Despairlings

> *‘We are Echos, We are Unity, We are our Lord, We are Despair Incarnate’*
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Despairlings are a Hive Minded race created by Ziekten to be his divine servants. There are many types of Despairling which are sorted into three categories that dictate their complexity and independence from the hive.

A Despairling is created from excess despair after Ziekten feasts in his parasite form. Each Despairling mirrors an aspect of their master’s physical appearance, with the one closest to the hive appearing as chilling copies of Ziekten. All Despairlings are linked to Ziekten making each of them immortal beings, the only times this is not true is if Ziekten is killed or has entered their hibernation form. When Ziekten is hibernating they are not strong enough to keep the connection between them and the Despairlings going, so for a time they can be kill though conventional means like metal weapons or magic that does not cause illness.

The three categories of Despairlings are Type 1: Drone, Type 2: Specialist and Type 3: Avatar. Drones are basic structure appearing as shadowy smoke clouds, They are mindless and follow the commands of Ziekten directly. They are the most efficient yet least creative of the three and are used for simple, one command tasks. Specialist are more advanced, but are still connected to the collected consciousness. They, as the name suggests, are each designed to complete specific roles like locating an object or conveying orders to drones and are able to complete these task with some form of basic creativity. They appear as silhouettes, shadows of more complex shapes and would appear to have limb, albeit basic ones. The last type are Avatars, Despairlings that are fully independent to the hive, being sapient in their own right. Ziekten uses them to directly influence the world, performing complex task in whatever way they seem fit. They are the ones that appear the least like Ziekten, only adopting a black smoky aura or deep piercing eyes.

Type 1: Drone

* Mites: First to be spawned, they are the basic form of Despairling and are used to grow all other types. Ziekten chooses what they are to be, even ascending then to Avatar status.
* Caretakers: These Despairling ‘clean’ and make sure nothing breaks in Besmetting when Ziekten is away.
* Watchers: A thousand eyes in the darkness, Watchers are used by Ziekten to keep tabs on other gods and specific locations. Due to the simple nature of watchers, Ziekten has to directly control them to learn what they have seen.

Type 2: Specialist

* Carrion-birds: A bird like Despairling that is used to find and scavenge objects. They mostly claim items from the recently dead as they find it has the least resistance.
* Wardens: A Caretaker that Ziekten has give a shard of independence, they are used to convey orders and keep other caretakers in check when Ziekten is absent.
* Couriers: Not just a simple mailman, Couriers are ape-like shadows used to ferry items and messages between Ziekten and other gods when they are occupied with other tasks, normally crafting plagues.
* Bullies: The main defence in the kitchen, Bullies are Humanoid shadows with two bladed limbs used if caretakers are threatened by something or someone. They are able to kill large rodents and severely injure everything else.

Type 3: Avatar

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