Creatures

There are multiple species in Darkening Stars that do not exist in real world. This is a list of non-sentients. For sentients, go here.

## Aerials

Aerial creatures have the ability to fly, and spend large portions of their lives in the air.

### Wyverns

Wyverns are members of the Draco family. They are more closely related to dragons than they were to drakes.

A wyvern is around 9 feet long from nose to tail tip. They are slim and agile, but have powerful legs and wings. They have no front legs like most other members of the Draco family.

Wyverns like to live in forested areas right next to grasslands.

### Dragons

Dragons are an extinct species that, through interbreeding with drakes, evolved into modern dragons. They were slimmer and more agile, like a wyvern. Dragons were about 14 feet from nose to tail tip. They once inhabited the same mountain ranges that modern dragons now live in.

### Modern Dragons

Modern dragons, more commonly referred to simply as dragons, are the result of interbreeding between dragons and drakes. They have the best of both worlds, being agile and nimble enough to fly, while also having large and powerful muscles.

### Phoenixes

Phoenixes are giant birds of prey, usually with flaming feathers.

No phoenixes live in Entherstia, but some have been spotted flying above the eastern and southern areas. Phoenixes nest in small communities of four to eight in cave-ridden mountains, far away from any flammable terrain. They will travel great distances to hunt, and feast on very large prey due to their enormous size and energy consumption. Their diet consists primarily of large bovines and equines.

A phoenix's flame color can be used to estimate their age. As they grow older, their feathers go from a cool red flame to a hot white flame before they eventually burn themselves out and they die. Eggs (produced asexually) are typically laid in the ashes of their ancestors. Since all phoenixes are clones of one another, they are all female.

A phoenix's flames can be extinguished without harming it. An extinguished phoenix will sometimes be mistaken for a hark, or vice versa due to their similar appearance since the two species are related.

### Harks

Harks are incredibly large, white-feathered birds that, when fully grown, are the same size of a fully grown phoenix. Their appearance is similar to that of a raven. Some harks, though rare, have black feathers, the result of a genetic defect.

Due to the large amount of competition in the Hark Mountains among the harks, weaker ones are forced to hunt farther south than that of stronger ones who have take up all the prey in the mountains.

A hark is abandoned by its parent upon being laid. Once the hark hatches, they learn to survive on their own, teaching themselves how to hunt. Even when they are young, they are much larger than the normal bird, being about the size of a mountain goat.

### Helexes

Helexes are birds of prey, they are 6 feet tall and have red eyes, black beaks, brown feathers with several white ones covering their body as well as a thick skin to protect them from harsh wounds. Probably the most distinctive feature of these birds are their bald heads with a cranial crest which is connected to their beak and protruded from the rear possibly to support the head of the helex. Unlike other big birds they work in conjunction and will usually circulate their victims above the sky in packs, waiting until their preys lower their defenses to swoop in and take them, depending on the size of the creature they catch, if it's big enough they will share with others of the pack.

There is a white feathered variant which can be found in cold areas, the white helexes are much more aggressive and relentless than their normal counterparts, normally hunting by themselves and engaging in fights with other white helexes. These flying creatures also seem to have a harder and shorter cranial crest as well as thicker skin which makes them a tougher foe to fight or avoid.

Location: Apollyon Island, the normal variant is found on the Outer and Inner Perimeters while the white variant is natural to the House of Pain. (It is unknown if these creatures are exclusive to the island.)

## Terrestrials

Terrestrial creatures live on land. While some have the ability to fly, glide, dig, or swim, the majority of their lives are carried out on land.

### Drakes

Drakes are an extinct species that, through interbreeding with dragons, evolved into modern dragons. They were thicker, and although they had wings, were incapable of real flight. Drakes were about 20 feet from nose to tail tip. They once inhabited the same mountain ranges that modern dragons now live in.

### The Monster Of Hideston

The monster of Hideston is a monster created by a mage who lives in Hideston. The mage was a Light and Life mage, who was driven crazy by the light side of his powers. He had at one point been a part of a circus that went under, and lead by his insanity, killed the animals and stitched their bits and pieces back together into around seventeen different monstrosities. Only one of which survived.

The one that survived had three heads sloppily stitched onto long snaky necks. One head was a wolf's, the next a dragon's, and the third was an extinguished phoenix's. Its upper body was that of a lion's. Its left foreleg had large scales from some ancient species of giant lizards, now extinct. The right one was an arm of a gorilla. After the lion's upper body, it has the rear end of a horse, but both hind legs are torn off. It has the lion's tail, also.

Location: Hideston

### Tifals

Tifals are a rosette-forming carnivorous plant species, because of its size, fast growing nature and the copious amounts of seed it produces it has become one of the most common plants in the island. Tifals are 6 to 8 feet tall and produce strap-like leaves up to 5 feet long and 6 inches wide which are covered in brightly coloured vine tentacles that secrete a sticky substance that traps prey, when that happens the leaves roll lengthwise towards the center. This aids digestion by bringing more digestive glands in contact with the prey, this movement is surprisingly fast.

The plant has a tendency to retain the dead leaves of previous seasons, and the main stem of the plant can become quite long and woody with time. Tifals can produce multiple small orange flowers which individually open in the morning and close by mid afternoon. The flowers can also self-pollinate upon closing and produce copious quantities of seeds which are released from the capsules that form when the flowers have died, despite this tifals can’t survive on cold climates.

Location: Apollyon Island in the Outer and Inner Perimeter. (It is unknown if these plants are exclusive to the island.)

### Xenesthis

Xenesthis were large tarantula like creatures that resided inside the extinct volcano interior of Apollyon island. The male arachnids were smaller while the females were 2 feet in lenght, completely black with vivid wavy magenta and blue marks coming from the center of their torsos, two large fangs and eight small eyes.

Xenesthis were vicious predators, mostly feeding on large terrestrials or avians and can go months without eating. Xenesthis also have prehensile pedipalps that can be used to grab small prey. They would use thick webbing that was mostly used on the inside of their lairs to prevent any preys from escaping. One thing to note is that Xenesthis were not poisonous.

Location: Apollyon Island only in the House of Pain. These creatures were unique to the island and are presumed extinct.

## Subterraneans

Subterranean creatures live under the surface of the earth.

### Basilisks

Basilisks are giant snakes that are about 26 feet long when they reach maturity, after which they do not cease growing until death. The majority of their thickness is attained in adolescence, and after that their growth is primarily in length. Because of their constant growth, their skeletons are mostly made of hard cartilage, and can grow new segments as needed. A basilisk's stare is paralyzing to anyone caught in it.

Basilisks live in caves under deeply wooded areas.

### Wyrms

Wyrms are relatives of basilisks, but are significantly different. They are usually around 18 feet long, and do not grow after maturation. They have massive crushing mandibles that secrete an incredibly deadly venom. They have two small and mostly useless legs left over from evolution.

Wyrms live underground, and are constantly burrowing. They normally are found in deserts.

### Gaels

Gaels are bluish, scorpion-like creatures that dwell in the sand, they are 8 feet long from their pincers to their stinger and are mainly subterranean carnivores hunting by sensing seismic vibrations which are produced by sounds and movements, however they can’t go through rocks. Because they are unable to tell the difference between edible and inedible vibration sources they always approach with the intention of simply attacking whatever sets off their vibration sensors and regurgitate anything that does not taste good.

Gaels are ambush predators preferring to sneak up on their quarry, though they are shown to chase it down with great determination they will not arise completely from the ground in any way if the target gets to a safe spot. Gaels mostly use their pincers to take ahold of their prey and pull them underground where they will then be eaten, they rarely use their stinger unless for defensive purposes against predators or strong preys. Their stinger is not poisonous but induces a lot of pain.

Location: Apollyon Island in the Outer Perimeter. (It is unknown if these creatures are exclusive to the island.)

## Aquatics

Aquatic creatures live primarily if not entirely in water.

### Sea Reapers

Sea reapers are massive, and extremely rare creatures that live in seas. They often will attack ships traveling through their territory. Typically they will investigate fishing boats that went to the deep parts of the sea where the sea reaper lurks. It is almost impossible for most vessels to escape from a sea reaper once they attack. Often, a fisherman will provoke an attack by attacking or attempting to catch the top head, which can be mistaken for a large blue eel.

Locations: Aeboran Sea

### Hydras

Hydras are large multi-headed creatures that are related to dragons. They would tower over most towns if they ever left the water. They mainly swim around at the bottom of salt water bodies, only surfacing for air and food. Their diet consists mostly of very large fish, and sharks.

Hydras are very territorial beings, and are known to have battles of epic proportions with other hydras attempting to invade their claimed seas, lakes, or sections of the oceans. They will only tolerate the sight of other hydras within mating season. If a hydra spots a vessel larger than a large fish, it will generally attack. However, sea reapers and hydras have been known to coexist.

Locations: Various seas around Entherstia.