Scintillavir

Cryptologic Name: Mikromageia scintillavir
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Various
Diet: Manavorous

Appearance & Morphology
Scintillavir, also known as splinterfolk, are small creatures with wispy, colorful bodies in a variety of hues. Their heads are unique to each individual often resemble something related to their provenance (a topic that will be discussed in the next section). These creatures are semi-corporeal, as they are essentially a coalescence of mana with a spark of consciousness, but they can manipulate the mana that makes up their bodies in order to become more or less solid, such that they can interact with the material world as they desire. Furthermore, they can alter their shape and form in a variety of ways, though they are most commonly seen as humanoid in appearance.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Scintillavir are purely magical in origin, and as such do not reproduce biologically. Each individual springs to life from something small that is imbued with magical energy; these are referred to as the scintillavir’s “provenance.” The provenance is generally a small piece or amount of something, and can be nearly anything which contains mana. Often when a piece of a magical object or creature is split off from the main body, it retains some of its magical power, and these small fragments of magic can come to life as scintillavum. It is unclear why only small slivers of magic can become alive in this way, as much about how these creatures come to be is still a mystery, but we do know that it is a rare phenomenon.

The provenance of a scintillavum is often incorporated into their being or effects, depending on the nature of said provenance. For example, a scintillavum birthed from the ceramic chip of a teacup, that chip might become a part of the scitillavir’s body or perhaps they will turn it into some sort of jewelry to wear. Not all provenances are physical objects, however, so they can manifest in other ways as well. A stray moonbeam which spawns a scintillavum may manifest itself as a pale glow emanating from their body which changes with the phases of the moon.

Splinterfolk can sustain themselves by continuing to absorb mana from their surroundings, and can also manipulate mana that is similar to that which spawned them. Because each provenance is different, this means each individual has unique magical abilities.

As you’ve gathered by now, splinterfolk are a very diverse group of beings because their magical origins are so varied. It should come as no surprise that the range of personalities and behavior patterns can be wildly different between individuals, and that the nature of their provenance has a great impact on their temperaments and identities. One common ability scintillavir all seem to possess is the ability to communicate. They do not explicitly have a language (though a few whose origins were closely tied to language can speak and/or write in a collection of languages related to their provenance), but they can communicate thoughts and feelings telepathically. It can take some time to learn how to interpret them, but these unique little creatures can have quite a lot to “say” when they find someone who is willing to listen.

Field Notes

• Because they don’t reproduce biologically, scintillavir are sexless. They do, however, often express gender as part of their identity. While it is unclear why exactly this happens, I believe splinterfolk are impacted by human perception (or the perception of other sentient beings in their vicinity). While this is still only a theory, it might explain why these creatures often choose humanoid forms, and why they tend to surround themselves with things that we would connote with their provenances.

• As these delightful creatures are so varied in characteristics, personalities, and powers, I’ve decided to keep a catalogue of all the individuals I’ve met in my tenure as a cryptozoologist. You can find that record HERE

Florachnid

Cryptologic Name: Araloulou s.
Planar Origin: Mithyrea
Habitat: They occupy a variety of habitats, but are most common in temperate and subtropical climates
Diet: Herbivorous, subsisting primarily on nectar

Appearance & Morphology
Florachnids, sometimes called “flower spiders,” are an unusual genus of creature which resemble spiders with flowers for their abdomens. There is a wide variety of species, each with a unique type of flower growing from their rear segment. Body color varies between the species, but most are in the range of green to brown, with a few others being white or other bright colors. Like their nonmagical counterparts, these creatures have a cephalothorax and four pairs of segmented legs.

Magical Abilities and Behavior
While florachnids may look very similar to nonmagical spiders, but do not spin webs or eat insects like their counterparts, in fact they subsist almost exclusively on flower nectar. These creatures can most commonly be found in areas where you will find flowers matching those on their abdomen, whether wild or cultivated. Nectar from matching flower species seems to be preferred, though they will drink nectar from other flowers when necessary. Because their primary source of food is only available seasonally in most of their natural environments, florachnids will hibernate through the winter. Their floral abdomens will also wither as the stored nutrients are absorbed through the cold months, eventually being replaced by a new bud in late winter, which will begin to bloom as soon as they come out of hibernation. Species that live in more tropical regions do not follow this cycle, remaining active throughout the year.

Reproduction in these creatures is unique because it relies entirely on their plant-like qualities, and is reliant on plants matching the characteristics of their floral abdomens. Just like their plant counterparts, these creatures have to be pollenated in order to reproduce. While they don’t produce pollen themselves (in other words all florachnids are female), they require pollen from a related species to reproduce. Florachnids have a functioning pseudostamen in their floral abdomens which will collect pollen from their corresponding species and fertilize their ova. Many rely on the same methods as their botanical counterparts, such as bee and bird species who normally help pollenate the corresponding flowers, however florachnids have the benefit of being able to move freely and as such they can collect the pollen they need on their own in the absence of cooperative species. Although these creatures use pollen to reproduce, their offspring are laid as eggs and not seeds, growing in a fashion more like their animal equivalents than their plant ones.

These odd creatures do not have active magical abilities, but the petals of their floral abdomens are especially potent ingredients in potions and spellwork. Any magical work which calls for petals of a specific species of flower can substitute petals from a florachnid to increase the potency of that magic.

Field Notes

• There has been a great deal of debate on whether to classify these creatures as plants or animals, given their unusual morphology and characteristics from each group, particularly their reproductive methods. There are plenty of mobile and sentient plant species in the magical world so it would not be out of place to put these creatures into that category, however the current accepted classification is under the animal class, as they cannot photosynthesize.

Peryton

Cryptologic Name: C. cervidaves
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Temperate forests
Diet: Carnivorous, preying on a variety of animals, including humans

Appearance & Morphology
The peryton is a large half-cervine, half-avian creature with the head, forelegs and torso of a deer and the hindquarters, wings, and tail of a large bird. Despite having a head normally seen on an herbivore, these creatures are voracious predators and have long, razor-sharp fangs in their otherwise unassuming mouths. All perytons have antlers regardless of sex, much like reindeer, and will use them to gore larger prey.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Perytons are very unusual creatures; they cast a humanoid shadow despite their shape, but their shadow will return to “normal” by eating the heart of a human being. The intrinsic magic in this is not remotely understood and, given the ethical implications, this is a difficult subject to research. What we do know, however, is that perytons can only reproduce when their shadows have returned to their own shape. Young peryton are cared for by their mothers; unlike nonmagical deer, fawns do not drink milk, but rather will lap blood from the doe’s kills while she consumes the majority of the meat.

Field Notes

• Despite being hybrid creatures that could feasibly fall under the griff umbrella, perytons are a naturally-occurring species. While it is possible for alchemists to create a griff that resembles the peryton, such a creature is unlikely to be a carnivore, given the arrangement of features. While I am not familiar with any alchemists who have created a creature of this type, the hippalectryon (horse front and rooster rear) is a similar enough creation to draw some inferences.

Arcwhale

Cryptologic Name: Falaptera s.
Planar Origin: Mithyrea
Habitat: Upper atmosphere
Diet: Somnivore (see “magical abilities” below)

Appearance & Morphology
Arcwhales are, simply put, whales with pairs of feathered wings on their backs, extending out near their dorsal fins. There are a variety of arcwhale species, each resembling a species of their aquatic counterparts.

Magical Abilities
Arcwhales have a variety of magical abilities common across their different species. First, arcwhales naturally float in the air by magical means, meaning they are never earthbound even when they are born. These creatures seem to have an organ akin to a fish’s swim bladder, which allows them to control their altitude in the atmosphere. In addition to their floating, arcwhales causes water in the air around them to condense, meaning that they are always surrounded by a dense cloud.

Lastly, arcwhales are somnivores, or “dream eaters,” meaning they subsist on energy absorbed from the dreams of other living creatures. It is generally believed that nightmares are more potent (i.e. have greater energy potential), and as such are often siphoned off by the archwhales, over pleasant/peaceful dreams. As such, many consider these creatures to be naturally occurring dreamcatchers, which are generally crafted to produce the same effects.

Behavior
While arcwhales’ wings are not large or powerful enough to keep these massive creatures aloft, they do help propel the creatures forward as they float through the sky and their flippers and tails are used to help steer.

Because their food source is more widely available at night, arcwhales are generally considered to be nocturnal creatures. This is only partially accurate because arcwhales don’t sleep, though they are less active during the day, floating lazily in the upper atmosphere. In the evening, they will venture lower so they can more easily siphon dream energy from sleeping creatures, usually returning to greater altitudes by mid morning.

Field Notes

• If you ever notice heavy fog in your neighborhood after dark, there is a good chance the arcwhales are about and you can expect good dreams, assuming you’re on a normal sleep schedule. This isn’t a guarantee, however, since fog does occur naturally under the right conditions.

• While the true origins of most magical creatures are unknown, myth and legend surround many, including the arcwhale. It is said that the ancient whales envied the birds that soared the skies, and would dream of taking flight with their avian companions. No creature wished more for this than Rakhnam, King of the Whales, and each night he would absorb the dreams of his pod until one night his spirit grew wings of light and he soared up into the sky, never again to be bound by the watery seas.

Phoenix

Cryptologic Name: Polifotia foinix
Planar Origin: Olympia
Habitat: Mountainous regions
Diet: Carnivorous; eating small rodents and fish

Appearance & Morphology
The most well-known member of the polifotia genus (the firebirds), the phoenix is a large, crane-like bird with plumage in bright red, orange, and yellow. They have long, curved beaks that are golden in color and elaborate plumage cresting their heads.

Magical Abilities
The phoenix is venerated among the most magical creatures know to us, and has a number of magical abilities. Primary among them is their ability to self-combust; this skill is most well-known to be used by elderly phoenixes who have reached the end of their lifetimes and will immolate themselves to be reborn from the ashes of their previous body. This is a very limited scope of this power, however, as mature phoenixes can cause their wing and tail feathers to ignite at will. This does not scorch their feathers, but simply creates a wreath of flame that burns on their surface.

Beyond their iconic flames, these amazing birds have other magical properties. Their unique songs can be used to communicate, not only with other phoenixes, but with people and other sentient beings. They do not speak, in the conventional sense of the word, but they can communicate feelings and ideas through their songs. We believe there is some telepathic component but as yet cannot confirm this.

Phoenixes also have unique magic centered around their flight. When grasping an object with its talons, the weight of that object is significantly reduced, allowing them to fly carrying great burdens with ease.

Phoenix blood and phoenix feathers are both known to have incredible magical properties on their own. Their blood has incredible restorative properties and is often used in healing and cleansing potions, and their feathers are powerful magical catalysts, used in enhancing a wide variety of spells.

Behavior
The phoenix is an incredibly intelligent, curious, and long-lived bird, and as such is held as a very wise animal. Phoenixes are known to live in a single body for hundreds of years before being reborn, and it is believed that memories of their previous incarnations are regained over time in their new bodies.

Most phoenixes live solitary lives, only coming together to mate, which is a very infrequent occurrence. Given phoenixes’ long lifespans, they don’t reach sexual maturity until they are approximately 90-100 years old, and global populations are fairly small, so phoenix chicks are very few and far between.

Field Notes

• While phoenixes are known to be highly intelligent, they are also generally rather distrusting of humanity, and with good reason given the uses of their feathers and blood as magical ingredients. On rare occasion, however, their curiosity aligns with our own and a phoenix will befriend a unique individual in whom it has taken an interest. This is the primary way in which we’ve been able to study these amazing creatures, as they tend to avoid us otherwise.

Tammer

Cryptologic Name: Oryctolagus voluns
Planar Origin: Mithyrea
Habitat: Temperate forests and prarieland
Diet: Herbivore; prefers wildflowers

Appearance/Morphology
The tammer is physiologically very similar to the common jackrabbit with a few distinctive additions: they have long tails with tufted ends, wings on their backs, and marsupial-like pouches on their bellies. Their colors and patterns vary but most commonly they are white, tan, black and/or brown. These creatures are quite agile both on land and in the air.

Magical Abilities
Tammers are one member of a trio of magical lagomorphs (rabbits) including the woltperinger and the jackalope. These three creatures are interrelated, but each species has distinct magical abilities. Tammers have the unique ability to locate and teleport to any individual on Earth by using a special item associated with that person, which cryptozoologists refer to as a ‘token.’ By placing this token in their pouch, they can travel instantly to their targets.

The token has rather specific qualifications to be useful for the tammer. The item must be a gift given by the intended target to another. The connection is most potent when the token is something given by the target to the sender, however it seems to work even if the individual sending the tammer was not the recipient of said gift.

It should be noted that tammers can also locate and travel to individuals with whom they’ve bonded without needing to use a token. As such they work well as delivery creatures for large families because each member of the family can bond with the tammer and thus the creature can travel freely between everyone without needing tokens.

A tammer’s teleportation ability is also unique in that it functions in a fundamentally different way than apparition; as such tammers can teleport to locations where most magical travel isn’t possible. There are barriers that can keep tammers out, but they are more sophisticated than most commonly used protection spells. This posed a particular problem in early wizarding prisons as random objects, weapons, and the like would occasionally appear in inmates’ cells without explanation.

Behavior
Highly intelligent compared to their nonmagical, and even their related magical rabbit species, the tammer can understand human speech when trained. Though their vocal chords do not allow them to speak. Many mages who have tammers as companions and/or delivery animals will train them to use bodily signals, such as the raising and lowering of ears, flexing of wings, etc. to communicate.

Field Notes

• Before the implementation of the Owl Post system, tammers were much more widely used as delivery animals. They were very efficient at making deliveries, assuming you had something that would function as a token. Because the tammer teleports, rather than flying to their destination, they can transport a variety of objects that would be too large for owls. In addition, they are impossible to track by ordinary means as owls and other delivery birds are. The main drawback and reason that tammers are not as widely used today is because of the token qualifications required for their magic to work. For owls to make deliveries, all that is required is an address

• The token is a unique concept in the magical world as the tammer seems to be the only creature we are aware of that uses an object with these qualifications as part of its magical abilities. In addition, the word ‘gift’ may be a bit misleading, as a tammer can generally use anything that was given by the recipient to another living being, even if it is not what we would conventionally consider a gift. Whatever magical properties exist in the giving of a token from one individual to another such that it triggers the tammer’s natural abilities is a subject that I truly believe deserves further research. My hypothesis is that there is some sort of empathic energy that is imbued in objects given as gifts, and that this energy is unique from person to person. This might also explain their ability to locate those with whom they have a connection even without the use of a token.

  We see evidence of this sort of empathic connection elsewhere in the magical world as in some rare cases witches and wizards possess the ability to sense and influence the emotions of others (I myself posess such abilities). In addition, there is the amustelid, who has very strong empathic powers and seems to form connections with other living beings that allow it to maintain its empathic connection over great distances. I would very much like to test this theory but have yet to come up with a good idea as to the method.

Capriccio

Cryptologic Name: Minmalum capricus
Planar Origin: Baator
Habitat: Varied
Diet:: Hemovore

Appearance/Morphology
Capriccios are small goats-like creatures, only standing about 8-12” tall at the shoulder, with curved horns, sharp canines, and a small flame that floats above their heads, centered between the horns.They are a member of the Daemonia family, which includes all species of demon.

Magical Abilities
These small demons are known to be able to temporarily hypnotize people by making eye contact with them. This hypnosis lulls them into somewhat of a trance, but does not give any sort of controlling abilities over them, likely because they cannot use language to direct their victims.

Their only other magical aspect is the ever-burning flame that floats above their heads. The flame itself has the qualities of hellfire, meaning that it cannot be extinguished through nonmagical means (such as dumping water on them), and in the case of these creatures, if their flame is extinguished it results in their death.

Behavior
Despite being a member of the demon family, the capriccio is fairly harmless. They tend toward playfulness and mischief and they are not overly aggressive. The capriccio most often uses its hypnotic gaze to pacify people and other animals when it’s hungry. Given its small size and minimal strength, it cannot physically overpower its prey, so instead it lulls them into passiveness and drinks at its leisure. Capriccios generally only drink about 300-400mL of blood at a time, which not enough to put the average adult at risk (this is around what they would take if you were donating blood), however young children and smaller animals could come to serious harm if drained to that extent. They lack the frenzy and literal bloodlust that most other hemovores, such as vampires and chupacabras have, and as such, they can fairly safely be kept as pets if properly trained and fed.

Field Notes

• The capriccio has a variety of nicknames, such as “infenral goat,” “demon goat,” and “Baphito.” The last name, often used in Latin American countries, means “little Baphomet,” referring to the demonic lord Baphomet, who is known to have the head of a goat and a crown of flames.

• In keeping my own capriccio, I’ve discovered that while they don’t have conscious control over the their flames, the fire is directly connected to the creature’s psyche. While the flame usually glows blue (an indication that it is quite hot), the flame flickers to yellow-orange when he is hungry or tired, and will often diminish to something akin to a flickering candle when he is asleep. Alternatively, the firelight flares when he is agitated or excited.

Poshepocket

Cryptologic Name: Imito perus
Planar Origin: Crystallis
Habitat: Poshepockets don’t seem to have a preferred habitat, they seem to appear almost anywhere
Diet: Pseudo-carnivorous/parasitic; will engulf any animal that stumbles across it, however it doesn’t “eat” them in the traditional sense

Appearance & Morphology
The poshepocket, sometimes referred to as a “pouch mimic,” is an unusual creature, even by cryptozoological standards. This nickname is purely from their appearance, as they are entirely unrelated to the true mimic. The poshepocket resembles a furry bag or pouch; they have no limbs or other outward appendages but have a pair of eyes and a gaping mouth filled with rows of teeth that are pointed and rough but not particularly sharp.

The poshepocket’s mouth is quite remarkable, as it has the ability to expand an incredible amount given the usual size of the creature (most only grow to be about a foot long, and roughly 8-10” wide). Expanding their jaws seems to take the creatures a while to accomplish, however, so they most commonly attach themselves to an extremity of their prey and slowly expand and devour them, much like a snake.

Magical Abilities
The poshepocket’s maw serves as an entrance to its own pocket dimension, which seems to slowly siphon life energy from any living creatures inside it. This appears to be the reason that their teeth are blunt rather than sharp; they are meant to grip rather than pierce. The poshepocket doesn’t wish to kill or mortally wound its prey, or it would lose most of the potential nourishment that it could harvest

The pocket dimension within these creatures is not exactly a void; while not having much in the way of physical features, it does have breathable atmosphere inside it, which is likely to prolong the life of their prey such that they can continue to siphon energy for as long as possible. In addition, objects in the void will rest as though on a surface with gravity, though no surfaces seem to physically exist, nor does gravity pull in any particular direction. What is perhaps most unusual is that creatures and objects with the ability to move can travel as though they were moving across a flat surface, but movement is not restricted to two dimensions. It appears that you can orient yourself in any direction and just walk, the physics of which no one yet understands. This does mean, however, that it is possible to get back out of a phoshepocket once completely devoured if you don’t wander too far from the opening; while the pocket dimension cannot be truly infinite as it has a fixed beginning/entrance, cryptozoologists have yet to come to any sort of conclusion on how large the pocket dimension actually is. This is also contingent on the creature being willing to cooperate and open its jaw wide enough to regurgitate you.

Behavior
Much like the true mimics from which they get their nickname, pouch mimics are sit-and-wait predators, remaining hidden and still until something comes close enough for them to pounce. And yes, despite being limbless creatures normally moving by ineptly squirming across the ground, they are in fact capable of launching themselves at their prey when the opportunity arises.

Field Notes

• Poshepockets can make for useful storage vessels when properly trained, as they can store a near-infinite number of items while occupying only a very small amount of space on the physical plane. We see similar concepts used in the magical community, but this sort of spatial magic is highly advanced and requires a great deal of study and practice to properly employ.

Griffin

Cryptologic Name: Felidaves s.
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Highly varied
Diet: Carnivorous, they are voracious hunters (most of them anyway)

Appearance & Morphology
Griffins (alt. griffon or gryphon) are a widely varied genus if chimeric creatures that posess the body, hindquarters, and tail of a a feline and the head and wings of a bird. The forelegs are often bird talons as well, but in some variants they are also feline in morphology. Coloration, size, and shape are all dependent upon the core species of the creature, and as such an extensive variety of species exist within this genus.

Magical Abilities
As stated above, griffins are chimeric creatures; this means that they were created using alchemy to fuse different animals together. While the process of their creation is purely magical in origin, they don’t possess any particular magical powers of their own, unless their component creatures are magical in nature, and then the crafted griffin with generally possess similar abilities.

Griffins are rather unique amongst chimeric creatures as they can breed with others of their species. It is unclear how this is possible when most chimeric creatures cannot breed. This does mean, however, that there are now wild populations of griffin species in the world.

While they may not possess any magical abilities in their own right, some of their components have use in potion-making in a way that their predecessors do not. It is unclear why this is, but the theory is that it has something to do with the alchemical process of their creation. Griffin claws (from the feline hind legs) are used in many curative potions and the feathers are used in a special potion that allows blind people to see for a limited duration.

Behavior
Griffins, being such a disparate and varied group, have similarly varied behavior patterns. Most of these creature’s behaviors are reasonably linked to their base species, thus a traditional griffin crafted from a lion and eagle is likely to be a voracious predator, whereas a griffin crafted from a house cat and a songbird is more likely to be fairly docile. The general trend is that the avian half of the pair tends to influence the expected behavior more than the feline half, likely because the head, and thus brain, are avian.

There are a few traits seen across species that are worth noting. First, is that griffins mate for life, and will care for their young through adolescence. Courtship among griffins is rather unique in that they seem to have inherited their avian ancestor’s flair for courtship rituals. Many griffins will display their plumage, sing, or perform elaborate dances in an attempt to attract a mate. This does suppose, however, that other individuals of their particular species exist, which is not always the case.

Field Notes

• The first and most important note I feel should be made is related to the welfare of the species used to create griffins. While early alchemists did use a living lion and eagle to create the first griffins, modern alchemists no longer use living animals in their work. It does require DNA from the species and a collection of other organic matter, but the lives of two living animals are no longer combined into a single being to create these creatures.

• The first griffins, created by alchemists millenia ago, were all crafted from the same set of creatures: a lion and an eagle. This had great cultural significance at the time as the lion was considered the “king of beasts” and the eagle the “king of birds,” thus the union of the two was an especially powerful symbol, not to mention an exceptionally fierce creature. It wasn’t until more recently in history that alchemists began to branch out and experiment on their own, combining any odd combination of bird and cat they were so inspired to. This makes for rather odd ecology for these creatures, as some species only have single individuals existing at any given time, and thus will never form wild populations. This is somewhat vexing for cryptozoologists like myself, as a great deal of information can only be gleaned by observing creatures in the wild. Admittedly it has tempted me to learn alchemical techniques such that I could create my own griffins, but there are enough wild species of cryptids in our world that my work is cut out for me without needing to create more for myself.

• Presently there are six species known to have wild populations on earth:

  • F. aquileo: “True griffin,” created from a lion and eagle, living in mountainous regions around the world. These are the most prolific species.

  • F. corvatus: “Black griffin,” created from a common raven and domestic cat. Much smaller than true griffin, they generally live in temperate forests and human-inhabited areas, and are scavengers much like their avian ancestors.

  • F. tytocal: “Owl griffin,” while there are a number of owl griffin species, only one has a wild population, and it is a species consisting of a barn owl and a caracal. These creatures are found throughout Africa and Europe.

  • F. domesticus: “Sparrow griffin,” the smallest wild griffin species, these consist of a house sparrow and domestic cat. This species can be found across the northern hemisphere.

  • F. pardarauna: “Parrot griffin,” consisting of a blue-and-yellow macaw and a leaopard, these are the most colorful wild griffin species, as well as the only species found in South America.

  • F. jugrinus: “Swift Griffin,” crafted using two of the quickest of their respective species, the peregrine falcon and the cheetah. This species is found primarily in northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

• The griffin pictured here is under my personal care, and is not a wild owl griffin, but a related species, F. nebucola, created from a great grey owl and a domestic cat. He was given to me by an alchemist friend of mine, who was experimenting with different griffin breeds. He is quite playful and loves hunting squirrels in our back yard. He is a recent addition to the menagerie and as yet doesn’t have a name, so I welcome any suggestions.

Mimic

Cryptologic Name: Arca incubo
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Anywhere inhabited by humans
Diet: Carnivorous; they will eat almost any living creature, but seem to have a particular taste for humans

Appearance & Morphology
Mimics are fairly easy to describe in appearance, but it is a good deal harder to explain their morphology. The easy explanation is that a mimic is a container with a lid of some sort, which opens to reveal a maw with sharp teeth and a long, muscular tongue. The mimic’s true body is still not entirely understood, because we know that they do not produce the container, rather they inhabit it, much like a hermit crab inhabits shells left behind by other animals. It is accurate to say, however, that when a mimic inhabits a container, that the container becomes a part of the mimics body; they are completely inseparable by any means we yet possess.

Mimics are indistinguishable from normal containers as the vessel it inhabits remains entirely unchanged by its inhabitant. As such it can be extremely difficult to identify a mimic until you’re close enough for it to attack you. This adds to the dangerous nature of these creatures, however, mimics have been known to shudder in anticipation of a meal, so if you’re lucky you can catch the subtle movement or sound before you get close enough for it to grab you.

Magical Abilities
While they don’t possess a great deal of active magical abilities, they are still rather dangerous as mimics are virtually indestructible from the outside, being essentially immune to both physical and magical assault.. As such, the only way to kill a mimic is to target the fleshy insides while its mouth is open, which consequently is the most dangerous time to be near one of these creatures.

In addition, Mimic saliva also has some unique properties. It is an incredibly potent solvent, able to dissolve most organic matter, however inorganic materials such as glass, stone or metal remain entirely unharmed by the substance. Additionally, when exposed to oxygen it becomes incredibly viscous and sticky. This saliva is used as an ingredient for several potions, but because of the way it reacts to oxygen and its potency as a solvent, it needs to be stored under very particular conditions.

Behavior
Mimics are the epitome of camouflaged sit-and-wait predators. They will remain motionless for weeks at a time, waiting for a meal to come by. While mimics do not have eyes or other visible sense organs on the outside of their body, they can sense subtle vibrations around them, primarily through their contact with the floor. This allows them to strike with surprising precision with their long, flexible tongues. when prey comes into range. This also means that flying creatures such as birds and bats are generally ignored by mimics.

Despite having no outward appendages, mimics can and do move around. They achieve locomotion by using their tongues to drag themselves around in a similar fashion to bivalves

Mimic reproduction is a subject about which we still know very little. My best guess is that they reproduce asexually, as I’ve never observed two mimics interact in such a way that would suggest procreation, nor have I found any evidence that mimics have distinct sexes. What we do know (or presume, at least) is that some act of spawning is required, as juvenile mimics only seem to appear when an adult mimic is in the vicinity. We also know that a suitable vessel is required, as the container itself is not generated by the mimic upon its birth.

What is most puzzling is the actual mechanism involved in reproduction; thus far there has been no observable interaction between the adult mimic and the spawn. Perhaps some sort of spores are released that are too small to be seen or are entirely invisible. Alternatively, as a magical creature it is entirely possible that a mimic simply wills a nearby container into becoming another mimic. An alternative theory has also been proposed, whereby the container itself is responsible for its transformation into a mimic, rather than the mimic creating an offspring of its own will, though this theory seems the most unlikely to me.

Field Notes

• The natural properties of the mimic have led some to attempt to tame these creatures for the purpose of protecting their valuables. This is a rather effective strategy in theory but a difficult one to put into practice as mimics are not known to be overly intelligent creatures and generally attempt to eat any living creature they come into contact with. This is not to suggest that it can’t be done, only that it requires a great amount of both patience and skill to train one, and even once tamed you could still lose an appendage if you’re not careful.

• If you’re concerned you may have stumbled across one and don’t want to get too close for the mimic to reveal itself, a good strategy is to toss something at the container to see if it elicits a reaction; most mimics are voracious enough to react even if the item they’ve been struck with is inedible.

• While we don’t know how mimics reproduce, we do know that they can inhabit new vessels if they so choose. This is often achieved by climbing into a larger container, transferring to the new container (though how exactly that occurs we don’t know) and then spitting out the old container once the transfer is complete. In this way they further resemble hermit crabs.

• It is unclear why mimics most often end up inhabiting treasure chests and similar boxes, though the hinged opening and sturdy construction do seem to lend themselves rather well to a mimic’s anatomy. Despite this trend, mimics have been known to inhabit a wide variety of containers of different shapes and sizes. I’ve seen mimics inhabit anything from a jewelry box to a trash dumpster (the latter was, as I’m sure you can imagine, quite terrifying, simply given its size). In an attempt to better understand mimic anatomy, I have kept a mimic in close proximity to a variety of transparent containers, hoping that it would spawn a baby mimic in one such that I could observe the anatomy from the outside, but thus far I have been unsuccessful in this endeavor.

Minima Identification: Gjøltrolds, Gnomes & Smurfs, Oh My!

I was recently sent an inquiry into the genealogical relationships and identification of gjøltrolds, gnomes, and smurfs. While I haven’t done a great deal of personal study on any of these species, I’m always one to encourage cryptozoological intreset and exploration, so I compiled some information to help answer these questions! Eventually I’d love to do a little more personal research on these three distinct creatures and put together field guide entries for them.

Before we get started I do want to make a note on gjøltrolds. While commonly referred to as “trolls,” I’m using their proper name so as not to confuse them with jöthurs (the large, grotesque, humanoid creatures that are closely related to orcs, jötunn, ogres, and goblins), which are also commonly referred to as trolls.

Taxonomy

There are a wide variety of small humanoid creatures, and not all of them are particularly closely related from a genealogical/taxonomic perspective. In the case of these three particular species, two of them are much more closely related than the third. Gnomes are actually members of the faerie phylum, meaning they are native to the fae realm along with faeries, sprites, leprechauns, and many other magical species (including many small humanoids much like themselves). Smurfs and gjøltrolds are both native to the material plane, and are very closely related, being two species within the same genus, Minima.

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Identification

While at first the task of differentiating between these three species of small humanoid creatures may seem fairly straightforward, there are quite a few similarities and given the variation between individuals, particularly among gjøltrolds, it can sometimes cause some confusion.

• Gjøltrold: The most distinctive feature of a gjøltrold is the magical gem that grows in their belly button; these gems contain magical energy specific to the individual and that energy can be accessed by the troll. This feature is only seen on this species, so if you see a belly-button gem, you definitely have a troll. Most trolls wear clothes, though, so you may not be able to see their gem if their midriff is covered. Gjøltrolds’ hair is another hint at their identity. Many of these creatures have brightly-colored hair in fairly wild styles. These creatures can actually control their hair as though it was an appendage, so that is another surefire indication that you’re dealing with a gjøltrold.

• Smurfs: Their blue skin is a good starting point but many trolls have blue skin as well, so it’s not a surefire method of identification. Smurfs one main morphological feature that makes them distinct from the other species in question, their stubby tails (similar to a rabbit’s).

• Gnomes: Gnomes are most easily identifiable by their beards. Neither trolls nor smurfs are known to grow facial hair (with the exception of the progenitor smurf, aka “Papa Smurf,” but because gnomes do not have blue skin, that should be an easy distinction.) In gnomish culture, beards are as symbol of age and status and as such are almost never cut, so the length of a gnome’s beard can give you an indication as to their age. And yes, female gnomes also grow facial hair as well, though culturally they tend to be a bit freer in their trimming and styling than the men. In addition, of the three species we’re discussing, they are the only ones to have a full set of 5 digits on each hand (assuming they haven’t had any unfortunate accidents), whereas gjøltrolds and smurfs only have 4.

While these notes do outline the morphological differences between these three species, I feel like I would be remiss not to mention the fact that all three of them are highly intelligent and can communicate. They do have their own languages but many who live on earth also know local human dialects, so when in doubt, you can always try asking them.