Physiological analysis of Acerbians from the 1st Valley

What follows are my [Marcus] notes summarizing medical analysis of 3 members of the 1st valley. All subjects seem to have had some form of medical alteration done to them. None of the subjects have requested anonymity.

Subject 1: Sol
Relevant traits: No memory of early life. No known parentage. Believes himself to have a connected to the splinter world The Sea of Stars.
Analysis: Subject submitted himself to an exploratory surgery, specifically requesting such. Invictus and myself [Marcus] conducted the surgery. Anesthesia was performed by Thorn as an incapacitating blow to the back of the head.

Observations: Upon opening the subject up he was found to have had numerous organ scars. The scars cut clean through the connective tissue. It became clear almost immediately that the organs had been capable of being removed. Further analysis of the subject’s physiology confirmed that the organs present were not the subject’s original ones. The surgery was performed with a very distinctive style of cuts. Invictus believed it to be beyond his capability to replicate. The organs replaced include but are not limited to: Liver, spleen, pancreas, and kidney. The subject’s skull was not opened. He did not appear to be corrupted.

Speculation: Post surgery the subject made speculation about being assembled from parts of various worlds based upon his own beliefs and information. It was posited that the subject may unknowingly be under the control of Lady Divia who the subject feels performed these experiments. The proposed purpose behind these surgeries was to create a being who was capable of having affinity for all worlds and/or all commonly known skills.

Subject 2: Vanguard of the Hungering Void
Relevant traits: Praetor of Divia’s Valley. Possessed an awareness of Sol’s condition. Claimed to have been enhanced by these practices.

Observations: The subject came to seek out Sol calling Sol his ‘brother’. Not in the traditional sense but because of shared experience. He claimed to have been operated on under Lady Divia’s auspices and that the process had left him beyond normal capabilities. To demonstrate this I determined through cursory medical examination that he was already greatly agile, tough and strong. He demonstrated abilities with attunement to magical forces as well as being able to see unmanifested spirits. When asked, he said that of the nine generally accepted areas for people to be naturally adept in he excelled in more than six but less than all nine areas. He did not appear to be corrupted.

When questioned about ‘enhancement’ by Tal Vanguard stated that this abilities actually came as the result of concentrated effort. As such the effort could be re-directed to increase one ability but would cuase another to fall to normal levels. As such it is unknown what his ‘natural’ abilities are or the effort that needs to go into them to be increased. It is possible that this was being done during the examination to provide a false picture of his abilities.

Subject 3: Tal Nightkeeper
Relevant traits: No memory past a certain point in his childhood. Raised by a praetor from Divia’s Valley. A natural felicity with the Dooms of Light and Shadow, learning them without formal teaching.

Analysis: Subject submitted himself to an exploratory surgery, specifically requesting such. Myself [Marcus], Sir Vincent, and Breezy conducted the surgery. Anesthesia was performed by Thorn as an incapacitating blow to the back of the head.

Upon opening up Tal it was immediately obvious that he had been operated on extensively. His spine and ribs were all marked with Oscurian runes carved into them. Further examination showed that all bones examined (including arms and legs) were similarly etched. The exact purpose and nature the runes themselves of was unknown. However this was clearly the source of his ability to learn the Dooms of Light and Shadow without teaching. Of special note was the fact that his muscles had been disconnected from the bone, rolled back, the bones etched, and then the muscles re-attached. The incisions and scalpel work was identical to that which was performed on Sol. There is no doubt in my [Marcus] mind that the same person operated upon the both of them. Re-examination with someone versed in the occult would likely be fruitful in the future. The subject’s skull was not opened. He did not appear to be corrupted.

A re-examination of Tal with Braahmi’s occult expertise revealed the following:
The runes on his bones are what allowed him to self initiate into the Dooms of Light and Shadow. The original, albeit unsuccessful, intent of this procedure was to codify the existence of the Doom into his very being and as such grant him full and complete mastery of the Dooms in all forms.


Also he apparently comes from a mixed Oscurian/Acerbian heritage and shows the signs of early life malnutrition common to all the people of the Dark Mountains. Were he to die the runes are not of the correct type for him to come back as an exalted undead automatically though it might make the process of doing this after death easier.