There are two groups of warlocks. Most are those who remember what it was to not be one, while there are a few (the very young or perhaps amnesiac) who do not. The transformation into a warlock can be slow and subtle (gradually absorbing high levels of background magic and the body altering to accommodate it) or it can be sudden and violent (single high level exposure to incredible amounts of magic). The exact process is still poorly understood just as most things with warlocks are. They are something entirely different to all other Genera, all other kith, they are something brand new. They have no history, no legacy, and no lineage. Everything that happens to them now will be without the influence of any others like them from ages past.
While humans and warlocks do look the same for the most part, oftentimes leading to many a warlock not realising their new condition until long after, there are internal physical differences. The first is changes to red blood cells. While many stay the same, some red blood cells instead take a form known as ‘indigo blood cells’. Larger than typical red blood cells (though this seems to have little effect on capillaries or cause blockages), they have a different chemical component that allows them to carry an electrochemical charge similar to a neuron in the brain. It is theorised that this allows for quicker filtration of magic through the blood. This is supported by growths upon the kidneys that appear to be additional medulla pyramids that seem to diffuse the energy charge of indigo blood cells. Indigo blood cells fluctuate in amounts, similar to white blood cells, with their levels increasing rapidly when exposed to high levels of magic. This actually makes warlocks good natural indicators of background magic as their blood will slowly take on a purplish hue.
All warlocks have a natural ‘sixth sense’ for magic. They are always subtly aware of its presence and the amounts rather like how some people can more easily feel air pressure changes. Some warlocks report feeling ‘guided’ by this sense to places, things, people, or just in decisions. Others often find it overwhelming, it often leads to anxiety in adults who become warlocks. Children who grow up with the sense consider it entirely normal and become deeply distressed if they enter a magical dead spot, similar to distress shown in true silence or sensory deprivation rooms.
As the newest form of magic and born in the same climactic incident, ritual magic is the sibling of Warlocks. The newcomer and stranger to its peers both, warlocks have an innate understanding for the intricacies of ritual. They are perhaps more in tune with the magic of this world than any other. While the kith of Domus are inherently magical, they are attuned to the old magics that came through, the old ways, the old forms, and the old energies. This new magic, one of intricate rules that shift from person to person is unknown to them, is something no one fully understands yet except, however instinctively, the warlocks. Rather like how a young maths prodigy simply knows how the numbers are supposed to fit, warlocks have a knack for learning just how to make a ritual work. Many of the known rituals were discovered by warlocks experimenting for great periods of time.
This attunement to the magic of specifically Earth has its downsides. Due to how new magic is and how much sheer chaos there has been since its arrival, the magic is deeply unstable. It shifts and stutters, changing and reforming in ways no one understands. When not bound by ritual or tradition, this wild magic creates, destroys and mutates freely. But it also has a sickness in it, something festers deep in the depths of it, perhaps some consequence of how much violence it gave way to so early in its existence. Only the warlocks truly feel this. As the flow of magic writhes, as its stability fluctuates, so does the health of warlocks. Some days bright and hearty, the next lethargic and pallid. So far no one has died from this. That you know of. To help measure and control these fluctuating magics, most warlocks carry a large variety of ritual and measuring tools and talismans on their person and mark their skin with signs and symbols they use in their rituals. Each has their own unique methods and, at the very least, it helps clear their minds and bodies when performing ritual magic.
As the focal point of these fluctuations in magic, Warlocks have found that electricity based technology does not interact well with them. The exact reason is still being investigated but it is believed that electricity interferes with the natural flow of magic around warlocks leading to states of panic, confusion, nausea or migraines. Most Warlocks just try to avoid electricity when they can while some muscle through chugging as much medication as they can to help.
In summary, warlocks know what it is to be changed. They know what it is to be unknowable to all others. They know what it is to feel the heartbeat of a new born power.
Ex-Warlocks
People who were once warlocks but underwent a change in genus often find everything a bit too quiet, a bit too cold, a bit too still. That connection to Earth’s magic is gone and in its place is a void that will never quite be filled. Even if they don’t fully understand why, they will mourn in the quietest parts of themself. Those that become Dawn Vampires often have a much easier time than others as the leyline connection is similar enough to Earth’s magic that it can almost, almost, make up for it.