In The Beginning
For hundreds of years humanity has struggled to survive on a world unlike any in the history of its existence. Long ago a colony ship and its entourage were sent spiraling through space and time into an alternate reality where the laws of physics seemed to be far more malleable than they expected. Low on power and close to the brink of annihilation they were forced to end their journey in a star system they called New Star. The fourth planet of this system, named Haven, is now the home of the descendants of these spacefaring individuals.
The planet Haven is roughly three times the size of earth. It has a fairly similar weather patterns and roughly similar plant and animal life in some respects. There are local versions of trees and small rodents, for instance. However, there is one type of creature on the planet that has proven to be far different than any other that the beleaguered masses of humanity had ever witnessed. These creatures come in different forms and are known for having amazing special abilities that have come to be known as magical for lack of a better term. Research scientists originally made attempts at categorizing the various different types of these creatures that were found but it was discovered that they were highly similar on a genetic level. Despite their drastically different appearances they were nearly as similar to each other as one human is to another on a genetic and bio-chemical level. This is a fact that still baffles scientists even now.
These creatures are now known by one racial name “Majin”. The name was chosen based on a series of recordings and research notations by one of the prominent researchers of the early days after Planet Fall. The name seemed more fitting and personable than other more clinical terms that were considered at the time. The Majin are a race of creatures who have innate abilities that were considered to be completely impossible according to human scientific knowledge of the Planet Fall era. These abilities might be something as innocuous as the ability to forecast rain up to and including the ability to reshape large landmasses or to cause massive storms of incredible power.
It was discovered in the early days that human weaponry was largely ineffective on the small scale when it came to defense against the more powerful Majin. Large scale weaponry such as photonic cannons and high-end rail guns using depleted uranium worked very well, but hand weapons were practically useless against any but the weakest of these creatures. The same forces that allowed them to utilize their incredible powers also helped to protect them against the use of those powers by other Majin. Humanity was forced to utilize high-explosives or vehicle mounted heavy weaponry in order to travel.
Thankfully an incredible discovery changed the dynamics of how humanity interacted with this world. The Majin were actually sentient and quite capable of friendship with humanity! They were a race of beings dedicated to developing their personal strengths to the limits and while they had only lore and mythology to base it on they believed that at one time they had all been of a similar general appearance. In their drive toward physical and spiritual perfection they had grown dissimilar in outward appearance. They grew so dissimilar in appearance that only those who produced offspring via mutually stimulated parthenogenesis seemed to have survived. The Majin had become a race of beings who created offspring of a nearly identical nature with little variation between small mutations.
When Majin choose to have offspring they would seek out another Majin who wishes to do so as well. They then engage in sexual congress. The Majin are incapable of mating in the normal way as there is no mechanism for creating offspring that utilizes genetics from both parents. However, the action stimulates their capacity to produce offspring of a similar nature to themselves and they have a chance of producing offspring through parthenogenesis.
While this fact was fascinating to researchers and the general public alike it was the realization that the Majin could change their forms that brought greater interest. The Majin were capable of reshaping themselves on rare occasion through various means. Typically these changes were of a specific type based on the nature of the Majin. One type of Majin might start out as a small rat-like creature that breathed fire, for instance. When faced with incredible stress or certain environmental factors that creature could change its form and become a larger more powerful version of itself. The changes only went in one direction and most Majin could only change forms a few times throughout their lives. Generally they became far more powerful with each shift. Eventually this phenomenon was dubbed ‘evolution’ despite the fact that it was more akin to a metamorphosis than to true evolution.
Human and Majin Unite
The most peculiar factor about evolution amongst the Majin is what occurs when they become involved with a human. In the early days after Planet Fall humanity occasionally attempted to domesticate some of the weaker Majin. These attempts led to highly mixed results and many human injuries. A few attempts led to deaths or horrible disfigurements. However, the few successful attempts eventually lead to a startling discovery. When a Majin became attached to a human on an emotional level they evolved in a spectacular and stunning way! These Majin took on a humanoid form opposite of the gender of the human they became emotionally engaged with!
One of the first readily domesticated Majin, the flame-rat mentioned previously, was the first to showcase this change in form. It became enamored of its human owner, a man known as Harold Franklin. The flame-rat evolved due to a strong desire to better communicate and be with its master. It took on a very attractive female humanoid form in order to accomplish this. Her powers increased exponentially in the process and it was soon discovered that this change caused reactions in her owner as well. Mr. Franklin began exhibiting minor capacities in the manipulation of fire. These abilities were incredibly weak compared to his companion but they were testable and provable capabilities. As the two became closer it was determined that a Majin and a human were capable of forming a strong pscyho-spiritual bond that made both partners become far stronger in general. Harold’s physique took on a more muscular and fit tone within a few weeks. He exhibited signs of increased agility, flexibility, and broke the human land speed record for how fast a human athlete was capable of running without chemical or genetic alteration. The previous record had been set at 34 miles per hour in the year 2378 AD. Harold Franklin’s top speed was documented at 56 miles per hour after his bond with his new friend reached a high point. He upheld that record for nearly six years before it was overtaken by a new athlete.
There was a great deal of testing and attempts to bond with a Majin in those early days. It became known that the easiest method of creating a bond was to engage one in combat and defeat it. The Majin respected strength above all else. Defeating one of them in combat would generate great respect within the defeated Majin. This respect could be leveraged into an emotional bond should the human treat the Majin in a friendly manner and act courteously toward it. Once an emotional bond was formed and a desire to become better friends with their human conqueror grew within the heart of the Majin it would evolve. This never failed to occur when the Majin actually respected the human.
Once word began to spread among the Majin that bonding with a human would cause an incredible power increase they began to act differently toward humanity. They became interested in bonding with strong humans in order to become stronger themselves. Within a few decades they began to develop a tradition of challenging traveling humans to combat. If the human won then they would serve the human and attempt to forge a bond with their conqueror. There was no shame in this as they respected strength more than the supposed lack of freedom that they may have under human mastery.
Things were a little different if the Majin won, however. Typically when a Majin defeated another Majin they mated with the loser, enslaved them to some purpose, or ate them. The same fate normally awaited a human who failed to defeat or escape from an attacking Majin.
Emotional bonds are often weak initially, however, and over time they can break due to negligence or mistreatment. When a bond breaks the Majin undergoes a slow regression into their previous non-humanoid Majin form. Unfortunately, they also regress into a more bestial mental state as well. They will attack indiscriminately and act in a manner that denotes a lack of higher intelligence. These Majin are known as ‘Lost Ones’. The Lost or “Lost Ones” are Majin who have lost their spiritual nature and become true monsters. A human can reignite the spark of their spirit utilizing basic humanity and a strong emotional desire to help the Lost Majin. However, this is a very difficult process and it is rarely successful outside of the original human they bonded with making a sincere attempt to show their love and support.
The Majin in their natural state have a large range of intellectual capacity. The least intelligent Majin are little more than clever animals. Most Majin seem to fall under this level of intellect. However, there are many with intelligence that approaches human intelligence. A few even have natural intellects far beyond the average human and even outstrip some of the most intelligent among the human race by a great degree.
Majin who have bonded with a human will show a marked increase in their intellectual capacity most of the time. Those few who already have exceeding intelligence show less improvement but there is still some increase in intellect.
One of the most interesting effects of bonding with a human is that when a Majin wishes to mate it will be with their human partner. Mating with their human partner results in a Majin offspring who resembles the humanoid form of its Majin parent regardless of whether the Majin has a male or female appearance. A male Majin will impregnate a human female with its complete seed. This seed does not fertilize the egg of a human female and can cause pregnancy at any time regardless of the mother’s menstrual cycle. However, offspring of a male Majin and female human rarely occur due to the unfortunate nature of the human immune system. A human female will have to take special medication to suppress her immune response if she wishes to carry a Majin birth to term. The expectant mother will need to be constantly monitored by medical professionals in order to safely bring the child to term and give birth. Typically, a Majin birth will occur within four to six months after pregnancy begins.
If a human male and a female Majin attempt to have children it will result in the female Majin undergoing internal parthenogenesis. The same process occurs within the female Majin as it does with the human partner of a male Majin. The male human partner does not actually impart genetic material to fertilize a Majin egg. The action of intercourse simply stimulates the parthenogenesis process within the female Majin. Male human and female Majin birth rates are much higher than the male Majin and female Human coupling.
While the belief that non-humanoid Majin are more natural than humanoid Majin is prevalent amongst the human populace the truth is that since the Majin evolve to meet new challenges in their lives they are simply enacting a natural function of their existence. However, with that being said there are differences between the two states of Majin existence. The so called ‘natural Majin’ are all very independent creatures who wish to become stronger through combat and personal challenges. Most of them mate and then part without interacting beyond occasional battles. The humanoid Majin are different in that they desire to become stronger through combat and personal challenges but they also desire to serve the needs of their human partner. A humanoid Majin sees their human partner as very special and they wish to protect them and nurture their bond. They also allow for and sometimes even encourage multiple Majin to become partners with their human. They wish to protect their human master and this may occasionally require help and support when facing off against rival humans and wild Majin. This has led to a tradition of one human with several Majin partners.
In the early days of this tradition it was very difficult to maintain any sort of enforcement of arbitrary rules regarding how many Majin a human might bond with. Fights would break out and dozens of Majin would fight to the death on behalf of their human partners.
Eventually, the Majin-Tech research society created a form of magical restraint system that has proven to be highly effective for this means. Humans are allowed to bond with as many Majin as they can safely maintain bonds with. However, they are only allowed to maintain close proximity with a specific number of them at any given time based on their licensing provisions. License provisions range from 1 Majin up to commercial licenses that allow for one dozen Majin. A human may actively bond with more than this number of Majin but those not included in their official ‘on-hand’ list are required to be placed into long term containment until call out to replace an on-hand Majin. The law frowns on large numbers of stored Majin and they must be rotated out of containment once every 30 days and maintain out for a minimum of ten days per rotation. This ruling has been made universal amongst all human settlements and cities due to its effectiveness. While the various regional governments disagree on many subjects this was one subject that everyone agreed to readily.
Any human forming a bond outside of the law can expect harsh punishment if they do not have or cannot readily obtain a proper licensing provision in their region. The punishment and ideal ‘readily obtained’ concept vary from region to region. The existence of more ‘on-hand’ Majin than a license warrants is a crime with few exceptions. Majin hunters and law enforcement are granted a grace period of seven days to place all excessive on-hand Majin into containment. Majin Hunters can apply for an extension period beyond seven days in some regions. Almost all allow for an extension to ten days, and a scant few allow for an extension of up to thirty days. Majin Hunters with inter-regional passports are granted a minimum of fourteen days due to the time it takes to travel between some regions.
The laws of human and Majin interaction change from region to region. Some regions do not allow for personal combat between Majin owners. Other regions have highly detailed combat sporting events utilizing local Majin. Any traveler between regions is expected to adhere to the laws of a given region they are traveling through. Ignorance of local law is not an allowable legal defense.
The bond between human and Majin is one that works to mutual benefit for both races. A Majin obtains a more powerful and intelligent humanoid form. The human is granted what has come to be known as a ‘Bond Gift’. Bond Gifts grant human masters special powers and abilities via their bond with a Majin. These special abilities range from physicality increases to unique abilities such as summoning weapons, or creating fire. The strength of a Bond Gift is dependent upon the psycho-spiritual bond between human and Majin. This Bond is largely the reason for the ever decreasing usage of firearms and preference for unarmed or melee combat. There are only a few Bond Gifts that grant any form of increased damage with firearms. However, there are many which increase raw physical power or grant physical damage resistance that can actually nullify ballistic weapons. Crew-served Particle beam weapons and rail-guns can still be utilized but for the most part hand-held firearms are not powerful enough to do more than cause minor damage to truly powerful Majin and human masters.
Majin possess a natural defensive field known as Zero-Point-Defense. The Zero-Point-Defense (shown with the acronym ZDP despite the fact that many believe that it should rightly be labeled ZPD) allows them to maximize damage resistance by directly influencing incoming attacks on a level that goes well beyond simple instinct. The amount of counter-force generated varies wildly among Majin, but even some of the weaker Majin are capable of stopping low-caliber handguns and weak beam weapon technology. While powerful hand-held firearms and beam weapons can overcome weak to midrange Majin, they cease to be effective on even human opponents after a time. When a human bonds with a Majin they begin to develop a ZDP field of their own. While this field is not as strong as a Majin’s ZDP field initially the capacity to strengthen it with training and the ability to bond with several Majin at once has led to some notable legendary human figures performing incredible stunts such as easily surviving free-fall from the top of major city-center towers or shrugging off naval rail-cannon fire.
The only method of consistently penetrating the ZDP field is the possession of a ZDP field of superior strength. A stronger spiritual resonance wave can reduce an opponent’s effective defense and allow attacks to slip through. This factor has led to heavy focus on training in hand-to-hand combat styles that had been relegated to simple defensive measures and submissive moves due to highly effective firearms tactics. In the modern day a traveler is far more likely to see a human defending themselves with martial arts maneuvers utilizing punches or hard knee-strikes instead of a shotgun or particle beam weapon.
Humanoid Versus Natural Majin
While the belief that non-humanoid Majin are more natural than humanoid Majin is prevalent amongst the human populace the truth is that since the Majin evolve to meet new challenges in their lives they are simply enacting a natural function of their existence. However, with that being said there are differences between the two states of Majin existence. The so called ‘natural Majin’ are all very independent creatures who wish to become stronger through combat and personal challenges. Most of them mate and then part without interacting beyond occasional battles. The humanoid Majin are different in that they desire to become stronger through combat and personal challenges but they also desire to serve the needs of their human partner. A humanoid Majin sees their human partner as very special and they wish to protect them and nurture their bond. They also allow for and sometimes even encourage multiple Majin to become partners with their human. They wish to protect their human master and this may occasionally require help and support when facing off against rival humans and wild Majin. This has led to a tradition of one human with several Majin partners.
In the early days of this tradition it was very difficult to maintain any sort of enforcement of arbitrary rules regarding how many Majin a human might bond with. Fights would break out and dozens of Majin would fight to the death on behalf of their human partners.
Eventually, the Majin-Tech research society created a form of magical restraint system that has proven to be highly effective for this means. Humans are allowed to bond with as many Majin as they can safely maintain bonds with. However, they are only allowed to maintain close proximity with a specific number of them at any given time based on their licensing provisions. License provisions range from 1 Majin up to commercial licenses that allow for one dozen Majin. A human may actively bond with more than this number of Majin but those not included in their official ‘on-hand’ list are required to be placed into long term containment until call out to replace an on-hand Majin. The law frowns on large numbers of stored Majin and they must be rotated out of containment once every 30 days and maintain out for a minimum of ten days per rotation. This ruling has been made universal amongst all human settlements and cities due to its effectiveness. While the various regional governments disagree on many subjects this was one subject that everyone agreed to readily.
Any human forming a bond outside of the law can expect harsh punishment if they do not have or cannot readily obtain a proper licensing provision in their region. The punishment and ideal ‘readily obtained’ concept vary from region to region. The existence of more ‘on-hand’ Majin than a license warrants is a crime with few exceptions. Majin hunters and law enforcement are granted a grace period of seven days to place all excessive on-hand Majin into containment. Majin Hunters can apply for an extension period beyond seven days in some regions. Almost all allow for an extension to ten days, and a scant few allow for an extension of up to thirty days. Majin Hunters with inter-regional passports are granted a minimum of fourteen days due to the time it takes to travel between some regions.
The laws of human and Majin interaction change from region to region. Some regions do not allow for personal combat between Majin owners. Other regions have highly detailed combat sporting events utilizing local Majin. Any traveler between regions is expected to adhere to the laws of a given region they are traveling through. Ignorance of local law is not an allowable legal defense.
Human Empowerment and the STAT System
The bond between human and Majin is one that works to mutual benefit for both races. A Majin obtains a more powerful and intelligent humanoid form. The human is granted what has come to be known as a ‘Bond Gift’. Bond Gifts grant human masters special powers and abilities via their bond with a Majin. These special abilities range from physicality increases to unique abilities such as summoning weapons, or creating fire. The strength of a Bond Gift is dependent upon the psycho-spiritual bond between human and Majin. This Bond is largely the reason for the ever decreasing usage of firearms and preference for unarmed or melee combat. There are only a few Bond Gifts that grant any form of increased damage with firearms. However, there are many which increase raw physical power or grant physical damage resistance that can actually nullify ballistic weapons. Crew-served Particle beam weapons and rail-guns can still be utilized but for the most part hand-held firearms are not powerful enough to do more than cause minor damage to truly powerful Majin and human masters.
Majin possess a natural defensive field known as Zero-Point-Defense. The Zero-Point-Defense (shown with the acronym ZDP despite the fact that many believe that it should rightly be labeled ZPD) allows them to maximize damage resistance by directly influencing incoming attacks on a level that goes well beyond simple instinct. The amount of counter-force generated varies wildly among Majin, but even some of the weaker Majin are capable of stopping low-caliber handguns and weak beam weapon technology. While powerful hand-held firearms and beam weapons can overcome weak to midrange Majin, they cease to be effective on even human opponents after a time. When a human bonds with a Majin they begin to develop a ZDP field of their own. While this field is not as strong as a Majin’s ZDP field initially the capacity to strengthen it with training and the ability to bond with several Majin at once has led to some notable legendary human figures performing incredible stunts such as easily surviving free-fall from the top of major city-center towers or shrugging off naval rail-cannon fire.
The only method of consistently penetrating the ZDP field is the possession of a ZDP field of superior strength. A stronger spiritual resonance wave can reduce an opponent’s effective defense and allow attacks to slip through. This factor has led to heavy focus on training in hand-to-hand combat styles that had been relegated to simple defensive measures and submissive moves due to highly effective firearms tactics. In the modern day a traveler is far more likely to see a human defending themselves with martial arts maneuvers utilizing punches or hard knee-strikes instead of a shotgun or particle beam weapon.
There are a few who have mastered arts that allow for handheld firearms and beam weapons to become useful to some degree. In the hands of a master of these arts a firearm can pierce a ZDP field. However, most of the time the force of these assaults is weakened to the extent that any damage generated is no stronger than a very hard, highly accurate, punch or kick. Firearms have regained popularity to some extent over the last hundred years due to this factor. The arts which utilize weapons of this type are difficult to master and many find that it is simpler to learn to use their own body as a weapon much like the Majin.
In human society the role of Majin varies by region. In some regions the Majin are seen as little more than tools. They are sexualized animals that perform work for their human masters. In other regions they are treated as a highly specialized and enigmatic alien race and are allowed most of the freedoms of their human compatriots. Most regions are in a state that lies between these two extremes.
Except for the regions wherein a human and a Majin are considered to be equals there will exist some form of Majin trade. The type of trade varies greatly from region to region. Majin in humanoid form will only serve the human who evolved them from their non-humanoid form. However, Majin born from the evolved Majin will be masterless and upon reaching an age range of roughly 16-24 they will need to seek out a human to bond with or begin to regress into the state known as ‘The Lost’ or a feral animalistic existence.
In those regions wherein Majin are treated as equals they will post the desire for a human bond-mate on message boards, government sites, local want ads, and simply by asking a human friend to take care of them. There are also those who rent themselves out as mercenaries with the requirement that the human who wishes to bond with them ‘meets their needs’.
Regions which do not provide equal rights to Majin will often have a trade market for Majin. These markets vary by the region. In some the Majin will place themselves up for service in a manner similar to mercenaries. In less accommodating regions they will be forced to adhere to a system of regulation and often are awarded to those who desire a Majin. Most of the moderate regions also allow for the purchase and sale of Majin as long as all three parties agree to the transaction.
The Majin In Human Society
In human society the role of Majin varies by region. In some regions the Majin are seen as little more than tools. They are sexualized animals that perform work for their human masters. In other regions they are treated as a highly specialized and enigmatic alien race and are allowed most of the freedoms of their human compatriots. Most regions are in a state that lies between these two extremes.
Except for the regions wherein a human and a Majin are considered to be equals there will exist some form of Majin trade. The type of trade varies greatly from region to region. Majin in humanoid form will only serve the human who evolved them from their non-humanoid form. However, Majin born from the evolved Majin will be masterless and upon reaching an age range of roughly 16-24 they will need to seek out a human to bond with or begin to regress into the state known as ‘The Lost’ or a feral animalistic existence.
In those regions wherein Majin are treated as equals they will post the desire for a human bond-mate on message boards, government sites, local want ads, and simply by asking a human friend to take care of them. There are also those who rent themselves out as mercenaries with the requirement that the human who wishes to bond with them ‘meets their needs’.
Regions which do not provide equal rights to Majin will often have a trade market for Majin. These markets vary by the region. In some the Majin will place themselves up for service in a manner similar to mercenaries. In less accommodating regions they will be forced to adhere to a system of regulation and often are awarded to those who desire a Majin. Most of the moderate regions also allow for the purchase and sale of Majin as long as all three parties agree to the transaction.
In the regions where a Majin is considered little more than a beast of burden they are actively sold and traded as a commodity. However, even in these regions there are laws against abuse of a Majin similar to old Earth animal rights laws. Unlike moderate regions a Majin gets no say in who they are sold to. This fact has led to more than a few tragedies when the buyer forgets that the Majin are capable of high-level thinking and often do not take kindly to direct mistreatment. While most do not seem to care whether they are considered free or possessions they do concern themselves with the quality of relationship that they have with their master. A good and involved master will find an eager friend and compatriot no matter what region they live in. A poor and abusive master will often end up dead or abandoned in dire circumstances regardless of their region of habitation.
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