Dromut

The powerhouses of the sorjachani, **dromuts** are hulking, musclebound monstrosities possessed with a cunning more dangerous than their brute strength. They are sometimes also called **devils**.

## Biology

### Physical

* Have two pairs of eyes, four in total.
* Stand about 12 feet tall.
* Large horns on the sides of their heads. Dromuts in Mannea style their horns upwards, while Sitaran dromuts point theirs downward.
* Dromuts are covered in a thick layer of ridged, armor-like plates.Their natural armor is a product of evolving on their home planet, whose gale-force winds buffeted and hardened their hides.

### Magic

Dromuts are the only known sentient species that can sustain a corrupted animus. Among the Sorjachani, they serve as living fonts for the warlocks to draw sorjin from to perform black magic. Their corruption makes the dromut uniquely powerful among demonkind, second only to the mysterious mourastas.

Dromuts do not possess the power for natural invocative agency. They cannot independently channel mana, but arrange for warlocks to access their darkened souls for use in their own spells, for a fee.

### Evolution

The dromuts had become the apex predators of their homeworld, outsmarting and overpowering the other species to near extinction—but never total extinction.The cruel dromut delighted in the back-and-forth of brutal destruction and recovery.

## Characteristics

> "A dromut is never discouraged."
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Despite their leather-thick hide, dromuts rank among the most sensitive creatures in the world and as a result are the most viciously unpredictable. Characteristically vain, greedy, and sadistic, in much the same way dogs are considered loyal and friendly.They take immense pleasure in inflicting extreme harm onto others and all seem to partake in a common goal of becoming the chief over his fellows, as alpha or tyrant.

Dromuts revel in conflict, carnage and combat. Most dromuts possess an unshakeable overconfidence that is almost as terrifying as them. Even the threat of death is not enough to dissuade a dromut; one of the behemoths could get slaughtered right in front of his peers and the next grinning dromut would simply step over the corpse and promise to prove their superiority. The dromuts’ behavioral attitude is itself a survival mechanism; an insatiable lust for a challenge, to triumph over others and establish themselves as the most powerful.

### Work ethic

The dromut lacks imagination. It relishes praise and indulgence because they ignite the basest of its instinctive pleasure receptors, and compared to their fellow demons, have the greatest capacity for depravity and mayhem. In enterprises, the dromuts enjoy other people's ideas and investing in them. They are entertained by the ingenuity and ambition of others, and if a dromut wants to get involved, they will not hesitate to include themselves and assert their own vision and opinions. Rarely does the content of the project matter, so long as the dromut sees an opportunity for glory and gloating.

They crave endlessly like a spiteful child, and bore just as easily. Dromuts are petty, vain, selfish, cruel, and destructive, yet thanks to their vital role and near invincibility, their fellow sorjachani have never raised an earnest complaint to exclude them.

### Hierarchy

> "Dromuts thrive on competition."
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Hierarchically, dromuts only defer to authorities because it is politically convenient at the time, and any term of servitude is believed to be entirely temporary until they can surprise, defeat, and usurp their superior, both at court and in combat.

They bide their time: building alliances, counting weaknesses, betraying friends, and making strategic enemies. Dromuts pledge themselves to powerful alphas only out of circumstance, all the while with the expectation to climb the ranks through treachery and acts of repute, and eventually overthrow the chief themselves. Dromuts have the will and desire to rule the world. Until then, they tow the line.

Dromuts in power must always keep an eye on their ambitious inferiors, and routinely assert their dominance to discourage budding thoughts of insurrection.

## Culture

### Alpha

The **alpha** is the leader in a group of dromuts, having demonstrated their supremacy in intelligence or strength to establish dominance. The **Dromut Alpha**, formal, is the "alpha of alphas" in Sitaram, and is usually the main candidate for tyrant.

Most alpha dromuts have peaked in their goal-setting upon reaching this point, and so simply spend their time boasting about it.The only thing most can think to do is put all his servants to work on constructing a monumental pyramid to his honor, and if he's overthrown, his predecessor might just re-purpose the memorial for himself or else spitefully deconstruct them.

Whatever their rank, whatever their size, however smart or however strong they are—every dromut legitimately sees his personal destiny is becoming alpha dromut. Every single one has his own scheme going on—their calculated bribes, scheduled mutinies, popularity grabs—and reflexively, each is collecting tributes from inferiors seeking his favor, defending against upstarts, and jealously sabotaging the credibility of his opponents.

### De-horning

A shaming ritual where a defeated foe has his horns laboriously sawed off by his rival. Due to the amount of time involved in removing a dromut's horns, the humiliation of the de-horning comes from how long the subjugated dromut had to have been restrained to be chastised.

### Family

Dromut males are called *bulls*. Dromut females are called *cows*, and dromut juveniles are called *calfs*.

## History

When the dromuts were first discovered on their homeworld by the Sorjachani, the fandray Tyrant Leccydes at the time gathered her War Host after having the [sorcerer]s observe the dromuts for months. She assaulted the den of the dromut alpha, Kolukatanda Etar, and after a few days of siege called a parley, hoping she could influence the dromut overlord. Kolukatanda was unswayed by her charms and summoned his top lieutenants to pummel the highlady to death.

Her replacement, a habaddian named Yundarc, was more clever and found the key to winning the dromuts. In secret, instead of approaching Kolukatanda, he contacted the alpha's right-hand man, a powerful dromut named Bachur Asen who helped beat Leccydes to death, and negotiated a secret alliance to make him alpha on the condition that the dromuts join the Sorjachani. Bachur Asen fulfilled on his promise and slew Kolukatanda and made peace with Yundarc's forces. After having established the dromuts into Alaniji, Bachur Asen surprised no one except maybe Yundarc when he cut off the tyrant's head and took the title for himself.

## Trivia

* Dromuts represent the Christian cardinal sin of pride or arrogance, meant to evoke the most diabolical aspects of the demonkind.