Veilborn

Classification: Element 95-altered sapient species
Origin: The Veil / Element 95 exposure
Primary Regions: The Veil, Voidlands, Farlands
Distribution: Rare outside Element 95-affected regions
Status: Extant
Typical Disposition: Hostile toward other sapient species

Veilborn are a sapient humanoid species created through extreme interaction with Element 95.

Primarily associated with The Veil, Veilborn are fundamentally different from the countless corrupted creatures and anomalous organisms found throughout the Farlands, Voidlands, and Veil.

While most severe forms of Element 95 corruption result in extensive mutation, psychological collapse, loss of identity, or the creation of highly aggressive anomalous organisms, Veilborn retain stable sapience.

They think, communicate, reason, remember, plan, and demonstrate individual personalities.

This distinction has resulted in Veilborn being recognised by most modern scientific classifications as a sapient species rather than simply another category of Element 95 creature.

Most known Veilborn are hostile toward other species.

However, hostility is not universal.

A small number of confirmed Veilborn have peacefully interacted with other civilisations, and exceptionally rare individuals have served within organisations including the Hell Hosts and other major factions.

Origin

The exact process responsible for the creation of a Veilborn is poorly understood.

All confirmed cases are associated with Element 95, particularly the extreme concentrations and anomalous conditions present within The Veil.

Whether Veilborn are transformed members of existing species, organisms created directly through Element 95, descendants of earlier corrupted populations, or the result of several different processes remains uncertain.

Different Veilborn may not necessarily share the same origin.

Attempts to deliberately reproduce the conditions responsible for their creation have produced inconsistent and frequently catastrophic results.

Appearance

Veilborn are predominantly humanoid.

They possess recognisable heads, torsos, arms, legs, hands, and facial structures, although considerable variation exists between individuals.

Their bodies frequently retain characteristics suggesting that they were once members of another humanoid species.

Human-like Veilborn are the most frequently documented, although this may reflect the populations historically exposed to Element 95 rather than an inherent preference within the transformation process.

Veilborn skin commonly possesses unnatural colouration including pale grey, charcoal, black, desaturated violet, dark purple, or combinations of these tones.

Element 95 frequently produces visible patterns beneath or across the skin.

These can resemble veins, branching fractures, irregular lines, or shifting patches of darker tissue.

Purple or violet luminescence is common, particularly around areas containing high concentrations of Element 95.

The intensity of this luminescence varies between individuals.

Eyes

The eyes are one of the most recognisable Veilborn characteristics.

Many possess violet, purple, white, or near-black eyes.

Some retain conventional pupils and irises, while others possess eyes in which these structures have become heavily distorted or almost impossible to distinguish.

A faint internal glow has been observed in numerous individuals.

The appearance of the eyes does not reliably indicate intelligence, aggression, or the severity of Element 95 corruption.

Individual Variation

Veilborn demonstrate substantially greater physical variation than most naturally evolved species.

Two Veilborn may differ considerably in skin texture, markings, eye structure, height, musculature, Element 95 concentration, and other characteristics.

Some can pass as unusual members of their original species when sufficiently covered.

Others are immediately recognisable as anomalous.

Despite this variation, Veilborn remain considerably more physically stable and humanoid than most creatures produced through extreme Element 95 corruption.

Element 95

Element 95 is not merely present within Veilborn bodies.

It has become integrated into their biology.

Tissue samples frequently demonstrate properties considered impossible within conventional biological systems.

Element 95 appears to participate in cellular function, energy regulation, healing, neurological activity, and other processes that remain poorly understood.

Removing Element 95 from a Veilborn is therefore not considered a conventional method of treating corruption.

In many cases, Element 95 has become necessary for the individual’s continued survival.

A Veilborn is not simply infected with Element 95.

Their body has become something capable of existing alongside it.

Difference from Corrupted Creatures

Veilborn should not be confused with the numerous creatures inhabiting the Farlands, Voidlands, and The Veil.

Element 95 can produce enormous biological variation.

Many affected organisms become severely mutated, unstable, aggressive, or unrecognisable compared to their original form.

Others lose higher cognitive function entirely.

Veilborn retain the defining characteristics of sapient life.

They demonstrate:

• Self-awareness
• Complex language
• Long-term memory
• Strategic reasoning
• Emotional responses
• Social behaviour
• Individual preferences
• Tool and weapon use
• Understanding of technology
• Capacity for cooperation

Their frequent hostility does not indicate an absence of intelligence.

Veilborn attacks can demonstrate planning, patience, deception, tactical awareness, and understanding of their opponents.

Mental Effects

Veilborn psychology remains difficult to study.

Element 95 is known to cause severe psychological effects among many exposed organisms, including hallucinations, paranoia, aggression, altered perception, memory disruption, and eventual loss of identity.

Veilborn appear considerably more resistant to these effects.

This resistance is not necessarily immunity.

Many display unusual behaviours and perceptions that may be associated with their altered neurological systems.

Whether these represent damage, adaptation, or simply normal Veilborn cognition remains disputed.

Researchers are particularly cautious about assuming that unusual Veilborn behaviour is evidence of insanity.

Their sensory experience of reality may differ substantially from that of other species.

Physical Capabilities

Veilborn physical capabilities vary considerably.

Most possess greater resistance to Element 95 exposure than any unaltered biological species.

They also demonstrate exceptional tolerance of the environmental conditions found throughout corrupted regions.

Some individuals display increased strength, speed, durability, sensory perception, or regenerative capability.

These abilities are not universal.

The enormous biological variation between Veilborn makes broad assumptions about their capabilities unreliable.

Element 95 Resistance

Veilborn can survive concentrations of Element 95 that would rapidly corrupt or kill most other species.

This makes them uniquely capable of travelling through certain regions of the Farlands, Voidlands, and particularly The Veil.

They are not necessarily immune to further mutation.

Extremely concentrated or anomalously active Element 95 can still affect Veilborn physiology.

Exactly where their tolerance ends remains poorly understood.

Communication

Veilborn are capable of complex spoken communication.

Many can learn and speak languages used by other species.

Individuals originating from previously existing humanoid populations may retain languages they knew before their transformation.

Independent Veilborn communities also possess their own forms of communication.

Some recorded vocalisations contain unusual distortions or frequencies, particularly among individuals heavily altered by Element 95.

Society

Knowledge of Veilborn society is extremely limited.

They are not believed to form a single unified civilisation.

Small groups, communities, isolated populations, and individual Veilborn have been encountered throughout Element 95-affected territory.

Relationships between these groups remain poorly documented.

Veilborn have been observed cooperating with one another, fighting one another, establishing territories, using technology, scavenging equipment, and constructing or occupying settlements.

Whether larger organised Veilborn societies exist deeper within The Veil remains unknown.

Hostility

Most encounters between Veilborn and other species are hostile.

The reasons for this hostility are not fully understood and likely vary between individuals and populations.

Some appear aggressively territorial.

Others deliberately hunt intruders.

Certain groups demonstrate clear hatred toward outsiders, while others simply avoid contact unless approached.

Because expeditions into Veilborn territory are frequently military, scientific, or resource-driven, researchers have also questioned how much recorded hostility reflects Veilborn behaviour generally and how much reflects the circumstances under which contact usually occurs.

Regardless of its cause, entering known Veilborn territory is considered extremely dangerous.

Non-Hostile Veilborn

Not all Veilborn are hostile.

There are confirmed cases of Veilborn communicating peacefully, trading, travelling alongside other species, or permanently leaving Element 95-affected regions.

Such individuals remain extremely rare.

Their existence nevertheless demonstrates that Veilborn aggression is not biologically absolute.

A Veilborn is capable of choosing cooperation.

Veilborn Within Other Factions

Only a small number of Veilborn are known to have successfully integrated into major interstellar factions.

Confirmed examples exist within the Hell Hosts and several other organisations.

These individuals are exceptional cases.

Veilborn personnel can provide capabilities unavailable to ordinary soldiers or researchers, particularly during operations involving Element 95 and corrupted territory.

Their presence can nevertheless create significant tension.

Personnel unfamiliar with Veilborn may associate them with the creatures and horrors encountered throughout the Farlands, Voidlands, and Veil.

Extensive medical precautions are also necessary due to their unusual biology.

Medical Treatment

Treating a Veilborn is extremely difficult.

Conventional medicine can be ineffective or actively harmful because Element 95 has become integrated into their biological processes.

Medical personnel working with cooperative Veilborn require specialised training and containment equipment.

Standard assumptions regarding blood loss, infection, organ damage, radiation exposure, medication, and tissue regeneration may not apply.

Research into Veilborn medicine remains limited because cooperative research subjects are extremely rare.

Culture

Veilborn culture remains one of the least understood aspects of the species.

Individual groups have demonstrated rituals, symbols, territorial markings, burial practices, weapon traditions, and other forms of cultural behaviour.

Considerable variation exists.

Researchers therefore reject the idea of a single universal “Veilborn culture.”

Some individuals who once belonged to another species may retain portions of their original culture.

Others appear to have abandoned it completely.

Identity

Whether a transformed individual remains the same person after becoming Veilborn is one of the most difficult questions surrounding the species.

Some Veilborn retain memories of lives apparently lived before their transformation.

Others claim no previous identity.

Certain individuals actively reject their former names or species.

Others continue to use them.

There is currently no universally accepted answer.

Scientific Importance

Veilborn represent one of the most significant known examples of stable biological integration with Element 95.

Understanding how they survive may provide information concerning Element 95 corruption, adaptation, neurological effects, and the nature of the Veil itself.

This has made Veilborn extremely valuable to scientific organisations.

It has also created serious ethical concerns surrounding the capture, containment, experimentation, and study of sapient Veilborn.

Unknowns

Much about the Veilborn remains unexplained.

It is unknown:

• Exactly how the first Veilborn were created.
• Whether all Veilborn originate through the same process.
• Whether they can reproduce naturally.
• Whether Veilborn transformation can occur deliberately.
• Why they retain sapience when most severe Element 95 mutations do not.
• Why most known populations are hostile.
• How many Veilborn exist within the Veil.
• Whether organised Veilborn civilisations exist deeper within corrupted territory.
• Whether Element 95 is simply responsible for their transformation or plays some continuing role in their consciousness.