Avernite Wildlife (researched)

There are countless strange and terrifying species native to Avernus, and a few strangely harmless ones (no one trusts them). Over the centuries since founding the Adaptus Mechanicus and the Adeptus Astra Telepathica have studied many of the more interesting species, research that has occasionally led to major breakthroughs.

Unresearched wildlife is here

## Adaptus Mechanicus and Adeptus Astra Telepathica

### Blink Spiders

A smaller but equally deadly creature is the blink spider, which is a small venomous spider around two centimeters diameter. The bite of a blink spider will kill a human within ten minutes unless medical aid is provided and even then will often be fatal. The truly dangerous ability of blink spiders is the ability to teleport over both long and short ranges. Long range teleportation occurs whenever the population in an area gets too dense and takes the spider an unknown but high distance. Short range teleportation is used in hunting to land on the prey so the spider can bite it. Blink spiders seem to be willing to hunt humans and other large prey. So far the only real defense seems to be being alert and having quick reflexes. Around one percent of the population of Avernus dies each year as a result of blink spiders, making them the leading cause of death.

* **Preliminary Examination**: The research into the Blink Spiders that Magos Biologis Saren conducted was rather successful, with several minor and one major discovery being made. The major discovery is that when a Blink Spider teleports, it creates a particular warp signature, which Magos Biologis Saren believes that advanced Warp Scanners can be calibrated to detect. This will allow you to detect any Blink Spider that teleports onto one of your orbital shuttles or starships, which will make it far easier to prevent the Blink Spider reaching any of the worlds that you trade with, which would be a massive diplomatic disaster.The minor discoveries are that there are twelve main species of Blink Spiders, of which eight have venom lethal to a human, one has venom that paralyses a human, another's venom inflicts massive pain and the final pair's venom has no major effect. One of the lethal venoms can kill a grown adult within a second making it one of the most effective poisons that you know of. The Blink Spider will attack any creature that gets close enough to them, usually a matter of meters, but usually hunts insects and the smallest mammals.
* **Detailed Survey**: Magos Biologis failed to figure out a way to block Blink Spider's teleportation and in fact believes that it may be impossible. He has however figured out a method to gather Blink Spiders which could have its uses, though you are not sure for what. The reason that Saren believes that it may be impossible to block Blink Spiders, and that their Warp signature is not distinct, is that they teleport by skimming along the surface of the Warp and realspace which is infinitely small. This means that most methods that stop teleportation which work by strengthening that barrier do not work. While it might theoretically be possible to replicate how Blink Spider teleport, Saren admits that there is no way that humanity could pull it off and doubts that even the Necron could. Magos Biologis Saren does not believe that there is anything more that he can learn from Blink Spider but suggests that the Scholastia Psykana might want to study them, as it is possible that psykers could replicate what technology can not.

* **Telepathica Research (Blink Spiders)**: Headmaster Ridcully's research into Blink Spiders this year has made several discoveries. The first is that the Blink Spiders' different forms of teleportation are separate abilities. The long-range teleportation drains the Blink Spider and it can generally only use it two or three times per day. This ability also only sends the Blink Spider into an environment where the Blink Spider can survive and is probably impossible for humans to copy. The short-range teleport on the other hand is something that humans may be able to copy and is the most precise form of teleportation that Ridcully has ever heard of. Not only does it go to the exact location that it is aimed at, the Blink Spider can orient itself exactly as it wishes and can choose whether to keep its old momentum or to match the momentum of its new surroundings.

### Phase-Cats

A feline similar in size and temperament to a common cat with Phasing abilities slightly different from Phase-Tigers. These are one of the most common household pets on Avernus, and one of the few species that have been allowed to migrate offworld, though so far only in a limited manner.

* **Preliminary Examination (Phase-Cats):** Five years ago Archmagos Biologis Saren spent a year studying the Phase-Cats that were discovered in Lindon in an attempt to determine how they differed from both normal cats and Phase-Tigers. As far as he can tell the Phasing that Phase-Cats use is near identical to that of Phase-Tigers with the minor exception of the fact that that they are capable of Phasing for longer then even Southern Phase-Tigers and better hidden then Northern Phase Tigers but seem to be totally incapable of partial Phasing and are the slowest to Phase in or out of reality. Phase-Cats are ambush predators by nature, using their ability to Phase for long periods of time to wait outside, or inside, the burrows of the small mammals, lizards and Nogs that are their usual prey. Much to the interest of some of your psykers Phase-Cats seem to be just are easy to domesticate as the standard Terran cat and will probably make good familiars.
* **Telepathica Research (Phase-Cats)**: After finishing her first research project into Songweaving Primaris Johnson turned her attention to Phase-Cats, the smaller cousins of Phase-Tigers. She found that the Phase-Cats variation of Phasing is as similar to the known variant as expected and tells you that it should not be much of a challenge to mimic it. She has also determined that the Phase-Cats are even more open to being taken as familiars then expected, with one of the cats that she studied decidedness’ to become her familiar.

### Bombardment Cactus

The Bombardment Cactus can grow to be the largest and most dangerous plant on Avernus. A Bombardment Cactus is a cactus with an extensive root system that is used to sense the presence of targets, and gather nutrients from any animals that die within its reach. They bring down their prey by launching super hard cactus spines at very high velocity, with a surprising degree of accuracy. Bombardment Cacti grow throughout their life, and as they grow larger, the size and range of their spines also grow. The largest Bombardment Cacti approach a kilometer tall and can shoot prey that is over the horizon, and even bring down Titan Scorpions. Bombardment Cacti are almost as capable of bringing down flying targets as land bound targets and have been compared to flack batteries by Imperial Navy Pilots. Each Bombardment Cactus has a minimum target size below which it will not target creatures, which increases as they grow in size. Rough Riders have learned to exploit this fact and use it to evade titanic scorpions by fleeing into the territories of the larges bombardment cacti when pursued, leading them into prickly doom.

* **Preliminary Examination:** Five years ago Magos Biologis Saren conducted basic investigation into the Bombardment Cactus. He proved that his theory of the Bombardment Cactus using Divination to assist in its targeting was correct. On another front after much searching Saren was able to to acquire a sample of the Bombardment Cactus’s aphrodisiac pollen, which he will be able to study next year.
* Detailed Survey: Five years ago Magos Biologis Saren spent a pair of years further studying the Bombardment Cacti and its aphrodisiac pollen. He has found that the pollen is capable of getting though most of the more basic air filtration units due to its small molecular size. The effect on the human body is rather complex and lasts for over a week. It raises libido by a significant amount and has a similar effect on fertility, a combination that explains the massive growth spurts that it has caused in the past. The complexity of the compound has so far prevented Magos Biologis Saren from figuring out a way to mass produce it but he is sure that with a few years study he would be able to.
* **In-depth Examination (Bombardment Cacti):** Three years ago Magos Biologis Saren started his final examination of Bombardment Cacti Pollen and how to reproduce it. It took a few years but he was eventually able to figure out how to trick Bombardment Cacti into producing large amount of pollen and to collect the pollen. While dangerous this seems to be the only way to gather any large amounts of Bombardment Cacti Pollen, which is to complex to make artificially in any real amount.
* **Telepathica Research (Bombardment Cacti):** Five years ago Headmaster Ridcully spent a year studying Bombardment Cacti in order to find out exactly what their powers do. He found that they are able to use their divination powers to detect the location of moving objects larger than a certain size. They then use this information for targeting purposes. Headmaster Ridcully tells you that he could probably figure out how to use this power and that it is a good way of detecting Necrons and other enemies with no psychic presence but that against living targets ordinary divination is more effective.

### Gnaw Worms

Gnaw Worms are one of the larger creatures in Avernus' Spine, adults ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 meters in diameter and 20 to 60 meters long. They are giant worms with metallic grey scales that are capable of burrowing through solid rock, leaving narrow tunnels behind them. They have two mouths and use one for eating plants and animals and the other for eating metal and metal ores. The first mouth has razor sharp, diamond hard metal teeth used to cut roots and flesh. The second mouth uses silicone molars to grind stone into pebbles demonstrating the enormous jaw strength Gnaw Worms possess. The usual diet of a Gnaw Worm consists of roots of the larger plants in the region, such as avalanche shrubs and meteor figs as well as any trolls they encounter. While burrowing, they often follow seams of metal ore so they can eat the metal necessary for their teeth,scales and bones. Until two years after colonization it was believed that Gnaw Worms were solitary and territorial, but then a swarm of Gnaw Worms destroyed the foundations and walls of The Lonely Citadel. Current theories are that this was part of some sort of occasional mating behavior or as a result of being disturbed or attracted by something as yet unknown. There is evidence of a Gnaw Worm that is far bigger than any other near Casarrondo in the north, being around 10 meters in diameter and probably around 400 meters long. This could be a result of mutation, or it could be a member of a larger species that is related to the smaller Gnaw Worms. Gnaw Worms are also found in Lindon.

* **Preliminary Examination**: This year Magos Biologis Saren did a preliminary examination on the Gnaw Worms and found out several interesting facts. The first is that Gnaw Worms travel over a massive range around five hundred kilometres across and that you can determine a Gnaw Worm's territory by the exact alloy that its scales are made of. One discovery that Saren did note is that unlike many of the weirder wildlife of Avernus, Gnaw Worms do not seem to have any psychic abilities.
* **Detailed Survey**: After several years of study Magos Biologis Saren has found that there is no way to totally prevent Gnaw Worms from attacking an area a combination of subsonics at a particular frequency and electrifying the walls reduces Gnaw Worm attacks by over fifty percent. As well as making this discovery Tranth tells you that he has made some progress into figuring out exactly how Gnaw Worms move so quickly though solid stone, as their muscular system is not strong enough to so quickly break though stone. As far as Tranth can tell Gnaw Worms seem to emit a minor entropy field which causes stone to be far more likely too fracture when they push against it allowing for it to be quickly reduced to dust.
* **In-Depth Examination**: Magos Biologis Saren completed his studies of the Gnaw Worms this year and has made several important discoveries. On the practical end he has both fine-tuned the defences that he invented to ward them off decreasing the number of attacks that occur with the defences by a fifth , down to 40% of the number without any defences. He has also figured out a better method of tracking their progress though the ground allowing at least five minutes warning before any Gnaw Worm attacks, removing the element of surprise that has so often proven to be deadly. On the more theoretical end he has not been able to figure out much about their entropy field, partially because anything he uses to study them has a habit of breaking down after a while, but he has come up with some information. The first of which is that the field is very powerful at the head but far weaker further down the body and loses strength rapidly as you get further away from the Gnaw Worm, being near non-existent a mere meter away. The second is that this is a purely instinctual effect that is always on and the only effect that it has is to cause non-living objects to be more likely to fracture, and therefore be weaker.
* **Telepathica Research (Gnaw Worms):** Four years ago Headmaster Ridcully spent a year studying Gnaw Worms in order to find out exactly what their powers do. He found that their entropy field is some sort of weird hybrid between Demonology and Telekinesis that both applies a slight pressure to all non-living matter in its area of effect and increases the probability of matter fracturing in the same area. He believes that it may be possible for humans to copy, at least in part, this power but that it will be a very difficult process.

### Dragon-Turtle

Dragon-Turtles are the most aggressive of the major fauna in the Azure Isles, attacking humans wherever they find them and putting constant pressure on the defenses of all the cities in the Azure Isles. Dragon-Turtles are spiked turtles with shells generally ranging in diameter from one to five meters, with the occasional sighting of a larger specimen. The body below the shell is also armoured, but not as much as the shell. Their shells are very sturdy and it takes heavy weapons to breach the shell on all but the smallest Dragon-Turtles. The armoured bodies can be taken down with either sustained las fire or a shot to one of the few vulnerable locations they have. The Dragon-Turtles' most dangerous weapon is the poisonous, acidic gas they can exhale, which can spread over a large distance and with time or high concentration can eat through the Armageddon Patten equipment that the Zerusian Iron Guard and the Azure Isles PDF are equipped with. Dragon-Turtles are responsible for almost all the casualties suffered by the civilians in Storm's End. It is possible that the kilometer-wide Island Turtle that was the intended location for Beta-3 is a mutated or giant species of Dragon-Turtle.

* **Complete Examination**: A bit over a year ago Archmagos Biologis Saren finished his investigation into the Dragon-Turtle's of the Azure Islands. He tells you that much to his surprise the Dragon-Turtle's do not have the super-hard shells of the Island Turtle and instead use a variation of the classic toughness boosting Biomancy power to mimic it. The other interesting ability of the Dragon-Turtle is the gas that it can exhale, which is both highly poisonous and highly corrosive while being able to degrade in a mere hour or two of direct sunlight. Archmagos Biologis Saren tells you that this gas is as effective as most poison gasses that the Mechanicus are able to produce while being able to degrade faster, allowing for forces to be sent into areas of gas attack far more quickly then would otherwise be the case, and preventing major ecological damage which is sometimes important.
* **Dragon-Turtle Gas**: Four years ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished simplifying the procedure to make Dragon-Turtle Gas. He was highly successful in this and informs you that he has designed a chemical factory capable of producing large amounts of Dragon-Turtle Gas without needing direct control by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
* **Telepathica Research (Dragon-Turtle)**: Over the last year Headmaster Ridcully has been studying the Dragon-Turtles of the Azure Islands in an attempt to gather more information on their physic abilities. He tells you that it seems to be a refinement on the classic toughness boosting power that most biomancers can use, and should therefore be possible to copy.
* **Azure Bay Siren Infomation Exchange-** To benign with you are told that the Dragon Turtles that you have encountered are generally young members who stick to the comparative safety of the shallows. Fully grown Dragon-Turtles are no larger than the specimens that you are used to but have significantly stronger shells and rather than exhaling acidic gas instead spit out powerful acids. Dragon Turtles are near immune to all forms of acid, and occasionally use this in a rather unique hunting strategy which involves being eaten by far larger predators, using their shells to reach the stomach intact and then biting their way out. This strategy may be why Dragon-Turtle shells lose the spikes as they age, and their jaws get ever stronger.

### Tyrant Lizard

The mightiest creature of Elysium is the terrifying Tyrant Lizard, a massive bipedal carnivore that stands eight meters high at the shoulders and weighs around twenty tons. The most strange and terrifying aspect of the Tyrant Lizard is the ability to project lasers from an organ located in its throat. A Tyrant Lizard's lasers have more power than an Imperial lascannon, but they seem to have half the rate of fire. It is believed that the lasers developed to allow the Tyrant Lizard to hunt Thundabeasts which are very hard to kill without high energy attacks. There is a rarely seen type of Tyrant Lizard that has been named the Tyrant Lizard Alpha for its ability to gather thousands of Tyrant Lizards and command them to devastating effect, as was shown by the Battle of Yphax. A Tyrant Lizard Alpha stands ten meters tall at the shoulders and has a more powerful laser. Tyrant Lizards usually follow Thundabeast herds but can be found throughout Elysium, including the few small mountain ranges.

* **Complete Examination (Tyrant Lizard):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his research into the Tyrant Lizard having made several breakthroughs. He tells you that the Tyrant Lizard is an unusual predator in that it seems to be able to act as both a solo hunter and a pack hunter, mostly acting alone or in small groups to target the most isolated Thundabeasts but occasionally forming massive groups which attack entire hordes of Thundabeasts. This pack instinct can be used in combination with some relatively simple cybernetics to tame Tyrant Lizards, making the long held dream of of many rough riders possible. As well as working out how to tame Tyrant Lizards Archmagos Maximal has conducted an in depth examination of the biological lasers that they use, and thinks that he could probably figure out how to make them. With a bit of design work, and possibly some investigation of Raptors for scale, this will allow Avernus to field agents with entirely biological laser pistols that will be able bypass most methods of detection.​
* **Telepathica Research (Tyrant Lizard):** After a year of examination Xavier found that the Tyrant Lizard, unlike many examples of Avernite wildlife does not use any form of psychic powers. He was surprised too.

### Hellflame Coral

A coral found in the Azure Islands that has a contantly burning flame above it, despite being under water.

* **Preliminary Examination**: Magos Biologis Maximal spent a year conducting a preliminary investigation of the Hellflame Coral, a form of coral found in the reefs near the southernmost Azure Islands that seems to be constantly producing a flame above it that does not heat up the surrounding water as much as it should. While he can't conduct a detailed investigation of its natural environment, due to the fact that it is to shallow for his Kraken and to dangerous for most investigators, he has found out that it seems to be able to control the level of heat that its flame releases which has been known melt high temperature alloys or fail to boil water.
* **Detailed Survey**: After spending a few more years studying the Hellflame Coral Magos Biologis Maximal found that when its flame is not releasing any heat that the heat is being concentrated in the flame, which can then be released when needed. He finds that the Hellflame Coral does not actually produce much heat and relays on the energy that it has stored to allow its flame to have the effect that it does.
* **In-Depth Examination (Hellflame Coral):** Magos Biologis Maximal spent a few years studying the energy storage ability of the Hellflame Coral. He found out that there seems to be a maximum amount of energy that the corals flame reaches, meaning that there is a limit on the power that they use to contain the energy. He also mentions that the thermal energy seems to act strangely when it is compressed by this power, though he struggles to describes how in words you can understand. Sort of solid is the closest that you can understand.
* **Telepathica Research (Hellflame Coral):** Xavier spent a year examining the powers that the Hellflame Coral uses in an attempt to determine if they usable by humans. He tells you that they use two powers, one a simple pyromancy that is only interesting due to its ease of use, and low output, and the other a complex mix of pyromancy and demonology. The second power is the one that compresses and stores the heat of the flame, He believes that it would be possible to copy to some extent but warns you that it will be a major challenge that requires a good deal of work and that he is not sure that it is worth the time required.
* **Azure Bay Siren Infomation Exchange-**Next is Hellflame Coral, which has several related species that do similar feats using light or electricity.
* **Lifeflame Coral**- The variation of Hellflame Coral powered by Ghyran, the Wind of Life is known as the Lifeflame Coral. Unlike the more common Aqshy variant, this variant has a green glow that permeates the entire coral and grows stronger over time. The Lifeflame Coral does not seem to harm attackers, but is incredibly tough. Archmagos Biologis Maximal has finished his studies of the Lifeflame Coral, and tells you that it should now be possible to cultivate them for powerstone productions. While he will need to study a few more variants to be sure, he is also starting to figure out which set of genes determines the wind that a coral is aligned to.
* **Fallspark Coral** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years examining the rare Fallspark Coral that grows on the walls of some of the massive waterfalls found in some of the tropical mountains of Avernus. These corals gather the wind of the heavens from the skies around them and store them as an arc of lightning between their spires, lightning which is released on threats to the coral colony.
* **Luminescent Coral** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years examining the Hysh Coral that grows in the crystal clear waters of the Azure Bay. These corals grow just under the surface, and glimmer with light that they have collected over the years, light that is released as blinding beams as a reaction to attacks.
* **Umberal Coral** After further examination Archmagos Biologis Maximal found that Umberal Coral high concentration of the Wind of Shadow passively hides it from detection, bending shadows to cover it and minds to disregard it. When this is bypassed and the Coral is damaged, it will release the stored Ulgu held within it, turning the entire coral into shadow which will then reform somewhere else.
* **Steelshard Coral** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years studying Steelshard Coral which draws on the Wind of Metal. This coral slowly builds up layers of metallic spikes on its outer edge as it builds up Chamon, spikes which are then launched at threats. A rather simple threat response but an effective one.
* **Carnivorous Coral** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent some time studying the Carnivorous Corals that draw on Ghur, the Wind of Beasts. The Carnivorous Corals look at first examination little different from countless other corals that dot the tropics, but if a creature takes shelter with them the Ghur that infuses them is used to allow the coral to become both stronger and animate, capabilities that are used to devour their prey.
* **Deathflame Coral** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years studying Deathflame Coral which draws on the Wind of Death. This looks in many ways similar to the classic Hellflame Coral, but where the flame of the Hellflame Coral burns attackers, the flame of the Deathflame Coral drains them of their life essence, reducing them to a desiccated corpse.

### Psyrodactyls

The most dangerous flying creature in Avernus is definitely the Psyrodactyl, a flying psychic reptile with a wingspan of fifteen meters. The truly dangerous aspect of a Psyrodactyl is its psychic abilities, which it uses to move faster in total silence and to stun its prey. Psyrodactyls normally hunt Dragonfruit and grox but have proven to be highly efficient at taking down Imperial Navy atmospheric craft, being responsible for almost all of the Lightning and Marauder losses over Avernus.

* **Complete Examination (Psyrodactyls)** Archmagos Maximal has recently finished his research into Psyrodactyls, suving dozens of attacks from seemingly enraged flyers in this time. He tells you that as well as the know telepathic ability to stun others which Psyrodactyls use to hunt they have a second ability that is on the border of divination of telepathy. This ability is to sense when others are thinking of them, the greater the interest the more that they can sense. While usually this gives them a warning for predators in the case of the Magos Biologis, who are intensely curious about the wildlife of Avernus they also show up, and are assumed to be hostile. Unfortunately this same ability makes it impossible to tame Psyrodactyls, as they read interest from any species buy their own as a threat and so are instinctively hostile to any potential riders. Jane is highly interested in finding out if normal psykers can copy this power, as she tells you that it would be incredible for infiltrators on all levels.​
* **Telepathica Research (Psyrodactyls):** Xavier spent a year studying Psyrodactyls in order to discover whether their powers can be used by humans. By the end of this time he had been attacked dozens of times by enraged Psyrodactyls and come to the conclusion that while their psychic shriek is nothing worth copying their interest detecting power would be both very valuable and humanly possible. He does warn that only a few psykers will be able to use it due to the probable requirements of high levels of both divination and Telepathy.

### Disrupter Dolphins

A form of dolphin found in the Turquoise Sea that hunts by disrupting the hive mind of the Multiplicity Carp.

* **Complete Examination (Disrupter Dolphin):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal has recently finished his studies of the Disrupter Dolphins of the Turquoise Sea. He tells you that these warm water aquatic predators primary prey are the Multiplicity Carp, a range of species that use their Hive Mind to perfectly coordinate and make full use of a range of minor psychic powers to overwhelming effect. The Disrupter Dolphins counter this by identifying the exact frequency that this particular school of Multiplicity Carp uses and then projecting a series of high power psychic burst on that frequency. This has the effect of drowning out the Hive Mind in close proximity to the Disrupter Dolphin. When an entire Pod of Disrupter Dolphins works together they can effectively cripple the hive mind in a region, allowing them to easily hunt and kill the isolated Multiplicity Carp.
* **Research (Disrupter Dolphin):** Grandmaster Aria spent a year investigating the Disrupter Dolphins of the Turquoise Sea. She tells you that while their ability to identify psychic frequencies seems to be innate, the psychic bursts that they use to overwhelm the local Hive mind should be easy to imitate, though they will require some study.
* **Azure Bay Siren Infomation Exchange-**Disrupter Dolphins are one of the more dangerous predators to common Sirens, as they are able to disrupt their bond to their Siren Lady, forcing them to operate without the direction of their ladies guiding mind. Many a Siren Lady has lost some members of her court to these animals, and they are hunted down whenever possible.

### Cleaners

Tiny Warp entities that drain tainted power within Avernus. Supposedly very fragile.

* **Preliminary Examination**: Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent a year watching the corrupted items outside Dis in order to determine what was purifying them. He found that while there was no visible cause that the psykers assigned to him were able to detect minor Warp entities that were in some way draining the power within the items.
* **Telepathica Research (Cleaners):** Tamia’s examination of the cleaners was highly successful, with her being able to figure out a way to attract them so she can watch them in action. From what she can see Cleaners are able to break down Chaos tainted power into its fundamental components, filter out the Chaos taint and release it back into the Warp and consume the power left behind. While Tamia has no clue how to filter out Chaos taint she thinks that she may be able to work out how to break down Warp power into its base components.

## Adaptus Mechanicus Complete

### Life-Eater Fungus

The most worrying and dangerous flora on Avernus is certainly the Life-Eater Fungus, which has many similarities to the Life-Eater Virus. Like the Life-Eater Virus, the Life-Eater Fungus quickly infects and consumes all organic matter in an area and turns it into highly flammable goo. Unlike the Life-Eater Virus, the Life-Eater Fungus only spreads around twenty or thirty kilometers and takes up to an hour to reach this far. How a plant like the Life-Eater Fungus can exist is unknown, as is why it seems to be limited to the swamp.

* **Counters:** Magos Explorator Tranth and Magos Biologis Saren's multi year project to discover more effective counters to the Life-eater Fungus recently finished. As well as a more effective set of quarantine measures they discovered that the Life-eater Fungus had more explosive potential they previously believed and therefore the partitions between different sections of a city need to be greatly reinforced.
* **Preliminary Investigation**: Magos Biologis Saren examination of the Life-eater Fungus determines several important facts. The first important discovery that he made was how much force it creates when exploding, which allows for defenses to be made with accurate numbers in mind. The second important discovery is that when the Life-eater Fungus explodes it launches spores over a large area which will become active after a certain amount of time. He also got a reading on these spores allowing for bio-scanners to search for them around inhabited areas.
* **Detailed Survey**: This year Magos Biologis Saren finished his investigation into the Life Eater Fungus. The main discovery that he made is that it forms an ordinary fungus for up to twenty years before triggering and spreading wildly. It spreads when it reaches a certain size or density in the local environment and a certain hormone is released. Magos Biologis Saren has both figured out how to spot the fungus in its non-aggressive phase, allowing you to greatly reduce the chance of any more disasters, and what the hormone that triggers its aggressive phase is, which is the first step toward weaponizing the Life-Eater Fungus.
* **In-depth Examination**: Magos Biologis Saren reports to you late this year that not only has he figured out how to trigger the Life-Eater Fungus' growth, he has also figured out how to inhibit it. He has discovered a particular compound which, when released, will convince the Life-Eater Fungus that it should not trigger by clogging up its receptors for the hormone that tells it that there is a sufficient density. Magos Biologis Saren is certain that by adding a mechanism to release this compound to the cities of the Everglades you will be able to deal with Life-Eater Fungus far better.
* **Weaponisation**: His original aim of weaponizing the Life-Eater Fungus was also achieved, as he has figured out how to make a Deathstrike Missile payload containing the Life-Eater Fungus. Each missile will dissolve most organic matter within half a kilometer before exploding, killing more. This is not as invasive as the Life-Eater Virus and any sealed armour will be able to keep it out.

### Kraken

By far the largest of the monsters of the Azure Isles, except perhaps for the lone Island Turtle, are the kraken whose kilometer-long tentacles are the bane of any ship they get a grasp on. The kraken's tentacles are long enough that even being inland is not always enough to guarantee safety. The only city in deep enough water to be under threat from the kraken is Arbor, which is situated far enough inland to be safe.

* **Preliminary Examination:This** year Magos Biologis Saren conducted a thorough dissection of the kraken body he found near The Fair Isle. This body weighed one million tons and had tentacles that could stretch one and a half kilometres. According to Magos Biologis Saren the kraken'sflesh is far more dense then something able to float should be, with a density around double that of water. He suspects that the kraken either lowers its weight or provides additional lift using a psychic power.
* **Detailed Survey (Kraken)-** Magos Biologis Saren's investigation into the kraken continues to be successful, with several more discoveries being made this year. This first discovery is that the kraken uses telekinesis to lower its weight, allowing it to float. The second major discovery that he has made is that the mind of a kraken is remarkably simple for a psychic species, meaning that it may be possible to use cybernetics to control or influence a kraken, though this will take a lot more research and a live kraken.
* **In-depth Examination (Kraken):** Magos Biologis Saren has spent the last three years creating several cybernetics implants that he hopes will be able to control a kraken. He believes that his latest prototypes will be able to do the job and has turned his attention to ways of subduing a kraken long enough to implant them. He has created a combination of several specially tailored knock out drugs and massive calibre weapons to fire them from which he believes will do the job. Next he will need to form a team able to subdue the next kraken to appear.
* **Azure Bay Siren Infomation Exchange-**Kraken are one of the largest creatures on Avernus, even in the deeps, but are nowhere near the most dangerous due to their lack of intelligence or exotic powers. There are several different breeds of Kraken, many of which have their own tricks but none of which are counted among the true horrors of the sea.

### Implantation Spider

Possibly the most terrifying of the creatures of Region Iota is the Implantation Spider, a small spider that has show the ablity to somehow teleport its eggs into living creatures. Said eggs are hard to detect due to secreting a numbing agent and when they hatch the young spiders will eat their way out of the still numb flesh.

* **Preliminary Examination (Implantation Spider)**: Archmagos Biologis Saren spent a year examining the Implantation Spiders of Region Iota in an effort to learn how to deal with it. To begin with he has found that the Spiders Eggs are capable of changing composition to match the surrounding flesh, making it far harder for many types of scanners to detect them, though the Dark Age medical technology is able to easily detect is as is the better Imperial era technology. He has also found that the Spiders are capable of Blinking, though not as far or as quickly as the Blink Spider, and that they can teleport eggs within a range of around twenty meters.
* **Detailed Survey (Implantation Spider):** It took the full two years for Archmagos Biologis Saren to come up with a easy and reliable method to scan for Implantation Spider Eggs. However the size of the scanner and the fact that it takes several minutes to scan a whole body means that while it will be practical to give every citizen of Duat a regular scan and to scan everyone leaving the region it is still not possible to do scans on the battlefield. During this time Archmagos Biologis Saren has found that it takes between two and five weeks for the Implantation Spider Eggs to incubate, depending on the species of Implantation Spider in question.
* **In Depth Examination (Implantation Spider):** Magos Biologis Maximal spent three years studying the Implantation Spiders in order to discover as much about them as he could. As well as making several minor discoveries about the lifestyle diet and predators he found out some important information about their egg teleportation power. This information is that the Implantation Spider Eggs are conscious, and have a tiny but existent amount of psychic power which may have something to do with their ability to be teleported.

### Berserk Fungus

So far the most lethal plant in the Azure Isles is the Berserk Fungus which drove most of the population of Blacktyde mad with bloodlust and required that they be killed by the garrison. The Berserk Fungus is warp-powered, takes effect in a matter of minutes and can be stopped by rebreathers. Little else is known about it, despite several years of study.

* **Preliminary Examination**: Magos Biologis Maximal spent a year examining the Berserk Fungus, which was the doom of Blacktyde in the initial years after colonisation. He found that it releases a gas that causes berserk rage, paranoia and reduces the ability to recognise people and symbols, interestingly it has this effect on almost all species that can be classified as an mammal, with Orks being the only exception that has yet been found. However the gas can be stopped by all known air scrubbers and gas-masks, making it a weak weapon when used against a prepared foe.
* **Detailed Survey** (Berserk Fungus: Magos Biologis Maximal spent another few years examining the Berserk Fungus in an attempt to determine whether it can be weaponised. He found that with proper precautions it is possible to cultivate the fungus and that the gas can be stored under pressure for an extended time without degrading. This means that it should be easy to adapt existing munitions to deliver Berserk Gas.
* **In-Depth Examination (Berserk Fungus)**: Four years ago Magos Biologis Maximal informed you that he had finished designing both a series of Berserk Gas delivery mechanisms and a facility that could produce large quantities of Berserk Gas safely. He does advise that you put Berserk Fungus on the Alpha-Priority Quarantine list in order to prevent anyone else getting access to it, as the forces of the Blood God could be greatly strengthened by the use of Berserk Gas.

### Nog

The Nog is a small mammalian animal with many similarities to a badger that is the base of many Avernite food chains. Its efficient digestion system and spore based reproduction makes it easy to farm. This species is one of the few widely exported from Avernus, and is farmed throughout the Imperial Trust and beyond. Even the Chaos polities use it, considering the meat worth the difficulties of raising an animal with inherent hatred of their taint.

* **Complete Examination (Nog) +10% food production**: Three years ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his examination of the Nog, the most common animal on Avernus. He was able to confirm his theory that the Nog reproduces via spores in a way very similar to Orks, in fact to similar to be coincidence. His current theory is that the Nog were created either by someone who had studied Ork biology or by the creators of Orks. While Orks being one of the most common races in the galaxy makes the first seem far more likely when everything else discovered on Avernus is taken into account it seems almost certain that it is the latter. Archmagos Biologis Maximal's main discovery however was how easy it is to farm Nogs, which have the potential to be a major and easy source of protein for the Imperial Trust. If the Nog's pass quarantine they should allow Midgard to just about feed itself, which would be very useful.

### Beergrass

A common grass found on the Duet River, it contains a highly alcoholic sap making many creatures avoid eating it, and others love it. This species is one of the few widely exported from Avernus, and is farmed throughout the Imperial Trust and beyond.

* **Complete Examination Beergrass:** A bit over a year ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his investigation into the Beergrass of Duet. His final conclusion, which he spent the last three yeas double checking, was that Beergrass is no more dangerous then any other very powerful alcohol. He does mention that in its pure form it is poisonous but that can easily be fixed by diluting it a bit. As well as being a new source of alcohol Beergrass has proven to be a very effective method to create bio-promethium, being significantly more effective then even the best current crops. As such Alfheim plans to switch over to using Beergrass to supply it bio-promethium, and will be able to make over five times its current output.

### Calming Butcher Bird

The other major discovery that Magos Biologis Saren has made is of the Calming Butcher Bird, a small black and white songbird whose beautiful song calms those that hear it so that they do not attack it.

* **Complete Examination (Calming Butcher Bird):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal has recently finished his study of the Calming Butch Bird. To begin with he found that as well as using as a defensive measure to calm down potential attackers it uses it to pacify the small animals it hunts as it gets close. However the first aggressive move by the Butcher Bird will break the spell. The Calming Butcher Birds power is a combination of a very beautiful and calming song, even without the power, which has its effect magnified by a telepathic power. Unfortunately it is of limited utility against anyone feeling strong enough emotions. Given that rioters are almost by definition feeling a strong emotion and that pretty much everyone has a strong fear of death, hatred or similar strong emotion when in combat it is not very useful for the purposes you hoped for. However the song does have its use in calming down volatile situations that have not yet degenerated into riots, and given how easy Archmagos Biologis Maximal has found taming the Calming Butcher Bird they have already been pressed into service in this. They are also another harmless illusion that can be sued to train Witch and Psyker Hunters in resisting telepathic effects.

### Raptors

The most common carnivores in Elysium are the scavengers known as Raptors, which resemble far smaller Tyrant Lizards that stand only a single meter high. They are far more agile than their mighty cousins and very fast, making them hard to hit. Their internal laser is no more powerful than that of a laspistol, which, while useless against Thundabeasts, is capable of killing humans or the small creatures they usually hunt, as is their bite. Raptors live in packs of forty or fifty which often follow Tyrant Lizards around to use the path trampled in the Razorgrass. Like Tyrant Lizards, Raptors will follow an Alpha Tyrant Lizard and several hundred thousand were involved in the Battle of Yphax.

* **Complete Examination (Raptors)​** Three years ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his investigation of the Raptors of Elysium. He tells you that he found little new information, though he does tell you that the biological lasers that they possess are significantly more energy efficient then those of the Tyrant Lizard, at the price of having a lower maximum output then they otherwise would.​

### Titan Scorpion

The largest animal of Aridia is the Titan Scorpion, which is a heavily armored, twelve-legged scorpion that reach fifteen meters in height. Titan Scorpions are enormously strong and tough, being able to shrug off fire from all but the largest Bombardment Cacti. Fortunately, Titan Scorpions are not very fast or agile, which has allowed Rough Riders to launch hit and run attacks on them using hunting lances. Titan Scorpions often spend hundreds of years hibernating while buried under the sands, with only a few hunting at any one time. The only time in which large numbers of Titan Scorpions awaken is when large amounts of potential prey move on the desert above, such as, say, human colonists.

* **Complete Examination (Titan Scorpions):** Two years ago Archmagos Biologis Saren completed his examination of the Titan Scorpions of Aridia, having learned much about them in the seven years he spent studying. He tells you that Titan Scorpions use Biomancy heavily in every stage of their life, with no less then four different powers having been identified. Of these powers two are variations of the common strength and toughness boosting powers, one seems to increase the energy efficiency of most of their bodies functions and the final one massively increases the efficiency of their digestion, to the point where they can somehow extract almost all the energy contained in their food. The combination of the last two powers allow them to eat far less than a creature their size should be required to, which in large part explains why there are so many of them in Aridia. Other discoveries that Archmagos Biologis Saren has made about Titan Scorpions is that they use some sort of sonar equivalent as an additional sense, which is what allows them to navigate underground and that they are capable of vibrating their body in a way that allows them to move though sand - and only sand - more easily. This vibration produces a distinctive shockwave which Archmagos Biologis Saren is convinced that he can use to track Titan Scorpions far better than current methods, giving your men more warning about Titan Scorpion attacks.​

### **Avernite Golden Bird**

A dessert dwelling carrion bird that can use its reflective gold wings to blind attackers or purify material.

* **Complete Examination (Avernite Golden Bird):** Archmagos Maximal has recently finished his examination of the Avernite Golden Bird, one of the more interesting carrion birds of Avernus. He tells you that while he was able to make a few minor breakthroughs in material science due to the ultra-reflective but still sturdy makeup of their feathers his main hope was dashed. It seems that while the Avernite Golden Bird is able to cleanse an item of chaos taint the method that they use is in most ways less effective than purifying the item with pyromancy, with the only improvement being less damage done to the item. While the power could still be useful for cleansing valuable relics from the taint of chaos it does not have any larger scale uses.

### Poison Lichen

A less conspicuous plant is the poison lichen which grows throughout Avernus. Poison lichen resembles ordinary lichen in all respects, except it constantly secretes a deadly poison that is absorbed through the skin. Given that poison lichen can be spread by airborne spores it forms even within cities, meaning that no populated area can be left without cleaning.

* **Complete Examination (Poison Lichen):** Five years ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his work on Poison Lichen. He did not find out anything particularly interesting about them but did come up with a series of cheap and effective ways to dislodge them from your cities, which should save a great deal in general upkeep. According to Signe she expects that Archmagos Maximal’s work will save around a hundred million Thrones, thirty million Material and eighty million Metal a year.

### Dragonfruit

The most dangerous plant to take wings in the skies of Avernus is the Dragonfruit, the aerial version of the Carniflower. Like a Carniflower, the Dragonfruit grows on a tree before being released. Unlike a Carniflower, a Dragonfruit is released when it is around one meter long and continues to grow until it reaches ten meters in length, which is when it will choose a good place to take root. A Dragonfruit is usually in its mobile form for five to ten years and travels massive distances in that time. Aerial Dragonfruit resemble the Dragonfruits found on some Exodite worlds and are tough fire breathing predators.

* **Complete Examination (Dragonfruit):** After half a dozen years of study Archmagos Biologis Maximal was able to figure out a chemical that prevents Dragon-Fruit from ripening until they are exposed to a particular chemical. While this is not as useful as it is for Carniflowers due to the small size of a newly ripened Dragon-Fruit Archmagos Maximal has found that the same chemical that keep a Dragon-Fruit from ripening also acts as a rather effective Dragon-Fruit repellent, a very rueful discovery that will save many lives.

### Helljackals

The most disturbing animal of Aridia is the Helljackal, which is a large canine that occasionally has small patches of scales and bears a faint resemblance to Flesh Hounds of Khorne. Helljackals roam the desert in pack of twenty to thirty and try to tear apart any animal they encounter, except for Titan Scorpions, which even they fear. Helljackals project an aura of bloodlust that makes their prey try to stand and fight rather than flee or hide. This has often enraged human soldiers enough to engage them in melee, which makes it fortunate that they usually encounter Rough Riders who are equipped for hand-to-hand combat.

* **Complete Examination (Helljackals):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal has recently finished his examination of Helljackals, one of the more problematic desert dwellers. He tells you that the Helljackals are relatively simple, if deadly, canine pack hunters in all ways bar their aura of rage. This aura is always on and fills those in it with mindless rage, as long as the effected creature is normally capable of feeling rage. As such most flora and some fauna, including Titan-Scorpions are utterly immune to this effect as are most servitors and Tech-Priests who have the correct implants. The size of a Helljackals aura varies within a small range and as the number of Helljackals in close proximity rises so does the combined size of their auras, with packs in the hundreds having been recorded with ranges of over a kilometre. While it is possibly to tame Helljackals with the correct implants temporarily turning off their aura seems to be impossible, greatly limiting how they can be used. Several of the more militantly oriented members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are looking into the military uses of Helljackals however.

### Honeypot Lily

The Honeypot Lily is perhaps one the most beautiful flowers to be found upon Avernus. It is also surprisingly unlethal - By itself, that is.
The distinctive flowers of the Honeypot Lily, typically a vibrant and distinctive yellow-white, but occasionally of other colors, have in their base an exceptionally nutritous nectar useful and desired by just about every Avernite species, including Blink Spiders - The nectar, consumed, soothes the soul, making it highly desirable for ordinary human consumption as well. Of course, this simply means that where Honeypot Lilies can be found, numerous threats can also be found.

* **Complete Examination (Honeypot Lily):** After half a dozen years Archmagos Biologis Maximal has finished his investigation of the Honeypot Lily having made an interesting discovery. He has found that while the Lily does not seem to have any particularly valuable properties, apart from being very high quality wildlife bait and food it can be safely grown in orbit, though not outside of the system. As well as giving you a new luxury foodstuff this can form a key part of your quarantine system, as Honeypot Lilies have proven to be highly effective at luring Avernite wildlife to them, and out of hiding.

### Avernus Geology

Many students of Avernus University, considering a change of career, often select the geological sciences. After all, it’s not like rocks actively try to kill you.
This assumption is unwise and swiftly punished.

Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years examining a range of the more psy-active geology of Avernus.

He found out nothing of note about Psi-onyx, Fountainclod, Untwisted Tungsten, Echostone and Gatestone. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica could be interested in them however.

#### Psi-onyx

An enchantment of chalcedony, the sample was retrieved from a mineral vein. The surface shimmers with the colours of the warp, reflecting new hues from different perspectives. When polished, the sample resonated with indistinct power, and served well as a psychic focus.

#### Fountainclod

An enchantment of pumice, the sample was retrieved from a malfunctioning tidal generator. At all times it produces a quantity of seawater (1% NaCl) from internal crevices at a flow rate of 7 L/s.

#### Untwisted Tungsten

An enchantment of wolframite ore, the sample was retrieved from uncharted territory. The sample maintains a field of isostable, invariant geometry contiguous to its physical volume. It is otherwise normal.

#### Echostone

An enchantment of limestone, the sample was retrieved from a dreamweed field. The sample repeats all noise at a 4.32 second delay.

#### Gatestone

An enchantment of petrified bloodoak, the sample could not be retrieved. The sample forms an irregular arch two metres in height. Passing beneath the sample translocates to an identical arch approximately 4500 kilometres north-west.

#### Flash Obsidian

An enchantment of obsidian, the sample was excavated from a mineral vein. The sample appears to shine with anomalous broad-spectrum light from within, and continually outputs thermal energy (approx. 3MJ/min). When fractured, each portion increases energy output proportional to the quotient of the initial volume divided by the resulting volume.

* Flash Obsidian proved to have potential as an inexhaustible highly energetic power source, as while there are limits to how much energy each fragment can produce powering even the most energy intensive light vehicle, or for several to power a medium or even heavy vehicle. This could be used either to create equipment, including vehicles that is able to operate for extended periods without refits, highly valuable for assassins and other infiltrators, or to provide sustained power for weapons and shields on mounts that would normally not be able to power them. As things stand you have a limited supply of Flash Obsidian so can only make use of it in the most limited of manners, so more will need to be found before you can deploy it to any but the most elite of formations.

#### Pure Alum

An enchantment of potash alum, the sample was retrieved from a bog. When submerged in a liquid of lesser providence, the sample transmutes it to distilled water.

* Pure Alum can be used to create reliable drinking water for operatives who do not have access to any, allowing them to operate for far more extended periods in a greater range of environments. While this is useful you currently only have enough to supply twenty-three operatives, due to smaller samples taking longer to transmute liquids into water. Finding more would be useful.

#### Deathstone

An enchantment of magnetite, the sample was retrieved from Mining Silo 23. All iron and iron alloys within a 37 metre radius of the sample is agitated to a temperature of 530 Kelvin until removed from the area.

* Deathstone could be used to make a highly effective weapon against many foes but again supply is limited. Creating a handful of weapons that make use of it could be worthwhile however. It has been found that the smaller the sample the smaller the radius of the effect in a prepositional manner.

### Citybane termites

Despite being only recently uncovered, Citybane termites have already become infamous. A type of burrowing eusocial insect. The species contains numerous castes, ranging in size from 2 to 5 centimeters. Each termite posses an internal glad full of a potent acid, and will not hesitate to rupture it if threatened, melting itself to go and damaging anything nearby. It appears that each caste posses a unique power, it is not known if all casts poses powers or just the ones identified thus far.

The name comes from both their feeding and nesting habits. Citybane termites tend to infest the outer walls of hives and cities. Using their acid to dig into the armor plating. While this creates weak spots in the walls, both in the course or a colonies normal growth and in the event of a colony being wiped out resulting in a mass release of their acid, most damage comes from their feeding habits. Citybane termites are scavengers, and as a hive are smart enough to understand that compromising our defenses will result in an abundance of carrion. Thus hives low on food will initially open a path for other wildlife, before somehow singling the existence of the vulnerability.

Studying of citybane termites has proven difficult, as entire nests will rupture their acid sacks and reduce themselves to goo upon detection, so far only 2 casts have had their powers definitely identified. The first and most insidious is a potent perception filter used by forgers. It is used to hide both the nest and scavenging parties from view, the second is a specialized form of biomancy used by workers termites to create and transfer acid to other breeds, as well excrete metal melting acids to make their tunnels. A third breed that serves no visible purpose has been seen accompanying forger parties, it is suspected they act as telepathic relays or provide some other form of support. No forger party has been seen without them, and if all of this breed are slain a forging party will self destruct. The existence of other casts that posses support abilities such as scrying that stay in the nest are suspected but have not been confirmed as of yet.

It is suspected that like many eusocial species, they possess a psychic hivemind. As they show far greater intelligence than could be expected of typical insects. They use this intelligence mostly to avoid notice. With individuals often being willing to self-destruct to avoid hinting at the hives location, this goes so far as to equip forgers with an acid that will melt them into a puddle of rapidly evaporating slime, without leaving telltale damage. While keeping a nest under observation without it self destructing has proven challenging, we have seen a degree of coordination between nest sites that suggest they are not fully independent of each other. However, we have also seen instances of one nest engineering the destruction of another.

Thus far efforts at learning more have been stymied by the extreme willingness of nests to self destruct. So far only a few pict captures have been taken of the inside of the nest, identifying no less than 4 unknown castes within. In all cases, the nest has self-destructed shortly after the picts where taken. The species shows a worrying amount of skill at stealth as well as widespread coordination. How long the species has been plaguing us is not known, but the oldest nest uncovered thus far was at least 4 years old, but may have been in place for as long as a decade.

* Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent six years studying the Citybane Termites in an effort to discover how to best deal with them. After many failed attempts to study them in depth he requested the aid of several skilled Primaris Telepaths and a half strength Telepath Choir. With this aid he was able to locate and physically disable a nest of Citybane Termites allowing for a proper examination. As well as the known forger and worker castes and the expected rely caste he was able to properly identify the remaining five castes. These castes including a scout caste capable of using basic divination to help guide forgers and the construction of nests, the next is guides, which have the ability to attack a wide range of wildlife to the breaches in a hives defences that the Citybane Termites have created while the third are Soldiers, who use telekineticly guided acid to defend the nest from aggressors that are not viewed as dangerous enough to self-destruct over. Fourth are the Queens, who birth the hives young and keep the food preserved. The final caste, the drones true purpose is unknown but believed to be significantly more then just breeding with the queen. Current theory has it that they are responsible for the coordination between nests that makes Citybane Termites so dangerous.

After much study Archmagos Biologis Maximal developed a series of gases that can be used to exterminate Citybane Termites in an area, and set up a program to ensure that it is used in any area that has over a certain amount of wear and tear or other signs of a Citybane Termite Nests presence. This should cut down on the required upkeep for your cities by another few percent

### Biter and Blaster Turtles

Found living in Avernite city water supplies these two species of interconnected turtles are obvious evolutions of the Dragon Turtle, albeit without the poisonous gas. Instead the two species seem to act as complementary support for one another. Clutches of eggs can produce turtles of both species, and they are capable of interbreeding seemingly with no consequences.

The “Biter” turtle is a melee variant, extremely well armoured with a thick shell and possessing one of the strongest jaw strengths ever recorded for its size. Preliminary testing by genetors has seen them bite through almost everything set in front of them with little effort, until adamantium. Even that they could get through quickly enough. So far, aside from the standard biomantic abilities, there are no indicators that they have a psychic power, although the strength of their jaws may indicate otherwise. Older variants known as Ironjaws have been seen biting through even adamantium with ease.

The Blaster variant has less armour but substitutes this with a trio of biological cannons emerging from their shells, as well as a set of tubes within their paws. These tubes are connected to spatially distended water bladders that can hold a significant quantity of fluid compared to what should be possible. These bladders, in turn, are linked to the cannons and can be fired through biological mechanisms inspired by the tyranids and ingrained hydromancy. The end result are hyper-compressed streams of water that can cut through most standard trust armour with ease, or shells of compressed water that explosively expand upon impact. Older versions seem able to control the temperature of the water, firing ice and scalding blasts as well.

These turtles live seemingly where there is water and have been seen outside avernite cities, usually in the Azure Isles. In avernite cities they are treated with a mixture of concern and occasional appreciation. They require food like anything else, and their seeming spontaneous appearance within cities, caused many subsequent difficulties in maintenance and assaults on food storage. However, it seems the blasters can use their innate hydromancy to make water clean. While avernite technology can deal with many problems the fact remains that avernite diseases are endlessly tenacious and difficult to stop, while certain avernite minerals can cause severe problems if ingested and cannot be easily removed. The turtles, however, have a better track record than anything else in this regard. Although cautious, Avernites have found that city-dwelling turtles can be made amenable to bribes of food, allowing maintenance teams to work while enjoying the turtle’s cleaning presence.

* For the last six years Archmagos Biologis Maximal has been studying the Biter and Blaster Turtles that have shown up in your water supply. He tells you that after close study he has been able to determine that they are a single species and which variant that each egg will develop into is a result of what the egg is exposed to. Much like how some species sex is developed.

The City Turtles as they have started to be referred to are another of the surprisingly unaggressive species that has shown up in recent years, and only attack humans if they are hungry or think that their eggs are under threat. They are also surprisingly intelligent, with some specimens being on the border of true sapience. So far all attempts to domesticate City Turtles have failed, but cohabiting with them has proven to be successful and they have been known to emerge from the sewers to fight against daemons after some of the more impressive rogue Psyker attacks.

As he has examined them Archmagos Biologis Maximal has found many aspects of City Turtles that bears the hallmarks of Tyranid bio-engineering, ranging from the makeup of their shell to the, entirely non-psychic, strength of a Biter Turtles jaw.

* **Wildlife Integration: Toxicos and City Turtles** Martinus Argall spent six years spreading Toxicos and City Turtles into their ecological niches throughout the Hives of Avernus. As well as helping to purify your air and water systems their presence will ensure that more dangerous to human species to not take their place, reducing the number of wildlife attacks that your people suffer each year.

###  Bwana Trees

One of the most dangerous species of flora that can be found in the Lindon Deepwood is the Bwana tree. Bwana trees are large and very powerful trees that can be found in the centres of clear, blue-tinted lakes on islands just big enough to hold them.

Bwana trees are capable of creating half-plant, half-animal hybrids called dryads. Dryads are created when the dead or still-living bodies of animals are dragged into a Bwana tree's lake, whereupon some of the Bwana's roots will attach themselves to the bodies and being transforming the creature into a dryad. Creatures that were brought into lakes alive are much quicker to turn into dryads and retain more of their intelligence.

Dryads serve their Bwanas by killing their enemies and dragging victims into their lakes.

Dryads can be easily distinguished from their purely animal former selves by their partially treelike appearances, with things like bark, twigs, and leaves growing from their bodies. The greater a creature's wounds when it was brought into a Bwana's lake, the more treelike its appearance is.

Dryads have differing physical characteristics that can be predicted by seeing how treelike their bodies are. The more treelike, the slower they move but the stronger and more durable they are. The more animal-like, the fleeter their forms and the faster they can heal. The transformation into a dryad heals a creature of all wounds, with limbs being replaced with flexible wood and blood and internal organs being replaced by special sap. This sap can replace brains, but doing so leaves the dryad at the minimum level of intelligence of dryads. Brainless dryads are feral beasts incapable of tactics beyond directly charging at the enemy.

Sapients brought into Bwana tree lakes alive and without brain damage typically come out with the intelligence of smart apes.

Dryads lose all psychic powers they used to have as pure animals, but this is made up for by their connection to their Bwana tree. To begin with, their lifespans are extended, with them being more extended the more treelike they are. They can quickly heal from all wounds by bathing in their Bwana's lake, gaining more treelike characteristics the more they heal this way. Dead dryads can even be brought back from the dead by being taken back to their lake, though it takes much longer to resurrect a dryad than to merely heal one.

If their Bwana is powerful enough, the dryads' connection to it will allow it to help them more directly with support biomancy, with their absorption of this aid increasing the more treelike they become.

The more treelike a dryad is, the slower and weaker it becomes during Winter.

Bwana trees become more psychically powerful by being fed true psykers, which they consume utterly with their roots instead of turning them into dryads. The more powerful a psyker is, the more powerful a Bwana becomes by consuming it. Psykers have to be brought into the lakes alive so they can be consumed, otherwise the Bwana can gain no power. While a psyker is being consumed, it cannot use psychic powers, even while conscious.

While Bwana trees have significant advantages in their minions and raw psychic power, they are not without weaknesses.

To begin with, each time a new dryad is created, toxic byproducts are produced by the Bwana that slowly turn its surrounding lake purple. Eventually, the lake's level of toxicity will become more than the Bwana can bear and it will begin taking damage. To make it even worse, the lake is only toxic to the Bwana. Other plants and animals can drink from it just fine, and in fact it acts as an immunity booster, so the more "toxic" it becomes the more wildlife attacks it'll attract. A Bwana's lake does, however, become less toxic over time. A Bwana Tree has to moderate the amount of dryads it creates lest it poison itself or attract dangerous predators.

Another weakness that Bwana trees have is their vulnerability to disease. Bwanas can not only catch tree diseases, but animal diseases too. Because of this, Bwana trees fall ill much more often than other trees and have more difficulty fighting off sickness. Once a Bwana reaches a certain level of power, they can leech the lifeforce of still-living creatures to guarantee survival against most diseases and speed up recovery, but survival is never guaranteed against those agents that specifically target Bwanas.

Then of course there's the ever-present spectre of Winter, which weakens the Bwana tree as it does most of the trees of Lindon. Dryad production is slower, support biomancy is weakened, and disease resistance is at an all-time low.

Finally, there's the fact that the trees themselves don't really have many combat options. Tendril-branches can grab animals and either crush them or drag them into their lakes to drown them, but on Avernus, that doesn't really rank high in terms of threat level.

Bwana trees are one of the shrine fairies' greatest threats. They are the only native species that produces true psykers in the Lindon Deepwood, so Bwana trees are always on the search for their hidden villages so they can consume them. On the rare occasions they're found, the malign intelligence of the Bwana tree is revealed as it swiftly coordinates an attack with the right mix of dryads to overwhelm the fairies' traps and wards and then take as many of them alive as possible so it can eat them alive for their power.

Inversely, slayer fairies don't have any reason to fear dryads or the malicious entities they serve. They produce no true psykers, their bodies are weak and small, and neither their powers nor their intelligence survive the transformation into dryads, so there's no reason for dryads to attack them. In fact, if anything, the *dryads* are the *slayer fairies'* prey. The psychic presence of the dryads' Bwana masters within the dryads means that slayer fairies can still link to the dryads and make wargear out of their corpses, but the dryads' lack of souls mean the slayers don't suffer any negative effects from breaking their empathetic links with them. Gear made from a dryad won't ever give a slayer fairy a new psychic power to employ, but it does still give the usual amount of physical power.

* Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years studying the rare Bwana Trees of the Lindon Deepwood. While he lost several cohorts of Skitarii in the process he was able to successful come to several conclusions. First he discovered that the dryads that they create are made using a mix of psychic and biological processes, and as such are far to complex to even dream of imitating. The more interesting ability was the immunity booster that the Bwana Lakes include, which you hoped to copy for your own use. Unfortunately it seems that the booster is to complex to reliably reproduce. It does however make an excellent base for immunity booster Alkahestry, though you are only able to get enough to protect your heroes and best troops.

###  Meteor Fig

A more directly dangerous plant in Avernus' Spine is the Meteor Fig, which primarily grows on peaks. Meteor Figs have root systems that extend downhill and are used to locate any animal moving under the tree. When an animal moves under a Meteor Fig, it will launch one of its fruits at the animal. The fruit of a Meteor Fig consists of an outer layer which bursts into flame when launched, and a hard, sharp, seed which sticks into the animal. In general, most creatures struck by a Meteor Fig die soon after running away and the seed uses the animal's body as nutrients to grow. The fruit of a Meteor Fig weighs around a kilogram and can continue burning for thirty minutes.

Archmagos Biologis Maximal’s examination of the Meteor Fig ended up finding nothing of real interest or use except to academics. He found that while the flammable compounds that they make use of are better than your cheapest equivalents, their cost of production is high enough that better versions are available for lower prices.

### Magma Wyrms

These massive wyrms are the better part of a kilometer long monsters capable of rapidly burrowing even though thick rock and withstanding Titan grade firepower. They are among the most dangerous creatures on Avernus, with a mere dozen being enough to cripple an Abomination Titan legion, as was shown during the War on Two Fronts.

* **Preliminary Examination**: This year Magos Biologis Saren spent much of his time dissecting the dead Magma Wyrm to discover what he can about it. He tells you that Magma Wyrms are a silicon based lifeform that seems to spend the vast majority of its life cycle within the upper bounds of the mantle. He has made several other discoveries including that it is not the only Magma Wyrm that has been attacking you as it lacks scars from the assault at Helm's Deep several years ago. He has also discovered that the Magma Wyrm has an organ with many similarities to the laser of the Tyrant Lizard that is capable of acting as a Titan grade Melta weapon, with the aid of a psychic power. The other psychic power that Magma Wyrms seem to use is one that makes them almost immune to thermal energy, as meltas proved to be far more effective against the scales of the Magma Wyrm now that it is dead.
* **Detailed Survey**: Magos Biologis Saren has completed his study on the dead Magma Wyrm and reports that he has leaned all that he can from this specimen. In his studies he has determined that the reason that Magma Wyrms sometimes leave the mantle and attack humans seems not be for any biological reason. He theorises that they are most likely capable of eating or otherwise benefiting from the souls of those they kill much like Sirens are, and attack concentrations of humans for that reason. In his study of the Magma Wyrms defensive capabilities Magos Biolgois Saren has found that their outer layers of scales have many similarities with Muspelheim Grade Ceramite, leading him to suspect that it was developed on Avernus. As far as he can tell the best way to fight Magma Wyrms is with high velocity Armour Piecing shells such as Vanquisher Cannons shots, leading to a possible improvement to your defences to help deal with future Magma Wyrm attacks.
* **Complete Examination:** After three years of study Archmagos Biologis Maximal was able to disprove his predecessor's theory that Magma Wyrms devour the souls of those that they slay. While his studies did not make any other breakthrough his examinations of their methods of scale growth has allowed him to shave a few percent off the cost of making Muspelheim Grade Ceramite.

###  Bainwraiths

Frigid spectres called on icy winds, Bainwraiths take the form of insubstantial serpents blown through the winds they create with their passing. One of the most insidious threats of the north, Bainwraiths are almost invisible whilst in motion, and are supremely effective hunters, tracking down warmth as opposed to anything more physical. They seem to be able to home in on any source of warmth from miles away, with entire packs converging upon particularly large hot spots.

When they reach the heat source they will plunge themselves into it, absorbing the heat to feed their own vile existence.

This is bad enough for heaters or campfires that will be extinguished almost instantly, but for a living being this is horrific, as the wraiths will force themselves inside a person’s body before draining them of heat, freezing them into statues frozen in horrific agony. So far only psykers have been able to force the wraiths from their own bodies.

It is within living beings that the wraiths reproduce as well, laying eggs within carefully selected residual pockets of heat, to burst from the statues hissing in the cold.

Although the threats of the north are almost too many to name, Bainwraiths have been one of the most consistent foes, able to bypass all protections, but warded armour and non psycic humans. Worse still many conventional human weapons simply go through their bodies. Any colonisation effort will have to consider hard how to deal with the wraiths.

* **Complete Examination**: Archmagos Biologis Maximal has spent much of his time over the last decade looking into Bainwraiths, mostly in an attempt to find an effective counter. While it was quickly determined that Pyromancy killed them, as did Solis Obliatum cheaper ways to damage them proved hard to find. Eventually, the best that could be found were thermal weapons inscribed with the Rune of Fire, which while expensive can still be deployed in large numbers. Killing Bainwriaths seems to require psychically infused fire.

###  Hotspring Macaques

The constant enemy of the Bainwraiths, the Macaques were a surprising discovery by Sir Pellinore, one of his last before his demise. His expedition had almost been slain by Bainwraiths and only their armor had saved them, but they were running low on food and heat.

Salvation came at the hands an immortal fox who was heading towards the springs and the Macaques, who were watching high above and dealt with the pursuing Bainwraiths, by tossing boiling water from their hot springs at them, instantly killing the swarm.

Approaching them cautiously, Sir Pellinor found that the Macaques were non-sentient, but oddly friendly by Avernite standards. Further investigation revealed that they have a relatively symbiotic relationship within their native regions of Avernus, acting as a “neutral” party.

Firstly, the Macaques are simians, that organise themselves into matrilineal families. Each group tends to a hot spring that bubbles from the ground. These hot springs seem to imbue to Macaques with their powers or vice versa.

In observations, it was seen injured wildlife will come to the Macaques with a tribute of food, and in exchange will be placed within a Hotspring, which will seemingly cure their wounds. This is the main service offered by the Macaques, although there do seem to be others. One was a Frost Dragon who seemed to come for a cleaning, the monkeys grooming and polishing its scales until they shone like mirrors.

Because they are the largest sources of heat for miles around the Macaques are in a constant war with the Bainwraiths, and at all times there are at least several dozen Macaques on guard, armed with superheated water bombs. At the same time they are defended by other local wildlife that enjoy the presence of a hot spring, with the Frost Dragons especially protecting them.

* **Complete Examination:** As well as studying the Bainwriaths Archmagos Biologis Maximal looked into their traditional enemies the Hotspring Macaques. He found that the Hotspring Macaques are responsible for the psychically infused nature of the Hotsprings that they tend, but that their powers only work on natural Hotsprings. These Hotsprings are effective sources of healing able to cure a massive range of wounds, including many that are incurable due to psychic curses. Archmagos Biologis Maximal suggests making use of them for those wounds that the Order of Restoration is unable to cure.

### Catachan Barking Toads

Possibly the most individually dangerous creature on this list, the barking toad in both its greater and lesser variants practises a simple method of self-defence. Should it be threatened the toad will explode releasing an unimaginable potent toxin. For the greater variety this kills everything within a kilometre, the lesser only the immediate area. In many ways this poison is comparable only to a lesser, airborne version of Blink Spider venom in how utterly toxic it is, penetrating power armour with ease and even banishing daemons with how truly corrosive it is.

* **Complete Examination:** Archmaogs Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years looking into the Catachan Barking Toads to try and determine a way to weaponise them and proved quite conclusively that it is near impossible. Between a hair-trigger for going off, sometimes going off for unknown reasons and being impossible to teleport without detonating them before they get out of the Warp almost every attempt to weaponise them has failed. On the ground, it is better, but the requirement to keep them in stasis makes delivery methods large and expensive enough that mass Deathstrikes are almost always the superior option. You suppose that if it was that easy the Imperium Quartus would have weaponised them centuries ago.

### Blight Mite

Blight mites are microscopic (<1 mm in length) arthropod-analogues with two qualities of note. The first is their ability to spread: blight mites are capable of colonizing all know macroscopic wildlife, and are capable of hitching rides with phasing and blinking organisms. This unfortunately includes the blink spider family, with whom the blight mite has shown a distressing level of symbiosis. In addition, when a colony grows to sufficient size they are capable of dispersing themselves via a form of teleportation that resembles a short range (10-30 m) version of the undirected long teleports of the blink spider family. The critical mass required for this process is just under the mass where the colony would become easily detectable to our current medical scanning technology. Their second quality of note is their extreme efficiency as vectors for disease. Blight mites are capable of storing various pathogens (of bacterial, viral, and prion natures) within themselves. These pathogens remain in a state of stasis until the the carrier mite teleports, at which point samples are jettisoned throughout the area of dispersal.

* Coordination with the Sirens has confirmed that an aquatic variant of this organism has begun to target their population.
* There is one final note regarding this species that has not yet been conclusively confirmed: diseases spread via blight mites have demonstrated a worrying tendency towards both extended asymptomatic transmission phases and zoonotic transfer.
* **Complete Examination**: After half a dozen years of close study Archmagos Biologis Maximal was able to create a better way of detecting them. He found that while Blight Mites scatter before a colony gets large enough for conventional detection methods a tailored test can detect some of their byproducts significantly earlier. This will allow for Blight Mite infestations to be found before they spread a reasonable portion of the time, notably slowing the spread of plague within Avernus.

### Concrete Fish

It is important to remember that while all avernite creatures are deadly and most are aggressive, not all of them are. Concrete Fish are one such example. Resembling more of a worm than a fish, these small creatures are apparently content to add to the maintenance of cities by eating away at the military-grade concrete that makes up so many avernite buildings.

Despite this if forced into the open, they are not especially dangerous (avernite standards applied), seeming to be somewhat cowardly despite possessing a very powerful bite and acid.

They may not be aggressive, but at present its likely they have claimed more lives indirectly than any other new species as they have weakened defences for other more dangerous creatures.

* **Complete Examination:** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years studying the Concrete Fish that are often found in your cities. He tells you that these silicon-based lifeforms are capable of moving through most of the softer types of stone and are a relatively common pest for some of the local Troll Tribes. While their methods of dealing with them are impossible for you, due to requiring Geomancy, Archmagos Maximal has made his own method after finding out that zinc is lethal to them even in micro doses. As such adding a small amount of zinc to your concrete will prevent Concrete Fish from being an issue.

### Avernite Pigeon

One of many new Avernite creatures emerging recently that live predominantly in and around avernite cities, the Avernite Pigeon is probably the most commonly seen.

Existing in three distinct stages the chick stage is a remarkably small, fluffy almost cute creature with a rather stubby beak. At this stage, the only impressive characteristics they possess is an ability to fly despite their youth thanks to standard avernite biomancy and a divination enhanced sense of direction, which allows them to navigate the ever-changing and growing masses of hives.

The adult stage occurs after around two years of life. The pigeon will by this stage have grown significantly, loses much of its fluff and takes on a more raptor-esque appearance. At this point, they grow far more aggressive in their pursuit of food and defence of their nests. It is at this stage that the majority of deaths the species suffers occurs usually by picking a fight with an avernite for their meal. However, they also gain an unbefore seen form of aeromancy that allows them to boost their speed to vast levels although they cannot perform large scale techniques unless a large number work together. This is inaddition to biomantically enhanced beaks and talons that can rip through avernite flyer armour.

The final stage of life for the pigeon occurs about 15 years after they reach their adult stage. This “elder” incarnation is extremely large and devastatingly strong physically. However, most terrifyingly their grasp of aeromancy has improved drastically. Now they are strong enough to cause tornadoes on their own, as easily outfly any avernite aircraft. Thankfully they’re also not especially aggressive, more concerned with caring for the chicks of their species.

Like most of the new city borne avernites it is unclear where they came from, but they are here to stay. Not as easy to tame as other city dwellers, most of the time they are no real threat to any avernite paying even a modicum of attention and are not too irritating or dangerous to force their removal. When they are not typically they are too powerful and non aggressive enough for the effort to rarely be worth it. Much like the Ziggingzoon, the birds are irritable, but not innately aggressive preferring to act as a type of scavenger. At all stages of their lives, the birds have supernaturally efficient digestive systems, able to consume seemingly any substance with no ill effects while possessing voracious appetites. It is not uncommon nowadays for people to attempt to collect garbage and find that a group of pigeons have eaten it all, or for avernite nutribars to come under assault from a hungry pigeon.

This does lead to many casualties amongst the pigeon population, especially the second stage of life, as overconfident birds will actively attempt to steal meals they shouldn’t have, but they do give back to the communities they take from. Their digestion can break down non-recyclables, while their guano is some of the best fertiliser in the known trust. And it’s also almost completely free.

* **Complete Examination (Avernite Pigeon)** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent six years studying the Avernite Pigeon in order to learn what he could about it. He tells you that they seem to have a strong social organisation, with different tribes occupying different areas of a Hive and adults being willing to fight to defend their territory from interlopers, or sneak into others tribes territory to raid particularly good sources of food. Each tribe generally numbers somewhere in the hundreds, and will always have an elder. If all of a tribe's elders are killed the tribe will often dissolve, with some members being accepted by neighboring tribes while those that remain struggle to survive after being driven off all the prime eating locations. These exiles are often far more desperate than most Pigeons, and are the origin of most pigeon attacks on humans. So far pigeons have not proven to be domesticable but can be trained to follow a limited range of commands in exchange for food. Nothing that they consider dangerous however.

### Wildlife Alphas

* **Complete Examination (Wildlife Alphas):** Archmagos Biologi Maximal spent a year looking into the Wildlife Alphas, though stronger, and generally larger, variants of the Animals of Avernus that sometimes show themselves. From what he can tell they are a side effect of one of the Animals of Avernus being exposed to high degrees of the right type of Warp power for an extended period and are mostly used to help lead the Wildlife during incursions.

### Blank Bears

Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent half a dozen years discovering what he can about the Blank Bears of the Polar Region. He found that rather than there being a single species of Blank Bears that there are three of differing sizes, ranging in weight from a little over two tons to over a hundred tons. No matter their size Blank Bears are high-end Psi-level Blanks, able to ignore all but the most powerful of psychic effects. Otherwise, Bank Bears are marvels of physical gene-engineering, with massive strength and toughness allowing them to contend with Greater Deamons in contests of strength.

Blank Bears are the Apex predator of the Polar Regions, and prey on almost all of the species found in the region with even the Penguins sometimes falling prey to the deadly bears.

### Ziggingzoon

Found initially in Lindon and now increasingly in Avernite cities, the Ziggingzoon is a racoon type creature, with an extremely strong bite, needle-like fur and irritable disposition. In appearance, it is quadrupedal and due to its fur appears to be quite spikey. Said fur is also a major part of its power which operates in two stages.

First a type of minor divination that allows it to predict an optimal dodging path. Second a combination of telepathy and illusion techniques. The telepathy confuses any attackers, while the illusion adds to the above.

The end result is that the animal it is almost impossible to aim at the fast-moving creature, especially at range with guns. This is made all the more intimidating when one considers they are pack based.

Thankfully the creatures seem to be primarily scavengers, and while irritable they can grow to trust, like many city dwellers, assuming their job of finding food is made easy, although they remain suspicious.

* **Complete Examination (Ziggingzoon):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent six years studying the Ziggingzoon, one of the city-dwelling species that have shown up since the colonisation of Avernus. The Ziggingzoon is primarily a scavenger, feeding on food scraps, or unguarded food being eaten by others and then relying on its speed, divination, agility and illusions to avoid being caught. Between its varied abilities shooting or catching a Ziggingzoon is a rather challenging task, one that few bother to attempt. This is also the most dangerous aspect of the Ziggingzoon, as when on the run its combination of illusions and telepathic attacks can be rather dangerous to both attackers and those in the general vicinity. Archmagos Biologis Maximal has found many instances of people hit by a Ziggingzoon’s abilities then finding themselves easy prey to one of the more directly dangerous creatures of Avernus, or sometimes finding themselves shooting friends and allies rather than the Ziggingzoon.

### Delta-Vee

One of the more subtle creatures of Region Iota is the Delta-Vee, a bird of prey that has the ablity to manipulate the vectors of itself and its prey. It uses this to both become one of the most agile creatures you have ever heard of and to prevent its prey from escaping it.

* **Complete Examination (Delta-Vee):** The Delta-Vee is a medium-sized raptor that uses a psychic power that allows it to manipulate the current vectors of itself and its prey to catch the even the most agile of targets. While stronger and tougher than most birds its size the Delta-Vee is still no real threat to humans, though many a Temple-Cat has met its end at the talons of a Delta-Vee. Archmagos Biologis Maximal tells you that the Delta-Vee seems to be designed entirely for speed, and that without its power it would be rather clumsy in the air. Its power allows it to rapidly change the direction but not the magnitude of its velocity and can be used to similarly adjust the velocity of objects smaller than it that it is touching. Not useful of itself, but the Telepathica is very interested in their power.

### Draining Rabbit

Another easily overlooked danger is the Draining Rabbit , a seemingly normal rabbit which has the ability to drain the energy of nearby creatures, exhausting them even as the rabbit itself is refreshed.

* **Complete Examination (Draining Rabbit):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his studies of the Draining Rabbit eight years ago. He tells you that the Drain Rabbit's ability to drain the stamina of nearby creatures is an entirely instinctive part of their fear response, and as such can be easily activated or suppressed by simple chemical injections. The effect gets stronger the closer you are to the Draining Rabbit, fading into nonexistence at around two hundred meters. This should allow you to easily transport Draining Rabbits along with your light infantry forces, and trigger their abilities to exhaust enemy forces, providing your troops with a notable advantage. The power itself seems to be tied to the Primal from what Arhmagos’ Maximals attached psykers can tell, and will be impossible for conventional psykers to replicate.

### Fairy Pseudodragon

The Fairy Dragon is kaleidoscopic in appearance, and is most notable for it's mastery of illusions that it uses to both catch prey and elude predators. Their kaleidoscopic form combined with their illusions makes them quite difficult to aim at, especially when combined with their highly accurate albeit very short-ranged precognition, though they are quite fragile to any actual attacks that strike them. Fairy Dragons possesses the ability to spit small pockets of warpfire, which it uses primarily to hunt in conjunction with it's other abilities.

* **Complete Examination (Fairy Pseudodragon) :** Archmagos Biolgos Maximal spent a few years examining Fairy Pseudodragon and finding out what he can about both their behaviour, biology and psychic powers. He tells you that despite their reputation they tend to be solitary creatures, with tales about swarms of Fairy Pseudodragons being a result of misidentification or their habit of creating illusionary decoys. Biologically they are a little different then normal Avernite dragoniods, but their powers are rather interesting. From what Archmagos Biologis Maximal can tell in some strange way their combination of illusionary decoys and precognition work together to ensure that they are always the last one you attack, and this holds up until quite high-level divination is used to counter it.

### The Gloriana Dragon

Probably the strangest Dragon in this report, Gloriana dragons make their home in Tarascon and the mountains to their east. The Gloriana dragon is a large quadrupedal dragon with green scales and a white underbelly. The average Gloriana dragon is 40 feet long and has a wingspan of 60 feet; they however grow indefinitely as they age, so there are scattered reports of Gloriana dragons who dwarf those studied in this report. Gloriana dragons are fast flyers despite their size, making outrunning them a problem for most creatures.

The thing that gives the Gloriana dragon its name is the way it fights and hunts. When in flight it serves as a Gloriana-class ship for smaller “drakes” attached to its wings who act as turrets and fighters. These small dragons seem to come in different shapes and capabilities, often mirroring the roles of strike craft. They range from swift breeds meant to contest the air, to slower ones meant to strike at earthbound foes from on high.

Below are listed the spotted variations on these smaller "drakes”:

- Fighter drakes: Fast and agile, these drakes appear to take the role of fighters for the Gloriana, flying separate from the Gloriana to engage any airborne creature they face. They do this by harassing them with blasts of fire or by grappling the opposing creature. While a lone Fighter drake does little in a grapple, multiple Fighters can make flying significantly harder for anyone they catch, making them easy prey for the Gloriana dragon and the bomber and turret drakes.

- Bomber drakes: Larger and slower than the Fighter drakes, these drakes take on the role of bombers for the Gloriana. Detaching from the Gloriana later than the fighters, the Bomber drakes are most often used against ground targets or targets already engaged by Fighter drakes. Bomber drakes fire blasts significantly stronger than those of Fighter drakes, making them very effective at dealing with hard targets.

- Turret drakes: The largest of the drakes, the Turret drakes never actually detach from the Gloriana, instead acting as turrets used to defend it. Attached all over the Gloriana’s body instead of just the wings, the Turret drake acts as the Gloriana’s defence system, being able to fire bolts of fire in quick succession to hit any approaching target and hopefully blast it away before it reaches the Gloriana.

-Scout drakes: the fastest subspecies, these drakes have massively oversized wings and appear to possess some form of active camouflage. Whether this is an illusion or simply advanced color changing is unknown. Unlike other species, they are near harmless, possessing barely any capacity for attack. They do however have massive eyes, and are theorized to possess some form of perception based power. They appear to act as forward observers and scouts for the rest of the flight, and seem able to relay information to the rest at well beyond visual range.

-Slugger drakes: An small variety of drakes specialized on producing an flammable glue-like projectile that when ignited by the other drakes fire can burst into flames like a promethium barrel. Due to its small size it is not uncommon to spot a fighter or bomber drake carrying a small contingency of slugger drakes into combat.

-Sniper drakes: Sized similarly to the slugger drake this drake fires a fast projectly of psychly concentrated plasma at pinpoint accuracy, but said accuracy comes with the cost of a slow fire rate and a faster metabolism that make sniper drakes a rare sighting even in the larger Gloriana dragon courts.

One could make the assumption that the Gloriana dragon must itself be quite weak if it relies on drakes like it does. However, this assumption would be incorrect. The Gloriana dragon is itself very tough, with thick scales being able to shrug off a staggering amount of damage. The Gloriana Dragon also has multiple quite effective psychic powers. The most important power the Gloriana dragon possesses is a very strong telepathy it uses to command its drakes in combat. It uses this power to command and organise all the drakes under its command in battle simultaneously. The second power it has is a psychically boosted roar capable of both driving its drakes to greater heights and disorienting its prey. The last ability of the Gloriana dragon is its breath weapon. Unlike most dragons, the Gloriana uses its breath weapon more to support its drakes than to hurt its foes, breathing massive clouds of smoke to obscure the vision of its prey.

* **Complete Examination (The Gloriana Dragon):** While not tamable he tells you that there are some lessons to be learned from the the fire breathing of Bomber Drakes, which uses a multi stage ignition to get something far closer to plasma then should be possible given the fuel involved. If this is replicable then it could lead to a notable improvement to your flamers, though how widespread is dependent on costs involved.

### Bambooweed

Bambooweed can be found approximately everywhere. Able to grow from shoot to full-grown Bamboo in a matter of days, fully grown Bambooweed is incredibly difficult to dislodge from it’s grown spot, both due to its toughness and ability to share injuries with their attackers. Bambooweed therefore has few natural consumers, who must be herbivores able to injure the Bambooweed and neutralize their retributive power.

* **Complete Examination (Bambooweed):** Archmagos Biologix Maximal spent much of the past decade studying the Bambooweed that is found throughout Avernus. He tells you that the Bambooweed has one of the most efficient root systems, being able to quickly deplete the soil beneath it of vital nutrients to power its rapid growth. Once the nutrients are exhausted the Bambooweed will stop growing, and live off what it can gather from the atmosphere. The Bambooweeds power is rather short-ranged, being unable to affect any creature more than half a dozen meters from the plant. However, the power remains active in separated bits of Bambooweed until they die, preventing the easier ways to bypass its power.

### Minor Island Turtle

* **Complete Examination (Minor Island Turtle):** The Minor Island Turtle, while far smaller than the more well-known variant, is still one of the larger animals on Avernus, with an adult having a shell with a diameter of around three hundred meters. Like their larger cousins they constantly strengthen their shells, which over time reach a level of hardness that even your most advanced alloys struggle to cut. Offensively they can create balls of what seems to be pretty much raw psychic destruction, which are then lobbed at distant targets. So far, Archmagos Biologis Maximal has found no way to influence the behaviour, or targeting, of a Minor Island Turtle. He suspects that he is using the wrong methods and should start bringing in users of the wind of beasts.
* **Minor Island Turtle Influencing:** As he expected Archmagos Biologis Maximal found that Minor Island Turtles can be influenced by skilled users of the Wind of Beasts, including providing them with targets for their psychic blasts. This will require multiple skilled psykers be deployed to guide every minor Island Turtle, but given their power such a deployment is more then worthwhile.

### Brontodon

* **Complete Examination (Brontodon):** The Brontodon is a massive reptilian quadruped larger then a Baneblade. While as strong and tough as any Avernite species of its scale, its main defence for dealing with the larger predators that roam the jungles of Avernus has always been flight. Between its decent ground speed, endless stamina and psychic ability allowing it to move at full speed through all but the heaviest jungle without being slowed via expanding the space in front of it, once it gets moving the Brontodon will leave behind most large predators. The Brontodon is easily tamable, and takes little training to accept being used as a beast of burden.

### Jokaero

* **Complete Examination (Jokaero):** Archmagos Biologis Maximal spent a year studying those Jokaero he could pin down long enough to have a look at. He found that while they remain annoyingly difficult to communicate, that just leaving interesting technology around them and picky up their creations after they get bored of them tends to be a good way of getting various technological wonders from them.

### Soul Oyster

Soul Oyster looks like a small grey stone. It has an incredibly tough shell can take battle cannon shots with only scratches to show and is able to survive prolonged extreme heat. Soul Oyster's mother of pearl is impenetrable to warp powers. Teleportation and warpfire fails to injure it. Known soul-eaters of Avernus are unable to digest it.

Soul oysters plants and fuses itself with the rock bed, toughening nearby tons of rock to be stronger than adamantium. They can be separated from the bed with industrial grade plasma cutters. Soul oyster is easy to research using non-invasive methods, though shell opening has failed. Soul Oyster builds pearls around trapped external substances, which are assumed to have interesting qualities.

* **Complete Examination (Soul Oyster):** After six years of study Archmagos Biologis Maximal has found that Soul Oysters can be induced to open their shells with vibrations of a particular frequency, allowing for easier examination. This has allowed him to study their mysterious peals in more detail. As well as being every bit as strong as the shell, a Soul Oyster Pearl seems to be the best form of energy storage that he has ever encountered, with a single small pearl being able to store enough power to run the average tank for months. This has various interesting uses, particularly in the field of infiltration and stealth designs where Soul Oyster Pearls could act as long lasting capacitors able to replace far more obvious power generation methods. While it is not yet proven, Archmagos Maximal suspects that Soul Oyster Pearls are able to store some form of psyker power.

### Smokestack Sequoia

Found towering among the ridges of Avernus' Spine- particularly near the cities of Belegost and Lindon where volcanic activity is a constant threat, the Smokestack Sequoia has proven to be a fascinating study, if one that has been much delayed. (We have much to do, and very few hands to do it with!) These enormous trees are unique in that, even in such harsh conditions, they have managed to find a way not only to survive, but to thrive.

Smokestack Sequoias are named for the fact that they are constantly emitting vast plumes of steam. Mature sequoias have roots that reach deep underground- further than any but the bravest and most reckless of Avernite explorers dare to travel. These roots tap into the vast network of geothermal vents and channels deep within the planet's crust. They carry nutrients and boiling-hot water vapor up an extremely specialized vasculatory system which manifests primarily as a series of honeycomb-like structures which make up much of the tissue found in the tree's central axis. While young specimens may have relatively small channels, the most mature trees are so wide as to comfortably fit a five-man team of researchers in full protective gear.

These deep tap roots and direct access to pressurized gases serve not only to supply the tree with all the nutrients they require (indeed, their foiliage is rather sparse; these specimens can reach incredible sizes even without the assistance of photosynthesis!), but they also serve as a defensive mechanism. Their location in high altitude regions protects them from most large herbivores, while their high internal temperatures and access to corrosive or toxic chemical elements render them almost impervious to parasitic infestation. Moreover, some of the nutrients they draw up are scattered into the nearby soil, allowing other plant species to grow and flourish even in what would otherwise be a barren and lifeless landscape.

As one might expect, the wood of the Smokestack Sequoia is highly resistant to heat, water damage and exposure to powerful bases and acids that would normally eat through most organic matter. As such, it is very useful as construction material and I must say is significantly nicer to look at than the endless meandering hallways of steel and rockcrete that my fellows are so used to seeing every day.

Some of my colleagues believe that the Sequoias may in fact be useful as natural taps for harvesting specialty chemicals, and the high-pressure steam they provide could be used to supply heat and power, thus reducing the reliance of surrounding cities on promethium supplies. Their lack of reliance on photosynthesis seems to indicate that it may be possible to bring these trees either into or under hive extensions, at which point they can be accessed by the city's utilities network.

We have taken to calling areas of extensive Smokestack Sequoia growth 'Steamwoods.' Interestingly, trees found further away from the toxic volcanic fields of Belegost and Lindon are, while smaller, excellent sources of steam which can be condensed into potable, nutrient-rich water. Some enterprising young Avernites have tapped into these trees to provide naturally heated water for recreational spring-baths. I am told there are a number of health benefits associated with bathing among the minerals found in these waters, but there has been little work done into proving the veracity of such claims.

* **Complete Examination (Smokestack Sequoia):** After six years of study Archmagos Biologis Maximal was able to find out much about the life cycle and biology behind the Smokestack Sequoia. He tells you that while in most situations they have few uses, there is one exception. The Smokestack Sequoia seems to be designed to aid in terraforming certain types of worlds and restoring the environments of poisoned worlds, such as most Hive worlds.