Lyrabock
Be hopefull you never meet one...
The Lyrabock is in my professional opinion a monster through and through. Created by melding several souls from different animals and creatures into one hideous monstrosity, these so-called Amalgam Draugr are believed to have been the brainchild of the mad necromancer Marco Tassis. I hope that our world will soon be freed from these monsters and that the knowledge of their creation to be lost to time. Sadly, I have heard rumors that say that Marco did not come up with the creation process himself, but found the knowledge in some long-forgotten ruins somewhere in the east. I sincerely hope these are just baseless rumors spread about by idiotic men. 7th day of the month Mintesa, in the year 1580.
— Prophet's Dynasty.
General Information
The Lyrabock is a creature of death and considered to be a very dangerous Amalgam Draugr Type.
Intended to be a weapon of war on both a psychical and mental level, they have these days become a scourge of death that roam Mésvéstell in search of prey.
Luckily, being so difficult to create has made sure that they are small in number, and those that have been rediscovered or discovered have been carefully followed and documented. Most are always followed by a small group of Ilyons and even a Nekron or two. In some rare cases, attempts have been made to kill these monsters, but these attempts always come at a high cost of life; even if the attackers in question are Goëtia.
Description
The following information was written in a bloodstained diary, found on a brutally slaughtered man, dressed in mercenary attire, near the southern border of Duchy of Åtráva. It is however theorized that the man was a Nekron, due to his equipment and other notes.
Thank Dahena for the snow for once. I have found the footprints from what I believe is the Lyrabock that is said to be in the area. Something that I have already been able to found out, is that the Lyrabock can both walk on both its hind legs as well as on all four. I'll have to watch out for those claws though. They are like bear claws, only longer. I hope I don't get too many nightmares tonight. 8th day of the month Ferbayo, in the year of 1597.
— Prophet's Dynasty.
Came upon a rather grizzly sight this day, once I reached the creek. Several deers had been slaughtered, some to such a point that I could not even recognize them. They were a few days old, at least, so I am closing in. The most troubling part about the find was that several of the bigger stones near the creek bore deep scratch marks. And some smaller ones had even been cleaved in half. This just gets better and better. 10th day of the month Ferbayo, in the year of 1597.
— Prophet's Dynasty.
I finally got confirmation on what had made the terrible sounds yesterday. And I am dead sure one of them came from the Lyrabock. The other one came from a dragon. And the scene is reminiscent of those dead deers a few days back. Its left side and wing were completely trashed and its jaws had become disjointed by force as if the Lyrabock had done the deed by gripping them with its front claws and pulled apart. Together with the all that and fact that its scales had so many wounds, I had a rather difficult time recognizing the race, but I am pretty sure it's a Black Spine Broad Wing, and an old one at that. It probably did not have many natural enemies to worry about, as large as it was.
Poor creature. As of the collateral damage, several trees had been felled with seemingly no effort at all. Exactly how sharp are the claws of this monster? I mean, really? One small boulder beside the dragon corpse had a few scratch marks and was also cracked. And I don't think it was done by the dragon. According to the stories, it is said to have the curved horns of a goat, after all. I wonder, will it have the head of a wolf as well? Hm, no reason to dwell on these now. I will have confirmation once I find this thing. And I am not looking forward to it. 16th day of the month Ferbayo, in the year of 1597.
— Prophet's Dynasty.
I just have to write this down. It might ease things up a bit. These damn nightmares, I say. They make it harder to sleep as if it wasn't difficult already. It is nearly the same every time: I am running through dark woods, not unlike these real ones, and I can feel something hunting me. Around me, I can hear the screams of the dying. And not only those of humans and the damn knife ears, but animals too. And then it caught me. I don't really know how but at one point I was running for my life, and the next I was laying on the ground, staring it in the face. I don't think I will forget that face in a long time if I am being honest and what I will write next is probably going to make it harder. But damn'it I have too. It was nearly as white as the snow but had a vague grey shade to it. The face was reminiscent of that of a great northern wolf, with a big maw full of big sharp teeth, coated in dripping blood. Its eyes had the same color of a blood moon and protruding from its temples was two big sharp horns. So. Now that's done. I will
Abilities
Like other draugr, it is able to transform into shadow-black smoke which allows it to go through cracks as thin as a feather, and they are also able to change their size, at least to an extent. According to some witness reports, it can become as large as a two-story building. Interestingly, it has never been observed, at least by to my knowledge, that it can become smaller than it originally is, which is said to be around 110 centimeters.
They are also said to be able to Teleport, similarly to Ilyons, although not very large distances. 9th day of the month Mintesa, in the year of 1580.
— Prophet's Dynasty.
History
A creature created for war
Artificially created during the Draugr Wars sometime between 1023 PD and 1024 PD by the Bokor Marco Tassis, they were intended to be used during his revenge and war campaign, which set the entirety of Fausun ablaze; at least in regards of political and war-related turmoil.
A bloody pyrrhic victory
However, it was soon discovered that the Lyrabock was too deadly and powerful, even for such a powerful Nekron like Marco; even if he had his accomplices at his side, he was forced to struggle. When the first Lyrabock was unleashed in The Second Battle of Cresa, it did not only slaughter the enemy troops but also their own. In the end, it was considered a Pyrrhic victory for Marco. And it made him change his tactics a bit; why waste soldiers and lesser draugr, when one can just use the Lyrabock? They had certainly proved their worth.
The betrayal of the reasonable
Some of his accomplices warned him that the Lyrabock was too dangerous and that they were too hard to control. If the worst thing were to happen, then they would have lost a scourge upon the world. Creating more, which was not a cheap endeavor, would only increase the risk. Sadly, Marco did not listen and a few of the more reasonably-thinking accomplices banded together and tried to destroy the texts and illustrations that showed how one made a creature of such death, but alas, they were stopped before they could accomplish their mission. Some were killed, others captured and given a worse fate than death. Only two were able to escape with their lives intact and sought help from the Armies of the Prophets.
Hesitant prophets
Prophet Daria Duail, Prophet Alkeste Encadh, and Prophet Drec Ethal were hesitant to believe them; at least the part where they said that they had no connection to Marco and his bad campaign any longer. They were, however, more appreciative of the information the Nekrons gave regarding the Lyrabocks and estimate on how large his forces where.
In the aftermath of a betrayal
After the attempted destruction of his knowledge regarding his greatest achievement, Marco retreated to his headquarters in a cave system and began to create more Lyrabocks with the help of his more trusted accomplices. But disaster struck when the fifth new Lyrabock was created, and in a way, it was the fault of the Prophets.
An assault of the Nekron's lab
During his busy time in his now advanced lab, the Armies of the Prophet had begun focusing their efforts on reaching said lab, even if it was the most fortified and dangerous location they could have assaulted.
They believed that the combined powers of all three Prophets could destroy the Lyrabocks and see to it that the knowledge of their creation could never be used again. The ensuing battle raged both inside the cave system and outside it. Prophet Daria Duail stayed outside where her abilities were of best use, while Prophet Alkeste Encadh and Prophet Drec Ethal went inside with a small elite force.
Death let loose
In his anger, and seeing a chance to kill two of the Prophets, he let the Lyrabocks loose from their shackles while he himself escaped through a secret passageway with as much research as he could carry. Behind him, he left the Lyrabocks to slaughter both ally and enemy. And they nearly succeeded in achieving the task Marco had whished upon them. Fortunately, they only managed to severely hurt Prophet Alkeste Encadh and knock out Prophet Drec Ethal, before three of their Ilyon bodyguards arrived. One of the Ilyons managed to distract the monsters with attacks of her own long enough to give the others time enough to Teleport the two Prophets away from there.
Luring death away
The Lyrabocks killed the remaining Ilyon swiftly before following their fleeing prey. Luckily, they got distracted once they came out in the open and their gazes turned towards the fighting forces. They became wild with blood lust, and it was only thanks to Prophet Daria Duail that the causalities were minimal since she managed to make them go after her after a few precise hard-hitting attacks; after flying several miles, she made them lose her sent and flew back at fast as she could without breaking the sound barrier; she knew that she could not take care of those monsters themselves, not without huge collateral damage and allowing Luheial to take control of her.
The time after
In the following years, at least three of the seven Lyrabocks were killed through great effort. But what was worrisome, were the apparent reports of even more Lyrabocks, most likely created by Marco's accomplices. In the end, the Lyrabock has become a part of the world of Mésvéstell and the fear of some idiotic Nekron getting their hands on Marco's forbidden knowledge still lingers in the mind of the righteous.
Alternate Universe
Lyrabocks don't exist within Mésvéstell Prime but in an alternate version of Mésvéstell called Mésvéstell Jota - Or Mésvéstell 1716-High 0422-Low if you want to be more academical.
Has been observed to have a surprisingly tactical and deceptive mind. At least when they are not blinded by blood-filled rage. Some compare their intelligence to that of wolfs and lions.
One has been observed to stay near a great swamp in eastern Sakádria, while another keeps itself to an old abandoned mining town in the northern part of Tansrensien Empire.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Love the excerpts from Zavras journal