Yukman
From Mizahar Lore
| "I gazed upon the bodies we had lined up on the grass, perhaps fifty or so. As we gave them to the torch, I felt this short lance of sadness at the sight. It was as if they had tried to be human, in their own twisted way, but failed." - Ulrig Kelchner, Suvan soldier |
| Landspawn | |
 | |
| Frequency | Common |
|---|---|
| Threat level | Low to medium |
| Major features | Embedded soil and rocks, cracked skin, sharp teeth |
| Abilities | Mimicry |
| Most common in | Wilderness, recently abandoned areas, battlefields |
The Yukman (pl. Yukmen) is the most common landspawned monster. It rises from the very earth in large numbers and usually proceeds to destroy any civilized life in its surroundings. Resembling a parody of whatever races inhabit the area, the Yukman is easily recognizeable by its high-pitched shrills, cracked skin and the presence of local soil embedded in its body as rocks, sand, grass or even raw gems. Yukmen are violent and feral, yet they can sometimes be tamed or enslaved, and in captivity they can become more similar to people. This is part of their tendency to mimic the habits of those around them.
Contents |
History
According to folklore, Yukmen appeared when the armies of man drew their swords on each other for the very first time. When Humans stopped being a united race and fragmented into a series of territories, kingdoms and city-states, Mizahar knew the devastation of war and apparently reacted to it by spawning creatures such as the Yukmen.
Other scholars choose not to put the blame for the existence of such monsters on mankind's civil wars, but on their growing numbers. Some suggest that, having grown too numerous for the land to support, their numbers had to be cut down, and Mizahar spawned the Yukmen as a way to self-regulate its population. Still, this theory is declining because Yukmen are still being spawned in recent times despite the drastic population drop following the Valterrian. Indeed, the number of Yukmen generated after the Valterrian is probably higher than in any previous age. The presence of much more abandoned land is thought to be the primary cause of this increase.
Appearance
Yukmen take after one particular race, usually one that lives relatively close to their spawning area. As such, most Yukmen look like parodies of human beings, but there is the occasional Isur, Jamoura or even Eypharian Yukman. The creature is usually about one foot shorter than the race it parrots, with an oversized head and overall proportions that tend to look ugly and deformed. The Yukman is mostly made of flesh and bleeds like a regular creature, however its skin is, more often than not, an earthen color, giving them a muddy look. The skin is often naturally cracked: more so if they come from especially dry soil. Their teeth are sharp and irregular, closer to a line of jagged rocks. The same applies to their nails on both hands and feet. Yukmen have no hair and lack any pigmentation in their eyes, which are brown to black depending on the soil they spawned from.
The most striking feature of Yukmen is the presence of rocks and other soil embedded in their bodies. This has generated the myth of Yukmen being made of stone. This is obviously false; the embedded material is simply a mark of their shoddy creation process, that is, parts that did not properly transform into flesh. Their size ranges from tiny glittering quartz crystals to fist-sized river rocks. These parts are not alive, strictly speaking. Yukmen appear to feel nothing if struck in such spots, but they will experience great pain and significant bleeding if a piece is forcefully pulled from their bodies. Obviously, the amount of material embedded in a Yukman depends greatly on the nature of their native soil. Careful observation of a Yukman's appearance can offer precious hints as to where it was spawned. A rock is never fully buried in a Yukman's body, as this would likely prevent its organs from functioning. It is suspected that a Yukman with excessive impurities would become a 'stillborn' and fail to awaken, being therefore reabsorbed into the bowels of Mizahar.
Their mouth seems to be roughly sketched and as such they are incapable of complex speech; at most they can produce guttural utterances that fall short of even the most primitive language. The high-pitched 'yuk' sound is the one after which they are named, but it is unknown whether it is actually an expression of laughter. Yukmen have an ungraceful gait when walking, which has been compared to a toddler's first steps, but are fast runners, and can keep up with all but the best athletes. They have functional genitalia and can breed (more unfortunately, they can rape), but a Yukman pregnancy has never been observed.
Behavior
A Yukman's intelligence ranks somewhere between a chimpanzee and a human. They are definitely more than just animals, but just as definitely less than sentient. They occupy an uncomfortable middle ground that makes them seem even more brutal because of their occasional flashes of complexity. Their birth is a perfect example of this. Yukmen are spawned in clusters ranging from about ten to five hundred individuals. 'Gestation', if it can be called that, is a matter of days, sometimes mere bells. They claw their way out of the earth, with the early comers helping their brethren out, only to mercilessly slaughter those who are deemed too weak. Afterwards, the Yukmen engage in a burial ritual of sorts for those that were killed in such a way, placing the fallen in the survivors' own holes. At this time they seem to select leaders among their numbers, though the word should be used quite loosely. Yukmen mimic those around them - a leader is simply one that is the target of much more mimicry, and their actions tend to be copied by their followers, but they inspire very little authority and absolutely no loyalty. Multiple leaders can coexist and informal hierarchies are quickly established and forgotten. The typical leader is showy for one reason or another; it could be larger, or have more embedded rocks than the others, or possess a strange physical feature.
Yukmen are violent, the males more so than the females except in the case of Myrian-copying specimens. They are attracted to anything that moves, and often display a desire to break it. If nothing else is in sight, even a fellow Yukman will do. They enjoy using their bare hands, which are characteristically strong and can strangle a grown man quite a bit larger than themselves. They will not use weapons, or indeed any tools, unless they have witnessed someone do it first. It is therefore possible to see a Yukman pick up a sword from a dead combatant and start swinging it around with far more force than finesse. Interestingly, at this point every Yukman in the horde could get the idea of using a sword. This ability to learn is the reason any Yukman infestation must be nipped in the bud - even though they are mediocre fighters, each battle they survive makes them more vicious opponents.
These creatures are unlikely to settle down anywhere. They are closer to a swarm of locusts that keeps moving to greener pastures. All it takes is a single Yukman wandering away from the main group; if enough members mimic the first, eventually the entire horde will steer in that direction. Yukmen are a major reason why virtually no unwalled settlements exist in modern Mizahar. A lone farm would be overrun by even a modest outbreak. They are not easily scared, not even by fire. More often than not, they will not be routed but will have to be killed to the last one. They can, however, be countered with cleverness. Shrewd tacticians have played their own mimicry against them. For example, if a leader drinks from a poisoned source, it is likely that most Yukmen in the cluster will follow suit. Once destroyed, their bodies should be burned post haste, for they can infect the land with their curse and cause more of their ilk to be spawned near their remains.
Yukmen eat their food raw unless they discover how to use fire. They will sometimes start eating their victim while it is still alive. Their feeding instinct seems independent of hunger; indeed, they will sometimes stop and induce vomit only to resume their feast. They sleep very little and in short naps that they often take while standing.
Captivity
It is possible to capture, tame and train a Yukman. In pre-Valterrian times, every circus had its very own freak and there was a profitable underground world of illegal Yukmen fights. Nowadays, the main reason one would want a Yukman is for brute force and labor, especially in a capacity where most Kelvics are ill-suited. It takes time and dedication to train a Yukman. Males will most likely have to be neutered to deal with their aggressive nature. Once the trainer has succeeded in making the Yukman recognize them as a leader, the creature learns by imitation and repetition. Simple tasks are well within their capabilities. They can clean homes, use a shovel, a pickaxe, and with enough patience even a weapon with some proficiency. They can count to ten, engage in primitive artistic activities, recognize themselves in a mirror, and even hum a melody. A Yukman, once broken and assuming it is provided for, is usually loyal for life. Unfortunately, their defective design condemns them to rather short lives, and they rarely survive their fifth or sixth year.
Thread Appearances
| In Falyndar | ||
 | A long patrol | Corvo and Sheika, as part of Kreesha's fang, are ambushed by Tupahi Yukmen |