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Description
A whole bunch of information about Kyan!
Her boys are Yu, Felix, and Kaplan (from left-to-right)

Art and character by

Colors by

Bugbearism
Bugbearism is a smart virus. It attacks the victim's DNA and mutates them based on two factors: 1) its native template and 2) to take fullest advantage of their natural strengths.
Any being that does not possess DNA will be unaffected by the virus. Beings that have a lot of magic in their system will likely reject the virus, but the resulting internal battle will be painful and possibly fatal. If they do not reject the virus they may lose some or all of their magical ability. Some aliens have incompatible DNA and will reject the virus, but most Humanoids are compatible. If the victim has cybernetic or other artificial implants these will most likely be rejected by the virus and ultimately the person's body, but occasionally, highly beneficial cybernetics will not be rejected and the virus will adapt its template to support them.

The virus can be spread by any mature Bugbear (it takes approx. two years to reach full maturity) in the form of a sticky purple liquid that is produced in a gland at the back of the Bugbear's throat. All mature Bugbears feel compelled to pass on the virus, but will generally not do so more than once a year unless they are under great stress.
The infectant needs to get into the victim's stomach or blood stream in order to begin working; any amount will do but the more involved the quicker it will take hold. It tastes a bit like sweet and sour sauce, but has a consistency close to warm molasses.

After ingestion, the victim will become rapidly groggy and will ultimately pass out after anywhere from a minute to twenty minutes have passed. They will remain in a comatose state for up to several days as the virus gets to work on their system. The closer the victim is to the infector's original species (i.e. Kyan was Human, so if she infects another Human) the less time it will take for the virus to take hold.

After this, the main body of mutation takes roughly a month. The new bugbear will see very little obvious change in the first few days, but then many things will begin to change. Their skin will itch everywhere for days as their skin changes and they begin to grow fur; Bugbears do not sweat, they radiate heat out through their fur and horns. Near the end of the first week their horns will begin to grow in and their fingernails will start to fall out as their finger bones reshape themselves to accommodate claws.
At around ten days, ears will begin to change. The jaw will change shape, becoming wider, to allow for a better bite. Around this time the lower back begins to adjust and the victim starts growing new vertebra that will form the tail. Bugbears do not automatically have the muscle strength to use their tail effectively and most new bugbears are easily identifiable by the fact that they tend to let their tail drag around behind them. A mature bugbear would never let their tail lie on the ground.

Mutation is not a comfortable process.

Throughout the first month the Bugbear will be experiencing a growth spurt, generally gaining about a foot in height (though this can vary), most of which will be in the legs.
The new bugbear will be hungry, all the time, while they are mutating and will need to maintain at least twice the calorie intake of a normal member of their species in order to stay healthy.

While all of this is happening certain parts of the brain are being reprogrammed to help the bugbear be a more efficient killing machine. They will generally keep most of their personality and automatic memories (how to perform tasks and speak languages) but their long term memories will be overwritten 'causing them to slowly forget everything up until the point of their infection.

Over the next year or so a bugbear's teeth will become loose and fall out (mostly one at a time) as new, tougher, sharper teeth grow in. If a tooth is chipped or lost at any point during the Bugbear's life, they will lose the old one and grow a new one within a few days.

Bugbear regeneration is not extremely rapid, but it is thorough. It is very difficult to kill a Bugbear. A bugbear can take critical damage to any part of its body except the brain, but including vital organs such as lungs and heart, and survive. In the event of truly devastating injuries--if vital organs are damaged or destroyed the bugbear's system will shut down completely, appearing for all intents and purposes to be dead. The virus works as a backup battery, keeping the brain alive while it repairs the most vital damage first. The bugbear should regain consciousness within a few hours (unless the damage is especially extensive), but it will take much longer to make a full recovery, depending on the scope of the wound. Limb loss can take a month or more to fully repair.

Bugbears do not grow old. They remain at the prime of their life for as long as they live. Humans who become Bugbears can expect to live until they are in their fifties (assuming they aren't killed in combat, which they generally prefer) after which point their body will begin to shut down as their regenerative ability ceases to be able to keep up with general wear and tear. They will experience organ failure, become extremely ill, and within a year of the onset of symptoms they will die.

Description
A whole bunch of information about Kyan!
Her boys are Yu, Felix, and Kaplan (from left-to-right)

Art and character by

Colors by

Bugbearism
Bugbearism is a smart virus. It attacks the victim's DNA and mutates them based on two factors: 1) its native template and 2) to take fullest advantage of their natural strengths.
Any being that does not possess DNA will be unaffected by the virus. Beings that have a lot of magic in their system will likely reject the virus, but the resulting internal battle will be painful and possibly fatal. If they do not reject the virus they may lose some or all of their magical ability. Some aliens have incompatible DNA and will reject the virus, but most Humanoids are compatible. If the victim has cybernetic or other artificial implants these will most likely be rejected by the virus and ultimately the person's body, but occasionally, highly beneficial cybernetics will not be rejected and the virus will adapt its template to support them.

The virus can be spread by any mature Bugbear (it takes approx. two years to reach full maturity) in the form of a sticky purple liquid that is produced in a gland at the back of the Bugbear's throat. All mature Bugbears feel compelled to pass on the virus, but will generally not do so more than once a year unless they are under great stress.
The infectant needs to get into the victim's stomach or blood stream in order to begin working; any amount will do but the more involved the quicker it will take hold. It tastes a bit like sweet and sour sauce, but has a consistency close to warm molasses.

After ingestion, the victim will become rapidly groggy and will ultimately pass out after anywhere from a minute to twenty minutes have passed. They will remain in a comatose state for up to several days as the virus gets to work on their system. The closer the victim is to the infector's original species (i.e. Kyan was Human, so if she infects another Human) the less time it will take for the virus to take hold.

After this, the main body of mutation takes roughly a month. The new bugbear will see very little obvious change in the first few days, but then many things will begin to change. Their skin will itch everywhere for days as their skin changes and they begin to grow fur; Bugbears do not sweat, they radiate heat out through their fur and horns. Near the end of the first week their horns will begin to grow in and their fingernails will start to fall out as their finger bones reshape themselves to accommodate claws.
At around ten days, ears will begin to change. The jaw will change shape, becoming wider, to allow for a better bite. Around this time the lower back begins to adjust and the victim starts growing new vertebra that will form the tail. Bugbears do not automatically have the muscle strength to use their tail effectively and most new bugbears are easily identifiable by the fact that they tend to let their tail drag around behind them. A mature bugbear would never let their tail lie on the ground.

Mutation is not a comfortable process.

Throughout the first month the Bugbear will be experiencing a growth spurt, generally gaining about a foot in height (though this can vary), most of which will be in the legs.
The new bugbear will be hungry, all the time, while they are mutating and will need to maintain at least twice the calorie intake of a normal member of their species in order to stay healthy.

While all of this is happening certain parts of the brain are being reprogrammed to help the bugbear be a more efficient killing machine. They will generally keep most of their personality and automatic memories (how to perform tasks and speak languages) but their long term memories will be overwritten 'causing them to slowly forget everything up until the point of their infection.

Over the next year or so a bugbear's teeth will become loose and fall out (mostly one at a time) as new, tougher, sharper teeth grow in. If a tooth is chipped or lost at any point during the Bugbear's life, they will lose the old one and grow a new one within a few days.

Bugbear regeneration is not extremely rapid, but it is thorough. It is very difficult to kill a Bugbear. A bugbear can take critical damage to any part of its body except the brain, but including vital organs such as lungs and heart, and survive. In the event of truly devastating injuries--if vital organs are damaged or destroyed the bugbear's system will shut down completely, appearing for all intents and purposes to be dead. The virus works as a backup battery, keeping the brain alive while it repairs the most vital damage first. The bugbear should regain consciousness within a few hours (unless the damage is especially extensive), but it will take much longer to make a full recovery, depending on the scope of the wound. Limb loss can take a month or more to fully repair.

Bugbears do not grow old. They remain at the prime of their life for as long as they live. Humans who become Bugbears can expect to live until they are in their fifties (assuming they aren't killed in combat, which they generally prefer) after which point their body will begin to shut down as their regenerative ability ceases to be able to keep up with general wear and tear. They will experience organ failure, become extremely ill, and within a year of the onset of symptoms they will die.