Demonic Creatures

## Baxiajus

### Physical Characteristics

Baxiajus' are a fighting reptile with an elongated body and a strong non-prehensile tail. It has four legs in a stronger back pair and a slightly smaller front pair. The baxiajus' feet have only two toes which are held off the ground and are equipped with serrated claws for tearing into prey when it jumps onto them.

The neck of a baxiajus is strong and 30cm wide, and its muscular shape makes it unclear when the shoulders and head begin. It can turn its head only 160 degrees, so it must rotate its body to see prey. It has a vibration sensitive skull to allow it to hear and allow it to sense nearby movement.

It has a head which is box-shaped with a hinged jaw filled with several rows of razor teeth. Below the jaw is a light grey dewlap which is can expand when frightened to try to scare off enemies. It has two slits for a nose above its jaw on the front of its head, and two sunken oval eyes that face forward. The eyes are solid colour with no pupil, and range from neon pink to red in colour. The Baxiajus can make its eyes glow faintly, useful for identifying each other in the night.

Their skin is strong black leather that stretches when they move. Thick pulsing neon pink veins radiate from the chest up the neck, and surface again at the end of each of its legs. The veins help the creature breathe and diffuse its necrotic magic into the air to sap life from its foes. When attacked, the Baxiajus can retract the veins beneath the skin for a moment to prevent damage.

The Bexiajus possesses demonic blood which drains energy from the air, but evaporates quick enough that it is difficult to preserve without proper training in demonic magic. If drunk, the magic drains energy from the imbiber and can be used to power rituals.

### Behaviour

Bexiajus' are minor demons spawned by the arch-demon Jarquimos and Axxasto. They are used primarily as shock soldiers by demonic worshippers, and as a source of ritual components. They excel at hunting down vulnerable enemies, and have a powerful charge.

As meat eaters, the Bexiajus is difficult to feed in captivity due to their voracious appetite. Because of their quick digestion however, a baxiajus can eat a large meal quickly and then fast for up to 30 days.

In battle, they are naturally drawn towards divine magic of the gods, and will attack clerics or Arcva first whenever possible. When isolated, they will retreat quickly and wait for a better moment to strike.

Socially, the Baxiajus will be very difficult to befriend by non-baxiajus'. Powerful blood mages are needed to control their impulses. If one does develop an attachment however, it will often try to play fight which usually results in injuries to their playmate.

### Reproduction and Lifestyle

Baxiajus' do not reproduce, nor do their lives ever come to an end naturally.

A baxiajus is born through a series of demonic rituals where a gathered soul is offered at an altar along with a generous offering of fresh mortal blood. The baxiajus may retain some generic characteristics from the soul that bore it, such as remembering its old home or enjoying the same food, but they are nonetheless demons and do not care for old friends of loyalties.

A baxiajus is created at its full size. Its diet may increase or decrease its bulk, but they do not get any larger over their lives.

## Dozoxo

### Physical Characteristics

The Dozoxo is a small reptillian demon with two walking legs, two arms, and two wings. It has small horns on its head and a curled segmented tail tipped with a poison stinger.

The Dozoxo's legs are large relative to its body size and support its entire weight as it runs. They are strong enough to launch it into the air for short periods of gliding. The large claws on its hind legs are used to dig into prey.

Its wings are made of a thin leather webbing and have finger-like tips which can be used to balance it as it jumps from perch to perch, as well as slowing its descent from powerful jumps. The rest of its body is made of a thick hide. Its front hands have long pointed claws which can be used to scratch but are ineffective weapons.

The tail of a Dozoxo is curled and segmented, capable of storing many stingers inside its body. By raising the stinger over its head, it can launch these missiles as far as a shortbow, which sting and burn brightly with necrotic magic. It is able to pull new stingers to fire after a few seconds of concentration, making them potent skirmisher demons.

### Behaviour

Dozoxo are aggressive and curious. They venture ahead of demonic hosts and attempt to sow chaos and panic. When in home territory, they try to find high places to observe and stalk enemies. Once battle begins, they prefer to launch their spines from a distance, moving between hiding places frequently. Only when their enemies are weakened will a Dozoxo jump in to finish them off with its claws.

When hunting, a Dozoxo prefers to stay in groups and tackle much larger enemies. Venturing out at night, they will use the light of their launched stingers to hone in on a target. Once they have killed, the Dozoxo swarm and eat their fill before sunrise, leaving the bare skeleton of their prey behind.

### Reproduction and Lifestyle

Dozoxo do not reproduce, nor do their lives ever come to an end naturally.

The Dozoxo is created through demonic rituals to trap the deceased soul of a mortal creature. The ritual requires multiple sacrifices and creates many more Dozoxo, so the Dozoxo are born with a mental link to each other. Some believe that the multiple souls present in a swarm of Dozoxo jointly control them.

## Zlokijus

### Physical Characteristics

A Zlokijus is an arthropod demon with six walking legs, two larger prodding legs, and two specialized legs which hang beneath its main body. It has two forward-facing pink eyes and a powerful beak and jaw. Its carapace is thick shell alternating between black and light green.

A zlokijus' legs are between 5-10 cm in diameter at the bottom and made of hardened shell. They can be deadly if they happen to land on top of an unsuspecting foe. Each moves independently, with a backup nervous system located within that particular leg. They are articulated three times – once about 1m from the ground, allowing the leg to bend in order to manoeuvre difficult terrain. Once again halfway up, around 2.5-3m from the ground. This bend is the “knee” which allows the Zlokijus to walk. A the knee, the legs are about 20cm wide. The final bend is near the top, around 3m from the ground. This bend is often at a right angle and only extends when the Zlokijus needs to reach or jump. Here, the legs can be up to 40cm wide.

The prodding legs are almost a uniform 30cm thick with a jagged tip that can be used to pierce or slash enemies in front of the Zlokijus as it walks. These legs have an additional articulation slightly above the topmost one which allows them to flick their limbs much faster and deadlier than the other six.

One of the special limbs, hanging directly under the creature's torso, is a coiled muscular limb which coils up like a scorpion's tail. When it can position an enemy beneath it, the Zlokijus releases stored energy to pierce even the thickest armour.

The second special limb is short, only about 1m long. This has a claw on the end similar to a crab's, which it uses to grip enemies and hold them in place while it eats them or finished them off with its coiled limb.

A Zlokijus' beak is not used for fighting. Lacking teeth or a serrated beak, it relies on its front limbs to break up food into bite-sized portions.

### Behaviour

Zlokijus' are assault demons spawned by various arch-demons in order to conduct daytime assaults. They were made famous by Bathud the Dark during her invasion of Morata when these creatures allowed her demonic army to navigate daylight to smash the Alfar Sun Knights at the Battle of South Lodge.

Zlokijus' behaviour is erratic and often influenced by their multiple nervous systems. Although their assault appendages are operated by their brain, each of their other legs moves independently and makes them simple creatures that move only when necessary to hunt or to attack.

As a Zlokijus travels, it leaves behind a magical darkness which heals demons and shields them from the damage of the sun. Although it can be cleansed, the long time required makes a Zlokijus' best tactic to simple walk in a straight line and allow its following demons to surge behind. When cornered, a Zlokijus may plant its legs into the ground, crippling it while allowing a storm of demonic magic to pulse outwards and spread the same darkness in all directions. If such a spell is completed atop any fortification, the only hope is to flee.

### Reproduction and Lifestyle

Zlokijus do not reproduce, nor do their lives ever come to an end naturally.

A Zlokijus is born through a series of demonic rituals where multiple mortals are sacrificed at once to create the many minds of a Zlokijus' limbs.Unlike other demons, the Zlokijus retains none of the memories contained in its sacrifices.

A Zlokijus is created at full size, and can then be warped at a later date. In essence, warlocks may “store” a Zlokijus ritual and only complete it during an assault.