Difference between revisions of "Minor races"

Revision as of 13:13, 27 October 2011

Here are listed the sentient races of Felarya that are either too rare, too few, too mysterious or extinct to be properly classified. Some of these may later become full fledged races. Because the page is reaching the maximum size, here is the second part of the Minor races list : Minor races2

A Lovely demi-chimera near a gentle stream. Picture by Greekmuscle and used with his permission. To see the larger version, visit his Deviantart gallery.

Demi-Chimeras

A rare, almost legendary race, demi-chimeras are usually humanoid but their appearance varies a lot from one specimen to another. Each of them is a unique combination of human and animal features such as tails, horns, fur, scales etc, and they are usually very brightly colored. A few of them are more animal-looking, with few human features at all. Most of them are human-sized, though there has been report of giant specimens roaming the jungle. However, even smaller demi-chimeras are rarely bothered by predators at all. This is because of their frightening ability to manipulate and alter, to a certain extent, the reality and probabilities of the future. This means, for example, that if you set a trap to catch a demi-chimera, if there is even a very remote possibility that the trap malfunction or miss, it will likely happens. Moreover, should you anger one of them, they can give you terribly bad luck. All the things that could go wrong WILL suddenly go wrong, along with many you didn't expected. It's like having the universe against you, and on a world like Felarya, needless to say it's not very healthy. However demi-chimeras are peaceful, calm and intelligent creatures, and you really have to seek troubles to get one angry at you. Their mouths are unable to modulate any human sounds though, making communication with them difficult. Some of them have been sighted toward the Lake of illusions and the Misty glade.

Nemesises

Nemesises, also known as dream trackers, are tall humanoid creatures with long limbs and a very long, extendable neck (similar to a japanese rokurokubi). Their features are human though, albeit slighty elongated, and they are generally very beautiful with deep, fascinating eyes. They form a rare species and on Felarya, they all appear to be females. They are intelligent beings with exquisite and reffined manners, and when in public, they wear beautiful ornated dress and complicated jewelry. They don't really mix with humans though, and when they do it's often only to offer their services as assassins. In general people tend to avoid nemesises as much as they can because of their frightening reputation. Nemesises are definitely not the sort of creatures you want to mess with. They are extremely agile, able to climb seemingly slick walls, and make excellent archers, but the great fear they inspire comes their unique ability: dream tracking. With just one quick glance, a nemesis can "mark" you.

Once marked, every time you go to sleep the nemesis knows exactly where you are. You will have relentless and terrible nightmares of the nemesis devouring you. The closer the nemesis is to your location, the more vivid these nightmares become. Once she is close enough, about to 30 to 50 meters, the nemesis can "dream-eat" you. The process is an absolute mystery, but what is known for sure is that the sleeping body of the marked person disappears from their bed, and ends up shrunken in the nemesis's belly. It's theoretically possible to fight against the nemesis in the dream, but that would require a mastery over dreams that very few beings possess. And the closer she is, the more difficult it becomes. For the marked person, waking up from the nightmare when the nemesis is about to dream-eat them would be extremely difficult as well, unless the nemesis allow them to do so. What is especially terrifying is that there are no known limits on how many targets can be marked this way. A nemesis could spy on a small army, mark all of them, and eat them one by one over the course of the coming nights. A Nemesis cannot dream-eat several targets in the same time, though, and they must focus on one, although they can provide nightmares for several at once. There has been interesting cases of nemesises marking friends, in order to keep track of them and delivering them messages or warnings through dreams. They appear to be able to remove the mark they put on a person at will. Lastly, a Nemesis cannot use the mark put by another Nemesis. She must have posed it herself.

Despite this terrifying power, a Nemesis attempting to dream-eat a person would be in a vulnerable position while doing it, as it is not an instant process. It would take several minutes during which the Nemesis simply can't move. If she is found by security guards or a predator in the meantime, she's in trouble. Nemesises are also vulnerable to Dreamcatchers, magical items able to filter, or catch bad dreams. Depending on their power, they can make excellent shields or even weapons against Nemesises.

Ghosts

A generic term referring to various types of immaterial and spiritual beings. Having no tangible body, ghosts remain bound to reality, either through magic, an exceptionally strong will (in the case of deceased creatures), or by many other unknown and mysterious means. Most ghosts are invisible or very hard to perceive. To get a glimpse of one, you need to be either in a proper environment, possess some kind of "spirit vision", or dealing with a ghost willing to show itself. Some particular ghosts, such as spectres, are able to create tangible bodies through magical means. These bodies are usually fairly crude imitations of living bodies though, and even the most advanced imitation will be slighty transparent. A body is not a very important thing to a ghost anyway, and they usually use one only in order to better interact with living beings. If it is destroyed, the ghost can just create a new one. There is exceptions to that though and, ironically, some ghosts develop such a strong bond to a material body that destroying it affects the spirit so much that it vanishes from reality.

There are numerous creatures labeled as "ghosts", sometimes inaccurately. Some are extraordinary beautiful, while others are positively nightmarish; some are kind and friendly, gathering knowledge and helping others, while others are aggressive and dangerous, such as the dreaded labrisomes. Among adventurers, it is widely accepted that dealing with ghosts is a risky business. Some strange effects can occur from a simple contact with them, and some of them are predatory, having no qualms about consuming living prey. They woud stalk their victim, then suddenly appear out of nowhere and swallow it whole, before returning to their immaterial state to digest it. Moreover, their bodies can't be harmed by any physical means aside from some rare enchanted weapons, making ghosts very dangerous and hard to kill. Oddly enough, although they are positively swimming in magic, ghosts appear to be rather average spellcasters themselves.

Amorphea the slimoid. Picture by Teotocchi and used with her permission. To see the larger version, visit her Deviantart gallery.

Slimoids

Slimoids are amoeba-like humanoid beings. Their body makeup is strange and sometimes causes them to be mistaken for water elementals. Their body's interior mostly consists in a special plasm, while instead of skin they have a clear membrane. To eat, they can open a food vacuole from their lips or any other point on their body. Then they take in food- of any size that they can wrap their membrane around without risk of being injured- which is then broken down quite clearly in plain view, which can be a rather disturbing sight. Their bodies are quite malleable. While this means they can slip into very small and irregular spaces to hide, it also means that they can be slurped up with ease. Slug Girls pose a deadly threat to slimoids, as they do to oozes. A slimoid's only real weak point internally would be their 'nucleus' structure, a small nexus more magical than not, which serves multiple critical functions. Slimoid nature means it's fairly easy for them to master the discipline of magic-structured shape-changing. This enables slimoids, with practice, to take on more detailed and differing forms, albeit keeping their amoeba nature. To defend themselves, it's not uncommon for slimoids to elongate their arms and form whipping pseudapods with them. Some specimens are aquatic, while others are not. Those that are take more streamlined forms than their terrestrial counterparts. All slimoids need a moist environment, or at least easy access to water in order to survive, and they reproduce via mitosis.

Chilotaurs

Chilotaurs resemble a cross between an human and a giant centipede. They vary in size but average between 140-290 feet in length. Their human halves have deeply tanned skin, pointed ears, and two long antennae protruding from their foreheads that are always in motion. Their function is to alert the chilotaur to any threat or food source nearby. They are very sensitive to movement to a range of about 60 feet, although males have a somewhat larger range in order to help them locate mates. Their centipede bodies are various shades of color ranging from a very light tan to deep black or red. The number of legs varies but most have around 40 pairs. The first pair of legs are actually a delivery system for a very nasty venom which is why most predators leave chilotaurs alone. The effects of the venom are paralysis followed by difficulty in breathing, and then death in a matter of minutes for human sized victims. Larger predators may escape with severe pain and nausea. However chilotaurs do have their weaknesses. They can’t stand bright light of any kind and prefer to avoid traveling in daylight if they can help it. They prefer dark ,moist environments and are usually found on the forest floor among the leafy litter, or in caves, or in ruined buildings.

Chilotaurs aren’t fussy about their diet. If it's slow enough to catch and small enough to be swallowed, it's lunch! Favorite food items include small mammals, flightless birds, reptiles of all descriptions and various fruits and vegetables. They are particularly fond of small arboreal frogs and don't seem to mind the skin secretions at all from the poisonous varieties. Although rare, it has been known for larger specimens to become man-eaters. These individuals can be a real hazard for adventurers exploring cave systems. Loners by nature, Chilotaurs prefer their own company and enjoy a nomadic existence. They get bored if forced to stay in one place for too long. Chilotaurs leave their parents at around their tenth year and strike out on their own, trusting in luck, their wits, and their strong venom to make their way in life. Chilotaurs are rather neutral by nature and don't favor one race over another. They are just as happy talking to Dridders and Succubi as they are to Humans and Nagas. They have a foot in every camp. ^^ If they have one general character flaw, it's that they often place too high a value on their own experiences and knowledge. Talking to a chilotaur means you will be bombarded with all sorts of advice and have to sort the good from the bad. They mean well of course.

Known Chilotaurs

Nix

Genies

Supernatural beings made of pure magic. Their skin is usually brightly colored, from blood red to azure blue, yellow, or green. They float in the air, rarely bothering to form legs. Genies possess many strange abilities. The most famous is their mass-less nature : they can expand to cover a vast area or shrink down to fit through a tiny hole, much like "solid" smoke might behave. Genies are rare on Felarya but more common than on most other worlds because of its ambient magic. Once a genie finds it, they usually stay there or at least don't leave for good. Some legends tell of a great genie city floating somewhere in the skies of Felarya. Genies are extremely powerful spellcasters and can master basically every type of magic, from necromancy, to elemental, dimensional, even void magic. They have some rather severe weaknesses though: being completely made of magic means that any anti-magic being is deadly for them, and that they can't resist any summoning or binding ritual if the spellcaster performing it is strong enough. Thus, genies make excellent and very sought after guardians. This annoys genies to no end however, and if the spellcaster proves too weak to succeed with the spell, the genie will have a serious grudge against them, and pissing off a genie is generally not very healthy. Genies are clever, mischievous, and sometimes cruel beings. One of their particular hobbies is to grant wishes to others. A wish granted by a genie, however, has often dire and sometimes fatal consequences for the wisher, as genies just love to exploit loopholes or twist interpretations. And because genies are adaptative beings, on Felarya the wisher often ends in a stomach of sort.

Titans

A race of giant and very ancient construct beings. Their appareances varies, but most of them are humanoid in shape, possess features of a statuesque perfection, and their skin seem to be made of metal, marble, or stone. With their armor and clothes that often seem embedded in their skin, it's sometimes difficult to say for sure where it ends and where the skin actually begins. Titans possess formidable strength, able to make trees fly and pulverize rocks with their bare fist... or so it is said in legends and ancient scriptures, because no titans have been spotted in Felarya for millenias, although many believe they still exist. Their origins are thus very vague.

The most famous titans were the Tedreks, especially known for their blacksmiths and their legendary Tedrek steel, able to slice through stone. As blacksmiths, the Tedrek were only rivaled by the lava elementals of Mont Vylkren in all Felarya. The Tedrek king, Alcazath, is said to be buried in a gigantic tomb, deep underneath the Mysterious temple. From what is gathered from the tales, Titans weren't an especially malevolent race, but they were terribly prideful, sure of their superiority and believed they were invincible. One would walk without hesitation in to the core of the fiercest battle, using his massive fist to make way, or wielding a immense battle hammer if the battle was serious. Despite their gigantic size, titans were rarely depicted as human-eaters, or eating at all for that matter, leaving room for debate on where they found the energy to move and fuel their gigantic bodies.

Jade, Jora and Tanny. Picture by Fontes-Makua and used with artist's permission. For larger version visit fontes-makua's gallery and for more, visit his blog : http://ranterworks.wordpress.com/

Giants and Giantesses

A blanket term used to describe beings who, for the most part, superficially resemble scaled-up humans. Technically a giant or giantess can simply be someone of fairly large stature, but in Felarya, the term mostly refers to beings who are truly huge compared to humans. They can be found in many differing environments, from jungles to swamps or barren lands. Although many races of their stature -such a giant elves- look humanoid enough, "true" giants and giantesses are actually less common in Felarya than one would expect, compared to some other large races. They tend to wander around, rather than hold a particular territory, making it quite difficult to determine whether or not one may be in the immediate area. Tell tale signs such as footprints, however, may give their presence away. They often possess incredible strength, due to their size, and some have been known to use magic, as well as large primitive hand-made weapons, mostly made from stone, wood, and animal bone. These beings pose a serious threat to adventurers. This is particularly true of giantesses, whose diet often includes humans and other small beings. It's interesting to note that, upon their arrival to Felarya from another world, a normal human may find themselves transformed into a giant or giantess, though this occurs very rarely.

Known Giants and Giantesses

Elle

Jade

Jora

Milly

Vampires

Vampires are undead beings, famous for their habit of sucking blood. Vampires feed by draining and consuming the blood of living beings, and their existence and their powers usually depend on it. They are creatures of the night as daylight harm them, and sometimes kills them. Vampires are typically the type of being you don't want to mess with: for one they possess inhuman strength, are good spellcasters, and have numerous unique and powerful skills. One of their main and most dreaded weapons is missing on Felarya though : a person bitten by a vampire will remain absolutely the same, and won't turn into a vampire themselves, unlike what happens on other worlds. Indeed, for some reason, most necromantic magic doesn't seem to work on Felarya. This also explains why they are so few vampires on this world.

Known vampires

Tanya

Miaxi and Gyspas

Miaxi

Under construction

Miaxi are a race of half bee, half human creatures, mostly found in Chidokai forest, and other jungle zones. They average 7 to 9 feet in height and stand on six insect-like legs, that protrude from a bee-like lower torso. Wings grow from their shoulder blades, and their very big compound eyes and specialized antennae help them in their agricultural needs. The rest of their facial features is mostly human. The bee half of a Miaxi is identical to the original insects: a large yellow abdomen and thorax covered in fuzzy hair and wrapped by several black stripes. The end of their abdomen holds their stinger, a sharp black barb that they can use to impale targets and inject venom. Miaxi also have transparent wings that are attached to the shoulder blades on their human half which they use for flight. Although delicate, their wings are somewhat resistant to harm. They are an all female species.

Hive

Miaxi are mostly farmers, though their 'farms' are found in titanic hives, the mass of a moderately sized Felaryan tree. These structures vary widely in appearance. They often use a base such as a hollowed tree or a large cave as a support, but they are sometimes built entirely from scratch. The main building material is Miaxi wax, a special filmy substance secreted by the miaxi which hardens into a firm and pale coating. Layers of this wax are built on top of each other to form the huge structure of the hive.

The hive is made up of two shells: the outer and the inner. The outer shell is very empty and leads outside the hive. It's pierced by many holes leading to various places deeper inside. Here there are many platforms for miaxi to rest or stand watch. Sometimes walkways are built here as well, in case the hive receive flightless visitors. Many of the hive’s primary farms are located here, the many large holes allowing sunlight and starlight in to give the crops the energy to grow. The inner hive is much different, the wide open space of the outer shell making way for winding passageways and chambers. The only open space here is at the very center where a large circular shaft leads from the very bottom of the hive all the way up to the Queen’s personal chamber at the top. The inner hive is further divided into layers, each one holding a particular type of quarter. At the very base of the hive are the farms, large patches of soil filled with crops grown to satisfy the hunger of the miaxi swarm. The next level contains storage chambers, generally secluded rooms where food items and other materials are kept until needed. These places are off limits to anyone save the workers and guards. Above the storage are the nurseries, large chambers insulated with wax and loam to keep heat in. Here eggs are sealed inside honeycombs to grow into adult miaxi, only opened for feeding and when the miaxi inside reaches maturity. The next three levels are housing and make up the bulk of the interior structure. They are long hallways curving around the inside of the hive with countless of small rooms lining the sides, each room little more then a box with a bed inside, where each Miaxa has her own private quarters. The last level up is the Queen’s chamber which sits at the very top of the hive. This room is massive and holds a huge bed for the Queen and many small storage spaces for food and eggs. There are several tubes leading out of this chamber where workers carry eggs down into the nursery levels. The inside of the hive is usually lit by a variety of luminescent plants, giving off a slight glowing warm light and a cozy feel.

Diet

Miaxi are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. The core of their diet is constituted of the various crops they grow in their hive. Being slightly larger then a human, most miaxi are only able to prey on animals they can fit in their mouth and swallow : small rodents, bugs, and the occasional tiny, if they happen to catch one. As miaxi can fly, small birds are also on the menu, although miaxi dislike the feathers and are unlikely to eat them given the choice.

The only miaxi to eat humanoids is the queen herself. Towering at a range of 60 to 90 feet in height, her primary function is coordinating the hive and producing offspring. As such, she requires FAR more food than her workers. Her massive size allows her to ingest and digest much more verity in prey and her favorite food is Humans and nekos. She is also voracious, so anyone brought into her chamber has no hope of escape whatsoever. When the queen is hungry, it's best to avoid the hive and all miaxi as much as possible so that you aren’t selected to be a meal. There are some exceptions of course, and the Miaxi Queen of Threnos island has developed a taste for fish instead of humans.

Nobody can have a conversation about the miaxi for long without bringing up their honey, a savory golden goop that has been fought over by human and predator alike. Mixed in the deep recesses of the hive the miaxi combine necter and chutluck plants with other unknown ingredients to form this amazing substance. Many non-miaxi have fought and died for even a small taste of miaxi honey, and having any quantity of it can save an adventurer from certain death in the stomach of a giantess.

A peaceful race, they devote most of their time keeping the hive in good condition. Honey is produced to feed the larvae, while live prey are preferred by the adults. Small animals of all sorts, with occasional fruit, makes up the bulk of the Miaxa diet.

It's worth noting that Miaxi honey is EXTREMELY sought after by other species. While it's primarily used to feed the larvae, the taste of this nectar is so sweet that some hives have begun to use it as a currency with other races, in exchange for peace or certain pieces of land. Of course, this honey is very difficult to obtain other than by being a friend or trade partner of the hive, though occasionally an individual miaxa may sneak out small samples for a personal friend's enjoyment. Many large predators have met their deaths trying to obtain it by force. Though miaxi die shortly after delivering a sting, no more than two dozen individuals out of potentially hundreds are needed to bring down a giant naga. A Miaxa usually die very shortly after being separated from their hives. Some very rare cases exist however, where the miaxa managed to survive alone and developed a personnality of her own over time.

Biology and culture:

When a miaxa uses her stinger on a small creature, it will likely not be a problem for her as it would not detatch. On larger creatures with thick skin such as giant races, the barbed stinger would catch tightly, then detatch painfully. This is extremely traumatic to a miaxa. Left untreated they very well may die, and plenty don't even seek treatment. This is because they cannot regrow their stinger, so they would likely have to relinquish their duty of protecting the hive to take up another position, such as farming, gathering, scouting or diplomacy. The prospect of losing their place in the warrior caste is considered humiliating to most miaxi warriors: they would rather die bravely in battle than retire to a "less important" position. There can be a bit of disparity between the warrior caste and ex-warriors; the latter would rather like to consider themselves veterans since they have already risked their lives in battle.

Artifice:

Miaxi have developed a type of equipment called a stingsheath worn on their insect half, which is mostly used by miaxi that have lost their stinger. It is crafted from an insect exoskeleton, for example that of a tonorion. Some miaxi who haven't lost their stingers wear a stingsheath so theirs cannot become detached, but it is rather difficult for a miaxa to remove one herself. Most would not want to be unprepared to give their lives to finish off an enemy as soon as possible if the hive was threatened, so stingsheaths are looked on as “dishonorable” by some in the warrior caste. Those wearing stingsheaths will find that they are not wanted for major attacks, which require venom to dispose of enemies as quickly as possible.

Social

A very social species, Miaxi are linked to each others by strong psychic, almost telepathic bonds. This is thanks in no small part to their Queen who, through pheromones and sub-psychic abilities, links all the members of the hive together. The entire hive feels some degree of the emotions of the queen, not unlike the dryad Cypress in the Jungle Bowl. When the queen is happy, the mood of the hive is cheerful, when she's ornery, the hive becomes bitter as well, and when she's hungry, the workers immediately know that it's time to round up more food. Through the telepathic link and pheromones it's extremely easy for a miaxi to tell what another is feeling in seconds. This hive mind of sorts also keeps the personalities pretty identical and homogeneous. Miaxi leaving the nest often and meeting with others races are the ones who develop their own identity. For a Miaxi, surviving without this link is very hard, though.

Social order within the hive is almost absolute, maintained thanks to the caste system. Each miaxi is assigned a rank within the hive and spends their life performing the duties it entails. There are foragers, farmers, nurses, guards, honey-makers, royal servants, and even miaxi specialized in dealing with other races. A miaxi being changed to another rank is very rare and only the result of extreme circumstances, usually a severe injury.

Humans that are the source of names for the miaxi, as after a certain period of time humans may start calling a miaxi by a name to remember them by. This is considered an honor by some miaxi and disrespect by others, a named miaxi can become somewhat of a social outcast at her hive if she uses it too often.

Communication

While the vast majority of Miaxi living in any given hive of the hive develop their own general personality their identities are based solely on their roles in the hive. Because of their identities being so closely related to their duties miaxi perform their daily routines without need of outside persuasion. It is quite rare for a miaxi to interrupt another while performing a task except when there is either immediate danger or the miaxi in question is to be given a direct order that overrides their current task. Because of this self reliance and motivation it is uncommon for miaxi of different ranks to interact on a regular basis. Interaction between miaxi still occurs, and there are several methods in which they do. The primary method is of course the Queen, her psychic link not only able to influence the mood of an individual miaxi but also plant subconscious orders if the need arises. This is how the amount of miaxi in any particular rank is regulated, as when one rank needs more members or another has too many they can be easily influenced to switch. These subliminal orders are also the way the Queen alerts her children that she is hungry, the psychic orders allowing them to bring her food without needing to be verbally told. The second method that Miaxi communicate with is smell. All miaxi are capable of producing various types of pheromones from their bodies, each with a different meaning. There is a pheromone for danger, hunger, sickness, every emotion possible, and one for each rank in the hive. Using these pheromones miaxi can identify the condition and rank of any of her sisters without needing to verbally interact. Thanks to these incredible pheromones the hive can be extremely efficient as miaxi can complete tasks without having to stop and converse using speech. There is also no confusion about ranks as individuals can be identified in an instant. The third method Miaxi communicate with is speech, though unlike most other races that use verbal languages the miaxi use it much less. Speech is mainly used for asking and responding to questions that cannot be immediately answered with smell. If a miaxi doesn’t smell right or seems to be in a place she shouldn’t they would be questioned verbally. Each rank uses speech in different magnitudes as well, a place as busy as the nursery would need speech much more to identify problems and request assistance then a farmer simply harvesting plants. Miaxi are a unique speech using race as they do not rely on individual names to identify each other. With the rank system and pheromones there is little need to assign each member of the hive their own personal title, it would simply decrease efficiency. In the place of names Miaxi identify each other by rank: a nurse would be called “Nurse,” a guard would be called “Guard,” and so forth. In situations where a single miaxi needs to be singled out from a group, such as in a nursery, the physical characteristics of the miaxi in question are used for identification. This lack of names does not mean that no miaxi ever has one; it is just an unnecessary and foreign concept. Many miaxi that leave the hive and interact with other speech using races learn the concept of names are may be given one or even name themselves. These “named” miaxi are then likely to nickname her sisters in attempt to emulate the races that use names on a regular basis. Miaxi such as these are also highly likely to develop more distinct personalities and identities, their new name giving them something to identify themselves they never had before. If enough Miaxi accept names for themselves it is possible for an entire hive to acquire names, making them much more like a city then a rank based hive mind. This doesn’t happen very often however, as Miaxi that develop too much individuality lose their psychic link with the Queen and become harder to control. This might make the Queen feel threatened so mass names inside a hive are very rare.

As a whole Miaxi have negative relations with giantesses and other large humanoid predators, their sheer size and voracity posing serious threats to the safety of the hive. Although most predators are smart enough not to attack a miaxi there are those who are either too stupid or hungry to attempt it. The stores of golden Miaxi honey are also prime reasons to fear giantesses, as their huge power can easily rip into a hive and cause chaos. This is not to say Miaxi hate all giant predators however, as there are some instances where they can work together to a common goal. One species of giantess that Miaxi actually enjoy are dryads. Dryads benefit from the information miaxi can bring them and the assistance in pollination of their flowers. The same works in reverse as the miaxi learn great deals of information from the dryad and use their pollen in the making of their honey. Despite this there are some dryads that do attack miaxi just as any other race, though this is mostly dryads that are based on carnivorous plants.

Combat

When engaged in combat most miaxi will have a difficult time fighting alone, and while their size gives them the advantage over humans giant predators are just as deadly to them as they are to the other prey races. The main defense against attackers a miaxi has is their venom tipped stinger, a large barb able to discharge a powerful toxin at an incredible rate. Against human sized targets the sting is fatal, but larger animals are less affected by it the more mass they have. Another side effect of using their sting against giant predators is that the miaxi delivering the sting can easily die after delivering the venom, though despite this danger a miaxi will make no hesitation to use their sting in the defense of the hive. Because of the dangers posed by single combat miaxi rely heavily on swarm tactics, a dozen or more diving in to attack a single target. Despite their size a giant predator like a naga can be fatally poisoned by little over a dozen stings. This makes attacking a hive a very unwise decision, as even if a giant predator were able to fend off the first couple dozen miaxi there are hundreds more inside the hive that could attack if felt threatened. In addition to this wounded or dying miaxi produce a pheromone that sends any miaxi in the vicinity into a battle frenzy, the more miaxi you defeat the more are alerted to the danger you pose. Not all miaxi are completely weak on their own, the guard breed are specifically born and raised to be fierce defenders of the hive and its queen. These miaxi have chitinous plating on their bodies and reinforced stingers to lessen the dangers of delivering its venom. Most guard miaxi also carry a simple spear of some kind to increase their range or as a throwing weapon, the tip coated with their venom for extra potency. Only the strongest and most loyal guard miaxi are selected to become the Queen’s royal guard.

Gyspas

Distant cousins of the Miaxi, gyspas are much larger and a lot more aggressive as well. They stand roughly 40 to 50 feet in height, and live in hives of 6 to 20 individuals. While miaxi are modeled after bees, gyspas are clearly more like wasps, with sleek, curvaceous armored abdomens, hairless armor, fiercely clawed hands, and a more inhuman, alien look to them. Gyspas are, in essence, the biker gangs of the Felaryan jungles. Playfully destructive, they enjoy killing as much as they enjoy eating. They're known for playing with their prey, viciously taunting it before finally moving in for the kill. The amount of venom contained in one gyspa's abdomen, if emptied all at once, can drop a Kensha beast where it stands, though, like miaxi, the gyspa dies shortly after delivering it.

They possess one different type of venom that they can use at will. It has a strange compressing effect on the victim, temporary shrinking them without reducing their mass. The effect is slow however, depending mostly on the amount of injected venom. A gyspa will usually have to sting her prey several times until it's the right size to be swallowed. The trick is this effect is rather short lived, meaning that if the stung prey manages to avoid being stung again for a sufficient amount of time, it will regain its initial size, obliging the gyspa to start her attack over. However, with their articulated maws, and elastic stomachs and throats, gyspas can consume very large prey and easily hold them in their belly after they have regained their original size. Because they are extremely aggressive and ravenous, gyspas don't hesitate to attack small nagas or young pantaurs. Every canopy-dwellers learn to fear the anarchic insectoid.

Gyspas are genetically similar to other Felaryan insects, and as such have considerable magic resistance, similar to tonorions of similar size. One interesting ability of the gyspas is their wing resonations: so rapid must they beat their wings, that, besides producing a deafening noise, electrical signals are usually disrupted simply by being in the vicinity of an air-born gyspa. Electronics, computers especially, will often shut down as soon as a flying gyspa draws near. The gyspa queen is a truly magnificent sight. Thankfully only one exists per swarm, which are, themselves, usually separated by thousands of miles. The queen is monstrous, nearly equal to a dryad proportions. Aside from being huge, her abilities are the same as her fellows, but these creatures are never the less frightening sights. When the swarm reaches the end of its life, the members will offer themselves as willing sacrifices to their queen. After the queen gorges herself on her subjects, she set out to find a particular victim: a dridder. She'll search for a lone one, but if necessary, will kidnap and detain one from a group. A quick sting paralyzes the dridder, allowing the queen to lay her eggs inside the still living humanoid. The queen then expires, leaving her offspring with a fresh meal for when they hatch and continue her reign.

Squamataurs

These creatures posess the upper bodies of humans, and the lower bodies of various lizard-type reptiles. Tough and solitary creatures, they are able to thrive in very harsh environments such as scorching deserts, barren wastelands, or the Torrential coast. Their size varies a lot but even the smaller specimens of them are not to be taken lightly. With their tough skin, great agility, and natural weapons such as venom, sharp claws and powerful tails, they make fierce opponents. Some Squamataurs use weapons as well, spears seemingly the most favored of them.

Gekkotas

Gekkotas are half human, half gecko tauric creatures. Their size varies between 6 and 80 feet. Their scales have various color schemes, often bright and very colorful. Gekkotas can be just as dangerous as nagas to adventurers, at least for the larger specimens. They possess sticky toes which allow them to climb on almost any surface, vertically or upside down, and long extendable tongues to catch prey in the blink of an eye. Their great speed also makes them very successful predators. They mark their territory by lacerating trees with their tails, making strange, wacky symbols only a Gekkota could make. Gekkotas tend to be curious and rather reckless. They sometimes prey on fairies, having a stomach that is able to drain magic.

Known Squamataurs

Grendel

Jotuns

Jotuns are a humanlike predator race found in the cold regions of the north-west. They can range from as small as about 75 feet, to up to 150 feet. Physically, they are a lot like humans, but with certain differences. They have pointed ears, tusks and a tail that resembles that of a cow. Female Jotun have smaller, more discreet tusks, while males have larger ones. Jotuns dress in simple clothes, the leather farmed from large beasts that live far to the North-west. They also collect bones and rocks in order to craft crude weapons. Jotuns like treasures above all this however, and will pick up and collect anything shiny, sometimes drawing sarcasms from other species. Jotuns use treasures to decorate their cavern, trade them with other Jotun, or give them out as small gifts. Of course, Jotun's don't have a comparative value system for human sized treasure. A Jotun may give you what they consider a shiny sword, but is in fact a powerful magical artefact. Jotuns also like to tattoo themselves and make and wear various charms and amulets. They are tribal, living in a large cavern system in clans,and they value family a lot. Thus a Jotun that has lost it's family often becomes very depressed or despondant and will constantly wander, looking for some place to belong. They are generally friendly and enthusiastic, with a love for the fun parts of life, although they have a serious side dealing with honour and family. Jotuns have a high tolerance and love of alchoholic beverages. Like most Felaryan predator species, there seems to be a much larger concentration of females in the population and the males do not really have dominance. Thus, most Jotun males keep several mates, or several mates keep them. Usually there is one male for a small clan of Jotuns.

Jotuns are a predator species and see smaller things mostly as food, anything really. Jotuns believe in reincarnation, so they don't really see problem with eating people. (The Jotun religion states that you are reborn as an even better person if you try hard in your life. A Jotun who reaches the pinnacle of honour then gets into Jotun Heaven, where there is fighting and feasting for all time). They generally aren’t fussy about what they eat, though quite a few have a taste for elves. Many, however, prefer large quantities of cooked meat to a small human-sized snack. If a Jotun is not hungry, you may be able to just talk your way out. You have to be very courteous and some flattery helps as well. If the Jotun is hungry however, then you're prey. Jotuns admire strength and intelligence - outwit them long enough and they may let you go out of respect. If they do catch you, you can still talk your way out of it, if you keep calm. There are certain things to avoid. Begging, bribing and threats get you nowhere. Above all do NOT try to offer someone else as food. Jotuns hate what they see as traitors. Jotuns believe heavily in the concept of honour. If a Jotun gives you her word, it is certain that she means to keep it. When a Jotun fights for a cause, it can be very dangerous, as they are raised as children on tales of valour of the ancient Jotun and many strive to be as mighty as their heroes, who slew the mightiest beasts, rescued the most beautiful Jotun maidens and found the most delicious princesses to eat. Jotuns also believe heavily in the concept of freedom – no Jotun can control another or tell them what to do. This anarchist viewpoint has often led to conflict with their more “civilized” elven neighbours.

Jotuns originated in the Elifga Valley, in the mountains to the North West. If you go there, you have a good chance of running into one, especially in the Eastern slopes where their cave-dwellings are. Jotun, however, love exploring and they can be found across any colder or frozen zone in Felarya and even, a bit more rarely, in the more temperate climes. Many Jotun have even developed boats to explore the Shimmering sea, encountering and trading with areas like Iracal Island. In Elifga Valley, the Jotun often come into conflict with their Elven neighbours. While the Jotun there do prey on smaller groups of humanoids, among other prey, they have befriended one group of humans, who forge items and weapons for their allies in return for protection. No Jotun would ever dream of breaking this oath.

Culture

Known Jotuns

Fenja

Different species of Mantoids

Mantoids

Mantoids are a rare race of giant tauric creatures, appearing to have an upper human torso with a lower body of that of a praying mantis. There are several species of them, some of them growing their scythed appendages at the junction of their insect and human half, some from their shoulders, while some sport these blades directly on their forearms. Other mantis features are also often prominent on their human half, like those antennae protruding from the top of their head. While there are tales of truly gigantic mantoids, they are, for the most part, slightly smaller than other giant predators. An encounter with one of these beings is rare, as they are very difficult to find unless they desire to be found themselves.

As infants, Mantoids are swarm hunters, and devour prey much like a school of piranhas would. A mature giant mantoid however is a solitary predator. While their feeding habits do include humanoids, they also tend to feed on larger prey than themselves, notably Harpies and Dridders. Their blades and great speed are very capable of dispatching larger predators and some Mantoids are known to even have some forms of venom at their disposal; they possess very sharp fangs to devour their larger prey. They are extremely agile and stealthy creatures, and are fully capable of leaping out from a concealed hiding place to grapple even a Harpy cleanly out of the sky to become their next meal. Mantoids are known to hunt by blending in perfectly with the cover of the foliage throughout Felarya, mimicking the movement of wind with the leaves around them, by swaying from side to side slightly, and leading some people to give them the nickname of "wind dancers". Some specimens can even change their coloration to even further blend into their environment. At the early stages of their life, Mantoids migrate and wander around a lot, until they find a location they deem suitable for living in or raising a family and then remain within that territory. As a general note, mantoids can be considered more aggressive, bolder and more prone to follow their instincts than many other predators. During pregnancy, the female becomes unable to move and gets very hungry. On some occasion, she might give to instincts and eat her mate should either the male be sick and/or weak, or if the female is starving. Male Mantoids do their best to avoid this by either offering the female food and/or performing an elaborate mating ritual in order to get her mindset off hunting.

Mantoids belongs to Kikijonson. This idea have been submitted before the November 15th, 2009 and their author didn't approve the disclaimer. Thus you must ask their permission before any use.

Known Mantoids

Liora

Hitomi

Lemurians

Lemurians are a rather rare race in Felarya. They can mostly be found in thick forest environments. They have rounded ears on top of their heads, long fur-covered tails, powerful, lanky legs, and feet that are closer to a hand, used in climbing. They sometimes have dense fur on various part of their bodies, and their coloration varies greatly between specimens. No fur grows on their faces though, which is very similar to humans. Their large, brightly-colored and reflective eyes, which can be seen in the dark, earned them the name of "forest ghosts". Entirely arboreal, lemurians are fluid in their movement through the forest canopy, moving even more swiftly than nekos. They can jump incredible distances between trees or branches, using their legs as shock absorbers and holding fast with their prehensile feet before pushing off again. A predator unfamiliar with them can find them a very tricky meal to catch. Lemurians are a strictly herbivorous race, feeding on just about any edible plant matter and fruits available to them, and are rather friendly to Neeras. They usually build their home inside the thick foliage of a tree, their favorites being prickly varieties that predators would have difficulty dealing with, and of which lemurians have no problem traversing. Some Lemurians are adept at shamanism.

Ichthys

Ichthys are a race of humanoid fishes that are commonly found in the Topazial sea. They are human-sized, possess silvery scales with hues of various colors depending on each individual, webbed feet, large fins protruding from their elbows and back, as well as smaller ones on their ankles. Their features bear very little resemblance with humans, and some specimens also possess a tail.

While on land, Ichthys wrap their arm fins around their arms to avoid them being cumbersome. They walk a bit clumsily on land, but less than one would expect. They can stay on land as long as they have a way to wet their body, because they quickly become sick if their scales becomes too dry. Ichthys are skilled merchants and peaceful toward humans, often selling them seafood, and various treasures found at the bottom of the sea.

When threatened, they unfold their fins into makeshift elbow blades. They are very agile with those natural weapons and their style of combat is often referred to as sword dancing. When underwater, they use those same fins to propel themselves and to make sharp turns. They attack large creatures by bolting toward them and barrel-rolling to slice through their flesh. Some Ichthys can also unleash a field of electricity in the same fashion as electric eels while underwater to stun their foes. Although they are often preyed upon by aquatic predators, they are not seen as easy prey. The only kind of predator that doesn't hunt them are giant mermaids and merfolk, as a particular bond has existed between the two races for centuries. Ichthys are very caring and often watch over young mermaids, protecting them from the dangers of the sea until they can stand their ground, thus forging solid friendships on the way.

credits to Zoekin for the idea and design of the chilotaurs, to Sean Okotami for the ichthys, to Fish for the slimoids, to Jætte Troll for Jotuns, to Zillachary and Rcs619 for the Squamataurs, to Melancholy-Melody13 for the Lemurians, and to Melancholy-Melody13 and Gregole for the Miaxis and Gyspas, and to Racemaster and Fish for expanding miaxi. Mantoids belongs to Kikijonson. This idea have been submitted before the November 15th, 2009 and their authors didn't approve the disclaimer. Thus you must ask their permission before any use.