First Folks

Base Cost: 25 points

Origin:

The first folks are the original humans created by the Anunnaki to do their bidding, at least until Enlil repeatedly attempted to murder them all. Whether fully extinct or simply on the verge of becoming so, the first folks are an important piece of human history.

Known Powers:

Agelessness: more than anything else, what sets the first folks apart from humanity's current iteration is their longevity. A tactical error on the part of their Anunnaki creators, the first folks stop aging upon reaching adulthood, avoiding death via the ravages of time. (8 points)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

The first folk are not famous for any particular variety of equipment. Some may retain precious items or weapons lingering from their ostensibly unending existences, but others may embrace newer things over time, to better hide their true nature from ordinary mankind.

Quirks:

(none)

Talents:

More than anything else, first folks are likely to possess a vast array of talents, skills accumulated over thousands of years. Possibly mastering new knowledge since before the dawn of history, these long-lived folks typically utilize at least ten talent slots (or points).

Contacts:

Back in the day, the first folks were as loyal to each other as any other humans were; in other words, not all that much. Should any of them survive to the modern day, however, they likely find an odd kinship with each other, and may be able to consider their kind overall a reliable contact.

Characteristics:

Free from the shackles of aging, the first folks can plan for the long term. The very, very long term. After all, should they avoid death by violence, disease, or like calamity, they can persist indefinitely. This often leads them to be more cautious in their actions as they age.

Appearance:

The first folks are visually indistinguishable from ordinary humans. Sure, they may look amazing for their age, no matter what that happens to be, but most are smart enough to update their clothing and other trappings over time, to avoid people realizing that they are ostensibly immortal.

Ecological Niche:

An unaging race that can breed as fast as ordinary humans, the first folks are an ecological disaster in the making. Part of the reason Enlil tried to wipe them out in the first place was the fact that they were regularly achieving an overpopulated state - on top of all their racket, anyway.

Should any of these long-lived people persist after his many, many schemes to annihilate them, first folks (and any of their descendants) likely have learned their lesson, and reproduce much more carefully. After all, none of them want Enlil to notice their continued existence!

History:

Long ago, before humanity was created, there were only the gods. Chief among them were the Anunnaki, who ruled over the rest with nigh-absolute power. Their relatively immortal Igigi lessers, who were forced to do the Anunnaki's work, quickly grew tired of this state of affairs.

When the Igigi eventually revolted, Marduk instructed his uncle, Enlil, to do something about it. While powerful, Enlil didn't think he could cow the assembled Igigi into submission, especially since they had him surrounded inside his own home, so he made them a deal.

What if he arranged for someone else to do all the work they'd grown tired of? Accepting this compromise, the Igigi laid down their arms, prompting Enlil to find a way to replace the divine workforce, which required he consult with his fellow Anunnaki to find a solution.

During this conclave, Enki ultimately suggested the creation of humanity, and Ninhursag went about producing mortal beings to perform the work the Igigi felt they were too good for. With numerous lesser mother goddesses, she got the ball rolling with seven breeding pairs.

While slowly supplementing their numbers over time, Ninhursag was mainly content to let mankind increase their population as mankind does, and the Anunnaki quickly had a replacement workforce for the revolting Igigi. Mind you, Enlil wasn't happy with her results. At all.

This is because, when they didn't toil for the Anunnaki, humanity enjoyed itself too much - and far too loudly. His precious rest disturbed by all the noise human shenanigans produced, Enlil decided this experiment was flawed, and like Abzu before him, wanted to kill every last one of them.

He assaulted mankind three times, first by forcing Namtar to inflict disease upon humanity, then with drought by forcing Teshub's hand, and finally starvation by sabotaging Nisaba's grains. But each time, humanity humiliated these gods into relenting, all at Enki's urging.

Incensed that humanity persisted despite his murderous intentions, Enlil forced Enki to vow non-interference in his next attempt to eradicate the Anunnaki's greatest creations. He then set about engineering a vast flood that would wash all of mankind into the sea.

Of course, Enki is a crafty god, and defied his brother Enlil yet again. Arming his faithful follower Utnapishtim with a warning about the calamity to come, Enki gave him the idea of building a massive Ark, one which would ferry his family, and numerous creatures of the earth, to safety.

Dutifully building this vessel as Enki suggested, Utnapishtim then filled it with both his family and numerous examples of earth's majesty. Barely completing his work in time, Utnapishtim and company were saved from the vast flood Enlil used to wash away the rest of humanity.

After twelve days afloat, Utnapishtim released first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven. The first two returned, having found nowhere to land, but the raven ultimately left the Ark, never to return. At this revelation, Utnapishtim offered a bountiful sacrifice to the gods.

Furious Enki defied his will yet again, Enlil nonetheless couldn't do anything about it, having been reduced to Marduk's middle manager by this time. Thus, the gods rejoiced that much of earth's creatures, including Utnapishtim and his family, had been spared Enlil's petty wrath.

Now that all but one family of the first folks had been washed away, Enlil once again turned to Ninhursag to create humanity, though she refused to force her subordinates to give birth to countless humans. Instead, she stated she could recreate them with the blood of a god.

Having already been sentenced to death by Marduk for siding with Tiamat during her war against the gods, Qingu was perfect for this purpose. The Anunnaki then set about draining Qingu of all his blood, slowly, which Ninhursag banked over a very long period of time.

WIth this divine humor, Ninhursag restored humanity in short order, though this time she slipped a ticking time bomb into their very bodies. In addition to all its other weaknesses, humanity was now subject to aging, a change which would greatly limit their population.

As Utnapishtim and his kin ultimately evaded Enlil's wrath, however, several of the first folks remained. They and any others of their ilk that survived Enlil's great flood may very well persist to this very day, having possibly increased their numbers somewhat, as humans do.

Whether amongst themselves or with the new iteration of humanity, possibly creating hybrids with longer, if not infinite, lifespans.

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