Fauna5

The Felayan fauna is composed of many species from many worlds which makes it very varied and unpredictable. See also carnivorous plants and plant life. These pages feature mostly dangerous or remarkable creatures. There is many many others, from small animals to harmless herbivores, or unreported species that aren't listed here but exist and are part of the great Felarya food chain.

**Threat Ranking:**

-**Minimal**: A totally harmless being such as a mouse or a rabbit.

-**Very Low**: Mostly herbivores but who can still strike back if attacked.

-**Low**: Various animals such as felines.

-**Moderate**: A moderately dangerous Felaryan creature can still be very dangerous in another world. For example a great white shark would rank between Low and Moderate here...

-**Medium**: A predatory, dangerous and often man-eating creature.

-**High**: A great predator. Crisis is in this category.

-**Very High**: A top predator. This creature could take on a small army.

-**Critical**: In Felaryan scales, very few creatures reach this rank.

-**Extreme**: A guardian or a mythical creature. Only a god can hope to survive a confrontation with one of these.

Note that threat ranking is based on the threat that the creature represents for a normal human.  It's not necessarily linked to the strength of the creature. For example the dryad Cypress would rank very low because she is very friendly to humans, yet she is a powerful being.

## In great rocky fields

#### Storm Manticore

Size: 50 feet

Threat: **High**

Storm manticores are mythical creatures, distant cousins of chimeras, creatures with the body of a lion, grey or blue fur, bat wings, and a large scorpion tail. While most manticores have the head of a human, storm manticores possess a leonine one. Storm manticores are known for their very loud roar that can echoes for miles, and their deadly venom. They are fearsome and voracious beasts who won't hesitate to attack heavily-armed caravans. With their incredible speed, powerful claws, and chain lightning spells, these monsters pose an enormous threat to travelers and can devastate a convoy in only a few minutes. Moreover, the poison in their tail can drop a centaur dead in just a few stings and even the proud sphinx will sometimes give up a meal, rather than risk getting stung in a dispute with an angry manticore. These monsters are thankfully rare and solitary creatures.

#### Greater Stormseeker

Size: 50 to 60 feet

Threat: **Medium** - **very high** for vehicles.

Huge, strangely shaped red birds, able to attract lightning with their beaks during a storm, "store" it in them, and later blast it at targets with great precision. This particular species of stormseeker is infinitely more dangerous than their smaller cousins. The tremendous storms of the Great rocky fields allowed them to grow to gigantic proportions. While small stormseekers feed on lightning and insects, the greater stormseekers have absolutely no problems hunting humans. They blast their prey with just the right amount of energy required to stun it before devouring it. The enormous amounts of energy they can deliver in their electrical attack makes them a critical threat to any sort of precision machinery or vehicles.

#### Whaqa

Size: 1 to 3 feet

Threat: **Very Low**

This dog-sized, mole-like creature can be found in the western part of the great rocky fields, toward the Akaptor desert. It keeps itself buried in soil or sand and only ever exposes its tail, a great thorny club that uncannily imitates a cactus. When small animals approach, they are taken down with a single swing and pulled underground with raking claws. Travelers are well advised to avoid this creature; Whaqas don’t prey on humans, but they are more than willing to bash what they interpret as an immediate danger.

## In Teferis Forest

#### Goro-Goro

Size: Larvae: 6 to 12 feet long, Adult: 20 to 50 feet tall

Threat: **Very Low** in larva form, **Low** in adult form.

A very strange creature, goro-goro have proven to be a rather difficult animal species to categorize, if indeed they can be considered animals at all. Their unique two-stage life-cycle is a testament of the bizarreness of the world from which they come from. Their larval form resembles a rather large leech covered in armored plating and possessing three pairs of violet-colored eyes near the head. They are parasitic, feeding on the blood of the numerous larger creatures native to the area, and have earned the title of annoying pests by the locals. Once they have fed enough, they burrow into the ground, where they begin to molt into their adult form.

That form is what causes much trouble when it comes from distinguishing these as either fauna or flora. The larva develops into a tree-like organism that is covered in a thin layer of chitinous exoskeleton instead of bark and whose branches end in numerous large yellowish bulbs instead of leaves. the goro-goro also develops a root system that spread out thinly beneath the soils surface and its bulbs are photosynthetic, both traits that are more associated with flora. The adult possess the unique ability to generate lightning from their bulbs, using it to strike any creature that comes to close to it. While not lethal, the bolts are rather painful. When not in use, arcs of lightning and static electricity can be seen "bridging" the bulbs together. These bulbs eventually fall off and burst, revealing numerous eggs. These organism appear to have formed a symbiotic relationship with the greater stormseeker. The stormseeker feeds off the "tree's" lightning while at the same time protecting it from more resilient creatures, and in turn the goro-goro larvae use the stormseeker as both a host and a transport in order to be carried throughout the area.

#### Shock Beetle

Size: 1 to 3 feet

Threat: **Low**

A large beetles with pronounced horns and electric blue carapaces that inhabit the Teferis Forest and other regions containing large amounts of actinite ore. Soaking in the background electricity, these beetles are capable of manipulating it with their trio of horns, causing arcs to form between them before they eventually launch it at a target like a lightning bolt. This ability is used not only for shocking eventual predators, but also for stunning their prey, such as smaller insects and worms. The one downside is that it takes them a while between jolts to recharge themselves, during which they are vulnerable. Their primary predators are stormseekers and greater stormseekers fledglings, both of which are perfectly able to resist their bolts of electricity. Because of their abilities and neon-like coloration, shock beetles are considered novelty pets in places such as Negav. Great care is needed, as shock beetles will inevitably try to make their way towards power sources and machines, especially those that run on actinite. This can often lead to short circuiting and power drainage. Some of these insects have managed to escape their owners, and wild populations now exist in Negav.

#### Sandfall Lurker

Size: 14 feet

Threat: **Medium**

A strange creature that resembles a huge mandible-less crab. They are mostly found in the Sandfall maze, although their habitat extends to some other rocky regions of Akaptor desert. It's a very agile and fast-moving creature, able to run up sheer rocky cliffs. Their shells are less thick and resistant than they look, but Sandfall lurkers must definitely not be taken lightly as their jumping ability is simply incredible. Much like an over-sized flea, the lurker can stay perfectly immobile, then one second later, leap into the air at a phenomenal speed. Combined with their ability to quickly dig through the sandstone of the great cliffs forming the maze, it means a sandfall lurker can and will chase its prey anywhere, until it has caught it. They have a large gaping mouth they use to swallow prey in lieu of using their missing mandibles. Many adventurers have fallen victim to their mobility. Afterward, the creature will burrow itself in the sand to quietly digest its meal.

#### Sandfish

Size: 10 to 18 feet

Threat: **Moderate**

These strange creatures resemble a mix of an exotic brown fish and a very twisted, old, rough, sand-polished root. Its bulky body is rather grotesque, with a very wide mouth and long fanlike pectoral fins allowing it to swim in the sand. It also has that strange and slightly unnerving ability to move while its body seems to be completely immobile. A hardy creature, it lurks in the sand, patiently waiting for prey to come by, usually kuras, smaller sandfishes, or travelers. It's much more agile than it looks though, able to use quick bursts of speed. Sandfishes are sometimes hunted by Akaptor nomads for their flesh, which is surprisingly good when dried and prepared with aromatic herbs.

#### Tunneler Worm

Size: 100 to 200 feet

Threat: **Moderate**

An enormous worm that slowly digs through sand and sandstone, leaving solidified tunnels in its wake. They are strong and sturdy creatures, with a rough and thick skin of varied colors, usually orange or brown. The main component of the worm's diet is the sand it digs through, and the shimmerlings living in it. The worm is not a fussy eater though, and roughly anything in its path is fair game, as long as it's not identified as an obstacle. They are peaceful and pretty harmless unless you stand in their way. If you are, you risk being engulfed without any warnings, swallowed and quickly digested in the remarkably efficient stomach of the creature.

## In Akaptor desert

#### Sand Walker

Size: 16 feet tall

Threat: **Very Low**

A species of large running birds living in Akaptor desert. Their very long legs are immune to the time effect of the sand, making them an ideal mount on which to cross the desert. They are fast, very agile, and pretty voracious, feeding mostly on small live animals they catch with their very long beaks, and they can become quite unpredictable when hungry. They are immune to the effects of some of the most treacherous places in the desert, such as the sea of sinking sand, where they can run on the unstable surface without being engulfed. Sand walkers are very intelligent animals and the Akaptor nomads say that they are actually as smart as humans! They possess a very good memory and only give rides to those that they like. If forced, they'll either try to throw the rider off, or take them to a cactus dryad, or to another desert predator.

#### Antillon

Size: 50 to 80 feet long

Threat: **Medium**

This dangerous worm-like creature spends most of its life buried underground and stays in the same place until it dies. They dig a funnel-shaped crater in the sand, and lurk at the bottom, waiting for prey to approach. The Antillon can sense living beings from very far away through the ground by the thousands of hairs along its body. When the prey comes in range the Antillon shakes the ground aggressively, causing the prey to fall down in to the pit, right into it's large, cavernous mouth.

#### Time Shark

Size: 40 feet long

Threat: **High**

This creature resembles a large black and white manta ray more than it resembles an actual shark, though their shark like fin on their tops is the first part of them to appear when they emerge from the sand, making them just look like an actual shark at first glance. Gliding quickly and dexterously, they use three ventral whip-like tentacles to strike at their targets and bring prey to their large gaping mouths. They are extremely dangerous and master a powerful time-based magic with an ease that puzzles many mages. Even before the fight starts, a group of adventurers would find themselves slowed down while the time shark hastens itself. Then the creature would manipulate time, either going back a few seconds into the past if things started to go poorly for it, or separating each adventurer into a different string of time in order to take them one by one, or even stopping time entirely for the most powerful specimens.

Needless to say an encounter with a time shark is almost always fatal... Only the Akaptor nomads know how to efficiently fight a time shark and even they consider an attack a very serious matter. Fortunately, in Felarya time sharks can only be found in the Akaptor desert, and even there they rarely appear so long as you don't attract attention to yourself, by touching the sand for example.

#### Sand Whale

Size: 45 to 60 feet

Threat: **Low**

Strange creatures native to another world, Sand whales bear a passing resemblance to humpback whales, save for lacking fins and a thick, tan, crustacean-like exoskeleton covering their body. They possess three pairs of tiny glowing eyes protected by a glass-like substance, though it is believed that they are partially blind and rely more on vibrations in order to "see" the world around them. Sand whales are famous for being able to swim through sand as easily as a fish through water. Some mages theorize that they produce a barrier that reduces friction as they dig. They feed primarily on Shimmerlings and other small creatures living in the sand.

Often encountered in pods, Sand whales are relatively harmless unless threatened. If so, they will attempt to body slam the threat into oblivion or tunnel beneath them in order to bury them alive. If treated with respect, they are very peaceful and are, in fact, quite playful. It is not uncommon for a pod to stop so that curious youngsters can investigate their surroundings once the adults believe that there is no danger. Sand whales also possess a series of pale blue oral tentacles that slightly resemble those of a jellyfish. They apparently use these in communication as adults are often seen using them on one another, especially if they've been separated for long periods of time. It is also speculated that they are involved in their mating rituals, but this is unconfirmed.

#### Temporal Heron

Size: 9 to 15 feet

Threat: **Low**

Temporal herons are a species of long-legged and long-necked bird, recognizable by a characteristic decorative plume on the back of their neck. They can be found mainly in the southern region of the continent in Akaptor desert, although they have been sighted in some other areas as well. Their bodies, with the exception of their black legs and beaks, are transparent like glass. Those strange birds are literally windows through which one can see different areas in time. A temporal heron flying during the day might darken the sky as their bodies show the image of the night to come, and those flying at night might brighten areas as they show tomorrow in the daytime. In truth, the males show times in the future, while the females show times in the past. Adults stand anywhere from 9 feet to 15 feet, and their wingspan can reach lengths of around 20 feet wide. Though none have ever been known to eat a human, they generally prey on smaller species, which does include small sentient creatures like neeras and tomthumbs. When they fly, temporal herons tuck in their long necks. Their feathers are valued for their usefulness in future-sight spells and artifacts.

#### Solar Serpent

Size: 70-120 feet

Threat: **High**

Solar Serpents are legendary creatures living in the Akaptor desert. Very rare are the travelers who claim to have seen one, but they are described as immense snakes covered in golden, seemingly metallic scales, floating majestically and perpetually above the ground. Several pairs of short wings are placed evenly along the length of their body, although the creature looks like it is using some kind of levitation magic in order to fly, rather than actually using them. Their blank eyes give a piercing stare that seems to probe deep into your soul, and they can fire rays of pure light from their mouth. Solar serpents also sport beautiful and very complex patterns on their body, that can be seen only at night. During day, they can shift slightly the angle of their scales to reflect the sunlight and blind an opponent or a prey.

#### Suna

Size: 20 to 30 feet

Threat: **Medium**

The Suna is a giant desert bird that dives in and out of the sand, like a fish in water. It's believed they lived long ago near the ocean where they used to catch underwater prey this way, and evolved to adapt this hunting process to the desert. Like most birds, Sunas are perfectly capable of flight after resurfacing. While they don't possess any immunity to the effects of the sand, they seem to have a sense of where the sand will take them and can escape anything awaiting them with relative ease. The suna is a dangerous creature, fast and voracious. They use their "time diving" to catch their prey, and there are few things more unsettling than seeing a giant bird suddenly burst out of the sand from nowhere, with a wide open beak ready to take you in!

#### Kura

Size: 6 to 14 inches

Threat: **Minimal**

A Kura is similar to a hermit crab, with a reddish tan colored shell that looks like a rock. They are scavengers, renowned for their delicious flesh, and seen as a delicacy in neko cultures. Kura are very territorial though, and will protect their habitat at all costs, despite their size. Another of their particularities is their shells, which they use to store water. Knowing this fact has saved the life of many lost adventurers in the desert.

#### Shimmerling

Size: Microscopic to 1 inch

Threat: **Minimal**

The term Shimmerling is a generic name for strange microbial organisms living in the sand of Akaptor desert. From microbial plants to very small crustaceans, the sands of the desert are teeming with life. Shimmerlings requires only sunlight and background magical energy to survive, though some use predation as well. They have spread throughout the Akaptor desert and now form vast patches of shimmering sand that crackle with static electricity for unknown reasons. It is not known why they are unable to survive in soil or other substrates, only that if transported outside of the desert they quickly die off. One bizarre mystery surrounding them is the fact that at night one can see faint blue fog-like clouds being produced by the patches of shimmerlings. While many simply view this as a by product of their life functions, some claim they are in fact terrifying the atmosphere into something more akin to that of their home world. This, of course, has not been proven. They come from the same world as the Sand whales do, and are their main food source.

#### Beast of the past

Size: varies

Threat: varies

A generic term that designates the gigantic creatures that roamed Felarya millenia ago. In the present time the only thing that can be seen of them are ghostly mirages that sometimes wander the Akaptor desert. Most of these harmless ghosts appear to have a definite reptilian look and often sport strange and alien features on their bodies. They still exist in the past Akaptor desert though, and as soon as you touch the sand, you are in deep deep trouble if one of these behemoths spot you. From the rare reports depicting a confrontation, they are formidable creatures, incredibly resistant and dangerous, putting to shame many predators of the present Felarya.

## In Direwind hills

#### Hillgak

Size: 11 feet high

Threat: **Medium**

A rare and dangerous predator that stalks the Direwind hills. It resembles a large, bulky, saber-toothed feline with long, hook-like claws, a flat tail, and a thin membrane on each side of its body. Its fur is grey with various patterns of brown and green, made to mimic the rugged hillsides it hunts on. For the most part, the hillgak hunts in the valleys and canyons of the Direwind hills, usually alone, watching its prey adamantly until the target is downwind. When stationary, its claws are dug into the ground to prevent it from being blown away by the fierce wind while standing on higher elevations. When the hillgak attacks, it runs with the wind, making its pursuit more effortless, then pounces with great speed, spreading out its side membrane to glide over obstacles, and hitting the target with the full force of the attack. Hillgaks pose a danger to humans, although they are not often encountered. If you were to see one, your best method of survival is to stay upwind of the beast, for its instincts will prevent him from striking if it has to rush against the wind.

#### Gundiru

Size: 17 to 27 feet

Threat: **Moderate**

This bizarre terrestrial octopus-like creature lives in the highest levels of the Direwind hills, taking advantage of the harsh conditions to ensure itself a stream of fresh prey. Whenever the strong winds blow, the Gundiru climbs up a tree as high as it can, anchors itself with strong suckers and spreads out the rest of its tentacles, which extend several feet in length and are united by a billowing membrane of skin. This way the creature can net animals that have been blown away by the wind, and pull them in its large mouth. The Gundiru is not a fussy eater, swallowing almost anything brought by the wind, including tree branches, leaves, small debris, or unlucky adventurers. It has a preference for birds though. Gundiru meat is delicious when pickled, and sometimes Jotuns venture into the hills to hunt them.

## In Tobol mountains

#### Braelith

Size: 8 to 12 feet tall

Threat: **Moderate**

Braeliths are tall and agile bipedal ape-like creatures native to the Tobol mountains. Instead of possessing fur as one would expect, they are covered in a layer of feathers and their heads are similar to that of an owl, complete with beak. Their large reflective eyes allow them to see clearly at night, and are indeed a frightful sight to behold, should you be alone in the mountains at night. One has nothing to fear from them, though, as they tend to ignore entirely human-sized creatures and prefer smaller prey. If cornered, however, they can be quite vicious, easily capable of lifting and throwing a full-grown man. Solitary and nocturnal, it is rare to meet one, but much more common to hear one of their piercing screeches echoing across the mountain range at night. They tend to nest in caves hidden within the Tobol mountains during the day, and go out at night to hunt, typically within the Evernight forest.

## In Pyrale mountains

#### Cryok

Size: 50 to 80 feet

Threat: **Low**

Cryoks are mostly found in rocky volcanic areas. This centipede-like creature is notable, less for the fact that it measures up to eighty feet in length, than for its adaptations for such a hot, steamy environment, namely its subzero body temperatures. Its veins are filled, not with blood but with a hyper-compressed gas which pumps into its many legs, not unlike a spider's inner hydraulics. This creature's body contains no water whatsoever, causing many scientists to theorize that it's not truly alive. The cryok doesn't hunt, rather it feeds on volcanic minerals. Its horrendously cold body not only protects it from intense heat, but has a habit of extinguishing any and all flames that make contact with it. Cryoks are peaceful creatures, having no prey and no natural predators - very few animals find non-carbon-based meat to be tasty.

#### Platinum Armadillo

Size: 25 feet

Threat: **Moderate**

Platinum armadillos, as their name implies, are huge armadillos with a heavy platinum shell. They are omnivorous, feeding on anything they find. This sometimes includes humans, but fortunately they aren't very voracious and actually quite tamable. The shell of a platinum armadillo possess very strong magnetic abilities that the creature is able to modulate to attract or repel metal, not unlike a silver succubus. They use it both to defend themselves and catch prey. Humans sometimes makes magically imbued armor out of their shell, that repels metallic weapons, working wonderfully well against arrows. Platinum armadillos are tough to kill though, and when facing an opponent, they will curl up into a ball and roll, giving themselves devastating amounts of momentum by selectively pulling themselves towards nearby rocks.

#### Carbon Hound

Size: 20 to 30 feet tall

Threat: **Medium**

Often erroneously referred as the Pyrale mountains's Kensha Beast equivalent, carbon hounds are among the top predators of the area. They look like enormous jackals with long ears, no tail, and very dark fur. Their hide is extremely solid, weakening physical assault considerably, and they can light themselves on fire at will. They are very dangerous in this form, able to to breath fire like a dragon. And, as if it wasn't enough, Carbon hounds also possess the ability to run on lava!

#### Annothian

Size: 10 to 15 feet long

Threat: **Low**

Annothians are one of the more unique creatures found in the Pyrale mountains. Resembling an oversized water strider with an obsidian-black exoskeleton, it literally walks on the surface of the lava. As they stride across this molten surface, they continuously search for food such as the metals found within the lava itself as well as the various other creatures that inhabit it. They are rather harmless to humans and tamable up to a degree. They can even sometimes be used as mounts, if you are able to bear the choking heat from the lava below.

#### Ferrous Moth

Size: 1 to 3 inches

Threat: **Very Low** - **High** for vehicles and metal devices.

This bizarre insect is one of the strangest threats in Pyrale mountains. They look similar to a large, glittering, purple or blue moth. It's entirely immune to heat, which allows it to lay eggs close to the lava inside active volcanoes. It's not immune to suffocation, however, and will fly away from the toxic smoke. Ferrous Moths are pretty harmless by themselves, but seeing one is an ominous sign as they are famous for eating metals! They can sense it from a mile away and they're surprisingly voracious. They will rasp through steel at an alarming rate. In a few hours, just a couple of those creatures could render your weapons, high precision machinery, or vehicles totally useless! They will lay eggs too, leading to a quick infestation, and their larvae are even more voracious. Ferrous moths are slightly susceptible to the magnetic fields of the zone and will use them to glide somehow, not unlike a bird would with the wind.

## In Navroze mountains

#### Kil

Size: 5'6 feet shoulder to ground for adult males, 5 feet for adult females.

Threat: **Very Low**

Kil are bulky ram-like animals residing in the Navroze Mountain range. Males are covered in dark brown fur while females' fur is lighter brown or tan. They are adorned with typical horns that connect to each other over their heads, in ovoid shapes. Their heads also feature two pairs of fourteen to sixteen-inch-long, pointed green ears and they possesses powerful hooved legs, allowing them to easily travel on uneven mountainous terrain. Although animals, kil are able to produce their own food through photosynthesis, using their horns and ears as means to gather energy from sunlight. This trait forces kil to migrate constantly in order to keep pace with Morgin, literally following the season around the range.

Their remarkable horns grow vertically until maturity, then grow horizontally as they age further. It is worth noting that newborn kil's horns do not connect to each other until about two or three months of age, and as such they are unable to photosynthesize efficiently. The mother kil produces milk for their young as a replacement. In addition to sunlight, kil also like to have plenty of water. To this end, their fours ears are great tools to locate water, able to pick up sounds of streams running down the mountains. Kil are pretty well at the bottom of the food chain, but this doesn't mean they are defenseless; their strong legs can deliver vicious kicks, and when cornered, their hard, thick horns make durable weapons as well.

Kil milk is something valued both by local mountain-dwellers and chefs from far-away lands. To milk a kil, one must approach carefully, offer her a bucket or two of water to drink, then move to the side and milk it while she is drinking. Kil cheese is a typical product of kil milk. The quality of the milk depends greatly on the age of the milked kil; the ones with perfectly circular horns are said to produce the most delicious milk of them all, however they are quite rare, so not many get to experience this supposedly-heavenly taste. Some kil have been domesticated and are kept in the Chomikai commons around Negav so that their pelts may be harvested, however, they are mostly males, as female kil can become aggressive during mating season and charge at people.

#### Credits to:

* Irritus for the Antillon
* Outlaw for the Suna
* Nyaha for the Kil
* Aisukaiko for the Hillgak
* Gregole for the Cryok
* Flarecobra, Kevin\_L\_S, Alex and Outlaw for the Kura
* Jasconius for the Annothian, Braelith, shock beetle, Sand whales, goro goro and shimmerling
* Slimetoad for the Whaqas and Gundiru
* Stabs for the Ferrous moths
* Moonlight-pendent for the Sand walkers
* Shady-Knight for the Platinum Armadillo and Carbon hound
* Nyaha for temporal herons
* Archmage Bael for his help on writing some entries, and Oldman40k2003 and French-snack for their great help at editing. ^\_^