The First Layer
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⚪ TIER 0 – "Flesh That Crawls But Does Not Know"
Creatures in this tier are barely alive by mortal standards. Most are failed growths, parasites, or pre-sapient beings. They rarely pose a threat alone.
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1. Cystlings
Description: Quivering, translucent blobs that grow on carcass walls. Each cyst contains acidic bile and dormant spore-worms.
Behavior: Static until disturbed. Upon rupture, releases scent that draws higher-tier predators.
Danger Level: 🩸 (Low, but can trigger chain reactions)
Notes: Some tribes harvest cystlings as trap-lures or to fuel bile torches.
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2. Threadmaggots
Description: Transparent worms with silk-hair appendages used to sense movement and heat.
Behavior: Swarm in hundreds. Feed on dead tissue and fungus. Known to infest eyes and orifices.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸 (Annoying in small numbers, dangerous in swarms)
Notes: Used in rituals to "clean" the dying body before sacrifice.
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3. Echo-Flukes
Description: Flat leechlike creatures that mimic sound to confuse prey.
Behavior: Latch onto victims during sleep. Emit fake tribal calls or mimic crying children.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸
Notes: Feeding them to fireworms causes explosive digestion.
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⚫ TIER 1 – "The First Fang"
Tier 1 creatures exhibit survival instinct, offensive capabilities, and primitive strategy. Considered the lowest tier of combatants in the Abyss.
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4. Skintakers
Description: Bipedal carrion-stalkers that wear the hides of other creatures to hide their scent.
Behavior: Hunts in pairs. Slits throats while its twin mimics the scent of prey's kin.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸
Notes: The brain of a Skintaker is split in two — one side always dreaming.
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5. Carcass Beetle
Description: Hulking insectoid with jaw-claws, used for opening corpse caves.
Behavior: Territorial but slow. Eats bone and stores marrow in crystal sacs on its back.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸🩸
Notes: If fed fungus-blood, their crystals can be used in totem rituals.
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6. Twitchspawn
Description: Limbless serpentine predators that move by vibrating through soft flesh.
Behavior: Reacts to warmth. Known to burrow into creatures and feed from within.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸
Notes: Was once mistaken for a parasite but proved to be sentient when it copied tribal chants.
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⚫ TIER 2 – "Willbound and Cursed"
These creatures possess adaptive intelligence, territory memory, and proto-will — the beginning of true individualism in Abyss evolution.
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7. Ritual Eater (Lesser)
Description: Tall, emaciated bipeds with triple jaws and inverted bone masks. Spawned during failed totem attempts.
Behavior: Attacks only during ritual moments. Can mimic totem vibrations to confuse enemies.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Notes: Some tribes keep them caged to "eat failed prayers."
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8. Abyss Hounds
Description: Quadrupeds with layered eyes and lungs adapted to breathe rotting air.
Behavior: Hunt in silence, communicate via pulse scents. Known for dragging enemies into pits.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸🩸
Notes: Those who tame an Abyss Hound often become shaman candidates.
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9. Ashbone Strider
Description: Insectile predator with ash-colored armor and blade legs.
Behavior: Prefers scorched zones. Absorbs heat and kinetic motion to enhance speed.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Notes: Killable only by targeting its inner thorax—coated in bone dust immune to fire.
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10. Mirechant
Description: Humanoid creature with skin composed of sentient sludge. Speaks in reversed whispers.
Behavior: Lures victims with visions or hallucinations. Can melt into pools and reform.
Danger Level: 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Notes: Some believe Mirechants are the predecessors to the Nameless.
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🌀 SPECIAL: Tier 2.5 – The Unbound
Creatures like Gnarlmaw or It-That-Watches-Sideways are exceptions — evolved past Tier 2 without totem or tribal identity. Their biology warps local logic and often destabilizes territory.
They are few.
They are watched.
And the Pillars whisper about them.
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