/RETRIEVING CAPSULE [generation]... I keep remembering things.
RELICS AND GENERATION
All Vido have the same origin -- they hatch from vaselike objects called Relics, which lay dormant and inert until activated by a random catalyst.
Relics spawn in places forgotten by humans and frequently in abandoned ruins or old sacred places. Small, quiet villages or towns with a lot of ancient history around them tend to encounter corrupted Vido due to this, ones that had hatched alone due to being exposed by a ruin falling apart or a flood touching a relic with water or other debris. Relics are completely spontaneous and can get activated by anything - the touch of a hand, a ray of sunlight, a drop of oil. It's completely unpredictable, so most relic hunters keep theirs locked in padded dark boxes to avoid activating them during transport.
It is extremely hard to break a Relic while it is still dormant - the frosted glass is surprisingly tough and it would take huge amounts of force to break it, but if a Relic IS broken before activation, the grey liquid spills out and coats whatever it touches. Those who have touched the stuff say that it leaves a cold sensation on the skin before evaporating. Grass will grow twice as fast over ground that has been soaked with the liquid, and consuming it may have adverse effects such as hallucinations, issues with vision, and a higher propensity to be inhabited by a spirit.
A dormant relic is cloudy and filled with a silvery fluid, but when it's activated by its trigger, the liquid changes to a mix of vivid colors and the glass becomes crystal clear. Then an "incubation period" begins where a black oily "pupil" similar to a fetus begins to form in the middle of the relic. After the embryo inside is fully formed, the relic breaks open and the resulting hatchling absorbs all the liquid, shaping itself into a creature that has the same colors and patterns as the liquid before it hatched. Vido start out very small (about the size of an average rabbit) when they first hatch from a relic -- it takes about a week for them to grow to full size and for all their traits to really show through. All Vido look the same just out of the relic; pure black and lacking any color or markings until the relic fluid has been absorbed. Later on they might change again due to magical anomalies, but usually the traits you see develop within a week after hatching are the ones that stay.
You could technically separate a Vido from the liquid just after hatching (like separating a yolk from the whites), which would prevent it from absorbing the liquid and you'd end up with a blank, nearly featureless Vido. (The only issue with this is that "blank" Vido seem to succumb to corruption at a much faster rate, and their magic is very weak.)
A Relic will only spawn if the following conditions are met:
- The area has been inhabited by humans at any time in the past for more than 500 days
- The area has forgotten documents, art, architecture, or culture within it that have been forgotten for more than 500 days
- The area has at least one location sheltered from the sky that a relic may fit in (they vary in size and shape but are 70 cm tall and 20 cm wide at the minimum)
- Another Vido has not already successfully documented the area (if this Vido passes away, another Relic may spawn in the same location if the Vido's archives are not found)
- There is enough magical energy in the area to support spawning a Relic (normally Fluxes provide an adequate amount)
MARKING DISTORTIONS
A Vido's markings can be affected by outside forces while absorbing relic fluid for the first time. Their markings will stay vulnerable to changes for at least 12 hours after absorbing all fluid -- after that, the markings are "locked" into place and cannot change unless the Vido has a tendency to scar or comes in contact with extremely strong magic/corruption. Small details can slowly shift and change over time, but the "identity" of said marking must stay the same.
