Monster - Wailer

[Ryallus Torboron]

Hey, this is my first draft of the Valterric Wailer creature. Comments would be appreciated as well as any forthcoming ideas:

Wailers are one of the many monsters born in the Valterrian. They stand 8’ tall and bear the resemblance of a black shroud, engulfed in shadows with a bone-white mask attached. It uses magic to cause people to be drawn to it and find they can’t look away. They live to destroy humanity and to further the growth of their vessel. Their scream is known to burst eardrums and shatter minds. They have no sense of smell or hearing and act purely through limited vision and their ability to sense creatures in their surroundings. They have no specific place of existence and are known to be found throughout Mizahar. However, due to their limited senses when out in the open they are vulnerable to ranged weapons for they can't easily determine where the projectiles are coming from. It is known as a source of bad luck and its name is frequently muttered when people are experiencing bad luck. They disdain crowded places and prefer secluded places where only one or two humans will come in contact with them. They are very solitary creatures and you will never find two of them near each other.

History

Born in the Valterrian, not much is known about the Wailer due to it leading most of the people they encounter to their deaths. In folklore it is thought that if you hear a Wailer’s scream no matter how faint, it is a sign that a terrible thing is going to happen to you or one of your closest friends/relations very soon.

The Wailer was created by the God Rhysol out of the vilest of humans alive in the time just before the Valterrian. These creatures, for they could not be called human, were trapped inside a vessel. Their faces were imprinted on the outside of the vessel and they lived as a Wailer for ever more seeking to destroy and increase its vessel’s capabilities. As the Wailer is tied to its vessel it can only move a certain distance away from it. As the vessel increases in power the Wailer can move further and further away. Rhysol also made them incredibly hard to kill however their vessel can easily be destroyed and when it is the Wailer also dies.


Appearance

Wailers are 8’ tall monsters that consist of a black funeral shroud and a white mask comprising of it’s face. It is constantly enwreathed in shadows which constantly materialize and dematerialize around it shifting their position so they almost look like liquid shadow constantly moving around the Wailer. The mask itself is made of bone and looks similar tot that of a human skull. As the Wailer ages, cracks appear on the mask and eventually the mask shatters exposing a mist in which ghostly heads float around screaming for the death of humans. A Wailer without its mask is driven into a frenzy and will seek out whatever life it can until it destroys everything or is destroyed itself. When a Wailer is killed the shroud bursts open and all of the heads fly out emitting a scream that will deafen anyone in the vicinity and likely leave them insane.

The vessel in which the Wailer is connected to is generally a vase or an urn which is one solid colour, either black or grey. The vessel grows larger as the Wailer grows older just like its mask and whenever it kills someone their face is perpetually imprinted on the outside of the vessel. When destroyed the vessel emits a horrifying scream and what looks like ghostly heads fly out of it much like what happens when a Wailer itself dies but on a much larger scale.


Location

A Wailer can be found all over Mizahar but they always make their residence inside a cave so it can easily store its vessel. They prefer the caves to be in bogs or other inhospitable place where it is easy to lead a person astray. The area itself slowly becomes devoid of life soon after the Wailer was created for their scream affects not only humans but animals and plants too. The creatures within its domain generally aren’t strong enough to resist for long and the Wailer’s screams soon destroy them and feed from them. Though Wailers can’t feed off of plants they enjoy destroying them and do so at every opportunity leaving them dead and rotting.

Actions

A Wailer’s sole existence is to get more human’s dying screams for its vessel but as it does this it takes pleasure out of leading humans to their demise or driving them insane. When they kill or make someone insane they then take the body to its vessel and then coax out the spirit of the person and draw it into the vessel therefore making it stronger and in turn making the Wailer stronger. When a Wailer is moving around its domain it can sense when anyone is nearby and when it senses this it instantly searches for the person that entered his domain and seek to kill him in whatever way possible, but it prefers to lead them unsuspectingly into a bog or off the edge of a cliff and take no direct intervention except for leading the human. However at other times it will try not to be seen and destroy the human’s mind with its incessant screaming which bursts eardrums and sends people insane, leaving them a gibbering husk.

A Wailer can only spend up to eight hours a day out of its vessel and the rest of the time it must seek refuge and rest inside its vessel. It generally spends even less time than that outside however in case something manages to slip past its senses and reach its vessel. The Wailer is naturally very strong yet very vulnerable as well for when it is out of its vessel it has a very limited area over which it can sense intruders whereas when it is in its vessel it can sense anything within its domain no matter how far from its present location. The only time it can stay out of its vessel for over eight hours is if something enters his refuge (generally a cave of some description) it will then burst forth from its vessel and kill the intruder. This is done for two reasons, one to supply its vessel with the spirit of the intruder but also to protect the vessel for it is very fragile and can easily be broken. Once the Vessel breaks the Wailer is instantly destroyed, dropping down in a heap of ashes while the spirits of those it was created with soar up and out seeking freedom.