Tieflings

Core concept

Blood is a rumor. Deeds are the truth.

Born under suspicion

The infernal mark (horns, tail, solid eyes) arrives unbidden, often to entirely ordinary families, and the realm has never quite known what to make of it. Since the Divine War left mortals wary of every strange power, and since dark bargains like the Immortal Soul legend keep the dread of the infernal alive, a Tiefling learns young that strangers will read an omen in their face before they’ve said a word.

Worth is earned, not inherited

So Tiefling culture rejects inherited guilt outright. You are not your blood, not some bargain-making ancestor, not the rumor pinned to your horns: you are what you do. They build found-families out of the similarly cast-out, prize self-reliance, and judge others (and themselves) strictly by action rather than reputation.

Friction

Others project the worst onto the mark and wait for the Tiefling to disprove it. Tieflings, worn down by the assumption, can come across as guarded or prickly, a wall built by a lifetime of being suspected first and known later.