Keast (Pinguinus)

Keasts are a dangerous species of nocturnal telepaths found throughout the universe. They have existed as long as there have been children who engage in the mortal practice of sleep.

Description
Keasts are extremely variable in size, ranging from entities as large as elephants to individuals small enough to fit into a human ear (see below for details). They are roughly humanoid in appearance, although their preference for staying within shadowed areas obscures their shape in most encounters.

The eyes of a Keast usually glow with a bright, emotionally stimulating light. The eye color changes depending on the mental nature of the viewer. Most sapient races perceive the eyes of a Keast as red, while animals often perceive the eyeshine of their natural predators.

Behavior
Considered to be telepathic scavengers by higher races, Keasts can be found anywhere in the universe in which sapient beings that engage in sleep inhabit.

While most organisms feed on matter, Keasts are telepathic feeders. Their primary food source consists of the emotionally charged thoughts of sapient beings. In order to harvest such thoughts, Keasts will spend months or even years lurking in the home of a sapient being. They will stir only at night, spending most of the day nestled inside closets or under beds. Any location nearby a place of sleep may be selected as a Keast nest.

Once the owners of the home are asleep, Keasts will attempt to move as close as possible to a slumbering individual. Once a close position has been attained, the feeding Keast will absorb psychic energy produced by a dreaming entity, growing larger depending on the emotional intensity of the dream.

Particularly young and small Keasts may go to extreme lengths in an attempt to secure a close position to a slumbering individuals psychic energy. Frequently they will crawl into the ears or nostrils of the individual as a means of positioning themselves close to the brain.

Older Keasts are known to influence the dreams of their chosen targets by selectively making sounds. These sounds are usually noises that the Keast believes will result in an intense emotional response, such as an imitation of a phobia or a romantic interest's voice.

History
No one in the universe currently possesses information regarding the origin of the Keasts. The only known records resided at the Library, but were specifically seeked out and destroyed by Vashta Nerada.