A bust of my Arhulian species by papabirdurskeks! What could they be so smug about?

The real answer: Arhulians are much more cunning than their monstrous appearance would suggest. After being taught the rules of the game chess by a brave individual, they blossomed from novice to master in just a week. They could have progressed even faster were they not "throwing" matches to dissect failed strategies.

When asked about their meteoric rise skill, the Arhulian simply replied they have been playing shadow matches with themselves. All the so-called "masters" have commented on the impossibility of this, and there must be some other cause for their profound development, everything from being a "dumbsmart" by brute forcing successful moves from raw cogitation (like how a computer would do it if they existed in the low fantasy setting I usually depict them in) to simply lying about being a novice.

The Arhulian is speaking in earnest! For this particular example, Vorandrus, is a "mature" Arhulian. One that has practiced the ritual of Arhel-Val; a ritual where the Arhulian absorbs the consciousness of being(s) hosted within their body. Unlike assimilation where the host is effectively destroyed as an independent entity, the merged being exists within the Arhulian. The absorbed can either interact with the Arhulian directly as it's own entity, or the merged can lay dormant in a dreamlike state, and have their knowledge and memories at hand by their host.

In this case, Vorandrus has "amalgamated" with other members of their kind, and even a "donor" or two. By willingly partitioning the consciousness within them, they can do shadow matches with "themselves" and even have the other consciousness play against each other. After a sufficient amount of time, all the minds are reunited an put into dormancy, with the host assimilating the memories experienced. In essence, this "one" Arhulian has accrued the lived experience of several people all playing against each other for hours on end. Depending on how one defines it, they probably are cheating in some capacity or is at least going against the spirit of the game. And they're happy to keep you in the dark about how stacked the odds are against you :3

Spooky Lore Below
CW: Body Horror // Maybe

---

Needless to say, challenging an Arhulian to any sort of mental skill game is a bad idea, let alone actually trying to cheat at one, never mind being a sore loser about it.

One upon a time, sly anthro fox by the name of Thistlebald had the bright idea to try and cheat during a card game against the "badgerpede." Between their extraordinary senses, and their ability to know probability, it was easy to tell the fox was playing unfairly. When called out upon it, several high stakes players refused to sit down with a known cheat, costing the Fox a lot of money. In a fit of rage, Thistlebald pulled out a revolver and shot Vorandrus with all six chambers.

His first mistake was shooting at a creature that he did not know where the heart was located. The second was assuming Arhulians had a heart to shoot. The third was assuming Vorandrus would just leave it at that. Just because he failed to do meaningful damage does not excuse deadly force. The fourth was thinking he could run. The fifth was not firing the gun only five times, as he would have saved the last bullet for themselves had they known their soon-to-be-fate.

The Fox had ran, thinking themselves safe from their unfazed and pissed off victim. Little did Thistlebald know, Arhulians possess a life sense that allows them to detect the auras of living beings around them. Like hearing, it is omni-directional, and penetrates through solid material. Quite literally, Vorandrus saw right through the Fox's sleight of hand.

Hiding somewhere alone would be Thistlbald's last mistake, as his frantic, panicked aura was trivial to identify. Vorandrus had swallowed the comparatively tiny cheat and would-be-murderer whole and alive. To Thistlebald's horror, it was not the end. Instead, the hot-blooded cheat became a temporary 'guest' in the Arhulians mind sphere.

With numerous organic tubes interfacing with Thislebald's body as natural life support - including right down into his lungs and esophagus, the Fox could not even release so much as a whimper from his vocal chords. Entombed and restrained, all Thistlebald could do was hear the crowd milling about outside, completely unaware of his plight, much to his horror.

The only one that knew of the Fox's whereabouts was the Arhulian imprisoning them within their flesh, strutting about in broad daylight as they went about their business as usual - save for their chuffed demeanor. In time, Vorandrus would release their detainee after a valuable lesson had been learned, but until then, their Psychic energy made for a handsome treat.

Weeks later, Thistlebald returned after his mysterious disappearance. Most did not give it much thought, as being run out of town was normal for most cheaters. Yet, the once sly Fox seemed different, and not in the groveling "oh please let me back in" kind of way. When pressed about the matter, he insists he was plagued by horrible nightmares for his crimes he committed. That the he guilt caused him to undergo some kind of "vision quest" that brought him enlightenment, vowing to never cheat again.

Most would dismiss a dime-a-dozen story about turning over new leaf; but it was clear the Fox had the fear of the gods put in him - which was strange, as Thistlebald had never been a religious type.