The Great Skull-Tigers

Confirmed Information

Physical Description

Enormous Cats, native to Asivis. They range in color from pure black to pale yellow with black stripes. Their name derives not only from their ominous reputation, but from the eerie, death's-head pattern that the stripes form on their foreheads as well. Averaging a length of over twelve feet, a weight of over 600 pounds, and standing almost four feet high at the shoulder, they are by far the largest feline on Xothu. Only the Great Jaguars come even close to rivalling them in size, and they are much slighter.

It should be noted that this description comes from specimines captured by human hunters. Most Skull-Tigers which could be thus caught are likely to be old, infirm, or insane; the dimentions thus given may, in fact, underestimate the size of a healthy Skull-Tiger

Relations with other Sapients

The Skull-Tigers occasionally come in conflict with the other sapients of the region, and are actively hunted as demons by some groups- to be fair, the Skull-Tigers do seem to make little distinction between 'human' and 'prey', and have been known to kill both people and cattle. As noted above, though, most Skull-tigers which are successfully captured are weakened in some way; it is unknown how many killings of people or cattle, if any, can be attributed to healthy Skull-Tigers.

Myths and Legends

Aside from these occasional predations, the Skull-tigers usually remain out of human experience. Sightings are reported from time to time in Asivis, increasing in frequency in times of political unrest, and the Skull-tigers are regarded as omens of, if not disaster, then certainly great change throughout Xothu. Legend surrounds them- according to the peoples of the Jade Road, for instance, in the distant past, before the rise of the Orcs, or the Lilithians, or the Humans, or the Dwarves, the Skull-tigers were the lords of the world, and held all other races as slaves; then, one day, the slaves were given the gift of language, and overthrew their masters, hunting down all except the few who fled to the forests. Others say that the Skull-tigers are the souls of great sorcerers come back to watch the world, or are somehow great sorcerers themselves, or demons. Many regard them as being more myth or spirit than actual, physical beings; hauntings are frequently attributed to the presence of Skull-tigers (see society below).

Another superstition says that the Wandering Dwarves can percieve even fully healthy Skull-Tigers directly, perhaps owing to the natural resistance of Dwarves to magic; depending on the region, they are either sought out as exorcists, or feared as being in league with the cats.

Speculation

A note to the reader: most of this section is, for reasons that shall soon become obvious, largely speculation and rumor; owing to their skills at manipulation and concealment, it is entirely possible that what follows is inaccurate or even, to give the reader fair warning, written under the influence of the Tigers themselves

Powers

Skull-tigers are believed to be an incredibly intelligent and powerfully magical race; they wield hypnotic power over almost all other beings- the dragons, the Skyroamers, some mechanical constructs, and (for some reason) the Rooks of Bufalos are the only beings which are said to be immune. They can communicate directly with the minds of others (a skill they use instead of spoken language); they can control other sapients, gaining access to the technology which they lack the dexterity to use; they can transfix prey into lying down before them to be eaten; and they can render themselves completely imperceptible to their victims- it's said that a tiger can, if he so chooses, brush up against a human and look him in the eye, and have the human not notice a thing.

Usually solitary, their powers are believed to be magnified exponentially when they congregate in groups- ten or so are enough to exert control over a moderately sized human nation; many more would probably be needed when dealing with, say, Dwarves or Lilithians. It is possible that they have occasionally formed groups like this to drive out settlers on their land, resulting in mass exoduses of entire countries- certainly these spontaneous migrations are documented along the Jade Road, and lands thus vacated are said to have been 'Invaded by Tigers' in the local tongue.

Population

Their population is believed to be low, owing to a combination of human hunting and low birth rates; evidence points to, perhaps, a few thousand remaining throughout Asivis. Their true numbers are impossible to guess, though, as they can so easily use magic to conceal themselves from other beings.

Society?

Rumors hint at great cities- empires even- of the tigers within the jungles of Asivis, numbering in the millions of individuals, and capable of overrunning the entirety of Xothu, should they so choose. Other rumors, perhaps more plausible and thus, perhaps, more frightening, hint that tigers live in occupied, human households, completely hidden from their owners, or walk unnoticed through human streets.

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