Draegs

Her mouth gaped as if being opened some unseen form forcing its way in, her body writhed spasmodically for an agonizing period of time— what felt to me to be hours but was merely contained within five minutes. After a final, violent spasm— as if something was torn from her very core— she laid silent. Dead.

— A grieving brother

Draegs are tiny, eldritch creatures which swarm and feast upon those who forgo sleep for too long.

Appearance

Few ever witness the physical form of draegs, as they reside beyond the perception of most mortals. Occultists and scholars who have managed to catch glimpses of the creatures, and survived, have found them difficult to describe.
According to them, draegs are tiny swarming creatures made of darkness itself— their forms appearing as circular mouths lined with myriad fragments of sharpened darkness and nothing else. How, exactly, they achieve locomotion is unknown to them.

Hunted

The Ool'ol'gahool of Roog'alhiik subsist off of draegs, emanating a scent sweet to the creatures to lure them close before slowly absorbing their bodies with their own.
A single Ool'ol'gahool can eat thousands of draegs within a day.

Habits

All that is known of draeg habits are that of feeding— as that is all mortals typically experience. When a mortal becomes severely sleep deprived— typically going ten or more nights without rest— their weary minds will be able to see into the plane in which draegs reside. This plane exists concurrently with the victim's own, just outside of their usual limited perception of reality. When a victim is aware of this plane, it would seem that the draegs are also made aware of the victim— and almost immediately begin to swarm over their body.
Once their prey is located, the draegs will force themselves into their body, ravenously gnawing away at their innards. It is believed by some that draegs also feast upon non-physical properties of their victims, such as their consciousness, memories, dreams, and fears. Though, of course, there is no easy way to prove such a theory.