Kostral

Impression of a kostral wearing armour

*"Iron bone, torn flesh, hungry blood."*

*-*Narzhak, shaping the first kostral
Kostral, also known as Pit Dwellers, are a species of sentient, partially intelligent beings created by Narzhak to serve as thralls and soldiers under his command. They inhabit the Pit of Trials, where, by their master's bidding, they have established a crude social order in the cavernous mazes surrounding the Pit proper.

## Physiognomy

Kostral are sizeable, warm-blooded vertebrates, adult specimen often exceeding two metres in length (not including limbs). They possess thick, barrel-like torsos, with three evenly spaced pairs of limbs radiating from them. These appendages are identical among themselves, each being segmented, flexible and capable of supporting the rest of the body in either a straight or angulated posture. This enables the kostral to alternate between moving erect on two limbs and crawling on four or six, though they tend to prefer the latter. The limbs end in four prehensile digits, tipped with dull but powerful chitinous claws; with differences being similarly minimal, most kostral are ambidexterous, though deformities or mutilations may cause individuals to favour one side rather than the other.

The kostral's forward-facing vaguely reptilian, blunt-shaped heads are connected to the thorax by short necks capable of almost disquieting rotation angles. The head itself is adorned by little more than four dark, beady eyes, two forward and two lateral, and a large fanged mouth almost covering the entirety of its underside.

The foremost defence of kostral organisms is their thick, rugged grey skin. Layers of dead cutaneous matter are not shed, but gather in patches of rigid, scabby tissue that act as a robust, yet fairly flexible natural protection. Below it lies a powerful musculature, supported by bones of almost iron-like solidity.

Kostral are omnivorous, but predatory, and favour the flesh of other large Pit creatures or their own ilk above all. To conserve moisture in the unforgiving heat of their habitat, they excrete waste from the mouth in the form of dry pellets, often including indigestible fibers or fragments of bones and shells from their meals.

## Life Cycle

Kostral lifespans rarely exceed fifty Galbarian years, though exceptional individuals may reach ages of up to seventy; in the current conditions, the average life expectancy is in the low thirties. Full physical maturity is reached around the age of nine to twelve.

Kostral have no sexual attributes, and their reproductive organs, which include equivalents of both gamete repositories and ovaries, are internal. During mating periods, pairs will single each other out and engage in combat, during which they aim to deliver a swift killing blow rather than wound or cripple their opponent. Once the struggle is finished by the death of one of the contenders, the victor consumes its adversary's remains, prioritising the gamete organ, the digestion of which results in fertilisation. Kostral lay eggs in clutches of two to five; groups and packs gather them into a single warm chamber for incubation.

The eggs hatch after approximately four weeks. Newborn are fully formed in their body shape, but weak and frail compared to adults, and measure no more than forty centimetres at birth. Nonetheless, they are mostly left to fend for themselves and expected to find nutrition on their own, with grown Kostral only providing protection from encroaching large predators.

## Psychology

Although fully sentient and arguably partially sapient, kostral only possess rudimentary mental capabilities. They have an aptitude for learning, and can be taught to process relatively complex mechanical systems and, given a cognitive-linguistic basis, even abstract notions; however, they are entirely incapable of conceiving and formulating any on their own. Unimaginative to an extreme, they are unable to envision scenarios far removed from their prosaic experience, and do not have coherent dreams when asleep.

At the same time, their animalistic instincts and quick, reactive wit make them highly adaptable, and, the concept of hierarchy being ingrained in their minds, they are capable of organising themselves into a cohesive force at a moment's notice in any situation. Though lacking a developed system of communication, they have organised themselves into irregular groups led by the most physically imposing individuals, and can trade basic signals through body language and vocalisation tone. Despite their Narzhak-given discipline, kostral have an innate proclivity towards violence, and authority disputes are settled through nonlethal combat and demonstrations of strength.

## Specialised breeds

### Iron Kostral

In the Age of Monsters, a portion of the kostral were transformed by Narzhak to have an affinity for iron. Their bodies are visibly merged with the metal, displaying sparse plates merged to the skin, spikes protruding from beneath it, or entire parts, such as jaws and fingers, replaced with forged simulacra. These iron kostral possess a supernatural power akin to Narzhak's Ironmonger ability, enabling them to draw iron out of the soil and mould it without the need for tools or smelting techniques. Its potency, however, is far lesser, and its use requires significant effort and concentration. The iron kostral's unnatural traits are passed on hereditarily, with successful transmission requiring the inseminee being affected by the condition. Due to their importance as the Pit's main smiths and metalworkers, they are often exempted from the ritual mating combat; normal individuals are instead slain and fed to them by overseers. Iron kostral produce fewer offspring on average than regular breeds, but enjoy longer lifespans, ensuring that their proportion in the overall population remains constant with the latter's growth.

### Skestral

Skestral are a variety of kostral mutated by Narzhak to be capable of flight. While retaining the fundamental biological traits of the species, their bodies have undergone drastic alterations to ease their new functions, causing them to resemble the Omen of War more closely than their kin. Their bodies, supported by flexible spines and comparatively slim ribcages, are sinuous and elongated, trading raw strength and durability for fluidity and wider angles of motion relatively to other kostral. External air sacs, whose appearance is easily mistaken for malformations or tumorous growths, dot their skin, being inflated by the exhalations of a strengthened respiratory system to act as an additional layer of defence compensating for greater bodily fragility. The foremost pair of their arms has been replaced with wide membranous wings, tipped with rudimentary digits for limited manipulation and facilitated ground locomotion. The remaining limbs, shifted to an almost ventral position, are usually kept folded underneath the body during flight, though they are occasionally used to stretch empty air sacs as secondary wings to assist in steering. Smooth heads, flattened into a more aerodynamic shape, compound their visual similarity to the Omen.

Hybrid offspring of skestral and unaltered kostral are healthy and fertile, barring case-specific abnormalities, but possess many of the former's traits only at a vestigial degree, more or less severely depending on whether the skestral parent was inseminating or gestating. As such, inter-breed mating is rare. A further peculiarity of skestral breeding is that individuals hatched outside the Pit exhibit mental degeneration the further they are born from the World Scar, with those outside the gateway's influence altogether becoming feral. While this might be true of all kostral, they are the only breed with a presence outside their native sphere, and thus the only one known to be subject to this effect.

A skestral population exists on the surface of Galbar, concentrated around the Scar. Although their primary purpose is to prevent incursion by alma, they are typically hostile to any non-divine trespassers. Due to the risk of feral hatchlings, the wasteland itself is used for nesting roosts. However, this has not prevented groups of roving bestial skestral from forming beyond its fringes over time.

## References

1. ↑ Kostral are created and imbued with the notion of hierarchy - https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4842324
2. ↑ Transformation of the iron kostral - https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4869900
3. ↑ Transformation of the skestral - https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4903970