Appearance

All helvates share similar curses with their respective houses. The weaker helvates so tend to favor the curse more while stronger helvates have less of the curse present.

Death: The weaker helvates have more bones showing outside of their fur. This is not their true bones though, but instead an armor that they have on to try to keep them safe as their body is not as strong as the stronger ones. All death helvates have a skull mask that varies in appearance with glowing eyes of their color under it.

The Champion sport a bigger and thicker mask with glowing ruins that match their eyes. These ruins are known to appear along the body of the helling when they are about to go into battle. The brighter the marks, the stronger he creature is. They are able to take huge battle wounds to their body without losing a lot of blood. The blood clots and heals within minutes, allowing the Helvate to continue fighting.

War: War look like slain wolves, while the strongest look like massive wolves with double canines, meant to hunt in a group and run more strategic approaches than that of the other kingdom.

The Champion has elongated double fangs as is saber fangs and longer sharp claws. Their fur is slicked back more, making them more aerodynamic compared to other wolves or even other war helvates. They are built of lean muscle with short fur.

Famine: Famine look little emaciated corpses. As they grow stronger, they appear better and better fed and the visibility of their bones begin to lessen.

The Champion have longer fur that cover the status of their body; thus their strength. The longer fur provides an extra layer of defense that is hard to penetrate.

Conquest: Conquest look like slaves, with collars, chains, and brandings upon thin, weak frames, though the accessories do not interfere with movement in any way. As the wolves grow more powerful, these signs of slavery begin to recede. The collar never leaves the wolf and neither does all of the brandings. There is always at least one branding on the wolf marking it as conquest.

The Champion have the chains and collars embedded into their skin and fur that are connected to their bones. These are made from a material that can never be broken and do not hurt the wolf if pulled on or attacked.

Martyr: Martyrs are similar to War helvates as they appear slain with sections of their body visible. The stronger the helvate becomes, the more these section look like open wounds.

The Champion has fur that is brittle and hoarse, but has the strength of iron fibers. A champion will have their blood clotted where open wounds would appear on their body.

Terror: Terrors have wisp-like bodies. The end of their fur appears to fade off as if like smoke-like fire. The stronger the helvate gets, the more this appearance consumes their bodies to all their fur has a slight movement to it.

The Champion is completely engulfed in this smoke-like fire appearance where their bodies appear as if they are an elemental.

Abilities

Helvates tend to use only one element but they are really good with that one element. It is almost unheard of to hear them actually being able to use another element. The stronger the wolf, the more specialized they are able to control their element. For example, making ice out of water or able to utilize the energy created from fire for themselves. They tend to stay in small packs of five the most living nomadic allowing them to go more undetected by those that are causing trouble.

Death: They have an affinity for using elemental magic. The generally are masters at one element, but can use the others. They can only master one element with other elements being weaker.

War: The smartest of the four types. They rely on their strategies and planning to win rather than their physical or magical strength.

Famine: The strongest magically. These are the most likely to be specialized in a specific element and have complete control over them.

Conquest: Strongest defense. They are the most adapt at creating defenses rather than offenses.

Martyr: Martyrs are able to have complete sections of their body missing without it phasing them as well as lose a vast amount of blood without it affecting them.

Terror: The aura around them evokes a sensation of fear as if their worst nightmare is just around the corner.

History

Not long after angels and wolves were created, the two species met. Living nearby each other, the angels and wolves quickly formed an alliance, working together to live in harmony and safety. As their relationship grew, the wolves gifted the angels with a single royal pup and four non-royal pups, for a total of five pups. The angels took the pups in--one for each house, caring for them and imbuing them with protective spells and the light magic that their kind was known for. The pups grew and flourished and soon had pups of their own, the royal wolf breeding with the other wolves to strengthen the wolves of all the houses.

However, before the pups were born, Vaerath and Cysnial took note of the alliances between their two patron species, and decided to gift the coming pups with qualities that would suit them for their lives with the angels. Thus when the pups were born, they were far different than what their parents had been, for they were a new species, dubbed the kirkastas by the angels and wolves alike. These kirkastas guarded their corresponding houses, keeping the angels safe and working to communicate between the angels and the wolves of Katakarthia. Generations passed, and the species grew, developing characteristics in accordance with the houses they belonged to thanks to the magic that the angels continued to place into them to aid the wolves in their development.

When the demons rose in their silent rebellion, some of the kirkastas took the side of the demons, and turned against their packmates even as the demons turned against the angels. From there was the great divide, and as the demons changed from light to dark magic, the kirkastas changed as well, until they were no longer recognizable as kirkastas, and emerged as a new species, known as the helvates.

These helvates were rejected by both kirkastas and the original wolves, until the only allies that remained were the demons themselves, who like the angels had done, imbued the pups with runes and dark magic to aid their descent into the twisted wolves they are today. As time passed, the helvates began to developt he characteristics of their corresponding demon house as well, their features twisting from what was once their pureness as kirkastas to characteristics that far better suited their darker paths, and this is what they have come to look like today.