Difference between revisions of "Fauna6"

Revision as of 01:35, 23 July 2012

General content: | Felaryan fauna | Felaryan flora | Races | Characters | Locations | History and Lore | Science and Magic | Culture and Customs | List of all available articles

The Felayan fauna is composed of many species from many worlds which makes it very varied and unpredictable. See also carnivorous plants and plant life. These pages feature mostly dangerous or remarkable creatures. There is many many others, from small animals to harmless herbivores, or unreported species that aren't listed here but exist and are part of the great Felarya food chain.

• Jungle fauna - page2 - page3

• Marsh fauna

• Aquatic fauna

• Rough terrain fauna

• Dungeon fauna

• Plains fauna

• Ice terrain fauna

• Dimensionally unstable terrain fauna

• Underground fauna

Threat Ranking:

• Minimal: A totally harmless being such as a mouse or a rabbit.
• Very Low: Mostly herbivores but who can still strike back if attacked.
• Low: Various animals such as felines.
• Moderate: A moderately dangerous Felaryan creature can still be very dangerous in another world. For example a great white shark would rank between Low and Moderate here...
• Medium: A predatory, dangerous and often man-eating creature.
• High: A great predator. Crisis is in this category.
• Very High: A top predator. This creature could take on a small army.
• Critical: In Felaryan scales, very few creatures reach this rank.
• Extreme: A guardian or a mythical creature. Only a god can hope to survive a confrontation with one of these.

Note that threat ranking is based on the threat that the creature represents for a normal human. It's not necessarily linked to the strength of the creature. For example the dryad Cypress would rank very low because she is very friendly to humans, yet she is a powerful being.

Dungeon terrain fauna

Mikadis temple

Mirror Lurker

Size: Varies
Threat: Medium

This term describes a wide variety of mirror denizens. They are relatively small creatures, looking rather harmless and seem to be made from a mix of parts from various animals. They roam the vast halls of the temple, entering and exiting mirrors at random. If, for example, you spot a strange creature that looks like a small blue mouse with the beak of a toucan and the tail of a scorpion, then you've probably spotted a mirror lurker. They have limited intelligence and poor fighting abilities, but they make up for that with their great numbers and their strong, instinctive magic based on illusions of all sorts. Their method of hunting is to lure people into walking into a mirror. Once that has happened, all nearby lurkers chase hungrily after the unfortunate victim, as their power and size increase tenfold in the mirror's sub-universe.

Crysaltinos

Size: Special
Threat: Medium

A very strange creature only found in "distorted" dimensions, like those inside the mirrors of the temple. Crysaltinos resemble a bird with bizarre proportions: a very large, square shaped head with a wide, reptilian looking beak, and a smaller, square shaped body. They are of various colors but each individual is always of one single color, except for the insides of their mouth. The first thing you notice about a crysaltinos is that it's utterly... flat. No matter what angle you choose to look at them, they just seem to not have any thickness, looking a bit like a moving picture. This impression is reinforced by the fact that when they move their body remains almost motionless, save for their head which rotates a lot, sometimes rolling in complete circles. Just staring at a crysaltinos is sufficient to give yourself a severe headache, but touching one is far worse. If something touches a crysaltinos or is touched by one, it becomes flat, just like the crysaltinos, for the duration of the contact. For creatures used to live in three dimensional worlds, such a change is very traumatic, inducing disorientation and nausea at the very least, and giving the crysaltinos plenty of time to swallow its prey down. While their touch is devastating, crysaltinos cannot remain outside of a mirror for very long or they will die, thankfully limiting their hunting grounds.

Mirror Maw

Size: 8 feet
Threat: Moderate

Mirror maws are one of the strangest denizen of the Mikadis temple. They are large mouths attached to walls inside the mirror. While there are multiple mirror maws, some mages claim they actually belong to the same entity who projects them from an unknown place. They do indeed look identical; definitely feminine and human, with plump, fleshy smiling lips and a sensual, seducing voice. They cannot move and are thus not that dangerous, although they will actively try to catch and gobble up any prey that passes close enough. However, once you see a mirror maw you are in deep trouble anyway, because it means you are now inside one of the mirrors !

Dispaelot

Size: 10 inches
Threat: Moderate

A mysterious creature found in the Mikadis temple, the Dispaelot appears to be a small housecat-like creature made entirely of reflective surfaces, like a statue made of stained glass. Thought otherwise harmless, whoever glances at the creature's body will find traumatic or generally unpleasant events from their past reflected on the mirrors, while the Dispaelot itself will loudly repeat snippets of dialog from said memories for all to hear. As it will actively follow explorers in an attempt to dredge up more past sorrows, victims have great chances of suffering mental breakdowns from the rampant self-doubt and paranoia, which might break up entire prepared groups and send them to their doom. Dispaelots are considered by many to be akin to guardians of the temple, passively torturing trespassers seeking its secrets.

Tychos

Tychos

Size: 7 feet
Threat: Moderate

A feline creature with the head of an owl and feathers in place of fur. It can be usually seen standing still, constantly emitting little clicking sounds. One of the most remarkable and strangest trait of that creature is it won't attack as long as you keep an eye contact with it. It will simply stands there, staring at you with its piercing blue eyes, and hoping back if you try to approach it. Once you turn your back however, the Tychos will leap and attack, just like a lion would do. With their sharp beak and claws they are no small threat. However, just turning back to look at the creature will instantly stop the assault. Encountering a solitary Tychos is usually not very dangerous, but a pack of them is another story.

In Mysterious temple

Shryne

Size: 15 feet
Threat: Moderate

These strange creatures are shrouded by a cloud of perpetual darkness that moves with them. They live mostly on the ceilings of ancient ruins and caves, slithering about in search for prey. They hunt by enveloping their prey in a cocoon of impenetrable magical darkness, sticking to the target for the duration of the spell and impossible to dissipate with conventional light sources. With its prey blinded and disoriented, the Shryne can leisurely crawl down to the floor and devour it. Only upon the shryne's death does its cloud vanish and reveal its true form : a gruesome mix between a shrimp and an abyssal fish with reptilian features.

Ochynomorpus

Size: 4 to 5 feet including the tentacles
Threat: Medium

A strange egg-shaped creature, possessing several long tentacles, each ended by a sharp claw. Ochynomorpuses usually lurk in dark areas of many temples and caves across Felarya. They slowly and silently stalk their prey and, once the time is right, the creature strikes, its tentacles lashing like a whip to sting and deliver a dose of venom. The victim quickly falls into a deep lethargy, allowing the Ochynomorpus to fix itself on its victim's head, delivering nightmares to its host and absorbing their fear. The practical result for the victim is that they will experience horrific and extremely realistic nightmares, taking place just seconds before they were stung. So, to them, it appears as if they were still walking a hall for example, and slowly the situation would become more and more twisted and nightmarish, using their deepest fears. The problem is that the extreme nature of those nightmares means that they can actually kill the person experiencing them, although this won't happen before the Ochynomorpus has had its fill of fear. Those abominations are very dangerous, clever, stealthy, relentless, and difficult to get rid off. The creature is extremely agile, able to flee by leaping from walls to walls once it has been detected, until the Ochynomorpus manages to find a safe place from where to quietly plan its next attack. The mere knowledge of their existence in a dungeon can make even veteran adventurers nervous and edgy.

Salamander

Size: 30 feet
Threat: Medium

A large and brightly colored lizard that can be found mostly in mineral rich environments such as caves, volcanos, or certain dungeons. Salamanders possess an incredible mastery of fire. Not only can they shoot flames from their mouth like a dragon, but they can become fire themselves in an instant, be it for hiding, dodging an attack, or surrounding a prey. Salamanders are an significant danger if you come ill-prepared, as they are sneaky and rarely visible before they attack. For instance, in the Mysterious temple, they love to hide and rest in the many torches that light the halls. When a party of adventurers pass them, they silently come out and spread their form behind them, then attack.

Labrisome

Size: Varies
Threat: Low to High

A type of ghost with bestial and primitive instincts, Labrisomes are extremely aggressive spirits, mindlessly and relentlessly feeding on the living. Smaller labrisomes devour rats and other small animals, while larger specimens can effortlessly engulf a human. They are invisible most of the time, appearing out of nowhere, mouth wide agape to swallow their prey. Once they have prey in their stomach they can't become invisible again until the prey is digested or otherwise leaves the labrisome's stomach. They still remain immaterial during this time though, but their appearance is revealed to the world, which is hardly good for the sanity of the witnesses. They are ugly with a capital U. The spiritual body of a labrisome is a nightmarish mix somewhere between a toad, a squid and a centipede with way too much tentacles and hair than reasonable. They sport enormous feline claws and their stare is to be avoided at all cost as it induces a state of panic that can send even the most hardened veteran screaming in terror.

Ibiante

Size: 3 feet
Threat: Very Low alone - Moderate in groups

A small rat-like humanoid native from the world of Oris-Taltoch. Ibiantes live in large groups and can mostly be found in enclosed spaces such as caves or old temples. They are fast, agile and have no problems running on the walls or even the ceiling. Ibiantes are not aggressive in the sightliest, however they have brought doom to countless groups of adventurers with a strange ability of theirs. As soon as they feel the least bit threatened, ibiantes emit a sort of aura of "unease"; nearby creatures will suddenly feel uneasy and apprehensive about something. When ibiantes are in group, the cumulative effect of that aura result in an abject terror felt all around in their vicinity. It takes a lot of training and strength of will to be able to resist it. Aside from their aura, ibiantes are pretty harmless and obviously on the bottom of the food chain.

Frenzied Ibiante

Size: 3 feet
Threat: Low alone - High in groups

The same species as regular ibiantes, frenzied ones can be recognized by their glowing eyes and much more menacing look. Typically found in the lower levels of the Mysterious temple, they have the same power as their normal cousins, but unlike them, they are chaotic and very aggressive, carrying crude weapons such as spears or daggers. Group of them can be incredibly dangerous, decimating a strong adventurer party in mere seconds. Fortunately they absolutely hate water and a water-based mage will do wonders against them.

Swallower Wall

Size: Varies a lot
Threat: Moderate to Medium

A strange creature resembling a sort of amoeba. At first, it chooses a wall to live on, adhering to it and starting to slowly dissolve a portion of the surface in order to replace it by its body. Having "planted" itself in its location of choice, the creature will never move again. It then uses its remarkable camouflage abilities to make its skin a perfect replica of the surrounding walls, feeding of small preys at first and slowly growing and expanding. Swallower walls capture prey by quickly extending a portion of their sticky body and getting the prey stuck on it, then retracting back and depositing it into a freshly created pocket for a slow and lengthy digestion. So perfect is their camouflage that the only things that will give them away are either the faint noises of a previous victim digesting, or the fact that they copy their surroundings perfectly, so if you see two absolutely identical sections of wall, then you know that one of them is a swallower wall and you better be careful. Swallower walls come in various sizes, and some of them can grow to truly enormous proportions in the course of their lives becoming "swallower halls" rather than "swallower walls". There is a belief in Felarya cities that, if a place is left abandoned long enough, eventually swallower walls will start to appears, much like spiderwebs. This led to a certain number of urban legends in Negav, most of them vastly exaggerated, but some of them true.

Tooglok

Size: 18 to 24 inches
Threat: Very Low

Toogloks are arm-sized worms found mostly in dark caves and dungeons. Their rough, dark grey body allow them to blend very well with stone walls, in order to avoid predators and to ambush unsuspecting prey. They usually stand motionless on ceilings, falling off on the ground to hunt anything that is smaller than them. They are rather slow but ravenous creatures, able to consume a large volume of food for their size. Fortunately, they pose very little threat to humans, unless you have been shrunk. Toogloks are best known for being the natural enemy of swallower walls. They secrete a mucus that numb the swallower walls and soften their flesh, allowing the worm to slowly eat the creature away without any risk of being captured and eaten, provided the swallower wall is not too big to be affected.

Howler

Howler

Size: 25 feet
Threat: Medium

Howlers are native from Oris-Taltoch, the same world as ibiantes, and they are their natural predator. This grotesque creature is little more than a walking stomach with a very large mouth, mounted on two sturdy, powerful running legs. Similarly to the ibiantes, howlers create a sound that strikes anyone who hears it with a great fear, often causing them to cower in fright or blindly flee. The howler has then just to chase after its helpless prey, outrunning or cornering it, then gobbling it up with its enormous mouth. They are eyeless and blind, relying entirely on echolocation to locate and identify objects around them. They also can literally smell fear, allowing them to track down very easily a terrified prey.

Negative Hydra

Size: 160 feet
Threat: Very High

Negative hydras are legendary creatures dwelling deep in the deepest and most forgotten layers of the negative plane. These dreadful creatures project avatars of themselves to various points in the universe, appearing as huge shadowy draconic silhouettes endowed with multiple long necks and heads. The real creature never leaves the negative plane however, which means that a negative hydra on Felarya cannot be killed by any means because it's simply not here in the first place. The only way to get rid of it would be to temporarily shut down the link between the avatar and the creature, but that requires very powerful dimensional magic. Mages able to perform magic at this level are rare, and generally unwilling to take such risks without a very good reason.

The hydra's avatar is still incredibly dangerous: the multiple heads can strike at lightning speeds, and each of the heads can launch a barrage of strange and deadly negative spells. Even if you manage to survive an encounter with the avatar, chances are high that you will be permanently maimed by one of the powerful curses the beast can cast as well. Even the most reckless adventurers know better than to challenge these formidable creatures, no matter what fantastic treasure lies beyond. Fortunately, negative hydras are very rare. Only two specimens are known to exist in Felarya, and both of them are in the Tomb of Alcazath. Nobody knows what exactly happens to those who are swallowed by the avatar of a negative hydra but what is known for sure is that these people are never seen again.

Nether Wisp

Size: 10 inches
Threat: Very Low

These ghostly twirling balls of dull light are said to be the restless souls of fallen adventurers. They are actually projections from the negative plane, and thus don't really exist in Felarya. Nether wisps may be small, but they are not harmless. They harass adventurers by depleting and dispelling their magic, and launching small magic projectiles at them, making them extremely annoying. Moreover, they serve as spies for the deadly negative hydras, and assist them in battle.

In Tenebra maze

Shadow Serpent

Size: 30 to 50 feet
Threath: Moderate to High

A species of giant serpent-like creatures living in various dark places around Felarya. Fearsome hunters, they are able to phase themselves through solid matter, like ghosts. They are also gifted with a keen heat sense and the ability to see perfectly well in the dark. Keeping with their serpentine nature, shadow serpents have very flexible jaws and their body is able to stretch to accommodate large meals, although they will only attempt to consume one when they are sure that they are safe, as phasing with an expanded stomach can prove difficult. Their typical hunting method is to hide in shadows and drop down on their prey, or hide behind a thin dungeon wall and phase through it, snatching the prey when it comes into range.

Light is their big weakness however. Direct exposure will blind and daze them, and sometimes can even be deadly. Moreover, their level intelligence appears to directly correlate to the level of darkness. The darker their surroundings, the more methodical and cunning they become, to the point of being able to use shadow-based magic. On opposite, when exposed to daylight they become nearly as stupid as a Glouteux. A prey can safely sidestep a lunge from a shadow serpent in this state, as it will take a full minute for it to realize it has missed. They represent a real danger to tomb raiders or any adventurer daring enough to venture into the darker realms of Felarya. But the place where they come into their true power is Tenebra maze, where the unnatural darkness blanketing the place enhance their intelligence to that of a human.

In Venmys-Pieaug Library

Book Wyrm

Size: varies
Threath: Medium

Massive serpent-like creatures with the ability to alter their size in order to burrow their way into books, their dwelling of choice. Book Wyrms typically eat the inside of a tome over the course of several decades sustaining itself off of the contents of the pulp and ink in the paper. They only return to their full size when said book is opened, at which point they quickly enlarge, devour the shocked would-be-reader whole and quickly return from whence they came.

In Muroyo library

Fishbrat

Size: 15 to 20 inches
Threat: Very Low

Baby-sized, shimmering metallic insectoids with long hairy antennae, the Fishbrats are only found within the vast halls of the Muroyo library and are believed to be a form of silverfish, changed in size and shape by the magic saturating the place. Scuttling around in short, energetic bursts, these creatures can and will eat any organic substance they get their little claws on, but prefer wood, paper and glue above all things and are often seen nibbling on the ancient books, somehow ignoring the risks they usually represent. While this technically makes them pests, fairies prefer to leave Fishbrats alone, for they absorb the magic of the countless books they eat, giving them completely unpredictable powers they'll unleash if scared. Fortunately for visitors, Fishbrats are very shy and nervous creatures that make their best to not be seen, making direct confrontation very unlikely. Fishbrats are usually bronze in color but, on some rare occasions, one will come across silvery specimens, the spotting of which is considered a good omen by fairies.

In Ur-Sagol

Yelzip

Size: 15 to 20 inches
Threat: Minimal

Yelzips are a small, sleek mammalian creature that seems to reside only within the ruins of Ur-Sagol. They have long bodies and bushy tails, with rounded ears. They are quick and mobile, and able to stand on their hind legs for a short while to peek out of cover and check for danger. From study of the ruins, it appears that Yelzips were actually a popular domesticated animal within the Sagolian Kingdom. When whatever occurred that eliminated or drove out the human inhabitants of the city, they remained in the ruins, becoming wild again and making homes in the cracks and crevices of that place. They are mostly harmless to humans, with the excepting factor that they are relentless little thieves. Besides swiping food, they also will grab anything shiny or glittering. They are also much more intelligent than their simple form makes them appear. Recently, many of the rich of Negav have been offering rewards for captured Yelzips, wanting to reclaim a living piece of the lost Sagolian way of life.

Jeval

Size: 3 to 5 feet tall
Threat: Very Low

A strange looking creature, with a large beaked head with horns and a fin on the back. It has leathering wings, globulous eyes, clawed feet and four tails that end in hard, round spheres. They live across middle Felarya, most noticeably in ruins. When they fly, their tails tend to strike each other, which produces a very creepy rattling noise and they have a cry that sounds like a whispering wind. Despite their rather menacing look, they are entirely harmless, only using their tough beaks to crack open nuts. However, if they feel threatened, they have the curious defensive strategy of tossing stones or rocks at the offender with their beak, or dropping them with their claws.

Sagoblepas

Size: 15 to 20 feet long
Threat: Very Low

A strange reptilian creature resembling a sort of large, bulky iguana with horns and covered by a long woolly fur growing from its hide. Sagoblepas usually reach around the size of a rhinoceros, though full-grown males are known to be even bigger. Found all over Ur-Sagol, these lumbering vegetarians move around the ruins in family groups, communicating via loud crowing and fiercely defending their territory from any intruder or predator. For some strange reason, while Sagoblepas act hostile on any predator or tauric race, they become very calm and even friendly in presence of humans. And stranger still, they absolutely refuse to leave the ruins and become visibly agitated if they're forced to do so. It is believed that the ancestors of the Sagoblepas were bred by the original inhabitants of Ur-Sagol, either as pets or protectors of the city, and that this behavior may be some sort of genetic memory. This is all the more supported by the presence of carvings in some ruins that closely resemble these creatures

In Negav

Pterok

Size: 1 to 3 foot wingspan
Threat: Minimal

Pteroks, also known as leatherwings, are small reptilian bird-like creatures that can be mostly found in Negav. They possess a short rounded beak, a colorful crest on their head, a long tail, and decorative coloration that differs from one specimen to another. They feed on insects and various scrap of foods they can find in the city, especially in the Market district, when stall owners aren't looking. Pteroks build their nests within the more sheltered sections of buildings and the the walls that surround the city. For some reasons, their habitat seems to be strictly restricted to Negav and they haven't spread anywhere else in Felarya. Pteroks are rather clever animals and some of them can be domesticated as pets.

Micrat

Size: 1 foot long
Threat: Very Low

Small creatures swarming the underground of Negav and its alleys, micrats are bushy tailed rodents that have survived due to their adaptability, hardiness, and amazing speed. They feed on whatever they can scavenge, as well as eggs and insects. They are well known for their ability to chew rapidly through walls and furniture, able to create large and intricate networks in a remarkably short time. they are considered nothing more than a pest by Negav inhabitants, and actively hunted. They breed rapidly though, and people creating micrat traps or working as pest controllers in the city can become quite successful. While considered relatively harmless, there is legends of massive swarms of micrats forming silently in the depths a dark alley at night, that will devour whatever, or whoever, they come across...

Mapet

Size: 3 to 4 foot long
Threat: Very Low

Medium sized, stocky salamanders with stubby limbs and grotesquely disproportionate mouths that dwell in the flooded areas of Negav’s sewer system. Sluggish and nearly helpless in land, these amphibians spend most of their time lying in the muck-caked bottom, lazily waiting for food to come to them. They are extremely gluttonous and readily willing to engulf anything that fits in their huge maws, be it vermin, dung, scraps of food, an unfortunate tiny, hair clumps, smaller mapets and just about any kind of organic refuse. This makes them work as a fairly effective waste disposal unit for the citizens above, and it is not uncommon to see families keeping Mapets for use in plunging drains, unclogging pipes or merely as living trash cans. Mapets are rarely longer than 4 feet and don’t pose any real threat to humanoids, but their gluttony makes them extremely stubborn, and once they have clamped on something they won’t let go until shaken off. When upset, they flash their feathered external gills and keep their jaws open wide

Warp Roach

Size: 1 to 2,5 inches long
Threat: Minimal

Originating from within the depths of Miragia forest, these verminous insects have since established themselves in Negav, especially within its underground sectors. In appearance, they resemble cockroaches with miniature stag beetle-like jaws, and have abdomens that briefly glow like neon lights when they are about to warp. With a crackle of energy, they will vanish in a tiny flash, reappearing anywhere from just inches where they just were to up to a dozen feet away. This defensive measure is not fully understood by researchers; they know only that the warp roach cannot control where it warps, only when, which is typically under direst, such as when it has been found by a hungry predator or nearly squashed under the foot of a disgusted Negavian. In Miragia forest, their numbers are kept in line by the numerous small predators, limited food, as well as the regular dimensional disturbance. When they arrived in Negav while stowing away on trade caravans, however, they soon found an abundance of food, plenty of shelter, and conditions perfect for growth. Thus they quickly established themselves and thrived, much to the annoyance of many Negavians. While pest controls flourished and tried their best to eliminate these pests through a wide arrange of poisons, spells, and traps; they soon came to a realization that the warp roaches were there to stay. The local micrats couldn't be happier though, finding the warp roaches to be an ideal prey. They have since controlled their populations to some extent.

• Credits to Silent eric for the Book wyrm, to Jasconius for Pteroks, warp roaches, and Micrats, to Slimetoad for Dispaelots, Mapets, fishbrats and sagoblepas, to Jaette-troll for help on the Jevals and yelzips, to Sean Okotami for the Shadow serpent, and to Oldman40k2003 for his great help at editing ^_^