Egg
A green crystalline substance is growing on the shell of this egg. The crystals feel sharp to the touch and makes you feel uneasy.
Hatchling
Female//Male
There is only one known method of obtaining a hylephage egg. The lairs of hylephages have been studied by few and are said to be surrounded by statuesque shadows of their past prey, preventing anyone from entering unless they wish to end up as a lifeless shadow themselves. While no one has ever seen their young in the wild, a healthy hylephage egg may be summoned with complex incantations by an experienced magi. The process of summoning the egg coats the surface with a strange material which dissipates when the egg hatches. This substance, the summoning, and the eerie ability of the hylephage to consume materials and magic has led many to believe that they are otherworldly in origin, though inhabitants of Raza think them a natural part of the forest. As hatchlings, hylephages require little care and act much like smaller versions of adults.
Adult
Female//Male
Lithe and limber like a cat but smooth to the touch with lidless, unblinking eyes, few would deny that a hylephage has the presence of a predator, though researchers are in disagreement about whether they are more akin to a feline or a reptile. They have one known close relative, the nyctophage, though both creatures' habitats rarely overlap. In nature, hylephages are noted for the silent manner in which they move, and the speed at which they can travel if provoked, though they will readily fight if attacked. A bite from a hylephage renders whatever is enveloped a faded shadow of its former self, a lasting condition that can only be reversed with the bite of the hylephage's counterpart, a nyctophage.
General
Spoiler
Few creatures in the world are as dangerous as the hylephage, a seldom-seen dweller of the heart of Raza known for its ability to consume nearly anything. While not outwardly violent, and often rather shy around people, a hylephage can nonetheless wreak havoc wherever it goes, for their species consume not only materials such as rock and wood, but also air and magic, leaving behind a dim shadow of the thing they have devoured. The shadows left behind by a hylephage cannot be mended or moved, and anyone who tries to touch such a shadow will pass through it as though it were not there, and feel unwell soon after. These shadows exist for living creatures consumed as well, for one account reports an adult hylephage leaping to snatch a flying bird and leaving its shadow suspended in midair along with the air surrounding it. The shadow had not dissipated nor even faded years later when the original reporter returned to the same site. Though few risk it, a hylephage raised from the egg can be tamed, and some of the most powerful dark wizards in history chose hylephages as companions for their ability to destroy.
Egg
A blue gelatinous substance exudes from the shell of this egg. The material feels cool to the touch.
Hatchling
Female//Male
Like hylephages, nyctophages can only be obtained through complex summoning spells, though perhaps because they are said to be more docile, they do not have as dark a reputation as their cousins. Nyctophages are not much easier to train than hylephages, and their abilities are just as lethal, but they are considered to be more desirable within the Keep for a specific reason: the bite of a nyctophage will reverse the effects of a hylephage bite. Although the opposite is also true, because mischievous magi often choose hylephage over nyctophage companions, fewer nyctophages are reported to cause damage. However, a prospective caretaker should not take up the duty of training a nyctophage lightly; they are still dangerous creatures, and unlike other creatures of the Keep, these do not make affectionate companions.
Adult
Female//Male
Lithe and limber like a cat but smooth to the touch with lidless, unblinking eyes, few would deny that a nyctophage has the presence of a predator, though researchers are in disagreement about whether they are more akin to a feline or a reptile. They have one known close relative, the hylephage, though both creatures' habitats rarely overlap. In nature, nyctophages are noted for the silent manner in which they move, and the speed at which they can travel if provoked, though they will readily fight if attacked. A bite from a nyctophage renders whatever is enveloped a pale ghost of its former self, a lasting condition that can only be reversed with the bite of the nyctophage's counterpart, a hylephage.
General
Spoiler
While their abilities are nearly identical to their tropical cousins, nyctophages have a favorable reputation to hylephages, and are described in stories throughout the Arkene and Boreus as guides to those lost in storms. Their bite is just as lethal as that of a hylephage, though instead of producing a shadow, whatever they consume become a ghost of itself, glowing with a faint, undying light. They seem less prone to consuming plants and creatures, perhaps because of the paucity of such things on the cold coasts where they live. They often bite at the winter wind as they run, producing trails that glow in the air and trace the path where a nyctophage has traveled. While these "ghost bridges" as they are often called are common enough to encounter, especially in the cold north of Boreus, nyctophages themselves are rarely seen, said to be skittish and wary of people.
