Strzyga

Impish in appearance and vampyric in nature, the Strzyga sustain themselves by feeding off the aether of living creatures.

In recent times, the Stryx people have been faced with a great schism: Some have made efforts to rejoin society and live amongst the mortal races, while others prefer to maintain the "old ways," viewing the living as nothing more than cattle.

THIS PAGE IS A VERY EARLY WIP & IS SUBJECT TO HEAVY CHANGES.

General Info

Height
Strzyga range from an impish 3ft (91cm) to the monstrous 9ft(275cm,) although the average height is about 5-6ft (150-180cm.) This measurement does not include ears or horns.

Lifespan
Effectively immortal, provided they maintain enough aether. Going too long between feedings will cause them to grow weakened and fail, visibly aging as a result. This can be reversed with proper nourishment.

Vampyrism & Aether
While Strzyga are perfectly capable of eating, drinking, and sleeping, they are not satiated by these activities. Instead, they must drain the life force from living creatures.

Aether drain is not usually fatal to the victim, but it is nonetheless regarded as an abhorrent practice by mortal races, who can be left severely ill or lethargic for days afterwards. Most living creatures naturally generate aether through sustenance and rest.

Language & Siren Song
The spoken and written language is referred to as "Stryx." It is described as being harsh and raspy, and direct translations reveal it to be full of archaic and obsolete terminology. There are also several dialects and accents, each attributed to a specific Clan.

Stryga have a secondary language as well, used exclusively in song. It is referred to as Siren Song, and is used to ensorcell mortals. These melodies are hauntingly beautiful, but have no known translation.

Origins & History

Origins
With the original Strzyga of yore still in existence today, surely the mystery of their creation could be resolved by first-hand recount - one need only ask. However, it seems that there is a precise point in time where consciousness and memory begins for the Stryx people, with no hints of an earlier "before." Still, there remain two prevailing theories on the origins of the Strzyga, with enough evidence to both support and refute both.

The Cult
One tale claims that Strzyga origins lie within an ancient cult who sought to make their lives everlasting. Legend tells of a kindly Psychopomp who first hearkened to their pleas, moved by their fervor and resolve.

In time, however, the spirit became both empowered and tainted by the cults misplaced reverence. They would lead their followers in a war against the forces of life and death and, at last, sever their connection to the aethereal flow, achieving immortality.

Their celebrations would be short-lived, as their defiance of the natural order blighted the land and its magics. The cult and their deity were swiftly sealed away in the Elysian Plane, damned to an eternity of stagnation.

The Curse
The opposing story paints the Strzyga with a more sympathetic brush. The forebears of the Stryx people were not so arrogant as to think they could defy the cycle of life and death, but instead, fought to protect it.

When a terrible darkness reached out from the great beyond, they fought alongside their venerated god to protect the world and its people from death everlasting. Victorious though they may have been, their triumph came at a great cost, as corruption twisted their bodies and souls into hungering beasts.

Ultimately, it was their god who ushered them to the Elysian Plane, stepping into the darkness alongside them, and sealing off the way back home.

Recorded History

Early recorded history is a patchwork of sparse details muddled by archaic terminology and inconsistent accounts. The world and its people were withering, crops were failing, and magical fonts were suffocating. Was it due to the curse of the cult, which poisoned the land and its inhabitants? Was this the aftermath of the eldritch horrors and their corruption? Or was it more mundane - a plague upon the people hand-in-hand with a blight upon the crops?

Blight and plague, at least, were cold and indifferent. But a new presence had began to stir - and this one knew malice.

It started slowly. Disappearances. Attacks in the night. Claims of beasts, both monstrous and familiar, lurking in the shadows. They could be heard in the night, and if one stared into the far off darkness long enough, one might even swear they saw the glint of hungering eyes staring back.

Within a century, solitary attacks had become full-on raids. Vampiric beasts, now referred to as "Skurge," decimated villages and ransacked cities, draining aether from the citizens who were already weak from hunger and magical drought. They also helped themselves to any valuables, even claiming mortals as prizes, before retreating once again into the unknown.

Yet, let it not be said that they mortals did not fight back. Vampire hunters and "Skurge Stalkers" assembled both independently and as small armies, defending their cities with courage and valor.

Still, life had all but trickled away in these lands. Those who had the means gathered up their loved ones and made for the coast, hoping to set sail for a far away continent, while those who were left behind either succumbed to the plague, blight, magical drought, or Skurge. In time, nothing remained but wastelands and ghost towns, and when the flame of life was at last snuffed out from the lands, so too were the Skurge.

Societal Info

Clans and Covens
Needless to say, the Skurge, or in their native tongue "Strzyga" did not die out, but instead retreated back to the Elyssian plane. Here, they could remain in stasis, where their Aether would not bleed away, at the cost of being in a self-made purgatory.

Groups of Strzyga had banded together fairly early on, but as meaningless eons ticked by, these factions found themselves more and more divided in their ways. Some broke off peacefully, while others revolted against their leaders, or overthrew them entirely. Skipping over the centuries of insipid strife and sordid history, the Strzyga are now comprised of (a number I'll forget to add) clans, and several, smaller, undocumented covens.

Moroi
One of the largest and most ancient of the clans, the Moroi are who come to mind when Strzyga are mentioned. This clan lives in a city made of intricate and opulent castles, and individuals dress lavishly, no matter the occasion. (Based on Romanian folklore.)

Jiangshi
Based on Chinese folklore.

Vetela
Based on Hindu Folklore

Verdilak
Based on Scandinavian folklore.

Adze
Based on West African folklore.

Penanggal
Based on Malaysian Folklore

Loogaroo
Based on Caribbean folklore.

Estrie
Based on Jeweish folklore.

Hooh-Strah-Dooh
Based on Wyandot Folklore

Clans & Covens
Several smaller, undocumented clans exist, but are instead referred to as covens. Covens are typically closer-knit communities, due to their modest numbers, and are often migratory or semi-nomadic.

Those who chose to go it alone do so at great risk, as the Elysian Plane can be merciless and unrelenting. Fauna, flora, and even other Strzyga can easily pick off a lone wanderer. Still, some manage to thrive, sharing neither burden nor boon.

Overworlders
Within the past century, a number of Strzyga have distanced themselves from the Elysian Plane and those who dwell within it, instead turning to the mortal realm.

As it currently stands, there are only a handful of towns and villages world-wide that have the proper accommodations for the Stryx people, and reception can be lukewarm in some communities. They tend to do well with undead or similarly afflicted, though that does make the logistics of obtaining sustenance more difficult.

Physical Traits

Claws - Shaping
From the shoulder onwards, Strzyga can manipulate the size and shape of their arms, twisting them into massive talons, razor sharp whips, long tentacles, or even wings.

Claws - Magic
Often times, the the colour of the magic employed by a Strzyga will match the colour of their arms, hands, or fingertips. It is not uncommon to see them wielding purple flames, green bolts of ice, or black lightning.

Tails (Optional)
Strzyga tails come in two varieties: Impish, which are longer and often tipped with a spade or point, and Bestial, ranging from reptilian, mammalian, avian, etc.

Tail types that are not found are more on the conceptual or inanimate side, such as ribbons, chains, beads, ropes, and so on.

Horns & Crowns (Optional)
Crowns and horns can both be present, though it is usually one or the other.

Crowns are similar in appearance to those found on Phasms - celestial creatures of a higher plane - and by extension Phasmares, and so they are thought to be a sort of "gift" from the latter, given the two species amicable history together.

Extra Eyes (Optional)
Additional eyes can sometimes be found on the cheeks or forehead of Strzyga. Size, shape, and colour can vary between each individual eye, but in most cases, do not offer any significant benefit or advantage over the standard binocular eyes.

Skulls & Shapeshifting
While they cannot invoke wild gods and shape themselves into beasts the way a druid can, Strzyga can still transform into any manner of creature- provided they have its skull. The living may see it as yet another abhorrent practice, but Strzyx people are able to form what can only be described as a "bond" with the remains of slain beasts, and can use said remains as a catalyst for transformation magic.

Of course, there are several caveats:

1) One must slay the beast themselves. 2) Remaining in a transformed state expends aetheric energy, the bigger the beast, the higher the cost. 3) The skull stays on during transformation, and 4) Bonds seem to incur something of a "tax" on the individual, and it is nigh impossible to form more than a handful bonds at most. Many Strzyga are thusly strategic about their bestial choices, opting for creatures that would suit their specific needs. Generally speaking, bats, rats, wolves, caimans, and ravens are all popular choices.

The Elysian Plane

Placeholder image. A Phasmare floating in front of the Black Moon.

General
Contrary to the celestial beings who reside in the Ethereal Plane, the Strzyga make their home in the Elysian Plane, an endless forest of fog and gloom. The sun is permanently eclipsed by a pitch black moon, allowing only the corona to be visible. It appears as a deep red halo of light during the day, and ghostly blue ring at night.

Those who have stumbled into this realm and returned to tell the tale mention a feeling of being turned upside down, though neither their hair nor clothes seem to reflect the reversed pull of gravity. The air is thick and heavy, with a subtle metallic odor.

Those residing in this realm are immune to any sort aethereal decay, and so it is ideal for Strzyga whose stolen energies slowly evaporate over time.

Waygates
The Elysian Plane is accessible via waygates, which are often extremely subtle (e.g. two unassuming stones, or a dead tree forming an archway.) These waygates must be linked from both sides, and so it is often up to the Phasmares to influence mortals from the other side, tricking them into connecting the two portals.

Interspecies Relationships

General
The Strzyga are still in the awkward phase of trying to find their place in the world after years of being the scourge of the living. Some mortal races are willing to help however they can, but others are still wary and distrustful.

Starrobbers
Not only did these undead dragons offer the first olive branch to the Strzyga, but they've done so at the risk of their own good standing within society. There is, of course, a strong kinship between the two in undeath, but some individuals carry a perceived societal debt, which can complicate personal relationships.

Phasms
One might assume there is plenty of bad blood between the Phasms and the Strzyga. After all, the Stryx people exist outside the bounds of life and death, they've been the harbingers of disaster, and they even turned some of the Phasms own against them.

Alas, the Phasms remain ever unprejudiced, caring only for the acts of the individual above the reputation of the species. Even psychopomps rarely harbor ill will.

Phasms & Phasmares
Phasmares, the Phasms who reside in the Elysian Plane, have willingly exiled themselves from Phasm society, choosing to exist alongside the Strzyga. Each or the major clans have Phasmares as advisors and confidants.

Lone Phasmares, too, will help out a Strzyga in need, though they seemingly have no desire for friendship, preferring their solitude.

Terminology

Stryx
Adjective, used to describe something being of a Strzyga. "Stryx people, Stryx practices," etc.

Incubus, Succubus, Concubus
The masculine, feminine, and gender neutral terms for Strzyga, respectively. Can also be used as a title, akin to lord and lady.

Imps & Behemoths
Imps are Strzyga who are of shorter stature (usually about 3ft) while Behemoths tower above your average Stryzga (typically over 8ft.)

Artist's Note: With the exception of the "Interspecies Relationships" section, I've done my best to keep these info sheets stand-alone, not relying on, or mentioning other species, or at the very least, keeping it vague and open to interpretation. As a result, I wasn't really sure where to mention this, but: Stardragons cannot be raised as Strzyga. Resurrected Stardragons are reborn as Starrobbers, while Bicorns, Harevoyants, and Handragora become Strzyga.

I'll make an effort to move this note to a "general lore" page at some point.

All artwork and written information by Rynies. Strzyga are a closed species.
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