### ![<](file-guid:f36974a4-feb5-4f7d-ab44-6f001b98c144 "Screenshot_2025-04-14_152711.png" =x400)**Overview** **Umbravine** is a rare and deeply controversial **biotechnological and alchemical implant** developed by the radical darkside sect the **Cult of the One**. Designed as a living graft of Sith-inspired symbiosis and organic ritual augmentation, Umbravine manifests visually as **ebon, vine-like tendrils** that appear to coil and pulse beneath the skin of the bearer. Most prominently seen across the arms, neck, and hands, these veins are **not merely cosmetic**: they serve as conduits for an alchemically engineered ichor that fundamentally alters the physiology and Force sensitivity of the host. The implant bestows a range of effects, including enhanced resilience, increased connection to the Dark Side, and the rare but potent ability to ritually siphon life energy from nearby beings. However, these abilities come with steep costs. Within the Cult, Umbravine is not only a tool: it is a mark of devotion and a sacrament of corruption. To accept the Vine is to surrender to something far greater and more terrible than the self. Umbravine is an implant that is exclusive to members of the Cult of the One - in that only those fully within the Faith are allowed to receive it. However, the cult is known to “gift” long term allies with other, less religiously significant implants ### **Origins** The roots of Umbravine - both figurative and literal - can be traced to a buried Force vergence on Dantooine, near the site where the Cult of the One first formed. Beneath the decaying remains of an ancient Jedi temple, cultists unearthed a labyrinthine root system twisted by centuries of spiritual residue. The roots exuded a slow, black ichor that responded to the presence of Dark Side energy, pulsing in harmony with violent emotion and ritual chant. Through the forbidden arts of blood alchemy, Sith bioengineering, and excruciating genetic grafting, the seers extracted the raw substance - later named **Umbravine** - and refined it into a mutagenic fluid. When ritually injected into a subject’s bloodstream, the ichor bonded with the nervous system, creating a living circuit between the host and the ancient root structure - or what remained of its presence in the Force. The early tests of the Umbravine were particularly brutal. The subject would often experience violent fever-dreams, seizures, and visions, during which the bond was completed. Most early volunteers did not survive. Those who did were irrevocably changed. Over the decades since its discovery, the technique to graft Umbravine has been refined and perfected. | Seen Above: Thorn, a prominent user of the Umbravine. | | ----------------------------------------------------- | ### **Known Users** * **Thorn** – A former nobleman from Alderaan who forsook his name and family, Thorn became infamous for both his brutality and unwavering devotion to the Cult following his successful grafting. He is considered one of the most stable Vinegifted, though his loyalty is under constant scrutiny due to his connection to the heretic Seer Violetta. * **Violetta** – Thought to have experimented with an early form of Umbravine, but her records were erased following her condemnation and later death. ### **Abilities and Effects** Umbravine is not a passive implant - it is a living augmentation, reactive to both the Force and the emotional state of the bearer. While its full capabilities are only unlocked through ritual use and discipline, even dormant, it changes the physiology and metaphysical orientation of its host. Each gift it offers is double-edged, empowering the user while exacting a toll. #### **Symbiotic Amplification** The primary function of Umbravine is to amplify the host’s attunement to the Dark Side. Through its direct neural connection to the brain and spinal column, the ichor magnifies emotional surges—particularly fear, rage, hatred, and grief—and transmutes them into raw Force energy. When engaged in rites, channeling, or high-stress environments, the host may experience: * Enhanced telepathic range * Heightened ritual sensitivity (especially to death, pain, and memory echoes) * Faster Force reflexes during combat It is not merely a power boost, but a complete saturation of Dark Side essence, temporarily aligning the bearer more closely with the Force’s chaotic will. #### **Pain Dulling** One of the more brutal aspects of Umbravine is its neurochemical dampening of physical pain. The ichor wraps around the body’s nervous system, acting as a biological buffer, muting pain signals and reinforcing shock thresholds. While this allows the host to withstand immense physical trauma—flaying, cauterization, even limb loss—it comes with consequences: * Diminished self-preservation instincts * Nerve fatigue and occasional blackouts after prolonged use * Difficulty distinguishing between injury and fatigue in combat #### **Energy Siphon** Perhaps the most feared ability tied to Umbravine is its capacity to drain life energy. This manifests as: * Sudden withering of nearby flora * Agonizing seizures in smaller animals * Weakening, paralysis, or death in sentient victims The stolen energy may be redirected in several ways: * Accelerating Force recovery * Fueling complex rituals * Charging forbidden alchemical or bioengineered Cult devices This siphon is **not instantaneous** and often requires concentration and preparation. In battlefield conditions, it is mostly used as a finishing technique or in ambush scenarios. #### **Regeneration** While not on par with advanced kolto treatment, Umbravine grants **limited regenerative capabilities** - provided there is sufficient external biomass to draw from. By absorbing life energy (often via small kills or ritual offerings), the ichor may: * Mend superficial wounds within minutes * Reattach or regrow minor tissue * Stave off infection and toxin spread However, it is **not limitless**, and overuse has been known to result in the ability either not working or horribly backfiring and causing harm to the user. Use of this ability without proper spiritual restraint is strongly discouraged within the Cult, though desperation often overrides doctrine. ### **Drawbacks & Risks** * **Corruption**: Overuse causes physical degradation, including skin necrosis, bleeding from the mouth or eyes, and eventual **loss of limb functionality**. * **Psychic Whispers**: Users report hearing **"the Root’s voice"**, which may not be metaphorical. Some cult records speak of madness, possession, or merging with so called “Nowhere otherworlds.” ### **Symbolism** Within the Cult of the One, Umbravine is regarded not merely as a tool, but as a sacrament - a living covenant between the host and *the One*, their unknowable god of entropy and divine dissolution. Cult doctrine teaches that the *black tendril*s winding through the flesh are not only physical manifestations of the ichor, but spiritual roots - threads of fate that tether the host to the deeper will of the so called “Nowhere otherworlds”. To be Vinegifted is to abandon one's ego, desires, and mortal aspirations. It is to surrender to the One’s design - to cease being a person, and become instead a vessel, a whisper in the collapsing order of things. The transformation marks a ritual death of the individual, after which the Vinegifted are often given new names, stripped of their pasts, and absorbed into a caste of enforcers, shadow-priests, and ritual executioners. Among outsiders, Umbravine elicits horror and revulsion. The blackened veins, unnatural resilience, and rituals of life-drain mark its bearers as bio-abominations, caught between arcane science and twisted faith. In Republic and Imperial records, Vinegifted cultists are frequently listed alongside plaguebearers and Sithspawn. Some bounty hunters refuse contracts on Vinegifted targets, citing stories of "the vines that scream" or bodies that rot and yet rise again.