Family: Scylla
Type: Mollusc
Habitat: The astral plane
Disposition: Greedy, opportunistic, lustful
Diet: Dreams, spirit energy
Moon beasts are known for their keen commercial sense and their utter ruthlessness in business. Moon beast merchants pride themselves on offering high-quality products… and the product on which they most pride themselves is their wide selection of slaves. Moon beasts don’t merely sail the astral seas in their black galleys… they are pirates, and woe to anyone who shows them any hint of weakness.
A moon beast looks like a human woman except for having tentacles ranging from mid-back to ankle length in place of hair. Her skin and tentacles range from pale to stark white in color. Moon beasts tend to be below-average height compared to humans and have stocky builds, but their fingers are long and graceful. Individuals who have achieved high social rank can grow to be up to two meters (6’ 7”) tall and willowy. Even by mamono standards moon beasts are quite long-lived.
Moon beasts are organized into groups called septs that are united by common ethics rather than by blood. A daughter is under the protection of her mother’s sept until she turns 100, at which time she may formally join the sept or seek membership in another. Individuals who have been ejected from their septs or never joined any are outcasts in moon beast society.
Like all mollusc-type mamono moon beasts are at home in the water, and they are equally able to move about on land. Their tentacles are just as dexterous as their hands and every bit as strong as a human’s arms. As oneirophages moon beasts have no need for physical food or beverages. They can consume such if they choose, but they prefer the taste of dreams… the more erotic, the better. Magical aptitude is universal among moon beasts, but each of them specializes in one or two schools of magic. Sailors often learn magic that aids in navigating the astral seas, while those who manage slaves typically learn mind magic or eromancy. Many combat mages specialize in illusions or spatial magic as both are potent weapons in the dreamlike spaces of the astral plane. Elemental magic is rare among moon beasts because controlling material elements holds little interest for them -- this deficiency is perhaps their greatest tactical weakness.
All moon beasts are completely mute. Among themselves they communicate via telepathy, but they can only do so with each other, their mates, and other telepaths. Moon beasts have created a musical language which they use to communicate with outsiders. Whistling is sufficient to convey simple concepts, but getting more complex ideas across requires the use of an instrument. Most moon beasts carry a flute for this purpose. The musical language is no secret; a great many mamono, and all of the moon beasts’ spouses and slaves, have been taught to communicate in this way.
Moon beasts consider marriage a privilege that must be earned, either through martial prowess or success in business. After winning a great victory or achieving sufficient wealth, as determined by her sept matriarch, a moon beast will buy a husband -- she can’t just capture one because men taken in raids are the property of the sept. Though a moon beast thinks of her husband as property she regards him as one of her most valuable treasures. She treats him well, feeds him choice foods, and showers him with gifts (often the spoils of other raids)… but she expects to get her money’s worth in the bedchamber. There are only two ways for a moon beast’s husband to earn his freedom. The first is to provide her with at least three children, while the other is to somehow get her to fall in love with him. If either occurs the moon beast will set her husband free, but in the latter case she will do so with the hope that he will stay with her of his own free will. If he does their love will become the greatest of her treasures, and she will cherish him for the rest of her days.
Name That Mamono: Nectaris
Nectaris claims to be outcast from her sept, but this is a lie. In fact she’s the great-granddaughter of the legendary Crisium, the greatest matriarch in moon beast history. Nectaris -- who goes by “Tari” while incognito -- has struck out on her own to build a name for herself out of the shadow of her famous foremother. She hopes to rediscover Sept Maria’s lost ruby mine -- sent crashing into the material world during an ancient war -- and hopefully in the process find a man who will not just obey her as a master but love her as a woman. Tari’s cool demeanor makes the latter task harder, but someone who looks hard enough might see the lovelorn girl beneath the facade of the unsmiling pirate.
Moon brides are humanoid angels with large feathery and dark black wings. Most moon brides feature raven-black hair, though other dark colors are not entirely unheard of. As befits a companion of the night, moon brides will most often have pale skin that will not tan regardless of how much they are exposed to the sun. A moon bride’s eyes typically range in color from red to black.
In ancient times the first moon brides were crafted from the fear, despair, and anxieties of warriors and soldiers before great battles. The negative emotions experienced by those men gave rise to these warriors in the hope that they might inflict the same fear and despair upon their enemies. Many eons have passed since the crafting of the last moon bride by such means, and in the modern day they are born as any other living and breathing mamono or angel. And yet, though much time has passed since, there are those who still see them as ill omens.
The first moon brides were fearsome scourges of the battlefield. They innately sense the fears and anxieties of all beings that surround them and have an innate ability to exploit and deepen these negative emotions. In that way moon brides once wreaked havoc upon the morale of entire armies. While moon brides proved of great strategic value on the battlefield their own physical abilities are well below average where most mamono are concerned. As such, they rarely took up the mantle of frontline warriors and preferred to work their craft from the back lines or from high above.
In modern times these sinister abilities cause many to look upon moon brides with discomfort and suspicion, and an enduring spell of mental issues might incorrectly and unfairly be attributed to one of their kind. Due to the potentially devastating effects of their abilities moon brides will often find themselves under close scrutiny by the authorities. This leads most of them to live on or in the vicinity of Asgard, where their role in the special forces of the Winged Legion affords them a great deal of respect… though not a lack of scrutiny.
Though people look with trepidation towards a moon bride's ability to deepen chinks in their mental armor, their ability to sense the fears and anxieties in others often makes moon brides excellent counselors, teachers and therapists. These and similar professions are often occupied by such specimens as are not part of the Winged Legion. While their ability might also make them excellent negotiators or businesswomen many people will simply refuse to engage with them in such a capacity.
Such traits are not universal; a moon bride’s partner will most often find her to be a kind and understanding woman who is naturally in tune with their moods and their needs. They are often not readily willing to share their own feelings, which some might regard as frustrating. Moon bride’s often find themselves drawn towards individuals who are hurting or struggling, usually with the desire to help them mend. Due to their propensity to help those who are struggling and their innate understanding of what ails their partners they are sometimes perceived to be domineering in their demeanor. When they believe that they know the way forward towards improvement they tend to be very insistent that they and their partner follow that way. Due to their tendency to not easily share their own feelings with others and them seeking out individuals who are struggling, they are sometimes perceived as gloomy themselves, though that is not necessarily the case.
Name That Mamono: Lilis
Lilis is a moon bride with long, raven hair, a great pair of black wings with soft plumage and skin so pale it almost gives her a deathly pallor. At just nineteen years young she is barely considered an adult by the standards of angels or most mamono, yet she has already flown the proverbial coop in pursuit of her goals.
Lilis considers herself a pacifist. At the same time she is eager to serve her angelic kin. Angels wishing to serve their kin will often choose to become part of the Winged Legion, but due to her pacifistic tendencies it is not a path that Lilis would consider for herself. This aversion to the legion was, from a young age, amplified by the stories her mother told her of her time in the service. Her reluctance does not necessarily result from her disagreeing with the necessity of the legion, but she wishes to serve her kind in a different way.
Lilis has put a great deal of thought into how exactly she would wish to serve her people, but has never quite decided on the best path towards that end. Out of all the paths she considered, motherhood appeared the most obvious. After all, propagation of her angelic kind is the only service objectively greater than serving the legion directly. But Lilis, though her mother has the means, would not consider a purchased husband, nor would she cavort with just any man. A moon bride’s natural gifts have manifested to a very strong extent in Lilis and she desires a partner that needs her help to mend.
Such a partner is not easy to find, though in truth, Lilis has not spent much time searching since she left home at the tender age of just sixteen. Just a few weeks after her departure from home and before she even left the Frosthaven archipelago, she came across a young, recently orphaned child named Elva that she could not abandon. Rather than pursue her path to discover her service, she has taken it upon herself to raise this child and has settled down with her on the Isle of Blue Glass, not far from the Frosthold.
Though most of the mamono were suspicious of her at first she has slowly made herself an integral part of the community. Living with Elva has given her the joy of motherhood, though in a way much different than she had ever anticipated. Her own mother was skeptical of her daughter living among mamono and even raising a mamono, but has ultimately decided to support her daughter. And though the children of the surrounding area once shrank back from the gaze of her gold-in-red eyes, in the three years since she has built a strong rapport with most of the children and parents in the area and often finds her home a place where the children come to play. Somehow, the moon bride always knows just what to say to make them feel better.
As much as Lilis finds contentment in her current life, she knows that it will not last forever and finds herself torn between her responsibility for Elva and her determination to serve her kind.
A sun cow is a rare variant within the minotaur family with similarities to holstaurs. There is a small chance of one being born from any minotaur family type. Sun cows have varying skin tones from sun-bleached white to a sunburned red. They have an interesting quirk of being born with either human feet or cow hooves.
Sun cows have a more relaxed nature compared to other minotaurs. They are seen to take things slow and are not easy to anger, but do not let this fool you; a sun cow is highly protective of her loved ones and will readily show that she is as strong and destructive as her minotaur kin.
Along with their physical capabilities they have an aura of warmth that heats a 10-foot (3 meter) radius around them. The effects on a person have been documented to soothe and put them in a relaxed mood while also heating them up like they were basking in the sun's rays. On occasion a sun cow has been shown to be capable of pyromancy starting at a young age, sometimes accidentally setting small fires as she relaxes.
Sun cows are also known to produce milk much like holstaurs. Sun cow milk has been found to be more nutritious and adds a heat resisting effect on top of the stamina boost without the drawback of extra thick holstaur milk. Oddly the milk has a red hue to it, and products made with this milk always turn red.
If a sun cow begins to fancy a mate her aura seems to quadruple in effect on the person to make them feel more relaxed, but it also gets hotter as she approaches and causes the person to become rather parched. If the person endures the increasing heat once she reaches them she will take it as their acceptance of her and heft her milk-filled breasts to them to suckle and quell that need for a drink. This brings the sun cow great pleasure and she will bring her mate closer, beginning to play with the person's body slowly as the person drinks. Once the person is no longer thirsty she will end the foreplay and have a slow good time with her new mate.
Name That Mamono: Clara
Clara is a sun cow who stands at 5’5” (165 cm.) in height. She has pink skin and green eyes. Her hair is kept short and is black with green streaks. She has curved up horns and a long tail, both black with green splotches and blue green tips. She favors skimpy outfits that show off her assets. Clara's “father” is a hakutaku and her mother a holstaur. Clara is an ambitious woman who takes chances most sun cows would not as she travels the continent with dreams of becoming a lord’s assistant. She is currently traveling around Amarante with an elf looking for work to increase Clara’s reputation and raise a few coins.
