The Eldritch

Type: Familial
Dates Active: 1 - present
Membership: Unknown, at least 50000
Locations: The Shroud
Important Members: Mauwthog, Rhyggdanus, Xy’thar

Description
The Eldritch are what we call the inhuman monsters that roam the vast Shroud. Their social architecture is simple: the great progenitor titans are at the top, and all other eldritch are below them. More nuanced relationships between different varieties of eldritch are not well understood as we have no means of communication with the beasts, so they can only be inferred. In general, larger eldritch are generally more powerful and are often seen leading smaller eldritch in the cases where they do congregate. The eldritch have no known language, but their displays of occasional cooperation suggest they have at least some primitive form of communication.
By their monstrous nature, this group has no formalities of any kind. While they will sometimes travel and attack in groups, it is for the most part an each-to-their-own survival-of-the-fittest lifestyle for the eldritch. In this way they are similar to wild animals, but they do seem to possess a higher level of intelligence and much greater aggressiveness toward the human race.
The eldritch do share a few common physical characteristics. They are often black or grayish in color, which lends well to hiding in the Shroud. Most varieties of eldritch have a great number of limbs or appendages, at least compared to humanoids. The majority of the eldritch are at around the size of a fully grown human, some a bit larger, and posess the physical strength to fight off a small group of armed humans of average fighting capabilities. A few of them are of course much larger. Greater eldritch come in sizes ranging from about 10ft in height to greater than 50ft for the titans. With this size comes comperable capability for destruction, with the larger varieties known to on occasion assault and destroy small settlements. Sometimes rallying a horde of their smaller kin for the attack. Luckily for the humans, larger eldritch seem more content to reamin deep in the shroud, and encounters with them are much more infrequent unless one specifically seeks them out.
My private research has shown that the eldritch show a lack of a need for any sort of sustenance to survive and, aside from the progenitors, no means of reproduction. And even those do not bear young that resemble themselves. Thus, an objective or purpose for living has not been identified for these creatures, leading to much scholarly speculation and the occasional strange religious practice. I beleive that some of the eldritch posess the capacity of cognizance on a similar level to humans. They have the ability to coordinate, and larger eldritch clearly have some command over the weaker varieties. I once thought their only objective was the destruction of humanity, but if that was the case they likely could have done so already.