Piric Kyl

Visual Description
Piric Kyl are extremely lean bipedal creatures with 2 pairs of arms and a pillar like head. Most Piric Kyl dress in deep red ceremonial robes which are adorned in symbols which supposedly spell out their demonic allegiance. Where their skin is exposed it is a translucent white, through which their black veins can be seen.

Each of their hands on the end of their elongated arms only have 2 fingers and an opposable thumb, their legs however have no feet and instead end at a sharp point.

Their heads are may differ in appearance within the species but all Piric Kyl have a single, long, front facing, mouth that spans the length of it’s head from the top to the bottom. Within their mouth they have multiple rows of sharp teeth which lead to a glowing light, the colour of which tends to differ depending on their allegiance.

Known Abilities
Piric Kyl have the innate ability to levitate their body and will often do so to avoid walking. It is unknown how high a Piric Kyl is able to levitate due to their need to stay near their followers, however their movement speed while levitating is similar to walking.

Despite their frail appearance, Piric Kyl have enhanced endurance, speed, and toughness, making them formidable even by themselves. They are also able to sense their immediate environment by smelling through their skin, if a Piric Kyl is actively smelling through a specific part of their body this action can be identified by a surplus of black blood in the area.

The signature ability for Piric Kyl is its ability to force both animals and Astorians under its control by regurgitating a thick ichor from its mouth and into theirs. The possession is almost instantaneous, only truly taking effect once it is swallowed in any capacity.

Those under the control of a Piric Kyl are referred to as slaves, they will always prioritize the tasks given to them by their master, these tasks can be given telepathically or verbally, it is unknown if there is a limit as to how far the telepathy spans. Both the master Piric Kyl, and the slaves it has enlisted, share a hive mind like mentality, as they are able to share their sensory knowledge with one another telepathically.

During their time being controlled slaves are unaware of their actions and are effectively in a coma-like state, only thinking about the commands given to them by their master.

Slaves donate to their master a sizable amount of their soul essence instinctively while connected to them, this stream of essence allows the Piric Kyl to be able to cast, their most typical casting abilities are mainly projectile based and their favoured elements often depend on their demonic allegiance.

Typical Behaviours
All Piric Kyl have a strong primal instinct to gain a following, however its approach on how to grow a following depends on how many current slaves it has under its control.

When isolated a Piric Kyl may ally itself with other devoid who are also allied with their Demon Lord, or attempt to strike a deal with devoid who have different allegiances. If this form of partnership is not possible a Piric Kyl will often attempt to seek and stalk smaller isolated populations of Astorians, or patrol various habitats in search for animals. Most Piric Kyl have a good understanding of animal habits and can actively track specific species due to its keen sense of smell.

Eventually once they have a small following of slaves the Piric Kyl will often use its slaves to capture or bind other potential slaves, eventually the following will be large enough for growth becomes a secondary objective. Once at a suitable size the Piric Kyl will supervise the construction of a Lord Gate which is a structure that allows for the summoning of other devoid, and ultimately the Demon Lord they are allied with.

Piric Kyl have a good understanding of Astorian speech and are able to replicate it in a typically raspy tone, however they are not able to force their slaves to speak comprehensively, only in broken sentences, or more often single words. They also understand and comprehend sentimental bonds and interpersonal relationships, and will frequently use slaves to capitalise on these relationships.

While Piric Kyl do not need to eat or drink to sustain themselves, as their slave’s soul essence maintains their strength, they will however drink blood from sacrificed non-slaves ritualistically as a way to appease their Demon Lord.

Reproduction/Creation
It is unknown how they are created but all Piric Kyl originate from the Under Realm and are allowed to transition into the physical world when a powerful devoid opens a gateway.

Weaknesses
Despite their innate toughness Piric Kyl are not invulnerable to damage, blunt damage is typically the least effective, with slashing being the most. Piric Kyl require a minimum amount of blood to be able to smell their immediate surroundings, however this sense becomes less important when surrounded by slaves as they act as an external sensory network.

Most Piric Kyl will attempt to keep well away from direct conflicts if it has slaves active, while slaves share a small amount of power from their master they share all their normal vulnerabilities.

Slaves can be released of their control by being forced to vomit back the ichor the Piric Kyl originally forced into their body, this is often done through the use of alchemical potions or specialised aerosols.

Trivia

 * Even though Piric Kyl are able to control their slaves telepathically, they are unable to access their memories.