Power to use the abilities of a fext. Variation of Undead Physiology.
Also Called
- Fext Mimicry
Capabilities
User with this ability either is or can transform into a Fext, a powerful undead humanoid with some similarities to vampires and zombies first mentioned in Slavic mythology.
Among its most famous mentions are its exploits in the time of the Thirty Years' War, during the 17th Century, in central Europe; in particular, in Bohemia and western Moravia (today's Czech Republic). Some of the great generals and officers of that time were believed to be fexts, because of so many failed attempts to assassinate them. The name "fext" itself is derived from the German "kugelfest", meaning "bulletproof".
The common ritual for creating one requires that a child is born from its mother's womb in an amniotic cavity; the attached placenta is removed, dried and stored. When the child is old enough, the preserved placenta is held (or sometimes sewn) under the child's left arm. In some cases, the child may immediately die and return as a fext, while in other cases, the child may continue with life as normal, only to return as a fext after natural death.
It is also possible to return from death as a fext by use of dark magic, or by making a pact with dark forces (such as in exchange for one's soul).
However, whether the user is born as a fext, or turned into one by the above means they are handsome and powerful creatures.
The abilities of a fext are primarily physical in nature: they possess superhuman strength, durability/endurance, stamina, reflexes, agility, accuracy and/or dexterity. In addition, they always possess some sort of recuperative ability. This may manifest as either rapid regeneration or (more commonly) invulnerability, which often allows them to live an indefinitely-prolonged life.
There are even cases in which fexts have displayed some talent for magic, but those who do usually made deals with malevolent supernatural entities.
A fext's body often does not decay after death; instead, it often only slightly shrivels up, and the corpse often retains rudimentary motion, allowing it to twitch and writhe and grab and move in the grave. Though the dead body has no sentience at this point (cannot sense, cannot think, has no metabolism, etc), as one can imagine, this is a trait most useful in scaring off potential grave robbers.
Applications
Variations
Associations
Limitations
- Glass bullets or wooden stakes that are used to tie young trees may be used to permanently kill fext.