Though the phrase “houri” has commonly come to mean “exotic dancing girl or courtesan,” true
houris are in fact a sub-race of the Demonbrood. No male houris have ever been recorded in the
Wilderlands and it is not known whether they exist at all. Few indeed ever see female
houris in their natural form which is said to be that of a beautiful, if obviously demonic,
female, with vulture clawed hands and cloven hooves, golden fur covering the body below the
waist, scales covering the body from waist to neck, and a perfect, inhumanly beautiful
human face, with horrible fangs. Houris also said to have raven, bat, or vulture-like wings.
Houris normally use their inherent magic to appear in the form of a beautiful, incredibly
seductive female of whatever race they choose. It is said they first appeared in the south
close to the borders of the Demon Empires and there are ancient tales of Empires having been
built and fallen at the whim of these beings. These days they have spread throughout the
Wilderlands. Many have attempted to portray them as utterly evil agents of the Markrabs
but a review of their history leads one to the conclusion that their goal, intentionally or
not, appears to be assimilation into wider society. In that they are highly sought-after
courtesans they may be said to have partially succeeded.
One of the reasons that the race is interesting is their reproduction. It is said that despite
their promiscuous habits they have complete control over which of their many partners will
father their children and the timing of
their pregnancy. The offspring from a human father (humans seem to be houris' preferred mates) will
generally appear to be a perfectly normal human female but one with a high chance of
transforming into a true houri at puberty. If she does not
she will remain a mostly-human being, a Half-Houri, slightly unearthly and often dangerous.
More rarely the offspring is male, a horribly misshapen
thing, that somehow survives regardless of its terrible deformities (if not slain out of
hand).
The deformed male, known as an Anak, if allowed to
grow up, will become an innately powerful magical creature.
Usually these creatures remain in the complete
thrall of their mothers who, if evil, use them to reek havoc on their enemies.