Carnite
An umbrella term used to describe any horrific mutant that was spawned from the flesh of the Festerplains. Carnites were born a mess of tangled, twisted flesh and bone, all failed attempts by the Festerplains to regenerate the Cyclops.
![[Bloodcoast Sea]]
Biology #
As carnites were mutant aberrations, there wasn't a consistent physiological appearance found among them. Some may have had a large amount of limbs while others slithered like a snake across the ground. Some had no eyes while others had too many.
A carnite's biological characteristics were very hard to define as their greatest gimmick was their incredible variation. No two carnites were the same. This biological randomness was often self-limiting, with many of the creatures experiencing total organ failure before they could even leave their birthing site.
Polyps
Carnites created from smaller pieces of Sculptoris-infected corpses were commonly called polyps. Common polyps were formed from severed heads, animated intestines, or disembodied limbs.
Carnites were driven by a chaotic mixture of emotions and primal urges, sometimes hunting out of hunger or sport. Its mood could change on a dime, and its objectives are in constant flux. This was exacerbated by the high variance in the intelligence between carnites. Often described as a storm incarnate, a carnite's presence is never taken lightly.
Genetics and Reproduction #
Being what were quite literally mistakes, carnites were largely infertile and unable to properly produce progeny. However, some carnites possessed unique abilities to produce offspring or even divide in response to injury.
Carnites typically formed by sprouting from the spires of flesh and bone that emerged from the Festerplains.
Carnites could also form as a result from late-stage mutation of a manikin. However, the line between a manikin and a carnite was often blurred, as the process of mutation could take months to years before the human characteristics of the creature were no longer discernible.
Growth Rate & Stages #
These shambling fragments of the Festerplains could grow at different speeds depending on the size or shape dictated by the random slurry of genetic material cobbled together to birth such a thing. Certain carnites could be small, and hence took only hours to days to form. Other carnites were be massive, 2-story high monstrosities that took months or years to finish gestating.
Dietary Needs and Habits #
Different carnites were born with different internal organs, sometimes with none at all. Every individual carnite's diet and capacity to eat were highly variable.
Ecology #
Carnites were the only part of the Festerplains that did not work together. While ventrem balloons and carrion retrievers were symbiotic and both worked to provide the Festerplains with more biomass, carnites were tumour-like creatures cast out from the Festerplains for being failures.
Carrion retrievers were not combative creatures, but would swarm and irritate a carnite to attempt to get it to flee. Other parts of the Festerplains would react violently to a carnite's presence, spewing it with acids to try and digest it or kill it with bone spike pits and other traps.
Carnites that had successfully fled the Festerplains could be found all across Dawn Isle, posing a significant threat for the Cuprum Nomads. Some carnites could find themselves across the world if they successfully managed to cross the ocean.
Geographic Origin and Distribution #
If born in the Festerplains, carnites could roam the Dawn Wastelands or even traverse South to the Hohmite mainland.
Carnites were not exceedingly common across Hohm, but they surfaced often enough in history that many people are familiar with the concept. Not every carnite left a path of destruction in its wake, meaning that a carnite could arrive and "appear" in a Phovezilan forest without any trace of its journey there.
It was estimated that after the Demon Wars, 10 carnites could be found in Hohm's wilds at any one time. Carnites were present in North Fereina as well, but less common due to a wider distance between its shores and Dawn Isle.
Uses, Products & Exploitation #
Carnites were comprised of Sculptoris flesh nearly identical to the Festerplains', an were often hunted (and sometimes even captured) by very specific people who were interested in trying to exploit the highly mutagenic cells within. For example, a cult could interested in trying to utilize carnite flesh as a bioweapon.
Carnite bones were lightly anti-magical, and used as magical protection by some lancers.