Symic
The symbiotic mimic, or simply "symic", is a subspecies of mimic. It's known to form, at least in the strictest sense, symbiotic relationships with a "host" creature, granting the host some ability or sense in exchange for the host's energy or life force.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Like the standard mimic, a symic is able to change its form at will, as long as it has enough energy to do so. Also like the standard mimic, a symic tends to stay in a specific form for extended periods of time, not just as part of its silent, patient hunt, but due to the sheer amount of energy it needs to undergo that transformation.
Growth Rate & Stages
Not much is understood about the growth rate and stages of the symic other than that there have been sightings of symics of different sizes and reports that when fed more, some symics have exhibited an increase in physical size or the potential to exhibit new abilities.
Dietary Needs and Habits
In the wild, symics will mimic their surroundings until an unsuspecting creature comes along and interacts with them or gets too close. Once one does, rather than attack and consume it like a standard mimic, it will attempt to latch on and assimilate with that creature, turning it into a host. Once assimilated, these host creatures tend to gain some intuitive, though not normally complete, control over that symic as if it were an additional limb or sensory organ. In exchange, the symic will continuously feed on some form of energy from that creature, normally associated in some way with the abilities it's providing. As the creature grows, so will the symic. On rare occasions, or if it grows too large or hungry for its host, a symic may detach in an effort to seek out a larger host, or one that can provide it more of some form of energy.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Outside the sight and hearing gained by then their ability to generate eye- and ear-like organs, symics also have extrasensory capabilities adapted to their particular origin region, like darkvision or tremorsense.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
As far as accounts and research has gleaned, the symic is can form a symbiotic relationship with any creature that holds some form of energy, whether that be heat, magic, strength, or even youth. It is unknown whether this can extend to other non-creature energy emitting sources.
Though difficult to research as the species itself is quite rare, some statements have been collected through interviews and discovered through uncovered writings. Some accounts of the symics abilities include, but are probably not limited to:
- Shared or enhanced visual senses (eg. nightvision, tremorsense), in exchange for difficulty perceiving under normal conditions.
- Mimic-like adhesion, allowing for a spider-climb-like ability, in exchange for reduced speed over land.
- The ability to shift an attached symic into different shapes (eg. a shield in a moment of crisis or a sword when one needs to defend themselves), in exchange for a sudden sapping of one's life force or stamina.
- Moments of enhanced mental capabilities, in exchange for subsequent mental exhaustion or forgetfulness.
- Full replacement of a missing limb, in exchange for consistency in the host's strength or dexterity.
Beyond this, several anecdotes have claimed more extraordinary abilities from more mature symics or symic relationships, though normally at a steeper cost. Many of such stories surrounding these abilities also tend to edge into the realm of fiction, and so are not as readily accepted by the scientific and magical communities
