Speculative Biology: The Twin Hearts of Seraphs

[LadyWYT]

(As the title suggests, this is all pure speculation that I wrote up for fun)

Perhaps one of the more intriguing physical differences of seraphs from humans is the existence of two hearts, and though the second heart has been dubbed by scholars as the tempus cardia("temporal heart", in layman's terms) the exact functions of this additional organ are still unknown. Nevertheless, some key qualities have been deduced through focused study on mostly willing participants, and the organ's general functions seem to be remarkably similar to a normal heart.

First and foremost, a short description of the organ is in order: much like the standard heart, it is located in the center of a seraph's chest, nestled just behind the normal heart. It is slightly smaller than the normal heart, though the fibers that make it seem much stronger than normal heart tissue. Even stranger are the tiny flecks of glowing teal substance that seem to be present in the bloodstreams of all seraphs; these flecks seem to be at the highest concentrations in the temporal heart, but their function is yet unknown. Much like a standard heart, this organ is composed of four different chambers, and seems to serve a similar purpose in that it helps pump blood throughout the body. Or in this case, perhaps infuses said blood with those strange glowing particles.

As stated previously, the temporal heart seems to beat in a similar fashion to the normal heart, though given the greater strength of its muscle tissue it seems able to operate at a slower pace, perhaps 50-75% of a standard heart rate. Unlike the normal heart though, the temporal heart is entirely unaffected by physical exertion(at least, according to the results of extensive testing), instead beating at the exact same pace regardless of whether the individual is fast asleep or running like the wind. If anything, the operation is very similar to that of those strange temporal gears that turn up every now and then, though whether the two are directly linked and how remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the temporal heart is not entirely impervious to environmental conditions, and seems instead to exhibit some rather extraordinary behaviors when exposed to the horrific creatures of the dark and their strange rifts in reality, and shall be described as follows:

1. In places those horrible creatures seem most absent, the temporal heart(and therefore the seraph) seem to be at ease, pumping with the same slow regularity as appears to be normal for this organ. Should the seraph be suffering ill effects from one of the situations listed below, spending time in one of these areas seems to help them recover most of their faculties.

2. When exposed to one of the nightmarish creatures, the temporal heart appears to temporarily increase the number of beats it outputs, particularly if the seraph in question sustains injury. It will, however, still be somewhat slower than the standard heart rate, assuming that there are no further affecting factors. Should the monster disappear, the temporal heart should return to a normal rhythm in short order, and outside of any physical injuries sustained no significant harm seems to be inflicted upon the seraph.

3. Exposure to a nightmare rift seems to have the most drastic effect upon the temporal heart, causing said heart rate to rapidly rise until it exceeds even the anxious beating of the normal heart. As you might have guessed, dear reader, such levels of stress are unsustainable, even for such a strong organ, and continued exposure to such hostile conditions seem to quickly result in temporal heart failure. As you may have also guessed, this results in the death of the seraph(or at least, as close to a proper death as they seem to experience).

4. To a lesser extent, being underground seems to carry similar effects on the organ as rift exposure, although to a much lesser extent. The deeper underground the seraph ventures, the faster the temporal heart seems to beat. Although perhaps not as frenzied as the case outlined in #3, enough sustained stress from such high rates will eventually kill the seraph, if not remedied.

5. Much like being underground, some areas on the surface seem to have the same effect on the temporal heart, though again, to a lesser extent. It is unknown why this happens, as humans don't seem to be affected by these areas, but something about these regions seems to induce anxiety in seraphs. Much like too much rift exposure, or spending too much time underground, spending too much time in these areas is hazardous to a seraph, inducing anxiety, followed by stress from an unsustainable temporal heart rate and eventual death if not remedied. The current theory on these regions is that these areas may be more prone to the appearance of rifts, as seraphs seem to exhibit similar anxiety when around rifts and the monsters they spawn.

6. As mentioned previously, temporal gears seem to share a potential link with the temporal heart; one of the reasons lending great credence to this theory is the fact that temporal gears, or rather the energy contained within them, seem to be able to be directly harnessed by seraphs. When exposed to a seraph's blood, the energy seems to be sucked out of the gear and infused right into the bloodstream, calming the temporal heart somewhat should it be agitated. The more conventional use by seraphs, however, seems to be utilizing the energy contained within the gear to create a sort of "returning point" that, should they suffer fatal, allows them to reappear at a specific spot rather than actually die.

7. Much like the standard heart, sustaining direct trauma to the temporal heart seems to result in the seraph's immediate death.

Thus concludes the study on this particular portion of seraph anatomy. In short, the temporal heart seems to act as an additional regulator for the mysterious energies contained in a seraph's bloodstream, similar to what the normal heart does for the rest of the body. Significant damage to either will result in the seraph's death(at least temporarily), though the temporal heart seems to be a bit more resilient on average. It is not recommended to attempt recreating the effects of a temporal heart in a human, as all attempts to do so have resulted in spectacular failure, and have been subsequently banned by the institute.

--an anonymous researcher