Stygian Mirror

> *Lore of: **Lasta-Tir***
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**Stygian Mirrors**, sometimes simply called **Stygians**, are a sentient species of black slime-like entities with the ability to harden their normally black and almost fluid-like body into shiny, white, tough and durable plates and shapes that resemble porcelain, as well as the ability to mimic the shape of other creatures. While not rare, they are experts at hiding and remaining elusive once detected, which makes studying them very difficult, in spite of their curiosity. They are classified as Arcana Spellbound due to their existence being primarily unnatural and magical in nature, as well as not being fully understood.

## Physical characteristics

Under normal circumstances, a Stygian’s body resembles an amoeba more than a typical RPG slime: they’re made of a small solid core, a stretchy and rubbery black membrane, and a murky black liquid (referred to as **plasmic fluid**) housed inside. They are ever so slightly translucent, only allowing a tiny bit of light to shine through their body. What the core looks like is unknown, as it dissolves upon death, and no samples have ever been retrieved. Their body can distort and contort at will, with different individuals having different limits on how much they can stretch their bodies, corresponding to the density of their plasmic fluid.

The size of Stygians is usually around 40 - 45 cm (15.4 - 17.7 inches) in diameter, about the same as a small yoga ball, or slightly bigger than a filled large backpack. They retain these dimensions from their birth and only change when mirroring creatures. What modifies with time and food isn't their size, but the density of their plasmic fluid, which is also the only way to tell apart newborn Stygians from older ones. Their plasmic fluid is insoluble in any liquid, and if any liquid other than plasmic fluid makes its way inside of them, it is quickly expelled out similarly to a hose spraying water in a jet.

Stygians have proved to be an extremely efficient thermal conductor, remaining perfectly normal in boiling water, and even being unaffected by the flames of burning wood.

Stygians do not experience ageing in any capacity.

## Hardening

As both offense and defense, Stygians can harden their membrane at will. This process isn’t strictly biological, since the hardening is almost like an alchemical transformation. The membrane itself turns into a different material, and then turns back to its normal state on demand. This material is white (in contrast to their black bodies), glossy, tough, resistant to corrosion and rapid changes in temperature, but also highly durable, and as such can be used both as weapons and as armor. While it strongly resembles *porcelain*, it’s made from an unknown material specific to Stygians. Solidified sections cannot move in any way, like having a cast on your arm, and are moved by the plasmic fluid underneath it. This material has been coined **stygian enamel**. While acids and corrosives are effective on their membranes, stygian enamel is immune to it.

## Healing

Their stretchy and rubbery membrane is prone to being pierced and cut, but their plasmic fluid can almost instantly coagulate into a new membrane segment, closing the fissure. This causes them to be very hard to kill through mechanical means on account of their quick regeneration coupled with their defensive use of stygian enamel.

## Communication

Stygians communicate through a form of **telepathy**, which has been described as "inherently understanding a Stygian's intent", and is different from words forming in one's head, or hearing a voice. This form of telepathy allows them to be understood by non-sapient species, like bugs, as well as sapient ones, like people.

Stygian Mirrors are called "mirrors" because of their unique mode of contact: they take on the appearance of a member of the species that they are currently speaking with. For example:

> When making contact with a dog, they will change their body to resemble a dog, although still black, slimy, and goopy, as well as only mimicking the basic silhouette, without any orifices, exterior organs, or facial features.
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**Important**: They will *not* mimic the *individual*. Rather, they adapt to what the individual perceives as a harmless, or at least friendly, figure of their own species. In animals, this usually means a smaller, slimmer shape than the individual they’re making contact with. For example:

> When making contact with a puppy, they’ll more than likely shape to resemble another puppy.
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When dealing with groups, they attempt to first identify the leader, then shape themselves in accordance to what the leader perceives as harmless, or at least friendly. Most of the time, the shape they take on is at least vaguely female, although why that is has not been confirmed.

## Intelligence and sentience

Stygians are sentient, sapient, self-aware, and conscious, and, as a primary trait, display an almost insatiable curiosity regarding everything around them. Their grade of overall intelligence is closely tied to the density of their plasmic fluid; as such, the denser and heavier a Stygian is, the more aware it is of itself, of others, and of the world. This also means that loss of plasmic fluid causes a decrease in intelligence, as well as possible memory loss. Experience and denser plasmic fluid do not alter the intelligence of Stygians past a certain point; instead, it seems to remain in a constant state of childlike wonder, no matter how much knowledge they accumulate.

Stygians also seem to possess critical thinking skills, as well as social skills, which led them to form basic tribal structures among their species.

## Social structure

Stygians have been observed to form pack-like groups and use grottos, both natural and artificial (created by digging), as nests and for protection. Stygians that are being followed will never lead their pursuers back to their nest, instead opting to lose them by going through places impossible to cross by anything other than them, like large gaps, wide streams, or scaling cliff edges. Relationships between different packs are less familiar, operating on mutual trust and respect rather than a traditional bond.

Not much else is known about their society, but it is theorized that different packs use knowledge as currency.

## Diet and feeding

Stygians do not experience hunger or thirst. Instead, they only feed when they need to increase the density of their plasmic fluid, or in early stages of life.

Their primary food sources are clay minerals, and they gather them by growing temporary arm-like projections or tentacles (pseudopods) that harden into stygian enamel at the end, scooping the clay minerals up and bringing them close to the main body, at which point they fully envelop the pseudopod and the clay minerals. The stygian enamel is reverted back into membrane, and the inner membranes dissolve while also reforming on the exterior, and allowing the inside of the Stygian to become filled with plasmic fluid again. The exact process in which the clay minerals are dissolved, or how exactly this contributes to their mass, is unknown, but is theorized to be linked to the stygian enamel they can produce.

Rarely, Stygians have also been observed to consume bones, chitin-based exoskeletons, and different types of sedimentary rocks in the same fashion.

## Reproduction

Stygians reproduce completely asexually, by beginning the formation of a second core, which, after fully forming, coagulates the parent's plasmic fluid around itself into its own membrane, and is then expelled out of the parent, quickly expanding to the typical size. Newborns are much less murky and much more translucent, but that property is quickly lost after their first clay mineral meal.

Parents usually take care of their spawn until they are certain they can scavenge and survive by themselves, at which point the spawn either stays with the pack or sets out on its own. Either way, the parent doesn't display traditional affection for their spawn.

Stygians have no concept of sex and gender, and regularly confuse the different kinds of pleasures felt by more complex forms of life.

## Predators and weaknesses

Being Spellbound, they are intertwined with magic, making them natural magnets for **Ka'arokrii**. Ka'arokrii crystals cause no visible effect upon contact with a Stygian's membrane or enamel, but upon piercing or cutting into either of them, the crystal **disables** the Stygian's regenerative properties for a short time. This can cause the entirety of the plasmic fluid to leak out, killing the Stygian in the process, and leaving the fluid and membrane to be broken down by the Ka'arokrii. Stygians, being primarily peaceful, mostly avoid Ka'arokrii instead of fighting them.

Being mostly made of a liquid, they are susceptible to **freezing**, which can happen in temperatures below -20°C (-4°F). This is seemingly treated like a deep sleep, but it also presents an immense vulnerability, since the frozen Stygian can be easily shattered, most likely killing it after thawing.

Lastly, having an **electric current** run through them seems to confuse them somehow, as they have a harder time controlling their own movements afterwards. This effect appears to get worse the stronger the electric current is.