Vilespawn

The Vilespawn are the collected dark beings that exist within the realm of the Immaterium, creatures of darkness and malice, created by Araneia, Goddess of the Vilespawn, and her eternal mate, Fernira, Goddess of Shadow. There are several different 'types' of vilespawn, each created to affect the living world in different ways, having abilities that allow them to interact and torment the residents of the world. It is here that these vilespawn will be explained.

First of all, it should be known that there are three different types of Vilespawn, the physical vilespawn, the magical vilespawn, and the emotional vilespawn. They are given these classifications due to the way they affect humans and the beings they encountered in the 'real' world. Aside from these base types, there are four other particular vilespawn that differ, and these will be explained in time.

Vilespawn Appearance
The physical appearance of a Vilespawn actually differs greatly between their Immaterium form, and their form within Tehrannis, or the human realm. Within the confines of their own realm, they look akin to shadows, beasts dark in nature that steal the light from the world, which is often claimed what causes the Immaterium to look as if painted in shades of grey. These forms differ dependant on their 'classification' (see below), and general power. The stronger, or more energy a vilespawn has, the larger, more detailed and light consuming a shadow is. This is a stark contrast to their human realm forms, as it generally seems the stronger a vilespawn is, the smaller, and more 'human' they look, as if try to integrate into society in order to cause the most chaos.

Vilespawn in the human world look, as one would imagine from their name, fairly grotesque, bearing all manner of boney protusions, sometimes a number of extra limbs, extra eyes, some have even been recorded to have wings, though not many have ever been seen to fly with them. The telltale sign of a vilespawn, beyond their unique reaction to magic energy and their magical essence, is their eyes, which are almost always pure black, as if the light had been taken from them. Scholars claim this is due to their origins, and others claim they lack the ability to see the world for what it is.

Vilespawn Contracts & Summoning
A vilespawn is a strange being, only able to enter the world of Tehrannis through either the pursuits of a human with a masochistic streak enough to call upon one, or by a rift within the fabric of the realms themselves. A human can call upon a vilespawn for a number of purposes, including emotional, strength and knowledge based desires, perhaps even sometimes sexual, as it has been known for the emotional vilespawn to adopt the form best suited to the desires of a summoner. This summoning, however, comes at a price; where once it was a folktale that spoke of vilespawn desiring human souls, it has become disturbing apparant they seek nothing so fanciful, instead preferring to drain a contracter of their very essence, essentially annihilating them in shape and form. Those who are drained in this manner become nothing more than husks, robbed of those 'good' emotions, and left to wander blindly in pain, fear, sorrow and darkness. It is possible to protect oneself from these vilespawn with a series of glyphs intended to ward away their powers, but should one summon a vilespawn stronger than the glyph's maker, the chances are they will be of little consequence to the demands of a vilespawn.

A successful contract however, can imbue the summoner with what they desire.. for a time, until the nature of the vile magic eats away at them and they come to desire more, until it consumes and destroys them. So far, there have been no known survivors of a contract, and no contract that has ever lasted for longer than two years.

Vilespawn Traits
Most vilespawn carry the same basic traits, the same basic principles that affect their entire 'race'. The first, and most commonly known, is their aversion to the light. Being from a realm without light, and being creatures that naturally consume it in their home realm, they are often weakened when in the light, though not to the point they are not dangerous any longer. It would take far more than light alone to cause that.

The second trait is their physical form within the human realm. Generally it is the thought and energy of the summoner that gives shape to a vilespawn, and should they be unable to sustain the energy required to keep their form intact, they can become incredibly weak, though the time period for this is completely unknown, and differs from vilespawn to vilespawn. Added to this, a vilespawn is able to 'change' their physical appearance, to suit their needs and desires, often trying to exact fear, sorrow, horror, disgust or any number of emotions from onlookers before they attempt to destroy them, or even adopting a human form, so that they can blend into human society and destroy them from within.

Fiends
Fiends are seen as the 'grunt' type spawn of the Immaterium, a being that has no great strengths, and merely causes panic, havoc and trouble wherever they cross over into the world at. While it is possible for these 'Fiends' to cause harm, they are more known as troublemakers, and it is only when they absorb enough strength or magic that they can change into something more dangerous, like those explained within the three classifications.

Physical Vilespawn
The physical vilespawn are the type of creature that rely on power, and force of body to crush and destroy all within their wake, and should enough of these gather, they can almost destroy a large town or smaller sections of a city. These are seen as some of the highest priority targets for many organisations.

Strangler
Strangler's are the weakest of the three physical vilespawn, having acquired just enough power to change from a Fiend's form and gain strength to really cause harm to the world. Whilst they are generally labled as the weakest of the physical vilespawn, they are certainly capable of tearing apart a human, or other similar animal with some degree of ease, and take quite a lot of punishment before they are destroyed, or forced to return to the Immaterium.

Butcher
A Butcher is far stronger than that of their weaker kin, the Strangler, and are known to have adapted in such a manner that intelligence becomes a part of their 'hunt'. A butcher can track and hunt a particular victim, establish traps and cut off groups from each other to pick off individual targets, although this is only necessary when faced with a great number of strong opponents, as a Butcher can eviscerate several humans, even those with low level Anima Crux, fairly easily.

Despoiler
The Despoiler is the strongest of the physical vilespawn, and they hold strength enough to take on even those of the third level of Anima Crux toe to toe, and even kill them. Their forms are hardened, their bodies holding massive strength, with enough force to destroy all but the strongest structures, and enough endurance to take amazing amounts of damage. Added to this, it has been known for a Despoiler to regenerate their damage over time, and continue an onslaught for many days, even weeks, before they are weakened enough for them to be killed, unless their opponent is strong enough to destroy them with sheer force. More often than not, Despoilers are seen as a huge threat to safety, and instead of fighting them, they are returned to the Immaterium via The Arts.

Magical Vilespawn
Magical vilespawn are a breed apart from their physical kin, and whilst their physical counterparts favour head on fighting and destruction, a magical vilespawn will utilise vile magical energy and intelligence to sow chaos and fear. A magical vilespawn can be one of the most dangerous opponents one can face, and these are the singlemost feared enemy in many regions of Tehrannis.

Blight
A Blight is the form of vilespawn that has absorbed much magical energy, enough to imbue the being with some level of control of it's own, allowing them to manipulate the real world around them and throw energies at humans, animals and structures alike. While they do have access to certain magical energies, they often have no true substance to them, and are just wild magics, though certainly enough to cause damage to an untrained human.

Defiler
The Defiler's are fierce magical beings that possess enough power to warp the magic of the world, and even that of a number of human Arts, twisting them in their favour, throwing them back at the caster, and causing destruction and pain to those around them with magical power. Their intellect is their greatest weapon, and a Defiler can be known to take out whole troops with well placed vile arts before anyone realises a vilespawn is in the area.

Devourer
The Devourer is the reason many fear the magical vilespawn more than anything. Should a Defiler grow in strength enough and gain insight into the way vile magic works, as well as acquire enough magical power, they can become a Devourer, a being of pure dark energy and pain. Their abilities are fear for many reasons, but the greatest two reasons are clear to all beings. First, the reason they are named Devourers. They are able to quite literally feast upon the magic of humankind, and their forms, to grow in power and then use that power to annihilate everything around them. Secondly, and perhaps even more feared, is their ability to use their magic to call upon more of their vilespawn brethren, summoning them into the world. Devourers are rare, as magical vilespawn are eliminated as soon as possible to prevent these threats walking the land.

Emotional Vilespawn
Emotional Vilespawn are not those beings that suffer from human emotion, but rather the types that feed upon it, and use it to manipulate humankind into performing acts of their own destruction. These are the sadistic, torturous beings that form contracts with weak willed humans, in order to further their power and sow the seeds of chaos.

Malice
A Malice is the weakest of the contracting vilespawn, those that offer up small rewards and promises of power to those who call upon them in order to wreak havoc. Fiercely intelligent, even the weakest of the emotional vilespawn can be considered a deadly enemy, for they utilise the strengths of their contractor to deal their damage, and rarely enter combat for themselves. Their abilities however, are certainly enough for normal humans to fear them, as a Malice is still capable of ending the life of one.

Nightmare
Nightmare is the name given to the second form of the emotional vilespawn, and the most common cause of destruction within the larger cities. As human curiousity grows, they experiment with darker powers, and it is this that causes Nightmare's to come into being, using a large number of human contractors to do their work. While they rarely use their own power to fight, as they are great manipulators, they can take on even those trained with an Anima Crux, often utilising a mixture of might and magic, along with their mental assaults, to bring down a fighter.

Bane
The Bane is one of the deadlist enemies a human can face, for they hold within them the ability to read the human heart, gaining access to their fears, their desires and their sorrows, and twisting them into grotesque weapons with which to spread darkness and fear. Their power can grow with the more they encountered these emotions, and the stronger the emotion, they stronger the vilespawn grows. Only those with a clear mind and firm grasp on their emotions can hope to destroy the Bane once they have entered into battle with them.

The Vilelords
The Vilelords are the rulers of vilespawn collectives, both in the Immaterium, and on Tehrannis, when summoned or pulled through. A Vilelord is the greatest single vilespawn threat posed to the human realm, both because of their immense singular strength and their collective leadership. A Vilelord is almost always accompanied by a 'champion', of sorts, as they have come to be known, and the type of companion that comes with them often shows the type of Vilelord they are.

Hellion
Hellions are the equal to what a human would call an archmage in their own terms, and are the highest form of vile magic that dwells within the Immaterium. Their power is used solely for their Vilelord however, and they are bound by their lord's wishes. A Hellion is one of the strongest enemies within all the realms, even to the point a lesser god would have trouble when facing one alone. Usually a Hellion accompanies a combat orientated Vilelord.

Titan
The Titan is, simply put, a powerhouse. Almost indestructable, and possessed of an insane level of strength, a Titan can tear apart everything within it's path, on the commands of it's Lord. This power is balanced by a diminished intelligence, in order to keep them under the control of the Vilelord, but it is still a devastating foe, as they can continue on with their entire strength up until they die, sowing death and destruction in their wake. A magical or emotional Vilelord is often aided by these behemoths.