Lore Primer

This page exists as a rapid breakdown of lore, allowing players to rapidly read up and immerse themselves in a character living within the world of Grimoria, particularly within The Isle Kingdom of Enigma.

Most if not all of the lore is obfuscated, revealed only in secrets, and compounded by conflicting accounts from books and official sources. This is intentional, to convey living in a chaotic world where the truth is uncertain. Not all major elements of the setting are explained in this primer; this is also deliberate.

Regions of Grimoria

• Isle-Kingdom of Enigma: The isle on which Stonekeep is set. A fiefdom ruled over by a petty-king (or queen).
  • Castle Stonekeep - A keep on the island of Enigma, presided over by the nobility.
    • Town of Rockhill - Colloquially known as Roguetown. A once-bustling trade center, now degraded due to neglect and troubled fortune, run by the Mayor.
    • Mire of the Terrorbog - A swamp infested by beespiders and bog-insects, thick with overgrown vegetation and amiable only to acolytes of the god of the forests. Awaiting the return of an appointed Bog Warden.
    • Shire of Murderwood - An ancient boreal forest, overrun by vicious volves, greenskins, and bandits. Awaiting an appointed Huntmaster of Murderwood.
    • Vigil of Mt. Decap - A volcano once home to a dreaded lich-wizard, and rumored to hold collected treasure. Home to all manner of goblins and orcs. Awaiting the return of its appointed Hedtman.
  • Town of Kingsfield - A port town roughly the size of Rockhill, and its source of visitors from outside of Enigma.
    • Coast of Kingsfield - A vast plain north of the Isle, ending with various docks that carry returning townsfolk to their homeland.

• Grenzelhoft  - The Black Empire, spreading its influence across the Known World, crusading in the name of the Weeping God.
• Zybantu - A collection of city-states, caliphates, rajas, and sultanates, nominally aligned against Grenzelhoft. Home of the world-spanning Merchant’s Guild.
• Valoria - Several free city-states and fiefs to the south of Grenzelhoft. Known for their fine wine and Makers’ Guilds.
• Dwarven Federations - Scattered dwarven confederacies around Grimoria. The largest confederacy is Adal-etem, a hold to the west of Zybantu in the frigid Hatay mountains.
• Elven Enclaves - The strongholds of elvenkind, spread across Grimoria but mostly concentrated in the Psy Woodlands north of Zybantu.
• Crimsonlands - The northmost part of Zybantu, a harsh desert cursed by rampant magic in the distant past, stalked by demons and bizarre, twisted monsters. Ancestral humen kingdoms conflict with tiefling hosts to restore their homeland.
• Heartfelt - An isle neighboring Enigma to the east, renowned for its rich, fertile lands, and its cultural exchange with the Fog Islands to its own east.  
• The Barrows - Once the stolen realm of the dreaded Warlock, now a deadland of decay and ruin. Many undead still stalk its vast plains.

Timeline

• The Weeping - Thousands of yils ago, The Forgotten God makes his last known appearance to his godly children. Sobbing, he proclaims his departure and makes an oath to one day return and make the world right. He departs the material realm to the void between worlds to destroy the sickness at the heart of reality, leaving the Pantheon as stewards of his plane.
• The Bloody Apotheosis - Five-hundred yils after the departure of the Forgotten God, a dreaded Warlock of Zizo sacrifices themselves to become a gateway to the Hells. Myriad demonic forces pour through the portal to assault Grimoria, only beaten back by the Pantheon and their mortal forces. After their victory, the gods return to squabbling and constant in-fighting.
• The Age of Heroes - With the world decimated after the Apotheosis War, many set to the task of rebuilding the broken land around them. Many tales of this era become legends for successive generations, and some heroes even ascend to the Pantheon. But in such an age of strife, some become disillusioned with the world under the stewardry of the gods, and turn to darker forces.
• The Golden Yils - A thousand yils after the Apotheosis War, many foundations of empires come into being. In the region that would one dae become Valoria, the city of Bellatora begins to build trade relations across the world. In Zybantu, the caliphate of Zaqara establishes trade relations with the dwarven clan of Haligromm, and the Crimsonlands kingdom of Mokuba builds the Null Wall against outside threats. Meanwhile, Bellatoran forces colonize the homelands of the Zenitharion people, in the region that, in time, will become known as Grenzelhoft.
• The Rise of Grenz - Valt of Grantz leads the Zenitharion folk in a bloody revolt against their Valorian masters. The tribe succeeds, driving the Valorians back to their homeland. It is said that Valt is crowned chieftain of all tribes in the region, and he forms the royal house of Grenz in his ancestral homelands. Grenz conquers the surrounding fiefs, and is united as the nation called Grenzelhoft.
• The Age of Iron - The scholar Portia of Catalidan notes the steep drop of magical aptitude in the populace. At the same time, the dwarves refine their crafting techniques to create new and strange machines; autonomous carriages, boxes that play music, devices that can send voices long distances. Many nobles of humen nations adopt these machines, with varying rates of ubiquity.
• The Black Dae - Two-hundred yils ago, Grenzelhoft declares itself the Grenzelhoft Imperiate, and marches on the Zybantine city of Falqis. On their way, they raze several miles of the Psy Forest, demolishing wood elven communities in their wake. Other sections of the Imperiate’s armies march on small kingdoms between Grenzelhoft and Valoria, taking them for the Empire.
• The Mist War - As Grenzelhoft progresses deeper into Zybantu, several nations unite under one banner to drive out the Imperiate. The Mansa-Padasha proclaims this new empire the "Ziggurat". In the sea north of the isle of Enigma, Zybantu and Grenzelhoftian fleets meet in battle and come to a pyrrhic stalemate, with thousands of sunken ships and casualties.
• Present Dae - Grenzelhoft and Zybantu rest at a hundred-yil stalemate, with various proxy battles between. The Totod Order continues to sweep Valoria, eradicating traces of alleged heresy. The Kingdom of Heartfelt allies with the Fog Islands against potential Imperiate incursions. Meanwhile, the Isle-Kingdom of Enigma sits in the middle, a rare source of magic amidst a changing world…

Factions of Grimoria

GRENZELHOFT IMPERIATE

The Black Empire, The Holy Imperiate of the Psycross, The Empire of the Trident

An imperialist state carved across the Eastern Continent through political upheaval, military action, and religious crusades. The Imperiate proudly assimilates all those who come under their heel into their Empire, integrating national identities into the fold and replacing them with their own. Their armies are the largest in the world, but the Imperiate is slowly beginning to bow under its own weight, hastened by the retaliation of the Ziggurat of Zybantu against its military.

Most Grenzelhoftians cannot remember a time when the Empire was not at war, and many have served within its military forces to escape the crushing poverty of its lower-class. They are a proud people suffused with love for their nation, but others view the ruling House of Grenz as a hated enemy, one to avoid or defeat.

ZYBANTU ZIGGURAT

The Dune Lands, Fire of the West, Merchants of the Pasha

The Zybantine Empire is a conglomeration of many califs, shakas, despotes, and rajas within the Western Deserts of their home continent. Once, the many scattered nations of the continent called themselves independents, but the first incursion of the Imperiate shattered cities across the land and led to the continent’s unification as the Ziggurat under the cunning Mansa-Padasha.

Zybantu is a rich and fertile continent for produce and minerals, especially at its coasts, and it has become a source for much trade and manufactured goods from all over Grimoria. The Merchant’s Guild was created by the Mansa-Padasha to control the flow of trade, and it boasts near-autonomy from the wishes of other councilors and lords of the nations within.

REPUBLICA VALORIA

The Hills of Gold, Baronies of Blood, Totod Order

South of Grenzelhoft, Valoria is a small continent with a mild climate, home to several nation-states which war or collaborate with each other depending on need. Valoria once had an empire of its own, but centuries have seen any prestige fall into obscurity.

Now, the House of Bajorai presides over the capital of Bellatora, having gained its power through its heavy presence in crafting guilds and the Church of Noc, patron of the Grand-Duke Bajorai. But even House Bajorai cannot slow the inevitable collapse of Valoria’s kingdoms, hastened by rumors of murderous cults among the ruling class. It is said these “Blood Barons” practice sacrifice to fuel their magic, attracting invading crusaders of the Totod Order who rampage through cities and towns in search of heresy and other abominations.

Minor Factions

KINGDOM OF HEARTFELT

Land of Blossoms, Gateway to the West, World of Myth and Magic

The Kingdom of Heartfelt is a petty-kingdom akin to its sister isle, Enigma, but one that has remained far more prosperous thanks to its rich natural resources, abundance of magic, and peaceful relations with the Fog Islands to their own east. Curiously, the kingdom has taken on many of the cultural elements of the mysterious inhabitants of the Fog Islands, such as their spiritual beliefs and aesthetics. Heartfelt prides itself on its beauty and the export of its art and artisan products, and its relations with Enigma are typically warm.

The Imperiate sees Heartfelt as a valuable trade partner, but its religious elements see the kingdom with suspicion due to its long association with the non-humen, piratical Foglanders.

THE CRIMSONLANDS

The Scarlet Sands, The Bloodsworn Bulwark, The Bronze Lion

The Crimsonlands are a region in the north of the Zybantine continent that encompasses three kingdoms; Mokuba, Yaga, and Rosha. During the Age of Heroes, the sorcerer-king Zboshu attempted to create a source of perpetual magical energy for the people of the three kingdoms to prosper from, but an error in the process caused a catastrophic explosion of magic. The once-fertile savannahs and plains of the region were turned into red deserts, with the wild magical energies spreading far beyond the blast radius of the initial explosion.

Today the three kingdoms are home to a proud, industrious people who have managed to eke out a living in the wastes. The kingdoms trade often with dwarves for their technology, forging a friendship between the two peoples. Crimsonlanders pride themselves on both strength and cunning, but deeply distrust mages, and open use of magic comes with grave penalties in many of the cities.

DWARVEN CONFEDERACIES

The Great Throngs, The Braided Confederacy, Malum’s Prodigy

Dwarven holds primarily rest in the mountain ranges of Grimoria, though some settle in underground caves; these ones often deal with raids of Spider-worshiping dark elves. The largest hold, Adal-etem, is the closest to a central governance, and has made efforts to unite dwarvenkind as a homogenous culture (though small differences in culture exist depending on hold).

The Confederacy has polite relations with most humen factions, though some holds have their reservations towards outsiders, particularly as they become outnumbered by greenskins and humens.

ELVEN ENCLAVES

Keepers of Grimoria, Children of the Fair Folk, The First People

In the wake of humen dominance and the incursion of Grenzelhoft into their communities, many elves have begun a retreat to strongly-fortified, magically-protected cities deep in the myriad wilds of Grimoria. Despite the general consensus that humenity is a threat to their populace, the communities of elves rarely agree otherwise, magnified by their cultural and religious differences between ethnicities.

There are several distinct cultural groups of elves, including high elves, sea elves, dune elves, wood elves, and snow elves.

DARK ELVEN CITIES

The Deep Ones, Children of the Spider, Speakers for the Dead

Various stories, myths, and records exist to explain the departure of the dark elves from their kin. Most agree the schism was of a religious nature, though none can agree on whether the worship of Necra or the Cult of the Spider came first. Whatever the case, dark elves typically live in theocratic city-states in the Underdark, under the command of a Matriarch. Many supplement their cities with raiding and pillaging the surface world.

Dark elves are considered separate from elves entirely, and are often a subject of intrigue and hatred among “true elves”.

ORK AND GOBLIN THRONES

Crusaders of Graggar, Warriors of the Dark Sini-star, Heirs of Grimoria

Spreading from the Crimsonlands, the Thrones of the Graggarspawn warlords take advantage of natural resources and nearby settlements to raid, conquer, and move on to more promising targets. Their society is an ever-moving horde, beset by explosions in numbers and sudden, steep losses in equal measure.

FOG ISLANDS STRATOCRACY

The Abyssal Tide, Vanguard of the Abyss, Demonic Sea People

The Fog Islands are a mist-shrouded moving archipelago on the brink of Grimoria's seas, relics from bygone eras. The islands belong to three exotic races, ruled by warlords under the patronage of Abyssor and his self-proclaimed son, the Abyssal Emperor. Though he is primarily ceremonial, the emperor remains a divine figurehead with living ties to the Abyssal Tide, and his blessings are sought by ambitious warlords.

The islanders are renowned for their fearsome navy and piracy, plundering the coasts of the mainland for as much riches as they can carry. But threats to their stability come in the form of a schism surrounding their traditional politics and a reformist faction. As the reformists ally with Heartfelt against Grenzelhoft’s imperialism, the traditionalists lurk at the edges, raiding the coasts and seeking an opportunity to return to power.

Powers of Grimoria

The Forgotten God

Father of Men, Destroyer of the Wicked, The First Hero

The Forgotten God is so ancient that his name has been lost to time. Some legends say that he struck it from the world himself, to free mortalkind of his influence. He is the father of Astrata and Noc, and to humens, the creator of the world. He is the arch-enemy of Zizo, and passed beyond the world to rid it of the Z’s scourge forever. Worshiped primarily by Grenzelhoftians, some pilgrims travel Grimoria to spread the word that one day the true leader of the Pantheon shall return to restore greatness, prosperity, and peace.

Astrata, Goddess of Order and Light

The Great Goddess, the Sun Queen, Lady of Glory

Leader of the divine Pantheon, creator of the aasimar, and ancient steward of the mortal races. Her powers fall under light, warmth, and the Sun, though Astrata is thought by many to be an exacting, prideful, and warlike goddess. Astratan acolytes are known to call upon purifying flames, steel the resolve of their allies and even call upon the wrath of the sun herself against those who would fall against order.

Astrata's doctrine shows mercy only in the form of justice swiftly delivered by the blade's edge. To this end, despite the Pantheon's distance in recent times, she still grants many blessings and boons to her worshippers and will gladly punish those who break her law. She despises chaos, diabolism, betrayal, and sloth.

Noc, God of Knowledge and Nite

The Archivist, Lord of All Knowledge, the Moon Prince

Noc is the god of the moon and knowledge, and the twin brother of Astrata. It is said that when he and his sister were first born, the two fought over the domain of the Sun. Astrata with her superior strength won this battle, turning Noc sour and resentful. To spite his sister, he created the nite so that he could be looked on and worshiped as the moon.

Noc’s faithful are usually scholars, bookworms, and archivists, those who seek pleasure in learning. He dislikes the ignorant and the unrestrained, those who would shame the explorers and scientists. Noc wishes only for his followers to see the unseen when they walk the Moonlit Path, and harness their envy and pride into thirst for knowledge.

Noc resents those obsessed with carnal desire, ignorance, and destroyers of knowledge that do not result in greater discovery.

Necra, Force of Death and Decay

The Veiled Lady, Judge of the Damned, the Undermaiden

Some whisper that Necra is even older than the Forgotten God, and has watched over the lives of mortals since time immemorial. Perpetually at her side is her Carriageman, who guides all souls to the Dustlands, her realm. She is a cold and distant goddess, loved by few. Despite this, worshippers say that she has blessed many animals with the power to guide the dead to the Dustlands, for she wishes all souls to find their peace. She is sister-god to Dendor and Abyssor, said to work in tandem with their natures.

Necrites show extreme reverence for the dead, believing that the departed should go to the afterlife prepared for the voyage. They encourage others to soothe the last moments of the dying, and despise necromancy and undeath for its defilement of corpses.

In absentia of Necra’s direct word, her worshippers have settled on a philosophy of nihilism. To Necrites, all things will pass, even gods, and what matters is to accept this end as gently as one may. Theirs is a philosophy of simple living, and their churches are graveyards, their sermons brought from whispers they claim to hear from the dead.

Necra has few things that gain her favor or disfavor. Nothing can escape the Spiral of Decay; why bother?

Dendor, Force of Nature and Beasts

Father Nature, Old Lichenbeard, Wilderman

Dendor is a god gone mad and silent. Once, mortals and beasts could speak the same tongue, and the land was harmonious. But when Malum gave mortalkind industry, they razed Father Nature’s forests, polluted rivers, and slaughtered beasts en-masse, in excess. Driven to despair and insanity, Dendor spun his beard into a noose and hung himself atop an ancient oak tree.

Unfortunately, the god found no peace. By the command of Astrata and the actions of Necra, he was brought back from the brink of death and became something different. Father Nature was reborn not in the image of the two-footed races, but in the image of the beasts he ruled over. He was something wild and frightening, and he wanted vengeance.

Dendor has not spoken to the other gods since his revival, so it is said. The only words he whispers are to his newest children, the first monsters, telling them to raze the societies of men, greenskin, and dwarf, though even some elves are not immune to his ire. The nature of the world grows sickly and hostile to those who do not seek to live in harmony with it, with some animals turning violent when they were once content to leave mortals alone.

Dendor’s ire is turned to despoilers of nature and expanding civilizations.

Abyssor, Force of Sea and Storms

The World Whale, Storm-Giant, Lord of the Waves

Fickle as the tides he commands, Abyssor is the god of the oceans and storms. Sailors and travelers pay him tribute to pass the seas of Grimoria unharmed, but Abyssor wishes for mortalkind to respect the awesome power of the waves more than he wishes for their love.

To the Earth-shaker, disrespecting or minimizing the fury of the storms or inability to adapt to changing tides will bring his wrath. But those who ply the seas and skies steadfastly, and give tribute to the ocean’s bounty will be blessed in their endeavors forevermore. Abyssor’s acolytes work close to docks, offering blessings to sailors and fishermen under the warnings that they respect the seas.

Abyssor dooms you to the depths if you attempt to tame the seas and oceans. Fear and hubris alone send many sailors to an early grave.

Malum, Saint of Craft and Toil

Father of Industry, Tamer of the Flame, The Blacksmith

Malum is said to be the first mortal who achieved godhood, and built the dwarves in his divine forge. Even if the dwarves are his prized creation, Malum smiles upon any of the mortal races who earn the sweat on their brow, who toil until their muscles are sore, and those who strive to refine their craft even further beyond. Malumites call upon their God’s will to soothe metal and summon bounties of resources from Grimoria itself.

Malumites show great love for craftsmanship and hard labor, and Malum rewards this toil by soothing their muscle pains and whispering ideas into their ears. But he loathes those who are slothlike and lazy, personally ensuring that any shoddily-built machine is sure to fail. He finds those who take credit for others' work infuriating. He finds suicide especially reprehensible for its rejection of one’s form, and is said to recycle souls for it.

Ravox, Saint of Warfare and Strife

The Vigilant, Sword of the Ten, Master of Blades

When Ravox was a mortal, he enforced order on a lawless land through steel and blood. His prowess in battle was legendary, and he gained an entourage of dedicated warriors seeking to follow in his footsteps of sword-arts. But behind his vicious countenance, his companions noted his apathetic demeanor. Ravox sought only the next battle, hunting for victory to impassion him, and this is what led him to service in the War of the Gods against Zizo.

The terror of demons and his mortal allies alike, Ravox was met in battle by the demon lord of murder, Graggar. In furious combat, Ravox banished Graggar’s avatar back to the void between worlds, but his bravery had nearly cost him his life. Luckily for the sword-saint, Astrata lifted him to godhood as a reward for his service. Far beyond Grimoria Graggar swore a vow of revenge, plaguing the world with his spawn to rout the humens protected by the Sword of the Ten.

Thus did Ravox’s warband become the first acolytes of their leader, teaching his principles of venerating the art of war and honorable combat. To Ravoxians, within struggle lies the true test of one's worth and the eternal quest for victory in the crucible of battle.

Eora, Saint of Love and Life

Lady of the Poppy, Mother of Passions, Heartkeeper

Eora is considered a relatively young saint, but her domains are primordial, borne from the innate desires for companionship and reproduction that (almost) all living beings possess. Tales say she was once a concubine of extraordinary beauty, and caught the attention of Saint Ravox. The god of war asked for her hand in marriage, which Eora granted on one condition; that he nurture something beautiful in the world, instead of destroying it. Ravox gifted her three things; the love of a soldier for his comrades, a poppy grown on a battlefield, and the gratitude of an innocent saved by a warrior. Since then, she has become his counterpart, encouraging passion to protect life and love.

Eoran acolytes seek to find beauty and love in all things, and care for and protect life at all costs. She is worshiped by lovers, prostitutes, and even diplomats for her peacebringing, but many see her as anathema to Astrata’s order, a goddess that is stained and degenerate.

Eora’s wrath is rare, but she deeply disapproves of cruelty, celibacy, and destroying or marring beauty (except to protect love and life).

Pestra, Saint of Disease and Alchemy

The Hag Mother, Panacea, The Alchemist

Once, Pestra was a mortal woman who had the intuition to see the threads of fate as they were spun. She spent her entire life experimenting to concoct the finest potion, one that would engineer an ascension to godhood. When she imbibed this potion, the Panacea, she vanished without a trace - only to appear to her coven the very next day, proclaiming her newfound divinity.

Inspired by their new saint, Pestra’s cult experimented with remedies and surgeries, teaching the common people how to heal themselves without need of temple healers. Pestra lost the favor of Astrata for this, but her discoveries spread across the known world, empowering villages to self-sufficiency while pursuing greater knowledge to strengthen her own.

Today, the Hag Mother is the patron of witches, brewers, and necromancers. To her and her acolytes, bearing illness is a testament to the touch of Pestra, a test of her faithful. Only those who accept the nature of disease and decay can find their cure.

Pestra casts pestilence down on those “curing” abnormalities without understanding its place in fate's design, disregard for the misfortunate, and those seeking approval of society.

Xylix, Saint of Trickery and Illusion

The Trickster, Prince of Thieves, Fount of Inspiration

Many mortal priests, particularly those of Astrata, scoff at the name of Xylix. It is said he is a figment of pagan imagination, a way to attribute misfortune to a name. But even if true believers are rare, the Prince of Thieves’ dual nature, of joy and comedy, sorrow and tragedy, seems to only strengthen the rhetoric of his cult.

His followers say that Xylix was once a mere mortal with a penchant for schemes and devilish pranks. To test his wit and luck, he played grand pranks on and sowed discord throughout the pantheon. When Astrata finally managed to chain him down, he revealed his sleight of hand - sparks of stolen divinity from each god, which he used to vanish from confinement and ascend as a true divine.

Followers of Xylix embrace deception and mischief, for in cunning lies the greatest spark of creativity. Revel in unpredictability and misfortune, for that is how the seeds of innovation are sown. Let your every word be a jest, your acts a performance, and your every step a dance to hear Xylix's laughter echo in the cosmos. Yet if one becomes boring and predictable, Xylix will shower them with foul luck for it.

Races of Grimoria

Humen

Prolific and ordinary-seeming compared to the rest of the mortals of Grimoria, humens are nevertheless said to be the chosen people of the Forgotten God and the inheritors of the world (to those who do not believe orcs will take it over). They come in a variety of cultures, creeds, and colors.

Elf

The “first people” of Grimoria, originally having journeyed from the lands of faerie. They live long, long lives, and their grasp of magic is unparalleled. It is said they were once immortal, but their lifespan was taken from them in part by the Forgotten God for ancestral atrocities against other races.

Dark Elf

Grey-skinned, underground-dwelling elves who have long diverged in appearance and attributes from their surface-dwelling kin, in a desire to break the curse of the Forgotten God on the elves. The circumstances of the ritual are a mystery, but said to involve powerful necromancy, a spider cult, and other wild rumors. Their societies cultivate a reputation for cruelty and brutality, though a non-insignificant amount grow tired of this lifestyle and live on the surface.

Dwarf

Stout, muscular, and tradition-bound, dwarves are a proud and single-minded race that primarily worship Malum, god of craftsmanship. They mostly inhabit the mountain ranges of Grimoria, though some leave their communities to sell their wares or end up exiled for breaking dwarven traditions.

Orcs and Goblins

With tusked snarls and cut-throat cunning, orcs and goblins are creations of Graggar the demon lord, who crafted them as a mockery to all mortal life. Matured quickly by an uncaring world, some tribes have made impressive leaps of technological and cultural progress that centralize warfare. Their unifying goal is to avenge their demonic father, and become the new masters of Grimoria through conquest.

Aasimar

The aasimar are the creation of the goddess Astrata, built to be her mightiest soldiers during the Apotheosis War. Though far hardier and stronger than the natural races, they lacked wisdom and treated their mortal comrades callously, leading to much scorn and ire as their troops died in droves. After the Zizonian Warlock was banished, many aasimar stopped hearing the voice of Astrata in their ears, and were left adrift without divine purpose. Their bodies are ageless but unable to reproduce, and long after the Apotheosis War many societies still shun them for a dull wit and violent legacy.

Tiefling

Tieflings are the product of unions between humen and demon, originally cultivated by the machinations of the Warlock of Zizo to serve as their soldiers in the Apotheosis War. Millennia later, the result of their demonic ancestry is apparent in their horns, tail, and brilliant-colored skin. Though still ostracized for their origins, tieflings have gradually been accepted into society at large as mortal beings, though with apprehension. They live slightly longer than humens, and are fertile; however, their ancestry is not always apparent in their offspring, and it is not uncommon for a child with two seemingly humen parents to come out sporting horns and tail.