Shadow Charr
From Encyclopedia Forcastia
Shadow charrs are a subspecies of charr that resides in the Shadow Plane. Shadow charrs are creatures of evil, reveling in pain and destruction. They are small, scrawny verisons of charrs with black skin and glowing white eyes. They have extremely sharp claws and teeth.
Shadow charrs are able to leave the Shadow World and enter the Twilight Plane of Forcastia, using shadowy areas as gateways. When on the Twilight Plane, their tails seem to phase in and out of existence when they wave, since shadow charrs are still in some way linked to the Shadow World.
When it becomes necessary to defend yourself against a shadow charr, bright lights and sunshine can stun a shadow charr, if not kill it outright. They are rather small and frail, so extreme physical torment can best a shadow charr. However, shadow charrs are fast and highly aggressive, and their claws can tear through flesh easily; attacking a shadow charr directly is extremely discouraged.
Aside from using their claws and teeth, shadow charrs have another, more devastating attack - possession. This is achieved by leaping onto a creature's shoulder. If a shadow charr makes it to a creature's shoulder, the creature has no choice but to listen to the charr's directions, unless the creature has exceptional willpower and resistance. A shadow charr can control its host by using either a type of hypnotic suggestion, where the shadow charr constantly speaks to its host in a persausive manner. This type of possession is considered slow and painful, as hypnotic suggestion begins to wear away at the host's own code of ethics, self-esteem, and values. Typically, shadow charrs do not go much farther in their possession than destroying a creature's confidence and driving them into depression and dementia, and in some cases, the host simply commits suicide. The other method of possession is taking direct control of the host. When a shadow charr is in control of a creature, the creature's eyes glow an ominous shade of purple. The purple eyes are very easily noticable, so seldom will a possessed creature commit a crime and be punished for it, as it is well known that it is impossible to fight back a shadow charr that has taken direct control.
When a shadow charr has possessed a creature, the only way for the creature to become dispossessed is to extract the shadow charr from the shoulder. In most cases, the shadow charr simply loses interest and leaps off of its own accord, leaving the creature in confusion and amnesia. In serious cases, however, a shadow charr will become entrenched and refuse to leave the host. Since a shadow charr, when possessing a creature, is only visible to its host, it is nearly impossible to take a shadow charr off its host by force. Instead, the host himself needs to be knocked out and incapacitated so that the shadow charr loses its grip; after all, even when possessed, an unconscious creature is incapable of any action that the shadow charr will find interesting. Once the host has been incapacitated, the shadow charr will become visible again, and can be disposed of. Beware - once a shadow charr has lost its grip, it may attempt to immediately possess another creature. This occurrence is rare, however, as possession exhausts a shadow charr.
Because of how the shadow charr possesses creatures by getting on their shoulders, the shadow charr has become a symbol of one's evil side of conscience in literature.
