Drereccas

The Demon race is known for its extreme polymorphism; while most subspecies are broadly humanoid (and some are nearly indistinguishable from mortals or Celestials), others are... not. Foremost among the non-humanoid crew are the Baetolori, which have no body at all, and the Drereccas.

A Drereccas! They have varying appearances, but most commonly resemble foxes, cats, raccoons or variants thereof.

Despite this "similarity," however, the effects are very different. Most notably, where the Baetolori are a source of fear even to many of their demon brethren, the Drereccas have been always the ones living in fear

Small bodies and their (on the whole) low affinity toward Void have rendered them uniquely vulnerable.And in Incaendium, a culture that largely operates on the concept of power above all, this relative weakness has made them a target for manipulation or even sacrifice over the millennia... most notably during the Three-Cycle War, which depleted the numbers of Drereccas almost to the point of extinction.

Of course, it was this last, terrible, blow that changed their direction, and their fate, permanently.

Early in the Era of Awakening, it was not entirely clear that they were actually of the Sura species at all! The Demon species is extremely polymorphic, which makes it difficult at times to nail down who is what.... and so, for approximately 200 years, they were widely treated as intelligent animals.

As time went on, the extent of that intelligence became clear... as did the overlaps in their capabilities and that of the Demons in general... affinity for Void energy being foremost among them, alongside the capacity for human-like (or Sura-Like!) speech.

Even then, many made the argument that they were, in fact, Beasts. It was only when their physiology - or, more specifically, the way their body reacted to and processed void energy, and the "flavor" of their energy aura - was fully examined that it became widely accepted that yes, Drereccas, like the Baetolori, are non-standard Demon forms rather than an entirely divorced species.

Of course, this did not immediately erase the stigma against them. The early demon leader Ralora Fauni made an effort to reach out to them, recruiting a wise Drereccas called Mrawn Bissu to serve as her adviser and commissioning the creation of Miurmar Castle in the Miurmarju Mountains of Ryul.

This did not have the sweeping effects Ralora had hoped for, and after Ralora's murder by Ibrai and the sparking of the Caelestise-Sura War, Mrawn lost hope and took his family deeper into Miurmarju rather than joining the war effort. This only worsened the treatment of the Drereccas as they were seen as cowardly. The fall from favor of the Bissus family thus precipitated a political challenge by the House of Kodester that ultimately drove Mrawn into exile.

As a reaction to both the stigma imposed on them and the physical reality that most of society was built for people with a completely different physiology than theirs, Drereccas began to drift together, forming their own social rules and expectations. The largest portion of them took refuge in Ryul, where the Dominus Regas with the Kodester family remaining in power to this day.

Leaders, however, came and went. By 27,855Y, power had fallen to Rarassa Kodester. She was in command of the largest group of Drereccas in the world when the Imperator at the time, Bellos Nykythan, came to them for help. He was in the midst of a violent challenge by Abrazus Zozket, and he demanded the Drereccas of Ryul join the war with a promise that they would not be put on the frontlines.

He lied. Instead, the Drereccas were sent directly into harms way, used as cannon fodder to protect his more valuable troops, and himself.

The resulting slaughter left the Drereccas species itself in grave peril. With his people near extinction, Rarassa's son, the Legat Regas, Maelis, challenged his mother's decision to remain in support of Nykythan. After wresting control from Rarassa, Maelis joined forces with the challenger, Zozket, instead - this decision was integral to the eventual fall of Nykythan, who was then killed and replaced by Zozket.

After the war, Maelis brought his people back to the Miurmarju mountains, and the "castle" that became as much cavern as building. They would only become involved in one more outside dispute, and even then only barely: when Samael Asther rose to challenge Zozket... who fell into the same trap as Nykythan before him, demanding that Maelis lead the Drereccas into battle. That didn't happen - instead Maelis forged a non-interference pact with Samael, who was then able to corner Zozket in Ryul and overwhelm him, toppling the Imperator.

They remain largely withdrawn from the world, with the vast majority of the remaining Drereccas living in the protective shadow of the Black Beast of Ryul..

As has been said before, the Drereccas resemble small animals - though not always directly or exactly. In many cases, one could say they are animal-like creatures that are reminiscent of actual animals, without actually being entirely appearing to be one or the other species.

Some of the Drereccas are quite small and may eternally resemble kittens in proportion.

This isn't always the case - some Drereccas could be easily mistaken for an actual animal. Typical animals they might resemble (to one degree or another) include cats, raccoons, foxes, squirrels, rabbits and other such similarly sized creatures. Often they look as though two of those animals were combined into one creature.

In general their natural form runs from around 1-2 feet long, however they can be slightly smaller or up to approximately 1 foot larger.

It should be noted that many Drereccas have some form of control over their size, though rarely to the same degree as Maelis. Thus, one might see a creature that resembles a housecat but is the size of a large dog, for example.

While naturalistic coloring is most common, unusual colors are not unheard of. This might be natural to them or a result of dying or colored powders used to enhance their appearance.

In most cases there is little purpose in going into cultural beliefs and behaviors for the various Demon species, as they are largely combined under the leader of the Incaendian Culture. However, the Drereccas are largely separate from the remainder of the species, and so they have developed their own tendencies and systems.

A Drereccas resembling a hybrid between a rabbit and a fox.

The most significant difference is the relative disinterest in the nitpicking of power levels. For Drereccas, the strongest of them is their leader, and... beyond that, there is less interest in establishing a specific pecking order. This can happen to some degree of course - strength is respected as it helps to keep the colony safe, as well as contributing to how much food is available, for example. However, their society lacks the competitiveness bordering on (and often crossing into) backstabbing that is so common among their brethren.

They are also far less interested in fashion, which might seem obvious... and it is. That said, they do have fashions and trends, mostly relating to jewelry and finery.

Finery is, however, largely limited to what they wear, as the home of Drereccas tend to be quite simple. They prefer ledges and areas to climb, and most of their furniture consists of large cushions. Personal chambers, most of which are deep inside the caverns of Miurmarju, may feature actual trees (largely supported through magic since there is no sunlight) or simulated trees, as many Drereccas enjoy lounging in high places.

The disdain in which their people have been (or had been until the rise of Maelis) has created a unique mixture of insecurity, paranoia and pride when dealing with the outside world, or anyone who isn't Drereccas themselves. Many refuse to do so at all and will refer any attempts to talk to them in Maelis's direction.

Finally, but significantly, because they do not have hands with opposable thumbs, most Drereccas cannot actually write. As such, they have appointed scribes who are able to do so in one form or another - through controlling writing implements remotely through magic or psionics, for example, or by the use of specific magical abilities. These scribes are sworn to absolute confidence, as they are often responsible for keeping records or writing letters that involve sensitive/highly personal information.

While this does vary somewhat from form to form, Drereccas are known for their high speed and agility as well as their relatively low strength and durability - the latter being comparable to roughly a mid-tier Fey.

The Black Beast of Ryul, Maelis Kodester.

Typically they are nonetheless capable of exceptionally long jumps - a result of their animal-like builds, light body and small size. Furthermore, their senses are known and accepted to be the sharpest among all Demon subspecies.

Physically, their teeth (and claws if they have them) are formidable, capable of slicing through human bodies effortlessly.

That said, the Drereccas are generally considered the weakest of the Demon subspecies both because of their previously mentioned low physical power and because they are not generally considered to have a strong affinity for Void energy -- the source of the majority of any Demon's power; the most commonly reported rank is Enop - substandard. Additionally, due to their biological isolation, chances to strengthen bloodlines are slim, trapping them in their low strength destiny.

That said, some do have a specific unique advantage.

Converting Matter to Size

Drereccas have the rare but unique ability to convert the energy and matter of whatever they consume into body size. For the majority of them, this is heavily limited - most cannot grow beyond the size of a bear or, in some cases, a rhinoceros. However in rare cases, particularly among the Siv-Drerecassi, things are very different. The quintessential example of this is Maelis Kodester himself, who seemingly has no limits to how much he can consume, and how large he can grow as a result.