Reverie Beast

Cryptologic Name: Reveria s.
Planar Origin: Astra
Habitat: n/a
Diet: n/a

Appearance & Morphology
The term “reverie beast” encompasses a wide variety of creatures having unique morphologies and abilities. One commonality among reverie beasts is white eyes; sometimes they have white pupils surrounded by a colored iris, but often the entire eye is white.

Magical Origins and Behavior
The reason that reverie beasts have such a varied appearance and magical abilities is because, unlike most magical creatures whose taxonomic delineation relies principally on their abilities and morphology, reverie beasts are classified as a single taxon (group) based on their common method of creation. These creatures are of pure magical origin, meaning that they exist only as a result mana converging under specific circumstances and are unable to reproduce on their own.
Reverie beasts are creatures that live primarily in our dreams, but can sometimes manifest in the physical world. When a dreaming person has a surge of mana channeled through them, this can cause a reverie beast to pass from the dream world onto the physical plane. The appearance and abilities of the creature are shaped by the subconscious of the dreamer and so will vary widely and can be quite powerful and very unusual. These creatures are ephemeral, and will usually fade within a few hours of the dreamer waking.

In addition to the individual birth of a reverie beast, there is a magical phenomenon known as a “reverie” which can spawn them in much greater numbers. While a great number of these creatures may come into being in this way, they can generally only survive within the reverie itself, though we know that it is possible to extract a reverie beast from its otherwise bound existence; little is understood about how to achieve this, but it is possible. Reverie beasts that do emerge from their spawning reveries tend to be much longer-lived than those who spawn in the aforementioned way.

Field Notes

• A reverie is a complex magical phenomenon involving a concentration of a particular type of mana, as well as an individual with a very dissonant view of reality. Reveries are quite rare under normal circumstances but there are some mages who attract this type of energy and therefore can cause reveries to spawn more frequently among those around them. Reveries are much more sophisticated magical theory topic which we all know is not my field so if you’re interested, I would encourage you to read Reverie by Ryan La Sala
  [this is a real book and provided some of the inspiration for this creature, so you should absolutely go read it]

• The beast pictured here spawned from a shared dream between myself and my dear friend Dan while we spent an afternoon dozing in the park. The source of the surge of mana that passed between us and merged our dreams remains a mystery to us both, but I was delighted to discover this charming little fellow when we awoke. He was very friendly and spent most of his two hours of life exploring with us in the woods and having very musical conversations with squirrels.

Occamy

Cryptologic Name: Poulicephalos badhatana
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Jungle
Diet: Carnivorous

Appearance & Morphology
Occamys are long, serpentine creatures with a mix of traits from both snakes and birds. The occamy’s head mostly bird, with a strong beak and bluish-purple feathers and it has golden eyes with slitted pupils, resembling a snake’s. The feather’s transition to scales down the creature’s neck, and back to feathers at the tip of its tail which ends in a colorful tuft. They also possess powerful wings which allow them to soar quite adeptly.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
The occamy’s most notable magical ability is choranaptyxis, meaning it can grow or shrink in size in order to fit its available space. It is unclear if this ability has a strict limit; we rarely see occamies grow larger than 5m in length or shrink to smaller than 15cm, but because we don’t entirely understand the mechanism of this magic we can only speculate as to whether there are limits to the creature’s range of sizes.

Occamies are carnivorous and quite dangerous; while they eat mostly insects, rodents, and small birds, their ability to grow in size means that they can easily injure or kill an unprepared mage if one happens upon them. What’s more, they are fiercely territorial and protective of their nests, as well as having a strong sense of smell, so nesting sites should be avoided.

Field Notes

• Cryptozoologists have observed that occamies never expand past the boundaries of their immediate environment when in an enclosed space; for example, if an occamy slithered into a shoebox, it wouldn’t expand in size to break/be free of the shoebox. There are two possibly explanations for this, one being behavioral and one being magical. It is possible, since we still don’t fully understand how these creatures’ magic functions, that this is a limit on the magic itself, meaning they are incapable of growing beyond the boundaries of an enclosed space. Alternatively, the behavioral possibility (i.e. they simply don’t do this, even though they are able to) may be explained in terms of preventing injury to themselves. For example, if an occamy was contained in a metal box and expanded, it may cause serious injury to the occamy before the box broke (assuming it did ultimately break).

• Occamy eggs are widely sought-after because their shells have an outer layer of pure silver.

Augurey

Cryptologic Name: Kairouli liveros
Planar Origin: Veneficus
Habitat: Temperate marshlands
Diet: Carnivorous, feeding primarily on insects and faeries

Appearance & Morphology
The augurey, sometimes referred to as the “Irish phoenix,” is a moderately large bird resembling a vulture. Its long neck and head are mostly bare save for a ruff of plumage around the base of the skull and a bright crest stemming from the same area atop its head. Mostly grey-brown in color, these birds have shocks of bright green feathers in their crest, tail, and wings.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Augureys are known to sing a melancholic song, and for a long period of time many believed this call to be prophetic of one’s death. In the mid 1700’s Rumors spread of people suffering heart attacks walking the marshlands in which these birds can be found, and these deaths became attributed to the birds’ dreary ballads. It wasn’t until many decades later, when cryptozoology became more widely studied in the magical community, that we discovered the true nature of these birds’ magical abilities. It is true that they have minor prophetic powers, however they do not predict death, but rather the coming onset of precipitation. As such, these birds became wildly popular among mage families as weather predictors, however during the rainier months their unpleasant dirges can be rather taxing to hear with such frequency.

These birds are rather reclusive, building teardrop-shaped nests out of thorns and bramble and remaining hidden within them for the bulk of the day, only emerging in the twilight hours to hunt for meals.

Aside from their predictive abilities, they also have another unusual property in their plumage. Augurey feathers contain a chemical compound that resists ink, and thus are useless as writing quills.

Field Notes

• It’s nickname, “Irish phoenix,” is not particularly meaningful from a cryptozoological standpoint. These creatures are not native to Ireland (like most magical creatures, they are extraplanar beings, though to be fair there is a sizable population there) and primarily are associated with Ireland because of their green coloration. Similarly, they are not closely related to phoenixes, but are simply magical birds of a comparable size. Informal names are often thus, much as how “jellyfish” are not actually fish. This is probably unimportant to most of you but I’m a scientist and this is my field guide so you signed up to hear my inane complaints about mage society’s unscientific way of talking about things.

• Uric the Oddball [a wildly eccentric collector of magical species] is known to have slept in a room containing no fewer than fifty pet augureys. During one particularly wet winter, Uric became convinced by the moaning of his augureys that he had died and was now a ghost. His subsequent attempts to walk through the walls of his house resulted in what his biographer Radolphus Pittiman describes as a “concussion of ten days’ duration.’
  (Scamander, Newton. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Obscurus Books, 1927.)

Thunderbird

Cryptologic Name: Fulgaquila wakinyan
Planar Origin: Materia
Habitat: Arid regions
Diet: Carnivorous

Appearance & Morphology
Thunderbirds are giant raptors resembling golden-feathered eagles. These birds have three pairs of wings and two long, bare tails that end in feathery tufts. Thunderbirds’ sharp, hooked beaks; powerful talons; and powerful wings make them incredibly fierce hunters. These enormous creatures can pick up fully grown bison to take back to their nests to feed at their leisure.

Behavior & Magical Abilities
Thunderbirds are rather aptly named, as they create thunderclaps when they beat all 3 pairs of wings in tandem. They don’t always use all three sets when they fly, as it’s rather difficult to take prey by surprise when they’re constantly making loud noises as they fly. When these magnificent birds beat their wings repeatedly, they will summon severe thunderstorms, particularly when multiple individuals are flying together. They can direct lightning generated in the clouds, though it takes a good deal of concentration for them to control it with any kind of accuracy.

Thunderbirds are generally solitary creatures, and are fiercely territorial. When territory disputes occur, the birds can call up dangerously powerful storms as they vie for territory. Aside from territorial disputes, these birds usually only come together to mate and care for their young; usually only having broods of 1-2 at a time. Both parents share responsibility of caring for the eggs and hatchings, usually alternating between guarding the nest and hunting. Thunderbird chicks usually fledge about 14-16 weeks after hatching, and are taught to fly and hunt by their mother, at which time the father generally leaves to reclaim his former territory.

Field Notes

• While thunderbirds do cause storms, this is not meant to suggest that all thunderstorms are a result of thunderbirds’ magic; like any weather phenomenon, most instances occur completely naturally as a result of atmospheric conditions.

• Thunderbird quills are potent magical materials, often used in magical rituals or as wand cores, though wands with thunderbird feather cores tend to be temperamental unless used by a highly skilled mage.

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.

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.