Fauna8
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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.
- Ice terrain fauna
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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.
Contents
Ice terrain fauna
In frost peak
Snow Tiger
Size: 15 feet
Threat: Moderate
White fur covered tigers found in the frigged Felaryan mountains. These intelligent beasts generally live in clans of 3-7, and are very loyal to one another, but are equally distrusting of other clans. The Intrepid human explorer has much to fear from them as they are not easily tricked and posses superior strength.
Ice Kensha Beast
Size: 35 feet
Threat: Medium
Kensha Beasts are one of the more dominant species of Felarya, and have spread in many regions, adapting to every climates. This variety is similar in many way to their forest dwelling relatives, save for their pure white fur which allow them to blend perfectly in the snow, and add yet another element of danger. They also possess shining clear claws which are pretty valuable in jewlery making.
Ice Wyrm
Size: 200 to 400 feet
Threat: Very High
Little is know about this formidable and legendary creature. It resembles a gigantic worm, with a serpentine body and four massive armored beaks on its head, around its mouth. It moves under the earth by pushing itself along, suddenly emerging to attack. The creature possesses rows of spines on its back which it can extend to pierce a prey. Its multiple eyes ring its face and let it see in many directions at once. Its skin is pure white, with its mouth section a dark grey. The biggest specimens are said to reach double the size of a Naga, although they rarely leave the earth entirely. Ice wyrms are incredibly agressive, and attack virtually anything. One is said to have devoured an entire small Miratan outpost once, having simply swallowed the structure whole ! Their very thick skin make the use of explosives and missiles almost useless. The best thing to do when encountering those formidable beasts is to run !
Lermenin
Size: 1 foot
Threat: Minimal
Small, white, furry ,and the cutest things on or off the mountain, although somewhat cranky. They are intelligent and devious little creatures, about the size of a large house cat and resembling an earth ferret in some ways. Needless to say they are at the bottom of the food chain and depend on cunning to survive. They live in small crevices in the rock too small for other creatures. It's worth noting that they love to rob travelers of interesting things such as tiny round shiny objects.
In Elifga Valley
Idarik
Size: 4 to 9 feet
Threat: Very Low
Idariks are bird like creature found in Elifga Valley, the Direwind Hills, the Fairy kingdom and many areas of Deeper Felarya. It's fairly large, with a rounded body and two large wings. However, despite these, it has evolved as a flightless bird. The Idariks range in size from that of a large pig up to that of a large cow. However, they pose no danger at all to humans. They have a short head with a long beak for snatching insects out of hard to reach places. They also have, unlike most birds, four legs on it's rotund body. It can flap for a short while and, while being flightless, actually spends a good deal of it's time in trees, hopping from branches and gripping them with it's strong flexible claws. When it does walk on the ground it ends up looking fairly ridiculous, wobbling around on four legs. It is a favored food of predators and are easy to catch if one hunts during the middle of the day - Idariks are fairly lazy and good at hiding, sleeping away their mornings and afternoons. While they have good eyesight, they have fairly poor hearing and instinct and can be snuck up on.
Bereffs
Size: 10 to 17 feet
Threat: Moderate
Bereffs are a major predator of the waterways and ponds of the Elifga valley. It's a strange looking creature, with the bulky body of a large bear, while its head resembles most closely that of a frog, though furred like the rest of its body. The Bereff has breathing holes on top of its head and swims (or more usually, walks) through rivers keeping only the top of its head out of the water, waiting to attack prey and draw it in with its long sinuous tongue. If it can't subdue prey with this, it will smash them with its powerful front claws until they are unable to struggle and ready to be swallowed.
In Imoreith Tundra
Snowstalker
Size: 6 feet
Threat: Low alone - Medium in group
Snowstalkers sport the body of raptor and the head, back and fins of and abyssal fish. They possess powerful running legs with very sharp talons and hunt in pack. Despite their small size, they are extremely agressive and won't hesitate to attack a squad of adventurers. With their muscular legs, they can run to great speed, in frightening silence.
Taranei
Size: 10 to 15 feet
Threat: Very Low
Taraneis are herd herbivores roaming across the Tundra searching for patches of grass and shrubs to eat. They bear a vague resemblance to and Elk or Caribou, but with much taller and slender bodies. They all have pure white coats of fur, small black eyes, six long thin legs and strange membranes attached between and amongst their large antlers. For whatever reason, these membranes somehow generate a "field of silence" around the Taranei - this is a defense mechanism to prevent predators from easily locating the herd. A herd of Taraneis, no matter how many animals are in it, will move with absolutely no noise ! Some less alert adventurers have even reported suddenly being surrounded by the beasts as if they appeared out of thin air. The herds move fairly slowly in order to not miss any grass - smart adventurers will move within and with the herd, benefiting from the zone of silence as well.
Nopsid
Size: 12 feet
Threat: Moderate
Nopsids are bizarre creatures with a white bulky body and three short thick legs to support it. They move in small groups, with quick small hops, leaping and bouncing while emitting little clicking sounds. In place of their head is a wide black circle that can produce black tentacles extending outside to catch prey and pull them back in that circle where they are absorbed. Nopsids are dangerous creatures. They hunt by releasing an extremely powerful sound wave around them, that leave an opponent or prey utterly stunned and disoriented. Those who lived to tell the tale find themselves at loss of words to describe it. They speak of a wall of almost solid sound.
- Credits to Wowandwas for the Lermenin and snow tiger, to Randomdude for the Ice wyrm and Ice kensha, to Jaette-troll for the Idariks, Taraneis and Bereffs, to Archmage Bael for his help on writting some entries, and to Oldman40k2003 for his great help at editing. ^_^
