Difference between revisions of "Fauna"

Revision as of 07:56, 29 August 2010

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 are 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

• Jungle fauna2

• Marsh fauna

• Aquatic fauna

• Rough terrain fauna

• Dungeon fauna

• Plains fauna

• Ice terrain 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.

Jungle fauna

In Tolmeshal forest

Noghdong

Size: 50 feet
Threat: Very Low

Noghdongs are large peaceful turtles who move slowly through the jungles of Felarya, grazing on various plants. They possess a very strong and heavy carapace, and once the noghdong detects any danger it retreats into it. At this point, if for some reasons you want to harm it, you might as well just give up: a rocket launcher won't even scratch the noghdong's shell. They are essentially herbivores, but there has been a single reported case of a noghdong swallowing a human whole. This behavior seems to be extremely rare and, according to the report, the human was clearly asking for it. They are rather easy to tame and, while slow, these great turtles can carry a very heavy load.

Starkala Bug

Size: 1 inch
Threat: Minimal

This creature is extremely common, and often ends up as lunch for basically any other species. Starkalas look like a little blue berry, with small spines all over. These spines are actually their legs, and they also have a pair of wings reminiscent of fly wings. Unlike other animals, the starkala actually photosynthesizes, yet it has animal cells and moves, confusing many biologists as to how to classify it. They congregate in large numbers, forming light blue balls the size of a grape. They have a life span of two days and breed rapidly, providing an endless supply of food for other creatures. They taste "deliciously sweet".

Duiker

Size: 3 feet
Threat: Minimal

Felaryan duikers are a common herbivore of Felarya. Three feet high at the shoulder, the little antelopes survive through by being incredible stealthy and alert. They spring and run at a great speed, easily surprising and leaving behind inexperienced predators. Felaryan duikers taste incredibly good and are Anna's favorite food. She has quite a hard time catching them, though.

Glouteux

Size: 30 feet
Threat: Moderate

A sort of large fowl with strong running legs. Glouteux have been dubbed the 14th dumbest creature in the known universe by the famous biologist Dr. Ebb Anguimon. Their extremely limited brain basically thinks of only two things: moving and eating. Their stupidity doesn't mean that they aren't dangerous: they are voracious and, with their size and strength, they can easily overpower a human and swallow them whole. Still, they are incredibly stupid and very easy to trick: once they spot you, they will run after you, no matter what. If a pit is between you and it, the glouteux will run straight over the edge of the pit. If it survives the fall it will stare blankly at the wall it faces. Moreover, glouteux do not recognize danger of any sort, and will walk in front a pack of kensha beasts, as if they weren't even there!

Spine Beetle

Size: Males 10 feet, Females 9 feet
Threat: Moderate alone - High in group

Spine beetles typically dwell in dark, wet places such as caves and tunnels. They live in mobile swarms sometime numbering in the thousands. They can digest anything they find, from grass to the flesh of other creatures. If attacked they will band together and strike back, using the spines on their backs which they can launch with great accuracy and which are coated with a deadly poison. Their large mandibles can crush even reinforced steel. Their tough shells can withstand most physical attacks, though sharp objects can cut through it if they hit a joint.

Kensha Beast

Size: Males 29 feet, Females 27 feet
Threat: Medium

Kensha beasts are one of the dominant animal predators in Felaryan forests. Essentially enormous six-legged wolves, they hunt in packs of four to twelve beasts, of which three out of four are female. Females will hunt alone on occasion, especially if their pack has fought off a territorial challenge, which usually injures many pack members. Attacks typically involve two beasts chasing their prey into the waiting jaws of the others. Single attacks are fast and depend heavily on surprise when stalking larger prey. Their claws contain a paralyzing poison that can kill in large doses, and they have large fangs which can crush the tough exoskeletons of some of their prey.

Arboreal Frog

Size: 10 to 15 feet
Threat: Moderate

These frogs can be mostly found in the canopy of the trees. They are voracious and usually feed on snakes, though at their size they wouldn't have much trouble swallowing a human whole. They are agile, quick and their brown green bark-like skin grows moss, leaves and small branches, making them very hard to spot when they stand still in spite of their size.

Drakewillow Nexolt

Size: 20 feet
Threat: Moderate

An avian creature which in some ways resembles a goose, but with a long, snakelike, reptilian neck, and a large gaping maw. A nexolt will wrap its powerful neck around a drakewillow tree and shake loose all the dragonapples. After that it will hide and use it's long neck to reach down and gobble up the woodland creatures, or passing travelers, who stop to pick up the fruits on the ground.

Mumansi

Size: 60 to 70 feet
Threat: Low

Mumansis are large and peaceful herbivores, resembling a bulky rhino with a long neck and longer legs. They are territorial and aggressive toward large creatures, but almost harmless to humans. Actually the beasts has no problems with a human's presence at all, and adventurers can take cover under its body. It remains fiercely independent though, and no tamed mumansis has ever been reported. With their extremely thick hide, formidable strength, and sharp horns, they are more than a match for many predators and tales of a single enraged mumansi wiping out a small pack of kensha beasts are not uncommon.

Bugle Lizard

Size: 2 feet tall - 4 feet long
Threat: Very Low

A small lizard found in the jungles of Felarya. It has a bony neck frill and a long, slender body which at a distance gives it the appearance of the small hunting horn that gives it its name. In fact, the similarities don’t stop there, for the Bugle lizard is capable of a honking sound that can sound quite musical and pleasing to some. The lizard is completely herbivorous and is only known to eat bugleberries. The lizard will honk when anything comes too close, or if someone is taking its supply of bugleberries. It won’t attack, and it’s sonic assault causes no harm to anyone, but it typically will attract any predators nearby, usually to the detriment of whoever is taking the bugleberries. Some enterprising species have trained these reptiles to be guard creatures, honking when someone approaches. Rosic nekos have also trained these creatures, but more for musical reasons then defensive. Though with the Rosic nekos, the two things are synonymous.

Boom Bee

Size: 2 inches
Threat: Low

A purple wasp-like insect with a long, narrow section and no stinger. Boom bees follow a typical hive mindset, with a queen-worker hierarchy. Instead of stinging, however, boom bees explode. A single boom bee explosion isn't very powerful, and will give a human a first degree burn, or possibly a light second degree burn at most. Several boom bees exploding can cause more severe injuries though, and they tend to travel in swarms. They are relatively non-aggressive, but some strangely specific actions seem to set them off, making them rather unpredictable. For example, if you cause harm to a flower with red petals in their presence, they will immediately attack you. That's just one of the several known actions that can turn them angry.

Black Skin-Diver

Size: 2 to 3 inches
Threat: Minimal

This insect resembles a beetle with a round body. An encounter with a black skin-diver can be downright terrifying. The creature will enter your body by crawling under your skin, making a bulge as it moves! However instead of causing harm, the black skin-diver secretes an enzyme that eats toxins, cleansing the body of poisons. The insects themselves are harmless, and will die in the body, eventually making their way out through natural means. Still, it's creepy as hell to watch, and indescribably strange to experience.

Squirrel

Size: 8 inches
Threat: Minimal but maybe not..

Squirrels are one of the most bizarre and strange creatures that live on Felarya. Many scientists have agreed that they are not native to the dimension, but are stumped when they try to identify where they came from. They appear to be some sort of rodent with a strange, large, furred tail and gleaming black eyes.

The story of their arrival is that one day, a powerful mage attempted a dangerous portal spell to defend himself from a predator, while in the already unstable Miragia forest. What occurred was known as a black day in Felaryan history. Both mage and predator were buried under the furry tidal wave as squirrel after squirrel was flung through the portal. Predators flocked to devour the strange creatures en mass, causing nearby settlements to be put in serious danger. The squirrels themselves got everywhere and ate crops and flowers, ruining the village harvests.

They were dubbed "Squirrels" after "Skwe U'Rell", the lord of the underworld in Sagolian mythology.

After a few days, the flow of the squirrels plague stopped as the portal closed and the predators moved on. Many squirrels somehow survived and continue to live on Felarya to this day. Predators consider squirrels animals of good fortune and tend not to eat them - seeing a squirrel is seen as a sign of good luck. They are considered cute and appropriate animals to give baby predators as pets. For the smaller species however, seeing a squirrel is the equivalent to seeing a black cat cross your path on Earth and is said to be the harbinger to terrible misfortune. Many nekos and humans refuse to eat them, convinced they will suffer a deadly curse. Even the most professional and hardened adventurers can get a little skittish if they think there's a squirrel nearby. In Negav, there are specially trained exterminators who deal solely with this odious threat.

The squirrels themselves seem only interested in collecting nuts, for reasons unknown. They appear to be preparing for an event which has yet to occur in the Felaryan jungles. Prey species list this as another reason not to trust the furry little freaks.

Nexocula

Size: 20 inches
Threat: Very Low

Nexocula is a kind of corpse-eating butterfly living in small swarms in Felaryan forests, often resting under the shade of a big tree. People don't often see the insect, as they only move around when they detect a corpse, a creature near-death, or for reproduction. An adult Nexocula looks like a butterfly with 4-6 closed evil-looking eyes on its large purple wings. They are actually real eyes, that can blink and roll around, and follow a nearby creature's moves. If someone wander into a Nexoculas swarm, a lot of these eyes would open to stare at the intruder, and put them into an hypnosis state, showing them vision of horrors. When picking up the scent of a dead, or nearly dead, creature, the nearest swarm of Nexoculas will fly to that corpse, and use a special enzyme to liquefy the flesh and drink it until there is nothing left, aside from the victim's equipments. If the “food” is still alive, the butterflies will wait until they die.

Obviously, seeing Necoxulas appear is seen as a very bad omen, and a sure sign a nearby creature is going to die soon. Some claim the butterflies are actually able to see into the future and will gather around a person about to die, even if the person is in perfectly good health. Intelligent undead creatures like vampires will confuse them. However, they will attack and consume mindless ones like zombies. Due to its unique diet and habits, there is many terrible rumors and legends surrounding this butterfly. The name Nexocula means “Eyes of Death”

In forest of whispers

Tonorion

Size: 40 to 120 feet long
Threat: Medium to High

A sort of armored and spiked centipede with the front claws of a praying mantis. With their razor sharp fangs and multiple glowing eyes, tonorions look positively nightmarish. These agile creatures can move with great speed and strike in the blink of an eye. They usually dwell in hives deep underground and come to the surface to hunt, usually during the night. Tonorions naturally emit an anti-magic aura, strong enough that only a very powerful offensive spell caster can hope to harm them magically. Tonorions are very capable of tearing their prey into bits, but they still attempt to swallow them whole if possible.

Abyssal Tonorion

Size: 80 to 130 feet long
Threat: High

This species of Tonorion only lives deep underground in tonorion hives. They are considered to be guardians of the hive and are extremely dangerous. They are voracious, aggressive, blisteringly fast, and possess an extremely tough chitinous skin. These terrible creatures are basically invulnerable to magic and their natural anti-magic aura nullifies it in a large area around them. They are also more intelligent than lesser tonorions and possess a rudimentary grasp of tactics.

Glowbug

Size: 6 inches
Threat: Very Low

A small, floating, jellyfish-like creature with sharp proboscis underneath them instead of tendrils. Glowbugs have an extremely low tolerance to cold and so have to prepare for each night. They do this by attaching themselves during daytime to a particular tree with their proboscis and absorbing nutrients from them. When day turns to night and the temperature drops, the Glowbugs will utilise these nutrients to create heat for themselves, creating a bright and pretty glow. These creatures are useful for adventurers travelling through Felaryan forests as they provide a good source of light. They are naturally attracted by heat. Glowbugs prove to be pretty harmless, although they have been known to accidentally attach themselves to people instead of trees, resulting in a nasty, but non-lethal, sting.

Kowo Cat

Size: 5 feet
Threat: Low

A fast and agile feline creature with red fur and a long, large bushy tail. Kowo cats have their backs and tails covered by long and very thin spines that look like hair. Those quills are released by simple contact and are able to embed themselves very easily in the skin of an attacker. They may drop out when the Kowo cat shakes its body or when the creature is under extreme stress, but they grow back in a matter of seconds. Kowo cats feed essentially on small animals and are utterly harmless to humans, unless you ask for trouble. The creature can then turn quite nasty and will whip the air with its quilled tail, lauching spines at the offender, a very painful experience. Kowo cats are rather affectionate when they don't feel threatened though, and the fur on their head is as silky and smooth than that of a real cat.

Flish

Size: 20 inches
Threat: Minimal

This strange creature resemble a brightly colored scalaire fishes with short feathered wings. What strange evolution led to this odd mix is unknown. The animal is utterly harmless and will only float slowly in the air and feed on fruits. Its vibrant colors are a warning to potential predators though, as most specimens are highly poisonous. Fairies are usually fond of flishes and love to pet the animal.

Echydin

Size: 25 feet
Threat: Medium

This creature looks sort of like a big unicorn with sparkling colors and antenna. The most noticeable thing about them is how silent they are. An echydin can gallop without producing the slightest sound, which is probably a magically enhanced ability. Echydins are very dangerous. When you encounter one, the creature will first stare at you, trying to determine if you are edible, the right size and if it's hungry. If the answer to all three is yes, then the echydin will instantly teleport you in to its stomach! Most anti-magic protections can't counter that because the spell is actually not cast on the prey but on the space directly around it. Once trapped in the stomach the prey has little to no chance of getting out as the echydin possesses a very tough and stretchy stomach which nullifies magic and a rather fast metabolism. Echydins are usually very friendly to fairies.

Whisper Wisp

Size: 1 to 3 inches in diameter
Threat: Low

Whisper wisps are stranger, ethereal beings native to Felarya. Resembling glowing orbs of light that come in a variety of colors, they've earned their name from their whispering speech. In childish voices they are known to taunt and make fun of those they come across like little children, much to the annoyance of many adventurers. However, they are also wary of them as whisper wisps appear to have a knowledge beyond that of mere mortals, speaking of things that only the wisest of beings would know.

If scared, they will suck in all nearby magic and then unleash it all as an explosive blast known as as a "nova". This burst can be very destructive, as well as distracting. Strangely though, whisper wisps appear to have little need of doing this as most physical objects merely phase through them as if they weren't even there. This has led some to believe that they "nova" in order to "get back" at anyone who would scare them in an act of childish revenge, then leave them for the predators.

Furred Parrot

Size: 20ft from head to feet.
Threat: Low

This unusual creature is found in the forest of whispers and the western part of the Tolmeshal forest. Interestingly, the furred parrot is not actually a parrot at all; rather, it is a kind of mammal. Its name comes from its ability to "parrot" the sounds it hears with near perfect accuracy. This is its primary defense mechanism-when danger approaches, it hides and mimics the growl of a kensha beast or another large dangerous predator. Should this fail, it then attempts to escape by flight. Furred parrots have bat-like wings, which are covered in colorful and complex patterns, while their body proper is a rather drab shade of brown. The animal actually does have a somewhat parrot-like head, due mostly to its vertically thick snout. Its long tail helps it to steer while in flight. When on the ground, it hops along rather like an oversized sparrow. Its meat has a somewhat sweet taste, due to its diet of ripe and overipe fruit and nectar.

In evernight forest

Abyssal Slug

Size: 30 to 40 feet
Threat: Medium

These creatures usually live in very dark places such as caverns. They glow lightly and have a beautiful pattern of vividly colored lights on their skin. However, the moment you spot those lights it's probably already too late. Abyssal slugs can locate their prey far away with a sort of natural sonar, and when the slug knows the exact location of its prey and is in range, it powerfully vacuums it in to it's large mouth and swallow it. The range of their vacuum can reach 200 feet for the largest specimens.

Shadow Fish

Size: 1 to 40 feet
Threat: Very Low to Medium

The size of shadow fishes varies a lot and this name comprises many sub species. Shadow fish have the unique ability to breath shadow, which means that they can live in or out of the water, so long as it is dark. Exposing them to light will suffocate them, much like what happens to a regular fish out of water. They float in the air and can move quickly if needed. Because they have no teeth, shadow fish swallow whole anything that is the right size. Larger specimens can easily gulp down an human, posing a serious threat to adventurers.

Wandering Nightmare

Size: Varies
Threat: Low to Medium

Wandering nightmares are grotesque creatures, seemingly made out of pure darkness. Their appearance, size, intelligence and agressivity vary a lot. Some of them are merely harmless pranksters, while some others display nothing but pure savagery, hunting in deadly packs. Wandering nightmares are said to be expressions of Déméchrelle's troubled sleep. Some theorize they are originally parts of her that somehow became independent and now roam Tenebra maze, the Evernight forest, and even others parts of Felarya. It is said that, when a place become dark enough, wandering nightmares have a chance of appearing...

Glophorbia

Size: 12 to 40 feet
Threat: Moderate to Medium

Glophorbias are strange, alien creatures. During the first stage of their life, they look like a sort of large white flatworm. They live in very dark environments and vivid light is very painful, sometimes even lethal, to them. They crawl around slowly and they don't have any particular weapons, but they are voracious and will attempt to swallow anything of the right size. Later, the glophorbia begins to develop additional features such as legs or a tail. Their appearance remains grotesque though, with an eyeless head and a large, gaping maw.

The more they eat, the larger and the more complex they become, sometimes based on the creatures they consumed. Fortunately, once large enough, glophorbias will take flight and leave Felarya. They then start roaming in space where some specimens can reach truly gigantic proportions, becoming a serious threat even for space battleships.

Flash Medusa

Size: 20 to 30 feet
Threat: Moderate

In such a dark place as evernight forest, light can become a weapon. These jellyfish-like creature use a powerful flash of light to dazzle and blind their prey... or suffocate it in the case of shadow fishes. They then move rapidly in range to swallow their meal.

Lightseeker

Size: 15 inches
Threat: Minimal

A small and extremely fast bird. Little is known about them because once you see a trace of a lightseeker, it's already gone. They possess a strange glowing globe on their belly that emits a blinding light when the bird flies, and they leave a long tail of light behind them, a bit like a comet. In the eternal darkness of Evernight forest, this is one of the rare sources of light. For some reason, lightseekers seem to always fly very straight trajectories, and turn with very sharp angles, creating long jagged lines of light that remain for several seconds before being swallowed up by the dark.

Night Anemone

Size: 50 feet
Threat: Medium

A dangerous creature lurking in dark places such as caverns or evernight forest. They feed on anything that they catch with their long and agile tentacles and they can swallow very large prey. While their most common prey are shadow fishes, a human would also easily fit in such a large stomach. What makes night anemones really dangerous is their tentacles which are strong, agile, and can stretch to frighteningly long distance. Moreover their tentacles are semi-immaterial and can't be harmed in any normal way.

In jungle of perils

Land Urchin

Size: 30 to 50 feet
Threat: Low

Large globular creatures found mostly in the Jungle of Perils. Their spherical body is a bright red, covered by long and numerous spines. At first glance, they don't possess any visible eyes, legs, or means of propulsion. They do have legs though, but they very small, and allow the creature to move slowly about. Land urchins eat anything that come close enough to their mouth, hidden somewhere on their body. However, compared to most fauna of the zone, land urchins are not very dangerous. Some scientists believe they are only eggs for a much larger creature though, according to some shells found broken and empty.

Clobbersaurus

Size: 5 to 7 feet
Threat: Low

This man-sized upright built theropod is mostly found in the Jungle of Perils. It's also widely considered the single most frickin' annoying animal in Felarya by many residents. The clobbersaurus doesn't eat, drink, sleep or do anything except hop around and punch people in the face with its massive, bone-studded fists. The amount of muscle packed into each arm is incredible. It's been witnessed to knock harpies off their feet!

The clobbersaurus tends to pull its punches against humans and the like. No one's ever been decapitated or directly killed in any way by these creatures. Some scientists theorize that instead of pulling its punches, the clobbersaurus automatically adjusts its own personal physical laws so that each punch has only just enough force to knock its victim off their feet (or the equivalent). Nothing else is really known about these creatures. It almost seems as though they derive sustenance from beating people up. Not just people, in fact, as the clobbersaurus will go out of its way to knock anything with a face into the dirt, only to hop away before they can retaliate. Entire platoons of explorers have been given bloody noses by a single clobbersaurus.

Bloodclaw Ape

Size: 5 feet
Threat: Low to Critical in group

A rather small but frightening-looking creature. Bloodclaw apes possess glowing red eyes, ridiculously long arms, sharp fangs and very strong claws, hard as iron. They are very agile and incredibly ferocious, with a blood lust that makes them mindlessly attack the largest of predators... and if these predators see them they will actually flee rather than fight the apes! Indeed, bloodclaw apes are the most terrible threat in the entire jungle of peril. They usually travel in swarms more than twelve thousand strong, and they ravage all in their wake: trees and living beings both. If you ever hear their terrible and recognizable shouts, don't think, just flee.

Where the bloodclaws swarms come from remain a mystery. They periodically warp in to the jungle of peril, laying waste to everything for miles around, then vanish just as quickly as they came. The cycle seems to repeat itself every few years. That seems to be a phenomenon that has repeated itself since time immemorial. Even tablets from the Ur-Sagol era mention them.

Dridder forest

Terror Hyena

Size: 40 feet tall
Threat: Medium

Virtually the Dridder forest’s version of the kensha beast, terror hyenas possess only four legs, though they do have poisonous claws like the kensha beast. Terror hyenas constantly laugh which adds to the eeriness of the forest. Although less strong and having less endurance than kensha beasts, these creatures are intelligent and are even able to speak some human words, which is rather freaky and unsettling in its own right. They often travel in packs of five or more, and when they have cornered their prey they always wear wide grins on their face while laughing, laughter that causes many of their prey to go mad.

Umbra

Size: Varies
Threat: Medium

Long thought extinct in Felarya, several dozen of these creatures still exist in or around the Dridder forest. Because of their unique physiology, their form is never completely fixed. They continually phase in and out of the dimensions of Felarya, with the effect of essentially making them shape shifters of sorts. In their true form you could vaguely describe them as a sort of shadowy fog. Their most common hunting tactic is to conceal themselves in the roots of a tree, or on the ceiling of a cave, and wait for a small living creature to approach before surrounding and enveloping it.

Umbras can stretch to remarkably long lengths, and because of their weightlessness they are able to travel with blinding speed through the air like a cloud. Strangely, their semi-corporeal form is as much a drawback as it is an advantage, as a strong wind that any human would mostly ignore would prove dangerous to an Umbra. They also have only a very small tolerance for injury and tend to flee a tough battle, only to come back and strike later. Indeed, if an umbra does find a suitable prey, it will relentlessly pursue it, feeling an unnatural compulsion to remove all evidence of their existence by devouring any who have seen them. Those who have claimed to have seen an umbra are thus usually cast out of their society due to the bad luck that the more superstitious people will see as surrounding them.

• Credits to Icalasari for the Starkala bug, to Hitomi for the glowbug, to Jasconius for the whisper wisp, to Zoekin for the duiker, to Tankmasterxyz for the Terror hyena, to Rythmear for the Umbra, to tkh1304 for the Nexocula, to Randomdude for the Spine beetle and Kensha beast, to Silent eric for the Drakewillow Nexolt and Bugle Lizard, to haar for the boom bee and Black Skin-Diver, to Gregole for the Clobbersaurus, to Jaette-troll for the squirrels, and to Oldman40k2003 for his great help at editing. ^_^