OPEGIARA PROMPT (Rough Draft)

*OPEGIARA*
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*CLASSIFICATION*
	Masked Feral, Carver Wisp
Native Name: Opegiara — i.e. “Gifted Mask”

*CHARACTERISTICS & PHYSIOLOGY*
The opegiara “race” is actually a blend of many species who have become integrated into their society, and this in addition to the nature of their being, every opegiara will have his/her own physical form that is unique to themselves. Furthermore, each one will bear a mask that is just as individualistic.

There are only a few traits that remain constant among these entities. Along with having a mask, they have claws which are always long and terrible. Their only other constant feature among their members is that they are predominantly bipedal.

*DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT*
Opegiara typically live independent from one another, although it is not uncommon for them to exist in small tribes, especially in the case of “married” individuals. Unfortunately, it is told that these tribes are next to impossible to locate without the guidance of one of their own.

Many expeditions have been taken in the past to either find these elusive tribes or just the individuals themselves, for one reason or another. However, every venture ends the same, with pursuers either disappearing forever... or wearing a mask upon return.

*BEHAVIOR & SOCIETY*
Opegiara are entities who wander freely wherever they wish, and they are extremely difficult to track down due to their tendency of mysteriously vanishing and reappearing instantaneously upon a whim. They rarely speak openly, but otherwise can be quite expressive through body language and gestures. Additionally, they carve intricate masks as a favorite hobby, with he intent of giving them away to others over time.

They use their claws to carve the masks, and there are three specific types that are created: beautiful, expressive, and ugly. Of these types, each is designated to a certain group of individuals. Beautiful masks are gifted to those who’ve become the opegiara’s “friend”, with expressive masks being lent to physically or mentally hurt people. Finally, their ugly masks are reserved for anyone unfortunate enough to have angered them.

Not to be mistaken for simple headpieces, each mask carries with it unfathomably supernatural qualities. For instance, their beautiful and expressive masks actively grant the wearer a peace of mind and sense of tranquility when worn, with the latter especially having antidepressant effects upon the wearer.

They also all harbor corruptive and metamorphic effects as well, with most having the very real potential to literally transform its wearer into an inhuman monster through extensive use and with permanent results, regardless of type. This much is not usually known by those who are granted a mask, as the opegiara usually will keep it a secret from them, so many wind up turning before they even know what’s happening, and by that time it will have become an addiction to wear the mask. Once the stages are complete, they will have changed into an opegiara themselves.

Despite this deception, the masks are truly intended as gifts in these cases, with the one exception to the rule being their ugly masks. This type is handed out as a curse that will plague their victims’ livelihoods, being found at every turn and summoning dire misfortune until it’s constant demand to be worn is finally obeyed; this is the worst thing the victim could do, however, as the mask will cause severe agony when equipped, and once it is put on it will never come off.

The ugly mask’s most cruel trait is, of course, the sequence of transformation. Unlike the other two kinds of mask, the changes are far from subtle; excruciating pain will torment the wearer as their body literally rends and tears itself apart, the entire process lasting up to several days or weeks before the transformation completes itself. Once done, the person will have been so mentally broken that their mannerisms will have reverted to those of a timid, docile animal.

On a final note, when the opegiara gift their masks it is with the intent of making one happy or quenching their sorrows; this in turn can just as easily be interpreted as getting rid of “mean and bad things”, and they might give one a mask that will do just that. If one “befriends” a man who feels oppressed by his job, the mask might turn him into a beast that will destroy the company. If their new “friend” is a spiteful girl who was bullied at school, the mask may transform her into a demon that will kill the ones who hurt her.

While the list goes on, and the limits to what a mask can do in these cases is in a realm of possibility beyond comprehension, their effects are solely dependent upon the morality and nature of their wearer; it would not make a gentle and kind person a malicious killer, for instance. The mask would more or less provide a transformation and power that would purge the individual’s source of trauma, but according to their subconscious wishes.

*FORAGING & DIET*
As opegiara do have their own forms, they still retain the same sort of diet as their original forms, more or less. If one was strictly a carnivore prior, they will have the same taste for meat as one. Of course, the range of their diet can at times either broaden or shrink depending upon the effects of their opegiara form, but these cases are usually not too drastic.

*REPRODUCTION*
Opegiara do not solely depend upon the mere handouts of their masks to reproduce, and “marriages” do in fact exist. While their forms are vastly individualistic, as transformed members of the same race they are more than compatible with those of their own kind. Many interesting sexual encounters between particularly dissimilar couples have occured due to this.

They do frequently keep an eye out for anyone suitable to their individual tastes during their travels, and when they find a favorably potential mate they will resort to “befriending” them before gifting their most beautiful mask. Not much otherwise is known about the two’s mingling beyond this, but within days the target individual will have become one of the opegiara, bounding away into the unknown while hand-in-hand with the creature that lent them their new mask.