Fandray

The **fandray** demons, also known more commonly as a **succubus** or **incubus**, are a semi-aquatic freshwater amphibian, notorious for their ability to impersonate others using natural magic. They are also less commonly known as **shapeshifters** or **changelings**.

## Biology

### Evolution

Magic assisted the fandrays’ adaptation towards a complex amphibian, bipedal, and arboreal lifestyle, which elevated them to the top of the food chain. As omnivores, fandrays eat whatever, preferring a meat diet consisting of mostly fish. However, they are still healthy cannibals, and will not hesitate to eat enemies or their own offspring.

Fandrays evolved as hunters, developing a special pheromone which reacts as a neurochemical on most species. The toxin is paralytic to most animals, but to large-bodied organisms, causes victims to relax and become slightly entranced, becoming susceptible to the fandray’s coercion.

### Alcohol allergy

Fandrays are extremely allergic to alcohol, which is a surefire method of testing if a person is really an incognito fandray.

### Sexual dimorphism

The female-looking fandrays, or *succubi*, are the technically biological males of their species, since they are responsible for fertilizing their sexual counterparts. They only physically resemble Hephestian conventions of females by random chance. The physique of the succubus is much more elaborate and they are primarily responsible for courting the opposite sex, using a *siren song* to attract an incubus mate.

#### Collus

> *Main article:* Collus
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Fandrays secrete an aether-like substance called collus from pores in their upper wermalhiayerch interact with the fandray's animus to sustain a simple magical expression, specifically for camouflage or illusory purposes.

#### Camouflage / Illusion

> *Main article:* Veil
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Fandray camouflage originally only adapted them to their surroundings, for hunting. They learned how to create more complex illusions (simulating people) from watching human channelers. Not all fandrays are skilled at illusions. Maintaining an illusion requires that the spellcaster faithfully control the simulation of all five senses of perception: visual, audio, tactile, olfactory, and taste. The unskilled are tasked with other responsibilities.

Before it was determined that magical expressions channeled through fandrays' naturally produced secretion, Collus, was how the demons could seemingly change appearance, it was generally believed that they were shapeshifters capable of true transmogrification.

After [mana vision] became possible, identifying disguised fandrays (having red animi) among other humanoids became a simple task, eliminating their most useful advantage.

Cranial fins are motile; can fan out or contract into a more aerodynamic shape. Respond to emotions and are a giveaway tell on how a fandray is feeling; loose = confident; full-out fan = hostile; fully contracted = scared/threatened.

### Reproduction

The fandray reproduction process has been extensively studied by ArEm, who acquired several preserved fetuses from Mannean smugglers. Interestingly enough, despite their typecast as temptresses and sex fiends, the Fandray species’ reproductive cycle is seasonal and highly complex.

Female fandray die when they fertilize a male's eggs. Because of the ephemerality of their participation in reproduction, succubi are hard-wired with bleeding romantic notions to breed and die with purpose.

Fandrays reproduction is dual-gendered haplo-diploid, as a result of divergent evolution. A sect of male fandray became geographically isolated from everyone else, and by involuntary mutation of the animus, the male fandrays' eggs that were laid were actually innately fertile with exact clones of the parent—ensuring the group's survival. When this sect rejoined with the greater fandray community, they quickly overwhelmed and replaced the incubi who laid non-living eggs. The females persist by virtue of their willingness to mate and die on their own terms, and the males losing nothing in the process.

As a result of the mutation, male fandray produce, on average, weaker mages than their female counterparts, due to their latency decreasing in exchange for the self-replication.

When fandray eggs hatch, it is normal for the newborns to eat the unborn or the weaker hatchlings.

## Wastewalkers / Banshees

Winnowed fandrays are haunting ghosts of their former selves, gaunt and lumbering ghouls that have been wasted by hunger. If ever once colorful, they have since been withered and decayed like rotted wood, reeking of old fish. They are incredibly dangerous, as, in the case of many winnowed, their animi have diverted all focus towards a predatory advantage. Hypomanic fandray that have suffered extended withdrawal might sometimes experience such changes as long claws, an altered and more potent strain of Collus that can sustain more complex expressions (not just illusions), sunken skull-like faces, exposed and frayed pectoral gills, \_\_…

## Society

Male fandrays (the ones physically resembling women) would use their pleasant-sounding mating calls to lure victims to their dens or, infamously, sailors into perilous reefs. They also make extensive use of their veils to generate tempting illusions in the waters around ships from the shore. When they can successfully scuttle a vessel, they will cannibalize the crew, scavenge the cargo, burn the ship, and barter off treasures in the Skirts.

Their singing is actually simply a mating call; sailors have interpreted it as a sinister trap, mythologizing the fandrays' song into a hunting strategy to lure sea men to their dooms.

### Fandray dens

Fandray prefer to build dams along rivers and waterways to erect their settlements, since they prefer a local body of water which they can bathe in and keep their eggs protected in (at the bottom).

### Family

Fandrays tend to differ when it comes to how they trace lineage.

Heterosexual partnerships are the most commonly occurring. Heterosexual couples will often abstain from reproducing together, instead birthing their own clutches of eggs and simply raising the offspring together as affine siblings. In the event that the female does fertilize the male's eggs, she will die in giving him her genetic material. This is a deeply upsetting event, obviously, and one not taken lightly. The father is then responsible for raising his and his wife's offspring as a single parent, generally with the evolutionary expectation of only one daughter surviving, keeping them a rarity.

Some incubi wish to create purist dynasties of their own DNA replicated over generations, keeping the estate within the same lineage. Within the Underworld, these powerful standing dynastic fraternities compete with the fiefdoms of matriarchal clans (duchies, counties, baronies, etc.).

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## Stereotypes

The fandray tactic for infiltration is dependent on both gender factors and location, since the balance of powers tends to differ regionally.

### Mannea (mostly matriarchal)

* Incubi will approach female authorities on a sexual basis, attempting to gain influence through seduction. Assume the roles of lovers, poets, actors, musicians.
* Succubi will approach female authorities on a friendly basis, attempting to gain influence through camaraderie. Assume the roles of handmaidens, socialites.

### Cremalia (mostly patriarchal)

* Incubi will approach male authorities on a friendly basis, attempting to gain influence through camaraderie. Assume the roles of soldiers, politicians, advisors, companions.
* Succubi will approach male authorities on a sexual basis, attempting to gain influence through seduction. Assume the roles of lovers, dancers, courtesans, prostitutes.

>> liken the fandray aether-wax to Jeseride's magic tattoos.

- wax allows for sustained simple expressions; receives and reacts with mental directive transferred directly from animus at resting state (non-invasive). Continues so long as the fandray continues to

secrete its wax; he/she does not have to consciously keep up the illusion, just regularly refresh the wax.

## Folklore and mythology

The myth arose that hypermanic children were offspring of demons, specifically fandrays, who were known to be able to impersonate humans with their sorcery. Even though cross-species reproduction is impossible, the myth gave parents an option to safely distance themselves or even disown their kids if they found out their child was an abominus; 'mom was raped by a demon in the past impersonating dad and ten years later, Richard happened.'

## Trivia

* Played into some concept of the marinead myth.
* The hypersexual stereotype of fandrays is due to their association with the Ioman goddess of lust and revelry, Hesistyra, and for the fact that they sometimes create extant illusions to confuse and/or manipulate people, regularly with sexual content.