Psychic Owl
Birds the size of horses, psychic owls are second only to dragons in the food chain of the Darkwood's aerial beasts. Without true sapience, they utilize advanced psychic abilities to hunt their favored prey, sapient humanoids, by inflicting mental trauma until the victim is simply too distraught to fight back or run. While psychic owls are solitary by nature, groups of them have been known to form, especially during mating season in late autumn. When a group of the owls, called a cabal, gathers the individual radius of psychic energy on each beast is expanded, leaving whole settlements at risk. When a cabal of psychic owls attacks a village or small town, it is usually to get enough energy for egg production or to feed and train their young. The first stage of a psychic owl attack is ennui, followed by feelings of depression or extreme sadness, and finally a state of grief so intense as to cause a catatonic state. When in distress or under attack, those affected by the owl might feel compelled to defend it at all costs, or experience a rage and attack anything nearby within reach, which is usually not a giant psychic owl.
Psychic Owls lay between two and four eggs. The owlets hatch simultaneously, given some psychic command from one of the parent owls. The owlets do not have psychic abilities for the first two years of life. Generally, the first owlet to gain the ability kills its siblings on accident and then eats them. They practice hunting with their parents once they gain their powers, usually against some poor bastard that was captured and kept for the purpose.
The victims of these owls give up their minds as well as flesh. The owls are able to mimic humanoid speech with minor discrepancies and use the memories of past meals to scream for help or otherwise attract other people to their hunting grounds. They do not truly understand what they are saying, but give a very good impression of a conversation if they've eaten enough people, leading some misguided folk to try and seek out the creatures to communicate.
In very, very rare cases if a psychic owl eats enough casters it may gain the ability to cast spells.
Scientific Name
Magical Beast
Geographic Distribution
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