Skrayln

Those who Hide

History

The Skrayln have an elongated history that is verbally spread through each different tribe of the Skrayln generally untouched save for minor variants. Descended from ordinary rats and a mad alchemist who enjoyed tampering with the natural order, the Skrayln were once kept only in cages. They were malformed, malnourished, and treated only as experimental rats by alchemists and mages alike when they were first developing as a race. They were interbred with one another and given more and more human-like characteristics with each dosage attempting to make them human. Ultimately they grew sentience from the magical tempering they underwent, and found themselves feeling betrayed, confused, hurt, and angry. The Skrayln broke out of their cages and their shackles, escaping from their entrapment and forced experimentation. Their captors spent ages looking for them, capturing some and preventing them from joining their fellow Skralyn, while others fled underground where their eyes wouldn’t be hurt by the sun, and where they could be safe from their vicious captors.

Physical Description

These rat-esque creatures stand from as short as 3’6” to as tall as 4’10” when perfectly upright, as they stand hunched over, shoulders bent forwards. Their short fur is matted against their bodies, patchy and disheveled, which can only be found in shades of black, gray and browns, rarely ever will their fur be found in white. Skrayln boast long ears that pin back against their usually fur-less heads, beady eyes that usually vary from shades of browns, to shades of red. These eyes are sensitive to light, and have ease seeing in the dark. Their snouts are long, and fur-less much like their hands and feet, their skin almost always being a tan color.

Skrayln’s fingers and toes boast long sets of claws on each digit, with each individual claw being roughly two to three inches long. These claws make working with their hands in order to do more intricate things difficult, however not impossible. When Skrayln walk they hunch over to make themselves move easier, their anthropomorphic rat legs being thin yet not quite frail, much like the rest of their body. Skraylin are agile and quick, tending to use their long limbs in order to latch up onto places they otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach, their clawed hands able to help them hook onto intricate spaces. The Skrayln’s teeth are sharp and yellowed, their front two teeth much longer than the rest, and sharper as well.

• Common Height:
  • Male: 4’0’” - 4’10”
  • Female: 3’6” - 4’4”
• Common Build: Ectomorph, Endomorph.
• Common Eyes: Black, Brown, Gold, Red
• Common Fur: Black, Gray, Brown, Rarely White
• Common Skin Tone: Tan, Rarely Gray

Culture

Skrayln are known to live in packs, having nomadic civilizations that resemble that of tribes. They create homes inside of caves and use furs, chitin, and other materials like wood to craft their shelters. These shelters are made to be transportable, and while intended to be hearty are rarely ever strong enough to ward anything away. Being omnivorous they are hunter-gatherers, using their elongated limbs and agile strength to outmaneuver bigger predators that reside within the caves they call home. It is most common to find them wallowing in filth even inside of their nomadic villages, eating anything and anything that is edible, including but not limited to trash, rotten meat, and in times of desperation the flesh of other Skrayln, living or dead. They have been sighted living in sewers, desperately searching for a way to escape the city life and make their way back to the underground.

Skrayln are weary of any form of humanoid looking race, save for dark elves and beastmen races. They are social with one another, inside of their nomadic tribes making it rare to see a single Skrayln anywhere at a given time. Their unsettling appearance making them unwanted among the civil races of the surface, enforcing their predisposition of not enjoying the surface. Among their own kind they are rambunctious and easy going, forming lifelong friendships and bonds similar to those of humans.

Mechanics

• Lifespan: 45 Years on average
• Long sharp claws make intricate hand movement difficult, however easier to pierce through flesh.
• Light sensitive eyes allow them to see better in the dark than in the light. Seeing in the day time is difficult.
• Skrayln have an easier time maneuvering small spaces and grasping onto ledges that other races would have great difficulty in doing so.
• Due to their diet consisting of mostly rotten foods, Skralyn are immune to diseases and plagues, and have a high metabolism to support their excessive eating habits.
• Skrayln are one of the most nimble and quick races, capable of moving faster than most other races.
• They are of course frail, being rats and all.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier