Mawspawn

Overview

Mawspawn are a nightmarish entity born from necromantic rituals gone wrong, where large groups are mutated together into a one monstrous entity. In this sense, they are effectively the larger varient of Cystspawn, which are created from singular individuals. A mawspawn is a massive, writhing mass of flesh, bone, and gnashing mouths.

Appearance

A disturbing sight to behold, its form is a chaotic amalgamation of all the bodies caught in backfiring of the spell. It appears as an undulating mass of fleshy growths and broken bones. Its most horrifying feature is the many mouths scatter across its body, each filled with razor-sharp teeth. Some meld together to create a larger, central maw where it focuses its attacks. These mouths are constantly gnashing, snapping at the air, or sinking into anything they can reach. Some seem to have the remnants of the faces they belonged to surrounding them, twisted into visages of agony. Shattered bones stick out at odd angles from its body, some used as crude, makeshift limbs to drag itself along, whilse other serve as jagged weapons that puncture and slash at its surroundings.

Creation

As a restricted form of magic, most necromancy is practiced in secret. Certain factions, such as the Cult of the Nine are known to dabble in these arts for their own means. But also, as a restricted study, there are very few expert practitioners, which means when an individual or group attempt such magics, there's a high risk of failure. Mawspawn are the result of a group ritual failing in a spectacular and horrific way, the necromantic magic reverberating back out and enveloping the casters instead, pulling all of them into a singular spot and fusing them together.

Behavour & Abilities

Mawspawns are driven by an insatiable hunger. While no longer possessing the intelligence of the people it was formed from, it possesses an instinctive cunning when it comes to ambushing prey. It moves by undulating its body, propelling itself forward by pulling itself along with its many mouths, clamping down on the ground to haul it forward or by dragging itself along with various limbs. While it may appear slow and cumbersome, mawspawn are capable of surprising burst of speed, when all of its methods of moving work together in unison for a moment. This allows a mawspawn to lunge at its target. The sheer number of jaws and teeth make escaping from the creature nearly impossible once it has latched on. Mawspawn are difficult to kill, lacking natural weak points and unlike its smaller cystspawn cousins, mawspawn are capable of regenerating from the life force they take on, rather than merely just sustaining their existence with it. Victims that are completely drained of life become part of the mawspawn upon death, meaning that a mawspawn left to roam and grow becomes more dangerous the longer it is ignored.

Average Height

4-5ft

Average Length

Dependant on the number of victims merged together.