Bestiary

A list of some creatures of note.

Basilisks
Basilisks are a collection of beaked serpents that use their beautiful singing voices as an offensive weapon. In the wild basilisks use their voices to stun their prey into immobility. Basilisks who have grown up near human settlements have found a variety of uses for their voices. These uses run the gambit from marvelous to terrifying.


 * Cave Basilisk: Cave Basilisks use their voices to steal the dreams and memories of their prey. Testimonials from survivors of this process make it clear that the victim actually experiences their memories in vivid detail as they're being consumed. Cave basilisks are not considered dangerous because they rarely go out of their way to hunt prey, instead choosing to linger around battlefields and stockades, eating the dreams of the doomed.
 * Sea Basilisk: Sea Basilisks are the least dangerous form of basilisk. They do not hunt humans and can be heard in some locations singing their songs. Sea basilisk songs are always heard as a feminine voice either humming or singing in the listener's native tongue. Sea basilisk songs bear an unfortunate resemblance to siren songs, which are equally pleasant but with a more sinister end goal.

Demons
Often mistaken for spirits, demons are non-physical otherworldly entities that act on a variety of motivations. Unlike spirits demons take a hearty interest in human activities and will go out of their way to intervene in human affairs. Demons have no physical form that they can take, and instead manifest exclusively through possession. Demons are classified according to which kinds of things they are capable of possessing. Each tier is named after the person who discovered it.


 * Durand Demons: These demons possess small objects and occasionally animals. Durand demons are, in general, lazy and detest activity of any kind. An object possessed by a Durand demon will become useless over time. The best way to cure a Durand possession is to abandon whatever object the demon has possessed
 * Kanaaq Demons: These demons can possess people and sometimes crowds. These are by far the least pleasant form of demon, as they are always driven to inflict misery of one form or another. Kanaaq demons can only be banished by ritual sacrifice of the possessed person, otherwise a Kanaaq demon can only be passed from host to host.
 * Pit Demons: Pit demons are tricksters at heart and only cause lasting harm by accident. Pit demons possess environments, buildings, and herds of animals. Pit demons are hypothesized as one possible source of "curses" in the world.
 * Parsival Demons: The existence of Parsival Demons is a hotly contested question among academics and demon hunters. Parsival demons, if they exist, are the most powerful but least ambitious of the bunch. Parsival demons possess kingdoms, eras, terrains, and sometimes deities. Parsival demons make their influence known over decades and centuries and are incredibly difficult to detect.

Dragons
Dragons are morphologically related to whales, although the extent of this similarity is difficult to ascertain because most people who see dragons do not live to give their testimonials. Dragons are pack animals that prowl deep waters, especially the depths of the Middle Seas. The Tarowak have developed elaborate rituals for warding off dragons, but outside observers have noticed that the most potent "magic" that the Tarowak employ against dragons is simply avoiding them at all costs.


 * Razorback: Named for its cursory resemblance to the harmless razorback whale, razorback dragons are the stealthiest of all dragonkind. They stalk ships or fleets for days before attacking and they like to destroy a ship's rudder before leaving a ship stranded in the middle of the ocean.

Minguses
Minguses come in two main types, the harmless land mingus and the vicious sea mingus.


 * Land Mingus: The humble Land Mingus ranges from the size of a puppy to the size of a small human family. Land minguses are composed almost entirely of edible meat and it's a wonder that they haven't been hunted to extinction.
 * Sea Mingus*: Sea minguses are nearly morphologically identical to land munguses, except that their size ranges from that of a large junk to that of a small treasure ship. Like their lesser brethren, sea minguses are composed almost entirely of edible meat, but that meat is much harder to get at given their propensity to sink ships and shrug off all but the most devastating of blows.

Whales
Whales are essentially very large fish. They regularly surface for reasons unknown, but it likely has something to do with their hunting habits. Most whales are not dangerous in and of themselves, but seeing one of these whales is still a sign of danger that should not be ignored since where there are whales, there are dragons.