Caedarium

Subclass Type: New World

Average Height: 16'0

Average Age Length: ???

Rarity: Rare

General Info:

This subclass of Demon feasts on the flesh of the fallen and those they hunt. These creatures are usually thought to be slow and somber. Those who assume that are usually found dead after coming face to face with one. They are avid hunters, known for their skills in battle as well. They have sensitive senses and the ability to feel vibrations in the ground.

Usually quite aggressive, they do see reason. They are intelligent beings that have quite a bit of pride in their chests. They travel together as one people in their home region, moving where they can hunt for food and enjoy the light of the sun. At times they can be considered rather callous creatures but they do have the capability to show emotion, they just don’t like wasting their energy if they don’t need or want to.

Perfectly capable of speech and enjoy a good feast or two, they do see the joy others can bring. They have been known to socialize or trade with other subraces of Demon, just not often. It can be hard to gain their trust. They just wish to be left alone otherwise, so they can live their long lives in peace.

This subclass of Demons is known for traveling together as one people. Marriage is exceptionally uncommon. Bonded pairs or groups can occur. Those pairs and groups tend to stick together and procreate together away from the others without judgement. Solitary individuals can also occur but they still remain close to the tribe.

Fun Fact: Their name is a combination of the Latin word for carnage, Caedes, and the name of its prehistoric counterpart, the Megatherium.

Characteristics:

These Demons may not look it, but Caedarium are actually sentient plants. They consume flesh, but can easily survive on sunlight alone for quite some time. With long, needle-like claws and sharp teeth, they are rather nimble hunters and warriors. Their eyes are rather pale and can glow in dark spaces, as they contain bioluminescent properties. They have small pointed ears on the tops of their heads that tend to point back. Their crooked voices create cackles and otherworldly noises they use to communicate and terrify prey. The fibers of their fur are wiery in nature, every part of them a type of plant.

They are capable of shifting forms but only do so if they must. Their alternate form is humanoid in nature, other than their long, deep green hair and persistent fluffy ears. Their alternate form lacks any distinct gender because they have none. Their humanoid forms can seem almost beautiful to the naked eye, as it’s a neutral non-sexualized form. They look closer to a male than a female body shape wise, but their faces can be quite gentle and well toned.

At times they are known to accessorize with piercings but can also create bioluminescent tattoos on their own bodies with their minds. It can be considered a sign of love or respect for a Caedarium to tattoo another, as they do so with their own bioluminescent growths. They do so by reaching their rather thin bioluminescent growths into the flesh of their target. It can be seen as a rather intimate display by outsiders.

Religions:

Caedarium worship the God of the Dead and Kulutaran, the God of the Forest.

Mating & Reproduction:

This subrace of Demon is rather unique in nature due to them being plants. Their bodies contain the ability to procreate with any other member of their species, but they have no visible sexual organs. That means no female or male anatomy. They do not breast feed their children either, so nipples are also absent. They do not seek direct mates either, but close bonds between individual Caedarium can occur.

On the full moon every three months, Caedarium gather in the quiet of night together. A week prior to this, they can be seen as “hormonal” and can have the symptoms a typical woman would have on her monthly cycle. Buds begin to form on their stomachs and shoulders. Two days before the full moon, their fur starts to gain a yellow tinge. During the night of the full moon when they gather, those buds blossom into crimson red flowers.

Together with their pack, they shake their fur, releasing yellow pollen from their bodies to pollinate one another. If pollination is successful, the flowers on their bodies close by morning. Those buds remain on the bodies of the Caedarium for a span of six months, gestating small offspring within. Once the buds open and the babies enter the world, they hang onto the bodies of their parents for the first year of their lives for care and safety.

The role of parenthood is usually shared among the tribe, as Caedarium spawn are often passed around and cared for by other members of the tribe as well. While they all can look rather similar to each other, the babies know who their parents are.

It is to be noted that not every member of their race is required to take part in pollination and the production of children. That is a personal choice that they respect greatly. They would never judge a member of their people not wanting kids. The members of the tribe that do not wish to reproduce pollinate alone away from where the others are in order to avoid having children if they do not want them.

In the case of the rare Caedarium bonded pairs or groups, they tend to reproduce together privately. They are allowed to be particular about who they are pollinating with if they so wish.