Myths and Legends: Creatures

The following is a list of creatures that are extremely rare or considered to be mythological because they haven't been confirmed to exist). Some of these are related to The Tragedy of Demechrelle and The Legend of the Oiriopata.

The following creatures are detailed:

- The Serene Specter

- Phantasms

- Dracaenas

- The Grand Echydin, Typheon

- Rhoed Beasts

- Khamin Atasiero

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The Serene Specter

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Danger: Varies (Presume Moderate)

Of the many ghosts that have allegedly been seen wandering the ruins of Tenebra, one stands out for her beauty and regal grace. She is "the Serene Specter," also known as "the Queen's avatar." Unlike the other ghosts, this spirit is not limited to wandering the ruins; some have claimed to see her admiring the Chordoni Waterfalls.

The nature of this lovely spirit is uncertain. Some have suggested that she is a manifestation of Déméchrelle's subconscious mind, capable of acting independently of her giantess self. She is able to go between solid and spiritual states at will, meaning her body becomes just as tangible as a living person. According to the eye witnesses, the spirit has fair skin, a number of dark patches on her arms and the side of her face, long black hair, and wears an exquisite dress. This appearance may have been chosen because it's the way that Déméchrelle remembers herself, before she became what she is now. It's probably safe to assume that when Déméchrelle awakes, her avatar will rejoin with her; but it is very unlikely the Queen of Darkness will know what her subconcious mind has been up to. But that, of course, is still just speculation.

This lovely spirit typically avoids adventurers, as the tales go, but she will smile at the adventures if they wave to her and greet her. She has even been said to give directions to those who have asked her for them, but she warns adventures against entering the Evernight Forest. Stranger yet, there was an incredible myth circulating that a man had actually courted the specter for a number of years. Sadly, in the end that man broke her heart and had a terrible curse placed on him. Although the few that have seen her reported the luminous spirit to be very inviting, approaching her is highly discouraged. She is said to possess incredible supernatural powers that she uses to protect herself against perceived threats and is just as willing to kill apparently. But just who does she consider a threat? That is a question that may be best left unanswered.

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Phantasms

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Danger Level: Very high

Occurrence: Very rare (None are believed to currently exist in Felarya but it is still possible)

Described by Heseodorus The Great Storyteller as ghastly spirits born out of torment and hatred, Phantasms are extremely dangerous beings that can often even possess living creatures. The myth of their origin states that emotions in sentient creatures generate powerful energies and these energies were cruelly extracted in great amounts then bound to spirits of slain subjects by three wicked giantesses thousands of years ago. These beings teeming with negative emotional energies also develop affinities, or alignments; essentially becoming embodiments of rage, fear, despair, envy, remorse, sorrow, lust, and malice. They can be considered a type of Elemental. Similar to the powers of wrath maidens, anyone near Phantasms will be overwhelmed by their energies. A Phantasm of Fear will fill other beings with the emotion of fear, sometimes to the point of immobilizing them.

Phantasms began a habit of feeding on souls many years ago. When feeding without a physical body, Phantasms will often rip souls from living creatures and swallow them. Phantasms prefer to reside in a physical body, however, and will digest the soul while their physical body digests the body of their prey. If their possessed body is too small to swallow a prey whole the Phantasm can still suck the soul out of their prey but they will also have to find food to sustain their physical body. Since Phantasms are incredibly powerful they can endow their physical body with supernatural strength, flexibility, and even psionic powers.

In a period of great conflict in Felarya, the Phantasms appeared with intentions to plunge the world into chaos. The inhabitants of Felarya were said to have had their hands full with a more significant threat so the Phantasms were able to move about without much harassment until they were finally discovered and driven out. To speak on where the Phantasms are currently would be pure speculation but as long as their creators are believed to still exist, there’s no reason to suggest they won’t return to Felarya someday with intentions to spread chaos, hatred, and despair. In all actuality, there’s no reason to believe that a small number of Phantasms aren’t still walking the land today. As the legendary Heseodorus once said, “As long as there exists pain, there will be nightmares born from it.”

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Dracaenas

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Driven to the brink of extinction by hunters, the Dracaenas possessed such an incredible magical ability that stories involving them spread far across the multiverse. Many described them as hideous giants with scaly humanoid heads and torsos, and snake tails starting at their hips. They were also known for having featherless wings in place of arms, sails on their tail, fangs that protruded from their mouths, and eyes that could transform any non-reflective matter they observed into precious stones and metals. Their serpentine bodies were not as long as some other serpentine creatures. The Dracaenas' bodies are geared towards flight, therefore are shorter and feature sails along their tails that spread wide at the end when he/she goes airborne. The Dracaenas rarely ever ate humanoids but were notorious for their aggression towards them. It may have been the Dracaenas acting out of fear of humankind because they were being head-hunted for the ability that their eyes had to change non-reflective matter into precious stones and metals. Although the extremely high level of training required to perform the transformations was rarely accomplished by a Dracaena, it was widely believed that all Dracaenan eyes had the capability and that any humanoid in possession of them could learn to use their power.

It was said that the Dracaenas' eyes had six levels of power that could be attained. At the first level, the Dracaenas eyes could cause organic matter to harden to the point of brittleness. It was very effective at slowing a moving creature down. But it took at least five minutes of direct focus on a target to achieve the maximum effect and was irreversible at that point. Few Dracaenas put for the effort to go beyond this first level as it satisfied a basic need for a defense mechanism against predation. It was also believed that Dracaenas put very little value into shiny objects. The following levels, two through six, brought the ability to transform matter into ruby, sapphire, emerald, silver, and gold. At the peak of the sixth level, the Dracaenas eyes' ability to transform non-reflective matter into precious stones and metals was at its fastest; in extremely rare cases being instantaneous.

Of all the Dracaenas ever mentioned in mythology, only three were born with the ability to transform matter. Of the three sisters, all but one of their names were lost in time. Her name was Alur. All three of these sisters were said to be truly rare specimens. So beautiful were these Dracaenas that no man who gazed upon their face could bring himself to strike either of the three sisters down. It took a warrior who was highly skilled at fighting without his sight and wearing full reflective armour to slay the youngest of the sisters. As legend goes, Alur's head was gifted to Thesilea, the Queen of the Oiriopata, who had the slain Dracaena's head forged into a magical golden shield. As for the fate of the other two sisters and the rest of the Dracaena species, mythology has offered many possibilities but none have been widely accepted.

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The Grand Echydin, Typheon

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Size: 70 ft (21 m)

Danger: Critical (possibly Extreme)

Spoken of in only the most fantastic tales, this gargantuan version of the Echydin is said to gallop on the edge of reality. His mane and tail glows brightly with sparkling light. With winged legs, Typheon makes the air his ground. He could easily use them to streak across the sky like a shooting star, but it isn't necessary for a creature capable of manipulating gravity with the magical horn on his head. By increasing, decreasing, and directing gravity; time and space are at its mercy. In little time at all, what's far becomes near and what's near becomes far. A mountain is crushed into a singularity. Time itself seems to slow or speed up in Typheon's presence.

The mythical creature is, or was, no hero. His reasons for fighting were always self-serving. Typheon was spoken of in many legends as an insecure creature that tried to crush any rival to his own power. He was fiercely territorial and rarely left his domain for anything that didn't concern him. He is said to reside somewhere in the uncharted west, but it has also been said that Typheon was among the many mythical beings killed in past battles for the fate of Felarya.

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Rhoed Beasts

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Size: 3 - 5 feet

Danger: Medium - High

Allegedly found in the Jungle of Perils, The Rhoed Beast is nothing short of a monster with serious anger issues. This humanoid creature is covered in red, armor-like scales and has black stripes. It has black horns protruding menacingly from its shoulders and the knuckles on its fists. It has spikes along its brow and mouth full of dagger-like teeth. The Rhoed Beast, also has a reptilian tale with large spikes at the end that it swings violently. Every part of this creature hints that it was designed to kill with the highest efficiency by some sick minded creator.

The Rhoed Beast in its calmest state has a frame resembling a miniature human, but when enraged it somehow increases in size and becomes a weapon of mass destruction; and it doesn't take much to enrage one. There have been tales of Rhoed Beasts being shot hundreds of times and it only making them angrier, spikier, and larger. There have even been reports of a Rhoed Beast taking on at least 30 men.

Whether these tales are true or not, no one knows for sure. But they have spawned tons of merchandise in cities like Negav; ranging from toys, to fitness drinks, and even workout equipment. In the black market, there has been an increase in the demand for Rhoed Beast saliva which is believed to contain strength increasing properties. But these injections have been rumored to carry lethal side effects, including heart failure soon after an injected person enters a "Rhoed Rage."

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Khamin Atasiero

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Named by the ancient Oriopata and currently nicknamed the "walking skies," the Khamin Atasiero are unfathomably tall spirits that walk the Felaryan plane. Their heads are said to breach the limits of the sky. It is believed that only four of these legendary giraffe-shaped beings exist and they are extremely hard to find, even being as big as they are. Their bodies are light blue and transparent, and their graceful footsteps are so gentle that they couldn't crush a blade of grass. The Khamin Atasiero are said to consume the evil energies released in the world, which prevents the build-up from materializing into something that could threaten Felarya. The ancient spirits can not be harmed by any attacks dealt by one with evil intent, but someone acting purely on duty or without evil intent could bring one of these spirits down; an act that is ill-advised because the sudden release of concentrated evil into the area could produce regrettable results.