Monday, February 28, 2011

Mating with style

Not a lot on my mind today, so I'll just go ahead and introduce the next creature. Straight from the sea, here is the...




≡ELIJINN≡




------GENERAL-----------------------------------------
CATEGORY: Mammal
TERRAIN: Salt water
FOOD: Carnivore
AGGRESSION: Normal
SIZE: 13-15 feet long (4-4,5 m)
NUMBERS: 1- 4


------CHARACTERISTICS-----------------------------
STRENGTH: 26-32
AGILITY: 22-25
ENDURANCE: 22-25
INTELLIGENCE: 8-10
MENTAL RESILIENCE: 12-15
CHARM: 5-8
(If stats of a human ranges from 3 to 18)

SPEED: Swimming x 8
(Multiple is times human speed)

MAGIC POWER: 0
(Ranges from 0-100)

HIT POINTS: 28-36
(If a human commoner has about 11 hit points)


------PROTECTION-------------------------------------
AVERAGE: 2
BODY: 2
HEAD: 4
FRONT FINS: 3
FINS/MEMBRANES: 0
(If Full Plate Armour is 10)

The body of the Elijinn is covered by a smooth thick skin, that is adapted to existence in the water. The translucent membrane-like fins are easily damaged, but held together and run through with coppery threads or veins, which are thought to generate the density altering power of the creature (see 'Powers')


------ATTACKS/DAMAGE---------------------------
1 SPEAR TOOTH: 1 – 12
1 BITE: 2-6
(If a Long Sword makes a damage of 1-8)

The Elijinn hunts by piercing large prey with its spear-like protrusion, which is a tooth. Smaller fish are bitten and swallowed whole.


------POWERS/EFFECT-------------------------------
ALTER DENSITY: Six times per day, and swiftly by will, the Elijinn can alter the density of any dead matter within 100 yards (90m) in all directions. They can affect small and specific parts of this area or the entire radius at once. The power can make air dense enough to swim in, and turn rock soft as clay. It can transform the ocean into holes of air, and make swords drip away while still cold. There are some limitations. Solids cannot be made as thin as air, nor liquids transmuted into solids. The power lasts for up to two hours, and when it ends all matter return to its normal density, sometimes more or less deformed, of course.


------DESCRIPTION------------------------------------
The Elijinn are very powerful creatures with dolphin-like mentalities and mysterious aims. Most of their lives they swim around in the sea hunting shark, which is their favourite source of energy. But now and then they enter periods, in which their behaviour greatly alters. At those times they act individually and pursue interests that look highly personal, random, or even political.

It is believed that the lunar cycle is somehow involved in these rather sudden mental transformations, and that periodically dormant parts of their brains turn active. When it happens some of these Elijinn start interacting with intelligent subsurface beings, and they become generally curious about the affairs of fishermen, other species, and the strange cultures that can be found in the deep seas, and even those above occasionally. One story tell of an Elijinn which rose up out of the water, swam through an entire city, turned the walls of a castle into jelly, and passed right through them. Apparently it soon came out with a mermaid that was held captive there, and returned with her to the sea. Most of these stories imply a care for ocean life forms, and many relate of strange interventions in events to which the Elijinn had no clear connection.

The most spoken of phenomena, and the one that the Elijinn are mainly known for, is the fantastic dance of mating. The pair involved ascend high into the air, typically in the light of a striking sunset or the vivid backdrop of aurora borealis. There they move in a dreamlike, slow, and harmonious dance that lasts for well over an hour – a performance portrayed in many poems and works of art through the ages.

The incredible power these creatures hold over density, and use basically at will, leave them few natural enemies. Surprise is the only weapon against these Ellijin, and even then they are not easily overcome. Their lives last for about two centuries, and they pose little harm, unless unfriendly action is taken towards them, or some of their hidden agendas. The females are slightly smaller than the males, and the young are thought to be brought up in the true depths, away from the eyes of others.

The sounds of the Elijinn are complex combinations of high tones, that range from lively to soft and gentle. They don't jump like dolphins, and do not leave the water unless they have specific reasons.




© Copyright 2011 - Nicholas Cloister