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Post by KayKay on Aug 12, 2019 10:17:42 GMT
Name: Yellow Siren
Homeworld: Myythar Mundus Range: The Brume
Height: 12 to 20 feet Mass: 60-130lbs
Description: The yellow siren is a massive flowering plant native to the Brume. The plant grows from a towering, woody stem, tipped in a canopy of hanging vines that enshroud the stem like a robe. These leafy vines are covered in large, vibrant yellow blossoms that can puff a cloud of smoky yellow pollen. Behind the cloak of hanging vines, smaller vines grow out of the stem’s shaft. These thin vines are leafless, and their hard tips end in sharp hollow points.
Info: The yellow siren is a magnificent flowering plant native to the Brume. In spite of its surprising beauty, the plant is considered to be among the most dangerous forms of wildlife in the Brume, not only by elves, but by the fair folk as well. The yellow siren is a carnivorous species of plant that can prey on animals up to the size of a moose. The yellow siren overpowers is prey not through raw strength, but through the pheromones within the pollen carried by its blossoms. Creatures that inhale the pollen become entranced, as if hypnotized, seized with an overpowering urge to move closer to the yellow siren. Once inside its cage of hanging vines, the creature is continuously exposed to the siren’s pollen as smaller, pointed vines plant themselves into the prey’s skin to drain its blood. The victim expires quickly from loss of blood, unable to comprehend the danger or pain due to the influence of the pollen.
In addition, the yellow siren shares a symbiotic relationship with a rare species of fungus that grows only on its leaves. While feeding, the siren implants the fungus’s spores into the body. Over a period of two months, the fungus grows throughout the body until it is capable of puppeting the corpse known to residents of the Brume as a “shambler”. The walking corpse is not an undead, merely a host for the growing fungus. The shambler instinctively protects the yellow siren, and when the fungus completely consumed the corpse and falls dormant, the seeds of a new yellow siren are planted into the soil where the shambler fell. This new plant carries new fungus spores, allowing both the yellow siren and the fungus that inhabits it to reproduce and spread. Entire clusters of yellow sirens can be found within close proximity to one another.
Threat Level: Yellow sirens are among the most dangerous creatures in the Brume, feared for their ability to simply overpower a victim’s mind and render them helpless. They can be readily avoided if one knows to look out of them; yellow sirens are massive, colorful, and can be spotted far outside the effective range of their pollen. The shamblers that serve the plant make it considerably more dangerous however. When food is scarce, shamblers are known to instinctively wander and drag back any living prey they come across back to the siren. A hungry yellow sirens will shoot pollen at anything that comes close; only anthousai and dryads are spared.
Abilities:
– Siren’s Pollen: A yellow siren can spray a cloud of yellow pollen from its blossoms, effective up to a range of less than thirty feet before it disperses. If inhaled within this range, a victim can become captivated as if under the effects of hypnosis, seeking nothing more than to travel closer to the plant at all costs. If dragged away from the plant, the pheromones produced by the pollen last only a short period of time, usually less than a minute. If the victim makes it to the plant and wanders into the plants vines, the constant exposure to the pollen will ensure it remains dazed and helpless for as long as it remains in the plant. As with the call of an actual siren, a person or fey of sufficiently strong will can break free of the pollen’s compulsion, though it is necessary to do so early on before the pheromones secure their hold.
– Blood Draining Vines: A victim within the hanging vines of a yellow siren will quickly be pierced by thin pointed vines attached to the stem. These vines will quickly feed the siren by rapidly draining blood from the victim. At this point in the process, a victim can usually only be rescued by being wrenched free with enormous force or by the death of the yellow siren.
– Shamblers: A yellow siren implants the spores of a symbiotic fungus into the corpses it drains. The fungus consumes the body from the inside over a period of two months until it has replaced much of the muscular structure, at which point it begins to puppet the body, protecting the yellow siren from attackers and seeking out prey for the plant in times of scarcity. The fungus continues to grow through the skin until it has completely consumed the corpse, at which point it collapses, dormant. A new seed, planted into the body by the yellow siren, grows from the dormant fungus, ensuring the survival of both heinous species.
A shambler is clumsy and mindless. If inhabiting the body of an animal, the fungus may mindlessly attack with claws or fangs in an effort to defend the yellow siren, or with fists and teeth if a humanoid. A shambler in search of food for the plant merely attempts to overpower and drag a living victim back. They have no concept of tactics, mindlessly striking out and grasping at living creatures. They can be easily outrun, traveling only at a top speed of ten miles per hour.
Weaknesses – A yellow siren can be easily killed by severing the woody stem at the center of the plant, though this is dangerous due to the constant exposure of pollen. – The pheromones of the pollen can be blocked by any magic designed to protect from mind control. – The pollen can be negated through mundane means, such as a gas mask. – Yellow sirens are large and covered in bright yellow blossoms – easy to recognize from a distance by those who are aware of these plants and know to avoid them.
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Post by KayKay on Aug 12, 2019 22:40:57 GMT
Name: Bloodstem Blossom
Homeworld: Myythar Mundus Range: The Brume (Highlands and Lightless Forest)
Height: 8”-9” Mass: 70-80 grams Top Speed: 40 mph (flight)
Description: A bloodstem blossom is a crimson flower with an uncharacteristically hard and pointed hollow stem. Two of their crimson petals are larger than the rest and blossom open like the wings of a fly, speckled in black and gold markings. Bloodstem blossoms live in large beds of hundreds of identical flowers; they are never found alone.
Info: A bed of bloodstem blossoms at rest appear to the uninitiated as a harmless bed of beautiful crimson flowers, but like many things in the Brume, their beauty hides an unexpected danger. Bloodstem blossoms are capable of flight, uprooting themselves from the ground with two large petals that flap like the wings of a humming bird. Residents of the Brume know not to disturb beds of bloodstem blossoms; they are lighting fast ambush predators that can bring down a large bear.
Bloodstem blossoms surprise their prey by taking to the air and swarming around them, where they release a poisonous pollen that can temporarily seize muscles and paralyze animals upon contact with naked skin. While the paralysis usually lasts little under a minute in a single dose, the swarm of flying flowers are quick to capitalize on their prey’s helpless state, planting themselves into the victim with their needle-like stems. The blossoms then proceed to quickly drain their prey of blood until they are satisfied. A single blossom requires no more blood than what can fill a syringe, but these plants often attack in swarms of up to a hundred specimens. A swarm of such a size can quickly kill a human sized creature in under ten minutes, before the paralysis of their pollen can wear off. The plants continue to root in the corpse, feeding throughout the week until the body has been sucked dry.
Threat Level: A single bloodstem blossom is a nuisance, unable to produce enough pollen to cause little more than soreness in the muscles and requiring only a small amount of blood. A swarm is life threatening, and can bring down creatures of immense size such as bears and moose. A swarm of bloodstem blossoms is extremely dangerous, and it is wise to avoid beds of these flowers when spotted.
Abilities:
– Flight: Bloodstem blossoms can fly at speeds of up to forty miles per hour, and are as agile as humming birds in flight.
– Poison Pollen: Bloodstem blossoms can emit a short range cloud of pollen that can paralyze muscles upon contact with bare skin. The paralysis is brief, usually under one minute, but a planted swarm can continue to expose paralyzed prey to their pollen while they feed. The pollen is short range and requires the swarm to surround a target to take effect.
– Needle Stems: The hollow, pointed stems of the bloodstem blossom allows the flower to plant itself into the flesh of its prey, quickly draining blood. A single blossom needs little blood to survive, but a swarm can quickly kill a human-sized target in under ten minutes. Bloodstem blossoms do not burrow deep and can be easily dislodged, which is why they must paralyze their prey first before settling down to feed.
– Swarm Defences: A swarm of blossoms is difficult to fight with physical weapons, due to the small size of the plant and the speed of their flight. Area attacks, such as the burst of a flamethrower, are the most effective methods of destroying large bodies of the swarm.
Weaknesses: – Bloodstem blossoms expend huge amounts of energy in flight. Although they are fast, they lack the stamina to be pursuit predators. Unless directed otherwise by a vindictive dryad or the Blind Queen, they prefer to ambush creatures that come within ten feet of their beds. Many elves travel the Brume by the branches of the canopy, as they can easily spot beds of bloodstem flowers hidden among the thick undergrowth. – Bloodstem blossoms are extremely vulnerable to fire as well as extreme cold. Large area blasts of extreme temperatures is the most effective way to eradicate a swarm.
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Post by KayKay on Sept 8, 2019 21:31:40 GMT
Name: Gorging Grass
Homeworld: Myythar Mundus Range: The Brume
Height: 1-3 inches
Description: Gorging grass are beds of short blades of grass with a distinctive corkscrew shape. Although the blades are thin, these grass blades are sturdy and harder than wood, and end in a razor-sharp tip. They are designed to bear the full weight of passing animals and puncture into the soles of their feet, even punching through hooves. Their corkscrew shape and deep roots ensure the animal remains rooted to the spot.
Info: Unlike other carnivorous plants of the Brume, blades of gorging grass are unable to think or move. They grow in the highlands of the Brume in large, dense beds, usually in open meadows or groves where the distinctive corkscrew blades can hide among longer species of grass. These hidden beds are difficult to spot from afar, and savvy travelers must be careful to watch their step in areas of dense grass. Skeletons or corpses of animals, humanoids and the occasional fey that have fallen victim to beds of gorging grass can also serve as a warning not to approach the area.
When an animal or humanoid steps on the grass blade (or blades, as often is the case), the thin, sharp plant punctures their flesh like a knife, sometimes breaking through bone if the victim steps down with enough force. The corkscrew shaped blade secures the creature and prevents it from pulling free without causing great pain and a bloody injury. The grass releases a fast acting venom into the bloodstream that slowly paralyzes the muscles and thins the blood, promoting bloodloss through the open wound. The blood soaks into the soil, where the grass's roots soak up the nutrients. Whether by the muscle paralysis of the venom, passing out from loss of blood, or falling over after losing their balance trying to pull free, the victim inevitably falls to the ground, usually landing on the rest of the grass bed and sealing their fate.
Well fed gorging grass retract their blades beneath the ground in a state of hibernation, emerging again only once they are ready to feed.
Threat Level: Gorging grass cannot lure prey like yellow sirens, nor reach out and attack prey like the dark trees or bloodstem blossoms. Despite being inanimate, the grass is still extremely dangerous, and is responsible for claiming many lives in the Brume. Kuu'Vari venturing into the highlands often travel by treetops to protect themselves, while the Du'Vani travel in large packs so that their members can be quickly pulled free of the grass.
Abilities:
– Spiked Blades: The sharp, corkscrew shaped grass blades of gorging grass are like fields of caltrops, and can puncture through the soles of boots and even through hooves and bone, provided the victim is heavy enough. The corkscrew shape of the grass holds the creature firmly, and it often requires great strength and high pain tolerance to pull free.
– Venom: When the grass has punctured the feet of its victim, it releases a toxin into the bloodstream. The venom not only thins the blood to promote blood loss, but is a slow-acting paralyzingly agent that serves to immobilize the struggling creature. In as short as five to ten minutes, the victim's legs will usually give out, causing them to collapse onto the field of gorging grass. If this fall onto a bed of corkscrew-like spikes doesn't fatally injure the victim, the resulting bloodloss likely will. Rescue at this stage is nearly impossible.
– Camouflage: Fields of gorging grass can be identified by their firm corkscrew shaped blades, but these plants tend to grow among longer, harmless grasses, using the different grass species around them to remain hidden. The presence of corpses or skeletons from the gorging grass's recent victims is often the only warning one can get, unless guided by one who is familiar with the land.
Weaknesses: – Gorging grass is highly flammable. The grass blades retreat underground under the threat of fire, which is often the only reliable way to save a victim who has fallen into the grass and been pinned.
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Post by KayKay on Sept 23, 2019 16:52:36 GMT
Name: Black Willow Alias: Gallows Tree Homeworld: Myythar Mundus Range: The Brume Height: 30’ to 50’ Mass: 3,000lbs to 6,000lbs Top Speed: 0.6 Miles Per Hour (less than one foot per second) Description: The black willow closely resembles a species of weeping willow, with a wide umbrella-like canopy and drooping, elongated green leaves. It can be identified from a normal willow tree by its blackened bark, as if the tree had been burned by a fire. The black willow has strong, iron-like roots that it can use to slowly walk along the ground, but doing so uses a lot of energy. The trunk of the black willow is extremely thick, to account for a hollow digestive chamber inside. Hidden among the canopy at the top of the trunk is a lidded opening like that of a pitcher plant, which allows the black willow to drop food inside. Long writhing vines hide among the branches of its canopy. If the black willow has recently captured prey but is still in the midst of digestion, it can be further identified by the corpses in its canopy, hanging by the neck as if they had hung themselves with the vines. This has given the black willow a common nickname: the gallows tree. The black willow’s leaves blossom with distinctive pink flowers during the late spring and early summer seasons. Info: Black willows are the largest species of naturally occurring carnivorous plants in the Brume. Unable to pursue prey, these trees root themselves near game trails and forest paths and wait for prey to wander by. Black willows are extremely patient, and can wait for months at a time for food to approach. When prey draws near, hidden vines lash out like striking vipers from the tree’s wide umbrella-like canopy. These vines instinctively wind themselves around the victims neck and hoist them ten to fifteen feet in the air, out of reach of allies. The black willow usually maneuvers the dangling victim into a “maw” at the top of its trunk and drops them into a slick, hollow chamber within the trunk, where digestive sap performs the rest of the work. If the black willow is already digesting a previous meal, or if it has captured multiple prey items, it simply lets them slowly strangle to death in its vines, where their corpses dangle and ripen until the black willow is ready to feed. Threat Level: Black willows are ambush predators that indiscriminately attack any medium or large animal or fey that comes within reach. A black willow can be identified from a normal willow tree by its distinctive dark bark, as if it had been charred by a fire. A black willow in late spring and early summer can be further identified by its distinctive pink blossoms covering its canopy. And, of course, it can be identified by corpses hanging by the neck from its canopy, if the tree has recently captured food. A savvy and wary traveler can avoid one entirely if they are careful. However, the danger is considerably amplified if the black willow is bonded to a dryad. These dryads will often make use of their abilities to feed their trees by using their enchantments or natural beauty to lure mortals towards their tree. These dryads can also command their tree to attack more intelligently, and aid them in their attack with their bows and magic. A black willow and its dryad are perhaps one of the most dangerous symbiotic relationships to be found in the Brume. Abilities:– Hangman’s Vines: The vines of a black willow are as strong as they are flexible, like thick hempen rope. A single vine has the strength to pull a fully grown moose or bear into the canopy. They instinctively hang their prey by the neck, winding tight around it like an anaconda to cut off the victim’s air supply. If the black willow’s digestion chamber is empty, it maneuvers and drops still-living prey into the lidded hole at the top of its trunk. If the black willow is in the midst of digestion it simply allows the other victims it has captured to slowly strangle to death. A black willow bonded to a dryad attacks far more intelligently, using vines to secure a victim’s limbs as well so that they cannot cut themselves loose. – Swallow Whole: The black willow’s hollow trunk is like the chamber of a massive pitcher plant. The top of the trunk, the ‘maw’, has a bark-covered lid that seals the digestion chamber shut, keeping food inside and intruders out. The sides of the chamber taper like the neck of a bottle and are slick with sap, preventing prey from attempting to climb out. When the lid has been sealed, sticky digestive sap fills the hollow trunk. The acidic sap is not especially fast acting – it can take a week to fully digest a human-sized victim, but it carries a powerful contact poison that paralyzes a victims muscles, to prevent their struggling or magic from damaging the tree’s interior. The victim usually expires after two days, unless they are lucky and drown in the sap. Dryads bonded to a black willow often keep their arrows coated in this sap for its paralyzing properties. – Wooden Body: The black willow is entirely made of hardened wood. The truck and thicker branches are capable of shrugging off small caliber bullets, arrows, swords, and fists, though weapons designed to break through armor, such as axes and high caliber firearms pose a more significant threat. The smaller branches and vines are more vulnerable to being cleaved in half by weapons such as swords, and the leaves and blossoms are fragile and easily ignited. Weaknesses:– Black willows are extremely vulnerable to fire, as it can quickly ignite them. Powerful electrical attacks can also prove devastating given sufficient power, capable of bursting their wooden bodies apart. – Black willows can be rendered nearly harmless if all their vines are severed. They can slowly regenerate, but often take days or weeks to do so. A fully grown black willow usually grows six to twelve vines.
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Post by KayKay on Sept 23, 2019 18:30:26 GMT
Name: Willo Wisp Alias: Willo O’ Wisp, Willo the Wisp, Wisp
Homeworld: Mytharr Mundus Range: The Brume
Diameter: 8”–10” Mass: 2.5–3.5 grams Top Speed: 50mph (flight)
Description: One of the strangest of the fey, willo wisps are fairies closely related to pixies – but while pixies may choose whether to become invisible, wisps in their natural state have no means to appear to the naked eye. They can however choose to emit a bright glow, outlining their bodies in bright spheres of warm light. While a glowing wisp resembles a floating ball of light, their true invisible bodies are not unlike those of similar fairies such as pixies and anthousai: tiny winged humanoids with often insectile qualities. Willo wisps have no true color, other than the light they emit, which can at a distance be easily mistaken for the light of a lantern.
Info: Like the ansyral, willo wisps gain sustenance through absorbing the emotions of other creatures. While they cannot drain their prey directly wisps are no less dangerous, due to their particular taste for negative emotions such as fear or despair. Willo wisps prey on the unwary and the gullible, mimicking lantern light to lure lost travelers into dangerous areas of the Brume’s swamp and lightless forest. Many predators of the Brume, animal and fey alike, have formed symbiotic relationships with the wisps and have learned that areas nearby these glowing lights are reliable sources of prey. Therefore, even a savvy traveler can be endangered by the lure of a wisp, for its light can call predators and malicious being to the area.
Willo wisps are lazy sprites, content to fly lazily about the swamps and shadows of the Brume, rarely even speaking to one another. Though they have been known to travel in groups, wisps rarely directly interact with each other unless they wish to breed. They are quite intelligent, however, and in the lightless forest many wisps have found service providing light for some of the Blind Queen’s subjects. They are quite fond of the shadow fairies, feeding off the gloom and despair of their people like ravenous parasites.
Threat Level: Willo wisps are too lazy to cause harm directly, but they are none-the-less dangerous and often malevolent. Wisps enjoy luring travelers into dangerous situations so that they can feast on their fear and despair. Predators of the Brume know that a wisp’s light is a reliable food source and are often lured towards more stubborn prey.
Abilities:
– Feast: Willo wisps gain sustenance by feeding on negative emotions such as fear, despair and anger. They simply need to float nearby the creature radiating such emotions, soaking in the energy produced like a sponge. Unlike ansyral, act of feeding has no noticeable effect on the victim who is experiencing the emotion.
– Autumn’s Touch: Willo wisps are born in the autumn season, a time of decay and harvest. They have the ability to dispel magical enchantments and protections through touch. Clever wisps will often use this ability to rid endangered creatures of magical defences, putting them at greater risk.
– Lantern Light: Willo wisps are naturally invisible, but they may make themselves seen to the naked eye by illuminating their bodies with a warm orange light that resembles the light of a lantern. The light produced heat, and wisps may use it to burn attackers, but they rarely do so. Most wisps simply turn off their light if attacked, rendering themselves invisible once more.
– Speed: Willo wisps are the fastest of fey in the Brume, and have the agility of dragonflies. They are extraordinarily difficult to hit between their speed, agility and their tiny size.
– Fey Traits: In spite of their diminutive size, willo wisps share the same resistance to physical damage as other fey – though they are not as durable as pixies, they can still easily withstand being stepped on by a human. Iron can burn their bare skin, and cold iron bypasses these defenses entirely. A willo wisp cannot be permanently killed unless it is slain by a cold iron weapon, or else it will return fully formed within a month.
Weaknesses: – Though willo wisps are tough for their size, thanks to their resistance to non-ferrus physical blows, they are still small and cannot take the sheer punishment that large fae can, should an attack penetrate their defenses. A few good hits with an iron dagger is enough to kill one, or a punch or kick by someone with incredible physical strength – Cold iron is extraordinarily dangerous to a fairy, and even normal iron is capable of bypassing their innate toughness through the sheer severity of the burns alone.
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Post by KayKay on Sept 24, 2019 5:18:53 GMT
Name: Spriggan
Homeworld: Mytharr Mundus Range: Old ruins and barrows within the Brume
Height: 2’9” to 8’0” (giant form) Mass: 25lbs to 360lbs (giant form) Top Speed: 10mph to 16mph
Description: Spriggans resemble a hideous cross between goblins and dwarves. They are covered in green fungus-ridden skin, with short legs and long gangling arms that graze the ground, large noses and pointed ears, and thick green and brown beards. Their mouths bare sharp teeth in wicked grins, and they carry clubs and knives and spears made of wood and stone. Spriggans are commonly mistaken to be an entirely male race like satyrs, likely because the females are also bearded.
Info: The Brume holds within its borders the ancient ruins of long forgotten civilizations, long taken by nature, and mass grave sites hidden beneath the trees. These places are avoided by most sensible folk, for they are haunted by the spriggans, a race of unruly and violent unseelie fey. Spriggans live in vengeful and fiercely territorial tribes that live by a twisted version of a fey bargain: those who pass through their ruins uninvited must repay in blood. Spriggans will stalk and attack anyone – mortal or fey – who trespasse through their ruins, often for miles. They have even been known to track their intended victims beyond the borders of the Brume, even following people to their homes. The more suffering they can inflict on their victim in their twisted act of “justice”, the better in a spriggan’s eyes, and they are not above targeting family members and friends of the victim to fulfill that goal.
The punishments spriggans inflict on trespassers are as cruel as they are varied: they are commonly guilty of property damage, robbery, arson, murder, rape and kidnapping. Spriggans are in fact the most common culprits of child kidnappings in and around the Brume – infants are usually replaced in the crib with fey-born changelings.
Because of their eagerness to venture so far out of the Brume to commit their crimes, spriggans have played a large part in earning the Brume and it’s fair folk occupants terrible reputations. In truth, the spriggans are often hated even by other fey, who give their ruins a wide berth and often target spriggans foolish enough to travel alone. Spriggans are not even spared by their own kind: warring tribes in the Brume highlands are not unheard of.
Threat Level: Spriggans are violent and vengeful creatures, and tribes are often guilty of many horrible crimes. They will relentlessly track anyone who trespasses through their ruins, stalking them well beyond the borders of the Brume and back to their homes if necessary. A wary traveler can avoid them with knowledge of the Brume’s geography and where the old ruins are located. If a tribe of spriggans is angered, they can sometimes be pacified with an exchange of warm milk, salt, and good diplomatic skills.
Abilities:
– Magic: Spriggans are capable of weak but destructive magical spells to augment their small size. They can ignite their hands to burn victims or objects with their touch, throw small balls of fire, and magically shatter brittle objects such as glass and crystal. They often use these powers to destroy a victim’s property or burn their homes to the ground.
– Sticks and Stones Spriggans are armed with primitive stone hatchets, wood clubs, sharpened wooden spears, and stone knives. They are not particularly skilled or strong combatants, and their small stature puts them at a natural disadvantage against most creatures, so spriggans will often use their numbers to swarm opponents, or throw fire from afar.
– Giant Form: Superstitious folk believe spriggans are the malevolent ghosts of giants, and it is not hard to see why. A spriggan can balloon in height and mass to the size of a small bunyip – eight feet tall and weighing up to three-hundred-and-sixty pounds. Spriggans gain considerable physical strength to match their imposing stature: they can lift up to 3,000 pounds, or one and a half tons, and their gangling arms offer them considerable reach. Their resiliency does not change to match their size, however, so spriggans must be careful not to land blows that are too heavy, lest they break their own hands. Instead, they prefer to use their impressive size and strength to grapple and pin down their victims so that their smaller companions can beat them to death without resistance. Enlarged spriggans also employ their strength in demolishing the houses and property of others.
A spriggan takes five seconds to fully grow or shrink. It cannot use its magical abilities while it is so enlarged, and its weapons do not grow with it.
– Autumn’s Touch: Spriggans are born in the autumn season, a time of decay and harvest. They have the ability to dispel magical enchantments and protections through touch. Clever spriggans will often use this ability to rid their victims of magical defences, allowing their tribe to more easily injure them.
– Fey Traits Though spriggans are often too brutish to have the same measure of grace and mental strength as other fey, they share the same resistance to physical damage, with their skin being comparable to that of wood. Iron can burn their bare skin, and cold iron bypasses these defenses entirely. A spriggan cannot be permanently killed unless it is slain by a cold iron weapon, or else it will return fully formed within a month.
Weaknesses: – A spriggan lacks the mental fortitude of other fey, leaving them far more vulnerable to mind effecting magic. – Spriggans cannot use their magical powers while they are in giant form. – Cold iron is extraordinarily dangerous to a fairy, and even normal iron is capable of bypassing their innate toughness through the sheer severity of the burns alone.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 8, 2019 18:33:02 GMT
Name: Nixie Homeworld: Mytharr Mundus Range: The Brume swamps Height: 3’9” to 4’3” Mass: 40lbs to 70lbs Top Speed: 8mph (on land) Description: Nixies are large sprites that stand around four feet in height on average. Although they are certainly not ugly by conventional standards, nixies are distinctly non-human. Their pale skin is tinted a sickly green, darker on their backs and transitioning into a pale white on their chests, bellies, faces and undersides of their limbs, and they are often covered in patterns of darker green “freckles”. Their hair is also dark green, less colorful than the hair of a dryad, and helps them blend in when they poke their heads above the swamp’s surface. Nixies have large webbed feet, similar to that seen on amphibians, which are darker green than the rest of their body, matching their hair. Nixies have small retractable claw-like nails on their fingertips, and unnaturally large eyes that some find unsettling. Most notable of all are the sail-like “wings” attached to the nixie’s back, which serve as a pair of fins to help the nixie swim. Info: Travelers who tell horror stories about the fair folk of the Brume treating mortals as toys are more than likely referring to the nixies. Indeed, nixies are like a dreadful cross between the worst of the pixies and the worst of the fossegrim: they are known for luring mortals into their swamps with magical music and dragging them beneath the surface. Those humans that they do not drown and eat they often take captive, usually for the purposes of slave labor (most humans are far more capable at manual labor than the small, thin nixies) or for their personal entertainment. Despite their apparent lack of empathy and the terrible cruelty they display towards mortals, nixies are no savages like the spriggans. Nixies live in close knit and highly organized ‘communities’, living in underwater villages of dwellings made from fallen trees, wood, mud and rock beneath the dark surface of the Brume’s swamps. These communities are surprisingly advanced, with these underwater villages containing a village hall, schools, and farms in which fish and small caimans are bred for consumption – and each nixie community even has their own standing force of soldiers that defend the community from threats such as crocodiles, freshwater mosasaurs, bunyips and hydras. Nixie communities aim to keep good relationships with their neighboring fey, especially with the pixies, as they thrive on trading goods and services. By most standards, nixies are among the most civilized of all fey, which makes their contrasting cruelty towards mortals all the more alarming. Each nixie community is governed by a set of laws unique to that community, that young nixies agree upon in a fey bargain upon reaching the age of fourteen. Willingly breaking a law of the community can result in a curse falling upon the nixie as punishment. One law in particular usually centers around the nixie’s treatment of mortals: communities usually allow a mortal freedom if they can complete a certain task, riddle or challenge. Nixies are not allowed to attack a mortal unless they fail the task or refuse it, and the task must be achievable. Nixies who break this law are cursed with mortality and lose their magic. Threat Level: Nixies are extremely sadistic towards mortals, and enjoy tormenting captured mortal for entertainment when they are not using them for manual labor. However, nixies do not usually attack mortals on sight like pixies or spriggans; by the laws of their community they are usually required to challenge the mortal to a task or game, matching wits and athleticism or – if they find humor in it, challenging the mortal to do something extremely unpleasant, such as eating worms. Nixies are required by their laws to give mortals safe passage if their challenge is beaten. If their challenge is failed or refused, however, nixies can quickly prove themselves to be among the most dangerous fey in the Brume, thanks to both their numbers and their large arsenal of lethal magical abilities. A single nixie can quickly cause a creature to magically sink beneath the mud or water as if they’re being pulled down by an unseen force. Abilities:– Venomous Claws: Nixies have only one weapon beyond their potent magical abilities: small claw-like nails that can leave painful scratches. These nails cannot cause much more damage than the claws of a housecat, but they pack a nasty magical venom that amplifies physical sensations near the wound, leading to these small scratches becoming tremendously painful. Attacking nixies try to swarm their enemy and deliver as many scratches as they can to incapacitate their enemy with the pain. – Luring Song: The voices of the nixies are comparable to the music of the fossegrim and the songs of the merfolk. They have the ability to captivate and lure mortals towards them through magical songs. The song of the nixies can be resisted by those of strong will, but those that succumb to the song may follow the nixies even through dangerous terrain. Victims have been known to be so captivated that not even pain or physical damage may bring them to their senses, leaving them helpless against the nixies if they decide to pull them beneath the swamp. Luckily, nixies usually stop singing once they have lured the mortal into their midst, so that they may challenge him or her. A nixie’s song has no effect on other fey. – Sink: Nixies do not usually drag their prey beneath the surface physically. Rather, they call upon the magical swamp of the Brume to do their dirty work for them. A nixie can cause a creature to sink in any body of water or mud, regardless of their swimming ability, as if an unseen magical force were dragging them down by their feet. The amount of time it takes for the victim’s head to sink beneath the surface varies depending on their size, the depth of the water or mud, and the struggle they put up. Creatures affected by this power often need to rely on physically powerful allies to pull them free. Even creatures with great physical strength themselves will often need to find a sturdy support on dry land, such as a strong tree branch or root, to save themselves. A creature pulled under will be anchored to the bottom of the swamp, where the nixies will either toy with it as it slowly drowns or administer a charm to enslave it. – Charm: By placing their palm on a mortal creature’s skin, a nixie can attempt to magically charm it into believing the nixie is a trusted friend and ally. While most fair folk use charms to avoid conflicts or lure creatures towards their death, nixies prefer to use this ability as a method of enslavement. Nixies usually choose to attempt to charm their victim after they have already been taken beneath the surface. Although a nixie’s magic is potent, their methods make administering an effective charm more difficult, as the enchantment that infuses a sense of trust and friendship must override not only the victim’s will, but their terror and pain from being dragged beneath the surface of the swamp and tortured. As such, it can take multiple attempts for a nixie to charm and enslave a creature, even if their minds are not exceptionally resilient. These charms usually last only twenty-four hours before it must be reapplied. – Water Breathing: A nixie can allow a land-bound creature to temporarily breathe underwater by administering a kiss. Nixie communities use this ability to allow their slaves to live beneath the swamp, or to prolong the suffering of victims they wish to entertain themselves with. – Shapeshift: Nixies are accomplished shapeshifters, and can assume the form of all manner of freshwater animals such as fish, frogs, snakes and small crocodilians. Nixies can remain in these shapes indefinitely, though they usually only change form to ambush mortals or to mate with the swamp’s wildlife. – Stagnate: Nixies radiate a strange magical aura that causes any nonmagical liquid within sixty feet to stagnate, rendering flasks of water, fairy wines, and milk non-potable. This can ruin the survival supplies of travelers and can dangerously interfere with any strategies to offer fair folk milk in exchange for safe passage. This trait also makes nixies highly unpopular at fairy celebrations, particularly those hosted by satyrs, as their presence can quickly sour the stocks of wine. – Amphibious: Nixies are amphibious creatures capable of surviving equally well on land and in water. Their webbed feet cause them to move slowly and clumsily on solid earth, but in the water or even mud, nixies can swim with supernatural speed and grace. They can swim through water and mud at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, darting through the swamps of the Brume at speeds unmatched by anything else in their territory. – Autumn’s Touch: Nixies are born in the autumn season, a time of decay and harvest. They have the ability to dispel magical enchantments and protections through touch. Clever nixies will often use this ability to rid their victims of magical defences, rendering them more vulnerable to their claws and magic. – Darkvision: Nixies have unnaturally large eyes, which allow them to see clearly through the murky and muddy depths of their swamp. These same eyes give them excellent night vision. – Fey Traits: Although they are small and not particularly strong physically, Nixies are supernaturally resilient to most forms of damage, just like other fey, their skin and flesh comparable to the wood of an oak. Iron can burn their bare skin, and cold iron bypasses these defenses entirely. A nixie cannot be permanently killed unless it is slain by a cold iron weapon, or else it will return fully formed within a month. Due to their swampy home, Nixies have also developed an immunity to natural forms of acid and toxins. Weaknesses: – Cold iron is extraordinarily dangerous to a fairy, and even normal iron is capable of bypassing their innate toughness through the sheer severity of the burns alone. – Nixies, in most situations, cannot attack a mortal on sight like a pixie or spriggan. By their laws, nixies are required to offer a challenge to a mortal first, in exchange for safe passage – failure to beat the nixie’s challenge or refusing to accept it gives the nixie community full authority to attack. A nixie that breaks this sacred law is punished severely by the bargain that their community uses to uphold their laws, stripped of their magic, banished from their community and cursed with mortality. Nixies that suffer from this do not last long in the Brume, as their newfound morality can make them an easy target to the other residents of the Brume.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 10, 2019 18:48:05 GMT
Name: Kelpie Homeworld: Mytharr Mundus Range: The Brume Height: 5’10” at the withers Length: 27 feet Mass: 3,900 lbs Top Speed: 30mph Description: At a glance, an undisguised kelpie closely resembles a hippocampus: a creature with the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a fish. A closer inspection reveals more sinister details – the kelpie’s milky-white eyes, bony shrink-wrapped skull and exposed jaws give the creature a resemblance to a rotting corpse. The kelpie’s tail is longer and more serpentine than that of a hippocampus, and lacks fins or scales, instead covered in mammalian flesh and fur. The kelpie’s fur is usually black, brown or moldy green. Its teeth are sharp and pointed, and its jaws are like those of a dragon than that of a horse. Its long mane is soaked and dripping with water even on dry land. Kelpies, like satyrs and fossegrim, are an entirely male species, though they may change their sex through shapeshifting. Info: Kelpies are monstrous man-eating fairies that live in the swamps and bogs of the Brume. Despite their beastile appearance, kelpies are as intelligent, tricky and charismatic as any other fairy. They are shapeshifting spirits by nature, commonly taking on the form of beautiful horses and even unicorns to lure mortal prey. The fur and skin of kelpies can extrude a thick adhesive that entraps anything touching it – their most common method of killing is trapping a would-be rider on its back and carrying them beneath the surface to drown. The sight of a lone horse in the Brume’s swamp can quickly arouse suspicion from local residents such as the Kuu’Vari, however, which the tricky kelpie is well aware of. Against savvy prey they will resort to dirtier tactics, such as charming a mortal with magic, feigning an injury to lure those with kind hearts, preying on more gullible children, or taking a form completely different from a horse entirely. Kelpies can change themselves into seemingly mortal men of human and elvish decent, wearing the clothes and gear of previously eaten victims. Some kelpies use this ability to seduce mortals, turning themselves into impossibly handsome men, while others offer themselves as guides to travelers, or travelers themselves in need of aid. Should their tricks fail, or if the kelpie is feeling particularly impatient, they will simply resort to hiding beneath the surface of the swamp and lashing out at those who pass by the shore like crocodiles. Although their predatory and tricky nature means companionship with mortals can seem like a fantasy, a few records exist that show kelpies have fallen in love with mortals before (albeit usually in their attempt to seduce and eat them). These kelpies usually leave their home to live out a life with their mortal lover – upon their lover’s passing, the kelpie returns to the swamp once again and sheds its mortal disguise. Kelpies that have experienced love with a mortal are usually more placid and kind than others of their species, living the remainder of their life on a diet of animal flesh rather than sapient beings. Threat Level: Kelpies are immensely dangerous fey, as powerful as a bull elephant, as cunning and devious as a devil, and able to render its prey completely helpless through its adhesive slime. If their tricks and magic fail, kelpies will not hesitate to ambush their prey from the water’s edge like a crocodile, slamming into their prey and forcibly trapping them against their adhesive-covered bodies. Although some kelpies have been known to fall in love with mortals and learn to lead a peaceful life, this is a rare occurrence and should not be used as a reason to trust a kelpie, who often excel in deception. Abilities:– Adhesive: At will, a kelpie’s fur and skin can extrude a thick and powerful tar-like slime, the same color as their fur. The slime traps prey against the kelpie’s body, allowing it to drag them to their doom beneath the surface of the swamp. The kelpie usually prefers to wait for its prey to willingly touch it or straddle its back – but isn’t above physically ramming its victims or hitting them with its long tail to forcibly entrap them if deception fails. The adhesive produced by the kelpie is incredibly strong, rendering it difficult for a victim to pull even a single hand free from the kelpie without using a sturdy object such as a boulder or tree to anchor themselves to. A victim unfortunate enough to have both arms trapped usually cannot get free on their own without incredible physical strength. A victim smothered completely by the kelpie so as to be pressed immobile against its skin (such as someone struck by its massive tail) can be rendered helpless even in spite of their strength, and risk suffocation if their face is pressed against the kelpie before the fey even enters the water. In addition to the obvious precaution of traveling the Brume with one or multiple companions, the kelpie’s slime has a weakness: it dries and loses its adhesive properties almost instantly in the presence of flames. Clever application of fire can quickly free a victim from the kelpie, though at the risk of burning them. The kelpie itself can dissolve its own adhesive at will, useful if it traps itself against the environment. The adhesive also serves as a defensive ability, trapping melee weapons that strike the kelpie if the bearer is not quick enough with their strikes. – Supernatural Strength: More powerful than even the mighty unicorn, kelpies possess the strength of a bull elephant. They are the most physically powerful of all fey in the Brume, and by a significant margin. Only the Fen Hydra can match the kelpie’s strength, and only by virtue of their size. An angry kelpie can shatter tree trunks with its serpentine tail, crack stone with its hooves and shred through solid bone with its jaws. Due to their preference for deception and trickery, kelpies normally use their strength to easily drag entrapped creatures weighing over three tons to a watery grave – but one that has resorted to using its brute strength to commit violence is a terrifying sight to behold. – Shapeshifting: Kelpies are adept shapeshifters, capable of assuming a variety of forms. Most often, kelpies take the form of a horse, but the they are fully aware that the Kuu’Vari and savvy travelers of the Brume are suspicious of lone horses in the middle of the swamp. Kelpies use a variety of tricks to overcome this perceived challenge – some use their shapeshifting abilities to grow an organic “saddle and bridal” so that they might appear domesticated; some going as far as to grow friendly “riders” on their back. Others use their powers to fake injuries, or try to replace a traveler’s steed in the dead of night. Some kelpies don’t assume the form of a horse at all, instead changing into often beautiful men (and rarely women) dressed in the clothes of previous victims, offering themselves as guide or travelers or even trying to seduce their targets, binding them with adhesive in the midst of passion. Kelpies can disguise themselves in other forms as well, but these are by far the most common shapes they take. – Magic: Kelpies have a limited capacity for magic. They are able to detect the surface thoughts of other creatures, allowing them to sense the disposition of a target and where or not they suspect its deception. They are also able to manipulate the emotions of a target, usually inspiring a sense of peace and calmness to make the victim more trusting. Should this tactic, along with their deceptions fail, the kelpie is not above playing dirty, utilizing enchantments to charm a mortal into believing the kelpie is a trusted friend and ally. – Amphibious: Kelpies are amphibious creatures capable of surviving equally well on land and in water. Their powerful tails can propel them up to 30 miles per hour in the swamp, bringing themselves and their victims to the bottom of the swamp with frightening speed. – Darkvision: The milky-white eyes of the kelpie can see exceptionally well, despite their appearance. They can see clearly through the murky and muddy depths of their swamp, and easily peer through the darkness of the lightless forest in the center of the Brume. – Autumn’s Touch: Kelpies are born in the autumn season, a time of decay and harvest. They have the ability to dispel magical enchantments and protections through touch. Clever kelpies will often use this ability to rid their victims of magical defences and enchantments, such as the ability to breathe underwater. – Fey Traits: Kelpies are extremely hardy and supernaturally resilient to most forms of damage – penetrating their skin and flesh can be comparable to penetrating solid stone. Iron can burn their bare skin, and cold iron bypasses these defenses entirely. A kelpie cannot be permanently killed unless it is slain by a cold iron weapon, or else it will return fully formed within a month. Due to their swampy home, kelpies have also developed an immunity to natural forms of acid and toxins. Weaknesses:– Cold iron is extraordinarily dangerous to a fairy, and even normal iron is capable of bypassing their innate toughness through the sheer severity of the burns alone. – The heat of fire can almost instantly dissolve the adhesive slime of a kelpie, freeing those trapped against its body. Additionally, kelpies fear fire, as they possess a vulnerability to it that other fey do not – the heat can quickly dry out their bodies, as kelpies require a humid environment to survive. Fire cannot permanently slay a kelpie, but with luck it can drive one away.
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Post by KayKay on Oct 21, 2019 1:20:05 GMT
Name: Shadow Fairy Alias: Salhinaldelon (Their Sidhe name, calling them “Fairy” will make them angry.) Homeworld: Mytharr Mundus Range: The Brume Height: 4’10” to 6’3” Mass: 90 lbs to 190 lbs Top Speed: 20mph Description: The shadow fairies are a race of hauntingly beautiful elf-like humanoids. Their appearance is so similar to elves in fact that they are sometimes mistaken for dark elves. It’s believed the elves and the shadow fairies share a common ancestor. Shadow fairies stand taller than most elves, but on average they are a couple inches shorter than the average human. They have milky, very light grey skin, and their limbs and bodies are usually decorated in ritualistic tattoos. Their hair is white, silver or platinum blonde and is commonly braided – although it is not uncommon for shadow fairies, even females, to shave their heads bald. Their irises are red or orange, and their sclera are coal-black, giving them an intimidating, almost demonic appearance. Silver piercings are common, but not universal among the shadow fairies, usually placed in their ears or nose – more rarely, their lips, tongue, chest or navel. Perhaps most notably, at least by fey standards, shadow fairies commonly wear clothing, usually leather armor, cloaks and robes, dyed dark colors to help them blend in to the shadows. Info: Tens of thousands of years ago, before the days of mortal civilization, a race of power-hungry seelie fairies wished to conquer the mortal tribes that dominated the land. They made a bargain with a dark power of the abyss, an incubus who gave them power over darkness and shadow in exchange for their service. But before the “shadow fairies” could use their newfound powers to subjugate the mortal races, they themselves were cast out by their peers. The seelie’s “Summer Court” declared their transformation an abomination to sidhe-kind, labelled them as “unseelie”, and began a genocidal campaign to round up the shadow fairies to be exterminated en masse. Those shadow fairies killed in the massacre had their souls pulled into the demonic abyss, where they would be transformed into shadow demons to serve the dark incubus as his slaves for all eternity. The survivors fled the seelie kingdom to seek refuge in the Brume. The shadow fairies were shunned by the unseelie fey, however, who remembered well the shadow fairies’ recent seelie origins and could smell their connection to the demonic abyss. The incubus’s curse left the shadow fairies souls fragile, and every minute of every day the abyss pulled on their souls, forcing the shadow fairies to lock their souls into their body with a painful cold-iron armband, a reminder of their terrible mistake. The curse also left the shadow fairies sterile, no longer able to repopulate their once great numbers. On the brink of extinction with only a few hundred individuals remaining, the shadow fairies turned to a single unseelie fey who sympathized with them: a powerful golden naiad named Solana who wished to overthrow the tyrannical King Ghilythion. With the aid of the shadow fairies Solana defeated Ghilythion, and took his position as ruler of the Brume. In return for their aid the shadow fairies were offered a home within the Brume’s lightless forest, very near Solana’s court, and were granted protection by the new Queen. Since that fateful day the shadow fairies have become Queen Solana’s most loyal allies. They are renowned across the Brume by mortal and fey alike as the Queen’s elite guardians. Through their deadly martial skill, stealth and powerful shadow magics the shadow fairies – known as the Salhinaldelon by other fey – have cemented themselves as the most powerful organized force within the Brume, and they have enforced Solana’s rule for many thousands of years. The Salhinaldelon are feared by the Kuu’Vari, and even the name “shadow fairy” conjures images of an evil and dark fairy, but the shadow fairies are actually a very reasonable, if distant people. They are notable for being the most “civilized” fey race in the Brume, to the point that their cultural similarities to mortals have alienated certain fey. The Salhinaldelon live in a fully functioning town in the center of the Brume, populated by citizens that perform all manner of labor. They mine the vast caves of the lightless forest for their rich supply of silver, which is forged by skilled blacksmiths into weapons, tools and even pieces of architecture. They build homes out of mounds in the earth, decorated by advanced stonework and silver furniture. They domesticate animals – namely the giant flightless bats and rodents of the lightless forest – for their thick wool. The Salhinaldelon are also one of the few fey races to wear clothes, though they do so for practical reasons. Robes filled with pockets, enchanted cloaks and leather armor (sometimes studded with silver) are the most common outfits found among their population, dyed dark colors to help them blend into the shadows. If there is a significant difference to be found between mortals and the Salhinaldelon, it is their age and the mental toll that their curse has brought upon them. The Salhinaldelon have a reputation for being distant and cold to all those except others of their kind. In truth, most of the race suffers from depression, anxiety and self-loathing, and many have become withdrawn as a result, often unwilling to interact with anyone except their own people, who share their fate. Every day of their lives they feel the pull of the abyss on the souls and the burning pain of the cold iron bands that lock their souls in place. It is not uncommon for a Salhinaldelon to make bargains with the emotion eating ansyral, giving them sustenance in return for a release from their misery, even if only temporary. Unfortunately, suicide is also not uncommon – some Salhinaldelon fall into such despair that they believe a life as a shadow demon enslaved to the incubus that cursed them to be better than continuing on. As a result the Salhinaldelon have become a very small, near extinct race over the many thousands of years since their curse. Only little under a hundred individuals remain. Threat Level: Although they were formally arrogant seelie fey that desired domination over mortal kind, the many years of suffering the shadow fairies have endured at the hands of their curse has turned them into a humble people filled with regret. The shadow fairies have since accepted their title of “unseelie” and consider themselves as equals to the Brume’s other unseelie residents. By fairy standards they are not aggressive group, as despite their power their curse ensures the shadow fairies will not rise again like other fey if they are killed. In spite of the stories that surround them most encounters with shadow fairies can be usually solved by simple diplomacy. That said, the shadow fairies are largely distant and cold, and have a reputation for being “moody” by the Brume’s wilder inhabitants. This coldness extends to combat, should they find reason to engage in it. While they rarely seek out conflict, shadow fairies that have resorted to violence against other races often do so with the intent to kill or cripple, unless otherwise ordered by the Blind Queen. A sure way to evoke their wrath is by threatening Queen Solana – their loyalty to her is unmatched by any other race in the Brume, and they will leap to her defence without hesitation. Abilities:– Silver Weapons: The shadow fairies harbor expert smiths within their ranks. Unable to wield weapons forged from iron-based alloys, the shadow fairies have forged weapons from the silver veins found throughout the rocky crags and caves of lightless forest. These silver weapons are enchanted, offering the silver the hardness of steel and sharp edge of obsidian. Common among the shadow fairies’ arsenal are short swords, knives, and shortbows forged from silver enchanted to be flexible as wood that can fire entirely silver arrow shafts. The most unique and recognizable of their weapons however is the kanarith-valest, a silver chain tipped on either end by razor-sharp knife-like blades. The chain is often decorated in spikes, rendering it highly impractical for most creatures to wield, but the sheer resiliency of the shadow fairies render them completely unharmed by the enchanted silver spines. The kanarith-valest are wielded exclusively by warriors, who have trained in the use of the chain weapon for many thousands of years and have become masters in its use. They can launch one of the blade-tipped ends of the chain at a foe up to ten feet away, or grip them by the hilt and use them as makeshift knives. The chain can be used to entangle enemy weapons and rip them from their hands, to wrap around an enemy to trip or even throw him, and to entangle their limbs in the chain’s spiny embrace up close. – Assassin’s Accuracy: The shadows cast by a gap between two armored plates, a crease in a thick hide, or a vital organ calls to the weapons of the shadow fairies. Their strikes are trained through eons of experience and ancient magic to seek out weak points with lethal accuracy, particularly against unaware opponents that can’t see the attack coming. – Step of the Wind: Although shadow fairies are no faster than a human at a sprint, their agility and reaction time is astonishing even by fey standards, able to dodge and evade and parry with the swiftness of a shadow. They walk with the grace and silence of a cat, capable of creeping up on even the most attentive creatures. The shadow fairies are also incredible athletes, capable of quickly climbing trees and sheer cliff sides, balancing on thin branches of the forest canopy, and leaping impressive distances. – Children of Shadow: All shadow fairies are capable of manipulating shadows to some degree… just as anyone might wield a sword. As with any skill their ability and technique increases with training, but the manipulation of shadow takes thousands of years to master. This has led to soldiers choosing between mastering the casting of shadow or the way of the blade – few surviving shadow fairies can call themselves masters of both arts. Powers common to all shadow fairies, including non-combatants, include the following: - – Shadow Stride: Shadow fairies can use shadows and darkness as doorways leading into the plane of shadow (in Lemuria this place is identical to Kurnugia, the dimensional plane accessed by Vesyka). Time moves faster in the plane of shadow, allowing shadow fairies to seemingly teleport from one location to another under short distances. As long as they are in contact with others, shadow fairies may bring other creatures with them. Shadow fairies cannot travel more than 800 feet as there exists no oxygen in the shadow plane, and they lack the protection that beings like Vesyka can offer for long distance travel.
- – Black Candle: Shadow fairies can shroud up to a twenty foot area around themselves in darkness. The darkness is not impenetrable – the darkness of the area is equal to a moonlit night – but it is enough for the shadow fairies to cloak themselves in shadow (see below) or disappear into the shadow plane. Shadow fairies can also banish darkness in a twenty foot area around themselves, providing light for companions that can’t see in the dark.
- – Shadow Cloak: When under the cover of darkness, be it natural or magical, shadow fairies can become one with the shadows to blend in seamlessly to their surroundings. This renders shadow fairies nearly invisible to the naked eye, and even creatures that can see perfectly well in darkness can have trouble detecting them, as the fairy and the darkness become a single entity.
– Shadow Warrior: Shadow fairies trained as warriors learn techniques that enhance their abilities in melee combat, using it to increase the potency of their strikes or to complement their arsenal and skillset with debilitating attacks. - – Shadowblade: Shadow fairy warriors can infuse their silver weapons with solid darkness. This gives the weapon an edge capable of slicing through solid stone. Strikes by the weapon, even simply being entangled in the chains of a kanarith-valest, can leave painful frostbitten wounds due to the extreme supernatural chill. They can also infect the wound with inky-black darkness that slowly robs the victim of their strength, like a supernatural poison.
- – Shadow Strength: Shadow fairies are no stronger than the average human, but by infusing their muscles with darkness a warrior can briefly increase their strength to accomplish herculean feats. These feats are almost always throwing an enemy they have entangled in the chains of their kanarith-valest, up to a distance of thirty to forty feet away. Warriors excel in throwing enemies into obstacles or off ledges.
- – Shadow Garrotte: Shadow fairy warriors are capable of creating a strand of solidified shadow which they then hurl with impressive accuracy at an opponent’s neck. Like a constricting serpent the shadow wraps around the victim’s neck and proceeds to squeeze the life out of it unless it is removed or the fairy banishes the shadow. Shadow fairies prefer to use this to open an assault, striking an opponent while they are down and wrestling with the shadow around their necks.
- – Shadow Veil: One of the dirtier techniques of the shadow fairies is to blast enemies in the face with ice-cold shadow, allowing the inky black energy to temporarily burrow into a victim’s eyes and robbing them of their sight. This blindness thankfully lasts no more than five seconds, and does no permanent damage, though it is extremely painful and can leave the victim open to attack.
- – Shadow’s Grip: A technique only taught to the best warriors, a shadow fairy can paralyze an opponent with just a single touch of their finger. The touch spreads black energy across the victim’s body, gripping them tight from the inside and invading their nervous system to leave their muscles locked and useless. Shadow fairies usually must get in close through stealth and catch an opponent unaware, as it can take up to three seconds for the shadows to fully maintain their grip. The paralysis only lasts up to twenty seconds, but this is enough time for the shadow fairy to capture or execute its target.
– Shadow Caster Shadow fairy casters are those who favored training in the magical arts rather than the martial arts. They usually lack the training to wield a kanarith-valest, and neither their combat skills nor their reaction time as honed as a shadow fairy warrior. However, their shadow magic is more powerful, capable of freely shaping shadow to control the battlefield from afar and blasting their enemies with devastating black flames. - – Shadow Shaping: Shadow fairy casters use their abilities to manipulate the battlefield to impede or immobilize their enemies. These tactics include shaping solidified shadows into a carpet of thick, sticky black fog; creating a field of writhing black tentacle wisps that can bind and hold fast all but the quickest enemies; and erecting walls of shadow that can block sight and freeze anything that tries to pass through with supernatural coldness that can burn a creature’s flesh like liquid nitrogen.
- – Killing Shadows: Casters can freely weaponize darkness to its fullest extent. They can produce massive blasts of black flames that can reach up to 30 feet, freezing anything in its path with its incredible supernatural chill. They can also creature a carpet of these black flames across the ground to further manipulate the battlefield. These shadow fairies can also utilize their shadows nonlethally, emitting smaller blasts designed to infect a target and rob them of their energy, hammering them into exhaustion and unconsciousness with blast after blast.
- – Shadow Vision: By allowing their eyes to overlap with the plane of shadow, casters can see otherwise invisible or ethereal creatures. They can also cause other creature’s eyes to overlap with the plane of shadow, causing them to see flickering shadowy images, areas of darkness and other discrepancies, hampering their ability to determine what’s happening around them and leaving them vulnerable to attack.
- – Devour Spell: By casting at the same time another creature casts a magical spell, a shadow fairy can call upon the shadows to devour the enemy’s magic as it as cast, causing their magic to fizzle out harmlessly. Shadow fairy casters use this ability to shut down enemy magic users, usually while working together with warriors to take them down. A shadow fairy can only devour the magic of a creature as magically powerful as it or weaker: it cannot counter the spell of a more powerful magician than itself without either great difficulty or luck.
– Cold Iron Band: Every shadow fairy wears on their upper left arm a metal armband of cold-forged iron, which pierces their flesh with short cold iron needles around the interior rim. This strange contraption gives the shadow fairies constant pain, but fixes their soul to their body. This gives them protection from losing their soul to the demonic abyss when they take a great injury or fall unconscious by potentially blocking the soul’s exit – the magic-killing nature of cold iron helps to diminish the pull of the abyss on the shadow fairy’s soul. This armband also gives them protection against any powers that might manipulate, damage or destroy the soul. However, the cold iron gives them constant pain in their left arm and often leaves them feeling nauseous. – Levitate: Shadow fairies have the ability to silently levitate like spirits in the night. They can levitate up to five feet off the ground, and do so at a slow speed of only 5 miles per hour (about two meters per second), though the ability is useful for maintaining complete silence and small obstacles such as caltrops. – Superior Darkvision: Shadow fairies can see perfectly even in pitch-black darkness. They can also see through magical darkness such as that created by Tiziana. – Ancient Resiliency: Although only their king is consider a true archfae, the supernatural resiliency of the shadow fairies reflects their ancient age. They are as old as the likes of the Blind Queen, Ghilythion and Siar, and the shadow fairies share their extraordinary durability. The skin of a shadow fairy is like solid steel – it takes incredible force or an exceptionally dangerous weapon to deal them a serious injury. A cold iron weapon can of course cut down a shadow fairy as though they were no more resilient than an ordinary human. – Armored Fairy: Although the shadow fairies are already so resilient that it would seem redundant to do so, they protect themselves in black-painted leather armor, sometimes studded with enchanted silver for high-ranking members. Although the leather armor is easier to cut through than the actual shadow fairy, the redundancy provides them additional protection to break through, and offers them some measure of defence if they are faced with cold iron. Weaknesses:– Cold iron is extraordinarily dangerous to a fairy, and even normal iron is capable of bypassing their innate toughness through the sheer severity of the burns alone. – The sidhe race that became shadow fairies were cursed many eons ago with the demonic shadows of the abyss. The abyss exerts a pull on their soul every waking day of their lives, even on Lemuria. A shadow fairy that is knocked unconscious (aside from natural sleep), severely stunned or takes a serious injury loses a portion of their soul as it is ripped away from their bodies and into the demonic plane. Most shadow fairies wear a painful but necessary cold iron armband to lock their soul into place, impeding the abyss’s pull with the anti-magic nature of cold iron and preventing their souls from being ripped apart – though even the cold iron band does not one-hundred-percent guarantee protection. A shadow fairy with a damaged soul is weakened severely, with earlier memories erased from their minds, their brainpower impeded, their physical abilities reduced, and their health failing. Those who take enough damage to their soul usually retire as soldiers to serve their community in the safety of their villages, where they are well looked after by their companions. Unlike most fey, shadow fairies can be killed permanently with any weapon, as the death of their body will cause their soul to be completely pulled into the abyss. There, the soul of a shadow fairy forms into a spectral shadow demon. A shadow fairy cannot be raised from the dead even with the most powerful magics.
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