Umbral moth
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Approximate order of difficulty: dingy, gloomy, murky, cinereous... atramentous, night dark
Started appearing after the Chrysalis opened and the Akul'tiz emerged. Was part of the Akul'tiz invasions. Located now in Li Surmi Gelv, entered through the Wicked Borrow Mine. Comes in various kinds: fuligin, dingy, dusky, atramentous, et cetera.
Description
The atramentous moth is a dark thing cloaked in flickering, baleful shadow, vaguely insectile in form. Its flesh seems nearly as mercurial as smoke, constantly evolving through irregular, chaotic shapes. The creature's bulbous compound eyes are utterly matte and unreflective, each crowned by an antenna which bears an uncanny resemblance to the soft, questing arm of an infant Human, complete with tiny growths resembling inquisitive, chubby fingers. A slick proboscis protrudes from the moth's mouth, dangling obscenely against its thorax. Most striking are the creature's massive wings, spreading fractally above and around its body like drops of dark ink shifting through water.
Recall
Said to have been created by the goddess Dergati, these creatures are made from an amalgamation of mundane flesh and shadow stuff. The umbral moth is strongest at night or in overcast weather, flinching from the light of the sun.
The moths feed by grappling with their prey, this proximity usually inspiring terror in the potential victim. Whether this is merely due to the moth's awful visage or some insidious poison or exudation is not known. The strong of mind can resist this attack, depriving the creature of the fear it needs to repair itself and grow stronger. Whether or not the moth feeds successfully, its savage 'kiss' tends to leave its victims tongueless and bleeding.
Messaging
A gloomy umbral moth glides in, shadows seeming to warp as it passes.
A gloomy umbral moth glides south in a whorl of shifting shadow.
Stunned: A dingy umbral moth staggers about drunkenly, its massive wings losing coherence.
Standing: A dingy umbral moth's wings beat soundlessly, returning it gracefully to an upright position.
Death: A dingy umbral moth's wings spasm one last time, drifting away from its body like a cloud of acrid smoke. The creature goes still, now nothing more than an ungainly mound of disintegrating shadow.
Now dead, the dingy moth resembles an ungainly mound of rapidly-dissipating shadow.
A dingy umbral moth crumbles into dust, quickly scattered by an errant breeze.
Spawning: A nearby shadow darkens and expands, coalescing into a gloomy umbral moth. Disorienting gusts of feeling roil through the area, accompanying the uncanny beast.
A painful lump rises in your throat as some nearby shadows darken and shift.
Special Attacks
Known to have an attack that poisons.
Vicious Kiss
- A dingy umbral moth is abruptly before you, as though disdaining the intervening space. Undulating tendrils of darkness strike at you as the creature seeks to enfold you in an inky embrace.
Fail
You just manage to escape the questing, shadowy tendrils, though proximity to the creature's uncanny wings leaves you with the beginnings of a headache.
Success
Though you struggle to escape, the moth easily ensnares you, drawing you close in perverse mockery of affection. A shadowy, hand-like appendage grasps your head almost tenderly and you feel the moth's slick proboscis plunge past your lips in a vicious kiss. You gag as the coppery taste of your own blood fills your mouth, your tongue savaged in the creature's brutal quest for sustenance.
Terror blossoms within you, multiplying into vastness. The feeling grows and grows until there is nothing else. Just when you are certain your heart will burst in your chest your fear is simply...taken from you, leaving you feeling hollow and shaken.
The moth discards you as a child would an empty sweet wrapper, looking bigger and more malevolent.