Amstaadian Flora and Fauna

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Sharnaal Tree

Physical description: 90 ft. tall fully grown, on average. Thick trunk. Bark has deep, reddish-brown grooves. Trunk is branchless until about 30 feet up, at which point many long, thin, leafy branches appear. Leaves are arrow-shaped and dark green, and have a dark red border on the fringe of the leaf. Thousands of thin vines with thorny ends descend from the branches all the way to the forest floor, forming a cascade of vines that fill the area underneath the branches.

The vines are coated in a neurotoxin that quickly paralyzes any creature that touches them (within 20 seconds). When the vines are disturbed, thousands of them begin to entwine the helpless victim, raising them up into the branches and using their thorny ends to pierce the victim's body. The blood flows down the grooves in the bark and into the soil around the trunk, where it is absorbed by the roots. The bloodless bodies of the tree's victims eventually become skeletons which stay among the branches, impaled by branches and riddled with vines. These trees are rare, but are often called Bone Trees by young children, as the occasional skull can be seen peering out from behind the thick leaves.

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Mikri

Physical Description: 3" long, locust-like insect. The mikri has 6 legs, the back pair being longer, hunched, and used for leaping. The back legs have sharp spines protruding out of them, but all legs end in tiny claws for gripping onto plant stalks and leaves. The mikri has a hard exoskeleton, usually greenish-brown in color. The head of the mikri is resembles that of a grasshopper or locust, but with two main differences: the mikri has a tinier pair of antennae surrounding its longer ones, and its mandibles are larger than normal, adapted to quickly consume food as well as deal a painful bite, often drawing blood. The mikri's most notable features are its wings, which when expanded, are a brilliant blue.

Life-Cycle: The mikri starts out as a tiny white egg, about the size of a BB. The egg hatches in late spring and releases a mikri nymph: a smaller, paler version of the adult mikri, with a softer carapice, less-developed hind legs, and no wings. Over the next 3 months the mikri develops to its adult phase, also growing wings (and eating continuously the entire time). Finally the mikri takes flight in search of other foods. In the late autumn the mikri mate, the female eating the male directly afterward. The female mikri will hide herself away by either burrowing underground or hiding in the trunk of a tree to stay out of the winter cold. During this time the mikri effectively shuts down its bodily functions for the entire winter, emerging after the thaw of spring. The mikri then lays 5-15 eggs, which are almost completely developed at this point. Unfortunately for the mother mikri, the mass of the eggs have almost completely taken over her body, and she is literally nothing more than a living incubator. Giving birth tears out most of her vital organs, and the mother mikri crawls a short distance away and dies.

Eating Habits: Mikri are omnivorous, feasting readily on both plants and flesh. Mikri usually won't attack animals that are able to defend themselves, but will attack injured animals. Many a time a farmer has gone to check on an injured animal only to find it dead, missing a large chunks of flesh as the mikri has quickly gone to work.

Mikri are almost never found inside large cities, but are semi-rare pests of farms and gardens. Most wear thick gloves when dealing with them, due to their spines and painful bite. Though these creatures are largely individual, approximately every 14 years millions of mikri gather

en masse

, growing more violent than usual and terrorizing small farming communities and occassionaly large cities that they happen to fly over.

Mikri emit a chirping/screeching noise like a grasshopper, locust, or cricket by rubbing their legs and wings together. A few mikri creating this noise is harmless, but when the creatures swarm, the noise becomes deafening, and resembles the screaming of a baby. This "swarm-noise" has a curious effect on women, hypnotically entrancing them into believing that the noise is their own child crying out in pain (whether the woman has had children or not). There have been recorded cases of women rushing out of their homes, which had been barricaded against swarm attack, to help their "babies", only to be set upon by the mikri swarm, which leaves only the women's bones behind.

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Yeah, I was bored.

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Chamidis

Physical Description: Annual flowering plant, averaging 1 ft. in height. Has light green leaves in bunches of 3 all over the stalk of the plant. Flower resembles an orchid, and is typically a deep rose color, with spots of lighter yellow. The subtle, relaxing scent of this flower means that it is often grown inside homes to relieve stress.

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Wolf

Slightly larger than their Earth cousins, but I don't believe they need any other explanation.

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Falcon

In nature, fierce birds of prey. Used by peopel to hunt game, as well as for scouting ahead.

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Cat

Coming in a variety of shapes, colors, breeds, etc. Many are domesticated as pets, but some run wild.

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Dryad

Demihuman. Shorter than most humans.

Dryads are always female, capturing human males to use for mating and then releasing them. The soul of a dryad is tied to a particular tree in their home grove, and if the tree is destroyed or sickly, the dryad dies or is ill as well. The appearance of the dryad is always directly tied to that of the tree, as well, and changes according to the appearance of the tree and the season.

Spring

hair - light brown, blonde, or pale green
skin tone - lightly tan

Summer

hair - dark green or dark brown
skin tone - tan

Autumn

hair - red, orange, blonde, brown
skin tone - bronzed

Winter

hair - black, white, brown, grey
skin tone - pale

Of course there are exceptions, for example a dryad whose tree is an evergreen or whose tree is in an area that doesn't experience a certain season or whose tree has curiously-colored striations in the leaves (reflecting as streaks in the hair, etc.)

Basically the dryad reflects the color/condition of their tree. Most of the time dryads live in a closely-knit community in their grove, guarding their trees protectively. Some, however, do go out into the world for adventure. All dryads are somewhat mischievous in nature, and always stop travellers through the forest to seduce.

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Sharks

Many species, like our modern sharks, and rumors abound of sharks large enough to sink a boat (Carcharadon Megalodon, perhaps...?).

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Hareesh

Physical description: Large, whale-like creatures. Hareesh resemble a slightly smaller, more attractive humpback whale. Their skin is an unusual iradescent green and blue, often freckled with shiny, pearl-like bumps.

Hareesh live in the deep ocean, though they occasionally will swim close to shore. They are quite playful and intelligent, often swimming alongside boats. Sometimes, if a captain frequents the same waters for an extended amount of time, the same hareesh will follow them around every time, almost like a guardian. Legends abound among sailors of hareesh that have defended boats from attack and even saved the lives of sailors, so they are held in extremely high regard among mariners, and it's considered good luck to see one.

The hareesh make many noises, ranging from a whistle that is almost like laughter to deep, threatening-sounding clicks to low, melancholy songs that one can hear late at night on the open sea. The hareesh's clicks act as sort of a sonic deterrent to sharks in particular and not other fish, which is another reason that hareesh are well-liked by fishermen.

The hareesh primarily feeds on plankton, algae, small crustaceans, and small fish.

Unfortunately, the hareesh has recently become a hunted animal in some areas. Hunting boats are used to harpoon a hareesh and drag it to shore. The pearl-like growths on the hareesh's skin are then sold as jewelry, and the shimmery greenish oil that covers the animal's skin and gives it its iradescent shine is used in dye, producing a brilliant, emerald green cloth. Hareesh products are generally sold for extremely high prices and are a sign of wealth. The killing of hareesh is looked down upon in most port towns, but the business continues to grow, particularly in wealthy areas of towns.

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Abyssid

Abyssids are pale, humanoid creatures that live in caverns and caves beneath the world's surface. They resemble humans, but are somewhat shorter, with pale (nearly translucent) skin flecked with greyish-green blotches, and they are totally hairless. They are completely blind, with eyes that are either pale blue or totally white. Due to their lack of vision, they hunt by emitting shrill screams and clicks and use echolocation to find their prey. Abyssids are usually slight of build, almost to the point of appearing emaciated, to help them slip through the thin cracks in the rock. Their fingers end in tapered points, used to climb rock walls and grasp onto victims. They have numerous needle-like teeth which they use to tear out their victims' throats, and then feast on the body later.

Abyssids are unabashed carnivores. The majority of the time they will feed on shrimp, fish, crayfish, and other animals within the cave, but occasionally they will venture outdoors after dark, hunting other prey, including humans.

Little is known about the organization of Abyssids. They appear to lack sentience, and live in small groups of around 30-40, never with any sort of leader. They are rarely documented, as they live deep within the earth (and many who happen upon them don't return). They are rumored to have descended from the Mar-Dejir, a human sect that worships the earth god and lives deep within caves. The Mar-Dejir deny having any connection to the "abominations", however, so the origin of the Abyssids remains a mystery.

It's also worth noting that their name is a misnomer; they aren't demons.

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The idea was almost entirely stolen from The Descent, by the way.

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Geest

These unusual creatures are sometimes referred to as "will-o'-the-whisp", "marshfire", "swamp candles", and "puffer worms".

The Geest is a foot-long, slug-like creature that lives in damp places, typically swamps. Their skin is pale, translucent orange, with four eye stalks rising out of their head. While Geest have no sense of vision as we understand it, they have an acute sense of smell, and smell by extending the eye stalks.

Normally the Geest is nothing more than a long worm, but when it desires to move around, it begins a marvelous transformation. It starts to suck air into its body via thousands of tiny holes all over its skin. As it sucks in air, the Geest will start to grow larger and larger, expanding its body. It continues to expand until its skin is stretched, translucent, and the Geest resembles a large balloon, over two feet in diameter. The Geest then begins to secrete its own chemical within itself. This chemical reacts with the gas inside to form a new gas that is lighter than air, and thus causes the Geest to float. The gas produced also emits a dull, unwavering glow from within.

Many people have seen the orange, friendly glow of the Geest floating through the marshes at night and been led astray, while the Geest remain unaware of all the men they have accidentally led to their death.

They are completely unable to fight, and will float quickly away if attacked. Their rubbery skin prevents damage from tree limbs and the like, but if stabbed with anything like a knife, they will deflate and fall to the ground dead.

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Creeper

While these creatures have no real name, they're referred to in scary stories as Creepers. Most simply believe them to be a tale used to frighten small children into coming home before dark, but in actuality these creatures are quite real.

Creepers are hideous creatures that lurk in the dark, dank sewers beneath Amstaad.

These creatures resemble spiders in a way. Their skin is a fleshy carapace, black and mottled with acid yellow. Their humanoid body is slung low to the ground, like that of a spider. What truly gives them their spider-like appearance, however, are the multitude of arms that the Creeper carries itself along with. The number of arms varies from creature to creature: some are used as legs to walk along on and others are used for grabbing and manipulating things. These arms all strongly resemble elongated, emaciated human arms, ending in four slender fingers. The head of a Creeper is vaguely humanoid, but they have no eyes, relying on their other senses to hunt. Creepers have a humanoid mouth, but it is extremely large in relation to the rest of their face, lipless, and filled with long, needle-like teeth.

Creepers hunt with terrifying precision. Using their many arms to easily climb the sewer walls, they lay in wait inside of a grate after nightfall. When someone or something (usually a child or a family pet) happens by, the Creeper reaches out and grabs hold of its victim with several of its arms. Before the victim can even make a noise, the Creeper bites and injects the victim with a paralyzing toxin. The still-living victim is then either dragged into the sewer whole, to be taken off to the Creeper's lair for later consumption, or (if the sewer opening is too small for the victim to fit through) the Creeper reaches out and dismembers the paralyzed victim so that the pieces will fit through the opening.

Creepers generally live solitary lives, with a Creeper mother laying an egg sack and abandoning it to hatch. Creepers will, however, work together in groups of 2-5 to capture victims, and fight over the portions. The average life-span of a creeper is only 3-years-old (just a bit more than fully grown), and there are never more than a few hundred in the entire sewer, just because they are constantly murdering each other over food.

Sunlight causes extreme physical pain to Creepers' skin, causing them to abandon whatever they were doing and flee. Artificial lights do not cause damage, however.

So far, Creepers haven't left the sewers, but there is always the distinct possibility that they could begin prowling through the town at night.

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Bat

We all know what this is. Comes in many varieties, such as the large Flying Fox and the blood-drinking Vampire Bat.

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Otters

These playful, aquatic mammals normally live in rivers, but a small number of them have begun to populate the city, playing around in the fountains and the harbor. The higher-ups in the city regard them as pests and have been attempting to get rid of them, but they are usually well-liked by most of the city's residents, especially the Tiktuk (who go out of their way to keep them safe, and have succeeded in teaching many of them tricks).

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Kilit

Similar to a seagull, these birds live near the ocean and scavenge food from the docks. They are white with reddish feathers on the tips of their wings. They are considered a pest and there have been many attempts to eliminate them by the dockworkers, such as leaving out poisoned food.