Malevolent creatures
The world of Odezia is not only a wonderfully gorgeous place, but also a dangerous nightmare at the same time. I have to warn you before you set out on your journey of the monsters which haunt the night. For if you do not reach a safe haven before the sun dips below the horizon, you will likely not see it rise again. Fighting is futile. Running is useless. They will tear you to pieces and leave nothing behind.
Origin
For as long as history has been recorded, Odezia has been plagued by what are called malevolent creatures, and strangely some places more than others. Where they come from nobody knows. In contrast to legends such as the Beast of Bordinger (a nocturnal beast which terrorized the city of Bordinger until a party of twelve men and women followed the beast to its lair and killed it), stories of malevolent creatures never mention a lair, den, burrow or cave in the vicinity of their hunting territory. They seem to emerge from the shadows when the last ray of sunshine leaves the day behind, and fade back into them upon first light.
The various cultures and religions of Odezia have their own explanations for malevolent creatures as diverse as the cultures and religions themselves. Some speak of punishment by the gods, others of a tear in the fabric of reality, giving the creatures access to our world. Few people have claimed to have visited the home of malevolent creatures, but these people are often mentally unstable.
No professional classification of malevolent creatures has been made as of yet, but a general distinction can be made between ones with fur and ones without. Ones with horns and ones without. Ones with wings and ones without. Ones walking on four feet and ones walking on two and ones slithering without any feet at all.
It should be noted that studying malevolent creatures is a near impossible thing, and only a few foolish enough have tried. Catching a live creatures has never been accomplished successfully. Attempts have been made, but until today have resulted in the death of either one of the parties. Dumb luck has mainly been the cause of people slaying malevolent creatures, but the corpses of these creatures are neither useful for studying. The body rapidly decomposes, leaving brittle bones, squishy flesh and a black sand-like substance. People have tried to store the bodies of slayed creatures in dark cellars and dungeons, theorising the sun to be the cause of the rapid decomposition, but this seems not to be the case. Soon after death, almost nothing is left of the malevolent creature.
The oldest method is inhabiting the lands surrounding an umbar tree. Most intriguing, umbars naturally ward off malevolent creatures for a reason yet to be uncovered.
Several times independently in different places, another natural repellent of malevolent creatures was discovered: a mineral called bardyl, commonly known as sun crystal. Sun crystals are regularly embedded into city gates, town square centre pieces such as fountains and statues, and in alcoves next to people’s front doors. They are also set into jewellery, armour and vehicles for people on the move. However, the use of a sun crystal is not infinite and once it loses its repelling powers it will start to emit a dangerous energy, causing harm to all that is alive, and thus must be removed as quickly as possible.
The various cultures and religions of Odezia have their own explanations for malevolent creatures as diverse as the cultures and religions themselves. Some speak of punishment by the gods, others of a tear in the fabric of reality, giving the creatures access to our world. Few people have claimed to have visited the home of malevolent creatures, but these people are often mentally unstable.
Appearance
Another thing that sets malevolent creatures apart from other terrifying creatures, is their appearance. What malevolent creatures exactly look like is still up for debate, and descriptions of them are vague - most witnesses do not stay alive to report on them. In general, all malevolent creatures lack any hint of colour in their skin or fur coat. With their ink black appearance they blend well with the night. Only one feature stands out for not being black: their eyes. Bright golden as if glowing, they seem to stare straight into your soul, or so it has been described by several survivors.No professional classification of malevolent creatures has been made as of yet, but a general distinction can be made between ones with fur and ones without. Ones with horns and ones without. Ones with wings and ones without. Ones walking on four feet and ones walking on two and ones slithering without any feet at all.
It should be noted that studying malevolent creatures is a near impossible thing, and only a few foolish enough have tried. Catching a live creatures has never been accomplished successfully. Attempts have been made, but until today have resulted in the death of either one of the parties. Dumb luck has mainly been the cause of people slaying malevolent creatures, but the corpses of these creatures are neither useful for studying. The body rapidly decomposes, leaving brittle bones, squishy flesh and a black sand-like substance. People have tried to store the bodies of slayed creatures in dark cellars and dungeons, theorising the sun to be the cause of the rapid decomposition, but this seems not to be the case. Soon after death, almost nothing is left of the malevolent creature.
Protection against malevolent creatures
With terrifying creatures such as these, you might wonder how the peoples of Odezia are able to survive at all. But people are clever and have found several ways to protect themselves from malevolent creatures.The oldest method is inhabiting the lands surrounding an umbar tree. Most intriguing, umbars naturally ward off malevolent creatures for a reason yet to be uncovered.
Several times independently in different places, another natural repellent of malevolent creatures was discovered: a mineral called bardyl, commonly known as sun crystal. Sun crystals are regularly embedded into city gates, town square centre pieces such as fountains and statues, and in alcoves next to people’s front doors. They are also set into jewellery, armour and vehicles for people on the move. However, the use of a sun crystal is not infinite and once it loses its repelling powers it will start to emit a dangerous energy, causing harm to all that is alive, and thus must be removed as quickly as possible.
Terminology
The term “malevolent creature” is first mentioned in a text written by the scholastic wayfarer Kenda Otany in the year 358 SD, and has been in use ever since. Prior to the use of this name, texts speak of monsters, beasts and creatures, amongst others. Nowadays, the term malcrea is often used as an abbreviation.
Twilight collapse
Roughly 3000 years ago, many civilizations around the world collapsed during what is known as the Twilight collapse. It is believed that an extreme increase of creature outbreaks caused the collapse. Scholars suggest that malevolent creatures were rare before the Twilight collapse, and a few ancient settlements built not near umbar trees nor sun crystal deposits support this belief.
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