Gahrafahas

It is held by the nomads who wander the scorching dunes of great desserts that the Gahrafahas descend to the mortal world in their vast sky chariots to work evil and mischief among mortals,sowing great terror and confusion in their wake.

Depictions of Gahrafahas on camel hide, often show huge ,hulking creatures that possess the segmented lower body of a giant worm and a powerful upper body that is somewhat humanoid in appearance. Two pairs of powerful limbs emerge from their chest and are equipped with long fingers that end in cruel talons capable of removing a man's head from his body. Their heads are flattened things that weep a sticky green ooze,while their mouths are gaping maws that are filled with thousands of shredding fangs. The tiny little jewel like red orbs that can be found in large clusters on their navel, are the hungry,watchful eyes that provide them with a multifaceted view of their surroundings. If confronted, they emit a keen, wailing shriek that paralyzes their prey or foe with a fear so powerful that it turns the very blood in their veins into ice.

They come in small groups during the dead of night, slithering into small villages to empty of people whom they carry off to their gleaming sky chariots. The reason behind these abductions is unknown to mortal kind. Even the old tales are sparse when it comes to shedding light on the true nature of these fiends.

Only the scholars of Hell know the truth. Laboring in their twisted halls of molten fire, the harried scholars of the Infinitely Horrible Vizier of Hell spend long hours writing long tomes on the true nature of the Gahrafahas, all the while careful to avoid taking longer than is strictly required, to deliver their tomes to the impatient master who would not hesitate for a second to have throw them into the pits of molten fire if he had reason to think that they were take their time about their appointed task.

It is common knowledge that the Vizier is obsessed with discovering all there is to know of the Gharahfahas,sparing no effort to get his claws on anything that can tell him more about these enigmatic race of beings that are a mystery even to most denizens of the Infernal Real. What he has learned so far, intrigues him by all accounts.

And he has learned plenty. In the thickest and most extensive tome he has on them,a document that numbers a staggering five thousand sheets of flayed imp hide parchment,resides most of the vast lore he has collected about one of his most favorite interests. From it, one will learn that contrary to popular belief,there are actually two distinct kinds of Gharafahas that exist.

All Gharafahas start out life as balls of wriggling little worm like things that possess no intellect to speak off. Emerging from slimy little pools that dot the barren plains of Hell, they begin their ravenous search for bodies to infest. Upon sensing a suitable body to possess,they simply slither in through the nostrils or other breathing apparatus of their victims and crawl into the skull,where they begin to absorb the brain, seizing its intelligence. As this happens, the body actually begins to transform physically, developing into the creature that most think of as the Gharafrash. In truth, the worms that consume the brain of the unfortunate host, devouring his very soul and identity in the process, is the true Gharasfrash,while the corrupted and twisted shell it inhabits,is but a mere vessel that it manipulates using the new spark of awareness it has harvested from the brain.

Those worms that pick a host with a limited intellectual capacity, end up becoming the type that is that many mistakenly believe is the only kind of Gharafahas. These being extremely strong and vicious,are grunts and raiders. But if the worms picks a host with great intellect, they change into something else entirely. This second kind of Gharhafahas, are winged,furry things that resemble a cross between a huge bat and a man. The large blue eyes in their heads, radiate intelligence, giving none any doubts about their ability to think. It comes as no surprise that they are the ones that serve as leaders of the Gharafash,giving orders to their intellectually handicapped kindred.

The Gharafahas can infest any sentient being,but usually avoid doing this to demons for fear of provoking the wrath of the powerful arch fiends that rule Hell. Instead, they descend to the mortal realm and seize humans to be used as hosts for the worms.

Gharafash of both kinds,are obsessed with eviscerating and taking apart animals. Wise village elders know this and buy them off with a small fraction of their herds, ensuring that their villages remain unmolested.