A single name for a thousand enemies. A multitude of forms for one malice.
Gerric, Master Hunter of the Tichytra
Also Known as: Mistborn, Kapuwera (Lux.), Nebularem (Oss.), Thokbeist (Svert.)
Habitat: Any but seem to require arcane mist to survive.
Hazard Level: Variable
Summary
Sucha are monstrous and aggressive entities that seem to be borne of the mists of Mujin. These aberrations exist outside of any natural ecosystem, appearing and receding with the mist like a vile tide, taking on a wide variety of forms, all of which are horrifying and dangerous to humans. Since each new mist seems to bring with it new varieties of Sucha attempts to create any unified taxonomy have proved difficult or impossible. Sucha can range in size from a few centimeters to dozens of meters, and the amount of danger they represent can vary just as much. Their origin, nature, and purpose, if any, are unknown.
Description
Sucha have no singular body shape, colouration, or biology. Instead they might be better considered a class of species unified by their origins, behaviour, and limitations. Common traits of the Sucha include:
- Origins: All Sucha appear to originate from areas touched by the substance known as Mist, a thick, clinging fog that unfolds across the country of Mujin at irregular intervals.
- Behaviour: All Sucha demonstrate unceasing hostility towards sapient life and seek to kill any they encounter.
- Limitations: All Sucha require the presence of the ill-mist in some quantity to survive. When the mist that spawns them recedes, most Sucha retreat with it. Those that are forced to remain grow lethargic and dull and most seek out shelter in which to slumber until the mist returns. These specimens are far less active but still dangerous if provoked.
Beyond these three features, Sucha are incredibly variable. They can range from dull-witted to highly intelligent, blood-thirsty to calculating, and from perceptive to seemingly insensate. Some Sucha feed on their prey, while others seem to be sustained by flora or even sunlight. And some Sucha are of only minor threat, while others are titanic monstrosities that can level an entire village with little effort.
Though it is not conclusive, the first records of Sucha appear after the fall of the Imperium, suggesting that they were either attracted by or the result of events that occurred during the fall.
Since Sucha have proven nearly impossible to capture most studies of their biology have been post-mortem and have revealed confusing and sometimes seemingly impossible internal physiologies that vary even between specimens with externally identical features. Attempts to capture live Sucha for study have been attempted but specimens invariably die rapidly in captivity.
Sucha flesh is not considered edible and there are numerous stories of horrific afflictions and curses that befall any who consume the substance.
Known Sucha
Tsagn-Iad
This creature resembles nothing more than a massive tree made from worms and fat and sagging muscle. Dwelling below ground, it is stretched from the cavern ceiling to the floor, its slightly twisted and turgid body merging seamlessly with the green fungus that grows like thick fur on all the surfaces of its cavern. The trunk of Tsagn-Iad produces its own internal glow as well revealing the pallid flesh to be translucent, with opaque veins tracing its height in a helix. Its skin is broken up by opaque egg shaped nodules that seem to hang in the meat of it, throbbing in syncopation. An array of thick root-like limbs splay out from this central trunk, on the ceiling and the floor, each appendage covered in festering boils, blisters, and pustules that seem to throb. From each of these limbs grow dozens, perhaps hundreds of even smaller, appendages, each tipped in long feather-like fingers that seem to wave uselessly at the air. Thousands of eyes litter the creatures body, alongside gibbering and drooling mouths and other sickly orifices. Every minute or so the monstrosity breathes and helical slits in its sides open, exhaling gusts of putrid, mist-laden air that cause its feather-fingers to sway outwards towards the tunnels.
Serpents
These Sucha have long serpentine bodies topped with a pair of jagged bone-bladed limbs which they use to pull themselves along. Each is adorned with veins of glowing green fungus, casting monstrous silhouettes in the pitch of the cavern. These monstrosities chitter through skeletal faces, waving their segmented chilicerae in the mist as they seek their prey. Dozens of fungus filled hollows in their skulls give the illusion of eyes glowing the dark.
Cave Crawler
A sickly pale thing with a half dozen thick tentacles that drag it across any surface, horizontal or vertical, in stuttering bursts. It has a bulbous body that seems to bloat and distend with each movement. When it pauses a crocodillian head seems to spill from its folded flesh, a gaping eyeless face with a mouth that opens, producing a stream of drool and three sinuous tongues that prod the air like antennae.
Crabmaw
As big as a Daedon, this creature plods along atop a set of four crab like legs. Its fatty, lumpen body twists is mostly composed of a vast and razor filled mouth attached to a sagging scaled belly. It is able to emit a scream that sounds far too human.
Toadmen
These almost humanoid creatures seem to come in packs of four. They have powerful hind legs and thick, hardened forelimbs, between which hang bulbous bellies. Their toad-like faces have eyes that glow dully in the dark and their mouth has row upon row of rasping teeth. They make a bird like sound to coordinate.