Baernaloth

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The baernaloths, were among the multiverse's biggest enigmas, mythical fiends of the Gray Wastes as devoid of emotion and color as the plane itself. Rumors claimed they spawned not just the yugoloths, but the demons, demodands, and devils, and allegedly knew most about all creatures of the Lower Planes.

Description
Baernaloths were gaunt, gangly fiends that stood feet tall and had long, lanky limbs. Their gray, skin dripped with pus and was tautly pulled over their skeletons. Their oversized heads resembled the horned skulls of cattle or rams, with glassy eyes that leaked a vile yellow fluid and huge mouths consisting of nothing but teeth and a tongue.

Personality
Part of what made baernaloths so mystifying was their complete emotional detachment to the world around them. They brought strife and anguish to others through agonizing torture, foiling plans, spreading devastating rumors regardless of truth or otherwise worsening the world. What was perplexing about their behavior however was that their acts of cruelty seemingly served no goal, whether it be for pragmatic reasons or personal pleasure. They spread misery as if they were machines, going about bringing sorrow with a mechanical methodology free from greater purpose or sadistic desire. Despite their disturbing disinterest in the pain of their victims, they committed their vile deeds without remorse or reluctance

While most baernaloths viewed torturing as an autotelic activity and scoffed at the scheming of other yugoloths their were a select few that possessed an inclination for planning. Known as the Demented, the baernaloths that counted themselves among their ranks suffered from a mysterious madness, characterized not by a disconnect from reality but by an otherwise absent feeling of aspiration. Embracing both law and chaos, Demented baernaloths sought to subjugate various creatures of the Lower Planes in order to bring about the utter annihilation of all reality.

Abilities
A pair of uncanny abilities existed in a baernaloth's repertoire to allow it to further sow discord and suffering. So long as a target was within of a baernaloth and within their sight, any wound caused by the baernaloth's teeth or claws could be instantly and painfully reopened. This could be done three times per day so long as the wound was inflicted within 24 hours. Conversely, the damage caused by their claws could be instantly undone following the same stipulations as when they caused wounds to reopen, disregarding the need for line of sight. They also possessed several spell-like abilities related to mental manipulation, mind reading and supernatural detection.

Combat
Whether magical or mundane, baernaloths refused to use weapons or equipment, instead relying on their natural abilities. They were intelligent enough to lead others if they were compelled to and were smart enough to utilize their healing ability in combat without jeopardizing themselves.

Society
Baernaloths intentionally isolated themselves from yugoloth society, having long since vanished into the Gray Wastes and making no efforts to migrate to Gehenna with most other yugoloths. They lived as hermits, making lairs within towers so twisted and desolate that even denizens of Hades would find them menacing. Though they often wandered in solitude, baernaloths occasionally had companions in the form of night hags or nightmares.

Despite making themselves outcasts among the yugoloths, baernaloths were put on a pedestal far above what their relatively weak physical and magical abilities would suggest. Most yugoloths knew of their creation myth and so the baernaloths were very highly regarded. The ultroloths in particular sought audience with the baernaloths, whether for guidance or power, with few finding them, some never returning, but most merely left empty-handed. The General of Gehenna himself was well known for his reliance on the knowledge of the baernaloths, and since baernaloths only advised ultroloths they saw as deserving, by whatever metric they used to determine worthiness, most settled for asking the General.

The Demented were the baernaloths far more likely to be encountered as their desire to act drove them to work with others, whether baernaloths or otherwise. Some led parties of miscellaneous fiends during the Blood War while some of the most prominent ultroloths were fortunate enough to have Demented as willing advisors and confidants. Anthraxus himself had a small personal guard of baernaloths that helped him locate and destroy his greatest enemies.

History
Due to their absence from the Book of Keeping and the seeming inability for other yugoloths to become baernaloth's, it was long thought that baernaloth's were not truly yugoloths but a more ancient and primal force. Considering the moral character of both the ultroloths and baernaloths the idea that it was an intentional deception perpetuated by both it was not implausible. While it was purported that the baernaloths created the yugoloths, the most explanative creation myth of the gehreleths also had a baernaloth creator in the form of Apomps. It was said that when Apomps and the other baernaloths were deciding on the shape that their evil creations should take, Apomps went off on his own and ended up shunned for his chaos-tainted creations. Furthering the claims of unified creation by the baernaloths was the existence of immeasurably ancient texts that asserted both the obyriths and an ancient race of Baatorians were made by the yugoloths, although few outside of Gehenna and Hades believed them.

The true motivation behind the creation of the various fiendish races was fiercely debated among scholars. While some thought they were master visionaries that saw the course of creation and the best path for evil as a whole, others believed the baernaloths merely wanted puppets who would create opportunities for them to exploit. However, it was completely possible that their creation myth was mere fabrication. The baernaloths themselves claimed not to be responsible for the creation of the yugoloths, an idea supported by more recent reports that the yugoloths were a commission by Asmodeus provided by the night hags. The claim that only ultroloths could have a chance to locate them was also contradicted by rumors of mortals coming across them, although according to those who allegedly came across them the baernaloths admitted to advising certain ultroloths. The fact that their enigmatic secrets were only confirmed to be true by the ultroloths themselves made it entirely possible that the creator myth was invented or simply furthered by the ultroloths to justify their rule.