Zalyakavat
Zalyakavats are a species of rakshasas with a lust for physical combat, bound spiritually and magically to their urumi.1
Appearance
A zalyakavat resembles a sinewy humanoid with putrid green skin and a grotesque, shrew-like snout. It stands six and a half feet tall and weighs around 170 pounds.1
Ecology
Zalyakavats are reincarnated from the souls of the most ruthless and dishonourable of warriors who died in ignominy. Zalyakavats begin to dream of slashing their enemies and drawing blood with an urumi while still infants, and they become obsessed with these weapons as they mature. Fuelling their urumi with arcane power, zalyakavats perform astonishing feats of martial prowess.1
Like all rakshasas, zalyakavats are selfish and power-hungry, but more for the thrill and frenzy of violent combat than for material wealth, but despite this, they are not reckless and know how to stack the odds in their favour.1
Society
Zalyakavats often maintain lairs in several cities at once. These lairs are relatively simple by rakshasa standards, but still lavish by humanoid ones. To sate their lust for swordplay, zalyakavats continually seek opponents to challenge. Each individual might have different, sometimes eccentric proclivities when it comes to selecting opponents, and chooses its disguise accordingly. A zalyakavat often takes a valuable or gruesome trinket from the corpse of a defeated opponent as both a reminder and decoration.1
Zalyakavats rarely interact with other rakshasas. When convenient or unavoidable, they might serve maharajas or rakshasa immortals, but their constant desire for melee combat makes them unreliable employees. On rare occasions, zalyakavats gather to participate in prearranged contests of arms. They almost never fight other zalyakavats, preferring to coerce or trick mortals to serve as opponents and watch other zalyakavats fighting them.1
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 . “Bestiary” in City in the Lion's Eye, 91. Paizo Inc., 2018
