Twisted Folk

History and General Info

Strange, monstrous, and impossible to explain, Twisted Folk are creatures exclusive to Kerios. They only appeared just after the creation of the Rift, and many assume they are a product of the Rift itself. However, they seem to hold little malevolence, and most are simply curious, if morbid. Not much is known about them, though they’ve been around long enough for scholars to observe and communicate with them sparingly, gleaning some details about their creation and development.

Juvenile Twisted begin as souls without a body at all, simply essence, mortality, and mana packed into a little orb of consciousness. Where they originate from is unclear. Easily manipulated, captured, or guided, most lone Twisted souls are young and can only survive for fifty years without taking on a physical form. In order to do this, they possess the bodies of living beings— most often animals or other less-sentient creatures who’s will they can overpower. On occasion, particularly strong Twisted have been known to take hosts that are humanoid and sentient, such as humans, dwarves, or merga even.

After maturing to a point from within their host body, they can decide to either consume the host soul, or to find another vessel and repeat the process— leaving the host intact, if… changed. The process takes two to six months, and each time a Twisted leaves a host behind it takes some of their essence with them, adding it to their own and becoming more powerful, as well as carrying traits over to the next host. Once a Twisted chooses to consume a soul, they absorb the essence of their host fully, and their new “twisted” form takes on aspects of their previous hosts, and that of an unknown creature, suspected to be the First Twisted itself. After this, they can no longer possess any other host bodies, and live for about 150 years, though whether that is the true upper limit to their lifespan in a host body is unknown.

Abilities

Warped Possession - Twisted have the ability to possess a living being so long as it has both a soul (or essence) and a physical presence. The success of this possession depends on the difference in willpower between the Twisted and the potential host, how much essence they have compared to a physical form, and whether the possession was a willing choice made by the host. If the host does not have enough of a physical presence to anchor it, the Twisted may tear its host or even itself apart trying to make the possession.
Independent Soul - Twisted are one of the few truly mortal beings that can survive as souls without physical form. This makes them extremely versatile, but also extremely vulnerable to outside influences and magic that could trap them or draw on them for power.
Essence Siphon - Twisted can partially or fully drain essence from a being, adding that power to their own. The more essence they gather, the more powerful they become. However, this also means that they are more noticeable as lone souls, and also require stronger host bodies as anchors in order to keep from dissipating.
Mimicry - Twisted take on aspects of their host bodies easily, and quickly pick up vocal and physical behaviors, and quirks. They’re frighteningly good at mimicking beings— even if they aren’t possessing them— through observation. They also tend to carry traits between hosts. This ability has led to Twisted in animalistic hosts being able to speak and enunciate clearly, thus causing some to assume Twisted are Fae— to the ire of a few within the Courts.

Locations and Allegiances

Twisted have exclusively been found in Kerios, and while they are present in all parts of the Dreamscape researchers noted that they seemed to congregate closer to the Rift, particularly in eastern Rildor. Twisted seem to hold no particular allegiances, though they’ve been notably protective of each other, despite potential competition over essence, and are exclusively territorial about a Rildoran forest.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Twisted can functionally live forever, if they are able to consistently swap bodies and gather essence.

The existence of a Twisted is fundamentally limited by needing a host body to physically anchor themselves, or risk dissipating into the environment as loose essence.

Twisted theoretically have no limit on the amount of power they can gather, so long as they can find a sufficient host.

Twisted cannot take essence from, or possess beings, that are primarily made of essence themselves without great risk and difficulty.

The physical capabilities of a Twisted is limited to those of its host body.

Twisted are unable to take new hosts once they decide to replace the soul of their host body.

Twisted who do not consume their host’s soul must constantly overpower it in a battle of wills. Should the host soul overpower the Twisted, the Twisted Soul is either expelled from the body, or— in rare cases— overtaken and absorbed by the host.

Notable Figures

The First Twisted is the only bestial god among the Primal Court, and is also the youngest. Created during the Great Spirit War, the First manifested out of the mana and essence of Kerios following major damage and catastrophe to the planet. In present time, its location and wellbeing is unknown, though many suspect that the Twisted as a race are either pieces of the First’s soul fragmenting, or the First’s children.

Dimnie is one of the only Twisted to have taken on a name, and their reputation makes them out to be a fierce guardian of their territory and their fellow Twisted, notably becoming openly hostile to those who wish to enter the Rildoran forest where they reside. This forest has become known as the Twisted Grove as a result. However, some claim to have seen Dimnie outside of their more bestial form, looking suspiciously similar to a lost child known as Piper Forde.

The Riders of Baba Yaga are three Twisted in service of the Bone Mother, possessing the bodies of debtors whom have crossed the infamous Fae Witch, and willfully trading their service in exchange for a steady flow of hosts and safety when they must become lone souls. The extent of their power— both from continual gathering essence, and skills given to them by their mistress— is unknown, but all know to beware their paths and heed their warnings, for the Bone Mother herself may soon follow.

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