The Fiend Eye is a parasitic abomination believed to have crawled forth from the lowest fringes of the Abyss—where flesh and thought are indistinguishable. Though its origins remain uncertain, scholars agree on one fact: where the Fiend Eye goes, sanity and identity rot away.

This creature does not kill its host outright. It usurps them—replacing thought with instinct, reason with violence, and soul with something alien and unclean.

Appearance

A Fiend Eye resembles a swollen, pulsing eyeball the size of an apple. Its surface is slick and wet, covered in branching veins that writhe independently, searching for warmth and life. A fleshy stalk trails behind it like a tail of nerves, ending in a cluster of tiny, twitching feelers used to anchor itself into flesh.

When not attached to a host, it moves in short, erratic bursts—rolling, hopping, or dragging itself across surfaces with disturbing purpose. Its pupil dilates and contracts in unnatural rhythms, pulsing faintly with a reddish glow when agitated or hungry.

Behavior

Fiend Eyes are patient predators. They lurk in dark, humid places—crypts, cellars, and battlefield ruins—waiting for a living host to wander too close. Upon finding one, the creature launches itself at the victim’s face, burrowing into the skull through the eye socket with horrifying precision.

Once inside, it fuses to the optic nerve and spinal cord, assuming control of motor functions. The process is swift, often complete within moments, leaving the victim twitching before rising again under new command.

The Fiend Eye uses its host as both camouflage and weapon. It drives the body to hunt, to maim, and to consume—fueled by an alien hunger it cannot satisfy. Though it prefers simple-minded hosts such as farmers, soldiers, or beasts, it avoids those with strong magical presence, as if instinctively fearing disruption of its control.

Signs of Possession

A host under the Fiend Eye’s influence displays several unmistakable traits:

1. One eye replaced by a faintly glowing, ever-watchful orb.
2. Erratic, jerky movements as if the body no longer fits properly.
3. Inability to speak coherently; words dissolve into snarls or laughter.
4. Occasional moments where the host freezes—head tilted—listening to something unseen.

When threatened, the Fiend Eye can momentarily detach, bursting free to seek a new host nearby, leaving the previous body limp and brain-dead.

Ecology and Theories

No one truly knows where the Fiend Eyes originate. Some scholars of the Abyss theorize they are the shed spawn of a greater intelligence—a godlike mass of eyes and nerves that hungers for perception across realms. Others claim they are failed familiars of ancient warlocks, cut loose from forgotten contracts.

Regardless of origin, Fiend Eyes have adapted frighteningly well. They spread like diseases, often unnoticed until an entire village turns feral, moving in jerking unison with a shared, silent gaze.