Sacer Mortalis
Meaning: sacred, holy, accursed, consecrated, forfeited, detestable. mortal, mortality, MAN, human, deathling, subcelestial.
Nickanmes: SaMort, Sa, Mortalis, Morts.


Characteristics:

Satyr- All Morts are 'Satyr' or even 'Harpy' like in origins. They have a humanesk face and a fleshy torso. From the hips and elbows down they show aspects of the animals they are. They can have a set of ears on their heads, horns, wings, whathaveyou.

Parasite- All morts have a gem imbedded into their flesh somewhere which is actually a parasite. In fact, this parasite is actually what makes them a Sacer Mortalis. Different stone colors mean Different things. *More on this in the background information.

Glowies- morts have a bit of a internal glow. The insides of their ears, eyes, and even claws or pawpads are the same color as their parasite gem.

Gender- Morts do have gender types. Female Morts MAY have a little mammary tissue, but no visible areolas. All genitals are 'hidden', meaning male bits are all internal and only show when aroused. Due to the parasites, all Morts are infertile. They can and do have sex, but a child can not result from it.

Clothing- Morts dont like pants, or shoes really. They will wear long shirts, shawles, wraps, scarfs, accessories... you name it. They just hate pants and shoes. (NOPANTSNOSHOES)

Disclaimer:
This is a CLOSED species. Only those obtained from me, or given permission to create one by me, are true Morts and may use this lore and the species information.

If you just want an adorable little Satyr like adoptable character than you are free to not read the information below. Below information is really for world-building nuts like me who enjoy making worlds and species information. Feel free to read the below information and interpret your character into the setting and information as you wish from it <3 Feel free to also ask questions.

Special thanks to Han for helping me world build these creatures and for coming up with their name <3 ILU ladyface.


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Terms of Service

Please read this carefully before you purchase any design from me. By buying a Mort, you are agreeing to this ToS. If this ToS is broken, I reserve the right to reject your purchase and refuse any further service to you.



Copyright Usage

If you buy a Mort, you are only buying partial rights to the design. I retain all copyrights over my work, which include but are not limited to the right to distribute, reproduce or use the image as a sample for sales/self-promotion.

❀ You may use the individual design as a character, name it, and to make minor alterations to the design as you see fit. Any large alteration of the design is not allowed. However, if you have any questions regarding these alterations, you may contact me ( lilwerewolfgirl ) about it.
❀ I claim all rights to the Intellectual Property of the character. I will not, however, re-sell/re-use a design that's already been sold/given away. ( Lines, on the other hand, may and will be re-used. The only exception being limited off base/or completely unique lines. )
❀ You may repost the image elsewhere as long as it belongs to you and I am credited as the artist and owner of the species.
❀ You may not claim the work to be your own or set it up for redistribution. You may not use it for any external projects, commercial or non-commercial. (Commissioning others is okay for art, just don't try pasting it on a soda bottle design and claim it as yours, for example.)



Re-selling and Trading

❀ You may trade the character for other designs.
❀ You may re-sell a design. If re-selling, do not sell for more than you bought it for. If you have made or purchased additional art for that character, you may increase the price for your work.
❀ Please link that person back here so they can follow up on the rules and guidlines.



Customs

To be added later.


Payment

❀ I accept $USD via Paypal only.
❀ Once it is confirmed you have got a Mort, I will note you with the paypal information.
❀ If a design has been sitting for a while and you are interested, but can't pay right away, I will hold onto a design for 48 hours before its put back up for sale again.
❀ I do not take refunds.



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History:

Once upon a really long ass time ago, like some stories, they start off with an accident. A spell was cast in a attempt to cure some sort of plant disease, and on accident instead did the unthinkable and merged itself with a plant. You see this plant was a parasite, drifting from tree to tree in search of a new 'sun machine' to keep its species alive and feed it with energy. This was the only way it could grow, and it was dying out. A combination of this desperate plant with a spell gone awry? Magic sometimes did what it wanted to do, and nothing could stop it when it did.

They had been trying to do recon on this mistake for centuries.

They called them 'mothers', the infected would. The magical accident creating thankfully only a handful of them, but still that was one too many. They were beings so gruesome all avoided them, and if any tried take them on they were either turned or killed instantly. Once it was known one of the 'mothers' were approaching a town, the occupants would take what they could and abandon their home and their lives until their houses could be 'cleansed.' This usually involved fire, so taking what you treasured was a must if you had the time.

The mothers arrivals were seen to some as a plague.

These 'Mothers' were the start of all the terror. They were the spreaders of the 'spore' you see. These spores would seek out a life form, anything with fur, scale, feather, small, large... It didn't matter. The parasites no longer craved trees and sunlight, but energy from other richer sources. If the spores came into contact with fire, or took too long to find a host, they would die. Fire did not harm the mothers, oddly.

Once infected, the spores would sink into the skin of their new host. They would move around in their bloodstreams and eventually settle on one of their chakra points. The two most common points being the 'heart' (chest), or the 'Third eye' (forehead). The infected would not realize they had been tainted until it was much too late, and the parasite was too melded in with their being. After a short while a stone would appear on their chakra points, and eventually grow in size. Once reaching a certain size (a few inches usually), the parasite might choose to grow some of the gemstones in other places of the body as well. Only the first stone needs to be on a chakra point. If a host tried to rip out the stone imbedded into them, they would die. Not only would bloodloss probably kill them, but the main factor is once the stone appears the melding is so complete the host can not live without the parasite.

The parasite feeds on the energies that the host gives, but in most cases thankfully these turn to be symbiotic relationships. In return for the energy, the parasite gives the host a harpy form, higher intelligence, and even a slight bit of magic. Somewhere it got written in them that "human shaped" was the way to mutate their hosts. All of the Mothers have an actual piece of the Wizard who cast the original spell as a part of them, so this probably plays a factor into the humanoid forms as well. The higher intelligence went along with the bodies. The type of magic depends on the color of the stone. The longer the parasite and host are together, the stronger their bond and thus the stronger their magic. Usually those with the most magic have more than the one basic starter chakra stone.

Eventually, through other means, the Host or the parasite nears the end of their cycle. Complete relationships can have both living long and healthy lives, while tainted can mean the opposite. If something happens to the host, say a natural death by rocks falling or some sort, the parasite will die with them. This is why the parasites number one priority is keeping the host safe. If they have a complete relationship, the parasite will inform the host that the time for dying is soon... and willing or not, they will start the 'budding' stage. The parasite will slowly start to take more energy from the host, and once the host dies the parasite will have a minor window of opportunity to seek out a new host. If they fail, the parasite dies as well.

As history tells us, there have been cases of mass destruction where the uninfected have quarantined off whole areas and burned the entire section to the ground. No animal was allowed to leave a known infected area in these instances. Spores in their earlier stages lay invisible to the naked eye, so everything had to die.


Relationships
The relationships between the Parasite and the Host

Complete- Meaning their minds are together and are one. They both think together, and work together to both live a long life. This is the ideal situation if the host wants to live the longest life possible. This type are the ones who end up growing many more gems and gaining higher magical abilities. The parasite willingly protects the host.

Incomplete- The Host and the Parasites minds are separate, and tend to butt heads. A lot. They can get along as times, but can fight as well. Like new roommates, this is the 'beginning' usually, and their relationship can either go on to be 'complete' or be 'tainted.'

Tainted- The tainted are the third, and worst of the three. A Tainted Morts means that the parasite completely shoved the mind of the host out the door and took over completely. There is no going back once this is done, the hosts mind being fried. You can tell a tainted by looking at the flesh around the parasite stones, usually signaled by black veins or blood pouring like a open wound. The host once in this stage will not live long, the parasite burning through the resources faster than the host can provide. New spors usually have at least one or two experiences with this before they try and form a bond, though some nasty asses enjoy tainting and killing all their hosts as fast as possible and are a reason the Morts get such a bad rep.

Culture

Since the 'great rise' or the 'great fall', depending on who you ask, occurred there have been cultural changes. Whole cities were built and bonds formed by the now 'parasitic cultures' scattered around. It was considered a great honor by some to become one of the infected. Some even were cocky enough to see their new 'higher form' as a gift from the gods with the 'Mothers' acting the roll of the earthly speakers for these gods. All infected were welcome, all outsiders considered to be 'mundanes'. Once and a while a 'mundane' would wander into the cities on accident. They were either chased off, or infected themselves and join.

Outside of these pockets of societies was a even larger world. A infected could move around as a nomad if they were strong enough to avoid those who chose to challenge them. Newly infected were the most vulnerable, not creating a bond with their parasites just yet, and not able to access the magics, they were easy pickings for the 'anti parasite' activists. Hosts were not welcome in some cities, others allowing them only for trade and then to be on their merry way. A lot of the people were ignorant. Thinking the 'parasite' infected were some sort of disease, but one rarely passed on unless a mother was present or one of the hosts was 'budding'.

Morts are Omnivores. Though they can choose a lifestyle of only protein or only vegetation, they can get nutrition from either.


Elements/Magic
The color of the parasite corresponds with a element of magic. Read below for color information!


Red - Fire
Orange - Air/Wind
Yellow - Light / Lightning
Green - Plant
Blue - Water/Ice
Purple - Poison
Pink -Arcane - Dabbles in all magics but is never particularly strong in one over the other.
White- Holy/Life - healing Magics normally.
Black - Shadow/Darkness
Brown - Earth/Rock


A new Morts, aka a 1 gem, will have really basic and simple magic. For example if they were Orange they might be able to churn up a small gust of wind. A poison type might just give someone an upset stomach, etc. The more gems on their bodies, the higher power they are able to access.


Ask questions if you'd like and i will answer and add to their lore ouo <3


FAQ:

Can the infecteds start off as humanoids?

Most infected start off as animals, a GOOD chunk of them. Usually more humanoid shaped beings are smart enough to know to avoid the infected, or a known infected area. Most of the time if a spore attempts to infect a humanoid, it would kill the spore. Once and a while it IS possibly, but rare.

How does the transformation process work?
A animal is infected, and the spore lays dormant in their bloodstream for varying lengths of time. It could take a few hours, or a few days, for the effects to begin depending on the will of the infected. Those of stronger will would take longer to be fully infected. Once that time has passed, a gem will start to form somewhere over one of the creatures chakras. Most commonly it shows on the 'heart' or the 'third eye' chakras. It will continue to grow for a day or two, leaving the host with a REALLY itchy spot as it did so. Final stage of the transformation is... rather gruesome. Thankfully the final stage only lasts a couple of hours. The creature will form something akin to 'mange' on their front end, and lose their hair/scales/feathers/what have you. If they are a larger creature, they will start to shrink too. Smaller ones would grow larger. Their limbs will elongate, their faces pushed back. Finally, they would rest in their new bipedal form. Most end up taking a nap right after, the energy exerted being too much. Once they 'awaken' again they would find themselves having a even better understanding of the world and higher intelligence.

Can they shift back to their animal forms?
Your choice! Yes or no. If you want them to be able to, it would take time for them to gain enough control of themselves to be able to. Even then they cant stay permanently in their animal forms, they need to shift back to their human forms at times too. When in animal form they will appear as they did before, only have the internal glow and the parasite gems still in place.