“Some see we may be an advanced, multi-spectral civilization, but they forget our original purpose. To be the ultimate killing machines, designed for that purpose. Sometimes, we carry out the purpose and then leave the field, but for the dammed, the outcastes, the Unspoken, they can never leave the battle.”
The Blood-thirst is the natural biological condition all Mendel species more or less have through-out their lives, that gives them the drive to kill and fight in battle. The Thirst first registers at around age 7, equivalent to 13 in Mendel society, and festers further. If the individual is not assisted by their faith leaders and parents, he succumbs to a life of endless rage and violence. Kept locked away, these poor few are doomed to a long, painful life filled with the unnatural need to kill and destroy, and, in emergencies, sent into battle, not only to devastate enemies, but to hopefully gain an honorable death in battle.
All Mendel have the Blood-thirst, though, the earlier they restrain it within themselves, the better they can fit in other societies. The later they do so, the more aggressive and powerful they become. This includes an increase in muscle power, endurance, and life-span, though often results in loss of the ability to think rationally, as well as an out-right hatred for aliens and outsiders, even their own kind at times. The longer they wait to cull these emotions, the worse it becomes.
Other races engineered by the Multus suffer the Blood-Thirst as well, or variations thereof. Raptoraneans do not experience the Blood-Thirst at age, but suffer from a variant known as the Blood-Lust, which only kicks in when their mate is in danger. The Blood-Lust heightens a Raptoraneans senses even more than they already are, gives them increased strength and durability, and fills them with incredible anger, causing them hold back at nothing and go disregard their own safety completely until their mate is resqued. Once he or she is safe and out of the firing line, the Blood-Lust will subdue as easily as it kicked in. Best way to prevent the Blood-Lust, is simply, to keep a couple that is a least half Raptoranean in the military always together. Karogon and Dragowar are known for their Blood-Rage, similar to Mendel Blood-Thirst and Raptoranean Blood-Lust in many aspects, though both can summon and subdue the Blood-Rage at will. However, it also acts as a defense mechanism, giving the Dragowar or Koarogon increased strength and durability as well, and allowing them to fight on even if they receive shots to the head or otherwise vital organs, unlike Raptoraneans in Blood-Lust or Mendel in Blood-Thirst. However, if they are in battle for too long, the Blood-Rage will become permanent, resulting in a large amount of Dragowar who joined the Mendel being found in the Blood-Thirst Companies. Lastly is the Voracha Blood-Frenzy. This kicks in simply when a Voracha smells blood, and causes their regenerative abilities to go into overdrive, causing them to heal bullet wounds and scratches extremely quickly, as well as increasing their speed. However, their attacks become far more inaccurate, and the Voracha are left extremely exhausted when the Blood-Frenzy subdues. As such, Voracha must have fresh blood at all times in battle, lest they become exhausted, a thing that, due to their fragile bodies, would result in their death. As such, the few Voracha in the Mendel are always placed in the Blood-Thirst Companies.
Side-effects[]
The Blood-Thirst is the main reason why most Mendel are hot-headed, stubborn, and fierce warriors. It causes them to have a natural desire to kill, and as such, when in war, suffer none of the same side-effects other races suffer, such post-traumatic stress disorder, panic or any of the like. Due to this, they are bitter enemies, with a near insatiable drive to kill. Where it not for the Time-Slip, they would most likely still be conquering barbarians. Even when calmer, they are still as hot-blooded and aggressive as before, just more capable of talking and speaking with others.
However, this comes with negative features as well. They commonly cannot understand why other races do not enjoy war to the same extent as they do. While they regret losing comrades and friends in battle to the same degree as others, they themselves do not understand the fear of facing death. Likewise, the Blood Thirst, until it conquered, gets stronger and stronger within them as they age, causing them to, while having heightened senses and strength, causes increased aggression towards non-Mendel, xenophobia, and bloodlust to the extreme.
Conquering it[]
When they turn seven, the Mendel have around a year to conquer the Blood-Thirst, with it becoming stronger as they age. Due to this, the longer they wait, the stronger they become, but the more feral they become as well. As such, some chosen to conquer it right at seven, while others wait awhile, to achieve some of it's benefits, without the full risk.
The Conquering of the Blood-Thirst involves daily meditation and calming of the mind for hours on end, in the quiet shrines, isolated from most others. Mendel Priests watch over the children, so their progress towards conquering the Blood-Thirst is not interrupted. Once done, the Blood-Thirst's process is stopped, and whatever effects that where made by the Mendel remain unchanged. For example, any muscle mass, strength, and increased aggression they fostered is now permanent, though their aggression can be controlled with further mental training and some drugs.