Fauna

The creatures of Aethelgard range from mundane beasts to magical wonders, shaped by the wild magic that permeates the land — particularly near the Great Rift.

Common Animals

Domesticated Species

Horses — Various breeds, from swift Silver Coast runners to sturdy Ironspine draft horses. The Emerald Plains produce the finest cavalry mounts
Cattle and Sheep — Raised throughout the Emerald Plains, forming the backbone of agricultural trade
Dwarven Boars — Hardy pigs bred by dwarves, known for their thick hides and ability to forage in deep underground halls
Hippogriffs — Used by elves for transportation and warfare. Rare and difficult to train

Wild Beasts

Aethelgard Wolf — Larger than common wolves, with silver-tipped fur. Pack hunters of the Plains foothills and forest edges
Mountain Goat — Sure-footed grazers of the Ironspine peaks, a staple prey for griffins
River Sturgeon — Massive fish of the River Aethon, some reaching 20 feet. Prized for caviar
Silver Deer — Graceful deer with metallic-tinged antlers, found in the Silver Coast woodlands
Rock Badgers — Tenacious burrowers of the Ironspine foothills, sometimes domesticated as pest control

Magical Creatures

Rift-Stalkers

Predatory creatures born from the magical energies of the Great Rift. They have shifting forms and can phase partially through reality.

Habitat: Near the Great Rift, occasionally wander west into the Plains
Danger Level: High — capable of killing experienced adventurers
Notable: The Rift-Touched sometimes develop an affinity for communicating with them

Crystalwing Dragons

Small dragons (15–20 feet) with translucent, crystalline wings. They nest in the Crystal Peaks and are generally peaceful unless provoked.

Diet: Minerals and magical crystals
Behavior: Solitary, territorial during nesting season
Connection: Their crystalline scales are prized by Enchantment practitioners

Phoenix

Reborn from ashes, these creatures appear during times of great change. They are sacred to the Sun Temple as Solara’s messengers.

Rarity: One or two sightings per century
Significance: A phoenix sighting is considered an omen of major historical events

Griffin

Guardians of high places, often found in the Ironspine Mountains. Territorial and aggressive near their nesting grounds.

Griffin Aerie Pass: A narrow pass near the griffin nesting grounds, rarely used due to territorial beasts
Domestication: Some wealthy nobles keep trained griffins, though the practice is controversial

Forest Striders

Giant six-legged deer-like creatures of the Whispering Forest. The elves consider them sacred and never hunt them.

Size: 12 feet at the shoulder
Special ability: Can move silently through dense forest

Chimeras

Bred by Valorian mages for military protection. Part lion, part goat, part serpent — dangerous but controllable by their creators.

Ancient Dragons

Powerful and rare, their presence shapes legend. They are the most feared creatures in Aethelgard.

Known lairs: Deep within the Crystal Peaks and beneath the Great Rift
Intelligence: Highly intelligent, capable of speech and complex reasoning
Longevity: Some are believed to predate the First-Empire

Regional Fauna

Region	Dominant Fauna	Danger Level
Emerald Plains	Wolves, hawks, deer	Low
Whispering Forest	Forest Striders, wolves	Moderate
Ironspine Mountains	Griffins, mountain goats, Rock Wyrms	High
Silver Coast	Sea serpents, silver deer	Moderate
Great Rift	Rift-Stalkers, mutated beasts	Very High

Deepdark Survivors

The Deepdark incursion 40 years ago unleashed creatures from Aethelgard’s deepest underground strata — beings that had never before encountered the surface world:

Deep Stalkers: Blind, heat-sensing predators that followed the Deepdark’s expansion tunnels to the surface. Pale, eyeless creatures with elongated limbs capable of moving through narrow crevices. Several established populations in the lowest levels of Khazad-Dum despite eradication efforts
Tunnel Worms: Massive burrowing organisms — some exceeding 50 feet — that destabilized underground structures during the incursion. Their acid secretions dissolve stone, making them a persistent threat to dwarven infrastructure
Luminous Jellyfish: Drifting, bioluminescent organisms that appeared in flooded tunnels during the Deepdark, harmless but unsettling. The Earthbound-Order interprets their appearance as a sign that the deep stone’s living memory was disturbed

Aquatic Life

The Azure-Sea and River-Aethon harbor diverse marine ecosystems:

Sea Serpents: Massive marine reptiles of the Silver Coast, ranging from 30 to 100 feet. Generally avoid ships but have been known to attack vessels that disturb their breeding grounds. The Stormcaller priesthood claims some serpents are sacred to Velos
Stormfish: Electric eels of extraordinary size found in the Azure Sea’s deeper waters. Sailors believe they are born from Velos’ storms and consider catching one either great fortune or terrible omen
Pearl Divers’ Catch: Giant clams in the shallows near Port-Haven produce pearls of unusual magical resonance, used by Enchantment practitioners. The clams are increasingly rare due to overharvesting

Elven Relationship with Fauna

The Elven Enclaves maintain a uniquely intimate relationship with forest creatures:

The Wilding Bond: Elven rangers develop empathic connections with Forest Striders and other forest beasts, communicating through gesture, sound, and ambient magic. This bond is cultivated from youth and considered sacred
Hunting prohibitions: The Enclaves prohibit hunting of Forest Striders, silver deer, and several bird species. Violations are punished by exile — one of the few elven laws enforced with absolute consistency
Bird augury: Certain elven communities read the flight patterns of specific bird species as omens. The Whispering Court employs dedicated bird-readers whose interpretations influence seasonal governance decisions

Magical Ecology

Wild magic from the Great Rift has produced regional ecological anomalies:

Rift mutation zones: Areas near the Rift where creatures develop unusual abilities — enhanced size, elemental breath, or reality-phasing. The Rift-Touched communities near the Rift’s edge have cataloged dozens of locally mutated species
Ley line convergence fauna: Animals near ley line intersections display heightened intelligence and occasional magical abilities. The University-of-Valoria maintains a research station studying convergence-point ecology near the Emerald Plains
The Shimmer wildlife: The area known as the Shimmer — where wild magic visibly distorts the air near the Rift’s western edge — hosts uniquely adapted creatures that can survive in magically charged environments. Most are aggressive and territorial

Hunting and Regulation

Crown game laws: The Kingdom-of-Valoria regulates hunting throughout its territory. Licensed huntsmen may take common game; magical creatures require special permits. Poaching magical creatures is punishable by imprisonment
Griffin bounty: The Crown offers bounties for griffins threatening trade routes through the Kings-Pass, though the rewards rarely cover the cost of the attempt
Dwarven pest management: The Dwarven-Holds maintain professional pest-control guilds for managing underground fauna — particularly Rock Badgers, tunnel vermin, and the occasional Deep Stalker remnant
Moon Circle conservation: The Moon-Circle advocates for protection of magical creatures, arguing that disrupting magical ecosystems damages the Ley-Lines. Their influence has prevented several Crown-sanctioned culls of Rift-mutated fauna near settled areas

Notable Encounters

The Battle of Greenfield (600 years ago) — Valorian cavalry drove off a pack of Rift-Stalkers that had wandered into the Plains, marking the first recorded incursion west of the Rift
The Griffin Siege — A dwarven caravan was trapped for three weeks by territorial griffins blocking the King’s Pass, leading to the construction of alternate routes

Iron Marches and Ash Wastes Fauna

The eastern territories host creatures rarely seen by western scholars:

Cinder Hounds: Pack predators of the Ash-Wastes, adapted to the ashen landscape — pale, hairless canids with heat-resistant hides that hunt by sensing vibrations through the ground. Nomadic orc clans have domesticated some packs for hunting and guarding caravans
Red Dust Beetles: Armored insects in the Iron-Marches that swarm in enormous colonies. Their carapaces contain trace amounts of crystallized wild magic, making them targets for Shard harvesters. Crushing a colony releases a cloud of magically charged dust that can cause temporary disorientation
Sand Leviathans: Massive burrowing creatures of the deep Ash-Wastes, rarely seen above ground. The few credible reports describe creatures over 100 feet long. Whether they are natural beasts or something created by the Primordial-Ones remains debated (as yet unexplored)
Thornback Rocs: Enormous birds of prey adapted to the Crystal-Peaks southern slopes — wingspans exceeding 40 feet. Unlike their Ironspine griffin cousins, they are solitary apex predators with no known natural enemies

Bonded Creatures and Bestiary Traditions

Several cultures maintain formal relationships with magical fauna:

Dwarven Ward-Hounds: Bred specifically for detecting Deepdark remnants in tunnel systems — blind, heavily muscled mastiffs with an almost supernatural sensitivity to underground disturbances. The Earthbound-Order blesses each litter as a sacred duty
Elven Starling Messengers: The Whispering-Court maintains flocks of magically attuned starlings that carry encrypted messages between Enclaves faster than any mounted courier. The encoding uses harmonic patterns only elven bird-readers can decode
Valorian War Menagerie: The Kingdom-of-Valoria once maintained a military stable of chimeras, hippogriffs, and trained griffins at Fort-Sentinel. The program was scaled back after the Mage-Wars but some units still operate under General Thorne’s direct authority
The University Bestiarium: The University-of-Valoria maintains living specimens of Rift-mutated creatures in magically sealed habitats. Researchers from multiple Schools study mutation patterns, hoping to understand the Rift’s ongoing influence on biological forms

Extinct and Legendary Creatures

Starfall Elk: Once roamed the plains between the Great Rift and the Whispering Forest. Their antlers contained concentrated starlight — sources claim they were hunted to extinction during the First-Empire for their magical antlers. The Elven-Enclaves mourn their loss in winter ceremonies
Ley Wyrms: Serpentine creatures that allegedly lived along major ley line conduits, drawing sustenance from raw magical energy. First Empire scholars documented them extensively, but no confirmed sighting has occurred since the Cataclysm. Some Rift-Touched claim to sense their presence deep underground (as yet unexplored)
Iron Golems of the Deepdark: Not natural creatures but failed First Empire constructs that were reactivated during the Deepdark incursion. Animated stone guardians gone rogue — they attacked dwarven and incursion creatures alike, adding to the chaos. Most were destroyed during the sealing operations

Creature Conservation and Controversy

The Moon Circle’s Stance: The Moon-Circle maintains that magical creatures are integral to Aethelgard’s ecological balance and that culling Rift-mutated species damages the ley line network. Their advocacy has prevented several large-scale hunts but strained relations with the Radiant-Guard, which views Rift-mutated fauna as direct threats to settlements
Orclish Animal Trade: Clan hunters in the Iron-Marches trade captured creatures — Cinder Hound pups, Thornback Roc eggs, and occasionally Rift-mutated specimens — to western buyers through shadow markets. The Shadow Trade network facilitates some of these transactions, and the Shadow-Council has been suspected of acquiring rare creatures for unknown purposes (as yet unexplored)
The Crimson Roost Debate: A Thornback Roc nesting site in the southern Crystal-Peaks has become a flashpoint between academic researchers from the University who want protected study access and Marches warlords who profit from raiding the eggs. The dispute remains unresolved

Quartz 4

Explorer