Species Description:
Not even Tymaera's vegetation has been safe from the influence of dark magic. Trethaks were once ordinary trees but have now been mutated into something evil and deadly.
Trethaks appear as ordinary trees, except that, at first glance, they are dead. Their growth appears to have been stunted, limiting their maximum heights to approximately 15ft although they are often shorter. Their bark is scarred and dark, greyish in comparison to any normal healthy trees around them. Also Trethaks are twisted, their leafless boughs knotted and contorted, some people even claim that faces of the Trethak 's victims are visible in the gnarled wood (although such stories are dismissed as exaggerations). Sometimes, to disguise themselves, Trethaks will allow vines or ivy to grow on them, making them less conspicuous.
Trethaks are a danger that can be found in any forest, woodland or copse of trees where they will attack and kill the unwary. They remain perfectly still, apparently rooted to the spot, until a possible prey comes close enough for the Trethak to sense their presence by detecting vibrations both through movement and sound (as they have no visual receptors). It is then that they will begin to move. Although they move slowly, Trethaks move in silence, allowing them to creep up on the unwary. Once they are close enough Trethaks will attack. They can move their branches quickly and use them as clubs or like flails until their prey is overcome. Then they will wrap their branches around the victim, trapping them. Demonic magic allows these creatures to absorb lifeforce and energy and so the victim is drained dry, at which point the Trethak will drop the lifeless husk and move away to find a new place to wait away from the evidence.
Trethaks feel no pain, and are difficult to kill as their bark is very tough. The only way to destroy one is to destroy its trunk, but lopping off branches is a passable measure for temporary defence (as they will grow back within a few hours). Their main weakness is fire as their sap is highly flammable, but for someone to attack a Trethaks with fire whilst in close proximity to it is to risk being caught in the flames also.
Average Statistics
Diet: carnivore
Alignment (if any): evil - demonic
Life expectancy: unknown
Solitary/Group (number): solitary