There was a kingdom referenced in the book I had read called Testamanus, that was said to be a holy region far in the northern seas. Of the people I was seeing on the streets, there were people with all kinds of different body features like blue skin, beast-like features such as long prehensile tails, and I even saw a person with large white feathered wings on their back. I was so shocked that I had to ask Nightingale about it. "Sir Nightingale… What race are these people? Are they Gillinteen? Or maybe Affarown?" I asked in amazement. Nightingale then looked at me with a bewildered gaze. He then reached his hand towards me and flicked me on the forehead. "Hey! What was that for!?" I questioned in annoyance. "Those aren't different races, Ivan. They are people who have used a drug, and most likely unwillingly, to change into a beastkin." He said in a serious tone. "A beastkin? I have never heard of that race before… And how is it possible to change into one?" I questioned as I looked on at the many different people with strange beastlike appendages. "A beastkin is not actually a Race. That's why you have most likely never heard of it. However, you were also living under a rock your whole life so I wouldn't expect you to know anyways. A beastkin is more of an artificial species that comes about through a curse. That curse stems from the original progenitor, the Monkey king, god of beasts." Nightingale responded with an ominous tone. "The Monkey king? Why would he create a curse like this?" I questioned. This was the first time I had heard about such a god. In Bane, the main gods that were revered were the Goddess Gaian, the god of the Almighty, and of course the patron god of Bane… the god of Hunting. "Technically speaking, he didn't create this curse as a means to change mortals into beastkin. Rather, it was a means of creating what the world knows as Animal Wardens. They are what you would call protectors of the world's nature and creatures that dwell within it. At least that was his intention at first. Unfortunately, ever since his absence within the world a few of the Wardens have been acting independently and causing problems in certain kingdoms. The people here that have been changed into pseudo-beastkin are victims of said Wardens. The Monkey king shared his power with these Wardens and gifted immense strength and abilities. Their original origins are shrouded in mystery, not many people know who or what the Wardens were to begin with. Additionally, it has become increasingly difficult to even find where all of them are and confront who is responsible for this. I originally made a base here some time ago with the purpose of finding the culprit. Unfortunately, because they have the curse of The Monkey king running through their veins, they can also spread this curse through the use of their own blood which they have formed into a drug, which has made it even more of a challenge to trace it back to its source. What you see here on the street of Gamula, are the effects of that drug which have altered their body chemistry entirely, though you can find people like this in various different kingdoms causing a ruckus. Don't get it confused though Ivan, these people took this drug hoping to gain some kind of strength or power from the origins of the Monkey King. But the drug they have taken, is simply a watered down imitation of his true curse. In this world filled with people of overwhelming strength, those who are not chosen by the gods often find themselves searching for ways to match that divine power. Unfortunately, these poor souls have been manipulated and lied to. They have been taken advantage of and sold false hope. Ultimately, due to their addiction to the drug… This entire city of Gamula was affected. There was a certain incident where the drug was mixed into the ground water. Even children began to change after that. Now almost every single person within this city has been inflicted by the curse. Let this be a lesson, Ivan. Although in some ways curses can be seen as a good thing and offer certain potential, in the end there is always a distinct drawback. That at its core, is the essence of what a curse is and what distinguishes a curse from a blessing. " Nightingale said in a grim tone as he continued to maneuver through the crowded alleyways. I tried to follow close behind him. Otherwise, I may have lost him in the crowd. All of this information was perplexing. I couldn't really understand why people would risk changing themselves in this way all for a small chance at strength. Why didn't they just work harder? I guess I couldn't entirely know what the mindset of these people were. I definitely wasn't in any kind of place to judge them, especially as someone who came from nothing and also wanted more. "Sir Nightingale… Do all of them look like this? Y'know, with just random parts of their bodies changed?" I asked as I continued to see more and more people with beast-like features. "That is a good question, you'll see soon enough whether that is true or not." Nightingale responded cryptically. I decided not to push the question any further and just follow Nightingale. He led us down quite a few different pathways filled with vendors and random pseudo-beast people. Eventually we made it to the dead end of an alley way that had a large black door on one of the side walls. It would have been otherwise unseen to anyone walking past the alley unless they had ventured further in. Nightingale approached the door and knocked on it 8 times. After knocking, the door opened inwards and a large man with the snout of a hog appeared. He has a nasty look on his face with tusks creeping out of the sides of his mouth. This guy… Was damn ugly. I quite frankly turned my head to avert my gaze, otherwise he may have seen me make a rather undesirable face. The pig man then spoke out to us, "Who da hell is ya? Gon' git ya nuisance." He grumbled in some kind of weird accent. Nightingale definitely did not seem amused by his words and responded rather harshly, "Oi, you pig headed chump… Go and fetch Smiles before I beat you into minced pork." Even as Nightingale spoke, I could actually feel the weight of his words. They felt sharp and dangerous. For some reason when he spoke this one time, my body seemed to have some kind of visceral reaction and I shuddered at his voice. This seemed to happen to the pig man as well, because he actually jumped from the shock and snorted. The man quickly nodded and went back inside the door. "Sir Nightingale, what did you just do?" I asked, still feeling the effect of his words. Nightingale simply smirked and said, "This is a technique you will learn eventually. It is called, voice of the domineer. You can do this by channeling your vital energy into your voice and using it to portray your heart's will. If you haven't been able to figure it out yet Ivan, although these people sought after a drug in order to gain a semblance of a god's power, vital energy is by far the most effective way to gain strength as an individual without a blessing. Our vital energy stems from the all mother, the Goddess Gaian who created us. As such, vital energy is the once true source of power that can rival a blessing if nurtured properly. On top of that, it is something all beings in this world are born with from the start." Based on how I felt when I first channeled my own vital energy when I was trying to imprint on the Obsidian Crypt, a part of me knew that Nightingale's words were true. This vital energy, our soul power as it feels is definitely something with great potential…
Soon enough, the pig man came rushing back through the door and told us to follow him inside. He had a very worried expression on his face as opposed to when we first saw him. I'm sure that Nightingale's threats had struck him to his core. We entered the obscure residence and followed behind the pig man. As we walked through the strange abode, the air was filled with a smokey haze. It smelled like some kind of herbal mixture. There were pseudo-beast women draped in clothes lingering about and rough looking men drinking some kind of booze in different areas we had walked through. The entire residence had a rather luxurious yet weathered look to it with tasseled tapestries and bronze candle fixtures adorning the walls. There was also music playing from somewhere within the residence that sounded classical and upbeat. Eventually the pig man led us up a flight of stairs that came to a large dark wood door. He knocked on it a couple times and a voice boomed through the door, "BRING EM' IN." The voice sounded smooth and deep. It was a very imposing voice. The Pig man opened the door and gestured for us to go inside. Just before we fully entered, the Pig man whispered something to me. "Since you're a kid, I'll give you this one piece of device… Don't stare…" Honestly, I wish he hadn't said that. What was waiting inside the room was a creature I never could have expected. It was a massive crocodilian man, the most beast-like person I had seen in this cavernous city thus far.