Charlavons

Charlavons are an interesting galactic beast race not only for their curious feeding and their unique insectoid forms, but also for their high intelligence even amongst the ranks of their distant non-rational relatives.

What is it?:

Charlavons are an insectoid spectre race that have the urge to feed upon the bones and bone marrow of living creatures, mainly mortals. Unlike most spectres who often embrace their hunger or are simply slaves to it, most Charlavons have a profound disgust towards themselves because of it and many go to great lengths to fight off their urges to feast upon the living. In fact the large majority of Charlavons seen by the public or slain by beast hunters are simply those who fallen to their urges and in the process have simply become mindless beasts, “The True Charlavons” are deep underground within cave dwelling cities in places mortals dare not to tread in the hopes of living in peace, but they will also struggle with their “fight for intelligence”. In terms of appearance, Charlavons are bipedal insectoids with hind legs, a pair of “slicers” to cut their victims to pieces and a pair of bug-like wings they can utilise for taking flight, in addition they also possess a set of 4 dagger sharp pincers around the outside of their gums which are used for ripping off chunks of flesh.

Where does it live?:

As mentioned above “The True Charlavons” live in underground cities. These cities are considered primitive by our own standards, however by beast standards they are considered at the height of advancement as they have running water, fires and some even report that some have started to utilise basic forms of both magic and science. Interestingly in some documented reports it appears that some of these True Charlavons have managed to construction some form of long range communication and teleport technology, though it isn’t really know whether this was developed by them or simply rediscovered and fixed. Now typical Charlavons often inhabit hollowed out tree husks, abandoned buildings, sewers and even basements just to name a few, they choose these places because they are spots where the wild beasts can construct nests from the their victims. Additionally it is noteworthy to mention that almost all Charlavons one finds out in the wild are alone as they do not have the pack mentality and will often kill other Charlavons.

What does it do?:

Typically most Charlavons only have the desire to kill the living, break open their bones and consume both the bones as well as the marrow within, and similar to all other spectres that utilise their shape-shifting abilities in order to stalk their prey and kill them unnoticed. True Charlavons spend the majority of their time trying to live in peace with those they love, trying to advance their race by utilising more forms of both magic and science, or developing new weapons to use in their fight for intelligence. Additionally when The Soulbreak was sealed and The Afterlife Age came to an end, many claim to Charlavons talked to them through some kind of “mind magic”, it is now believed that with the recent discovery of “Psychokinetics” that Charlavons now have the ability to converse with mortals.

How to Kill it?:

Similar to all Spectres, killing a Charlavons is a lot easier if you have white ash and/or silver to hand, however if neither of those are to hand then cyromancy proves especially damaging towards them. More often then not if you aren’t skilled with a sword or ranged weapon you will most often die when coming face to face with a regular charlavon, however if you come into contact with a true charlavon they will most likely aid you if not just leave you alone.

Different Types of Charlavons:

Idjady

These are Charlavons that are often seen as the “highest” form of Charlavon as they possess a high level of intellect and a large degree of power. In terms appearance, Idjady are bipedal often standing at around 6ft with highly protective skin, in addition they have a pair of large insect wings that act as a method of taking flight as well as a protective cloak. Most Idjady act as leaders or wise councilors within True Charlavon underground cities often organizing expeditions, distributing responsibilities and offering comfort to those who are struggling with their fight for intelligence. Although Idjady that have fallen to their beast urges are rare, they are extremely dangerous and can easily kill off multiple individuals without anyone knowing what they were looking for, the most famous is about an Idjady that disguise itself as a priest of “The Society of Ancients” and began slowly killing off it’s fellow priests until a wandering traveller managed to deal with this dangerous beasts.

Gigantamorians

These are hulking Charlavons that are the reason why many within the galaxy still hold a fear of Charlavons. In terms of appearance, Gigantamorians are bipedal four armed insectoids that often stand at around 15ft tall, they also possess a 3 “rhino beetle like” horns upon their heads that are often used to impale and kill it’s prey, interestingly however Gigantamorians don’t possess wings are one of the only Charlavons that are incapable of flight. Despite their large reputation of being hulking beasts that simply rip and tear their way through villages, cities and sometimes even kingdoms, the truth is actually for more complicated; see the large majority of Gigantamorians possess a very low intelligence with it being comparable to that of a child, and most of their attacks were due to “mortal intervention”, however it is also true that some Gigantamorians are simply savage beasts that just want to break open and consume both the bones and bone marrow of living creatures.

Tseteses

These are slender Charlavons that are the definition of terrifying. In terms of appearance, Tseteses are curved 6 legged insectoids with a long tail like appendage that it used for both attacking and traversal purposes, they also possess a pair of armoured wings that simply allow the Tsetese to hover instead of directly taking flight, in addition they possess a pair of elongated pincers which the Tsetese uses to pull victims in closer for consumption. A unique aspect of a Tsetese is their ability to spread “The Waking Dream Sickness”, in short this is a psychedelic poison that spreads via spores located under it’s belly that forces those it infects into a psychedelic state that progressively gets more and more realistic until either the victim kills themselves, or simply dies of dehydration. Interestingly Tseteses that are True Charlavons often serve as medics, herbalists and alchemists among other roles within their cave cities, in addition it has been reported that Tsetese spores can actually be used a “psychedelic substance” for both medical and personal reasons.

Emps

These are a stocky rounded Charlavons that leave no trace of their victims once they are dead. In terms of appearance, Emps are multiple limbed monstrosities that are more then a challenge for the common public, they have 4 arms in order to keep their victims from fleeing and 4 dagger-like appendages in order to pierce the victims body and separate their various parts into small snacks to consume, in addition the most terrifying thing about Emps is that they consume ever last bit of their victim in order to leave no trace for beast hunters to track. Unlike most Charlavons that either kill for pleasure or suppress their urges for their fight for intelligence, Emps exclusively kill simply because it is in their nature and for no other reason, their is no malice behind their kills and no intelligence behind their trapping of prey, it is simply their beastly nature. Despite their deadly beast nature, Emps are very easy to spot while they are in their disguised form as they will often incorrectly shape a limb or piece of clothing, in addition they are often noticed for producing a pungent and quite often uncomfortable smell that is mostly commonly described as “molded old cheese and peasant wine”.