n my travels I have found that, as much as we would like to think otherwise, not all of the Mythic Creatures were benevolent. Indeed some were, and still are, quite malevolent. What could cause such horrors to be birthed? we must ask ourselves. And we must be frightened to discover the answers.

One such creature is the Beholder. It has been very difficult to find any history on such creatures. Thus it is that I have come to a hypothesis about their origins, a hypothesis which of course I have been unable to prove or disprove and am not in fact too intent on getting close enough to one of these creatures to question it. However, it is my belief that these creature appeared from much the same dreams that spawned the Sluagh, and may in fact have come from the dreams of Sluagh as well, or perhaps they are a very old version of the Sluagh who went along a different evolution to the present. They are the eyes that watched from the darkness, the all seeing omniscient beings that prey on our dark secrets.

Or so they would have us believe. Their cults have been popular among the Sluagh, where they are sometimes worshipped as gods. Powerful they may be, not they are not omnipotent, nor are they omniscient. Such great thinkers they are, plotters and beguilers as well, that they are quite adept at appearing so. Perhaps their ability to read minds is what should be most feared. That, or their ability to drain Glamour.

In appearance, Beholders are large, bulbous, levitating spheres with a large fanged mouth and very thick and resistant hide. In the centre of the sphere is one large eye which can gaze into a Kithain’s soul unblinking. The mouth lies below this, usually dripping a terrible saliva. Sprouting from the top of the orb will be a number of stalks, usually about ten, all ending in smaller eyes, approximately the size of a mans fist. These eyes are constantly roving, twisting round and blinking.

At first sight, a warrior may be mostly afraid of the great maw that could easily encompass a mans head. But more fearsome than that are the eyes, for they all carrying magickal powers of different sorts. Most notable is the central eye, which has the ability to suck glamour from any magickal effect. In the one battle where I was faced with such a foe, I saw it drain the Glamour from my companions, as well as the energy from a mage who traveled with us. It would seem the creature was then able to use such energies back on us, much to our great dismay. The other eyes were able to use such magicks that would render a man unconscious, there to sleep like a child; lift objects that lay across the room and hurtle them at great speeds; send a foe screaming in fear; turn an enemy to stone, or cause death through various different rays. Perhaps the worst was watching as one of my companions flesh was slowly torn from his very skeleton. It also had the power to turn our chimera and even allies against us, and possessed the ability of telepathy.

Not only are these beings creatures of extraordinary power, they are also highly intelligent. Apparently they have their own language. They usually live deep in subterranean caverns, or in densely wooded areas. There they will rule over a horde of Sluagh or other creatures who will devote themselves to these dark entities. Indeed, the one I encountered held rain over Nockers, Redcaps, a few sidhe and one of the most twisted Satyrs I have ever lain eyes on. Their plans flow like a moebious strip, twisting in upon themselves seemingly without end.

They do however posses a few weaknesses. Pride is the first. We blind-sided our opponent through this vice. Greed is the second. These creatures horde treasure. When many items we found were magickally dead, we came to the realization why the gather such hordes. It is through the energy of Glamour that they survive, as with all chimera. These Dark Chimera sap magickal items, and Kithain as well, of their Glamour to feed their own appetites. In theory, a deal could be reached with a Beholder for an item of power.

For mating habits I am forced to draw mostly on conjecture. On exploring the beasts lair we found an area full of strange pulsing bluish-purple eggs. The eggs were rounded and embedded at different heights in the cavern wall. It was merely a thin membrane covering that our blades pierced easily enough, yet inside the skin of the young was all ready growing tough. It is my theory that these creatures are asexual, able to reproduce when they have stored enough Glamour to sustain the young on its own for a safe amount of time. At that point they lay their eggs. I would assume their dependency on outside sources for glamour would call for a relatively short incubation period. As well, I doubt many survive easily. There were five eggs in the nursery we found. Beholders are very, very rare. Found mostly within the Deep Dreaming, though there is rumour that one or two may still be hidden within the bowels of the earth.