A New Demon

Well, simply because I needed to get away from the magic revisions and such for awhile, I decided to create a new demon. Been stagnating a bit, and been a bit distracted (a big thanks to Art for picking up what slack I've dropped here because of my distractions), but no more! Eventually, I'll finish up the magic stuff and be back to normal, until then, this will have to suffice. Muahaha!

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Córavásh - The Night Wind

Overview
The Córavásh, or Night Wind in Tharian, is a truly frightening thing. A shadow in the night, the wind that flows between the mountain peaks and tower tops. Great, serpentine beasts with several orgins, shrouded in mystery, and not that far from being a thing of myth. But their existence is undeniable.

Appearance
The Night Winds are great creatures from infancy to maturity. At creation - whether through birth or magic - they hatch from boulder-sized eggs and look like large snakes with wings. Their main body measures about a half a Dash, or 50 peds, and their wings are usually about 20 peds long and 5 peds wide. At this time they usually weigh between three and five Hebs. From creation they are covered in deep black scales and have eyes which glow green in the dark. Their wings are tough and blank also, not easily pierced, though still an easier target than the main body except wen they are folded against it. Supported by a series of light bones, the outer one has the same scales and the body, and is wide enough that it covers the more vulnerable part of the wings when folded.

At first they are legless, but after about three months twelve legs develop, in sets of two along the underside of the body. Each has five claws, arranged much like a hand, with sharp talons. Once the legs are fully developed, usually a month after they first appear, the Córavásh is considered a child. By this point most weigh 6 Hebs.

As they mature they grow in length. By age 20 they are considered juveniles and have grown considerably. The main body should be about a Dash and a half long (150 peds), and wings up to 50 peds long and 15 peds wide. Two more sets of legs would have grown in, to support the new length.

By 50 years they are considered young adults, and all their dimensions have doubled. More legs would have grown with the length, as well as a new pair of wings closer to the end of the body. The tail, that the long body ends in, now begins to harden even more. The end of the tail becomes like a spike, and is a good weapon for the Córavásh.

Once they have lived 100 years the Night Wind is considered finally mature. Dimensions double again, more legs and a third set of wings. Now they also begin to resemble dragons in more than appearance. They develop limited magical abilities which increase with age.

Though the Night Wind has been mature for 100 years, at age 200 it stops growing. By now the dimensions have tripled, and grown for the final time. Now with nearly countless legs and five sets of wings, the Córavásh is unbelievably fierce. It's body seems to move in sections, making it much easier for it to manuever, and it's magic has reached the peak of it's abilities.

Despite the stopping of growth by age 200, the Night Winds do not die. Some believe it is because the take the soul, as well as nourishment, from their prey. Others are convinced that their body has simply become too powerful for nature to destroy. A definite answer has yet to been found.

Special Abilities
Aside from immortality, the Night Winds have a few other special abilities.

Their vision in the day is worse than that of a human, but at night their eyes are extremely sharp. Then eyesight of these creatures at night is so good that they can spot a fish 2 Peds underwater from 2 Dashes in the air. Water doesn't bother them either, as they have been seen to fold up their wings and slip into the water like an arrow, only to emerge with a fish or possibly even a mermaid just seconds later.

Once they reach maturity they also begin to show signs of being able ot use the same magic as Dragons. They can breath clouds of deadly gas, and mask themselves in the shadows of night even better than they can naturally. Once they ahve reached 200 years most have reached their peak in their magical abilities. These are able to seemingly disappear, and have been known to extinguish all light in the area by breathing forth darkness itself. This is merely a scratch in the surface, but most of their abilities pertain to the night, with a few weapons such as the deadly gas.

Territory
Though no true territory has been discerend for this demonic thing, they are most often spotted in the peaks of the Dragon's Maw. They are rare even there, but have been spotted outside it, and don't seem to care about where they are. But it can be certain that wherever they go, death follows.

Diet
The Night Winds can eat any living thing that they can catch and kill. It has even been observed, once, a particularly large Córavásh killing and devour a smaller Córavásh in mid-air. From what has been seen, they take all their meals in the air, though this might not be completely true. Some also speculate that they take the soul of their prey, but there is no evidence to support this claim.

Habitat/Behaviour
This creature can only be described as one thing: Evil. They are the minions of death and destruction, using the night to hide themselves as they kill without conscience. Though usually not associated with gods or goddesses of death, they are considered a bad omen.

Mating
The mating rituals of the Córavásh are short, and lethal. It seems, though in the dark it is hard to discern, that the female petitions any males to mate with her. Whichever male chooses to mates with the female, still in the air. This usually lasts but a few minutes, and ends in the death and devouring of the male by the female. Some think that their is no true reproduction involved, but actually the child is a reincarnation of the male, his body reformed into a new one.

Myth/Lore
There is an Elven myth about these creatures. It talks about how they were created when the winds of night first swept over dead bodies. The spirits of these bodies where gathered up in the wind, and that they formed into a great black serpent in the air, though they do not count them as Dragons. The great serpent, who flew through the night like a shadow, killed and gathered other souls. Soon it formed a mate, but the female he had created was reluctant and angry, so once they mated she devoured him. She laid three eggs, though now they lay only one at a time it seems, and her children each had a bit of their father's stolen soul. So it continues, even to this day.

Ximaxian scholars have another interpretation. They claim these things were created during the War of the Chosen, as a weapon. They can indeed be created by magic, but they also reproduce naturally, so it is unclear whether they were first created naturally or by magic.

Noted Researchers
Devrus Keldorne, a great Ximaxian scholar and Archmage, once created a Córavásh. This was, however, not for the use of a weapon, but because he was an avid student of demons and death. He contributed greatly to the study of the Night Winds, and though once human he made himself into a lich so that he could watch this seemingly immortal creature forever. This plan was, however, as after 247 years of study both master and creation disappeared. No one is sure whether he was destroyed and the Córavásh escaped, or he used it to leave to study elsewhere. Neither has been seen to this day.

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Well, what do you think?

Tarquet Galbar,
BeastMaster Of Santharia
Creator of Weavers
Chronicler of the Rahaz-Dath Mercenaries