User:GoldenYak/Spider Kingdom Bestiary

UNDER CONSTRUCTION related to Spider Kingdom Expansion Concept.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, new and terrible monsters have risen from the dark places beneath the surface of Azeroth.

Eldritch Hound


When a creature dies, their body draws scavengers. This is true of even gods. The immense, rotting carcass of Yogg-Saron that festers beneath the surface of Northrend is not made of normal matter, and as it decays the unnatural aura it exudes resonates beyond the material plane. Following the scent are the Eldritch Hounds, creatures of a realm far removed from the mortal world. Slipping in and out of reality as easily as a wolf might run through the woods, these fearsome creatures are the ultimate stalkers.

Eldritch Hounds have pitch black hides and slavering jaws. Their head holds no eyes, but massive glaring orbs are clustered around their limbs. Long tentacles tipped with eerily glowing runes protrude from their shoulders, which they use to ensnare and paralyze their prey. They are frequently found preying on Undying Tendrils, and have been known to ambush forces of the Twilight's Hammer involved in mining operations, devouring any saronite ore that the miners have unearthed.

Morlogg


Morloggs are a debased humanoid race that appears to have succumbed to the Curse of Flesh. They are possibly related to humans or vrykul. Their size and strength has increased, as have their cannibalistic tendencies. Strange plant-growths and fungus have taken root on their bodies, feeding on the twisted corruption and becoming unnaturally resilient.

Morloggs will attack virtually any other living creature, and will often turn on each other if no other target presents itself. Morloggs are likely the descendants of ancient stone-skinned vrykul who succumbed completely to the Curse of Flesh, in a manner similar to troggs.

Mur'lurk


These hideous creatures appear to be related, however distantly, to the murloc race. They dwell solely in underground lakes, swamps, and other subterranean water sources. They are completely blind, their over-large eyes having long ago ceased to function in the darkness of Azeroth's underworld. Their skin has become rough and rubbery, requiring less moisture than their sea-dwelling cousins. Their jaws are filled with needle-sharp teeth that grow so long they are incapable of fully closing their mouths. Their flabby hands are webbed and tipped with jagged claws, allowing them to dig their way through ice-flows. Mur'lurks lay eggs like murlocs, but rather than leaving them in underwater nests, mur'lurks glue them to their own backs with slimy mucous, carrying their brood around wherever they go.

Mur'lurks are far more savage and seemingly less intelligent then their sea-dwelling relatives. They speak barely-intelligible Nerglish and seem to venerate underground monsters the same way murlocs will worship powerful aquatic creatures. Tribes of mur'lurks have been driven closer to the surface by the increased infestation of Undying Tendrils in Azeroth's underworld.

Nerubian Newbreed


The recent uprising of nerubians in Northrend has provided disturbing new information to scholars of the Spider Kingdom. While at first glance the difference between one nerubian and another might not be apparent, there are some startling differences between the older nerubians cataloged and the newer creatures carrying out recent attacks. The more recently encountered nerubians are larger and more muscular, their carapace noticeably more durable. Their multiple eyes are arranged in a different configuration, giving them superior eyesight and visual acuity. Strangely, their brain-case is much smaller, meaning these nerubians are far less intelligent than specimens encountered in the past.

The most startling piece of information is perhaps the most troubling - the new nerubians launching attacks all across Northrend are only a few years old, far younger than should be possible given previous knowledge of nerubian maturation. If this new generation of nerubians are capable of reproducing and maturing with such frightening speed, the once near-extinct nerubian species may soon grow far greater in number than any other race on Azeroth.

Nerubian Infiltrator


These frightening creatures are seemingly related to the nerubians of Azjol-Nerub. Although information about the nerubians and their various sub-species and servant creatures is scarce, even the most learned scholar of nerubian lore has never found mention of these beings anywhere in any records recovered from the Spider Kingdom. Infiltrators are roughly humanoid in proportion, with four more arachnoid-like limbs used for fighting. They are possessed of a nerubian's alien intelligence and, true to their name, are capable of great stealth, often disguising themselves with heavy robes to pass among humans or forsaken undetected.

When uncovered, Infiltrators will fight to the death, tearing at their enemies with their teeth and talons. To date, no Infiltrator has allowed itself to be taken alive. It is still a mystery as to what the Infiltrators hope to accomplish by sneaking into the cities of the surface world. Infiltrators have been sighted as far away as Valiance Keep and Blightbrace Point, and the Kirin Tor believe that a group of the creatures has infiltrated Dalaran itself.

Nerubian Spidermind


Despite the seemingly reduced intelligence of the new generation of nerubians, their assaults upon the surface world are being carried out with devastating precision, ingenious tactics, and ruthless efficiency. The Kirin Tor were at a loss to explain how this was possible given the nerubian Newbreed's primitive intellect, until the discovery of the nerubian creature dubbed a Spidermind. Spiderminds communicate psionically with less intelligent nerubians, coordinating their efforts in battle and directing them against the enemy. Despite their vestigial bodies, they are fearsome opponents when confronted directly, blasting the enemy with elemental magic and shredding their minds with their psionic powers.

Essentially an immense armored brain, the Spidermind's body is utterly useless, and it moves by using it's magical power to levitate itself. Spiderminds are blind, but can look through the eyes of any creature within the range of it's psionic powers. Their body structure is very similar to those of Nerubian Viziers, and while the Newbreed seem like a regression of the nerubian warrior form, the Spidermind may be an evolved form of the Vizier.

Nerubian Swordlegs


Nerubians are swarming to the surface in greater numbers, and are beginning to demonstrate great variety. These nerubians, nick-named Swordlegs, appear to have been selectively bred for speed and stealth, rather than brute strength like the other Newbreed. Their heads and limbs are plated in simple but durable saronite armor, enabling them to race forwards across any terrain and pierce their intended prey. Their body structure is similar to nerubian viziers, with four upper limbs and four lower. One pair of upper limbs and their lower forelimbs are nearly double the size of their other limbs - it is these limbs that the Swordlegs use to pierce and slash their enemies.

Slave-Wretch


These creatures are clearly derived from nerubian stock, but are significantly different from the nerubians launching attacks upon the surface. Slave-Wretches walk on four legs and have four grasping limbs, rather like the nerubian vizier-caste and unlike nerubian warriors. However, they appear severely limited in intelligence, far more even than the nerubian newbreed generation. Their cranial capacity is smaller and they don't appear to be capable of verbal speech. Nevertheless, Slave-Wretches have been observed carrying out complex tasks in large groups, acting in concert without any apparent communication or supervision.

Spider-Slave


A spider-slave is the horrific result of a living humanoid infected by a nerubian Enslaver. This tiny, spider-like creatures are implanted in the bodies of those captured by the nerubians, where they rapidly grow to great size, gruesomely distorting the body of the hapless host. The Enslaver's legs burst forth from the host's back, becoming deadly spear-like talons. The Enslaver completely overtakes the host's body, turning them into a mindless zombie-like slave under the command of the nerubians. Spider-slaves operate as brute-labor and cannon-fodder for the nerubians, blindly obeying all of their commands, ignoring all injury and acting without fear.

Spider-slaves do not respond to anything other than the commands of a nerubian, so it is unclear if the Enslavers are able to act on their own. Thus far, every attempt to remove an Enslaver from a host has resulted in the host's death. If a host dies, an Enslavers will attempt to infest another immediately.

Undying Tendrils


Deep beneath the frozen surface of Northrend lies the Old God, Yogg-Saron, imprisoned an eternity ago by the titans. The dark entity attempted to break free of his chains at Ulduar, the ancient titan city, but his schemes were foiled by agents of the Alliance and the Horde, who fought their way into the prison of the Old God itself, and struck it down.

But Yogg-Saron's gigantic corpse is still a danger to the lands of Northrend. Without a mind to control its alien biology, the vast carcass has begun to grow and mutate even as it rots, sending decaying tendrils of unnatural flesh growing up through the earth like weeds. These Undying Tendrils breach the surface deep in caves and cold lakes, growing ever upwards towards the world that Yogg-Saron had sought to remade. The Tendrils are disgusting, rotting things, their withering skin bloated with blisters of foul, liquefied saronite, the Old God's poisonous black blood.

Voiceless One


Spoken of in the legends and myths of the nerubians, and even then only in hushed voices and fearful prayers, are the monsters known as the Voiceless. Said to be servants of a terrible and ancient being, known to the nerubians as the Unspoken, the Voiceless Ones were sometimes summoned in dark rituals carried out by the nerubians in a part of the Spider Kingdom known as Ahn'Dirac, the Silent Temple. According to scrolls related to the Silent Temple, the rituals had to be carried out in complete silence, for the Voiceless Ones would become hostile and attack at the slightest sound.

Voiceless Ones resemble octopus-like creatures with massive fanged mouths that drift through the air. Their jaws constantly gnash and chatter, and at times it seems like they are trying to speak. However, no sound can be heard. In fact, Voiceless Ones make no sound of any sort, not the rustle of tentacles or the clashing of teeth, not the dripping of saliva or the pant of breath. It is as if their very presence swallows any noise, no matter how faint. They drift, hunt, and kill all in terrible, unnatural quiet.

Wychwyrm


When Malygos fell, his control over the re-aligned ley lines of Northrend was lost. The Cataclysm only made matters worse, releasing tremendous arcane energy all across Northrend. The arcane storm caused by the ley line rupture tore apart the Nexus, slaying dozens of blue dragons with its fury. Ordinarily, arcane energy does not produce necromantic effects, but the blue dragonflight has a greater affinity for arcane magicks than any other creature on Azeroth. The arcane energy infused itself into their remains, replacing their natural life force. The blue dragons rose from their grave, animated by pure arcane energy, now known as wychwyrms. Resembling frost wyrms superficially, wychwyrms are surrounded in an aura of arcane power that resembles the living dragon they once were. This aura allows wychwyrms full function, even if their remains are damaged or incomplete.

Unlike undead dragons created by the Lich King, wychwyrms are not operating on animal instinct in the wake of his fall. They are aware, as they were in life, and under the control of a sinister, intelligent force that appears to have a direct connection with Azeroth's ley line network. This force is identified by the wychwyrms as the Malevolence. What this force wants, what designs it is directing the wychwyrms to carry out, is still a mystery.