Creatures of Eir du'Brusai

This, of course, was brought about by the Fantasy Newsletter this week. (July 3, 2008) While I have several odd creatures I've created, it proved to be a task not unlike character development. You need to create a background for some of them as to how they were created or what happened to create them. Others are just there and undiscovered like the creatures of our world. Folklore is often used to point people in the direction of the creatures, but sometimes folklore isn't always accurate.

So listed below are some of the creatures I've created. A few of them were the result of sitting around with several friends, while a few others were based off of an online role playing game. I did come up with a few myself as well that I really like. Now while some of them are straight out of my imagination, others are just usual fantasy characters with a twist. I hope you enjoy them and they can be found in the majority of my stories.

Let's begin with my Dargorians. These came about through a brainstorming session with my husband. In my world of Eir du'Brusai, there is a "shattered continent". It is named due to the meteor that crashed into it causing islands to form in the ocean in a somewhat perfect circle surrounding the crater. On these islands there were dragons and over the years, they developed into humanoids called Dargorians. Dragons still exist in their original form in other areas of the world as well. While Dargorians follow the traditional dragon types, i.e. Crystal, Amethyst, etc., they have "human" qualities. Qualities such as speech in their own language as well as common languages. Their snouts have shortened so they can manage this speech. Their talons extend out like fingers, some of their scales are softer and more malleable enough to be braided like hair. When they take a mate, they mate for life and usually die directly after their mate. The bond they share is akin to "soul mates" as they feel what the other feels, share thoughts. They stand over nine feet tall and walk on two legs rather than four, they can fly and are very philosophical in nature. They're often very curious creatures and pour over tomes and scrolls to learn as much as they can.
One in particular is my favorite. Her name is Aun. When she stands before people, she will fold her wings around her like a cloak. The two claws at the outer edge of her wings will hook together to form a clasp. She has a mane of softer scales and are usually braided and adorned with jewelry. Aun cannot belch fire, but she can emit a sonic scream that rips the flesh from her adversaries. Aun's best friend is Onetta.

Onetta is a Kefferling. These came into being through two friends of mine, Karen and Lynn. Lynn played a Kefferling in the online RPG and Karen came up with the name. Basically, they're Elf Cats. There was a tribe of Wood Elves that a Sorcerer (Wizard in Eir du'Brusai) was battling. He cursed them all, casting a spell that turned some into cat-like creatures and turned others into dogs. While the dogs were turned all the way, the Sorcerer was killed before the spell finished. Those who were turned into cats kept the majority of their Elven features. While they were still humanoid in appearance, they gained tails, fur and even feline ears and facial features. Their noses were feline as were their eyes, but their mouths were not. Some had striped fur while others had calico markings. They also gained retractable claws. They are very agile, curious like cats. They can purr and mewl when content or frightened, they growl and hiss when fighting. Kefferlings have kept their Elvish habits as far as mates and children, they can have only one child and only if they've been properly united by an Elvish Priest or Priestess.

There is a 100 mile radius that was damaged in an explosion, the destruction of the Wizard city of Argisindya. In this radius, nothing survived, not even vegetation and it cannot regrow. In the outskirts of this radius, another 15 to 25 miles, magic went "mad", as the locals say. Some creatures as well as inhabitants of the area were transformed while the rest were killed.
In this area lives the Belching Scurvy Knave. This is a hideous looking blue bird with an orange beak. He struts around proudly as if he is a peacock and his mating call sounds like a belch, followed by "Ooh!". This creature was the invention of a friend of mine named Vinnie. His other creature invention were Fig Bears. Tiny little black bears that absolutely love the juice of berries rather than honey. The only drawback is when they are scared they belch fire. They do fit in the palm of your hand, however and a joke emerged to use them as little furry hand grenades!
Also within this area where magic went mad are Morigwaiths. They are shadow wraiths of a sort. These were once people, who were going about their daily business when Argisindya was destroyed. The blast hit them so hard it knocked their souls into their shadows as they stood in sunlight. Now they search for someone to take over, so if a traveler comes along to take a nap and falls into shadow, the Morigwaiths will attempt to take over their bodies.

I love Elves. I always have. I think Elves are the most beautiful of the fairy folk. They have a mystery that just draws me to them, I don't know why. So when I wanted to have Elves in my world, I tried to think of what an Elf was to me. Not to other people. While they are fair, they are still human or as human as they can be. So even though my Elves are immortal, they can choose when they die. Don't get me wrong they can still be killed in combat, but if they live on, they don't have to live on forever. When they do die, their essences are returned to the earth, their energy is returned to the rocks and the trees, even the air and sunlight. I do have several different species of Elves, one being the Kefferlings.
The other is Amnis D'thirii. These are Water Elves. They have glistening scales much like merfolk would and if they don't live near water, their scales will flake off and their "thirst" will kill them. So if they travel, they must always be near water or order tubs for special baths. They range from light green in color to dark blue, varying shades of water. Their skin, hair and eyes are the same color only varying in lightness or darkness. If they live near running water, they draw off of the energy the moving water creates and can use it for spells. They can also shape-shift either partially or wholly into water creatures such as merfolk, selkis, dolphins or just plain fish. Their mating is quite different as they don't ever choose to be with one individual. They can have children outside of the Elvish unions, mostly with humans. Once the children are born, the rest of the "tribe" takes care of them and the parent is free to do as they wish. They're restless creatures and do not like to be in one location for very long, yet if they live near water, they usually return to their homes. Most of their time is spent traveling and roaming.
My Quistahn are Ice Elves. They live on a northern continent called Istlandu'us. There is a large lake where an Ice Dragon once lived, but was killed and the carcass remains at the bottom of this body of water. The magic of the Ice Dragon has saturated the water and when the Quistahn arrived, their first drink of the pure water cursed them for the rest of their existence. They are usually various shades of blue in color for skin, their hair is white and their eyes are an unusual shade of blue and seem to glow. All of their weapons are ice based. They make darts of poison that, once inside their enemy, melt and leave no trace behind. They also use crossbows, the tips of their arrows made of the same ice poison as their darts.
When near these creatures, you will feel cold, however no one has been close enough to them for long. They make extremely good assassins because of their special weaponry. When they do travel, they carry a waterskin or vial of water from the lake where they live. The smallest sip will keep them cold and keep the magic of the dragon within. They practice the Elven rituals of mating and children.
Elves in general do abound in this world as well. Taller than most humans, fair in skin and their hair and eye colors encompass the colors of the rainbow and all in between. In major kingdoms, the Elven hierarchy is almost always a Matriarchal society. The Queen rules over all, not always equal with her husband and the first born daughter is the one who inherits. If there is no first born, a wife of a son will usually rule.

Firlochians are also somewhat my creation. They are called giants in mythology but are not really. They stand as tall as the Dargorians, perhaps nine to ten feet tall. Sometimes taller. They are a warrior race, large and muscular but not particularly fast. They are tribal in nature and have blue tattoos to signify ranks and special accomplishments in their lives. However, if they are cast out of their tribes, their tattoos are cut away, leaving them scarred and marked. They must leave their country at once or face execution. The Firlochain tribal leader is the only one who may have multiple wives if he so chooses. Most do not, as the wives will bicker and fight, almost always killing off the weaker ones.

In the world of Eir du'Brusai, there are numerous other creatures. Humans, Dwarves, Ogres and Goblins. There are slight differences, but overall they are the creatures of folklore and mythology. Gods and Goddesses rule the heavens and the underworlds, their stories are just as unique as their reasons of being called into existence. These will be saved for another time, though.

So these are just a handful of what I've created in the ten years I've worked on my world. I've dedicated so much time and effort into these creatures and their folklore that it is sometimes hard to write about anything else. This is a world full of stories and fun characters and it is sometimes hard to leave. I can only hope that one day I write a book worthy of the world I've created. I'm always willing to discuss my world with anyone who is interested. I would love to have more people writing about this world with me, but it would take some time to get to know and love it as much as I do.