Deadlights

When posited the question “What is the opposite of life?” what would your immediate respond be? “Death” right? But what is death but a natural stage in the cycle of life? For me, after what I have seen from all the years living out here, if you were to ask me that question the very first word I would think of… Deadlight. Bannon Lark - Founder of the Leodora Exploration Society

Five Thousand years ago a three mile wide meteor historically known as the Bael Star crashed into what were the central plains of the continent of Xen. The impact annihilated civilizations, caused wide spread mass extinction, and plunged the world into a nearly two thousand year long ice age. But it also brought something else with it. Something that has affected this region of the world far longer then the impact itself; the Deadlights.

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Dark shadowy nightmare “things” seemingly made of a substance that has been described as “smoke if it were a solid” randomly covered in their tell-tale haunting iridescent swirling “eyes”, They tirelessly indiscriminately and brutally kill any complex life form they can catch, draining the body of all Anima and leaving behind a desiccated husk in their wake.

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What exactly a Deadlight “is” has been a debate that has raged since the dark ages, our ancestors believed them to be a punishment sent by the gods for man’s hubris. Nightmarish guardians sent to ensure no sane person ever dare step foot on the cursed soil of Xen ever again. Even to this day there are many that would find that the most acceptable and reasonable answer to the question. However through modern science, and the efforts and sacrifices of many brave souls, we have begun to understand the nature of these dark aberration.

Origin

To understand what a Deadlight is, one must first have an understanding of Anima. One of the core elements of life, The Anima Cycle is what makes life on Ida possible, everything that lives possesses and absorbs Anima, from birth to death. Ida’s Anima is unique to Ida, it’s imprinted with what makes us… us.
Think of the world as a large complex computer operating system, you could view Anima as the underlying code. Everything born on this world is compatible with Ida’s “code”.
But what if one were to introduce similar but fundamentally different “code” from an all together different operating system?
What we now understand, the meteor that impacted our world five millennia ago housed within it “foreign Anima” or Bael Anima as it is categorized. The leading theory being the meteor was a fragment of another planet destroyed in a great celestial collision eons ago. A planet with it’s own Anima Stream, and it’s own forms of life.
When the Bael Star meteor impacted Ida it is believed it sank into the underground Anima Stream, carrying with it Anima from it’s own world, which leeched into and co-mingled with our Anima in a still not entirely understood process. The results however are very understood; Deadlights: the fragmented “code” of two worlds spliced together, physically manifesting as jumbled violent “errors” in reality.
(Editors note: Rooktek Enterprises prides itself on the pursuit of scientific exploration and discovery but must remind the reader the above statements were metaphor. Simulation Theory is an unproven hypothesis and we at Rooktek Enterprises in no way endorse it, we remind you to report any known Glitcher activity to city law enforcement.)

Basic Information

Anatomy

Deadlights have no real biology, at lest not in the standard sense. There is nothing tangible inside a Deadlight, no bones, no muscles, no organs, nothing that the laws of physics and biology would demand of any other being to exist, let alone move. They also have no consistent physiology. No two Deadlights have the exact same shape. They can range from as small as a mud hopper to some as large as a two story house.
They are not birthed, they simply manifest, becoming larger and randomly changing shape as they absorb more and more Anima, Their body plans are a bizarre hodgepodge of vaguely recognizabe animal and humanoid limbs and shapes. A Deadlight’s …well dead lights, are not actually eyes but rather polyps of condensed anima. The only constants in the makeup of a Deadlight is their “skin” a binding hide like membrane of a, to this day unknown black dripping substance that is seemingly lighter then air; dripping and trailing upward, and their limbs and digits (if they have digits) always terminate in razor sharp claw like blades.
The most dangerous thing about Deadlights is how little noise they make.
The membranous substance Deadlights are mostly composed of has sound dampening properties that renders their movement almost completely silent. An unseen Deadlight can charge it’s victim and be on top of them before ever being heard.
The only audible sound Deadlights make is a faint consistent hissing white noise reminiscent of radio static; the frequency lower in pitch the larger the subject.
 When “killed” they simply evaporate into a cloud of Anima, making in-depth biological study virtually impossible. From all outward appearances a Deadlight is less a natural form of life and more a dark parody of it.

Ecology and Habitats

For a mercy the only place in the world Deadlights can be found is in Xen. The largest number of Deadlights dwell within the Great Leodora Desert. Due to their aversion to water there are far fewer Deadlight sightings in the Limnaea Riverlands, and of course uniquely Lastwood, thanks to the elevated geography, many streams, and waterfalls, the Deadlights have left almost entirely untouched, and the few that have wandered in are dealt with quickly by the famous Gardener, making it one of the only real places natural life has been allowed to persist in peace south of the Kyllini Mountains.

Behaviour

Though exceptionally deadly and absolutely never to be underestimated, Deadlights display very predictable and simplistic machine or insect like behavior. Deadlights single minded, will always seek living beings, with the solitary goal of extinguishing life and absorbing Anima. Their detection range varies from just a few feet to approximately 200 yards. If they can not detect any living beings they will aimlessly wander indefinitely until they do. Deadlights display no intentional pack behavior, in fact they largely seem to ignore one another, but Deadlights will gang up on a target if more then one is present, and horde attacks are not unheard of. Deadlights demonstrate a strange mild aversion to bodies of water and unless in direct pursuit of prey will attempt to go around them if possible. Even the rare flying Deadlight will avoid directly flying over water. It is not understood why this is, as They display no noticeable negative effects when exposed to water.
Deadlights can be killed if enough physical trauma is inflicted on them, however Deadlights leave behind no corpse, they simply dissipate in a bright burst as all the Anima they have collected within their body is freed into the air.

Additional Information

Social Structure

None.

Domestication

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|Redacted|

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Sightings in nearly every corner of Xen.

Average Intelligence

Insect level, instinct driven.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The mechanics of how a Deadlight perceives it’s surroundings are up for speculation, but it has been discussed the Anima within a Deadlight’s body may somehow resonate with ambient Anima in the air and ground; allowing it to sense it’s surroundings. The discovery that combusted Prometholine exhaust hampers a Deadlight’s perception does give credence that they may somehow use Anima as a means of sight and navigation.

Scientific Name

Oculi Multorum Mortis

Origin/Ancestry

Bael Star

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Black viscous, dotted by bright glowing swirling eye like patches of condenced red and blue anima.

I advised you do not leave the city limits; it's dangerious out there! If you must enter the desert always travel with an armed escort, and I highly recommend you purchase some Promie Grenades from our subsidiary Raven Nest Self Defense; which are currently offering a special deal. buy two Deadlight Emergency Survival Paks and get one 50% off! Offer valid while supplies last.

S-Class Deadlight sighting on border of Lost Acheron, 1:43, Last Parchmoon, 13, 4986.