Magradans

Written by SoleilArya

Oh, Magradans... Creatures of nightmare, truly. The first time I met one, I didn't notice it until it was almost touching me. I could see every single detail, every line of Arcanic power flowing through its dead skin, every strand of flowy, shadow hair, the depth of its shining, cruel eyes... It was just staring at me, calmly, with the confidence of a creature that knows it is absolutely the apex predator. I could swear I even saw a smile on those thin, cracked lips. And then, I felt it. A colossal wave of exhaustion and pain, as if I had aged six decades in a second. It's their influence, you see, a sort of enveloppe of Arcana that accompanies them wherever they go, draining their victims of their energy until they are left weak and too tired to resist anymore. And then, somewhat mercifully, they end your suffering, with a swift slice of their blade.
But you know me, I'm not one to let myself die, and I was prepared. I broke that barrier, rid myself of the exhaustion, although it required a lot of my reserves. You'd think a creature with that strong of an ability would be weak physically, or unable to fight, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. Magradans are incredible swordmasters, and they wield a terrifying weapon made of their own bones and blood, capable of cutting through metal. Their armor is made of the same material, and they could defeat most human warriors with ease. And you want to know the worst part? They're also really good at Arcanic Matrixes. They are truly terrifying foes, and I was lucky enough to only face one, they usually hunt in groups. It took me all I had to survive this encounter.
-Laster Garbanis, class on Monsters and Demons at the Global Academy of Sorcery.

A pair of Magradans hunting for food

Even though they tend to live alone in fairly large territories, Magradans often hunt in pairs or trios, stalking their prey from afar until it is isolated and lost, at which moment they use their natural stealth to surprise it, weakning it before striking.

A female Magradan, hunting alone

While it's obviously possible for both male and female babies to be taken by the seepage of Chaos mutating them into Magradans, there is a distinctively lower proportion of female Magradans, and they tend to be dominant over the male ones when hunting in pairs. The reason for this is unknown, although the theory is that women are taught earlier to control their emotions in societies Magradans appear in.

Magradans, aside from their terrifying power and ability to stalk their prey silently, are not that much of a threat, as long as you respect their territory. They are wild, like the taste of human meat, but they're also intelligent and will not attack outside of their zone. No, the danger comes from when they ally themselves with other, more evil creatures. There has been a few cases of them being used by humans, convinced that they would get a better and easier food source, but some scarier creatures have sometimes traded favors with them, and they are known to have a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the Node of Mastrilial Mushrooms. As some of you already know, Magradans are not Primordial creatures, neither are they creation of the Divine. Their origin is far scarier: they are born of the energy of the Chaos that seeps through the edges of our reality, and mutates a human baby. They are a manifestation of it, incarnating through the worst habits and feelings of humanity, and they truly reflect our darkest, most savage aspects, and if you ever meet one, you'll realize it's like looking through a corrupting, warped mirror. One of the main reasons we're so scared of them isn't just their power, or their eating habits: it's that we can see ourselves in them. We've all traits that they exhibit, just more muted, hidden, restricted. They are the absolute and unrestricted darkest, deepest pit of humanity. And I want you all to remember this: Magradans are what we could be, and what we must absolutely not let ourselves become. The strength of humanity comes from our ability to resist those instincts.
-Mastel Arrool, class on Magradans at the Global Academy of Sorcery

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