Cloudbeast

Chimère de nuages

From my experience I cannot doubt but that man, when lost to terrestrial consciousness, is indeed sojourning in another and incorporeal life of far different nature from the life we know; and of which only the slightest and most indistinct memories linger after waking. From those blurred and fragmentary memories we may infer much, yet prove little.

— H. P. Lovecraft

A Cloudbeast resembles an animated cloud. It can at will form bulbous eyes, twisted mouths, long ropy limbs, and other organs out of its mass, as well as resorb such items into its vaporous mass when desired. It is completely silent at all times. Nine different types of limbs—brachiate, ctenic, ocular, pedical, remular, scindiate, stomatic, vacuolated, and velumar—have been described (Marsh, 1976).

This Carnivore, though lacking intelliegnce, is persistent and well-adapted to the hunt, finding it nearly as easy to seize a shipload of humans as to siphon up a school of tuna.

Comparative height chart

Habitat : open air, usually near or on an ocean, especially along temperate and tropical storm tracks.

Distribution : though rare, the Cloudbeast has been found across the Southern Sea and adjoining territories. Marsh (ibid.) claims that it does not originate in Earth’s Dreamlands at all, but from another world’s dreams, a theory supported by the creature’s bizarre constitution and metabolism.

Life and Habits : floating freely over land and sea, the beast seeks food. Spotting a likely meal, it drops slowly towards the intended prey. Victims of the Cloudbeast are converted into mist themselves, and incorporated into the creature. The digestive mechanism is poorly understood.

When a Cloudbeast becomes large enough (200-325 feet in diameter), it rises to an altitude as high as 3 miles, then bursts into several smaller beasts. The offspring from this mitosis average 26-39 feet across.

A Cloudbeast may grow and shrink many times during its 20-30 year lifetime. Periods of stress lessen the creature’s volume, while prosperous feeding increase it. It is remarkably resistant to injury: wounds simply reform or refill themselves.

Distinguishing Cloudbeasts :

• Blupes are much smaller, transparent, and do not form long, thin limbs from their body substance.

• Lamp-efts have definite shape, glowing eyes, and are much smaller.

Sample Arms The Cloudbeast’s astonishing ability to make solids of vapor is even more amazing close up. Here two brachiate versions are shown: the left for grappling and anchoring, and the right for grasping prey the size of humans or zebras. The strength depicted is not artistic license: such arms could successfully wield several tons weight. Fig. 31—Two versions of brachiate pseudopods. 91