Melange of Magical Creatures

"A Mélange of Magical Creatures" is a series of articles by Eric Funk, detailing various supernatural creatures.
Creature 	Short Description 	from Article
Prairie Whale 	Burrowing land-whales common to plains regions. Gentle but shy, they are known for helping victims of mudslides and quicksand. They resemble whales, but in earth patterns that match their native strata. 	MMC I; 2005
Blink Flowers 	A species of perennial plant that, once per hour, can teleport towards more ideal soil--usually towards anywhere sunny. They can work together in groves, migrating across entire regions. Heavier flowers can also move more mass alongside themselves. 	MMC I; 2005
Cloud Penguins 	Gregarious white and blue avians who can swim through clouds. They live on mountains and cliffsides, and spend a lot of time throwing peculiar items they've found. They can be an animal handler's best ally when traveling across mountains. 	MMC I; 2005
River Rabbits 	These aquatic lagomorphs can tunnel through water, leaving a sustained air pocket that lasts for about 24 hours. They make interesting pets, but can also be trained to create breathable areas in rivers, lakes, and other places. 	MMC I; 2005
Storm Ants 	Communal insects that have managed to cast Rain wherever they go, using the wet, moody weather to grow molds that they use for food. These ants are also common among wizards to wish to create a "land of perpetual darkness" around a region. They can communicate, albeit simply, through scent. 	MMC I; 2005
Mining Birds 	AKA rock chickens, these tough-as-nails farm fowl eat grains and stone. Their down is used in tough jackets and padded jacks, and their meat keeps well. When fed particular metals, they gain that metal's traits--this is a particularly expensive and specialized form of animal husbandry! Steel chickens are the most common of this subtype.	MMC I; 2005
Underduck 	Waterfowl, or underwaterfowl to be precise. These avians live their lives underwater, and appear to be upside-down, as if reflecting their airborne cousins. It is unknown if they are true aquatic, or live in some parallel dimension. 	MMC II; 2007
Quantum Sheep 	These herd-based mammals can cause any non-innumerate creature to fall asleep if they are counted, even at a rather long distance. They also produce high-quality wool, and pillows made with their wool can even help prevent nightmares and other sleep ailments. 	MMC II; 2007
Temporal Beaver 	These anomalous semi-aquatic rodents produce eddies of time-space. Intervening with their dams can cause temporal anomalies, or release interdimensional monstrosities. Likewise, these creatures can be used to banish plane-crossing monsters. 	MMC II; 2007
Lafamorphs 	Pink rabbits with sweet-smelling, fireproof fur and armored heads. They produce nitrous oxide, which can used as both a sedative and an accelerant for fires. These flammable critters can also ignite themselves, which only gets more dangerous when they launch themselves out of their straight-tunneled warrens, like bullets. 	MMC II; 2007
Lightning Bugs 	These electrical insects are some kind of silicon-based life, producing an electrical shock (burn, surge damage) as a swarm. They are attracted to places where lightning has struck, as well as people who have cast Air spells recently. 	MMC II; 2007
Hand Squirrels 	Intelligent, self-sufficient squirrels that can pass messages without notice. 	MMC III; 2007
Fireberry Trees 	Artificially engineered trees that grow weak "bomb" berries. Its main use is the bark, which is highly fire resistant. 	MMC III; 2007
Gloomblossom Plant	Absorbs ambient light. Tea can protect from sunburn (or sunlight vulnerability, in high doses). Oil can be used on glass to create "shades" that protect against gaze attacks. 	MMC III; 2007
Reaper's Bane 	A strange, asparagus-like tree grown from dark magics. Animals hate to be near it, and it will leech the light from an area. It calls down lightning and summons wicked, barbed trees. Both the lightning and tree-summoning can be spoofed into working, turning this "curse" into a source of unlimited firewood and electricity. 	MMC III; 2007
Honeyhat 	A sessile, colorful creature that effectively works as a bug-repellant hat. "Imperfect" honeyhats from the factory are simply used to repel bugs, but not be worn. Remarkably similar to a THS Skullcat. 	MMC III; 2007
Aria Rabbits 	Rabbits that can be taught to sing. Wild ones use this parroting in various weird and creative ways. Some even act as banshees, making horrible sounds near homes of the dying—for unknown reasons. 	MMC III; 2007
Crystal Fish 	Silicon-based, elemental fish that require only water and sand. Easy pets, and produce scales that can be used for lenses. Can also generate oxygen. 	MMC III; 2007
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
Housegoat 	These massive, amphibious herbivores are used as mobile bases, carrying entire homes on their backs. 	MMC X; 2007
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
 	 	
(table has open spaces to be filled later)
== References and Notes ==
Category:Eric Funk
Category:Monsters
Category:Series
Category:Pyramid Vol 2 Pages