Pirates Creatures

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=Flora=
The Jagged Peaks has many of the usual plants you might expect to see in European alpine climates, tall evergreen pines and conifers ring some of the mountains, with various types of grasses and small shrubs surviving a good distance above the tree-line. As well as this, several hardier crop types are still cultivated by the people who live here. In addition to all the normal, boring plants that live in the Peaks, there are some other notable plants you might run into.
Silk Grass Yucca Filamentosa
Long, flexible, stranded grass that can be harvested to make into fine cloths and ropes. It grows a few hundred meters above the smoke line but far from the tops of the taller peaks, as it struggles with the colder climate.
Blood Coral Arboris Vena Caedes
Blood Coral takes the appearance of unsupported capillaries and veins growing from the ground but hanging in the air. It is believed that Blood Coral is an effect of Smoke proximity. It can be found growing anywhere close to the Smoke and it is thickest around the Smoke-line. Blood Coral is deadly to bare skin. It brings about a burning rash that eats to the bone were the Coral's spores take root and sprout. Death by the Coral is thought to be one of the nastiest in the Peaks, after an hour of agonising pain the Coral begins to grow spreading the rash which in turn spreads the Coral. It can take a full day to die from tissue and organ damage.
Sky Elm Ulmus Olympus
While not actually elms, it is the name given to the few rare mega trees that exist in the Peaks. Each is a massive solitary plant, the largest of which is where the Living Temple can be found, nestled amongst its roots. Like at the Living Temple, many of these trees are large enough to be lived in and house small communities. Despite the obvious resource as raw wood Sky Elms are mostly only harvested for bark. Their rarity and close connection to the seven precepts make most consider them sacred and they are often protected by at least one guru.
Cave Stars Sidus Boletus Fungorum
A series of tiny bio-luminescent mushrooms that live in the deeper caves in the Peaks. While they are not bright or large enough to actually light the way they give off enough light to appear as beautiful stars surrounding a casual cave wander. As pretty as they may be however the distracting nature of that beauty can make one easy prey for an attentive borer eel. 
=Fauna=
===From Above===
Jellyfish Cyanea Capillita Natantis
Big, pink and full of really disgusting jelly. Jellyfish stings are nasty, but they are slow and easily recognisable by the bwohm noise that they periodically emit when floating around. Mostly just hard to kill or deal with, long poles are recommended. Jellyfish are attracted by vibrations in the air, loud noises (like shouting), and moving objects that flap in the wind or cause wakes, often drawing them towards humans, which at least makes them easy to hunt. If you are caught in a jellyfish's tentacles, the jellyfish will twitch its tentacles around trying to sting you until you pass out, then it will use its tentacles to pick up anything loose and pass it into the jelly filled body where everything is slowly digested. Kind of like a flying ooze, but without the splitting. Jellyfish are resistant to the Smoke and can actually approach from above or below. Jellyfish are often harvested for their flight bladders (which contain gas to fill skyship balloons), and their membrane-like underbelly hide, which is used as canvas.
Great Eagles Harpagornis Moorei
No one is entirely sure where the great eagles have their eyries, nor how they survive to modern times. Normally the only sign of these silent hunters will be a shadow passing overhead. Great eagles prey mostly on targets of opportunity, diving from great heights to swoop on unattended livestock, killing instantly by either the force of impact, or the shock of two foot long talons sinking into flesh. Great eagles have occasionally been known to prey on lone humans. Hunting eagles is a sport in some areas, and specialist weaponry has been developed for the pursuit, a shoulder launched harpoon gun that fires both forward and back simultaneously (the back projectile designed to embed into the ground, the forward one into your target).
Hellkites Chiroptera Leuirus Noctis
A terrifying fusion of bat and scorpion. It's leathery wings function as collapsible forelimbs and at the tip of each spline a rending claw. A hellkite's wingspan can reach in excess of 10 meters. They hunt in groups called talons and their mandibles drip with a phosphorescent poison. Hellkite talons hunt mostly after the sun sets, all a man on watch might see are glowing poison trails descending from the night sky before he was slain.
Sky Rays "Flap Flaps" Manta Caleum
Majestic and mostly harmless the various shapes and sizes of sky rays are colloquially known as "Flap Flaps" for their leisurely flying style. Ranging from a meter across to wingspans of nearly 10 they can come in schools of up to 20 at a time. They are heavily preyed upon by both fishermen and great eagles, however, due to their rapid reproductive cycle they have seen no reduction in numbers despite being common prey. While mostly harmless, some of the larger rays can be dangerous both due to size and a small defensive barb in the tip of their tail that can seriously injure or kill if it hits a particularly vital spot.
Glitter Fish Piscus Crus Caleum
A catch all name for the various schools of micro sky-fish that inhabit the Peaks. The name comes from the beautiful cascading light patterns that dance around the massive schools as they fly. While individual breeds can often be discerned after capture, their speed and the size of schools they fly in make it impossible to determine at a distance. As such no naturalist has attempted to do so. Each individual fish is rarely longer than a forearm but their schools number in the hundreds to thousands. Perfect targets for trawlers, much of the Peaks food is harvested from such schools.
===From Below===
Sky Sharks
:Megaladon Hunters Carcharoles Megaladon Volantis
:Massive sharks with fins mutated for gliding and thrust. Easily large (and mindless) enough to punch holes in corvettes. Capable of travelling at almost 60 knots, a determined Megaladon is a nearly unstoppable force. Despite their fearsome reputation they aren't seen often above the smoke, it is believed that they battle in the depths with beasts like krakens for when they do surface they are covered in welts and scars.
:Swarm Sharks Carcharoles Caribes Volantis
:Far deadlier than their much larger cousins, swarm sharks are truly harrowing creatures. While each individual shark is no larger than a man's arm, they fly in schools that can number in the hundreds. They pile over ships and settlements like a wave crashing on the shore. The mass of viscous toothed missiles take flesh in chunks, stripping a frigate sized ship clear of flesh in minutes. Thankfully swarms that can shred frigate sized crews are rare and without the notable coppery scent of blood in the air they are slow to begin the feed. Suffice to say skirmishes have been prematurely ended by passing frenzied swarm sharks.
Kraken Cephelapoda Nautilis Gargantua
Giant squid-like creatures, that live beneath the smoke, krakens menace shipping and coastal settlements alike. Thankfully relatively uncommon and never seen in groups. Killing a kraken is almost always considered more effort than it's worth, instead they are normally avoided in open skies where possible, or driven off from settlements (use lots of fire). Krakens keep the majority of their bulk below the surface of the Smoke, attacking anything that comes within their reach with enormous tentacles, as such no one is certain of the size of a full grown Kraken, though their tentacles are known to grow up to 100ft long. A kraken will attempt to drag ships and even buildings that are within its reach, down into the Smoke, where it can tear them apart with its powerful beak.
Phantoms
Ghostly apparitions that appear in the Smoke sometimes. Often appearing to be tormented figures, sometimes recognised loved ones. Phantoms appear selectively, and one man may see them while another standing next to him will not. Phantoms are almost certainly a psychological effect, as no confirm-able reports exist of them doing anything other than driving people insane (to the point where they might jump overboard or commandeer a craft to try and save the phantom's image, or chase after some imagined treasure).
Bhrill Squilla Ipsum Nivis
A mass swarming, migratory crustacean. Each individual bhrill is no more than 4 inches long. The swarms are a sight to behold, their massive number trailing through the Peaks, an endless migrating line. Bhrill are sought for their pearlescent shells that make fine jewellery and can be used to make small parts due to the strength of the carapace. However they are most often trawled for food. The crustacean's meat is incredibly tasty and despite limited nutritional value and addictive qualities they are the foremost junk food in the Peaks. Most of the Peaks' bhrill is harvested from New Haven.
===Land bound===
Sirens Varanus Mulieres Canto
Reptilian creatures about 8ft from head to tail, they live on the edge of the Smoke on isolated outcroppings and peaks, far away from human settlement. Sirens' front quarters bear an uncanny resemblance to human females as they bask in the sun, and an airborne pheromone can drive sailors to fall in love with them, though should people be foolish enough to put ashore to meet these creatures they are soon ripped apart by sharp claws and rows upon rows of serrated teeth. Sirens don't normally pose a threat to shipping so long as you don't get too close, and stay upwind from them, in fact the calls they make to passing ships can be quite enjoyable music, but rare instances have been known of sirens leaping onto nearby ships from hidden resting spots below the Smoke, if this occurs, remember not to breathe in when fighting them, or you won't mind them tearing off a few of your limbs.
Zmobies 
The Smoke does strange things. In this case, it raises the dead. Of great interest to historians and lore-keepers, these shambling corpses often died many hundreds of years ago in during the great cataclysm, only now having wandered into your way. Zmobies are not infectious, they are more accurately animated corpses and can run the range from rotting zombie, through skeleton warrior, right up to floating skull. Unfortunately, while zmobies are fairly slow and stupid, they are malicious and unrelenting, they will attempt to destroy any trace of civilisation, and must be utterly obliterated to break the magic animating them (any chunk larger than about a tennis ball will still animate and attack you, you don't know horror until you've been stabbed in the eye by a floating splintered shin bone). Start with fire and use hammers to break up the bones.
Night Worms Coleoptrata Mandibularis
About the size of a human finger, and not particularly hardy, these centipede like creatures exist in large colonies in the more hospitable regions of the Jagged Peaks. Individually they are no threat, their bite carries an unpleasant venom that causes swelling and irritation lasting several days, but they are easy enough to kill with a sharp stick or heavy rock. Unfortunately night worms are more commonly found in large swarms, often residing mainly underground until angered, the creatures swarm up and form into towering masses (think fire ant structures) capable of crashing across the countryside devouring creatures that get in the way. Strength in numbers is their thing. They don't like the cold though.
Granite Crabs Birgus Latro Armis
A catch all term for a cornucopia of crustacean species, ranging from the size of an ornithopter to the colossal 30 metre wide Skyscraper Juggernaut Crab. The one thing the species all have in common is their toughened rock like shells, many of which resemble the craggy peaks they hide in. Few granite crabs are considered aggressive but their sheer size tend to make them an unbearable presence both for the local food chain and cause mayhem for static communities; their bulk causing landslides and shingle-quakes wherever they go. Considered a terrible nuisance they are often hunted by savvy ship owners both for reward and as food.
===Underground===
Borer Eels
In caves and deeper areas of mines there are giant eels slithering through crevices and burrowing new tunnels. The longest to date recorded eel was almost 100 meters long and was as thick round the middle as 10 myrmidons shoulder to shoulder. In the deep dark there are three main species to be wary of.
:Gulper Spelunca Saccopharynx
:Also known as devourers they are the largest of the three eels. Thankfully they are only found in the deepest caves and mines. They are named for their signature jawline, a massive bucket designed to swallow things whole. Old mariners will tell tales of the gargantuan gulper Charybdis, said to be large enough to swallow a Hope-class skyship in one bite. It is everyone's hope that if such an eel ever existed it has long been dead.
:Electric Spelunca Electrophorus
:The deadly lighting wyrms coalesce towards the surface of cave systems. One can easily tell when an electric borer eel nest is active due to the static storms in the Smoke nearby. The least aggressive of the eels, the electrostatic fields that they create are thought to be a defensive mechanism. Electric borer eels are however willing scavengers and will eat anything foolish enough to be killed or stunned by the charges they carry.
:Moray Spelunca Muraenidae
:The most aggressive of the eels. Morays are solitary hunters. They burrow themselves into mountain sides and await passing prey. When a target is in sight they launch out of their lairs, crushing their hapless victims with their scything jaws and dragging them into the deep to consume them. The most infamous moray was a monster of a wyrm named Scylla. Its size and ferocity were enough to make even corvette class ships wary around its den.
Giant Spiders Arachnidae Argiope Arafa
Sometimes called labyrinth spiders they present the greatest challenge for a fledgeling mining group to overcome. The web of the labyrinth spider is harder than bedrock and can take weeks to dig through, due to its high tensile strength, elasticity and mild stickiness (think kevlar weave). Not only that but they use their webs to line vast networks of tunnels throughout a mountain. Damn near impossible to eradicate due to their maze of webbed tunnels they can be enough to even challenge the worth of rich ore veins. Not venomous like many hunting spiders, they instead capture prey by surprise. The spider burrows a very slight hole and webs up the entrance so that it blends into the tunnel wall. When prey wanders or struggles past, it springs out using its sizeable fangs to cripple or kill its victim.
===In the Deep Smoke===
No one has documented or dared document the deep Smoke, nor ever will they. Those foolish enough to brave the deeps either don't return or are smart enough to avoid anything that lives down there. That said, it is known that the bulk of a kraken stays under the smoke and that there are a few creatures known to live there.
Filter Feeders Carcharoles Cetorhinus Volantis
Cousins to the other more aggressive sky sharks, the Smoke is home to large gape mouthed sharks that feed by trawling tiny creatures from the Smoke as it flies. These creatures are a rare sight, almost never breaching the Smoke, though a few foolhardy (some would say insane) fisherman have taken to baiting deep lines with bundles of brill in an attempt to fish them up. Sometimes they are successful and filter shark meat is a valued delicacy, however for each successful catch there are three stories of ships being dragged into the deep dark never to be seen again. Filter fishing is a profession for the truly mad.
The Green Shadow
There are those that claim the Green Shadow is a real beast, some claim it is simply a nasty phantom. Whatever it is, it is the most consistently reported terror of the deep Smoke. Sailors that have been stranded by themselves or have nearly been over boarded often claim to have seen the great glowing eyes of the Green Shadow waiting for them to fall. People have described it ranging from as small as a megaladon hunter, to big enough to stretch out in the smoke as far as the eye could see. Most people are fairly sure that the Green Shadow is just a fevered dream of panicked men, but most people haven't seen it.