Bestiary

Bestiary

A collection of small articles on various animals in Adylheim.

Baanz

Description: Baanz are one of Adylheim's oddest looking creatures. Its neck is usually the length of its body or longer, and has no definite head-end. It does, however, have a mouth-end, with its neck ending in a single mouth ringed with several rows of blunt teeth and leathery, bluish lips (the baanz is Adylheim's, perhaps the world's only jawless land mammal. Jawless fish such as hagfish and lampreys exist in the deep ocean, but the baanz is the only land-roaming mammal with no jaws to speak of, though its mouth is very strong, and large enough to encompass a human head). It has, far inside its mouth, a small protrusion that acts as a tongue to push food into the esophagus. Its brain is almost directly above this mouth, and is very small. The baanz's back comes to a camel-like hump between the shoulders, and slopes steadily downward into a foot-long tail at its hindquarters. Its legs taper from thick at the top to skinny at the foreleg, and end altogether in cloven hooves. Its fur is typically very thick, wiry, and brown, much like a bear's. Baanz have no eyes, relying entirely on scent-glands below their mouths to get where they're going, and feeling their way around with their necks. As such, they are obviously very slow-moving.

Habitat/Distribution: Chiefly the seasonal forests of Starkwater and the two southern fiefdoms. They are often bunched up together, as there is no territorial issue, and though they often graze together as a social means, they otherwise only come together to mate and migrate.

Food: Herbivores. Normally eat leaves and grass, and though they can subsist on bark when things get desperate in the winter, it wreaks havoc on their digestive systems. Unless bark is eaten in small frequent amounts, a large amount consumed by a baanz at once often causes intestinal blockage and can harm its inner tissues, sometimes resulting in death. Lucky enough, while a baanz's brain is relatively small, they know better than to eat too much at once-- unless they are absolutely starving.

Size: A typical male baanz can grow to four feet tall and five feet long. Females are normally the same size, though they may sometimes be smaller. It should be noted that southern baanz are smaller by up to two feet either way, as leafy vegetation is easier to access by shorter animals.

Reproduction: Mating occurs in the late fall, birthing in spring. Females give birth to live young, usuallyonly one at a time, though sometimes up to three at once. Young baanz are referred to as "pups".

Temperament: Baanz are normally very shy and very harmless. However, cases often arise when a baanz is infected with "Baanz rabies", a type of parasitic fungus that infiltrates their brains (also see the Cordyceps fungus in tropical rainforests) and causes them to go mad and become violent. It should be noted that baanz are extremely dangerous when enraged as such, and that their mouth is strong enough to crush a human skull. Don't let an angry baanz near your head.

Predators: Baanz are very rarely targeted by any animal other than bipedal ones, because they have good defense with their strong mouths.

Mutations: General mutations (albinism and the like). Baanz are also subject to size mutations, and while these are normally a simple matter of one or two feet lengthwise or heightwise, there have been [uncomfirmed] reports of baanz growing up to a massive twelve feet tall and twelve feet long. What's more, these gargantuan baanz can apparently speak.

Relatives: The baanz is a very singular animal, and as such, has no known relatives.

Habits: The baanz only migrates a little further south into Arameian woodlands during the winter, and it goes in search of good sheltering places upon arrival. This is often the only time baanz closely mingle on a regular basis.

Brushkat

Description: Is it a plant...? Nope, it's actually an animal. Brushkats look exactly like little bundles of plant, little brushes, or bunches of flowers, but when they begin to move, its obvious that they're animals. Their eyes and ears are disguised as plant parts, as with their legs and feet and tails. Brushkats can vary in size and shape, and some species even specialize in looking like certain types of plants or flowers. They can change their appearances to coincide with the seasons, including being able to "shed" their "leaves". In case of being eaten, they have a nifty defense mechanism much alike to that of lizards: being able to detach their limbs and grow them back. Some brushkats can grow real fungi, which act more as an irritance to them, as acne is to humans. Some brushkats are also highly poisonous.

Habitat/Distribution: Seasonal forests.

Food: Carnivores. Are only capable of eating prey smaller than themselves.

Size: Varies. Can be large as a large bush or tiny as a bouqet of flowers.

Reproduction: Brushkats are solitary creatures, and only come together to mate. Some will mate in the traditional animal-style, while others-- Flowering Brushkats-- possess stigma and pistils, which house pollen grains and ovules, respectively. After the pollinating process is done, the seeds can be deposited safely near the mother, and grow into eggs. In the case of traditional sexual reproduction, however, mating can occur more or less anytime, and is often violent, with the male and female scrapping for position. Females have a monthly cycle wherein they give off chemicals that tell any nearby males that they are ready to mate. Pregnancy can last up to six weeks. In both cases, litters can be had of around five or six "kittens".

Temperament: Generally antisocial, and will attack anything that is too big to catch and eat, but will remain disguised and stay more or less completely still for anything that is likewise too dangerous. If the danger of being eaten is evident, they will scurry off after detaching the threatened limb(s).

Predators: They may be predators themselves, but that does not except them from the rules of nature. Small brushkats may be threatened by plant/berry eating animals like deer, baanz, or bears. Large ones by even bigger baanz or bears. However, their defence mechanisms are efficient enough that these threats do not endanger the species, but that the threats also manage to keep the species under control.

Mutations: None marked as of yet. It is difficult to ascertain any mutations because brushkats are already difficult to visually analyze.

Relatives: The feline or canine family, as well as the mongoose family.

Habits: None of notability. Brushkat kittens are playful and curious and sometimes refuse to stay still. Mothers are affectionate. Some people have made pets of brushkats, but it takes a good deal of skill with animals to pull this off-- not to mention those with a garden should take care not to let them outside.

Field Skitters

Description: Field Skitters are classified as bugs, although they are much more dangerous. They are thin beings composed of a hard shell and fleshy soft underside. Their shell is circular and comes to a ribbed sharp edge. They have four pars of limbs, all legs that retract into their underside. Their shell and lags are generally the same length. Therefore a Skitter with a shell diameter of one foot would have foot long legs. Their legs are thing structures with joints in three to four locations, depending on age. The ends of their legs come to a sharp point.

Habitat/Distribution: They hide in wheat fields and other places that are not heavily trafficked. They prefer flat lands and travel in groups. Young Skitters can be found in shallow water bodies. They generally prefer a warm climate. This being said, Skitters have been seen all around Aram, and as far as the base of the Ribs.

Food: Skitters are the Sharks of the land. They will eat any number of things, from plants to humans. They have a renowned stomach that can filter even poison. This makes them incredibly hard to kill.

Size: When born they are merely centimeters long, and have a soft body. They spend a month in water, and in this time grow to be about fifteen centimeters in diameter. They also grow out a shell in this month. Over the next eight or so months they can grow to be thirty to even sixty centimeters in diameter.

Reproduction: Their reproduction methods are some of the most dangerous observed in the wild, due to their many sharp claws. During reproduction the male falls on it;s shelly back, and the female climbs on. The danger for the male comes during this part, if a female slips or falters in any way, the male will probably be pierced and die. Half of all mating pairs experience this difficulty. It is not uncommon for a male to attempt to push the female off after being pierced, hence killing both parties. Of the successful mating rituals, they produce about fifteen eggs in the next month. The eggs are instinctively laid in a body of water. They stay with their "pack" all of their lives until mating. After reproduction, Skitters burrow about a foot underground and wait to die alone.

Temperament: Skitters are fairly dull creatures. Study has shown that they live to eat and mate. Very few variations happen. It is also believed that one "pack" somehow shares a collective conscious. This belief is based upon their incredibly skilled and unified hunting methods.

Predators: As predators they do not search for food, but wait for it to come to them. Anything from a stray child to a wolf separated from it's pack will do as food. They often hide in crop fields and eat the stray vegetation as well. When a living creature enters their territory, they will freeze and wait for it to walk into the center of their "pack." Afterwords, as if they share one mind, they will all propel their bodies toward the target with immense speed. Their sharp shell will easily break skin. A single Skitter would not be entirely threatening, as it may graze the chest badly, but a pack can take down even large threats. They then enjoy their recently mutilated meals.

Mutations: It isn't uncommon for skitters to be incredibly huge, or small. Some Skitters do not develop shells, in this case they are usually left to die. Skitter shells will have color and pattern variations based on location.

Relatives: Skitters are believed to have developed from the same ancestry as most bugs.

Pillar Ibex

Description: Pillar ibex look much like traditional ibex, albeit with dramatic variations in the appearance of their horns, and much, much taller. The reason for this incredible size is unknown. It is believed that pillar ibex can only be found in the Ribs of Adylheim. Their horns are long, and extremely jagged, almost like they are covered in backwards-sweeping spikes.

Habitat/Distribution: The Ribs; chiefly on the dangerous, rocky slopes where only the smallest bit of vegetation grows.

Food: Herbivores. Usually nibbles at the permanent greens that grow on the mountainside all year round.

Size: A full-grown male pillar ibex can grow up to an astounding seven feet tall-- and this does not include their horns. Females are similar in size, but their horns are not nearly so prominent as on their male counterparts. This enormity in height is the foundation for the name "Pillar" ibex. Most of the height is in the legs.

Reproduction: Mating occurs twice a year: once in the spring, and once in the fall. Pregnant females usually give birth after five months. Roughly forty per cent of all fawns will die in their first year due to the treacherous slopes and the threat of snow leopards. Males compete for the right to breed, but a winner in a duel is no guarantee of the ability to breed. Likewise, a loser is not necessarily doomed to never be allowed to breed.

Temperament: Wary but gentle females provide contrast to the more agressive males, who will attack an intruder on their territory.

Predators: Snow leopards, hunters (are most often hunted for trophy).

Mutations: General mutations.

Relatives: The ibex; the deer; other hoofed mammals.

Habits: Pillar ibex do not migrate.

Demons

Demons

Origins

No living creature (dragonkin, Dae'vol, or human) really knows how demons came about. As such, speculating about the 'creation' of demons is a popular distraction for bored mages and sorcerers. Those attempting to move from theory into fact run into a big problem: no one wants to talk. Gods ignore such questions as far beneath their dignity. Demons seem to treat such questions as invitations to spin wild yarns; often giving entirely different stories to the same person on different days.

There are rumors of unthinkably powerful and ancient demons who've retreated into a sort of hibernation. A supremely powerful sorcerer (one able to challenge one or two minor demigods) might be able to compel them to reveal their history.

Or just end up as lunch.

Social Organisation

While there have been several attempts at categorising and understanding the underlying order of the Infernal Realm, it has generally been conceded that such lists tend to lose their relevance about two seconds after they're penned. The few constants that exist generally rely on what demonologists refer to as the Demon Lords, a few demons so powerful that they rarely lose their power in the constant hierarchal manoeuvrings, these Lords are among the most potent demons that exist and are rarely unseated from their various positions of power. It should be noted that "are rarely" does not necessarily mean, "are not", their power can wildly fluctuate.

This lack of a coherent social order means that words such as imp, succubi, archdemon, and so on have little meaning. Something which was once one, may later be the other. Gender, appearance, such things are almost infinitely malleable for most demons. Most have certain forms that they have set as their own, however, and anyone else trying to use it may end up earning a new enemy, fast.

The Infernal Realms exist in a constant state of warfare (on several levels, not just the physical), wherein the various inhabitants constantly scheme for power over each other. As long as a demon remains within the confines of the Infernal Realm they remain immortal and immutable, in order to gain knowledge, power or achieve growth they have no choice but to leave the confines of the Infernal Realms and venture out.

Contrary to what many might think this constant state of warfare is not something they only wait to take out on other beings, a demon has very little to gain by randomly killing humans when having them join their ranks will serve them much better.

The Infernal Realms

The Infernal Realms are vast and unmappable. It resides in almost perpetual darkness and travellers are warned against entering it with a source of light, salt, or anything which produces music. It has acquired such sundry names as the Shrieking Darkness, the Howling, the Dark Plane and similar. The gloom is occasionally lifted by far off flashes of fire and lightning as demons employ such weapons against one another.

What some describe as the ultimate horror of the Infernal Realms is realising that there is no ground on which to tread. Instead the constantly shifting ground consists of gigantic demons which have entered a hibernation for an unknown period of time, or just smaller demons fighting between themselves in slow motion. It's generally considered to be a bad idea to attempt any kind of psychic activity in the Infernal Plane as traps and psychic warfare is constantly happening. Though this is partially to blame for the many different, but illusory, descriptions of the Infernal Realms.

Creation

The creation of a demon is no simple thing. All demons begin their existence as something else, they become a demon through entering into a contract with a demon, whereby they sell their soul for services rendered. It is this contract, to which even the gods must bow, which allows the person who signed the contract to become a demon upon their death if the demon has fulfilled his side of the bargain (to the letter if not the spirit). Demons cannot force someone anyone to become a demon, they must sign the contract of their own free will. This does not stop demons from using everything from blackmail, lies, loopholes and all manner of temptations to get someone to sign the contract.

The contract must be signed in blood and is vital to the demons. They will do quite a lot to get hold of a soul, though if too much is asked of them, they will generally find someone else who is easier to deal with. There is never a lack of people who are willing to sell their souls for a hand up. As demons they have much to offer those that take an interest, some can teach all manner of esoteric and mundane knowledge, others can offer power, others can bargain with the lives of enemies and loved ones. Once the terms of the contract have been filled however, there is little that any demon is willing to do for the person who signed, they've already got what they want so they see no reason to continue helping them.

In lieu of a contract though, the demon will often be satisfied with taking a small piece of a person instead, memories, skills, things like these are gladly consumed and used to enhance their own power, often leaving demonologists as little more than hollow shells waiting to sign the contract their demonic consorts offer them.

Once a new demon is created, the power from this is spread among the demons who helped to make them a demon, effectively making them stronger. The new demon will be relatively weak as compared to other demons and is generally referred to as an imp, though as long as it remains in the Infernal Realm it is immortal and cannot be destroyed. If a demon is returned to the Infernal Realm it will generally always recover from its injuries (though it may become weaker because of it). Their new form and abilities do tend to mirror what they did in their previous life, a wizard will become a demon capable of wielding supernatural powers, a soldier someone capable of dispensing great destruction, a courtesan may become a succubi and so on.

Physiology

Speaking of any common thread in the appearance of demons is relatively counter productive. They wear bodies much as humans wear clothes, and are prone to changing them just as often. Most will have one or a few relatively permanent shapes that they prefer however. Demons are bound by certain rules when changing their appearance however, they can never look like what they originally started out as. Someone who was originally a human will never be capable of looking entirely human, whereas someone who started as a fire elemental has the same problem with looking like a fire elemental.

Demons nurture themselves on the memories and emotions of human beings. While they are capable of ingesting normal food it does precious little to feed them. Taking away someone's emotions or memories will, to some extent, feed the demon and make it more powerful. It is, however, much more limited in scope than the power made when creating another demon.

It has been noted that demons have a great aversion to salt. To the extent that some people believe that eating salty foods will prevent you from being possessed by a demon. Salt will force a demon to take a physical body instead of an incorporeal one, as well as leading to numbing pain by mere proximity. Demons are capable of crossing lines of salt, despite what many believe, but the strain of doing so is generally not considered to be worth the effort.

Cambions

Demons are never born, demons are not capable of bearing children. Through the co-operation of a succubi and an incubus they are, however, capable of creating a Cambion. A Cambion rarely comes out as anything more than a normal human though, they are often likely to be heavily affected by the Wyrd and are usually Sensitives. They will always kill their mother during birth, however and they generally end up being misshapen and ugly to look at. Exactly why demons occasionally create Cambions is unknown, they seem to serve no particular purpose besides being reviled by the local populace.

Drakes

Drakes are among the fiercest inhabitants of the Ribs, these huge, winged reptiles are not to be trifled with. Drakes are among the largest creatures in Adylheim capable of unassisted flight. They are fiercely intelligent, territorial and menacing.

Physiology

Drakes are reptilian by nature, their cold blooded systems mean they spend the majority of winter in a semi-hibernated state, conserving the last of their heat on the off chance that they need to use it to repel any wintry intruders.

Drakes have a total of three pairs of limbs, two forelimbs and two back limbs which can both have enough dexterity to serve as hands and are equipped with claws. The third pair of limbs serve as the drake's wings, with damaged wings drakes quickly become incapable of taking to the air.

When airborne drakes usually use their tails as a rudder and spend a lot of time soaring rather than running. In the air they are surprisingly agile for their size and can be a fierce opponent to anyone in their airspace.

All drakes are covered by a set of strong scales that cannot easily be pierced by any weapon. For this reason, lances and similar weapons designed to penetrate the scales are generally recommended for slaying drakes. These scales can be a variety of colours, most drakes are a mottled green, gray and brown, however some are entirely one colour or another. Sometimes rarer metallic colours, reds, blacks, and white drakes also appear. As they grow older drakes typically acquire horns along their spine, tail and also the ridge of their skull. This is especially true for the sires.

There is relatively little difference between the two genders. Sires, the males, tend to be slightly smaller than Ranis, the females, but generally develop larger horns and more distinct features. Sires can also fold out a frill of skin around the back of their skull which gives them their characteristic appearance, this is seldom done outside of courtship rites, however.

Drakes never sleep, much like dolphins they always remain partially awake, with one half of their brain always active. This includes the time they spend hibernating. Drakes refer to their hibernation as the "Dreaming" where they lie and think and wait while their body's metabolism slows to a crawl and preserves their heat and energy till the coming of spring. When spring does come, drakes can often be found basking to regenerate their heat stores.

All drakes are capable of breathing fire and many drakes are born with Fire Talents allowing them to manipulate their fire expertly. The relative common nature of High Magic traits in drakes means almost all of them are capable users of High Magic.

Life Cycle

Drakes are generally born in clutches of 3 or 5, with only one or two living past the first couple of decades. They have among the longest lifespans known on Adylheim, living up to four hundred years. They do not leave their mother's care till they reach the age of a 50 and are completely independent after that. They reach maturity at approximately 150 years of age and will start courting then.

Sires grow up to approximately 14 metres in length, with a ribcage measuring up to 1,5 metres in width. Ranis exceed their male counterparts in size and can grow up to 20 metres in length, their ribcages measuring over 2 metres in width. When drakes reach the apex of their lives, around the end of their third century, most give up mating and withdraw entirely to their lairs.

Culture

While drakes are most definitely intelligent on a level comparable to humans or perhaps even more so there is no specific drake culture. Drakes are loners by nature. They do not congregate except when it's a matter of mating or fighting over territory or resources. Once the sire has mated with the rani, they rarely have further interactions, though the sire will occasionally fight other sires to protect his offspring.

Drakes are fiercely territorial and will fight other drakes that muscle in on their territories. They generally live out of caves which serve as a central point in their territory and everything surrounding that belongs to them according to the thinking of the drake. Any drake moving into this territory will either be violently dispatched or current inhabitant will have to pick up sticks and move. Contrary to what people think of drakes they are capable of working together if they have to, though such occurrences are very rare.

If there is anything drakes are known for it's their ability to think circles around anyone. They're known as master manipulators, often having plans within plans. They often use this intelligence to outthink most who try to match them with their brains. It should be noted that even though they are intelligent, they are not afraid of using brute strength towards intruders. However, they seldom bother to learn the tongues of humans. Partially because they have problems pronouncing it, but mainly because they consider it beneath them. Drakes living near human settlements are more likely to know human tongues, however.

The other thing which drakes guard with their lives is their lair. Generally this is because they have amassed hoards over their long lives. Hoards generally consist of anything from magical artefacts, to knowledge in the form of books and spells, to gold, to battle trophies and other valuable items. Drakes are fiercely protective of their hoards and consider them important, especially sires are known to be protective of them as they will often give especially lucrative items from the hoard to the ranis they're courting. Ranis are known to be less protective of their hoards, but will fight to the death to protect their eggs and can be far more brutal than their male counterparts.

Drakes often collect knowledge, though they have little interest in human civilisation they are not above preying on their wizards for powerful spellbooks or similar. Many drake hoards contain items from abandoned cities where the drakes have gone in to help themselves to the knowledge of those who lived there. Drakes tend to have little interest in knowledge in and of itself though, to them knowledge is a tool to gain more power.

There is no organized religion or anything of the like in drake culture, they believe themselves to be the inheritors of the dragons. Though there is precious little evidence to support this apart from a fleeting resemblance. Along with this belief does come a certain amount of arrogance when dealing with other races, they also have a long history of enslaving or killing and eating any dragonkin that don't do their bidding.

Magic

Most drakes have some innate Talent for High Magic, mostly Fire, though other variants have been known to occur. In addition to their High Magic, however, most drakes bolster their knowledge extensively with Low Magic. Drakes rarely collaborate on Low Magic and never take on apprentices in a similar system to human wizards. However, young drakes will often inherit lairs from older ones enabling them to read the notes left behind, enabling them to continue and elaborate on the works of those who have gone before them. As such, drakes have developed spells and Prime Words that are significantly different from those present in human magic. It is very rare for drakes to take any interest in magical arts outside of Low and High Magic, alchemy and mantra are almost entirely unheard of.

Hunting Drakes

Adding the title drakeslayer to one's name has long been considered the mark of a great warrior in human cultures and as such drakes have often found themselves hunted. To this day the human lands are largely devoid of drakes, though some still survive in the more remote regions.

Hunting drakes, however, is rarely done in outright battle. Usually hunters will wait till winter, when drakes are at their weakest, and light wet fires outside their caves, letting the smoke seep into the drake's lair till it must either emerge or expire from the fumes. Due to their tough scales, the recommended weapons are generally high quality lances or spears.

The revenues from hunting drakes are many, foremost among which is access to the drake's hoard. Much like wizards drakes are prone to leaving magical traps to keep people from touching their hoards, any decent drake hunting party should therefore include a wizard. If a large enough strip of their skin can be salvaged, it can be turned into high quality armour that combines the protection of high quality chainmail with the weight and flexibility of leather armour. Wizards and alchemists have also been known to crave various pieces of drake carcasses for potents spells or experiments and generally pay large sums for them. Drake teeth are also often put into necklaces, as it's believed that they make for decent protection against bad influences for whoever wears them.

Myths & Legends

While drakes have largely stayed out of human politics and rarely feature prominently in the history of Adylheim, they have inspired their fair share of legends. Some believe that drakes enjoy kidnapping the daughters of local nobles and many stories tell of brave knights who venture out by themselves to kill the drake and free the princess. Such myths are generally seen as fiction though as it usually takes a team of men to kill a drake even at its weakest. In legends drakes are most often portrayed as the villain, though a few exceptions do exist, where drakes offer sage advice to fledgling heroes. Though even in those stories the advice generally comes at a heavy price.

There are few myths regarding drakes themselves, though there are some which speak of the very rare white drakes as being just as active in winter and impervious to the cold. Such drakes are so rare though that the veracity of the myth is hard to discern.

Wyverns

Sometimes drake clutches will include a runt drake known as a wyvern. These are generally picked on by their larger siblings and will rarely live past infancy. Wyverns lack the intelligence which drakes demonstrate, but are otherwise similar, although they lack the characteristic front limbs of drakes.

There have, through the ages, been several attempts to domesticate wyverns as flying animals. These have all failed, however. It is possible to teach wyverns to accept riders and to use them for air transport, however, wyverns never become entirely tame and will sooner or later see their riders as merely snacks they're carrying around. All attempts to domesticate wyverns have ended with the wyvern eating its rider.

Wyverns are much rarer than drakes, but can still occasionally be found in the Ribs and there are still those daredevils who try to domesticate them. Some barbarian tribes have even been known to have daredevils who jump onto wyverns and hang there while the wyverns get airborne. It should be noted that the fatality rate in this sport is generally fairly high.

Elementals

Elementals have been known to be openly hostile towards those with High Magic Talents corresponding to their own element and often refer to these as "half-breeds", despite this they remain among the most popular creatures to be summoned as they are generally more reliable than creatures such as Faeries and Demons.

The Elemental Lords

These are the greatest of the Elementals, if there are any greater Elementals than these in existence, they are unknown even to the craftiest of mages. The Elemental Lords are said to be so powerful that they may even grant wishes to those who have summoned them, summoning rituals for such powerful creatures are known to elaborate and extremely taxing, often taking weeks to complete.

Marids

The rulers of Water are known as the Marids, they are towering creatures more at home in water than anywhere else. Their immense bodies are created purely from water and they can only be summoned into the oceans of Adylheim. A single Marid is said to have been the cause of the lost Maradin empire of Tlanti, his anger at being scorned causing their ships and islands to be returned to the sea.

Jinni

The Jinni are the representatives of air. They often appear to have entirely blue bodies which is only marginally opaque, they can command the greatest of winds. There are said to be only four Jinni, each chief over a specific wind, the North Wind is said to be the crueler of the four, while the South Wind is said to be balmier than the others.

Jann

The Jann are the rulers of the Earth Element, they are massive creatures, large as mountains themselves, they are rarely seen with more than their upper bodies clear of the ground. A Jann can will the Earth itself to form around them to form their bodies and there are few mages capable of keeping one under control.

Ifrit

The Ifrit are the kings and queens of Fire. They usually take the form of giant, humanoid shapes wreathed in fire. Their power over fire is extensive to the extent that they can take the very fire from a man's blood or summon up such heat as to set stone and the earth itself alight. Of all the Elemental Lords, they are perhaps the most feared.

Elementals of the Greater Order

Elementals of the Greater Order are those most often seen when summoners bring them in from their respective Planes. While they vary greatly in power and personality they are all powerful creatures not to be trifled with.

Morgens

The Morgens are said to be potent spirits of water, they may occasionally be seen in powerful streams and in the sea on the Plane of Existence but mainly keep to their own Plane. They are powerful creatures in their own right, though keeping them out of water will quickly deteriorate their health. Morgens may call on the powerful forces of cold to aid them, giving them potent weapons in ice and snow against their enemies.

Morgens may take on humanoid forms, but will always appear somewhat fishlike and drenched in water. They usually have several rows or short, sharp teeth. Morgens are given to asking for water as a reward for their services, specifically the water inside a person's body, leaving the wizard anywhere from dehydrated to dead depending on how large the favour needed is. Any rite to summon a Morgen should be done in close proximity to a river or a large body of water.

Rarog

Rarogs are powerful spirits of Air. They often take the form of a whirlwind and can literally rip the skin off a person. They are the fastest of the Elementals and also the most difficult to kill. Their power of the wind allows them to be used as anything from transport to horrifying weapons of war.

Rarogs can only be summoned in open spaces and will quickly wilt if confined. They are generally considered to be hard to deal with as their moods are as shifting as the winds themselves and they may think twice about a deal they have made very quickly.

Oread

Huge creatures of solid rock, the Oreads are the guardians of the Earth Plane. They are the strongest of the Elementals and the best builders. They are known for their extreme patience and their apparent inability to forget any slight. Oreads typically take the form of large humanoids, made entirely of stone or tightly packed earth.

Oreads are typically summoned for their brute force, they make excellent underground excavators though they have great difficulty crossing rivers and streams, often having to tunnel underground to avoid them.

Eldjotnar

Eldjotnar are the spirits of Fire. They are creatures made of pure flame, often changing shape as needed, growing and shrinking in size as they find fuel for their fire. If they run out of fuel or spend too long near water they will reduce in size and power quickly.

Eldjotnar are generally seen as greedy and capricious creatures. They may delight in destruction as much anything else and will often halt whatever they are doing to ensure that they have burnt everything of interest around them. They should usually be summoned into an already burning brazier.

Elementals of the Lesser Order

Elementals of the Lesser Order are the least powerful of the Elementals and are sometimes seen on the Plane of Existence in places where their element is strong.

Undines

Undines are the representatives of water, they are often portrayed as women, but may just as often be male in form. The stories surrounding them often see them in pools in forests and similar, but they are just as often found in rivers and other small outlets. While Undines are not usually malicious by nature, they may, if their ire is raised, draw people to their death by showing them great palaces beneath the water or luring them in with enchanting songs and holding them there till they drown. Undines will rarely leave their pools and will die if removed from the water for too long.

Sylphs

Sylphs are representatives of the element of Air, not much is known about them as they are usually invisible. When they appear before someone they usually take highly abstract forms, appearing as nothing more than ripples in the air.

Sylphs delight in blasts of wind and can often be detected by hearing their laughter on the winds, they are usually drawn to high places and can often be found at the tops of mountains and around tall towers. Those Dragonkin who have managed to contact them have found them to be very incoherent, prone to disappearing without a word and generally with little capability for understanding other life forms. When provoked though, Sylphs can be unforgiving opponents stealing the air from the very lungs of their enemies.

Gnomes

The lowest order of Earth Elemental is the Gnome. It is a minute creature, rarely seen by most. It can sometimes be heard, moving around beneath the dirt. While Gnomes are not as easy to rile up as Undines or Sylphs and is probably the most stable of the elementals, their tempers, once riled last for a very long time. Those who have earned the ire of the Gnomes may find their soil infertile and famine hounding their every step.

In appearance gnomes appear to be made out of the local soil, and usually take a form which vaguely resembles that of a small humanoid. Once removed from the soil in which they live though, a Gnome's body loses coherence and they fall apart and do no reconstitute themselves till the soil their body is made of is once more hidden beneath the earth.

Salamanders

The Elementals of Fire take their lowest form in the Salamanders. These creatures typically take the form of lizards and can usually be found in hot places. They can be found with great regularity in and around the volcanoes which make up the Dae'vol lands. Typically Salamanders look like normal lizards of many shapes, forms and sizes, they are set apart from other lizards in that they have a tendency to start burning whenever they are spooked or agitated.

Salamanders are generally considered to be among the dimmest of the Elementals, they seem to have few needs beyond eating and burning things. Some of them have shown a great deal of cunning though and the more powerful of the Salamanders are unmatched among the lesser Elementals in their capacity for destruction.

Fauna of Adylheim

The majority of normal animals according to biotype can be found in Adylheim. Large predators are kept down through hunting, though wolves and other similar animals are known to attack humans. Animals are hunted to add meat to the diet, but the main diet of the fiefdoms is based around wheat.

The Moonspiders

Moonspiders are delicate, silvery white creatures that come out and sing whenever the moon appears. They are given to lulling people into sleep with their song before covering them with their webs and dragging them down to their lair.

Caladrius

The Caladrius is a rare species of white birds. Their plumage, when it is burned and the resulting smoke inhaled, can cure any disease.

Gargoyles

Created through the use of magic, these creatures are cunning ambush predators made primarily of stone and magic. They are often placed on buildings as guardians.

Ghouls

Ghouls are natural, semi-sentient creatures. They live the majority of their life underground, but are known to haunt cemeteries and catacombs. In these places they live their lives dining on the remnants of those dead. Ghouls are pale and skinny humanoid creatures who can only eat decaying flesh. Fresh meat or vegetables hold no interest for these creatures.

Gnolls & Goblins

Known by various names throughout Adylheim these minute humanoids are rarely much larger than a human fist. They’re stooped creatures, faces hidden behind dirty braids of hair and equally dirty clothing. They are usually seen moving something, perhaps pulling a bag twice their size or a dead pigeon, or otherwise performing some manner of purposeful action, at least to them. They are usually only visible through the corner of the eye or when someone isn’t focusing on them. Some Magical Analysts believe they are inhabitants of one of the Shifting Realms, which explains why they are only occasionally visible as well as the lack of any known habitats for this strange race.

There are many legends and superstitions surroundings these creatures, though mentioning them is generally considered bad luck, so if people notice their presence, they usually will not mention it. Some believe they have some grand, sinister purpose which it is better not to get in the way of, others believe they are merely a pest but it’s better to stay on the safe side.

Dragons

The vastly powerful dragons of old have passed from this world and are rarely found in this day and age. They are said to rival the gods in power, but having no need for worshippers since they created their own servant race in their own image, the Dragonkin. Dragons are said to have been the size of mountains and have left many magical wonders and treasures behind as they moved on from this world.

Hercinia

Hercinia are birds whose plumage glow in the dark. They are rare, but the brilliant glow of their plumage make them a prized catch.

The Walkers

The 13 Walkers are believed by some to be messengers from the gods. Others believe they are an extinct race with power enough to challenge the gods. Very few of them are known and less of them are seen in Adylheim. They seem to have no specific common characteristics though, beyond being known as Walkers. However, they usually take the form of creatures which are vaguely humanoid. The most prominently known of them are the Lord of Ravens and the Hunter.

The Mefici

The Mefici are a crystalloid race who live primarily underground. They do not use magic in any conventional sense. While Mefici may theoretically live forever, they create bodies for themselves when they need to move around. This process takes place in what they refer to as the Flesh Forge, where a flesh body is grafted around the crystal housing their consciousness. This is usually followed by a series of metal plates which protect the body and leave little to be seen. The Mefici communicate through a form of telepathy similar to that of the Dae’vol, though it is reputed as being painful for those who are subjected to it. This is believed to be because of the alien nature of a mind made from stone.

Mefici as a race deal in absolutes and have problems with concepts such as lies and half-truths. The heavily armoured bodies of the Mefici are generally short and squat, but powerful, to allow them passage underground. Mefici naturally exhibit talents of earth manipulation and can often reshape tunnels to be large enough to fit them. The Mefici are excellent smiths, and they are extremely well paid for their products.

Griffins

The griffins are monstrous beasts capable of flight with a man and his bow, plus a good portion of loot he may have acquired. A griffin is a large half bird half lion hybrid, with the head, beak, feet and claws, and wings of an eagle along with the body of a lion. Griffins naturally populate the northern mountains, but are in their greatest populations at the Ribs. They've hollow bones to allow for flight, but are no lesser on the predatory totem pole for it; the only truly competing predator in the Ribs are the Dragonkin, which annihilate the griffin near their cities for their own safety. They are generally utilised by the der Whurlitz Griffin Riders, and possibly barbarian tribes.

Physiology

A griffin is a creature with the body of a lion, and the head, wings, feet, and claws of an eagle. Like a bird, the griffin has hollow bones and strong shoulder muscles for sustaining flight. Your average griffin stands four feet (1.33m) high at the front shoulder and measures nine feet (3m) in length. The largest recorded griffin reached almost five feet (1.66m) in height and eleven feet (3.66m) in length. Griffin’s weigh from six hundred to seven hundred fifty pounds (270kg to 337.5kg) and can carry approximately one hundred seventy pounds of weight (76.5kg) on a thirty mile (48km) trip. Their wingspan is roughly 2.3 times their length.

Griffins are very agile and strong. Due to their weight the griffin is a gliding creature, one that reduces its flapping to a minimum to conserve energy. In the air a griffin can reach great altitude and speed while gliding, all with lethal silence. If a griffin must flap to stay aloft, they cannot flap much longer than five minutes before returning to a sustained glide to rest.

Threat Rating

Griffins, while quite agile and aggressive, aren't too resilient when it comes to taking damage. As their bones are hollow they are easier to break and sever, if you can manage to land a direct hit. Arrows are an easier way to kill the griffin, but you must hit its vitals or it is likely to survive. A griffin has been known to keep flying with its wing shot in the shoulder but it could only glide, not flap its wing.

Feeding

Griffins eat only lightly, but they eat frequently. The griffin is also a strange combination of an omnivore with a carrion feeder, meaning that while they have no compunctions killing for food they're perfectly willing to eat it as it rots. As an omnivore they are capable of existing for some time on grain and some berries, but only for a month or two at a time. A griffin requires adequate meat for health more than any other food, and the easiest sign of a lack of meat is that the feathers will molt and be of poor quality. It is best to feed meat and grain together, if meat rations must be reduced.

Temperament

The griffin is the Rim’s most potent predator and it has the attitude of such. A wild griffin is fiercely independent and is vicious when threatened. Griffins are notoriously aggressive and territorial, known to require almost twenty square miles of territory for a single pair.

It is known that griffins are virtually impossible to tame except when raised from a hatchling state. Even then these are still half wild beasts, submissive and responsive to their handler under most situations. Unlike a dog who might wonder why it got hurt by its master, a griffin-handler would likely be slain if it ever caused its griffin pain—the only exception known being in the tending of wounds.

Intelligence

Griffin are deviously clever, for an animal, and more than capable of learning up to forty two-syllable commands. Like almost all animals they are adept at reading body language, and draw nearly as much inference from the body language of their handler and others as they do from vocal commands.

Griffin are also something different in that they cannot be transferred between handlers. A griffin learns to trust only one person and to accept training and correction from this one person, but once that person dies instinct then takes over and the griffin becomes feral.

The Senses

Griffins have amazing eyesight and are able to pinpoint a goat at one mile in altitude. If they knew the breeds of the goats they wanted they could even identify the type of goat from that height. However, griffins have absolutely no night vision and so cannot fly at night. Secondary senses are its senses of hearing and smell, the weakest being smell.

Mating

Griffins are incapable of having offspring more than once every three years; rarely are as many as two soccer ball-sized eggs laid. Incubation periods of the egg last from six to seven months.

Like some birds of prey, the griffin has its own mating dance. The griffin spar for several minutes in air, then spar during wild acrobatic maneuvers such as barrel rolls and inverse loops. The entire dance could last for as many as five minutes and is performed at absolute top speed. While showy and very risky, there is no intent behind the dance except both mates just showing off.

Lifespan

• 0-1 Years: Infancy.
• 2-8 Years: Youngster, early flight.
• 9-11 Years: Preadolescence, stabilized flight with light loads.
• 12-13 Years: Adolescence, finalizing growth and strength increases.
• 14-45 Years: Adulthood
• 46-70 Years: Old age; cannot carry more than 1 passenger after 65 years.
• 71+ Years: Dead.

Interplanar Creatures

Interplanar creatures are classed as beings which belong on no particular plane, but can be found on many different planes, or travel between them through various methods. Despite this one thing in common, they all have vastly different appearances and features, and behave in wildy different manners. Their purpose or mission is often strange and incomprehensible to the more mundane races.

Collectors

The Collectors are said to stem from the first thing the Gods threw away when making reality. Their purpose is to collect things that others have thrown away. While they are capable of travelling between planes, they typically reside in the spaces between planes which the Gods deigned not to use. Typically Collectors cannot use things that people still use or haven't thrown away. Their own language, for instance, is made up of old languages that have died out and phrases and words that have slipped out of usage. They are not only capable of collecting things, but also knowledge, emotions, souls and similar.

Collectors rarely share a common appearance as they are made up of the things they collect. Whenever a Collector decides to make a new Collector, they are made by things the previous Collector has collected and they may alter their appearance throughout their life. They carry the things in a space behind what one might consider their heads. Collectors are occasionally known as Phlogisii.

Crystalkin

The Crystalkin are a race of magically enhanced humans. According to their own tale, they are planar refugees after their crystalline home plane was destroyed, looking for a new plane on which to settle.

In appearance they are similar to humans, with small veins of crystal seen running along their body. They also tend to be taller and more slender than most other humans. Among their more common garb are cotton robes in pale blue or grey. Their magic bases itself heavily around the use of crystals, some of which they have incorporated into their own bodies, some of which they carry with them.

The Crystalkin are led, in their search, by their Queen, always the eldest female of the royal family of Dimari. Crystalkin can often be found exploring or searching for maps of inhabitable planes, their advanced magical skills allowing them to buy their passage.

Dertakers

Taking their name from an old joke saying that they are the opposite of Undertakers, the Dertakers fulfil an important task in the multiverse. The Dertakers are considered to be a particularly business minded lot, they do not speak to others except to conduct their strange business and ensure that it remains uninterrupted. Dertakers ensure that souls migrating between Realms are equipped with the proper bodies to deal with their new environments.

Dertakers all share a common characteristic, looking vaguely like a grey sheet draped over a body which is vaguely humanoid. Those adventurous enough to look under the sheets have reported that there is nothing under there.

Frigon

Frigon share some characteristic with dolphins, specifically their form. They chase through the planes, surviving on and having an uncanny ability to find reality gnats wherever they may occur. Frigons swim as easily through air as water, though their luminescent forms may be found most often in the Farther Realms, but may occasionally be observed elsewhere.

Mar

The Mar are often mistaken for demons, they shift between two shapes, one which is eerily reminiscent of a pale, overly chubby child, with pointy teeth and claws, the other is usually some manner of scavenging bird, usually equivalent of whatever is best suited for the environment in which they find themselves.

The Mar appear wherever there is a crisis, or a battle of large enough scope. Wherever there is enough loss of life, the Mar will eventually appear. The amount will usually vary depending on the size of the crisis in question.

Reality Gnats

Reality Gnats are usually more at home in the Farther Realms than elsewhere, they can be found on most planes though and are often mistaken for ghosts. Reality Gnats aren't so much creatures in their own right as breaches in reality, their entire being, to those who can sense them, often appears to be no more than a breath of colour on the wind.

Reality Gnats borrow intelligence from nearby creatures and may mimic them, instantly picking up languages, memories and similar but are rarely capable of putting it together in any kind of coherent way. Therefore they often mumble incoherent sentences (which are usually heard as a whisper) and generally take on almost transparent appearances from the memories of those around it.

Viators

Said to originate from some of the more peculiar planes, the Viators are explorers and occasionally traders. They find the environments in most planes hostile and travel in magical suits which protect them from the heavy air in these places. These magical suits often take an appearance similar to quicksilver and give little indication of the creatures beneath them. These suits change shape to fit the needs of the individual Viators, sometimes creating hands, feet or even mockeries of human shapes when they need to. However, no one knows what they look like beneath these suits as a rupture in the suit has always caused the living being inside them to implode.

The Viators travel the high skies of planes in their floating ships, as at home in the air as on the water. Communicating with them beyond the most basic has proved troublesome as their suits do not allow for telepathy or sound to penetrate and there is no common ground in terms of a written language.

Snerk

The Snerk are a race of strange, semi-intelligent animals that live in the tall mountains of northern Adylheim.

Appearance

Snerks look a lot like satyrs, they stand on two backwards-bent legs and have two hands. Their legs end in hooves, whereas their hands have strong eagle-like claws. Their whole body is covered in fur, mostly brown in summers and mostly white in winters. Their head, unlike satyrs' resembles that of deer, with bright yellow eyes and large brown, black or white antlers. Unlike normal deer, snerks don't lose their antlers each year and instead grow them all their life. The loss of an antler results in the snerk going into depression, when he stops eating and therefore dies in a couple of weeks or a few months.

Habitat and behaviour

Snerks are herbivorous, they feed upon grass, leaves, moss and tree bark when food is scarce. The creatures habit the Northern lands of Adylheim and are found primarily in Starkwater, Nevros and the Ribs further away from human life. Snerks are timid and non violent creatures that take their solitude from other beings but themselves and other smaller animals. The creatures can usually be found living alone or in groups up to three and at most four in one large vicinity. Snerks mate once every three or five years, producing no more than two offsprings. Unfortunately, a lot of young snerks die due to their dangerous habitat.

An interesting part of a snerks lifestyle is its everyday labour. When a snerk isn't sleeping, eating or otherwise occupied, from morning to late evening they climb a mountain up and down carrying large boulders on their antlers to a certain high place in the mountain. They create piles of boulders which eventually crumble down the mountain destroying a few days, weeks or even months of the snerk's labour. When the rocks crumble down snerk can be found in depression for a couple of days and then they start their work all over again. Snerks change their rock piling location after the third or fifth avalanche or if they sense too much human or other being presence. Why snerk pile rocks in high places of mountains is a mysterious and unknown reason.

Value

Snerk fur in quality and use is as valuable as that of a normal deer. Even so some people like hanging it on walls or demonstrating the fur in other ways. Snerk meat is edible, however tasteless, therefore most of the time it is not used. The antlers on the other hand have a high value, not only for their beauty, but also for their strength. Snerk antlers are larger and more beautiful, even though similar to deer antlers. The antlers do not break under big weight and are hard to damage or remove from the body in general. Due to the hard to get to habitat that snerks live in and their scarce population they are not a popular hunting animal.

Trolls

Trolls are one of the largest races known, they are typically almost twice as tall as a human and normally have the strength to back their size up. Their skin is rougher than human skin, and have about the same toughness as leather. Their skins usually range from pale pink to darkish brown with the occasional grey. For the most part they appear to be cast in the image of humans, their bodies are very similar. However, trolls are usually hairier than humans, their noses, eyes and ears are larger in proportion to their heads and their mouth is often filled with terrible fangs. Some trolls have been known to let moss, and other small plants, grow in the crevasses of their leathery skins, typically it appears to be the equivalent of wearing jewellery in a human.

Trolls are typically nocturnal creatures and rarely come out during the day, their eyes allowing them to see in all but total darkness. During the day, trolls typically sleep in a state where they barely seem to breathe at all. Which has lead to many myths that they turn to stone if they see the sun. The sun is likely to blind a troll though.

While trolls are born much like humans, with two arms, two legs and one head with all the proper attachments, this form may change as they age. Unique among the creatures that inhabit Adylheim the trolls possess the ability to appropriate extremities and other body parts from each other, as long as these body parts are in a fairly useable condition. Trolls will therefore sometimes be seen as having three or more heads supported on their shoulders, or sharing an eye between themselves or with more arms than the normal complement. Such grafts are not always successful and these extra body parts may be as much of a nuisance as anything else, it is not unknown, for instance, for a two headed troll to be arguing with itself.

Environs

Trolls are typically found within the confines of the Ribs. They rarely live in the lowlands beneath the hills and prefer the plentiful caves found here for shelter. While trolls are occasionally found in the northern Ribs, typically they live in the eastern Ribs, east of the ogre lands.

Their rampant territoriality often leads to them having altercations with the Dragonkin and Drakes who also inhabit these mountains, although the reason for this is not always as simple as other creatures infringing on their territory, sometimes it is to enrich themselves of the treasures which these other creatures hold.

In the few cases that trolls have made it to the relative civilization of the fiefdoms they have been known to trade their caves for the shady comforts of bridges, where they can hide from the sun they so despise. They have shown little interest in using human buildings as shelter.

Organization

Trolls are not the brightest of creatures and do not really have much by way of organization. Typically they have simple families living together in caves, these families rarely numbering more than four or five individuals, once they are of age the children will move out and form families of their own.

They may occasionally form larger bands to raid settlements, on these occasions the question of leadership will often come up and rarely be resolved. Unless there is someone who is clearly larger and stronger than the others, this position will often be shared between several who deem themselves the boss, this is rarely a position which goes by without violence.

Culture and Technology

Trolls do not have much by way of a culture. They are capable of rough buildings, primarily by piling rocks and logs on top of each other but advanced architecture escapes them. They have also been known to occasionally pursue agriculture and the raising of livestock with some success but they have shown little interest in these things beyond their ability to produce food for them.

Trolls have not discovered the secrets of making alcoholic beverages, though they will gladly raid nearby tribes for such drinks. Despite their love for alcohol, trolls are notorious lightweights and are incapable of drinking anyone under the table. When they do have alcohol on their hands though, they will usually arrange great feasts wherein these liquors are consumed.

Religious rites and similar are pretty much unheard of in troll culture, however they have been known to swear at the sun frequently and they consider it an enemy of their people. By the same token, they often greet the rising moon with enthusiasm, claiming it as their protector from the sun.

Their language is said to be related to that of Ogran, but even less complex than this. Though the two languages are somewhat mutually intelligible, the two races rarely get on and frequent violent clashes between the two at the borders of their respective domains are a common occurrence. While trading with trolls appears to be all but impossible given that they have little interest in such things as maintaining relationships, why trade something next year when you can keep your wares and steal his now? Despite this, trolls seem to have an interest in procuring valuable gems and metals and adding them to their hoard. While they have no particular need for these beyond a magpiesque drawing to shiny items, they seem to put much stock by them and often gather as much of it to their caves and homes as they can get their hands on.

Upok

An Upok stands five feet tall and weighs 100-150 lbs. Their bodies are brown, fur-covered and shaped like a disc that is oriented parallel to the ground when standing. They have six legs arranged like spokes on a wheel about the rim of the disc. The two front legs also double as club-hands devoid of opposable digits.

Each leg is a foot and a half long and has one knee which bends toward the body. On top of the disc are two stalks containing mouths. Their lips each have a prehensile nub protruding from them at the fattest point. The Upok uses the lip-nubs as fingers to grip and manipulate things.

Upok have incredibly dense arrangements of vocal chords, three sets in total, all of which can be activated at once in either or both throats. The throat-stalk itself is also prehensile and can hold the weight of the creature for up to a minute or so, depending on the strength of the Upok. In the rim of the disc, on the front face, four eyes are arranged laterally between the front two legs.

The brain is located at the center of the body's disc and the organs are arranged below that. All the organs hang from the skeleton of the creature, which is conical and protects the Upok from falling hazards. They can sit on the ground to further protect themselves, biting with their flat teeth to dissuade predators.

Biology

Upok are never born. Rather, they are created by the conjoining of two sub-species, the Lue and the Rue, jointly called the Ue (pronounced 'ooh' with a faint suggestion of 'eh' at the end). These two sub-species are visually very similar to each-other, but there are significant biological and psychological differences between them. They are completely interdependant for procreation, as only an Upok can give birth to new Lue or Rue.

A Lue is logical. Lue can speak and perform radically complex calculations. They have difficulty understanding humor. Many assume they are emotionless, but this is not the case. They simply do not understand the importance of displaying their emotions outwardly. Lue cannot draw maps or visualize things; instead, they symbolize everything they see. Lue obey all rules regardless of their origin, and as a result are very easily tricked.

Rue are spatial. They can draw amazingly well and are known to be humorists. They have a severely limited vocabulary compared to the Lue. Many assume they are stupid because they have difficulty symbolizing the world around them. To a Rue, the world cannot be symbolized. They react to their environment however they feel is most appropriate at the time. Rue are incapable of comprehending rules and are impossible to train.

Lue and Rue both come in two types: Left and Right. Only a Left and a Right can combine to form an Upok.

Types of Lue and Rue

Left Rue

Right Rue

Left Lue

Right Lue

Types of Upok

A Rue-Lue pairing is called an Upok. It will give birth to Ue of the same sex and sidedness as the dominant Ue in the pairing.

A Lue-Rue pairing is called an Upok. It will give birth to Ue of the same sex and sidedness as the dominant Ue in the pairing.

A Rue-Rue pairing is called a Rupok, and is sterile. It has other skills that make it useful to Upok society.

A Lue-Lue pairing is called a Lupok, and is sterile. It has other skills that make it useful to Upok society.

Rue and Lue weigh anywhere from 50 to 75 lbs fully grown. Their brainless heads are set upon a stalk leading down to a half-disc-shaped body with three legs, one of which doubles as a secondary hand. The stalk atop their bodies is prehensile and contains a large mouth which functions as the primary hand. The mouth has long, sensitive lips which double as opposable fingers. An Ue's lips are more agile and sensitive than human fingers. They have incredible pitch and range of speaking.

Conjoining

When a Lue or Rue reaches a certain age they find a partner and join to it. They do this by excreeting a natural glue and sticking themselves bodily to their lifelong partner. When the tiny ridges in their bodies line up, glands activate and secreet a biological glue which is so strong that the Upok will be ripped to chunks before the bond ever breaks. The glue coats the left-hands side of a right or the right-hands side of a left. When a left and a right join, the join is permanent, and the new creature is called simply an Upok. If the joined partner is also the opposite sex, the Upok can then have children. Otherwise the Upok is sterile. Typically, if the Upok's right side is male, the Upok's children will all be male. If the Upok's right side is female, the Upok's children will all be female. There are exceptions, as when the left-side member of the union is dominant, in which case children will be that sex.

From the moment of joining, the soft area of the body conjoining the two creatures begins to dissolve and the left-brain and right-brain begin to entangle each-other. The right-hand member of the joining is typically dominant, though not always.

Physically, an Upok (or variant) has six legs, two of which double as club-hands, and a disc-shaped body with two mouth-stalks prodruding upwards. It has four eyes and speaks simultaneously from both mouths, usually in harmony.

Sexes?

Lue are not true females, just like Rue are not true males. Rather, they are biologically independant (to a certain age) halves of a whole. It became easier to call the Lue female due to the fact that they have the birthing canal prominent on the bottom of their bodies, but evidence has been found that the Rue are the egg producers. To complicate things further, each Ue has a single testicle and neither can produce sperm until the union is complete. For all these reasons, the Ue have been divided into two sub-species rather than two sexes. An Ue who does not conjoin before the age of 15 dies of biological complications.

Upok, Rupok and Lupok

A double-Rue, called a Rupok, is whimsical and often has severely stunted attention span. They are natural musicians, singing with both mouths to create beautiful harmonies. They are empathetic to a fault, sometimes even dying of sympathy pain when loved ones are badly injured.

A double-Lue, called a Lupok, is cerebral in the extreme. They often die sooner than Rupok or Upok due to emotional distress, being unable to effectively release emotional stress. They often speak twenty or more languages and can process information at a blinding speeds.

An Upok is a healthy balance of the two, but lacks the super abilities of either.

Society

Upok live in only one place in Adylheim; the forests of Southwestern Andragoria. They level the ground beneath the trees and build a single massive roof seven feet tall to prevent falling branches. All Upok fear things falling on them as they are unable to look up. Upok will defend Lupok and Rupok mercilessly, as they highly prize their skills. Upok society is classless. They also fear to leave the safety of the trees, and when a humanoid or other sentient is spotted an Upok is dispatched to do everything possible to draw the potential intruder away. This Upok is mourned as if it were dying, regardless of the threat it faces. Upok returning from this duty are hailed as heroes. Upok are inherently skittish herbivores.