The Bone Carvers

[RAL]

The following history takes place after the tribes of Crete were exiled from the planet
This is the only documentation of the race known as Bone Carver.


On board the freighters, the last refuge for the tribes, they set course for the deepest part of the galaxy. With no planets to colonize and no source of food they began turning to cannibalism. What had become a ritual now had become their means of survival once again.

They began with only eating the dead, and the dieing, but it did not satisfy the numbers within the tribe. In 756 A.S. over 60% of the population had been eaten off. Another 20% of the surviving group had been infected with a deadly Kulu virus, a virus that they neither understood nor were capable of treating. Those that had survived built up immunity to the virus or suffered side effects.

In 757 A.S. the tribes comes across a small outer world colony. They sent out small vessels to raid the colony. The colonists were taken and kept as live cattle for the group. They no longer desired vegetable or anything else. They were accustomed to human flesh. The tribe also made upgrades to their main vessel combining parts from the other freighters to make a small colony ship as well as smaller class vessels for raids. They took several fighter class vessels and took again to space. This formed the small raiding parties, which they used to take out any space resistance before raiding the land. They still were not large enough to take on any large scale resistance.

Without strong leadership there numbers slowly dwindled. Babies begin to be born with strange defects in their teeth, many die, but the ones that survived had adaptations to their lifestyle. There teeth are longer, and sharper; they are born with all canines. It is a birth defect most likely from the Kulu virus and inbreeding. The new generation has immunity to the virus, but suffers from psychological issues and lack pigmentation in their skin, and eyes from the dark freighter environment. They are very violent and have a tribal social system. This new race becomes called the Bone Carvers.

With poor leadership, in 785 A.S., the tribes within the colony ship turned against each other. The massive ship became a war ground, and Darwinism took effect. It was survival of the fittest on board the freighters, anyone lacking speed or strength was quickly killed off as food. With all the fighting the Bone Carvers werent raiding any colonies. Many of the weak tried to flee through pods, in one of those pods was a newborn boy who was ejected off towards planet Crete by his father. Nearly all of the escaping pods are destroyed trying to flee. The young boys pod manages to avoid fire and is discovered and raised by a village shaman, he is kept in secret for fear of what they might do to him when someone sees his deformities.
The boy now 18 suffered from psychological issues like his forefathers. Much of the history afterward is unknown about him, but in 805 A.S. strange readings were recorded from sector 24 in a distant omicron system. Reports were that a large wormhole opened and sucked a single ship in and then vanished.




In 810 A.S. the Bone Carvers came across a strange ship, the designs are like nothing they had seen. The pilot presented himself as the Chosen, he was a strange man that had the traits of the Carvers and he brought what he called, The Mark of Cain. Through his strength and intelligence, he assumed command of the tribes, and all traces of them vanish. Only in 817 A.S. were they sighted again, as a mysterious ship appeared along the outer world systems. Its fighters have strange markings. They called themselves the Disciples of Cain and raided outer world colonies killing everyone and leaving bodies half eaten and severed heads on pikes with symbols carved into their foreheads.

Culture:

When a Bone Carver is born he is immediately taken from his mother and inspected, if he does not bare the traits of the carvers he is immediately sent to the central cell were he is recycled and becomes part of the Carvers diet. Once the baby passes inspection, he is not out of danger yet. From the time he can walk he is subjected to cruel treatment, and gets his first taste of the Carvers diet. This is meant to desensitize the young Carver to any pain or brutal violence. The result is a brutal murderer.

Once a Carver reaches the age of 18 he becomes part of the hunters, and depending on his brutality can be chosen to become part of there religious elites, the most brutal of killers, The Disciples of Cain. These are the leaders of the entire race. They are the space raiding parties, and control the races colony ships. They are referred to by their people as the savages of the sky. Those that dont make it into the Disciples become part of the ground raiding parties or man the guns on the Disciples ships. They can also become laborers aboard the colony ship. Labor is back breaking, but because of their cruel upbringing they have been bred to ignore pain, and finish the job.

Females are just as lethal as the males, although it is rare to see a female raider it has been documented that some have been seen, these are the most brutal and have been considered to be as lethal as the males.

Government:

The Bone Carvers have a tribal system of government; they have one leader who is also the leader of the religion and is called Cains Chosen, to betray him is considered to be a betrayal of their god Cain himself and is followed by a immediate execution. When the leader dies and new one is Chosen by a brutal tournament, in which they fight for leadership. The winner then must be blessed by one of the Voices of Cain before he can take leadership. Followed by him are the Voices of Cain, they are the voices of the religion and teach the young new Carvers, Cains teachings. Followed by them are the Disciples, the elite guard and space raiders, they fly all of the races ships. After that is the regular Bone Carvers, they have failed the tests of the Disciples and have now become workers on board the Disciples ships, or work in the colony ships doing many jobs including stripping the bodies of meat.

When the Carvers need a spy they will often use a survivor of a raided area, they will torture him into absolute obedience and send him out to a colony. They are considered sleeper cells, the pets of the Carvers.


Religion:

Mark of Cain-

The religion of the Bone Carvers is The Mark of Cain, it was brought on a ship which was flown by their leader, it was said that he had been to the underworld and was chosen by Cain to bring the religion to his people. It made the already brutal nature of the Carvers even more brutal. It gave them a purpose to kill, and a purpose to continue living and striving in their ways of life. It was considered a offering to Cain when they consumed human flesh, and since it was their main food source, it fitted in well.


Tech:

The Carvers use scavenged weapons and ship parts to repair and construct their ships. They have one ship that is said to have high tech equipment on it, called the Red Demon, the base were the young is born and taught their brutal ways, though no evidence of it has been obtained.


Physical Appearance:

They are pale skinned and have eyes which have adapted to their long space journeys through the dark corners of space. Through their inbreeding and diet they have adapted sharp canines in replace of all their teeth. Many have tattoos on their bodies as a sign that they have pledged themselves in service of Cain and the Carvers.