Contents
Introduction:
Mintveil Paleings are thaumaturgic hybrid offshoots of Paleings. They were created specifically to be royal servants to Scalekin nobility and other higher-ranking Scalekin in their society. They were born with an innate talent for manipulating Ebonrift, making them highly sought after by many Scalekin.
Origins:
Frustration with Paleing Apprentices
Once the number of Paleings grew sufficient enough to solve their labor crisis, many in Scalekin society would adopt some to become their magical apprentices. However, many grew frustrated by the rate at which the average Paleing would learn and master the dark arts. While there were outliers, the sheer quantity of mediocre to average Paleing Ebonrift practitioners was staggering to an unacceptable degree for these Scalekin. Many would end up grumbling to themselves and accepting the bitter reality of their pale apprentices, while some outright abandoned them, sending them back to their original duties of hard labor.
However, there were a few quiet Scalekin who began sending formal letters to their government. These letters had no return addresses and requested a new breed of Paleing that was naturally highly adept at the mysteries of Ebonrift. The government, initially confused by these requests, quietly ignored them, citing internally that their labor workers weren’t pet projects, lineage vessels, or hobbyist toys. And so, that is how things remained on the continent of Ashkara. However, the letters coming in would remain small in number, but steady.
The Paleing Prodigy
Things would all change approximately 15 years later, when a Scalekin noble observed a Paleing performer execute several advanced Ebonrift techniques for his audience during a show. The noble was greatly impressed. The Paleing was one of the rare prodigies who excelled at the dark arts. Once the show was over, the noble approached the Paleing, asking who he belonged to. He was owned by a landlord the noble had never heard of before. So, after meeting with said landlord, the noble learned of the various methods and rigorous course material the Paleing had to go through to achieve these impressive feats.
Tempted to offer the landlord a price they couldn’t decline, the noble resisted, instead wanting to replicate those same feats the Paleing prodigy had performed before his eyes through another Paleing—but even better, through superior resources. And so, the noble went out and bought a Paleing, age 23, healthy and free of disease, and began setting him up with the best mages money could buy at the time.
A few years of training would pass, but the noble wasn’t impressed with the results. Despite his best efforts, his Paleing servant couldn’t replicate even a third of the magic tricks that prodigy had performed years prior. Frustrated, the noble gnashed his teeth and was ready to admit defeat. But just then, an idea appeared to him—a conclusion many before him had already reached.
As a result, the noble wrote a formal letter to the government, requesting that they create a version of the Paleing that was naturally inclined toward the ways of Ebonrift. Three months later, he received a letter written in drunken Scalderdash rejecting his request.
The Original 900
Unsatisfied, the noble banded together with other nobles who shared similar frustrations and shortcomings, and they simply lobbied their requests to the highest echelons of government. This would go on for a staggering 8 years. Eventually, under immense pressure, the government capitulated, having previously been hesitant out of fear of creating individuals who could surpass their own species in the knowledge of Ebonrift. It was a matter of national security and species survival.
Therefore, as development was underway, the government limited the number of these special Paleings to only 90. But after intense backlash from those higher up in Scalekin society, the number went up to 900. Once the first batches of these Paleings were created, they were distributed to those at the top of the waiting queue and raised by house Paleing women.
Mintveil Paleings:
Ebonrift Composition and Reproduction
Mintveil Paleings, as they were called due to their white-blue hair, differed significantly from their predecessors. While externally, besides their hair color, they were similar to Paleings, internally, 88% of their bodies were made from Ebonrift. This quickly became apparent whenever one would walk around, their aura being felt from a mile away.
Originally, Mintveil Paleings were born sterile. This was so the government could maintain their population at exactly 900 and limit the risks they posed. However, owners soon found a workaround. They began paying rogue Scalekin mages in droves to reverse this, and soon, they were sending Mintveil Paleings to each other’s houses to procreate.
And just like that, the population of Mintveils would explode well into the thousands. However, this added ability came at the cost of their bodies now being made of only 55% Ebonrift, making them far less capable. When the government caught wind of this, it was already too late, so they turned a blind eye, opting instead to recruit some of them into the government.
Privilege and Hostility
The majority of Mintveil Paleings were born into lives of wealth, privilege, and opportunity. They were fed well, treated well, and well cared for by their Scalekin masters. In these early days of their existence, they looked down upon their predecessors, the Paleings, as less capable adversaries and treated them as such. To them, they were the next step in evolution.
Despite this, an average Paleing encountering a Mintveil Paleing was relatively rare, and when they did encounter them, they chalked up their funny hair to a mutation. But once enough Paleings were around them, the Mintveils quickly developed a reputation for being the cruelest toward them, even more so than the Scalekin.
Therefore, hatred on both sides flourished.
Modern Times:
In modern times, the population of Mintveil Paleings is low after a century of war against the Paleings, during which they were regarded as collaborators with the Scalekin. Many live and die in isolated communities far from society. Their original history has been overshadowed by their newer reputation for being cruel and sadistic Witchlings, resulting in their systematic oppression by the 32-Fold government.
However, despite all this, their original xenophobia toward Paleings is all but extinct, with many scrambling to find ways to escape their predicament, while others double down on their innate talents with Ebonrift.