A I: Implins

Written by Neons-Mindrealm

Implins
Sadistic little Creatures of Alterna I: The Lands of Paradise

Origins:

Forcefully evolved through the controlled possession of Fallen Spirits before the Lands first Day of a Black Sky, it is said that a portion of the amphibian Sea Imps fully adapted to a life on land. And were transformed into a new race of devilish Goblins, now known as Implins, to aid the Angel of Darkness in his failed assault on the elven Paradise.
Before then turning into an omnipresent, and luckily less intelligent, pest on the Lands, after the Angel's defeat.

Current Habitat:

Known for their high adaptability, Implins can be found nearly anywhere on the Lands, except for the depths of the Singing Sea or Eclipse's Domain.
Anywhere else, they mostly build themselves small makeshift camps out of anything they find lying around. Or, in some cases, even try to take over the shelters of other creatures or even the homes of the Lands' citizens.

Average Size / Height:

On average, Implins reach a height of around 80 centimeters to 1 meter tall with a rather slim or toned body.

Diet:

Counting as meat preferring omnivores, Implins feast on nearly any kind of creature they come across and are able to hunt, which they then either consume raw on the spot, or in some cases carry back to their camp to crudely cook on an open fire.
The only exception appears to be the carrion of already slain creatures, with which they at best just play for a bit, before leaving it alone after making sure it is already dead.
If Implins are unable to hunt something for an extended period of time, they also reluctantly gather and consume some fruits and other plants. But quickly show great disgust when consuming said plant-based foods, even though they are in theory part of their diet.
With Implin groups who have not eaten meat for over two days even appearing to prefer resulting to cannibalism, rather than to dine on more fruits and other plants.

Physical Appearance:

Mainly based on a bipedal structure, Implins are often seen standing up on their two hind legs with an undeveloped posture, or sometimes crawling on all fours when sneaking up on their prey. With both hands and feet looking almost identical, as they both follow a flat triangular shape, with four 10 to 15 centimeter long digits each.
The skin of an Implin can be described as a rather fine and soft-scaled leather, ranging from various brown and dark blue tones to a quite rare paleish white.
Unlike most other creatures with similar physical structure, Implins also appear to not possess a defined neck. But just some extremely flexible muscles which seamlessly connect their wide and rather flat head to their torso, enabling them to bend their head up and down, but not to the sides.
Furthermore, their wide heads also possess a large maw stretching from one side to the other in a demonic smile, with a dense array of small but sharp fangs, as well as two narrow nostrils at the center of their face. And two large circular eyes on the top sides of their head, with horizontally slit pupils.

Behavior and Social Structure:

Heavily relying on strength in numbers, are Implins basically never seen alone.
They mostly appear to be living in colonies of at least 6, up to a population as large as 30, where they do not seem to have specific roles within, but appear more like to always move and act as one big group.
It is also not uncommon for Implins to treat the shelter they reside in as nothing more than a temporary throwaway camp. As once they run out of food, they generally do not hesitate to simply abandon it and move on with their entire colony, rather than to just send out a few to hunt.
That however does not mean that once an Implin colony has abandoned their shelter, whether it was built by them or taken from another creature, is a safe place afterwards. Since occasionally, Implins do remember the locations of camps they have previously stayed at, and even return to them for reclamation after their hunt.

Role in the Food Chain:

Able to build and wield some crude weapons like hatchets, spears, and bows, combined with their usually large numbered groups in which they hunt, are Implins theoretically a rather serious threat to consider. However, the way Implins tend to start a fight often lacks virtually any form of reasoning or tactics, leading them to more often than not just dive headfirst into an encounter with creatures far above their own level of strength.
The believed reason as to why Implins do this is because they do not see other beings as even close to equals, nor do they seem to be able to really assess any dangers.
All it is an Implin sees in another creature is just a living toy for them to play with in gruesome and tortures ways, until the eventual death of their prey can only be seen as a merciful release.

Special Abilities and unique Physical Traits:

Equipped with special mucus glands on the tips of their fingers and toes, Implins are able to secrete a unique adhesive which enables them to even crawl up on walls or hold themselves upside down on a ceiling.
This technique, however, is only possible to use at its full potential when holding on to a rougher surface, where the Implin is also able to support its weight by using its long fingers to additionally dig into small crevices.
On a more even or smooth surface, Implins will only be able to hold on to steep walls or ceilings for a few seconds, before simply falling off.
Another quite dangerous attribute of an Implin is its rather fast ability to reproduce. As each female is capable of laying around 3 to 5 eggs a week, which will then hatch in just a couple of days, and mature quite rapidly in just a bit less than a quarter month.

Additional Insights:

Whilst it is usually quite easy to contain the rapid spread of a normal Implin colony, either through natural selection or hunting quests, there is also one rare phenomenon which would need to be dealt with instantly, or else it could evolve into a major threat for an entire ecosystem.
As every couple of months, there is a slim chance for a unique, pale white Implin to be born, and take over its colony.
This exclusively female creature, titled as a Frog Queen by the Guild, holds the unique ability to directly birth up to 10 live Implins a day, causing its colony to expand on an alarming rate, and to even threaten the domain of apex predators through their sheer number alone.
Once such a creature becomes known to the Guild, an emergency quest would be posted instantly, rendering every other quest obsolete until this problem is dealt with.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• A I: Sea Imps