Devils

Today, we’ll muse about another subclass of Trero’s Reapers. The Devils. 

They are what sin created and Hell is where they’re from. It’s said that sinners and the unworthy are cast off to spend eternity with them – never to walk the Trails or have their feet touch Trero’s ground again.

Types

Devils come in a few different types. There’s Reavers. Harpies. Seadevils. Hounds. And Vek.

Reavers

When you mention Devils, the first thing that comes to mind are the Reavers. To the point where Devil and Reaver can be used interchangeably, which distresses scholars something fierce.
But there’s a good reason for that. Reavers are, undoubtedly, the most dangerous of the lot. They’re cunning. Relentless. And Reaping or not, they’ll prey on people with an enthusiasm that makes it look like they’re hunting them for sport.

Appearance

They resemble wingless, bipedal dragons, with long necks and an even longer tail to keep their balance. Feathered in mostly green and brown, they can vanish into foliage quite effectively, though not like they have to. Not with their long arms ending in claws so sharp they can slice cleanly through steel and teeth strong enough to do the same.

Behaviour

Reavers live and hunt in packs, though never in groups larger than six. They have an incredible vocal range, allowing them almost flawless vocal mimicry, which some have honed to the point of being able to fake human language. In particular because they seem to have made it their past time to hunt people for sport. Even when there’s no Reaping happening.

And they are, without contest, credited the most kills during Reapings, tearing mercilessly through villages and cities. Its what earned them the name Reaver.

Symbolizm

Fighters and gladiators often associate themselves with Reavers and like to decorate themselves in their feathers and carry marks inspired by their likeness. Aside of that, Reaver-like images are reserved to represent Devils and the consequences of a sinful life.

Harpies (Airdevils) & Seadevils

These devils are less likely to actively search out humans to hunt but are incredibly territorial. While Harpies are winged creatures of bizarre humanoid shape, Seadevils come in different shapes and sizes altogether. Some are gigantic, large enough to rival the biggest of dragons, while others are no bigger than dogs. As their name suggests, Seadevils live in Trero’s oceans, rarely moving up large rivers into the mainland. They may come looking like a twisted fish, or equipped with long, thick tentacles. Either way, they’ll attack and sink anything or anyone daring enough to sail too far out.

Symbolizm

Harpies are often associated with being unclean. Seadevils are favoured as marks for port cities as symbols of endurance.

(Sare) hounds

Sare Hounds are a very particular sort of Reaper altogether. For one, they are domesticated. Ever since the Ward has come to power, they’ve been snatching the Hounds up right after dragons bring them from Hell – which is when they are no more than small pups.

Oh, and they’re blind.

Appearance

As the name suggests, Sare Hounds look like… hounds. Large, lithe, with narrow chests and strong legs made for long distance running. They have thick, leathery skin and are mostly bald, aside of some feathering running over their head, neck, spine, and down along their long tail where they often come together in a wide plume.

Their most startling feature are their eyes. Which is to say their blind eyes. They have no pupils, rather their eyes look like thick, dark purple orbs set deep into their sockets, their surface sprinkled with gold and silver dust.

Some liken their eyes and the patterns of dust in them with the Trails. Even going as far as to say that they’ve stared at the Trails longingly for so long, they caught motes of their light in them, forever blinding them.

Behaviour

Wild Hounds roam in pairs. No one knows how those pairs form – except that one day two lonely hounds will meet and then never again part. They hunt together. Sleep in a pile. And wander and wander and wander, never staying in one place for very long.

Their meals mostly consist of regular prey animals, which, they locate with uncanny precision, though they’ll hunt people just as effectively if the opportunity arises.

It was their incredible skill at tracking – especially tracking Sare – that made the Ward begin domesticating them, training them for one purpose and one purpose alone: Recognise, find, and track Sare. Hence, Sare Hound. A task they are uniquely qualified for, as they see the world by scenting the Hem around them, picking up on every soul and imprint that flits through it. From the vivid, rich soul of a Sare, all the way down to the smallest grain of sand.

Symbolizm

Trackers and hunters like wearing marks inspired by Sare Hounds, though mostly it’ll be Ward chapters that fly banners or bear sigils that resemble their hounds.

Vek

These large, feline creatures get an honourable mention, because they aren’t exactly Reapers. Not any more, anyway. Because unlike every other Reaper out there, Vek don’t rely on dragons to carry them down from Hell. No. They have, somehow, managed to break that reliance and developed the ability to reproduce.

Now they live in family groups, mate, have kittens, and die of old age just as if they were any other normal animal.

Appearance

Vek (sometimes referred to as Sapvek) are large, feline oddities covered in short, silken fur and a plume of feathers along their spine and down their long tail. And where the feathers and the fur meet, they have a stripe of bared skin that glows an eerie blue at night and often webs out along their body like the fingers of a lightning strike.

That blue glow comes from them licking the sap of Trero’s lantern trees – the most common trees spread across the land. And the home of Vek families, who live far up in their branches from where they hunt creatures both small and large.