Creatures 1050-1054 New Quest and Shop

[BBkat]

For the first time in a while I actually don't have all the required creatures.
Apparently I only have one daeodus.

Would you like to borrow a couple? I have four I'd be more than happy to lend out. :>

Ooooh, please and thank you? I'd only need to borrow two

[Danafox]

Quest - Preservationist: A Cold Challenge

Spoiler

You nod to the lady at the desk, but decide that you can find your own way without the creatures she suggests. Your other companions will do fine, and you have magic besides.

Once you get to the Alasres, though, you start to regret your decision. The Junction itself is a nice encampment for travellers passing between Silva Forest and the Keep, and a few of them know of the field site your map points to. However, the site is a day's hike away by foot, in one of the most treacherous parts of the region. The other travellers eye your gear warily and note your lack of the proper companions. They advise against trying to reach the site, but you dismiss their warnings and press forward the next day anyway. You've made it this far, after all.

Pretty soon, you're climbing sheer rock slips and navigating blustery winds along the narrow path to the site. You make it barely a quarter of the way before a unpleasant growls from hidden inhabitants of the region and bitter snow forces you to turn back for safety. You'll have to try again with an albino nandi bear and three daeodus as the others have recommended.

This is what is said when the requirements are not met yet.

LOVE THIS, FINALLY A NEW SOCIETY YAYYYY and wow all the creatures are freaking amazing!

[Zanura]

Huh. So I was right about the Sarcus being an Andrewsarchus? Honestly, that was kind of a wild guess based on it being a biting hoofed animal and the closeness of sarcus/sarchus. Neat!

Since the Falconerifas is described to be dog-sized, I like to imagine them sprawling in their Magis' laps, because the idea of lap elephants amuses me. I figure they're probably on the bigger size of dogs, since they can use their trunks to lift as much as a person can, but that just makes them "big dog that thinks it's a lap dog" elephants, which is even funnier.

The Skjoeldus is tall penguin, as expected. Very good tuxedo birds.

And now I see where the Hattema got its name. Hatzegopteryx thambema! I'm gonna need, like, all of these bad boys.


Really loving this new shop, and I'm very excited to see what we get from it in the future.

[Elentarien]

Yes it is permanent - is for a new association like the Artificer association/shop.

Awesome. Thanks.

I'll just take my time, then, enjoy the black market and try to recoup the gold I'm losing there. lol
And keep a watch out for the daedus-thingy meanwhile. Slow works for me!!

[Reinbeauchaser]

Adult male/female - no difference - GREAT job Jrap

Spoiler

Skjoeldi range throughout the Borean coastline, darting between icebergs to catch their favorite food -- herring, icefish, and squid. Larger than any other penguin, they have to eat nearly fifty kilos of food daily to keep warm in the frigid waters, so when times are lean, they are unafraid of using their size to raid the nests of other penguins and ground-nesting birds. They'll even go after small seal rookeries, though they avoid those of the praluven seal, as even their large size is only a minor deterrent to such vicious predators. On the rare instances when they're not hunting, skjoeldi gather on rocky islands to tend to their eggs and chicks. They only lay one egg every few years in the wild, and always on the same guano-covered islands. Hunting of these birds for their meat and harvesting of their guano has diminished their numbers considerably in recent years, making their populations scant over their large range.

The skjoeldus is the largest bird north of Silva, at least on land. Taller than a man but otherwise resembling any other penguin, the creatures frequent the Borean coastline in the remote northern tundra. They are noted for their magical ability to warm things, though this is used almost exclusively for nesting, and no one has ever reported being attacked by it. In centuries past, these creatures were a favorite of northern fisherman and explorers, who hunted the skjoeldi for their rich meat and blubber, and harvested their guano to use as fertilizer. The slow growth of the creatures and their finicky breeding cycle soon caught up to early hunters, though, and eventually populations dwindled until they were thought to be extinct. Many of their nesting islands were destroyed by guano miners, making a population resurgence difficult. The discovery of a few individuals throughout their former range prompted quick action to save the species, and now special protected colonies have been established on a few remaining guano islands in the north. The Preservationists Association have also started to bring some of the animals into a specially-developed cold room at their facilities to study them and hopefully find better ways to manage the small remaining population.

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Adult male/female Tandon's - there is a difference on these.

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Spoiler

The beautiful patterns of flowers and mosaic designs that cover the skins of falconerifas are thought to help them blend in with the strange plants on Calidis. They possess only minor magical abilities, to slightly change the design, color, and brightness of the patterns on their back. While nothing like the color-changing tendencies of sepiida or chameleons, it can mean the difference between successful camouflage and becoming a snack to the more dangerous creatures of their island homeland. The patterns seem to have a default design that is unique for each animal, and can be used to recognize individuals. When calm or sleeping, this is the design a falconerifas will display. Fully grown falconerifas remain shy, though they are clever creatures and can quickly determine if an approaching gryphon is a threat or simply curious. Their caretakers often note how quiet they are compared to other elephants; because of the threats they face on Calidis, falconerifas communicate mostly with gestures. If they do make noise, it usually comes in the form of short snorts and grunts. During the breeding season, males will make a racket, stamping about and trumpeting as loud as they can to impress females and scare rival males away from their small performance clearing.

Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of the falconerifas were ordinary elephants grazing on the mainland, back when tropical forests reached all the way to Alveus. Somehow, perhaps by swimming, these elephants made their way to Calidis and became trapped there. The environment harsher than they were used to, selection pressures forced the descendants of these elephants to grow smaller and smaller until they were no larger than dogs. Falconerifas are the smallest known true elephants, a result of insular dwarfism. They are endemic to Calidis where they hide in the dense forest brush, relying on their colorful skin patterns to keep them hidden from predators like Calidis dragons. Neither males nor females have tusks, but their trunks are still remarkably strong for their size and dexterous enough to pluck individual seeds from the pods of flowers. Shy in nature, Falconerifas are so good at hiding that they have only been spotted a few times in the wild. They are depicted occasionally on the walls of the Ashen temple, dressed in elaborate decorations and painted with colors even brighter than those that appear on the wild animals.

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Adult male/female Sarcus - these are wicked looking

Spoiler

An adult Sarcus is a fearsome thing to behold. Their backs are well-muscled and their strong jaws are filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Their hooves are also sharp and hard and rough as rocks. They will constantly track movement, and if not trained, will lunge toward anything that gets too close. Despite all of this, a well-trained Sarcus is still a beneficial companion. A magi with a Sarcus guarding them will never be bothered. And a magi who doesn’t mind taking a few risks can try and find beneficial uses for their companion’s random magic effects from a bite or scratch. Some magi will even collect the liquid from their teeth to try and see what sorts of things may happen. In situations where no other magic works, sometimes trusting in a Sarcus’s random magic might give someone the solution they need.

Sarcus are vicious creatures, and also unmistakably magical. Their sharp hooves and teeth drip with a substance that has effects that only the creature itself seems to understand. A bite or scratch from a Sarcus can either result in poisoning or curing an already-poisoned individual, or perhaps something even stranger, like flowers growing from the wound or the bite victim suddenly being able to speak another language. Individuals in Triathe hunted these creatures nearly to extinction due to fear of their vicious natures combined with their distrust of magic. Some ancient legends even say these creatures were born from wayward magic from the mage wars, and that is why their bite seems to have such strange, unpredictable effects. Mage Thrishia found a small group of these creatures and brought them to the Keep, where many studies of their magic are ongoing.

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Adult male/female rhinos - color differences

Spoiler

Adult Borean Rhinos have turned the energy from their younger ages into incredible strength. They are willful and can be stubborn, however. They will need intense training, not to mention good food-based motivation, to obey their magi’s orders. Once that is accomplished, however, they are among the best choices to pull carts through dangerous terrain. Whether it be magic or just pure strength, nothing can slow a Borean Rhino. They can travel at the same pace through thick snows, grabbing brambles, or over rocky, mountainous terrain. As long as they want to do the job they are given, nothing can stop them from completing it.

Rumors among those who lived in the tundra of Boreus described a fearsome beast that had the strength to plow through the deepest snows. Mage Lowenarc followed these rumors, tracking the elusive tales of the beast. The path led him to the coldest parts of Boreas, where the sun barely peered over the horizon in midwinter and cast strange patterns of golden light over the snow like golden imitations of the aurora overhead. These patterns of light helped camouflage the elusive Borean Rhino. There were not many of these creatures left in their native habitats, as the increasing cold had made their choice of food, hardy scrub brushes, scarce. Lowenarc brought back several to the Keep in order to preserve the species, and with the help of the herbalism guild, developed seeds that would withstand the cold in order to plant them and save the ones left behind. Now Borean Rhinos are a more common sight, and they plow paths for travelers in their cold, snowy homes.

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Adult male/female Guron's - no difference

Spoiler

Constructed from sticks and branches and often oddly decorated, hattema bowers are impossible to miss. They reside most of the day in their bowers, waiting for dusk to hunt. Hattema will eat anything that moves; if it fits in their gaping jaws, it's food. They use weak illusions to startle prey and flush it out of hiding. Their four extra eyes allow them to see almost all around them, making them very difficult to attack despite being quite weak.

Magi Guron discovered these strange creatures on one of his many trips up and down the coastline between the Ixan jungle and Silva forest. Of course, the locals knew of the hattema, having long feared and respected them as soothsayers owing to their future-seeing eyes. Seeing is all their eyes do, but the humans don't know that and the hattema are happy to take their offerings anyway, giving flimsy "fortunes" and "advice" in return. But did Guron listen to the whisperings among the locals, whispers that people had disappeared while at the soothsayer's lair, before introducing some to the Keep and declaring such old and rare creatures needed conservation efforts? He hasn't been seen since going back.

Just noticed strange eggs in the hatcheries and discovered that they are new. Where do you get these creatures? Thanks! :-D

[Auriene]

A new society and so many new creatures! I'm glad to see they're in affordable prices.

[GeistStorm]

absolutely lovely! i'd be in even with Out the critters being made available. they had me at "preservation"!
even in fiction, i'm a big fan of being a good steward to the places we exist in. after all, if one doesn't do their part, how can one hope to be blessed with the gifts that go along with Having such a lovely place to be?

[Silenxia]

Darn, I just need two more daeodus.

[Meow]

I now need to wait for my Daeodus to grow, and find a Nandi If people wanna borrow them after they grow just pm me!

[HobbitFeet]

I'm so glad this is a permanent shop - I've got my fingers in too many pies rn to run out any buy new eggs.

Also, I totally stan the Thrishia's Sarcus. Really rad c: