Uyetsoub (Nonlit. 'Gutter/Sewer Beast')
Also known as 'Facestealer', 'Souleater'
Public sentientologic record
Property of the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís, Eörpe
The uyetsoub was a predatory species of unverified origin that appeared to specialize in hunting sapient species in primarily urban areas. Their high morphability, hunting tactics, and method of reproduction made them extremely difficult to root out once nestled within a settlement.
Furnishing a nest typically started with small-scale thievery by stealing appealing items and trinkets from their victims to decorate it with. In time it'd escalate to stealing larger objects such as duvets, pillows, textiles, mirrors, chairs, and even storage furniture such as boxes or drawers. There were also signs of older uyetsoub caring a lot more about keeping their nests clean, including removing any remnants left behind from a plenumeiosis.
Etymology & Definition
The species’ name is lusoyan in origin, roughly translating to ‘gutter/sewer beast’ and both it and its translation was what remained the most well-known in common mouth. The other names for it were more localized with 'facestealers' seeing use in the Lukariat, while the Soulfire Sentinels – a now defunct organization dedicated to hunting this species – called them ‘souleaters’.History
Origin
While their origin were never fully verified, there were a widespread conviction that the species were extradimensional in nature. Most common was the belief that it was an antumbran biogloom that somehow managed to cross over from Darkverse into our reality, especially as they seemed to appear not long after the invention of terrestrial-bound rift technology. The first uyetsoub sighting were recorded on the Ascendant world of Hsaylo. It’s unknown exactly how they spread but as additional sightings on other worlds began to pile up, they gave rise to widespread fear for centuries.The Modern Uyetsoub
The last uyetsoub was killed on Myrefall over 5000 years ago by Soulfire Sentinel hunters, rendering the species officially extinct. Many cultures still feature stories, myths, legends, and superstitions that have their roots from the age when the uyetsoubs were still extant.Habitat & Population
The uyetsoub were found in all climates aside arid, almost exclusively inhabiting regions urbanized and inhabited by sapient civilizations. Cities and towns were the primary nesting and hunting grounds for uyetsoubs with only a few exceptions were smaller settlements also got plagued by them. Overall population of the species remained remarkably low as their individual territories never overlapped and could be vast enough to only allow for 2-4 specimens living large and densely populated cities. Suburbs or smaller settlements would typically never host more than one at any given time. The Soulfire Sentinels reported that they alone had exterminated circa 22.000 uyetsoub across 40 worlds by the end of their campaign.The Nest
An uyetsoub would create a nest for themselves in quiet, rarely accessed areas of settlements, such as sewer systems, abandoned and/or ruined buildings, automated industry sectors, below bridges, or inside transport or service tunnels. They appeared to favor warm and humid places.The age of an uyetsoub could usually be guessed by inspecting its nest, as older specimens were more concerned about settling in location that were safe and secure long-term and could invest into making comfortable. This led to behaviors reminiscent of sapients furnishing their homes.
For clarification, please observe that references to age categories isn’t referring to points in time during an ongoing lifespan. A ‘young uyetsoub’ refers to a specimen that’s not yet gone through any iterations or only a few.
Galactic Distribution
At their peak, circa 5150 years ago, the uyetsoubs were found on over 40 different worlds across The Ascendancy, The United Worlds, The Lukariat and the separate alliances that since have merged into The Wheel.Biology
Morphology
Uyetsoubs were hominin plasmoforms that specialized on mimicking the external appearance of the sapient species making out their primary prey; including number of extremities and digits, hair growth and coloration/patterning. Their age and the number of iterations they’ve gone through appear to play a role in how closely they were capable of resembling their prey.Dietary Needs & Habits
Uyetsoubs were obligate carnivores and specialized in hunting and feeding on sapient species, primarily those of human descent. Although they appeared capable of deriving nutrition from other carbon-based lifeforms uyetsoubs typically only resorted to hunting regular animals for food if they were sick or no other options were available. Young uyetsoubs were more impatient and reckless during hunts and the sources of most sightings, witness accounts of attacks, and found bodies. As they accumulated experience across several iterations, their skills appeared to improve along with their intelligence. This led to increasingly more devious hunting tactics, such as careful stalking and setting up ambushes to minimize noise and risk of being spotted. Prey would be attacked, but not necessarily killed, and dragged off to a secure location before being consumed. It was rarely difficult to recognize a site of a feeding once found, as they in general were fast, violent, and messy eaters. Feeding sites, especially repeatedly used ones, could be nauseatingly gruesome.Genetics
Life Cycle
As far as was determined uyetsoubs had an average life span of five years per iteration, but it was never known if there ever were an upper limit on how many iterations a single specimen could go through. The uyetsoubs appeared to replicate rather than reproduce through an asexual process later given the official naming ‘plenumeiosis’. Each process of plenumeiosis would result in the death of the current iteration of the specimen and the birth of the next one. A common sign of an uyetsoub preparing for plenumeiosis was a significant increase of feeding in the weeks prior, going from hunting monthly or bi-monthly to hunting several times in a week. It culminated in the kidnapping of a live victim that got carried away to its nest.Plenumeiosis
The presence of a live specimen of its preferred prey was a crucial component for the plenumeiosis to succeed, and most uyetsoubs would take care in choosing one of at most middle-age and in good physical health. Once chosen, the victim would be captured alive and brought back to the uyetsoub’s nest. For a period of around two months, the uyetsoub and victim were slowly fused together, liquified, mixed and re-solidified into a new iteration of the uyetsoub.Growth Rate & Stages
While one was never encountered and studied, it was theorized that first-generation uyetsoubs began as mostly featureless, maybe even fully or partially plasmoform, and would only gradually attain more defining features through serialized plenumeiosis. A new iteration of an uyetsoub always came out as a fully developed adult, inheriting most, if not all, of the knowledge and memories of its predecessor. Thus, they were fully capable of surviving and hunting on their own right away. No uyetsoub showed signs of physical aging during their short life spans.
Speed Concept Sketch by Nimin N.
Taxological Data
Many Uyetsoubs
Biological Data
Walking
Climbing
Crawling
Primarily urban
The Rosepetal Galaxy
Oooo, so gross and scary but I really like them. My favourite bit is that they decorate their nests.
Thank you :) I'm looking forward to polishing these up after SC.
This is so cool! The explanation for how they essentially merge with a victim is really interesting, like listening to physiology on a microscopic level but on a much larger scale. Like real alien life could evolve to do, I love the creativity of it all.
Thank you! Thinking about, researching and writing plausible/probable evolution of life is such great fun for me, and I can barely wait for end of august to expand this species article with the rest of the planned content for it. :)
GOOD GOD THE SKETCH
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