Tarangutan
Tarangutans are demons that resemble a horrendous mix of ape and spider- orangutans and tarantulas, hence Tarangutan. They have the upper body of the orangutan, complete with lanky arms, and where the legs would normally begin the torso rests on a meat platform carried by eight arachnid legs. It is fully capable of spinning webs and climbing surfaces as a spider, swinging from objects and the superior strength of an ape, and yet they seem to retain the intelligence of the human host. They are classified as Support Predators, meaning that they subsist on humans for food and they are essential to the creation of other demons.
Tarangutan Possession
As ghosts, Tarangutans are repelled by the presence of shrines and rites of Kaharingan practitioners, so they are rarely able to enter settlements and colonies in their natural range, which extends over most of Borneo. However, as soon as a human leaves the boundaries of these settlements, there is nothing that can stop possession save for interference by spirits. Possession takes a few days to complete. Almost immediately, the host becomes overwhelmed with an urge to flee into the jungle and a desire for human flesh. The longest lasting pre-transformed victim on record noted that he was also frequently compelled to capture people near him and wrap them up in something, anything. By the end of the first day of possession, the host will have developed a demonic weak point just above the groin. They then begin transformation, a horrifying and painful process during which their arms lengthen, faces flatten, and legs split into two parts and then again. Usually, the transformation takes up to four days, but if the host gives in to their desire for flesh the process is shortened by supernatural means. Once able to walk again, the newly turned Tarangutan flees into the jungle if it had not done so already, seeking others of it's kind.The Demon Tarangutan
Tarangutans live in massive colonies that resemble hives, spinning endless webs between trees to create sticky caverns. It is believed that the hive itself is a kind of demon itself, fully alive. Their mere presence attracts spiders, which crawl all over the webs and live in unnatural harmony. Once fully formed, Tarangutans no longer have a supernatural weakness save for the weak point located in the exact center of their spider lower half. They almost never expose their arachnid underbellies, making freeing a host exceedingly difficult. Even with their superior strength, they are not opposed to using human weapons including firearms. As they retain all the knowledge and abilities of their human hosts, some Tarangutans are capable of utilizing a twisted form of faith magic by inverting the normal rites. Once a hive has been assembled, they infrequently partake in raids against human settlements with the aim to capture a number of the survivors as prey. Living humans are carried back to the hive and secured into the very framework with cocoons. Injected with Tarangutan venom, victims remain alive through nutrients embedded into them directly by the hive as their organs become liquid inside of them. A mouthful of this grim soup can sustain a single Tarangutan for weeks. Others are kept unspoiled and used for one of two purposes. Tarangutans have the ability to breed with humans, creating non-host demons in our world, an ability shared by very few demons. They also seemingly at random set aside humans in grisly altars of human bones. The spiders of a hive slowly infest this human over the course of weeks, spinning flesh as web and repurposing them into horrifying living, walking hives known as Swarm-Mothers. It is worth noting that the need for humans to continue existing makes Tarangutans unlikely to fully destroy a settlement they raid. They have also been known to capture humans from other demons.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Scientific Name
Demon, Support Predator
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