher-royalty. Eager for more arcane plunder, the Katagian monarchs tried to enforce mercantilism in the other cities they had conquered. However, their imperialist ambitions were soon shut down by campaigns of political dissent and independent rule within each conquered city. Today, many of the Vrilerinnen who dwell in other cities besides Katagia no longer swear allegiance to their mother-city. Most would rather believe their own chosen home should be the inheritor of Atlantis' legacy, and thus compete against other cities for cultural superiority.
The current triangular rivalry between Katagia, Ruritain, and Ren Shaar rarely comes to actual blows. Regarding warfare, the Vrilerinnen are much more precise, conservative, and careful than the Lemurians. Ever since the Atlantean Expulsions ended, Vrilerinnen armies rarely march into distant lands anymore. Instead, they prefer to wage campaigns of espionage, intrigue, and assassination using a few professional agents. Their armies are reserved for border defense and law enforcement, ensuring that the laws of their city-state similarly affect surrounding rural communities and seaports.
As a consequence of draconian leadership and cultural insularity, the Vrilerinnen cities tend to have many enemies, such as barbarian tribes pressing their borders, roving Cyclopeans in the mountains, or rival city-states. Those who travel and live among other peoples think twice about revealing knowledge about their homeland, lest they have a political reason to commit treason.
Appearances
The specter of Atlantean blood lingers within every human of Vrilerinnen ancestry, granting them decades in longevity and physical features alien to the human species, such as gem-colored irises or pointy ears. Generations of insularity has usually kept these traits dominant in their population. Even so, a Vrilerinnen's primary identifier is their mastery of the Atlantean language rather than their appearance.
Vrilerinnen fashion is quite uniform, mainly based on necessity, function, materials, and protection rather than identity. Thus, clothes are quite simple, draped, loose-fitting, and free-flowing. Even the philosopher-monarchs may dress this casual, or at least avoid bejeweled adornments in favor of more practical body-wear such as metal bracers or hairpins. Outfits that unnecessarily steal people's focus and attention are generally avoided. The "best-dressed" Vrilerinnen are mainly in the military, where intimidation and signification of rank are important factors. Articles of Vrilerinnen fashion are usually homemade or locally made.
Hygiene and presentation are usually important to all Vrilerinnen, regardless of class. In cities, public baths are like frequent gathering places, and people bathe separately not by class but by gender, familiarity, and the grubbiness of their work (for example, a stable-keeper must bathe separately from a scribe). It's not uncommon for family, friends, or colleagues in trade to go bathe together. Like the Lemurians, the Vrilerinnen do use aromatics, but do avoid extremely pungent ones that are "distracting".
Traits
Age. Our Creators said, "live long and prosper." So we shall.
You reach adulthood in your mid-to-late teens. If the perils of adventure don't take you first, you may live for at most one hundred years—twice as long as the average human.
Size.
The average height of your people is 5 ft., and you can grow no taller than 7 ft.
Magic Resistance. Even the all-mother knew, magic is no cheap trick. As we are her children too, we understand the limitations of our humanity, and the risk therein in learning the Atlantean ways. But unlike others, we are cautious, not afraid. We have no right to be; the Creators knew we would have to face what magic remains in the world after theirs, and equipped us so.
You have advantage on all Luck saves to resist any magical effect.
In addition, if you are targeted by a magical effect (e.g. spells, potions, etc.) that would restore your hit points, you only restore half the normal amount.
Nightvision. Darkness was the light of the all-father. From the shadows, he and Katagia planned their revolution; out of sight of his corrupt Atlantean kin, who'd least expect a black ram to gouge a sleeping lion. The dark taught Vril silence, patience, focus, and clarity, as it would teach his children.
You have better night vision than most humans, but are just as blind in the absence of light.
Languages. Credit is due to the linguists of yore who crafted our people's speech. It is a language full of possibilities, with many words simple yet meaningful. Notice our great intellectual concepts, wrapped into little gifts that roll off the tongue. That is where our mortality is limited; spoken by and for the immortals, Atlantean supposedly takes lifetimes to master. But surely, we are far more diligent than our decadent precursors—if only we could fight them with the pen and the tongue, rather than the sword and the spell, we could prove our mastery of rhetoric and time alike.
You speak Atlantean, and one other language of your choice.