LOKJAK
Name: Lokjak [LOCK-jack]
Class: Monster
Subclass: Terrian, Midweight
PPL Category: 4 - Very dangerous and hostile to peoples
Forger: Mankind’s Disgrace, Divine of Hate
OVERVIEW
The lokjak is a flying monster that resembles a cross between a bat and a blackjack hound. It has a natural lifespan of about 10 years. It can survive to see 15 in captivity, but most wild lokjaks rarely live to see 3 years, as they are frequently hunted by monster hunters and animals. Most of the lokjaks on Gaia today are property of the Cult of the Crescent, though a significant number can also be found in the Unseelie Court, both as pets and tools of the Unseelie military.
This is a sexless monster that cannot reproduce on its own. Every lokjak in existence must be personally forged by the Divine of Hate himself. He tends to forge them in batches of several hundred at a time, by combining the wings of a bat, the corpse of a blackjack hound, and a lock of his own hair in his wretched forge. It is said that each strand of hair transforms into a new lokjak. They emerge from the forge at full maturity, roughly the size of a tiger.
It has a top-heavy body with front legs that are significantly longer than its back legs, and four clawed feet. It has a flat, bat-like face and jaws full of sharp teeth. Its wings are tipped with claws, which the lokjak uses like a pair of hands to grasp objects and swipe at its enemies. This creature is more delicate than it looks, with its hollow bones. However, the black wool on its torso is so thick that it can absorb sword strikes and sometimes even arrows without injury to the flesh beneath.
Their wool only grows thicker and longer with age, and will quickly become matted if not groomed regularly by a master. Feral lokjaks can be identified by their huge, matted masses of hair, which collect debris and become stone-like. This weighs the lokjak down and inhibits its ability to fly, but as a tradeoff, provides a very tough natural armor.
Though the Peoples Protection League has classified the lokjak as a category 4 monster, they are just as intelligent and trainable as any domesticated canine. What makes the lokjak truly dangerous is its reaction to fear. So long as its master shows boldness in its presence, the lokjak will be loyal and obedient, even eager to please. But if it senses that a person or animal is afraid of it, the monster is overcome by bloodthirst and compelled to attack.
Lokjaks feed exclusively on blood, as they cannot digest solid matter. They use their sharp fangs to puncture flesh and lap up the blood with their tongues, leaving a dry corpse behind. In the wild, they will hunt any creature that flees from them. Creatures–including peoples–that stand up to them by yelling or fighting back will cause the lokjak to retreat. It is a creature which relies on intimidation to survive, but if it fails to scare its enemies, it reveals its true cowardly nature.
CULTURE AND UTILITY
Lokjaks are not welcome throughout most of Gaia. They are considered dangerous and killed on sight in every Great Kingdom except the Unseelie Court, where brave civilians sometimes keep them as pets, and the military uses them as flying battle-mounts.
Otherwise, the only other place they are found is in Crescent Cult territory. The cult uses them for similar purposes as the Unseelie. They are cheap, effective mounts for soldiers. However, because their nature can be unpredictable, they are most often assigned to riders that are incapable of showing fear at all–such as bonewalkers and thralls.
Lokjaks aren’t as tough as they look, and they tend to die quite easily on the battlefield. Fortunately for the Crescent Cult, Mankind’s Disgrace can crank out a whole troop of replacements in no time. For this reason, this monster has become a mainstay for thousands of years, despite how loathed they are by just about everyone. Disgrace himself seems fond of them, keeping several in his company as part of his personal security team.
Queen Morgause of the Unseelie, too, is known to keep lokjaks as guards and companions. She receives them through direct trades with the Crescent Cult, usually in exchange for slaves or undead soldiers. However, she often accepts more pets than they can handle, leading to lokjaks getting loose in the Unseelie Court. The Unseelie people are not skittish around these creatures like the rest of the world, so many loose lokjaks have found loving homes here.
TRIVIA
-Long ago, the Divine of Hate included gnolls in the lokjak’s forging recipe. These ancient lokjaks were larger, significantly smarter, and more humanoid than the modern variants. They had opposable thumbs and could carry out complex tasks. Gnolls would later go extinct, forcing the Divine of Hate to replace them with blackjack hounds, and this recipe resulted in an inferior, more beast-like monster.
-The lokjak’s wool is the exact same color and texture as the Divine of Hate’s own hair. It mats easily if unattended, but can be styled in protective braids, twists, and dreadlocks to prevent this. All of Disgrace and Morgause’s pet lokjaks have styled wool, differentiating them from the scraggly battle-mounts their soldiers ride.
-Lokjaks prefer to sleep hanging upside-down from perches, just like bats. They can cling to nearly anything with their sharp claws, and they fold their wings around themselves to block out light. They are naturally nocturnal.
-Despite their heavy wool, these monsters don’t fare well in cold or wet regions. The sheer thickness of their wool tends to trap moisture and grow fungus if it gets too saturated with water. They are also cold-blooded and can’t generate their own body heat, making them sluggish in cold temperatures. This doesn’t usually matter to their masters, since they are treated like disposable mounts anyway, but responsible lokjak owners must provide these creatures with a warm, dry environment to ensure a long lifespan. The desert is where they truly thrive, able to withstand excruciating ambient temperatures of up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
-Because of their attraction to heat, monster hunters build campfires to lure feral lokjaks into traps.
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