[used this for the name]
Among the many Hosts, those who know about the rare Viskthaigilu consider them as an exotic breed. They tend not to draw attention, flying silently in the night or crawling between the shadows of the trees. They are also quite beautiful- their wings are colored with enchanting eyes and complex patterns, and not two individuals are the same. Each is its own masterpiece, a magnificent creation which makes people adore them- that is, until they start feeding. Even then, they are considered beautiful- and some who watch their feedings claim that they victims don't look like they are in pain, but in bliss. More then one werewolf was about to destroy one of them- yet stopped himself just before crushing the Host, can't bringing himself to destroy such perfection. A did he was regretting for later.
More then all, the most fascinating fact about the Viskthaigilu is their life cycle. Unlike most other Shartha, the Viskthaigilu have to go through their life cycle not once, but twice. The reason is that when a young Shard just hatches from the bloated corpse upon which it was laid, it doesn't show up in its final form- instead, it shows up as a caterpillar, small and vulnerable. Unlike the majestic adult form, while in that form the Viskthaigilu looks quite disgusting- they are furry and bloated, images of bloody eyes cover their body and they leave a trail in green or crimson. Once hatched, the caterpillars (who are sometimes confused as a whole different type of Host) start eating- first the corpse upon they were laid, then any left overs they can find. If they can do it, they would eat each other, growing in power and becoming lumps of black and brown fat. While in that form, that is their drive- eat, eat and keep eating. While they usually prefer eating the dead (for they are too weak to fight for a real prey in that form), they'll eventually have to start turning their attention toward the living. Else, they would stay as caterpillars forever.
In order to possess a body, the Viskthaigilu waits for when a person would be close enough for it digging under their skin. Once entering the body, it would start eating its way toward the brain, consuming any organ which stands in their way. After taking command upon the body, they'll start using it to feed better- they'll eat everything, hoarding tons of calories inside the tissues. Eventually, after a time which usually takes months of obsessive eating, right after their host grew so fat that it can barely move, the caterpillar turns its body into an hybrid form.During that state, the bloated monster can keep on eating- and this time, there are really no limitation on what it can eat. It spends all of its time at devouring anything around it, growing bigger and bigger at every meal it consumes. It doesn't do it out of primal compulsion or inner drive. It does it becomes it is going to need all of that energy for a single act.
The metamorphoses.
Once consuming enough, the Viskthaigilu would weave a cocoon around itself. During that state, its is extremely vulnerable- for while the cocoon itself is strong, it is extremely flammable- and those who know about the Shartha are quick to burn them or boil them in hot water, for their silk is known as having protective abilities against mind controlling effects. For that reason, the Viskthaigilu seek after a remote and safe place to weave their cocoon- and then, they need to wait silently for around three weeks, depends on how much they have eaten. Those who has eaten twice or three times of what they should have finish the process in a week. Those who didn't managed to consume enough food can't get out of their cocoon, stuck forever in a form between life and death. Yet, most of them hatch.
And then the magic begins.
First, the Shard scatter itself- from each cocoon one could get 10-50 different Hosts. Those Shards won't start searching for human hosts at first- instead, they would fly without any real reason, usually for around a month, drinking nectar and devouring small insects and animals. If a human or an Uratha would notice them, they would usually try to escape, or would use their powders to making them fall asleep. They roam freely around human communities, moving mostly at night. It all changes when the night of the New Moon comes- for once it does, they have up until the next New Moon to finish their cycle, or else they would die.
They desire which motivates the Viskthaigilu is the drive to anesthetize- and they do so by using their mental abilities and the drugs created from their wings. Those who are exposed those the mystical chemicals produced by them quickly fall asleep, suffering from hallucinations and nightmares which torment their souls. Those effects don't influence only living beings- spirits are also effected, and so are ghosts and other monsters. They seek to escape the harsh reality in the embrace of the darkness, losing themselves into the endless madness. While they spread their toxins, they Viskthaigilu start seeking for their new host- like the Halaku, the Viskthaigilu don't kill their victim. Instaed, once they find an "appropriate vessel", they cling themselves on it and make it sleep walking, using it as a puppet. While they touch the victim, they have the ability to see their inner dreams and fears, and manipulate him into making each and every of his nightmares to come true. The reason is that they feed upon fear- they drink the adrenaline of their host as nectar, and the more they drink the more beautiful they become. Once they drain him enough, the Shard would move on- usually leaving the victim alive, wide awake in the middle of his worst nightmare.
After drinking the fears of dozens of victims, the second phase begins- a group of Shards gathers together and move as a swarm, devouring and poor bastard who falls in their way. They use their poisons to paralyze their victim and manipulating his senses, allowing him feel pain while representing it as pleasure. It is not to say that the victim doesn't feel the pain- it is simply so those who look on them won't notice it. As the month would start coming to its end, the whole swarm would turn upon itself, eating each other until only a single shard would remain. Then, it would search for a final host and fuse with it, creating an hybrid form.
And like anything else the Viskthaigilu does, it would be beautiful.
The result is a slim figure, almost skeletal, covered with the shining, black exoskeleton and and colorful wings covered with eyes which move and react to the environment. While in that form, its manipulative abilities are at their best- it can quickly force large groups into a sleep and move them like puppets which it use to feed or just to torment. It flies every night, spreading its powders upon tens of people at once- giving it a big range of targets at once. Eventually, when the New Moon rises again, it would search for a single victim and force it asleep, laying its eggs under the skin of the victim- and then it would die out and turn to dust. Few nights later, the eggs would hatch and the cycle would start anew.
As you can guess, the reason for the rarity of that Host is the complexity of their life cycle- so many different criterion must be answered and so many levels must be passed that only one out of 10 Shards manages to finish it- but from the Viskthaigilu's point of view, it worth it. You either do something beautifully, or you shouldn't do it at all. It is all or nothing, for you only live once- and those who waste their one opportunity deserve their fate.
suggestion? thoughts?
Among the many Hosts, those who know about the rare Viskthaigilu consider them as an exotic breed. They tend not to draw attention, flying silently in the night or crawling between the shadows of the trees. They are also quite beautiful- their wings are colored with enchanting eyes and complex patterns, and not two individuals are the same. Each is its own masterpiece, a magnificent creation which makes people adore them- that is, until they start feeding. Even then, they are considered beautiful- and some who watch their feedings claim that they victims don't look like they are in pain, but in bliss. More then one werewolf was about to destroy one of them- yet stopped himself just before crushing the Host, can't bringing himself to destroy such perfection. A did he was regretting for later.
More then all, the most fascinating fact about the Viskthaigilu is their life cycle. Unlike most other Shartha, the Viskthaigilu have to go through their life cycle not once, but twice. The reason is that when a young Shard just hatches from the bloated corpse upon which it was laid, it doesn't show up in its final form- instead, it shows up as a caterpillar, small and vulnerable. Unlike the majestic adult form, while in that form the Viskthaigilu looks quite disgusting- they are furry and bloated, images of bloody eyes cover their body and they leave a trail in green or crimson. Once hatched, the caterpillars (who are sometimes confused as a whole different type of Host) start eating- first the corpse upon they were laid, then any left overs they can find. If they can do it, they would eat each other, growing in power and becoming lumps of black and brown fat. While in that form, that is their drive- eat, eat and keep eating. While they usually prefer eating the dead (for they are too weak to fight for a real prey in that form), they'll eventually have to start turning their attention toward the living. Else, they would stay as caterpillars forever.
In order to possess a body, the Viskthaigilu waits for when a person would be close enough for it digging under their skin. Once entering the body, it would start eating its way toward the brain, consuming any organ which stands in their way. After taking command upon the body, they'll start using it to feed better- they'll eat everything, hoarding tons of calories inside the tissues. Eventually, after a time which usually takes months of obsessive eating, right after their host grew so fat that it can barely move, the caterpillar turns its body into an hybrid form.During that state, the bloated monster can keep on eating- and this time, there are really no limitation on what it can eat. It spends all of its time at devouring anything around it, growing bigger and bigger at every meal it consumes. It doesn't do it out of primal compulsion or inner drive. It does it becomes it is going to need all of that energy for a single act.
The metamorphoses.
Once consuming enough, the Viskthaigilu would weave a cocoon around itself. During that state, its is extremely vulnerable- for while the cocoon itself is strong, it is extremely flammable- and those who know about the Shartha are quick to burn them or boil them in hot water, for their silk is known as having protective abilities against mind controlling effects. For that reason, the Viskthaigilu seek after a remote and safe place to weave their cocoon- and then, they need to wait silently for around three weeks, depends on how much they have eaten. Those who has eaten twice or three times of what they should have finish the process in a week. Those who didn't managed to consume enough food can't get out of their cocoon, stuck forever in a form between life and death. Yet, most of them hatch.
And then the magic begins.
First, the Shard scatter itself- from each cocoon one could get 10-50 different Hosts. Those Shards won't start searching for human hosts at first- instead, they would fly without any real reason, usually for around a month, drinking nectar and devouring small insects and animals. If a human or an Uratha would notice them, they would usually try to escape, or would use their powders to making them fall asleep. They roam freely around human communities, moving mostly at night. It all changes when the night of the New Moon comes- for once it does, they have up until the next New Moon to finish their cycle, or else they would die.
They desire which motivates the Viskthaigilu is the drive to anesthetize- and they do so by using their mental abilities and the drugs created from their wings. Those who are exposed those the mystical chemicals produced by them quickly fall asleep, suffering from hallucinations and nightmares which torment their souls. Those effects don't influence only living beings- spirits are also effected, and so are ghosts and other monsters. They seek to escape the harsh reality in the embrace of the darkness, losing themselves into the endless madness. While they spread their toxins, they Viskthaigilu start seeking for their new host- like the Halaku, the Viskthaigilu don't kill their victim. Instaed, once they find an "appropriate vessel", they cling themselves on it and make it sleep walking, using it as a puppet. While they touch the victim, they have the ability to see their inner dreams and fears, and manipulate him into making each and every of his nightmares to come true. The reason is that they feed upon fear- they drink the adrenaline of their host as nectar, and the more they drink the more beautiful they become. Once they drain him enough, the Shard would move on- usually leaving the victim alive, wide awake in the middle of his worst nightmare.
After drinking the fears of dozens of victims, the second phase begins- a group of Shards gathers together and move as a swarm, devouring and poor bastard who falls in their way. They use their poisons to paralyze their victim and manipulating his senses, allowing him feel pain while representing it as pleasure. It is not to say that the victim doesn't feel the pain- it is simply so those who look on them won't notice it. As the month would start coming to its end, the whole swarm would turn upon itself, eating each other until only a single shard would remain. Then, it would search for a final host and fuse with it, creating an hybrid form.
And like anything else the Viskthaigilu does, it would be beautiful.
The result is a slim figure, almost skeletal, covered with the shining, black exoskeleton and and colorful wings covered with eyes which move and react to the environment. While in that form, its manipulative abilities are at their best- it can quickly force large groups into a sleep and move them like puppets which it use to feed or just to torment. It flies every night, spreading its powders upon tens of people at once- giving it a big range of targets at once. Eventually, when the New Moon rises again, it would search for a single victim and force it asleep, laying its eggs under the skin of the victim- and then it would die out and turn to dust. Few nights later, the eggs would hatch and the cycle would start anew.
As you can guess, the reason for the rarity of that Host is the complexity of their life cycle- so many different criterion must be answered and so many levels must be passed that only one out of 10 Shards manages to finish it- but from the Viskthaigilu's point of view, it worth it. You either do something beautifully, or you shouldn't do it at all. It is all or nothing, for you only live once- and those who waste their one opportunity deserve their fate.
suggestion? thoughts?
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