Imp

Imps are soulless constructs of flesh and metal created by the Demons during the days of the Demon Wars. With eyeless faces, they sport only a mouth to spew the war-cries of evil.
Imps lurk in small groups in the deep places of Legere, caverns where even the Naga dare not tread. Without their Demonic masters’ will, Imps lumber aimlessly in the dark, awaiting orders and killing those who dare to stalk too close.
While they may appear thin and weak, Imps are imbued with an unholy supernatural strength. There are a few brave (or crazy) enough to hunt these beings, and many die trying to strike them down to claim their evil weapons as trophies.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Imps appear as humanoid creatures, standing on two legs while utilizing two arms to grab and manipulate objects. Their limbs are spindly and thin, but does not reflect their physical strength. Imps possess 6 bony fingers (one of them being a thumb). Imps' legs are digitigrade, ending with two clawed toes.
Imps' only facial features are two nostril holes and a skeletal-like jaw. With their lack of lips and a tongue, imps are only capable of making guttural groans and screams.
The most interesting feature about imps are their bones. These demonic constructs have metal bones, allowing them to take quite the beating and resisting damage. While most of their bones are inside their bodies, parts of their dark-coloured alloy endoskeleton are visible from the imp's exterior. For example, each of the imp's ribs possesses an outward facing, 1.5-inch long blade. Axe-shaped blades protrude from the imps' shoulders, providing protection of the shoulders and upper arms. The spinous processes of an imp's spinal cord are enlarged and also protrude from the back like blunt iron spikes. The teeth and nails of the imps' toes & fingers are also metal, allowing them to be a dangerous threat even when disarmed. The most prevalent area of exposed metal is an imp's skull. Starting at where the bridge of the nose and bottom of the eye socket would be, imps' skulls are completely exposed. The only thing on this otherwise completely smooth alloy surface is a demonic rune on the front face. Imps also lack ears, but have small holes at the base of the left and right sides of their skull that act as audioreceptors.
Imps also have two metal horns that shoot straight upwards from the temples. The horns end in a tapered point, but not before making a small dip (similar to the blade of a khopesh).

Biological Traits

Imps have red blood just like their Demon masters, Angel opponents, and many of the other creatures of Legere. Imbued with a large dose of evil, imps will often flash magenta when lacerated, their blood often glowing slightly for a brief time after being spilled. Imp bones are made of a black, unreflective metal, although the metal is of demonic origin and does not match any known elements found on Legere. Many have tried and failed to extract and study these bones as a potential power source, but upon removal from an imp's body (or death), the bones become incredibly brittle- almost as if they transform from tough alloy into burnt wood.
Imps can bleed out from wounds, but imps that survive will continue to fight even if missing a whole limb. Imps are incapable of healing such injuries, and being nothing but soulless fodder, are often left for dead by the Demon army.
Imps do not eat, nor do they respire (despite their bodies moving as if taking breaths. Inhalation is required for imps attempting to make vocalizations).

Genetics and Reproduction

Imps do not have any sexual organs, as they are created by a mysterious process not yet revealed by the Demons. The location and manner of this construction is extradimensional; only fully complete imps are warped into dimensions that the Demons are actively contesting.

Additional Information

Social Structure

While lacking the ability to think for themselves, imps do have a certain level of personality on an individual basis. This is intriguing as imps are without a real soul. Naturally these personality quirks do not surface often due to the short lifespan of an imp on the battlefield.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Many imps were abandoned on Legere once the Demon Wars ended, the only ones surviving being the ones in remote locations (primarily caverns and sometimes even on the ocean floor). During the first few years of the Ancient Era, bands of human warriors traveled across Legere to exterminate remaining pockets of imps with the help of local Ancients.
The remaining imps survived even longer, as their lack of the requirement to eat or breathe has allowed them to remain steadfast through the ages. Their presence was not truly forgotten, as adventurers could often find them shuffling mindlessly in the dark. Word of the demonic leftovers spread quickly, and many an opportunist have tried to take them down as prizes. The potential to own an imp's newbok or incubus was an alluring prospect for bold fighters.
Others sought to collect imps as "pets" or gladiatorial beasts, organizing complex operations to capture imps in reinforced cages for display or use in fighting pits.

Facial characteristics

Imps appear to have a wicked smile on their faces due to the skeletal jaw that they sport with a lack of lips. Being the only major feature of their face, this mouth often appears wider than normal, but it is approximately the same as a human's. Imps lack a protruding nose, only having two nostril holes in the front of their face.
Imps' metal skulls are visible on their face, as there is a lack of flesh covering their bone starting from approximately the location of the nasalis and zygomatic minor muscles. The metal skull is nearly identical to a human, but with the obvious lack of eye sockets and other curves that would normally be present to support facial features that imps do not have. To put it concisely, the skull is far smoother than a human's.
What could be considered the forward facing portion of the imp's skull's frontal bone displays a demonic rune. On Legere, imps display a five-pointed star, although different imps designed for combat in other dimensions will have different runes. These runes are crucial for the imp to hold itself together, as different dimensions have different laws of physics that must be obeyed. An imp with an improper rune may be rendered brain dead, weaker or even primed to implode when exposed to a dimension that it was not constructed for. This rune is physically carved into the surface of the skull, but while alive the imp will project a glowing holographic copy of this rune over their face.

Average Intelligence

Imps are not very smart at all. While they are technically autonomous, imps require the direction of an actual Fallen Angel in order to accomplish tasks. During the Demon Wars, whole platoons of imps could be seen periodically falling docile when their leader was slain, only resuming their assault when another Demon assumed command. However, imps exhibit a very strong and aggressive self-defense reflex system. Essentially, an inert imp will lash out violently at any non-demonic organism that approaches it. Imps are hard wired with combative knowledge that allows them to wield weapons (the most iconic weapon combo for imps are the newbok and incubus) with finesse and skill, but these behaviours are absent from inert imps. That being said, inert imps can still be incredibly fast and strong, often catching unlearned opponents offguard.
Inert imps also have reduced sensory capabilities, or at least lack the ability to properly register stimuli; they effectively become blind and deaf. For example, one could shine blazing bright light upon an inert imp and elicit no response.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Lacking eyes, imps may appear to be blind- this is far from the truth, as imps have the ability to see in a cone of vision as if they had eyes by using supernatural powers. They have nostril and ear holes, granting them the ability to hear and smell. Imps do not require food, and as such they lack the sense of taste (the presence of a tongue in their mouth is also completely gone).

Civilization and Culture

History

Imps were created by the Demons as sword fodder on the battlefield, as the Seraphim's numbers were far, far greater than their own. Imps could be used to flood the battlefield and force the Angelic forces to dilute themselves over larger distances. No Demon has revealed to the Angels how imps are created, although a rumour spread among Legerian soldiers during the Demon Wars suggests that imps are created from the mutilated bodies of humans. While the similarities between Demons, Angels, and the sapient races of Legere are no accident, there are Angels who have stated on record that this was impossible due to some dimensions from earlier battles lacking humanoid residents entirely.
Imps were first deployed in warfare against creation 4,000 Legerian years ago in a lower dimension known as the Cubic Realm. The imps proved remarkably effective, as the Angelic forces sent to intercept the invasion were unable to deal with the enormous tide of foes that clambered over that reality before collapsing it. Since then, imps have been involved with every demonic assault, including the invasion of Core.
Imps are not treated with much respect by Demons, often being killed by their own masters in front of enemies in an attempt to intimidate. Their entire being is artificial, and as such they are regarded as objects rather than individuals.

Common Myths and Legends

Some people claim that imps have the ability to fire bolts of power from their horns. This is one hundred percent untrue- imps lack the ability to use such powers, relegated only to the use of weapons or other physical tasks. Imps cannot even fly like their overlords.

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

1.8 m

Average Weight

85.6 kg

Average Physique

Imps are spindly creatures, with little to no meat on their steely bones. However, they draw their strength from a surprisingly large pool of supernatural evil energy, granting them incredible strength considering their size and wasted appearance. Imps can lift just about 2 times their body weight. As such, when in large groups imps are able to break through large fortifications via team effort.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Imps have greyish skin with the slightest tint of yellow. Imps that have been inert in underground locations for long periods of time may appear more pale, their flesh coloured closer to white with no yellow.
Magenta light can be seen leaking through the edges of where their metal bones may surface from their flesh, most prominently demonstrated at the imp's sternum where the ribs' "blades" converge.