#fantasy bestiary

[igorlevchenko-blog]

A word on Grazelandic Nix-Hound

—Grazelands is savannah-like expanse of rolling hills, Acacia trees and endless pastures of wild wheat (called Wickwheat), which to the smaller creatures (kwama, rats and nix-hounds) provide much-needed concealment from larger saurians. Widespread of wheat gives landscape its characteristic colours, and the local wildlife follows in step with its palette of tan browns and sun-scorched greens, molting in time with the cycle of plant's ripening. This is why Grazelandic nix hounds are not dark green like their Bittercoast cousins but—depending on the season— have carapaces of ochre,tan and beige colours. Also their paws are not as large and they are not known to swim—probably due to cliff racers swarming the crag-ridden coast.

Nix-hound in the picture is Scuttler, OC of @jenarion.

[ahb-writes]

Mara.

"It is a vile creature, as terrible as the plague and fierce as a storm whipped up by the demons of the higher planes. But the mara never takes physical form. It cannot be predicted, understood, or grasped by either human hands or scholarly means. It is a scourge born from nightmares, as elusive and deceptive as the chaos of dreams. Sometimes it appears to its chosen victim in the form of a demonic, scornfully grinning cat, other times as a shriveled corpse, frail-looking and partially covered in thick boar bristles. It is said, however, that the sleeper can always recognize the face of his nemesis in the mara’s twisted features, but whether this is ancient wisdom or mere superstition is anybody’s guess."

Forbidden Lands: Book of Beasts (2023); Andreas Marklund (lead writer); Henrik Rosenborg (lead artist)

[vcreatures]

PRINTS AVAILABLE

if you’ve been following me long enough you know I love a mimic. From my false faced mermaids that I’ve been painting for years to butterfly dragons, I’m a big fan of illusion in the bestiary world.

I bring you the Ginkgo Draco, another member of the Botanical Drakes. 

[vickychendraws]

starting another project bc i have no self control :9 but also bc i wanted to try out a different aesthetic

[yellydany]

SWAN 🦢 ✈️  (Strategic Wyvern Aerial Navigator)

"The “SWANS” are biomechanical lifeforms that after years of mimicry adapted to resemble combat jets. Their wolfram-like skin not only is resistant to the toxic and parasitic dangers of the ‘false ocean’ but is nigh impossible to penetrate. While not a real bird they present many similar features and behavior. It's not all too rare to spot them flying in flocks and engaging in courtship

Swans are known to jam signals and strike airborne carriers since they’re an extremely territorial and violent species. First it will race against the enemy (it should be noted their structure allows them to reach enough speed to break the sound barrier) as a sign that they dominate the air space before they plunge the foe into the ground. Competitiveness amongst the species in a similar fashion has been observed to uncertain ends. In spite of all the gathered studies their intelligence and physical feats are still under research but paired with their enormous size and aggressivity is more than a difficult task. 

They are rapacious hunters from the skies and encounters are advised against. There’s no current methods to defend against the Swans and in consequence it has obstructed facilities, aviation and transportation."

[kinerxy]

Honrses

[filurig]

Well i have decided to make a little silly phenomenon in pareidolia so. yes folke is used as an example for a reason no i wont elaborate... but i will elaborate about the phenomenon below...

most humans associate the scars with trolls (keep in mind this is about basilisks in the nordics so) because of the idea that trolls shapeshift (in Pareidolia Reality they don't and the "real" trolls are more baueresque than the more traditional view. but its all human terminology anyway lol). any humans with troll scars tend to try to hide them bcs of it, but it can be hard depending on how extensive they are - if you just got a scar where you have extra furring, you may just be able to shave it. if you got the feather variant, it might suck a bit more lol...

troll scars are premanent, the tissue it affects will be forever changed.

filament tends to be somewhat adapted to fit where the original tissue was. claws won't grow from random patches of skin etc.

pigment is usually inherited from the scarred individual, but on rare occasions it may spontaneously "pick up" on local bird species pigmentation like basilisks do in development (as baby)

metamorfum acid burns heal very fast - a large area can heal in about as little as a month. but that's just for the "superficial" healing, and it will appear like a normal burn scar at first until it'll slowly start to grow the new filaments or the tissue will appear to "change".

basilisk acid burns rarely ever go deeper than the skin because it stops being active fast after exiting the basilisk body.

many basilisk cultures are hesitant about interspecies relationships (with other sophonts i mean) using hastuik as a justification. interestingly enough, metamorfum accidents don't seem to affect harpies as badly, probably because the two species are related, so there's usually less of a hesitation in regards to those relationships. it may vary however from community to community

hastuik is a basilisk term (well among scandinavian basilisks) which often refers to these scars but also in other contexts and is also a combination of two words - "hastu", which is also a family suffix (used for chicks before they pick their name), whose meanings include young/youth, chick and naiveté, while "ik" can be translated to foolishness/stubbornness (specfically with the connotation that it is unreasonable). calling another basilisk hastuik is basically calling them naive/childish in a derogatory sense since the term is kind of obsolete for them anyway (the acid burns heal normally for them)

[monstermonger]

Eda and Skögul, from a Bestiary of the Parallel

[sanctus-ingenium]

Collectable woodblock prints commemorating individual conquests were commonplace in the theocracy, distributed by the church as a way to announce its victories.

get a print here :>

[haematinon]

Illustration created for my upcoming new book, Ergo Cosmos!

"The first of the alchemists was he who set fire to the pyre upon which the Veiled Lady burned. To atone for such a sin, all those who are privy to the Highest Secrets swear to use the hand of will exclusively to restrain evil, and the hand of intuition only to perform good deeds. From this sorrowful figure derives the name of this sacred commitment, which is commonly known as the Oath of Minos."

[the-fluffy-folio]

Wizard – Tiny monstrosity, unaligned

An arcane anomaly is what they described the wizard to be; a rejected experiment; nothing more to worry about they said – after all, it is just a lizard, they so naively thought. Shortly after, the streets of Falbheim were shattered by spells that were exclusively known to the well-read and most exalted scholars of wizardry. With all of the city’s magical stores, arcane schools as well as magically gifted resident, the wizard found a perfect place to live, to feed and thrive.

🔮 If you like my work, kindly consider to support me on Patreon to gain access to monster pages, tokens & artwork of over 300 quirky creatures as well as dozens of potion & item cards based on their lore.

[igorlevchenko-blog]

Portrait of a Satyr

Digital painting. Photoshop. 2019

[briefbestiary]

A strange critter, galloping on all eight legs to great effect. Old Spider legs was only sighted the one time, running out of sight.

[vcreatures]

PRINTS AVAILABLE

Another Botanical Drake added to the compendium. Today is the tropical Draco Monstera

[vickychendraws]

shoebox for my blorbo's house

[yellydany]

Honeybee Dragon🐉🐝