Nerid

The Lochian Nerid is a vaguely humanoid creature that haunts some of denser areas of woodland in the Lochian region, and is known locally to lure illutinar to their ends through hypnosis and seduction.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The nerid has two bony limbs that roughly equate to arms on a humanoid. This limbs are skeletal in nature, tipped with barbs towards the lower forearm area. The nerid's skin is clammy, warm to the touch, and comes in a variety of hues and shades depending on the environment. The upper body sometimes presents with breast-like protusions which serve little biological purpose to the nerid other than to aid in hunting. The abdomen is covered with a chitinous layer of plating with a lateral split down the centre which splits to expose a thin layer of elastic skin for extra room during digestion of prey. The lower body consists of a bulbous mass of red fleshy tendrils that reach from the lower abdomen to a small distance of 10 - 20cm from the ground. The bulbous area contains a series of organs capable of providing the nerid with levitation abilities, holding it's body away from the ground when moving.
The nerid's head is elongated vertically, the lower half is dominated by a large mouth with large sharp teeth while the upper half is a boney structure that swoops upwards to a point. The lower jaw is capable of splitting vertically and widening to allow the ingestion of large prey. No eyes, nose, or ears are present, but the rough approximation of eye-like features are represented by a biolumiescent pattern.

Genetics and Reproduction

Nerids are hermaphrodites capable of self-fertilisation, and will engage in parthenogensis if a suitable mate is not found. If a mate is found, sexual reproduction can occur and is the preferable outcome. Nerids lay a clutch numbering between 10 - 15 transluscent pale green eggs, though on average only 7 - 8 will prove viable and hatch successfully.

Growth Rate & Stages

Nerids are often incapable of surviving on their own until the age of 4, relying on regurgitation of digested matter from a parent until the age of 2 and relying on parental aid to hunt small rodents until a sufficient size to hunt larger prey. Once past the age of 4, the chitin plating begins to solidify and a fully adult nerid is capable of surviving independent from parental guidance, heading out into the wild alone to find it's own hunting grounds.

Ecology and Habitats

Nerids prefer to live and hunt in dense woodland, sleeping and often forming nests in the hollows of trees. Nerid nests can be spotted from the faintly glowing plasmic slime that is secreted during egg laying and often oozes out of the hollowed tree like infected sap.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Nerids are completely carnivorous, subsiding on flesh, bone, and etheric energy from their prey. Prey can range from small insects, rodents, felines, all the way up to larger animals including humanoids. The hunting process involves several steps:

1. Once a target is identified, the nerid will begin a biolumiescent display. This can appear in numerous forms depending on the nature of the target: for example, to a humanoid they could present as a lover or object of lust, or a close friend. Something attractive and inherently trustworthy to the target.
2. The transfixed target is brought into an embrace, with the lower tendrils wrapping around the prey and holding them in place.
3. The target is injected with toxins via the spurs on the lower arms. This will render the target unconscious rapidly and painlessly. Note that the nerid does not kill the prey too early, otherwise there is a risk that the spirit of it's target may leave the body and escape.
4. The nerid will then unhinge it's jaw and ingest the target whole. The lower abdomen will stretch to accomodate the prey. This is a very vulnerable time for the nerid, as it's chitin armour will be opened and the vital organs will only be protected by a thin layer of skin.
5. Once the prey has been safely ingested, the nerid will retreat to a hollow for protection. The prey will perish in it's sleep, it's body digested and it's spirit broken down and absorbed into the nerid's own etheric store.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

With a lack of eyes, nose, or ears, the nerid instead uses a series of complex sensory glands hidden beneath the cranial skeletal plating. These are capable of high-fidelity imaging based on etheric energy, allowing the nerid to hunt it's prey by following it's etheric imprint. The nerid is also capable of some form of empathatic psionic manipulation to generate a perception filter, allowing it to appear far less threatening to onlookers than it actually is.

Average Height

2.4 - 2.8m

Average Weight

70 - 80kg