Muli'he

Adults have the tendency to laugh over children that can't sleep at night because a presumed bogeyman is hiding within their window.
Yet the moment the first claws begin to emerge from the window their screams easily surpass those of the children.

While many species and cultures use the term of the "Monster in the Mirror" as a metaphor for a guilty conscience or the hidden fears of an individual, few are aware of the fact that this phrase contains a frightful truth. For in the realm behind the vitreous surface of a mirror lurk, dreadful creatures, known as the Muli'he.
Born from the unstable genomes of the Miwa the Muli'he are otherworldy hunters that stalk their prey for months on end before suddenly emerging and dragging their shocked victim into the icy embrace of the realm beyond the mirror. The fates of those taken by the Muli'he remain unknown.

/* The fate of those taken by the Muli'he so far remains unknown, though While no one knows what happens to those taken by the Muli'he
existence of the Muli'he belongs to one of the best kept secrets of the Vitreous Empire and furthermore explains the Empire's obsession with the genetic purity of its citizens.
Yet despite the best efforts of the Empire's Vein Wardens, the Muli'he remain a mysterious and highly elusive thread as their abilities, unfortunately, more than live up to the bloodcurdling stories told about them.
told about their supposed capabilities.
as there can only be so many murderers and kidnappers that are able to vanish into thin air.
Xenarg-Strain
to the Miwa that inhabit the Vitreous Empire this phrase has a far more palpable meaning.
For the countless mirrors
while the lower classes think of them as folklore and bogeymen
the nobles of the empire possess access to the secret research documents of the Vein Wardens, which contain the terrifying revelation that the Muli'he actually exist and that their abilities manage to live to the bloodcurdling tales told about their supposed capabilities.
as to them the monsters behind the mirror are real. but also possess an
for they know that there are beasts lurking behind the vitreous skin of a mirror.
These beasts are commonly known as the Muli'he
standing between folklore and actual research
fears are a lot more palpable.
Believed to be created through a genetic anomaly found within the genome of the Miwa species, the Muli'he are widely considered to be no more than a fictional bogeyman used to scare unruly children.
Unfortunately, the Muli'he are very real and also manage to live up to most of the bloodcurdling tales told about their supposed feats and abilities.
While originally very small in numbers the massive rise in the Miwa population within the Vitreous Empire together with the usage of error-prone birthing vases for the mass gestation of new Miwa have led to a significant rise in the numbers of Muli'he, which makes it harder and harder of imperial authorities to convincingly deny the existence of these creatures.*/

Basic Information

Anatomy

The bodies of the Muli'he are severely emaciated and possess an unnatural pallor. Both their arms and legs are disproportionately elongated and end in spindly fingers and toes, which are tipped with razor-sharp claws made from a greenish colored glass.
Despite the apparent fragility of their bodies, the Muli'he are able to move with frightening speed and effortlessly lift heavy objects.

/* The Muli'he take on the appearance of a pale, severely emaciated humanoid. Their arms and legs are significantly elongated and end in similar elongated fingers and toes. Both their fingers and toes end in razor-sharp claws made from green colored glass. Their serrated teeth are also made from this material.*/

Biological Traits

From beyond the Mirror

In addition to their highly increased Mirrorsight, the Muli'he also possess the ability to "enter" a reflective surface and reemerge from another reflective surface within a considerable distance from the first surface. When they utilize this ability for the very first time, they "shed" their mirror image, which remains burnt into the surface they entered into. From this moment onwards they no longer cast a mirror image.
In addition, to utilizing reflective surfaces as a means of transportation the Muli'he are also able to "reside" within such a surface for up to five months, before suddenly leaping out of it and pulling their unsuspecting prey into the mirror.

Snatcher's Price

Shortly after a Muli'he managed to pull an unfortunate individual into a mirror, they gain the ability to mimic the voice of their victim, which they generally use to lure further prey items to their doom. Contrary to popular beliefs the Muli'he are unable to comprehend the language of their victim and therefore can only repeat phrases they have previously heard. The quality of these vocalizations notable decreases over time, until they are little more than highly distorted noises.
In addition to this vocal mimicry, certain Muli'he referred to as "Image Snatchers" have shown the ability to temporarily take on the mirror-inverted appearance of a former victim.

Mirror's Touch

Perhaps the most dangerous ability of the Muli'he is their ability to transmute any surface that they touch into a reflective one, which in combination with their other abilities turns them into perhaps one of the most dangerous creatures in all of Cenorad.
While individual differences in the speed of this "Mirroring" have been observed between various specimens, the process is generally quite fast and takes only a handful of seconds.

Genetics and Reproduction

Every time two Miwa engage in sexual reproduction there is a chance that the resulting child will become a Muli'he. While this chance is usually extremely low, various factors can substantially increase the risk of such an event.
The most prominent and best understood of these risk factors is the presence of an active form of "Gen #96" within the genome of at least one of the two parents. While most groups of Miwa are unaware of the existence of this gene, all citizens of the Vitreous Empire undergo an intense screening for this specific gene while they are still gestating within their birthing-vases.
Miwa which are found to harbor an active variant of Gen #96 are usually liquidated, though some particularly unlucky individuals are kept alive and instead utilized for further research into the nature of the Muli'he.

/* hyper atavisms Born from Miwas, especially from the Xenarg-Strain.*/

Growth Rate & Stages

Despite initially appearing similar to regular Miwa children, newly born Muli'he possess an abnormally fast growth rate and commonly reach their adult size within a matter of days.
Given that their various supernatural abilities already manifest a few hours after their birth their "parents" generally only have a very short time window to eliminate their abhorrent offspring, before they find themselves at the wrong side of a mirror.

Dietary Needs and Habits

It is unclear if the Muli'he even require sustenance, though given the frequency with which the abduct other species it is generally assumed that they sustain themselves through a carnivorous diet.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The Muli'he generally hunt in groups of two, which are referred to as "Dyads" by the researchers of the Vein Wardens. While other forms of hunting groups, which consist either of one or three members have also been observed, such groupings tend to quickly fall apart once the arrival of additional Muli'he brings the total group count to an even number.
The reasons as to why the Muli'he place such a heavy emphasis on even-numbered hunting groups remain largely mysterious though some scholar speculates that it might be an attempt to limit the strain the Muli'he place on their chosen hunting grounds given just how frighteningly effective even a single Dyad is.
Other scholars argue that the fixations on even-pairings are nothing more than the attempts of a cursed creature to replace its lost mirror image.

/* While noticeably smaller than the packs of other predatory creatures it generally only takes a few weeks for such a pair to establish itself as the apex predators within its chosen hunting grounds, as even ferocious beasts such as the Black Goanna easily fall prey to the Muli'he. This frightening efficiency is also one of the proposed reasons as to why the Muli'he rarely form larger hunting packs, given that such a force would be bound to quickly exhaust its hunting ground. While the relatively small number of Muli'hes in existence and the fact that individuals who draw their attention tend to vanish without a trace, greatly hamper most research attempts the members of the Empire's Vein Wardens managed to gain vital insight into the social structure of the Muli'he, though not few of them paid the ultimate price for these scraps of knowledge. According to their findings, the Muli'he primarily hunt in groups of two individuals, which are referred to as "Dyad". While noticeably smaller than the packs of other predatory creatures it generally only takes a few weeks for such a group to establish itself as the apex predators within its chosen hunting grounds, as even ferocious beasts such as the Black Goanna easily fall prey to the Muli'he.
Multiple Dyads are therefore more than capable of devastating sizable areas, which might be the reason as to why larger groups of Muli'he barely exist, with the infamous Wolfpack being a notable exception.
is able to hunt with such a relentless efficiency that they are able to depopulate an entire village within a single night. whose members presumably share deep emotional bonds with each other given that Muli'he that lost their partner generally refrain from finding a new one, even if they encounter another isolated member of their kind.
While these Dyads usually don't interact with each other and even appear to actively avoid one another, during yet not fully understood circumstance multiple Dyad The social structure of the Muli'he consists of two important components which are designated as "Eyries " and "Hunting packs", by the few scholars which are insane enough to study these creatures.
Hunting packs are the central social unit of the Muli'he and often consist of two to four individuals, though smaller packs consisting of only a single member are also relatively common. The members of these packs share close ties to each other and have been shown to go to great lengths in order to protect members of their pack. Because of this imperial researchers generally, only attempt to capture isolated Muli'he for their experiments as this highly reduces the risks for retaliation.
Eyries are loose groupings that consist of multiple hunting packs. Their exact role within the society of the Muli'he has not yet been fully understood though research seems to indicate that they fulfill a ceremonial or perhaps even religious functions. Given that packs belonging to the same Eyries generally hunt in different areas and rarely cross each other's way it is speculated that the Eyries might regulate the distribution of hunting grounds for the various packs.
During certain dates, which vary from Eyries to Eyries, nearly all members gather within a remote location in order to perform various rituals of unknown function or cultural importance, which are rumored to involve the consumption of abducted individuals. Imperial records pertaining to these gatherings are heavily redacted and therefore only open the way for yet more speculations.
The members of an Eyries regularly gather at certain locations in order to conduct unknown actions. The social structure of the Muli'he remains largely mysterious. During their hunts, they either operate alone or form small hunting packs of two to four individuals.
U-Boat: Bases, multiple hunting packs/groups gather within certain locations. Gather at various time points there, (Wartung), then leave predominantly solitary lives during their patrols, though some might also form small packs of two to four individuals.
While the Muli'he commonly life in small hunting groups of two to four individuals. Usually either solitary or small groups, but under certain conditions, they might also work together in larger groups most infamously in the so-called "Pack-Tatict" Wolfpack-Tactics: Small groups or singular patrol/move throughout a large hunting area. Should one spot sufficient prey, it will signal the "BdU" which will then relay the message to other closeby Muli'he which will then converge towards the target area. Once a sufficient amount of Muli'he has gathered they will attack.
Continue to shadow the prey,
Solitary or move in small groups of two to four individuals. "WOLFPACK, U-boat, Dimensional U-boat"*/

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Due to their ability to move in the world behind the mirror, the Muli'he can theoretically appear in every reflective surface in Cenorad.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

While the mundane senses of the Muli'he appear to be overall comparable to that of the Miwa, their extrasensory capabilities far outclass those of their parent species.
In addition to a far higher reach and resolution, their version of the Miwa's Mirrorsight enables them to perceive their environment through multiple reflective surfaces at the same time. Given that these surfaces also include the eyes of other creatures it is nearly impossible to hide from a Muli'he.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

While it is unclear if the Muli'he themselves even understand the concept of names, those that encounter them usually give them a variety of nicknames, which are commonly based on numerous creatures from the local folklore. Alternatively, they might also receive nicknames based on the few articles of clothing that they are wearing.

/* Chatergirzed by the Gene Wardens of the Empire as "" (often shortened to" U") plus a "serial number"
Classification based on most notable characteristics, most commonly the XXXX made from the cloths of their late parents. -569 -94 -124 -406*/

Major Language Groups and Dialects

It..it felt like...layers of wool..being forcefully pushed into my throat and ears. I tried...I tried to scream but...I had no voice.

In addition to the mimicked voices of their prey, the Muli'he also possess their very own language known as the Empty Speech. Unlike other forms of acoustic communication, this language is not based on spoken words but instead consists of so-called "Hollow Words" which dampen or even completely cancel sounds in their surroundings.
Because of this, the Muli'he are able to create a soundless area around them simply by "screaming", a fact they utilize to great effect during their hunts.

/* Empty Speech, consist of varying levels of silence and dumped sounds (compared to changing layers of wool in ones ear)*/

Common Dress Code

While the Muli'he don't require clothes to protect themselves from the elements, they nevertheless clad themselves in the torn-up clothes of their former victims. Especially the outfits of their "parents" are highly popular items of clothing.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

At seemingly irregular intervals sizable numbers of Muli'he gather in numerous locations all over Cenorad in order to perform various ceremonial activities While the exact purpose of these rituals and the gatherings overall have yet to be uncovered, it is speculated that they fulfill an important cultural or possible even religious function, given just how badly the Muli'he react towards any attempts at interfering with these gatherings.

/* that besides other things also include the ritualized hunt of abducted individuals.*/

Historical Figures

Subject-106

Currently, the only Muli'he the Wardens of the Veins managed to hold captive for a prolonged time, Subject-106 is perhaps the single most well-guarded prisoner within the Vitreous Empire.
While already being in captivity for more than 30 years, the additional funding which is diverted to the containment of this creature every year, clearly shows that Subject-106 is still as hellbent on tearing its captors apart as it was during the first day of its imprisonment.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Miwa

Scientific Name

Miwa horribilis

Lifespan

Unkown

Average Height

1.7-1.8 m

Average Weight

40-50 kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Their skin is extremely pale and in some areas even fully translucent.

The Wolfpack

After the storm had subsided the rugged surface of the glacier had become smooth like the surface of a polished mirror.
I must admit that I have never seen something so beautiful yet so dreadfull in my entire life.
For beyond this icy mirror lurks the Wolfpack.
~ Logbook of the Imperial Cargosleigh Ongem.

The infamous Wolfpack is a group of at least eleven Muli'he, which exhibits a frightening amount of coordination in its hunts.
The Pack preferably attack convoys and caravans traveling along the glacier fields and frozen lakes of the northern Citnalta massive, and so far has claimed hundreds of victims.
The name "Wolfpack" is based on the fact that the members of the pack wear the skins of saber-toothed wolfs as their preferred type of clothing and commonly vocalize a distorted howling sound prior to an attack.

Operation Shatter Spear

There are foolish ideas, there are stupid ideas and then there are suicidal ideas.

Operation Shatter Spear was an attempt by the Vitreous Empire to eliminate a sizable group of Muli'hes which had gathered for an unknown purpose within the Garden of Gems.
The operation not only failed to archive its goal but also caused a previously unseen amount of retaliation by the Muli'he as within the first 24 hours after the attack, nearly all individuals involved in the operation were either dead or missing, with the few survivors suffering a similar fate during the next days.

/*Following this disastrous outcome, the Empire's strategy for combating the threat posed by the Muli'he changed to an "All or Nothing" strategy, which strictly forbids any attacks on Muli'he gatherings unless the successful elimination of every target can be guaranteed.*/