Threats

Immoren is a dangerous place, even when ignoring the constant threat of war. Away from the prying eyes of civilization, there lurk many things that would give some of the most hardened soldier pause. From dragons whose mere presence warps flesh to underground psychics seeking to enslave unaware people from above, Immoren has no shortage of focused threats upon its people. Listed here are some of the more prevalent threats lurking in the shadows.

## Cephalyx

The Cephalyx are an underground civilization distantly related to humanity. In the distant past a cataclysm drove them underground and forced them to cannibalism to survive. Gradually, the survivors formed a harsh subterranean caste society, with taboos on physical contact and eventually all the base functions of life. The very lowest castes handled the treatment of waste and the disposal of the dead, and the higher castes covered themselves in black, encompasissing garments. Reproduction was heavily ritualized and unapproved children were eliminated. The higher castes devoted themselves to mental pursuits, distancing themselves from all physical labor and food production. Reshaping, altering and twisting their own brains and minds, the cephalyx unlocked the telepathic potential that now define them. Speech and writing became uneccessary and the potential for biological information storage was greatly enlarged. Eventually they developed their powers to such an extent that they could manipulate the world around them without physical contact, utilize mechanical prostethics through telekinesis and levitating their own bodies.

Today the Cephalyx kidnap people from the surface to turn into mindless drudges for labor purposes. They tend not to fight surface dwellers more than necessary, preferring to capture their prey and escape below the ground. If pushed however the Cephalyx are more than capable of defending themselves and have hulking monstrosities that can go toe to toe with the heaviest of warjacks.

## Dragons

Dragons in Immoren are beings of immeasurable power, who's mere presence warps the world around them. At the core of a dragon is its anthac a black stone that houses the essence of the dragon. Even if the physical form of the dragon is killed, the dragon will reform around the anthac given enough time. While an anthac can be bound to prevent a dragon from reforming it can not be destroyed by mortal means. The only known way for an anthac to be destroyed is for another dragon to consume it, which adds the power of the consumed dragon to the one eating it.

All dragons alive on Immoren today are the progeny of Toruk the Dragonfather, who sought to create creatures equal to himself and split his anthac to create dragonkind. However Toruk's children were too similar in personality to himself and the new dragons thought themselves superior to their father. The newly born dragons fled from Toruk and began carving out their own domains on Immoren. Realizing his mistake, Toruk set about killing and reabsorbing his children. Toruk was still significantly stronger than any of his children and he was able to kill a number of them. Despite the difference in strength between them one of his children, Nidoboros realized that together they could overthrow their father and began forming an alliance with his sibilings. This alliance was eventually able to drive Toruk from the mainland towards the Scharde islands where he dwells to this day.

A dragon's warps the world around them, and is referred to as the dragon's blight. Blight generally mutates those around the dragon into the dragon's servants. One dragon, Everblight has gained conscious control of his blight, using it to craft a legion of dragonspawn to attack his siblings and his father in order to grow his power.

## Infernalists

Even though the Claiming has ended, many of their allies remain in the Iron Kingdoms. These collaborators are counted among the largest threats to society as a whole, as the risk they pose for a second infernal invasion is high. These Infernalists are hunted by every government in Immoren, though many of their identities are unknown. The known infernalists that escaped the events of the claiming have bounties of hundreds of crowns on their heads.

Additionally the other lingering threat from the claiming is that there are horrors that have persisted despite the lack of essence for them to consume. These essence starved horrors are weaker than their summoned counterparts, however there is a desperation in their starvation that makes dangerous. There is a considerable concern that the Infernal masters passed along methods to summon new horrors to Caen to supplement their remaining agents.