Shimastakshah

Many areas within the Ismat Empire used to be flourishing jungle before the discards of the empire turned it into nameless. This combination of broken magical artifacts, sewage, and other waste warped much of the land, as well as the creatures and fauna. Shimastakshahs are believed to be composite of many animal spirits and flesh that has taken a physical form. They appear as floating male lion heads though they are as large as full grown lions, and the flesh of the head is so sunken in it is almost a skull. It keeps its mouth open as it floats so it is always ready to consume. The Shimastakshah has an ugly sewage colored mane, with living snakes coming out of it from all sides that make it even more difficult to avoid. Shimastakshahs eat only one thing. People. They have eaten devs, asuras, and even rhakshasas, and would probably just as easily eat elves, ameshas, and qui-lahk if they were in the area. It is as if this collective undead conscious knows that it is people who turned the jungle into nameless with their abuse. When a Shimastakshah sees a person, its mane ripples fast as it flies towards its victim to take a fatal bite. It will maul its victim well past death and then leave pieces of the corpse behind. When it feeds, the hair of their mane bulges and turns red as it absorbs the consumed blood. Blood then leaks and spurts out of the hair, adding to the bloody mess, while the snakes wriggle around to lap up all that they can. Even Spirits are wary of Shimastakshas, for unlike almost every other entity of Adijari, the Shimastakshah can consume spirits as easily as they do people. And because everything is processed through them so quickly, they are only sated for mere minutes before looking for their next prey.