Polycerus

Cryptologic Name: Canis multicerus
Planar Origin: Olympia
Habitat: Highly varied, depending primarily on their progenitors
Diet: Omnivorous; primarily eat meat but will also consume grains and vegetables

Appearance & Morphology
Polyceri are a diverse group of canines possessing multiple heads. Three-headed individuals are the most common morphs, with two-headed dogs being somewhat rarer. Other multiples are possible but exceedingly rare; to date the highest known head-count on a single individual is thirteen. Because the two and three-headed variants are more common, they are commonly called “orthrus” and “cerberus,” respectively. These names come from the first known records of polyceri in myths of ancient Greece.

These creatures’ origins are purely magical, meaning that they are generally born from single-headed dogs under specific conditions. Those conditions, however, are not entirely clear to us at present and may, in fact, simply be a random “mutation.” From a biological standpoint, polyceri are not a distinct species from its canine progenitors (nor from other polyceri with different numbers of heads) as they can procreate with other dogs with any number of heads. We do know that multi-headed parents will more often produce multi-headed offspring but are not guaranteed to do so; breeding a pair of cerberi has yielded single-headed puppies on many occasions.

Aside from the extra head(s), polyceri physically resemble their single-headed counterparts in all other respects; they inherit coloration, size, and shape based on their genetics. Thus, an orthrus born from a pair of golden retrievers will simply look like a golden retriever with an extra head.

Magical Abilities
Polyceri only have a singular known magical ability: they can see things that are invisible. This includes creatures that are intrinsically or can become invisible, as well as magic spells and objects which turn things invisible or conceal objects or living things though other methods. This even includes beings that are entirely incorporeal, such as phantoms. Thus far, no method has yet been devised to “fool” a polycerus’s eyes. This ability, combined with their naturally keen senses of smell and hearing, mean that polyceri make very effective guard dogs.

It should be noted that magical hounds (such as coin-sithe, hell hounds, etc.) are also capable of producing polyceri and these multi-headed hounds retain any magical abilities of their parents.

Behavior
Much like their appearance, these creatures are dogs through-and-through in terms of behavior as well. They are social creatures, moderately intelligent (though much of this is based on breed), easily trainable, and generally form strong bonds with their companions.

Temperaments in polyceri can vary widely, with trends following those of their breed fairly closely, but quirks tend to be more pronounced compared to their single-headed relatives on account of having multiple dog brains at work. Thus, multi-headed chihuahuas will likely be even yappier and more excitable, border collies will have greater herding tendencies, etc. Each head also seems to have a distinct personality, though they tend to align fairly closely. Furthermore, all the heads work in tandem to control the creature’s body collectively, which tends to make them a little more derpy when the heads don’t coordinate properly; you tend to see this the most in puppies, as they generally learn how to coordinate better as they age.

Field Notes

• It’s worth noting that “dog” is used as a fairly wide classification when describing the species that can become polyceri. Any creature in the biological family Canidae can produce a polycerus, which includes domestic dogs, wild dogs, jackals, raccoon dogs, all species of wolf, and all species of fox. It addition, as stated above, magical canines can also produce polyceri, so it would appear that either the overall morphology of canines, or perhaps simply the idea of canines as a group of animals is what gives rise to these creatures.

Cù-Sìth

Cryptologic Name: Sylva Canis
Planar Origin: Fae
Habitat: Prefer temperate fields and forests
Diet: Decomposer; only consumes dead material

Appearance
Coin-Sìth, also known as “mossdogs” or “faerie dogs,” are large canines who resemble either wolves or foxes in overall body shape, and have mottled green and brown fur and long, braided tails. The vulpine (fox-shaped) coin-sìth are more commonly seen in the Americas, while the lupine (wolf-shaped) variant are more commonly seen in Europe and western Asia), A variety of mosses, wildflowers, mushrooms, other plants grow in the canine’s fur.

Magical Abilities
The cù-sìth is strongly associated with death, given that they consume only dead plants and animals. These creatures are known to predict when living things in their vicinity are close to death, and will howl to indicate this, similar to the wail of the banshee. Their pelts also have the ability to grow all manner of plant and fungal life. These creatures secrete a magical substance from their skin that acts as a fertilizer, causing plants and fungi to germinate and grow much more rapidly than usual. This substance is also particularly good at growing magical flora.

Behavior
While widely feared (particularly in the British Isles) as harbingers of death, these creatures are actually quite docile, inquisitive and playful creatures. While it is true that they tend to bark or howl in anticipation of a living being’s death (similar to the wail of a banshee), they are never responsible for the death itself. They simply feed off decomposing meat and plants, and howl when they sense death approaching. They howl far more often for dying trees, plants, and wild animals than they do for people, but like many magical creatures associated with death, misfortune, and other unpleasant occurrences, they often get a bad reputation through no fault of their own. In truth they are just as much harbingers of life as death; the energy absorbed from the dead plants and animals which they eat fosters the life growing on their coats.

Field Notes

• As might be expected, these creatures are popular companions for herbologists, as magical fauna seems to grow particularly well in their fur. In fact, many magical plants and fungi would be nearly impossible to cultivate otherwise. Beyond serving herbologists as a growing medium, they also consume dead plant matter, meaning they will happily dead-head flowers and remove dead vegetation without damaging the living plants around them. While not commonly kept as pets, those who do agree that they make for a nice alternative to composting since coin-sìth will faithfully dispose of food waste, even the parts we don’t generally eat like fruit peels and meat trimmings. They do seem less fond of overly processed foods though, so don’t expect them to clean up your leftover Velveeta dip.

• Because of their knack for growing magical plants and fungi, coin-sith often glow in the dark as a result of the bio-luminescence that is often seen in magical species of flora