The Midnight Breed Series Companion Read Free

general civilians are bred like cattle, with most offspring being taken away to serve the rich. There is only one religion, and powerful priests dictate to the masses how they should live.
    There are no marriages, only reproductive matings among the powerful and selective, and clinical breedings (generally IVF, or stud servicing if the owners prefer more hands-on supervision) among the masses. Females are viewed as valuable only so long as they can breed—whether that's on the demand of an elite male (if the female is of a highborn bloodline) or in the farms and in servitude. Barren females, which are rare, and those who can no longer bear offspring, are euthanized—if they're lucky. Basically, you don't want to be born female on this planet!
    The race has its own complex language, but they can also communicate telepathically and read one another's mind. The masses are prohibited from telepathic communication by the implantation of stunting chips at birth, which cut off that part of their brain. Individuals raised on the farms are basically lobotomized in vitro, since they will not need any of their faculties in their dim existence.
    The army of this planet is immense, and brutal. This is a race of beings that thrives on violence and conquest, which has bred an entire class of gladiatorial warriors in service to powerful generals, as well as the generals themselves, who relish blood sport. From time to time, pods of these warriors are sent out to scout neighboring planets for possible inhabitation and/or resources. They love bringing home trophies from "exotic" places—usually skulls or other evidence of the carnage left in their wake.
     
    Physical description of the Ancients
     
    Humanoid in form, but typically 6'5" and often taller. Immensely strong. Eyes are greenish-topaz, with elliptical pupils—very much like cats' eyes. Optimum nocturnal and predatory vision.
    Bodies and heads are completely hairless, with unusual skin markings ("dermaglyphs") that serve as camouflage and ultraviolet ray protection (meager) as well as indications of their lineage and social rank. These markings are henna-like and intricate, but change colors (brown, gold, green, blue, red) and iridescence based on the individual's emotional state. The markings cover their bodies, often even into their faces and the tops of their heads.
     
    Psychic abilities of the Ancients
     
    -   Mind reading and telepathy between their own kind
    -   Mind control of humans
    -   Ability to create "Minions" (mind slaves) of bled humans
    -   Ability to move at speeds beyond human sensory detection
    -   Telekinesis
    -   Heightened sensory perception (like predator animals)
     
    The crash-landing on Earth
     
    Thousands of years ago, a group of eight warriors from the Ancients’ planet set out on a conquest and crashed on Earth. Immediately following their arrival, two of their crew died of UV exposure. They learned quickly that Earth has long days of sunlight, and, vulnerable during this time, they had to seek shelter deep underground.
    The aliens were highly evolved intellectually, so they picked up on human languages with relative ease, aided by the ability to read simple human minds. They communicated with Earth's inhabitants when needed, if mainly to taunt them with threats and verbal domination, which provided a basis for some of the alien and vampire folklore that spread through countless human generations.
    Hunger was an immediate factor in the survival of the aliens on Earth. At night, they would sweep in on quiet villages to feed and kill without discrimination. They actually wiped out entire civilizations in this fashion (Atlantis, the Maya, others of less note). Because of Earth's harsh climate, the aliens required more blood than on their own planet, so they consumed in vast quantities, spreading mass fear and superstition through humankind for centuries.
    Other hungers needed to be sated as well. The aliens relished hunting humans and