Hugleikr

Hugleikr are tall humanoid creatures with squid-like heads, featuring tentacled appendages. Their skin ranges from dark grey to purple, and Hugleikr typically possess a significant amount of muscle mass. The race is largely believed to not be native to Erra, though their true origins can only be speculated upon - The most common belief would indicate that they come from the Demonic plane. Additionally, Hugleikr seem to borrow traits from many other races - Which is in large part the cause of the common belief that they previously assimilated other creatures into their race.
Hugleikr were masters of psionic capabilities, using their expansive potential of the Mind to invade that of their victims, upon which they would assume complete control of them. Typically, they would paralyze the individual in this manner, or have them assist in whatever it deemed necessary. Once their work was deemed complete, the Hugleikr and their captives would depart from the area on foot, traveling back to their lair.
Hugleikr are mostly found within Urushee, though small numbers of them have long since travelled to other parts of the world following The Collapse.

History

Before The Collapse, no individual has ever been recorded returning from these lairs alive, which led to much rumor of what exactly became those that were abducted - It is commonly believed they were somehow assimilated into the Hugleikr race. As co-operative and welcoming as the individual I met with was, he refused to elaborate on the matter, and politely requested we remain on the topic at hand. What we do know is that the Hugleikr claim they were not entirely acting of their own volition, and were subservient to a master species called the Aibek. Supposedly the rulers of Hugleikr society, they tasked their minions with the abduction of innocents, and were instantaneously eradicated upon The Collapse occurring. While potential evidence of the existence of such great beings in Hugleikr lairs have been found, there has yet to be any definitive proof of such. What can be confirmed, however, is that these groups of Hugleikr quickly began to fall apart after the event, as they completely lost their most powerful - and only noteworthy - abilities. Reduced to common hunters, they were forced to act as primitive raiders for an extended period of time while their advanced Arcane technologies had completely faltered. This was viewed as an inconceivable humiliation by the more stalwart members of the race.
Left with no way back to their original realm, yet allegedly finally possessing their own free will, the Hugleikr of Urushee began to send small amounts of individuals as peace emissaries to nearby civilizations. All of them were slain on sight. Raiding parties were quickly rallied by local populations upon learning that the enigmatic race had survived The Collapse, and frantically began to search for the location of the group in question. An armed standoff would follow, lasting several weeks before a relief force from the Urushee Defense's 12th Regiment arrived and a negotiation was struck.
While the Hugleikr are legally granted the ability to trade with Urushee settlements, they are still treated with a great deal of suspicion to this day and are likely to be kept under close watch at all times due to the unproven nature of their alleged past. Other nations have not granted the species this privilege, and it is currently unknown what became of other Hugleikr settlements due to a loss of contact with them.
The vast majority of Hugleikr that exist to this day have been alive long before The Collapse occurred, and so hope remains that one day the truth of their past will be corroborated.

Lifespan

Unknown (Theorized several centuries)

Average Height

1.7-2.2m