Necrovore

In the lands of Shyish, nothing stays dead for very long, leading to a strange new form of predatory creature. Here, the fauna have learned to thrive on the abundant supply of undead flesh. Necrovores, as they are known, are simplistic creatures driven by only the urge to feed and multiply. More similar to single-celled organisms than animals, these creatures seek out necrotic flesh and absorb it into their being. Most commonly comprised of an inky, oily substance, a Necrovore has incredibly limited locomotive capabilities. They can ooze across relatively flat surfaces by stretching its viscous form slowly. This movement makes inclines and similar terrain virtually impassable to traverse in this liquid state.

Needless to say, an adaptation was surely needed for the creature to survive, so they use their prey to their advantage. As an undead creature draws near the Necrovore will attempt to intercept the shanking prey, attaching its viscous form to an appendage to slow it down. The Necrovore slowly engulfs its prey, depending on how much of a fight it puts up, over the course of a few hours. But not all is consumed. In a rather insidious fashion, the Necrovore will refrain from consuming the bones and instead substitute them for its lack of skeleton. The visage is quite horrifying as the animate ooze fumbles and twitches the borrowed skeletal frame across the landscape in search of the next meal. Each skeleton does not last forever though, as the creature needs to regularly consume to maintain this kind of locomotion. Unless the Necrovore finds another food source soon it will completely consume its vehicle and fall dormant once more.

Fortunately for Shyish's denizens, awakened Necrovore are very rare, for one in a populated area could be truly disastrous. Some have reported a Necrovore amongst the remainders of a great battle growing to monstrous proportions, glutted on flesh and bone left behind. It is theorized by scholars that these creatures are aggregates of excess necromantic magics animated by the very nature of the land itself. This would also explain why they are most often found in the wilds where those magics are not actively called upon. A dormant Necrovore makes for a deadly trap for explorers, at once trapping and drowning an unfortunate soul, then saving the bones for a macabre evening stroll.