For many a century, as this fine universe comes to its end, I have been studying the lands of Kinigi and its denizens. After much research, I have noticed that there is little to no sentient life in Kinigi, aside from the passing souls of the conscious dead, and the defenders of these afterlife-based realms. The Veth are the main living beings, a species that does not truly follow the laws of the Cycle, like every other being in Kinisis’s domain.
The population of the Veth in general appears to be declining, but where the missing Veth have gone, no one is certain. It is possible that, with the shrinking of Kinigi and the slow death of this universe, Kinisis is absorbing or otherwise killing off Veth, preparing to create new Cycles using their essence.
The average Veth is a shapeshifting being, with their default form often being based on a Panvok-like shape, akin to an adult male Vohra. They have heavy, metal plating across their bodies, particularly on their skulls, chests and backs. They have incredibly long tails and claws that can extend to several metres in length. Each hand and foot has two fingers and a dextrous thumb. Many Veth also have wings or some other method of fast movement. Colouring is often only one or two colours, a bright, glowing, almost neon colour and a secondary duller colour, although these colours can and are randomly changed at Kinisis’s demand. Parts of their bodies have bioluminescence, which they can control at will.
Over the last ten billion years, there has been a decline in the size of Veth, and many of them appear more skeletal, in some cases with actual metal bones protruding from their bodies.
The origin of Veth, despite my best efforts, is unknown. It is believed that the oldest Veth was born from the first sentient being to die, but this is not backed up by evidence and no Veth are capable of giving me a straight answer. While they claim to be unkillable and immortal, the oldest current Veth are only approximately 7.001 trillion years old, when the first sentient life appeared (according to Deitic records) 7.012 trillion years ago. It is possible that before those dates, Kinisis did not use Veth, or Veth since then were killed.
The vast number of surviving Veth are born from formerly mortal beings. At Kinisis’s discretion, she will pick out powerful mortal beings and mark their souls. When they reach the shores of Kinigi, they often do so in their old, mortal forms, rather than in a more traditional ghost-lie form. Marked beings are then hunted and captured by existing Veth and delivered to Kinisis personally, where she places them in specially-created pods. Inside the pods, the often unwilling beings’ bodies undergo a chrysalis transformation, their bodies broken down and remade into Veth. After a brief training period, they are sent out to claim a piece of territory and guard it from exo-Kinigian threats.
Marked beings mainly consist of Theoktons, powerful leaders of mortal races or those with extraordinary abilities. Some beings are chosen almost as punishment for their mortal lives, most notably the Unlahney, an ancient Veth who was a necromancer when they were alive.
What has been proven though is that Kinisis can create additional Veth as and when she needs them. These Veth are generally far weaker than traditional Veth, but are still incredibly deadly. Because these Veth are made directly from Kinisis and do not have an incubation period, they are also much more aggressive, borderline feral. They can be identified by their overall much bulkier limbs and the lack of glowing lights across their bodies. It is believed that, once these Veth have served their purpose, they are re-absorbed by Kinisis and thus have little affect on standard Veth.
The majority of Veth will spend their time within their own territories. Territories seem to have no restriction in size, and some Veth are known to group together to maintain larger areas. Ownership tends to depend on how much time is spent there, and although fights between Veth do happen, research shows that most Veth will only take or lose extra territory if they can or cannot look after it. An individual Veth will maintain a nest in the centre of their territory, although they rarely use their nests for sleep, they prefer to use it as a safekeeping area to store weapons and trophies.
There are also the makings of a complicated society among Veth. Although we do see them as savage monsters (especially since they compete with both how fast and how slow they can kill a Deitic), there is a vast network of communication and cooperation among Veth. They appear to act as one single community. There is no obvious leadership, but respect is earned and lost depending on one’s proximity to Kinisis and how many trophies that a Veth has collected. They regularly converse in their own language, they trade food, drink and more, they spend time together and form social relationships.
Unfortunately, as the Vethic population decreases, its remaining members become more and more aggressive. Recent behaviour has changed drastically, with Veth wandering outside of Kinigi. It seems that, as sentient life dies out, the Veth lose their reasons to continue existing. Perhaps this is why they are fading away.
As this universe dies, the Veth die as well.