Purdue Fantasy Club

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== Great Beasts ======
This term is an umbrella, which refers to a wide variety of powerful and mythological creatures who make their home in the material plane, or Cefa'zisto. Great Beasts are spoken of across both [[settings:jaern|Jaern]] and [[settings:cahyali|Cahyali]]. They fall into a few broad categories, and not all are found across both planes.

The unifying feature among Great Beasts is their incredible amounts of magical or physical power, and usually sentience. Some have created lesser versions of themselves, such as drakos, and some simply have lesser kin which are simple animals. Great Beasts tend to live incredibly long lives (on the scale of centuries to millennia), and see mortals as passing blips in the long history of their worlds.

Through their long lives and their power, Great Beasts are a mainstay in the mythology and legend of many mortal cultures. Some fear them, some respect them, and some even worship them. Below is a list of several notable Great Beasts, and a short summary of their nature and interactions with mortals.

===== Dragons =====
  * Origin: Jaern & Cahyali
[[lore:creatures:greatbeasts:dragons|Dragons]] are one of the most significant Great Beasts to exist, full-stop. They are a presence across both Jaern and Cahyali, having securely cemented themselves into mortal consciousness and even, arguably, given rise to an entirely new race of lizards: the [[lore:races:lizards#draconics|Draconics.]] 

Dragons come in varied types, but most appear as massive semi-reptilian creatures gifted with powerful elemental magic and some sort of elemental breath weapon. On the plane of Jaern, they are thought to be natives of Jaern along with the Semi-Aquatic Lizards and the Onivero, and on the plane of Cahyali they first came to be in the realm of Esrior.

===== Kirin (Qilin) =====
  * Origin: Cahyali
Resembling massive horses or deer shining with magical energy, these beasts are rumored to have been able to run upon clouds and leap miles through the air. Myth touts them as deeply kind and compassionate beings, caring for all creatures on the earth both above and below them. The Kirin are now extinct, having been wiped out by members of the [[lore:creatures:grand_murmuration|Grand Murmuration]] in an age long past. It is said that, upon realizing the doom of their people, the Kirin placed a singular curse on the elemental birds, driving them mad with hunger and swelling their bodies to unnatural sizes. This curse would result in the birth of the first Strygarii.

===== Strygarii =====
  * Origin: Cahyali
These creatures take the forms of massive birds crackling with elemental power, and have never been seen within known Cahyali. The only mention of [[lore:creatures:greatbeasts:strygarii|Strygarii]] comes from old legends of Cahyalian dwarves and humans, speaking of a great war known as [[history:cahyali#the_stormwing_calamity|the Stormwing Calamity.]] This war, fought between Strygarii and dragons in a time before mortal civilization really existed, left long scars on the world and drove dwarves and humans to migrate to the Cahyali known today.

Strygarii are colloquially referred to by their elemental natures; for example, a Strygarus attuned to lightning is more commonly called a thunderbird, and one attuned to fire is a firebird or phoenix. These can be misnomers, however, as Strygarii are not to be confused with avian elementals of similar appearances. They are far larger, and, if the legends are to be believed, far more destructive.

**[More entries are to be added in the future. If you have created a creature which you believe fits the description of a Great Beast, please contact Story Board to get it documented on this page!]**