Defining the Rosencraft: Hawks
Well, this was to be my 50th post, but it got spoiled by that update on Friday.... Oh well.
This post is about what makes the Rosencraft. There will be a follow-up on Wednesday.
The existence known as Lucifer Hawk is essential to the fabric of my story. In fact, every primary and almost all secondary characters of my story have at least some Hawk blood in them. It would probably be helpful, therefore, if one could understand what they are.
I was more than a bit skeptical about using the name "Lucifer Hawk" because of the obvious meaning of the name. Considering I would be using them fro even the heroes in my story, it is a definite gamble. But it isn't without reason.
The Lucifer Hawks in my story are tangentially based on the Lucifer Hawks from the Silent Mobius series (which is celebrating an anniversary). Although Silent Mobius is the inspiration, and the Lucifer Hawks in my story take similar actions in the interactions with Earth, they are not fundamentally identical. Much like with the characters who inspire the ones in my story, the Hawks are not meant to be precise re-creations - just similar.
The Hawks of the Book of the Shadows are a species of aliens that exist on the planet Nemesis. Lucifer Hawks are designated by Class, the highest being Class S and the lowest being Class C. Class C are unintelligent beasts that resemble birds and bats. Their skin is usually tough and leathery, with a muted grayish tone. They are mainly herbivores and scavengers, but in groups can be predatory. Ultimately they are weak do to their small brains and lack of intelligence. Thus, while they can hold a great deal of energy, including magic, they lack the capacity to use it. As a result they are mainly used as a vessel from which to extract stored power.
Class B Hawks more resembles four-legged beasts such as wolves. They too have grayish, leathery skin. They all posses long, whip-like tails and very sharp teeth. The bones at the major joints protrude and from relatively sharp points and edges.These are omnivorous creatures that prefer meat, so they are powerful hunters and are cannibalistic. They have more intelligence than Class C, but are still relatively unintelligent. They still retain some ability to hold energy, but in general lack the ability for self-directed use of that power.
Class A Hawks appear more humanoid, as they are bipedal. Their general features appear more humanoid, including bone and facial structure, but they also retain various characteristics of Class C and B. Most lack the ability to fly but possess wings of the same general structure as Class C, but proportionally larger. Class As have long tails like the Class C's and B's. Some may also have spikes or horns. In general they have the same basic intelligence and potential intelligence as a human, and thus can use some magic, but not much.
Class S Hawks are fully humanoid. Their "normal" appearance retains features from Class A's such as wings, tails, and/or horns. However, their other features are distinctly more human-like. They are very intelligent and very powerful. Whereas A's tend to still act with animalistic instinct and in similar social structures, S's are more adept at reflecting anthropocentric behaviors (creating organizational structures, building complex tools, creating cities, etc.). S's over time developed a means by which to naturally retract/conceal those features which make them look more like Hawks (tail, wings, horns). This became a mark of societal class - the ability to hide one's wings and tail a show of one's maturity and having achieved a certain level of power.
Technically every member of the Rosencraft family is part Class S Hawk, even though each Class of Hawk is merely an evolution of the previous one, S>C. Human DNA and Hawk DNA are fairly close. When certain chemicals within each are combined, they hold the potential to make the individual an "imperfect immortal". However, these compounds are also toxic to the other species, so it is far more likely that the subject will die before even reaching that state of partial immortality. This is because Hawk DNA is much more dominant than Human DNA, thus Hawk cells will generally destroy Human cells.
The experiment that created Yami and the others was done precisely to try to overcome this for the sake of immortality. Yami and the current members of the Rosencraft family are the only ones to survive the experiments which proved little more than guesswork. The Rosencraft can furthermore alter their own blood flow, accenting their Lucifer Hawk blood to tap into greater reserves of power. This, however, can lead to their taking on the appearance of a low level Class S Hawk, or even a high-level Class A, and diminish their cognitive abilities to just barely that of a Class A. If untrained, agitation can cause this transformation, under which the subject loses much of their sense of self.
As Hawk-Human hybrids, the Rosencraft are considered Class S+ Hawks on Nemesis. They are the only variation of Hawks that are not part of the natural evolutionary cycle. As such it may be more appropriate to consider them a separate species altogether - neither Human nor Hawk.
Alright, today's soundtrack is chill music; ambient and down-tempo music. Here is today's sample.
This post is about what makes the Rosencraft. There will be a follow-up on Wednesday.
The existence known as Lucifer Hawk is essential to the fabric of my story. In fact, every primary and almost all secondary characters of my story have at least some Hawk blood in them. It would probably be helpful, therefore, if one could understand what they are.
I was more than a bit skeptical about using the name "Lucifer Hawk" because of the obvious meaning of the name. Considering I would be using them fro even the heroes in my story, it is a definite gamble. But it isn't without reason.
The Lucifer Hawks in my story are tangentially based on the Lucifer Hawks from the Silent Mobius series (which is celebrating an anniversary). Although Silent Mobius is the inspiration, and the Lucifer Hawks in my story take similar actions in the interactions with Earth, they are not fundamentally identical. Much like with the characters who inspire the ones in my story, the Hawks are not meant to be precise re-creations - just similar.
The Hawks of the Book of the Shadows are a species of aliens that exist on the planet Nemesis. Lucifer Hawks are designated by Class, the highest being Class S and the lowest being Class C. Class C are unintelligent beasts that resemble birds and bats. Their skin is usually tough and leathery, with a muted grayish tone. They are mainly herbivores and scavengers, but in groups can be predatory. Ultimately they are weak do to their small brains and lack of intelligence. Thus, while they can hold a great deal of energy, including magic, they lack the capacity to use it. As a result they are mainly used as a vessel from which to extract stored power.
Class B Hawks more resembles four-legged beasts such as wolves. They too have grayish, leathery skin. They all posses long, whip-like tails and very sharp teeth. The bones at the major joints protrude and from relatively sharp points and edges.These are omnivorous creatures that prefer meat, so they are powerful hunters and are cannibalistic. They have more intelligence than Class C, but are still relatively unintelligent. They still retain some ability to hold energy, but in general lack the ability for self-directed use of that power.
Class A Hawks appear more humanoid, as they are bipedal. Their general features appear more humanoid, including bone and facial structure, but they also retain various characteristics of Class C and B. Most lack the ability to fly but possess wings of the same general structure as Class C, but proportionally larger. Class As have long tails like the Class C's and B's. Some may also have spikes or horns. In general they have the same basic intelligence and potential intelligence as a human, and thus can use some magic, but not much.
Class S Hawks are fully humanoid. Their "normal" appearance retains features from Class A's such as wings, tails, and/or horns. However, their other features are distinctly more human-like. They are very intelligent and very powerful. Whereas A's tend to still act with animalistic instinct and in similar social structures, S's are more adept at reflecting anthropocentric behaviors (creating organizational structures, building complex tools, creating cities, etc.). S's over time developed a means by which to naturally retract/conceal those features which make them look more like Hawks (tail, wings, horns). This became a mark of societal class - the ability to hide one's wings and tail a show of one's maturity and having achieved a certain level of power.
Technically every member of the Rosencraft family is part Class S Hawk, even though each Class of Hawk is merely an evolution of the previous one, S>C. Human DNA and Hawk DNA are fairly close. When certain chemicals within each are combined, they hold the potential to make the individual an "imperfect immortal". However, these compounds are also toxic to the other species, so it is far more likely that the subject will die before even reaching that state of partial immortality. This is because Hawk DNA is much more dominant than Human DNA, thus Hawk cells will generally destroy Human cells.
The experiment that created Yami and the others was done precisely to try to overcome this for the sake of immortality. Yami and the current members of the Rosencraft family are the only ones to survive the experiments which proved little more than guesswork. The Rosencraft can furthermore alter their own blood flow, accenting their Lucifer Hawk blood to tap into greater reserves of power. This, however, can lead to their taking on the appearance of a low level Class S Hawk, or even a high-level Class A, and diminish their cognitive abilities to just barely that of a Class A. If untrained, agitation can cause this transformation, under which the subject loses much of their sense of self.
As Hawk-Human hybrids, the Rosencraft are considered Class S+ Hawks on Nemesis. They are the only variation of Hawks that are not part of the natural evolutionary cycle. As such it may be more appropriate to consider them a separate species altogether - neither Human nor Hawk.
Alright, today's soundtrack is chill music; ambient and down-tempo music. Here is today's sample.
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