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Astral Mastermind — Description

An Astral Mastermind is created through the mutation of an oliphant, its body and mind severely warped by Pwdre Ser exposure. What emerges from this event is something far different than the charming snouted creature we know. Its body and legs appear to have vanished during the transformation, leaving only this strange head behind. Its trunk has split and formed into multiple tendrils, its ears flared open into wings made of star jelly. Most prominent of all, though, is its transparent skull which exposes its warped brain. This organa is already substantial in the bestial oliphants, but its seems the Pwdre Ser has enlarged and shaped it into something even greater. And stranger...
The Astral Mastermind is a bizarre thing for sure, floating about with its ethereal wings and writhing snouts. It moves with the flapping of these jellied appendages and blasts of air from its tendrils, giving it incredible maneuverability. Folks may assume this terrible beast will use this agility to swoop in a devour some poor unsuspecting soul, yet most encounters start off with the entity merely watching them. It floats at a distance, its eyes and throbbing brain focused upon the people or creatures in its sight. At first, it seems fine just being an observer, keeping away from the target yet its attention remains locked in. Any actions the watched person performs are taken in but rarely rouse a real reaction. Even if one were to charge at it with Humors blazing and swords swinging, the Astral Mastermind would easily evade it and keep on observing. You would think such an blatant attack would anger it, yet it appears pleased with this result. Because even if you do not choose violence immediately, the creature will eventually start goading its target, as if it truly wants a fight.
It will start getting invasive with its presence, getting close and threatening. The response to this is eagerly watched, yet it will keep pushing for a big reaction. It will start messing with things, going after valuables, destroying objects or even getting physical with trunk smacks and body shoves. It will keep following and harassing you until it gets what it wants, and that is a fight. It wants you to lash out, to unsheathe any weapon you have and start swinging. In most cases, these attacks achieve nothing, as the Astral Mastermind moves to dodge whatever is thrown its way. It just seems to evade and continue its vigil, despite it apparently craving violence. Well, as it turns out, it doesn't exactly enjoy battles, it loves the information that comes from it. That is because its big brain is the entity's greatest weapon.
The reason why it seems to stare and observe the actions of other beings is because it is taking it all in as data. The Astral Mastermind has the powerful memory of an oliphant, but elevated by the Pwdre Ser into something perfect. It appears that these entities are able to memorize everything they see, soaking up every detail and keeping it perfectly preserved. It watches people, beasts and automatons to absorb this information and add it to its endless brain. With each entry it grows smarter, and more capable in this strange new world. Because the Astral Mastermind doesn't just memorize what it sees, it copies it as well, to an unnatural degree.
What the warped oliphant sees is forever remembered and also added to its own arsenal. Weapons swung at it are memorized and analyzed, their strengths and weaknesses observed and stored away. It knows what a blade can do, how it can strike and how it can be bested in battle. It lets it figure out the optimal strategy for dealing with armed foes, knowing just the right way to move and attack so that they don't stand a chance. But that isn't even the worst of it, because when it comes to spells, the Astral Mastermind absolutely excels. Because even Humor magic can be memorized and copied, seeing a single cast and immediately mastering the craft. What it sees, it can do, with the only real limitations being the actual Humors needed to pull it off. With its many tentacle snouts, sucking up stores of the fluid is rather easy. Slurp up ambient Humors or steal them from foes, then spit perfect spells right back at them. One can see now why the Astral Mastermind craves information, as every detail it takes in means more to its arsenal and strategy, granting it even more power. Perhaps it is this obsession that makes it such a menace.
The entity targets a wide variety of people and beasts, looking for those who have different weapons, skills and mindsets. It wants new information to take in, and thus it loathes dealing with the same old things it has seen before. It seeks out the different and unconventional, warriors and weavers who stray from the norm. When such a prize is spotted, it brings out a battle so that they may show their moves and inadvertently strengthen this alien. Those who are knowledgeable of this being and the importance of hiding your potent skills from it are not yet safe from it. Because, sometimes, the being decides to ditch the role of observer and simply take what it wants. Either it calculates that a fight would be too dangerous, or the foe is holding back, thus the Astral Mastermind chooses a different route. Don't observe, just steal it straight from their minds.
The trunk tentacles they have not only suck up fluids and spit them out, but they can also slurp up the thoughts and memories of those they come in contact with. When this entity comes across a target that seems ripe with knowledge, the Astral Mastermind may ditch the usual tactic and instead go for an ambush. Strike from out of nowhere, snare their victim in a tangle of its tendrils and then latch onto their heads with its central trunk limb. From here, it gains access to the mind and it quickly begins to suck out memories tied to magic, strategy, world knowledge and other vital info. This lets it absorb precious data without having to have seen it themselves, simply stealing it and slapping it right into their own brain. Their victims, however, are left with a shaken mind and spotty memory, struggling to remember things due to the holes the creature left behind in their psyche. Fighting back after this attack is usual difficult, as the entity usually steals powerful spells, abilities or talent, turning trained warriors into awkward rookies. Battle typically isn't needed either, as the mutated oliphant has taken what it wanted and thus you are useless to it. Time to move onto the next victim, leaving behind the stumbling oaf as they try and figure what was even stolen. At least these targets are the lucky ones, as the Astral Oliphant may just take everything if it finds the perfect person and is given the chance, draining their brains dry til they are mindless vegetables.
Outside the thought stealing ability, some may wonder if the Astral Masterminds are major threats like the other Astral Forms. Are they a danger? Must they to be fought and destroyed? After all, if their want isn't physical destruction and death, just the collection of knowledge, then couldn't they be reasoned with? What harm is in a floating library that simply wants to add more to itself? In theory, it would seem possible to strike some kind of agreement, where humanity and the Astral Masterminds can live together in peace. However, such a treaty requires both sides to be willing, and it would seem these entities couldn't really care about our opinions on things. Astral Masterminds do not view humans as equals or as beings that could be negotiated with. No, man is nothing more than a slightly elevated beast, a walking container of information to be harvested. These entities don't have any concern with things like "emotion," "morals" or "rights." It boils down to simple facts: Astral Masterminds are the betters who need knowledge and humans are the lessers who have it. Thus, it is logical that they just take it, because what is man even doing with it? Perhaps these entities even look to the war and strife consuming the land and figure we have done nothing but waste such gifts. Maybe their enlightened minds see further into the future, and have come to the conclusion that coexistence is impossible with man. We may be a threat to their existence, thus best to get us out of the way now before we can truly muster our forces.
Whatever the reason, Astral Masterminds are no friends. They care only about gaining knowledge from us and nothing else. Those who comply only add to its arsenal, those who fight back either get their minds violated or are taken out by its stolen abilities. It is advised that they be treated like all other Astral Forms, destroy them before they can gain a stronger foothold in our world. For the Astral Masterminds, it is very important they be taken out as soon as possible, for each passing day allows them to grow both smarter and stronger. They gain more abilities, learn better tactics and figure out the ways to survive man's weaponry. This makes each fight with them wildly different, as their powers and strategies all depend on what they have absorbed. They can cast spells only pulled off by expert weavers, predict ambushes or grab the weapon from your hand and wield it against you just as efficiently. But what makes these entities extremely difficult to fight is the fact that they never fall for the same trick twice. Any attempt to kill them that fails will be logged in their memory and then used to ensure it can never work again. They will figure out the counters, calculate the ways to evade or render the execution useless. Thus, with each botched hunt, the list of viable options to kill the Astral Mastermind grows smaller. This means it is vital that the entity be killed as soon as possible, and that any attempt to slay it is thorough and leaves no room for error. You only get one shot at it, so you better make it count.
The saving grace of this is that the Astral Masterminds are not sturdy foes. It doesn't take a master tactician to see the obvious weakspot of theirs. The transparent braincase shows what needs to be taken out, and a powerful strike to the dome can shatter it. Break open the skull and damage the brain, this is the way to victory. If you can do that, the fight is over. Severing its trunk tentacles is also a big help, as they are the limbs that let it spit out spells or suck out memories. Unconventional weaponry and tactics is key, you need to throw something at the entity that it hasn't seen before so that it doesn't have any counters. However, you need to land the hit when you do, lest you lose the advantage. Do not stoop to strategies used on simple beasts, that is just insulting and stupid. And don't forget the value of sheer numbers, as the creature is still a single entity that needs time to think and act. Overwhelm it with a shower of attacks and magic, and there is a better chance of a shot connecting. Unless it has copied the ability to summon familiars...Well, figure out what you can when fighting an Astral Mastermind and good luck.
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Why not another Astral Form? Primal Beasts got an oliphant, so it only felt fair.