Skotadi

Skotadi Race - Parasitic Beings

Background, Culture And How It Works

Skotadi originates from a rare parasite that burrows itself deep underground, staying far away from mines and remaining in the darkness that the stone provides.. More likely found, albeit rarely, within very dark ravines. How they become into a physical being is by digging themselves into a host.. travelling around and mimicking the body's functions and organs. It learns how the body functions, what organs it needs, and how the host works before eventually.. Splitting from the host. This is a painful process, as the parasite would spread liek a virus through their bloodstream… Meaning the Parasite was now the same size, structure, etc, as the body it was produced from… Hence why this Parasite is so deadly, as it it will try to escape the host through tearing its skin open and ripping itself out in a form of a gooey, black sludge. This has 80% of killing the host upon its way escaping into the real world. 

Once out, its body slowly solidified into a 'corrupt version' of the Host. Unless, By some magical means or another, it comes out premature. This is when the copying process is interrupted, and the Skotadi is forced to exit or flee the body as a means of survival, or something forcing them out. The Skotadi will look more humanoid and take on similar traits as the Original Host.. 

At first, Skotadi will look like this, however as time goes on a Skotadi will learn to shift its form, hiding in society and luring out victims and prey by sounding in distress. They can only change their appearance to one similar to their natural form, and their skin will instead look more see-through and paper-white, and unable to hide the skotadi mutations- like random horns, tails, etc if they have any. They can only swap from Skotadi form, Black rubbery sludge that can be mistaken as a Prismatic, or the more human-looking form, they cannot change what any of these look like and they are set in stone (this is to avoid constant shapeshifting). 

This is a quick general culture, as it is dependent on the type of Skotai parasite that you are dealing with, that the culture may change. Skotadis learn their basics from their host. The longer they thrive in the host, the better the intellectual and street-smarts outcome.. After they leave their host, they are forced to learn just like everyone else- through experience and learning from constant Mistakes, or plain out just stalking and staring at people to figure out how to function, or what is the norm in society.

And as stated earlier, Skotadis have three forms in total, two which can be mistaken as average everyday humans or Prismatics. Alot of Skotadis use this to their advantage to try and hide themselves, seeking out prey or generally trying to avoid trouble.

Appearance

Skotadi form:

Skotadi's look like their original host, however more of a 'corrupt version'. A Skotadi's skin is a Dark grey or even black colour. Their hair follows this same code of being either black or grey. The only real colour that a skotadi has are their Cat-like eyes. Black outlines whilst the colour of their eyes can range from Golden, to Silver, or a sharp Purple and blue. These are due to their culture. Otherwise, Skotadi can form mutations from reading the body wrong- Two hairs of ears, a horn, or even Double-tails depending on if the host originally had either of those options, but this is purely cosmetical. Dependant on their sub-species, Skotadis true forms and sometimes humanoid forms can take on an elemental look- such as hair, horns, or skin glowing and shifting around like either Lava, water, etc.

Humanoid-form:

When hiding in their more human-mimicking form, they still, However, retain the normal eyes of a Skotadi, showing which type of parasite they were, a dead give-away for the race. Considering their feline eyes and lack of other characteristics towards any other feline race. On Top of this, their skin is slightly see-through, revealing their dark interior through the paper white skin. The more they stay like this, the weaker the Skotadi becomes. These forms are meant to be temporary.

Parasitical form:

Otherwise, they can turn to blobs of 'slime', more akin to a rubbery black sludge. In this state they are extremely vulnerable. As if the parasite gets squashed, it's endgame.

Subspecies of Skotadi

Includes Culture, Weaknesses and strengths 

~Ignis Skotadi (Golden/Red)~

These Skotadi's as a parasite remain within the darkness of the ravines as all of the Skotadi Parasites do, however they are attracted to being nearby some form of warmth. They will find themselves now and again travelling in groups to nearby Lava or heatrock to rest and even repopulate, until falling back into the shadows of the stone. Once one of the Parasites form from a Host- They still retain those traits of wishing to be more near warmth; Flames, Lava, torches, and will be abnormally warm to the touch. This is reflected in their Orangy-Yellow, or sometimes yet rare red, eyes. 

Ignis Skotadi are immediately weak to the cold, anything that is below average room temperature causes them to shiver and slowly freeze. Anything Ice or Cold water that touches them causes that area to immediately turn back into a Sludgy state, and has a high risk of reforming wrongly due to no longer being attached to a host, and Radiant Mysticism tends to burn them due to their chaotic and dark nature. Other weaknesses include simple human ones; Being stabbed, strangled, bruised- etc, will cause immense harm to them. 

Ignis Skotadi’s strengths revolve around heat- they can become amazing pyromancers, and withstand most heat that many cannot, While also being amazing at Malignant or Neutral arts, but are still capable of learning over Magics. These Skotadis radiate a constant Chaotic Aura to them, due to their sporadic, fiery nature, constantly craving warmth- this aura affecting those around them if not contained (this is a bit of a strength and weakness tbf).

~Mentis Skotadi (Silver)~

As a Parasite, these Skotadis actually take more time to form within the host, as they spend more time studying the mind than the body itself, and are more likely to turn out more mutated than the others due to lack of focus on the body. The reason for this is because these Skotadis are usually a Hive-mind of small groups, never travelling or doing one activity alone until they are in a host. They use the time to study the brain more so that they are able to excel in functioning better within society and Magic-wise. 

These Skotadi partially burn within the light due to having not experienced any heat, remaining within the darkness of caves and huddled in groups. Other than that, these skotadi’s are physically more fragile than a normal human body due to their time being spent on understanding the brain and their own magic- Bones are easily snappable and can bruise quickly. These wounds are still just as deadly and painful as they are for a human, giving them a large disadvantage. Their ability to see in the light is also limited (20 rather than 30m). 

Their strengths however rely upon Manipulation that involves the mind; previously being in a hivemind, they know basic telepathy, and can expand to telekinesis or even use Charms against others with weaker minds. Though that doesn't mean they are immediate masters and cannot learn other magic, Some Mentis Skotadis may realise that to succeed in a certain society group, they will need other magic to perform better.

~Tenebris Skotadi (Purple)~

Tenebris Skotadi, as a parasite, are the Rarest ones to find- as they only remain deep in caves, only being drawn out towards the large use of Malignant mysticism, or corruption from another person's being/source/etc. They are attracted to anything that radiates the same as their Chaotic nature, and will try to take root within the host that is emitting that energy. These Skotadi are mainly mysterious when it comes to their reason as to why they target these folks, due to being so rare to come across. But a known fact is that these Skotadi usually do not leave their host alive- brutally murdering them on their way out on purpose. Any Skotadi of this agenda are known to be very chaotic, barely peaceful at all- and are hindered by murderous tendencies.

These Skotadi are both Heavily weak to Fire, Cold, and Radient Mysticism- Unable to be too warm or too cold, and needing to be just room-temperature. Anything below or above sends them into an immediate Shiver or fever, and Raident magic will heavily burn their skin. Other than that, they have the average strength and build as their host, taking wounds like normal humans would. However their strengths are heavily reliant on their magic- having zapped most of their magical capabilities from whatever drew them out.. They legend heavily towards Neutral and Malignant use of Mysticism, usually unable to learn anything else compared to their counterparts.

~Abyssi Skotadi (Blue)~

Abyssi Skotadi are ones that are surprisingly not found in just normal caves, but can only be found in cracks within the stone that are full of cold water, or even at the bottom of Ice-covered oceans where the light ceases to exist. These Skotadi do not remain in any form of group, rather travel lonesome as to not be detected by other water-like beings. They are attracted to anything that is remotely near-freezing, along with dark sources just like all the other skotadis. It is known that when these Skotadi are fully formed, they are less likely to be social towards anyone else other than those of their own Subspecies. More peaceful and calm than aggressive like Tenebris.

These Skotadi’s are horribly weak to the Warmth, the Sun even burning their skin more than the others- While they get irritated after awhile, these Skotadi actually can form 3rd degree burns if out in the sun for too long. Other than that, they are able to be wounded like any normal human and their eyesight is the same as a Mentis Skotadis, however they can see much greater when under water. Strengths are that Abyssi Skotadi can survive easier in cold climates, opposite to that of a Ignis. They are able to Manipulate Water and form Ice, and are and have a small ability to handle themselves under more water pressure than normal Humans or their host. Like Mentis and Ignis, they can learn other magic, unlike a Tenebris.

Writers notes/ important notes:

• The Eye colour for ‘subspecies’ is important due to it reflecting their difference weaknesses and strengths, yet all share the same origins. 

• If one has a Skotadi in their Body, they begin to lose their ability to use magic whilst it is expanding within them. Their forming process within someone's body can take from a few days to a full two weeks or even longer, every moment of it causing extreme pain to the host as they feel the parasite moving and expanding.

• Once the Parasite exits and becomes a full Skotadi, it is /NOT/ A copy of the original person, they are their own ‘new person’ and only take on representative physical features of their Host. This way, people cannot abuse the Parasite and ‘revive’ through a conscious transfer. That will not work.

• They tend to only Target people who are afflicted and/or obtain some form of Corruption or Malignant magic. Even though Tenebris Skotadi’s only surface for this reason, all Skotadi are naturally attracted to it, just not as much as Tenebris. Other factors must be fulfilled to attract the others (E.g, A form of heat nearby with Ignis.)

• The parasite can be stopped from burrowing into someone, or whilst in someone, via removal of the parasite in the bloodstream, or Mysticism. The parasite will immediately die at this.

• When the parasite removes itself, it can cause lasting damage, but its easily treatable, just like how one would  heal a normal wound with magic or mundane ways

• Infecting a child will take only a few days, while infecting an adult will take at least 2 weeks, sometimes much longer, up to a month.

• Skotadi are infertile. Don't..  don't try and get the parasite pregnant.