Mirro Race Sheet: Cave Ghost

Race Sheet
Cave Ghosts

Author/Creator- April Bryant, Dave Bryant, Yael Goldberg
Race Name- Cavern Ghosts, Cave Ghosts
Short Name- *shrieking*
Base Animal/Race- snakes
Creation/History- Cave Ghosts are larvae Wisp Fauns.  After the Wisp Faun has created his eggs and placed them about the caverns where he thinks they have the best survival, his part is finished in their lives.  He will not check on them or behave in any way that would give away that Cave Ghosts are infant Wisp Fauns.
Cave Ghosts feed off of the energy and magic in the area they are placed.  The eggs look like uncut gems.  Sometimes these gems will be picked up by greedy humanoids and the Cave Ghosts will either starve or thrive depending on the amount of magic and energy inside and around the greedy humanoid.  
Case In Point: if the humanoid is a Dökkálfaress or mage, the Cave Ghosts will feed off of her magic and energy.  As the ‘step-parent’ becomes lethargic and loses power, the Cave Ghosts will hatch.  They will then devour all of the ‘step-parent,’ physical and magical.  
Case In Point: if the humanoid who gathers them is a warrior and has no access to magic or lives in a null-magic area, the Cave Ghosts will starve to death in their eggs.  The eggs, or gems, will retain power, though, with the ability to hold more, and are often used by mages and liches as power gems.  But ONLY after the Cavern Ghost Larvae has died inside and can no longer do the mage or lich any harm.
Race Description- Cave Ghosts look much like small, legless dragons or floating snakes.  They are remarkably colorful, giving off a variety of ethereal lights and hues.  This glowing is instinctually controlled when it hunts and can become vapor in form, indistinguishable from other luminescent vapors and lights often found in the Deep.  By the time it reforms, it is often too late for the magical individual whom it is stalking.

Range of Length: 3” at hatching, to 3’ at ‘maturity’.

Range of Weight: None.

Eyes: Usually glowing orange, yellow or red or a combination of colors.

Skin: Usually glowing blue, orange and green.  They don’t appear physically sound, which just makes their attack all that much more confusing.  Most seem to have a colorful, ethereal ‘fin’ going down their backs.

Ears: N/A

Hair: N/A

Mouth and Teeth:  Cave Ghosts do have a mouth in snake form.  This mouth is filled with razor sharp fangs meant to tear at flesh.  Once they are ‘adult’ in their larvae stage, however, their mouth will meld together and their teeth will be reabsorbed to form a Wisp Faun body.

Hands/Feet:  N/A

Religious Orientation- None

Culture- Cavern Ghosts don’t really have a culture.  They live to feed and grow.  If magic and energy is plentiful, they can exist alongside one another.  However, it is not unusual for a larger Cavern Ghost to turn cannibalistic and feed off the energy and magic of others about it.  When this happens, the remaining Cave Ghosts will either disperse for their own safety, turn against one another until very few remain, or one Cave Ghost will devour all the others to grow into adulthood.
Diet: In larvae form, Cavern Ghosts absorb energy and magic as a form of sustenance.  However, because they are growing quickly and are fighting for survival, they also eat physical substance.  They devour the flesh of anything with magic abilities.  This makes them a special bane to Dökkálfaresses, most of whom are magic.  A Dökkálfar male warrior can walk past a Cave Ghost and not be confronted or attacked.  Yet, they will almost always stalk and attack a Dökkálfaress.  Cave Ghosts may be the only thing that Dökkálfar females truly fear.  Indeed, the last thing heard from a Dökkálfaress who comes across a Cave Ghost is usually a waning scream.
Mating and Children:  Cave Ghosts are larvae of Wisp Fauns, so they do not mate nor have children.  Instead, let us discuss
Maturation:  When a Cave Ghost has eaten and grown as much as it can in its current form, it goes into vapor state and finds a large but very well hidden crevasse in which to hide.  From here, it cocoons itself in magic weaving and falls to sleep as it matures.  It is at this point that the physical meals the Cave Ghost has eaten turns to bone, skin and keratin.  The magic and energy it’s absorbed causes intellect and awareness to form.  When the process is complete, the now young adult Wisp Faun uses the Cave Ghosts ability to form into vapor one last time, setting itself free from his cocoon crevasse.  This is the last time he can use his vapor form and will become a solid creature from then on out.

Normal Skill Set- Control their ethereal glow and eat.

Special Skill Set- Drain magical energy to use as a food source and grow in relation to how much they drain and eat.  Cave Ghosts can evaporate into the air for hiding purposes.

Cultural Weapons and Items-  Teeth and magical draining.  Evaporate into mist form.  No other weapons or items are used in the larvae state.