GENESIS
Long ago, deep under the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ancient krakens and animal-kind formed a forbidden relationship that led to the very first Majestical cephalopod to be born. In its early years, this squid-like, yet person-like creature was worshiped for its unusual appearance. However, animal-kind soon became greedy to get their hands on it when they discovered that this creature had many magical abilities. It fled to the ocean, where it eventually had offspring: the very first MAJESTY MATROCEPTALS.
MATROCEPTALS are the firstborn of krakens and half-krakens, and are naturally an enormous size. The first were named MAGNAROESUNAI and MONSUICARTA. They were born with half of the ancient abilities of krakens, which would eventually be passed down to their countless offspring.
Together, MAGNA and MONSUI created an underwater civilization to home their lineage. Naturally, the ocean was full of many threats to their establishment: shark-kind, octo-kind, and many other races tried to dismantle their deep-sea kingdom. They came up with a way to defend themselves: they would categorize each of their offspring by their abilities, and since genetics allowed their offspring to inherit no more than one trait at a time, they prohibited procreation entirely—excluding only them—to keep their bloodline pure.
This resulted in the four subclasses of Matroceptals that exist today:
MATROCEPTALS are the firstborn of krakens and half-krakens, and are naturally an enormous size. The first were named MAGNAROESUNAI and MONSUICARTA. They were born with half of the ancient abilities of krakens, which would eventually be passed down to their countless offspring.
Together, MAGNA and MONSUI created an underwater civilization to home their lineage. Naturally, the ocean was full of many threats to their establishment: shark-kind, octo-kind, and many other races tried to dismantle their deep-sea kingdom. They came up with a way to defend themselves: they would categorize each of their offspring by their abilities, and since genetics allowed their offspring to inherit no more than one trait at a time, they prohibited procreation entirely—excluding only them—to keep their bloodline pure.
This resulted in the four subclasses of Matroceptals that exist today:
MAGIC, MONSTER, MUTANT, and METALLIC.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBCLASSES
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MAGIC MATROCEPTALS are all very small and useful Matroceptals. The Matroceptal kingdom has a small village of cottages where smaller, more feminine Matroceptals reside. In exchange for their peace and protection, they have to submit a liter of their ink to benefit their kingdom military on a regular basis. That being said, the Matroceptals who are allowed to reside in these villages must have at least one beneficial property to the ink they produce.
For example: healing ink, growth ink, speed-enhancing ink, or cauterizing ink would be acceptable properties to be allowed to live in one of these villages. Eroding ink, glittering ink, or glowing ink isn’t going to be particularly useful enough to earn a Matroceptal a spot in a protected village. But for those that qualify, they are lucky enough to settle themselves into an easy, worry-free way of life. |
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MONSTER MATROCEPTALS are born into the way of the kingdom’s military, and have, with zero exceptions, no way out of it. They are boldly colored, unbelievably powerful, speedy swimmers, large in frame, and are also the most common type of Matroceptal to be born.
From the moment they are conceived, they are tossed into basically a kindergarten of other Monster Matroceptals. From infancy to full maturity, they are relentlessly battling one another in preparation for threats against the kingdom. By way of society, they are pretty secluded from other Matroceptals, and both discriminate and are discriminated against—not to mention that their aggressive nature doesn’t help with preconceived stereotypes. Most of these Matroceptals move on to be guards when they are fully matured, and if they are particularly impressive, may even serve directly under their rulers. All Monster Matroceptals strive to reach this position, where they are guaranteed a full, safe, and life where they are no longer treated as expendable. |
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MUTANT MATROCEPTALS are a unique bunch indeed. They are the rarest type of Matroceptal to be born, and also the most abundant with special abilities. To other Matroceptals, they may be seen as broken or improperly developed, but their physical deficiencies are made up for in rare traits. These abilities include rapid tentacle growth and degeneration, extreme body resizing, shape-shifting, abnormal speed and strength (above even that of a Monster Matroceptal), and sometimes even color-changing or bendable bones.
These Matroceptals are usually a Monster or Magic subclass, but born with an extreme ability that forces them to be an outlier from their normal kind. That said, they can be born with any stature and there is no specific size for them to be. Some Mutant Matroceptals are thrown into the kingdom military, some are confined to a sub-par life within kingdom walls, and some are designated as special weapons to be used at the royalty’s disposal. |
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METALLIC MATROCEPTALS, while not considered rare Matroceptals, are the most uncommon type to be seen amongst other members of their race. Due to the strange nature of Metallic Matroceptals’ bodies, they are often walled off to live with their own kind. Metallic Matroceptals are the most regenerative subclass among all others, as well as the most deadly. While it isn’t possible to obtain the extreme speed, strength, or supernatural abilities that other Matroceptals have, they are nearly impossible to kill. On top of this, they can produce ink that can be corrosive, thousands of degrees hot, or even able to form structures. Because of the nature of the Reefon’s hierarchy, Metallic Matroceptals are heavily mistreated. Their extreme bodily durability inspired the MAJESTAL Matroceptals to sanction their living quarters below most of city, home to active underwater volcanoes and magma pools. While they are praised for their intellect and durability, they are also let to die if they are born without the abilities unique to their subclass. They are extremely hard to encounter or even interact with because of their seclusion. Compared to other Matroceptals, little is known about them. |
ORIGINIS OF MODERN REEFON
With the thousands of years that the Matroceptal kingdom has operated, those who challenged the ways of the Majesticals were always severely punished—until the day Ryu came along. Ryuoshunin, a Mutant-subclass Matroceptal with amplified abilities, was not born directly from the Majestals themselves. Instead, he was the son of two rule-breaking Matroceptals. Their difference in subclass resulted in a direct rivalry between the two of them, as the Mutant Matroceptal had gotten itself a spot in the kingdom military for what seemed to other Monster Matroceptals to be an unfair reason.
One particularly gutsy Monster Matroceptal made his resentment for the Mutant in their ranks clear from the beginning, which led to quarrel after quarrel as training went on. Even though they were evenly matched to one another, both of them yearned for a leg up in a match. They despised each other so much that something very unusual came out of it—an obsession with one another, which led them to make some forbidden choices. Procreation normally implied the death penalty for most Matroceptals who dared to break this rule, so when the parents realized what they had done, they did their best to hide it. However, a young Matroceptal couldn’t be hidden in their quarters for long. After as little as a month, young Ryu was discovered by the guards, and the three of them were taken before the MAJESTALS to receive their punishment— little did they know it wasn’t going to go as they anticipated.
One particularly gutsy Monster Matroceptal made his resentment for the Mutant in their ranks clear from the beginning, which led to quarrel after quarrel as training went on. Even though they were evenly matched to one another, both of them yearned for a leg up in a match. They despised each other so much that something very unusual came out of it—an obsession with one another, which led them to make some forbidden choices. Procreation normally implied the death penalty for most Matroceptals who dared to break this rule, so when the parents realized what they had done, they did their best to hide it. However, a young Matroceptal couldn’t be hidden in their quarters for long. After as little as a month, young Ryu was discovered by the guards, and the three of them were taken before the MAJESTALS to receive their punishment— little did they know it wasn’t going to go as they anticipated.
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“What do we have here,” Monsui cackled. “Another pair of Matroceptals trying to ruin our bloodlines?”
“Wait a minute,” Magna interrupted, standing up from a throne-shaped reef, “aren’t these our top soldiers in training right now?” Monsui huffed. “Does that really matter...?” Magna looked at Monsui with rancor. “It certainly matters when the sharks attack our kingdom and our strongest soldiers are uselessly lying dead at the bottom of the ocean.” Magna walked forward, ignoring Monsui’s outrage at his disrespect towards her. He carefully kneeled before the three Matroceptals on trial. “Tell me your names,” he asked gently. The Mutant Matroceptal looked at her partner, who was too frightened of the royalty before him to open his mouth. She raised her head boldly. “Nopahana,” she proclaimed. Magna patiently turned to the Monster Matroceptal. “And you?” Timidly, he replied, “Dazarikunai...” “No name for the child?” Magna asked. However, the parent Matroceptals only gave silence. “The unrelenting penalty for procreation in our kingdom is death,” Magna said firmly, standing up slowly. “That said, the two of you are my most powerful soldiers currently in training.” Magna’s eyes turned to the young Matroceptal, struggling to get away from the guards who were just barely managing to keep him in one place. “Look how strong he is. Why don’t we name him now? How about... Ryuoshunin?” Magna stared for a long moment at the child before beginning a malicious pace around the Matroceptals on trial. “So, my two most powerful soldiers-to-be had a child,” he went on. “To me, that means only one thing.” Nopahana and Dazarikunai lifted their heads apprehensively. Magna smiled at them. “You’ve delivered a perfect super-solider right to my feet.” The two Matroceptals looked back at their child, briefly imagining him at the hip of the most royal Matroceptals--a position every solider in the kingdom military yearns for. “You won’t go unpunished, of course,” Magna continued, “but not with the death penalty. Instead, your child will be the only one of your bloodlines to be able to become a royal guard. The two of you will only ever move on to guarding the palace, that is, if you don’t die in battle.” Dazarikunai’s shoulders sunk with grief. Nopahana bit her lip, trying to think of a way to make their situation a little less devastating. Quickly, it hit her. “Your Majesty,” she suddenly pleaded, “will we at least be able to live with our offspring on the training grounds?” Dazarikunai looked at Nopahana with shock and hope. Magna stroked his chin in thought dramatically. “Hmm,” he hummed in a belittling tone, “Yes... Why not get his training started early? For 10 years, young Ryu can stay with you. Not a day longer. He’s got to grow to become a super-weapon, after all...” |
With that, Magna sent the three of them away, confining them to a difficult life of something that other Matroceptals would never know of—having a family. They were treated terribly by their fellow soldiers in training: belittled, beaten, and worse things. The bad treatment was hard to pass on to young Ryu, who was much stronger than the Matroceptals he was surrounded with. The terrible treatment Ryu witnessed his parents birthed a deep hatred inside of him, not only for the royalty he served under, but for his entire race as a whole. The resentment only intensified once Ryu hit the age of 10 and was sent to live directly alongside the Majestals. His training with potential super-soldiers began immediately, which consisted of harder, more deadly exercises than what he endured up to this point. Ryu’s inconceivable strength made everything they threw his way far too easy. This fact made his rivals and co-trainees extremely intolerant of him.
RYU'S ESCAPE
After 10 years of direct training underneath the most regal of royalty in the kingdom, Magna himself decided that he was competent enough to begin serving as a royal guard—which would be making him the youngest royal guard in Matroceptal history. This idea outraged every Matroceptal in his ranks. While some Matroceptals worked their entire lives to earn this position, he was about to be awarded it simply for being strong. As Ryu was being sent back to his quarters to prepare for his change in status the next day, a quick plan was executed to frame Ryu for the death-sentencing crime of procreation.
The next morning, Ryu reported to the royal throne as instructed only to be met with the kingdom’s deadliest royal guards:
The next morning, Ryu reported to the royal throne as instructed only to be met with the kingdom’s deadliest royal guards:
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“We didn’t know you were so frivolous,” a familiar voice rebuked. Sure enough, Monsui herself twirled around the corner. A smile of satisfaction was spread across her face.
“To think you’d end up using both of our highest respect to have your way with other Matroceptals,” she continued. “What?” Ryu snapped. “Have what way?” “Don’t play dumb,” Magna hissed, swimming out from behind the throne. “We had our trust in you, and what did you do? Assult not one, not two, but three defensless Magic Matroceptals. You’re just as vile as your parents.” “Assult? Vile?” Ryu cried. “What is it this time, I walk past them and now that counts as assult?!” “Procreation is the highest offence a Matroceptal can commit,” Magna bellowed. “I now wonder how I ever saw any potential in your filthy little existence.” The guards grabbed ahold of Ryu, who all but struggled in response. “What a waste of a strong Matroceptal, though,” Magna continued. “You were the strongest we’d seen in a very, very long time.” Magna turned away from Ryu coldly. “Boil him,” he commanded. |
With that, the royal guards rose their shiny, metallic tentacles. No wonder they were royal guards, Ryu quickly realized. They must've been Metallic Matroceptals with the deadliest varieties of ink. Ryu knew that if he didn’t act fast, he was going to be reduced to bones in seconds. In a blink of an eye, he extended his tentacles and struck their ankles, making them fall to their faces. Their hands were still grasping his wrists, which prevented him from escaping in that moment. Without a second thought, Ryu snapped their wrists with his tentacles, releasing himself from their hold. He sprung away from the palace, right out of the kingdom he grew up in. Despite all guards getting alerted immediately of Ryu getting away, none of them could quite keep up with his unbelievable speed through the water.
PRISONER TO THE SURFACE
Since Ryu’s escape to the surface, other Matroceptals were offered a position on the kingdom’s royal guard if they fulfill the requirement of Ryu’s death. Try as they might, Ryu was not only hard to find, but completely impossible to defeat. Those who have gone to find him have never returned. Ryu himself, after learning that the Majestals would do anything to kill him in order to keep such a strong Matroceptal from threatening the kingdom, was more than outraged. His lust for destroying the Matroceptal kingdom and extracting revenge on his entire race had now consumed him completely. He vowed to himself to one day return with an army and uproot all of REEFON—all with his bare hands.
After many unwanted battles with other Matroceptals who did manage to track him down, Ryu had acquired a chaotic mindset. For years, Ryu tried to stay quiet on the surface. Since he planned to destroy Reefon one day once and for all, he knew he'd need more than speed and strength to do it. For the first time, he was stepping out of the shadows to face the creatures of the land. However, he had no way of knowing that the people who lived there had an entirely separate fate awaiting him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
After many unwanted battles with other Matroceptals who did manage to track him down, Ryu had acquired a chaotic mindset. For years, Ryu tried to stay quiet on the surface. Since he planned to destroy Reefon one day once and for all, he knew he'd need more than speed and strength to do it. For the first time, he was stepping out of the shadows to face the creatures of the land. However, he had no way of knowing that the people who lived there had an entirely separate fate awaiting him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
