Sky-Rats

Rattus volans / “Wing-Vermin” / “The Plague”

“Three certainties in life: Death, corruption, and sky-rats. In that order.”
—Pessimist’s saying

Quick Reference

Sky-Rats - The Plague

Description

Sky-rats are exactly what they sound like—flying rodents that infest ships, settlements, and storage areas throughout the Aetherium. They are larger than terrestrial rats, with leathery wings, sharp teeth, aggressive temperaments, and an uncanny ability to survive anything humans throw at them. They breed explosively, eat everything, spread disease, and resist all attempts at eradication. Every settlement has them. Every settlement hates them. And yet they persist, thriving in humanity’s shadow like a curse that won’t lift.

The creatures are grotesque: rat-like bodies covered in patchy fur, leathery wings like bats, red eyes that glow faintly in darkness, and teeth that never stop growing (forcing them to gnaw constantly). They smell like rot and garbage, make horrible shrieking sounds, and move in jerky, unsettling patterns. Unlike cloud-hoppers (which are cute despite being pests), sky-rats are simply repulsive.

Sky-rats are commensal vermin—they live alongside humans because humans provide food (garbage, stored goods, carrion) and shelter (buildings, ships, ruins). They’re intelligent enough to avoid most traps, social enough to warn each other of dangers, and prolific enough that killing dozens makes no difference to the population. They’re disease vectors, property destroyers, and constant reminders that in the Aetherium, some problems can’t be solved—only endured.

Physical Characteristics

Appearance

Body: - Rat-like (elongated, hunched) - Length: 30-40cm (not including tail) - Weight: 1-2kg - Covered in patchy fur (mangy appearance)

Fur: - Colors: Gray, brown, black, mottled - Patchy (disease, parasites, fighting) - Oily (water-resistant but smells) - Sheds constantly (allergenic)

Wings: - Leathery membrane (like bat wings) - Wingspan: 60cm - Attached from forelimbs to hindlimbs - Often torn or scarred - Fold against body when not flying

Head: - Rat-like (pointed snout) - Red eyes (glow faintly in darkness) - Large ears (excellent hearing) - Whiskers (sensitive) - Teeth: Yellow, constantly growing, sharp

Tail: - Long (30-40cm), hairless - Scaly, prehensile - Used for balance, grasping - Often damaged (fights, accidents)

Claws: - Sharp (for clinging, fighting) - Four limbs - Can grip surfaces - Scratch causes infection (dirty claws)

Behavior and Ecology

Movement

Flight: - Flapping (rapid, noisy) - Gliding (short distances) - Erratic patterns (hard to predict) - Maneuverability: High - Speed: Moderate (can outrun humans, not birds)

Climbing: - Excellent climbers - Scale walls, ropes, chains - Access anywhere - Difficult to exclude

Burrowing: - Chew through wood, fabric, soft materials - Create nests in walls, attics, holds - Damage structures - Expensive to repair

Social Structure

Colonies: - Live in groups (20-100 individuals) - Loose hierarchy (dominant pairs) - Cooperative (share food, warn of danger) - Aggressive to outsiders

Communication: - Squeaking (contact) - Shrieking (alarm) - Chattering (aggression) - Ultrasonic (humans can’t hear)

Reproduction: - Breed continuously - Litter every month - 6-10 pups per litter - Sexual maturity: 2 months - Population explosion potential

Nesting: - Build nests (shredded materials) - Prefer enclosed, dark spaces - Defend aggressively - Raise young communally

Diet

Preferences: - Garbage (primary food source) - Carrion (dead animals, including other sky-rats) - Stored goods (grains, dried meat, anything) - Fresh food (if accessible)

Will Eat: - Literally anything organic - Paper, cloth, leather (if desperate) - Soap, candles (why?) - Each other (when starving) - Absolutely indiscriminate

Foraging: - Nocturnal primarily - Opportunistic (take any chance) - Persistent (try repeatedly) - Wasteful (contaminate more than they eat)

As Disease Vectors

Diseases Carried

Sky-Pox: - Viral infection - Symptoms: Fever, rash, respiratory distress - Mortality: 10-20% - Spread by sky-rat bites, droppings

Rot-Fever: - Bacterial infection - Symptoms: High fever, delirium, organ failure - Mortality: 30-40% (untreated) - Spread by contaminated food

Various Parasites: - Fleas, mites, worms - Transfer to humans - Cause itching, illness - Difficult to eliminate

Plague (Rare but devastating): - Bacterial (carried by fleas on sky-rats) - Symptoms: Fever, swelling, death - Mortality: 60-80% - Epidemic potential

Prevention: - Avoid sky-rat contact - Don’t eat contaminated food - Control populations (difficult) - Quarantine infected individuals

Control Methods

Traps

Effectiveness: Low - Sky-rats learn to avoid - Must be reset constantly - Catch few relative to population - Expensive (time, materials)

Types: - Snap traps (kill instantly) - Cage traps (capture alive) - Glue traps (cruel, effective) - Net traps (aerial)

Poison

Effectiveness: Moderate - Kills some - Others avoid (learn from dead) - Secondary poisoning risk (cats, children) - Controversial

Types: - Grain-based (they eat it) - Slow-acting (spreads through colony) - Fast-acting (they avoid it)

Predators

Cats: - Natural predators - Effectiveness: Moderate - Sky-rats fight back (dangerous for cats) - Some cats won’t hunt them

Hawks/Raptors: - Hunt sky-rats - Effectiveness: Low (rats hide) - Some settlements encourage - Limited impact

Cloud-Hoppers: - Compete for food - Occasionally kill young sky-rats - Minor control

Exclusion

Effectiveness: High (but difficult) - Seal all entry points - Metal screens on vents - Secure storage - Constant vigilance - Expensive but works

Uses (Desperate)

As Food

Edibility: Yes (technically) - Disease risk: High - Taste: Gamey, unpleasant - Texture: Tough, stringy - Preparation: Must cook thoroughly - Desperation level: Extreme

Who Eats Them: - Starving people - Some Murk residents (pragmatic) - Survival situations - Not by choice

Alchemy and Research

Kael Greythorn’s Studies: - Sky-rats survive Rot exposure better than most mammals - Some infected rats don’t die - Studying resistance mechanism - Potential applications for Rot-resistance

Body Parts: - Organs (alchemical experiments) - Blood (disease research) - Tissue samples (corruption studies) - Scientific value only

Cultural Impact

Symbolism

Negative: - Represent decay, disease, poverty - “Sky-rat infested” = slum - Used as insults - Symbol of everything wrong

Persistence: - Can’t be eliminated - Always return - Survive anything - Grudging respect for resilience

In Art and Literature

Common Themes: - Plague, decay, persistence - Metaphor for problems that won’t go away - Horror elements (swarms, disease) - Rarely positive

Sayings: - “Like sky-rats in a granary” (infestation) - “Sky-rat luck” (bad luck) - “Breed like sky-rats” (reproduce rapidly)

Encounter Scenarios

The Infestation

Setup: Settlement overrun with sky-rats

Complication: Population explosion - Thousands of rats - Disease outbreak - Food supplies threatened - Panic spreading

Challenge: Control population without poisoning community

The Diseased Swarm

Setup: Sky-rats spreading plague

Complication: Epidemic starting - Rats are vectors - Must eliminate them - But they’re everywhere - Time critical

Challenge: Stop epidemic before it spreads

The Giant Rat

Setup: Unusually large sky-rat (2m long) spotted

Complication: Is it mutation? Different species? Rot-corruption? - Aggressive, dangerous - Killing normal rats - Community terrified

Challenge: Hunt and eliminate (or study?)

Related Topics

• Cloud-Hoppers - Better pests
• Sky-Pox - Disease they carry
• Skyport Eos - Large population
• The Underbelly - Infested

In-World Documents

Public Health Notice

SKY-RAT WARNING

Sky-rat population increasing.
Disease risk elevated.

Precautions: - Seal food storage - Avoid sky-rat contact - Report large colonies - Seek treatment if bitten

Do not feed them.
Do not handle them.
Do not let children play with them.

They are not pets. They are plague vectors.

Exterminator’s Log

Day 1,247 of fighting sky-rats.

Killed 50 today. Probably 100 born.

Set 20 traps. They’ll avoid them by tomorrow.

Tried poison. Killed 200. Population unchanged.

They’re winning. They’ve always been winning.

I’ll keep fighting anyway. It’s my job.

But they’ll be here long after I’m dead.

“Sky-rats are unkillable, unstoppable, and unavoidable. They’re the Aetherium’s most successful species—more successful than humans, honestly. We build cities. They infest them. We store food. They eat it. We try to eliminate them. They multiply. They’ve won. We just haven’t accepted it yet. Maybe we should learn from them: adapt, persist, survive no matter what. Or maybe we should just keep setting traps and hoping. Either way, the sky-rats will be here tomorrow.”
—From Fauna of the Aetherium