Fairly tall and leggy, Marsh Striders are well-adapted to the murky waters of Cetus. They're usually coated in a fairly thick, rubbery skin with not a trace of fur. The entirety of their hide is dark to blend in with the swamp's dreary backdrop; though when frightened, their bioluminescent markings flash more brightly across their bodies to alert the rest of the herd as they flee through the bogs. Usually, Marsh Striders possess four eyes (which seem to be entirely pupils) and large, rabbit-like ears. It's difficult to sneak up on one, and even more difficult to catch one on foot without the aid of magic or specialized hunting tactics.

Not quite as leggy as their cousins in Cetus, Jungle Deer are fairly well-built with strong limbs and a barrel-shaped body. The majority of individuals have a short-furred hide in a variety of colors. They can range from earthy browns and greens to brighter blues and yellows. A number of Jungle Deer also possess brindle-like patterns and stripes to aid in camouflage. Their sense of smell is extremely precise and it's not uncommon for them to have three or more eyes. They aren't the quickest of the subspecies, but evade ambush predators with their strong stamina and incredible agility in Eridanus's undergrowth. It's easy to lose one as it makes a hairpin-turn into the brush.

One of the larger and more brutish of the subspecies, Tunnel Runners are hairless, scrappy and almost skeletal in appearance. Their heads are long, slender, and seem to resemble a skull. Beady-black eyes populate the face, often in at least two pairs. They tend to have muted coloration, sometimes with glowing markings and banding. Males develop sharp, single-pointed antlers for competing for mates, while females tend to grow tusks for defending their young. Tunnel Runners do not seem to discriminate between what they do and do not eat. They can be seen crowding (and fighting) around plants or carcasses. Some have even been observed to exhibit cannibalistic tendencies, feeding on their own dead.

Small and goat-like, Woolly Deer thrive in the colder biomes of the caves. Stockily-built, Woolly Deer always develop either shaggy fur coats or thick wool within their first cycle. They have boxy faces with floppy, rounded ears. All individuals, regardless of sex, grow blunt antlers used for protecting their young. Woolly Deer seem to be prefer the snowier areas, snuffling around for buried mosses and grasses to eat. Their choice of escape routes are often slippery paths littered with patches of ice and slush, over which they never seem to stumble. Young Woolly Deer can often be seen skating around as practice and for play.

Ivory Deer seem to have been formed purely to look beautiful. They're an invariably pristine white, the pale of ivory or marble, with a smooth, very short, soft coat. Slender legs and body move with grace, and large, dark eyes (one set of very large, one smaller just in front) regard everything with a mystical aloofness. Even their hooves are white, and some carry delicate white antlers with several upward-reaching tines. The deer appear to serve the purpose of keeping Cepheus' gardens perfectly-manicured, rarely eating enough to damage any one part, and the grass in their instinctive care seems precisely trimmed.

Mountain Deer are a much bigger relative of Woolly Deer spectacularly well-adapted to the bitter cold of Ursa. They bear thick, white wool--not long, but coarse--and feature small ears, small pale eyes with excellent night-vision, and powerfully gripping cloven hooves for climbing. They're the second-largest of the cave's deer, weighing about three to four hundred pounds, and found only solitary or in small herds among the steepest crags of this cave. With their surefooted nature and resistance to wind and cold, along with spectacular camouflage in the dim light, they can be a real challenge to hunt; spooking them is likely to see them flee out of sight along the ridges in seconds. They can subsist on frozen lichen, often digging out grasses near the lake or nibbling on dead branches and still finding sustenence. Their antlers are short, sharp and dark, forward-pointing, and if cornered they can deliver a nasty stab, headbutt or kick.

Meadow Deer are easily the largest of the deer subspecies and heavily muscular; their frames resemble that of a bison or powerful cattle. Long, stringy hair coats their hides in colors ranging from sandy golds to a rich chocolate, in lengths varying from shaggy to musk ox-like. Some individuals might have glowing, thick-ended quills and feathers along their neck and back. Their eyes (up to ten) are rarely visible, but quite keen and sensitive to motion on their peripherals. Regardless of sex, they boast large racks of antlers with broad "palms" like a moose's; a jagged horn curves up from the nose, lethally pointed. They typically ignore smaller creatures, but any predator's presence—if spotted—will result in their sounding the alarm and assembling into a tightly organized group: each member of the herd will arrange themselves in a circle, heads facing outward. Any young or injured are fiercely defended in the center. The largest of the group may break from the circle in order to charge the attacker.

Scale Deer are small (goat-sized) deer, invariably under one hundred pounds in weight. They are sturdy and wiry, blindingly fast in a sprint but moreso, exceedingly agile. They are excellent climbers, and spend their lives hiding and climbing among the crags of the Crucible's ravines. The Scale Deer is preyed upon by Eyehook Vultures from above, and by Spire Spiders at night on the ground, and so have developed a few defenses. Beneath their tawny coats are broad, plate-like scales, providing leather-like protection against scrapes and lacerations, though direct punctures still pierce through. Likewise, tufts of spines grow haphazardly along their bodies. These provide dual protection: first, they help camouflage the deer as the scrub brush upon which they feed, and second, they can easily impale an unwary predator. The deer's sharp hooves can also give a nasty kick, though the males' tusks are only for display.

Not quite so aggressive as their cousins, Red Rats tend to form larger groups than usual and keep to themselves. Seldom will you find a healthy individual by themselves. They're more likely to scatter than attack when disturbed, but will fight back if cornered. Like the other subspecies, though, they tend to carry disease in their wild, filthy fur and crooked teeth. On the off-chance an individual isn't completely covered in grime, Red Rats have sandy to russet fur—as is their namesake.

Heavier and far meaner than Reds, Pitch Rats cluster into fairly large hunting parties and fight tooth-and-claw over food. They tend to be solitary and wander around until they spot viable prey. A single call is enough to summon every other Pitch Rat in the vicinity and put them all on the uncoordinated attack. Their pelts are dark-colored and almost always have beady red or yellow eyes peering out. The sharpness of an individual's teeth often determines their standing in a hunting party and whether or not they eat first. Some can be seen gnashing their teeth on bark and mineral deposits to sharpen them.

Echoing Grays are the smallest of the subspecies, but perhaps the most dangerous when in great numbers. They have a highly developed hippocampus relative to other Lessers and utilize this to memorize any sound heard perfectly. An individual utilizes this eidetic sound memory to mimic sounds with complete accuracy. This ability is usually used to deter large predators, but may also be used to lure prey when assembled into large packs. They possess a dangerous understanding of vitals, and coordinate their attacks to target them. Echoing Grays are, as their name suggests, usually gray or white in color.

These rats are a strange species: large, long, but thin. They're solitary, unlike the other rats of Origin Cave, and restricted to the hottest subzones available: mostly Leo and its connecting tunnel. Their fur is a scraggly, rich, dark red-brown, their bodies thin to the point of appearing starving, and studded with patches of hard, black keratin. This allows them to blend in perfectly with cracked lava and magma-formed stone, and they use this to ambush smaller prey, though they'll usually flee from anything larger. They seem highly heat-resistant, though not immune; a searingly-high body temperature of nearly boiling point makes them difficult to hunt and their rail-thin bodies provide little meat. Their eyes glint a flaming red-orange. Lava rats rely both on sharp instincts and cunning intelligence to avoid the hottest, most deadly parts of the tunnel and cave. They also have a strange habit of collecting any metal that they find--particularly iron--and using it to line their nests; therefore, finding a Lava Rat nest can provide an impressive source of material to work with.

Small- to medium-sized, these rabbits have very long fur that can be harvested for many uses, either through skinning or clipping the fur. It is reminiscent of angora fur, thick and soft, and is very good for insulation. They usually live in the tunnels of Origin, hiding themselves off in holes, crevices or any burrows they can manage to dig. Given the thickness of their pelt, cold weather presents little problem for Bush Rabbits, who despite their name often linger in cooler tunnels which features less traffic (and thus, less danger). Their fur is usually gray or brown but sometimes comes in brighter oranges and tones of yellow. Populations that have lived in cold tunnels tend to evolve toward paler, even white, coats in order to better blend in.

Generally a little larger than the Bush Rabbit, with a steely gray pelt and occasional blue (sometimes bioluminescent) markings, the Walleye Rabbit is easily-spotted throughout the caves and tunnels. They are more difficult to catch than some, however, given their eyes: these sit atop stalks on their heads and give them an immense range of vision. They have enormous hind feet, enabling them to kick aggressors or run very quickly away from any danger. Walleye Rabbits are herbivorous, and are extremely adaptable, eating almost anything that resembles plants: from leaves and grass to dead foliage and even sticks. They can often be found happily chewing away thorned or sharp-edged plants that other Lessers might leave behind.

These rabbits are more lithe and swift than the others, with a slender, athletic body. Unlike the other, more solitary species, Wind Hoppers live in large and social colonies, helping to care communally for their young. They tend to dig large burrow systems, or to live hidden beneath mats of overhanging, thick foliage, allowing them to stay mostly hidden when at rest. When feeding, they graze in groups, taking turns to eat and to keep watch for danger. Wind Hoppers are easily-recognizable by not only their slim appearance but their coloration: swirling markings of vibrant colors color their coats, perhaps serving some form of social function between them.

Snowwhiskers are a cold-adapted form of the Wind Hopper. Compact but lean, they are pure white in color, though often appear to have swirling patterns of silvery bioluminescence reflecting the aurora above. A Snowwhisker in danger will stifle this bioluminescence to appear camouflaged; but when relaxed, their displays to one another across the mountain peaks can look like the distant glittering of stars. Their ears are somewhat short, their fur quite thick to insulate against the cold, and very often, moisture leaves tiny icicles dangling from their whiskers. Their harsh existence in the cold of Ursa leaves them opportunistic, and all will unflinchingly consume meat if it is provided--but they do not hunt or kill on their own. Snowwhiskers are sometimes solitary, but will also form warrens beneath crusts of snow where they cluster together for warmth.

Tree Rabbits are adapted, as their name suggests, for life in the highest of Pegasus' trees. They bear six limbs instead of the usual four, with the first two pairs adapted for gripping and climbing, and the hind for leaping from tree to tree. Their tail is a little longer than usual, about a quarter of their total body length, and very fluffy. They are highly-social, and more intelligent and less fearful than most of the cave's rabbits, living in large colonies and communicating in chirps and squeaks not unlike loud birdsong. At times, they descend into the meadows when the feeding is particularly good, and when all appears safe below. They seem to be the Pegasus equivalent of Catsquirrels, and the few Catsquirrels found in Pegasus compete (mostly unsuccessfully) with Tree Rabbits for territory and food.

Bone Hares are a large hare species found only in Hydra, generally sticking to the Crucible. Gentle, shy herbivores, they weigh up to fifteen pounds. Lean and exceedingly swift, they tend to feed upon scrub brush and other foliage tough enough to withstand Hydra’s heat. Extremely sharp hearing and eyesight and a strong sense of smell warn them of danger well in advance. A Bone Hare’s first defense is to camouflage itself: its agouti, tawny coat is marked with pale markings resembling bones. The Bone Hare will lie flat or fall limp, eyes closed and ears flattened back, thus appearing at a distance to simply be another pile of Hydra’s bones. This tends to work well against the higher, circling Eyehook Vultures. The Bone Hare’s scent is nearly nonexistent, aiding it in avoiding or escaping tracking Cave Spiders, though they still fall prey to all of Hydra’s predators. As a last resort, the Bone Hare’s exceptional speed and agility can carry them away and into tight crevices to hide. However, the main survival mechanism of the Bone Hare as a group is simply through fast, frequent reproduction: the more Bone Hares there are, the more difficult they are to wipe out.

The Red Mouse is a sandy to russet color, living everywhere in the caves and yet very rarely seen. They are very secretive, hiding in vegetation and making use of any abandoned burrows or dens that they find. The Red Mouse has only one quirk, and that is that it tends to be very attracted to shiny objects. They will approach and take any reflective or shiny items that they can carry, and hide them away in whatever den they might be using. They may use this to impress potential mates, or just out of some strange and misplaced instinct. Whatever the case, it’s not uncommon to find an abandoned hole full of small and shiny objects, and potential treasure hunters might do well in following Red Mice to their holes.

Molemice have large, spade-like claws and bristling many-pointed feelers on their noses. They are eyeless, and thus blind, relying on their other senses while burrowing. They are hardly ever seen above-ground and thus must be dug out by predators, but they aren’t as difficult to find as one might imagine: they are rather noisy, communicating and claiming territory with many types of squeaks, grunts and squeals, giving carnivores with patience and good hearing a fairly easy source of food. They are the smallest of the cave mice and come in a variety of earthy tones, generally brown or grey, though a few have a greenish hue.

The Jungle Mouse is a little bolder than the other species, and a little larger, too. Longer and more muscled, with retractable claws, they are well-adapted for their lifestyle: an arboreal existence climbing among the higher trees. They do often come to the ground to forage among vegetation, though they are generally out-competed here by other Lesser species. The Jungle Mouse comes in a variety of colors, and usually features bright bioluminescent marking with which it communicates with others of its kind. They also use shrill, bird-like chirps and songs to keep track of one another and to claim territory or attract mates. Jungle Mice are generally herbivorous, but will also take insects and eggs if and when they can find them. They are too shy, however, to bite even helpless prey.

Ice Mice are very small mice adapted to Ursa's cold, though they can occasionally be found anywhere particularly cold. Like most of Ursa's creatures, they're pure white in color, and tend to create intricate burrows and tunnel systems through the snow. Their sense of smell is incredible, leading them to even old, buried or frozen plants for food, and they particularly favor the white blooms of the ice flowers that can sprout around the glacier tunnels. Their waterproof fur allows them to safely dive in the Drowned Forest to feed, and return without freezing solid. While quick and difficult to catch, Ice Mice are an abundant and tasty morsel to stave off a carnivore's hunger in the cold.

The Quill Mouse is a very small rodent perhaps double the size of a chicken's egg. It is very common throughout Hydra, though it lives primarily in the Crucible. While the Quill Mouse is primarily herbivorous, it is also opportunistic, eating anything it can come across--insects, carrion, and bones. Its main defense is a thick bed of long spines along its back, which the Quill Mouse coats with toxin: Quill Mice each periodically travel to the Dead Marsh, or use dead Scorpions and Spiders that they might find, and instinctively find and groom the venom into their fur. Quill Mice are also highly resistant to all forms of toxin and poison. A careless predator can easily find themselves badly wounded, infected, poisoned, or even dead--but all the same, the Quill Mouse is frequent prey for the more experienced carnivores of Hydra.

Named because of their large size and fearsome appearance, the Dragonbat is the most dangerous of the bat species. They are, luckily, far more uncommon in the caves than many Lesser Gembound types, restricted to small colonies which often quarrel viciously among themselves. They can be found in high, dark crevices or small, unlit rooms in caves, sometimes choosing to nest in abandoned structures or ruins. Wicked spikes protrude from their spine, all the way down their backs, and they have huge, crooked fangs adapted to their carnivorous diet (usually smaller vertebrates, large insects, and fish). Four legs feature sticky toes and wicked claws for grasping stalagmites and catching fish. Dragonbats are highly-territorial and do not like being disturbed while roosting, so a Gembound finding a hanging colony would be well-advised to leave them alone. They will viciously fight to defend their territory, swarming intruders with laceration, hit-and-run swoops, and they will target smaller Greaters, especially newly-hatched, as prey.

The Pixie Bat is easy to mistake for a large, glittering insect. Reaching a maximum of five inches long, they are quite tiny, with vibrant colors, and feed purely on the nectar of flowers. As a result of their diet they are generally restricted to Eridanus, though a few bright flashes of color can be found around Pisces and Cetus, as well. Their wings are beautifully-iridescent, and their fur is very soft. They have large ears and snub noses, but long tongues capable of dipping into flowers; they tend to use their senses of hearing and smell to navigate, though their vision is decent (and capable of seeing in the ultraviolet range).

Flying Pitch Rats, as per their namesake, look quite similar to Pitch Rats--but with wings. They are large, with crooked fangs, but they lack the terrifying eyes of Pitch Rats and are not particularly aggressive. A Flying Pitch Rat is more likely to flee rather than engage in combat. They tend to roost and live in small social groups, and a sick or wounded Flying Pitch Rat will find itself cared for by its colony-mates. They are easily-identified, compared to other bat species, by their six small, black eyes, situated in a haphazard pattern across the face. These patterns are unique to each individual, and can be used to identify them.

The Crawler Bat is a small bat, larger only than the Pixie Bat in terms of Cave Bat size. It is uniformly dark grey, with plush, short but thick fur covering its torso. Its ears are large and leaf-shaped, and it has a complicated, similarly-leaf-shaped nose. It has no eyes, and rather than true limbs, it has strange, two-jointed, claw-like limbs not unlike long spider legs. These grant the Crawler Bat its name: it tends to seek out small spaces to hide, and can often be found in unexpected (perhaps unwanted) small niches and holes, crawling with its oversized and slender limbs. Generally, it roosts high in trees or on cave ceilings among stalactites, often in colonies of a dozen or so. Crawler Bats hunt mostly flying insects, but will eat almost anything they find, including carrion, fruit, and fish. They do not, however, hunt prey for themselves, only scavenging. When hunting, they navigate through noisy echolocation and seek prey with a highly-sensitive nose. During flight they emit constant, high-pitched squeaks and clicks audible only to those who can hear such tones--Cetus can sometimes seem full of their calls. When roosting, the colonies are often noisy, shrieking and squawking while jostling one another for physical and social position.

Crystalwings are perhaps best likened to gargoyles of mythological lore, but far more beautiful to look upon. Native to Gemini, they can nevertheless be found migrating to any tunnel with crystals, including Draco, Polaris, and Orion. Solitary creatures, they spend their time still and silent perched among these outcrops, blending in perfectly: their hides are formed of a translucent, iridescent keratin structure that strongly resembles gemstone, and which can slightly, subtly shift color to match their surroundings. They often appear to be outcrops of crystal themselves, or carved bats formed from them; large ears, six small eyes and upward-jutting tusks complete a strange image. Crystalwings use their camouflage both to hide themselves when idle, and to hunt; they will eat fruit, insects and any particularly small creatures that they come across, often carrying it high and dropping it to let gravity do their work for them. They also occasionally eat actual gemstone, using the minerals to synthesize the crystalline structure of their keratin skin; their droppings, too, can hold bits of precious gems for those willing to pick through them.

The Hallowed Caller is surprisingly noisy for its size. Its appearance is definitely on the spooky side, with pitch-black feathers and a single blood-red eye. They also appear to prefer foggy areas, often those with dead trees, and usually can be found in Cetus. As if designed merely for atmospheric reasons, they even make eerie noises: a cacophony of pained screams, wails and calls that sound mournful at best, and hellish at worst. They are somewhat variable in size, ranging from about a foot and a half long to two and a half feet long, but otherwise are generally uniform in appearance. The exception is albino birds: purely white-feathered, with the single red eye very noticable. The Hallowed Caller is omnivorous, scavenging abandoned fish, carrion and fruit, or seeking out its own small prey, including insects and smaller vertebrates.

The Rainbow Spinners are tiny creatures with beautiful feathers that gleam with every color of the rainbow. When these feathers are plucked or fall loose they seem to spiral toward the ground rather than simply falling. Rainbow Spinners have brightly cheerful calls, and tend to fly in small groups of two or three; they roost in trees, and feed off fruits and nectar, and sometimes seeds. They are also surprisingly tame, often drawing closer to any larger creature that doesn’t act in a predatory fashion, displaying curiosity and friendly behavior. Though they rarely come close enough to touch, they can be welcome company for those who wish it.

Carollers are birds with a single set of two eyes. Their size varies from quite small to medium-sized, with a long tail making up much of that size, but their plumage is generally identical: bright blue coloring with white barring across the wings. They sport only a single leg featuring six claws adapted for gripping tree limbs, and they sometimes hang upside-down when displaying to fellow Carollers--often waving their wings broadly. Their calls are quite distinctive, with long, gorgeous songs. Each Caroller has its own unique song, sometimes extremely complex, and yet together they will weave them into a coherent, melodic tune. Their bright chirping and constant singing can be heard throughout the caves, excepting only the most inhospitable locations.

Hellswans are, at first glance, gorgeous creatures. They appear very much like normal swans in that they are pure white, elegantly graceful waterfowl with long, curved necks and thick plumage. There are, of course, differences: the neck is thickly ruffled with feathers, the legs pure white, and the eyes are four in number, glowing pale. Ear-tufts and a gently-hooked white beak give them a somewhat griffin-like appearance. Most of the time, they simply float around Cepheus' water features, looking like ornaments and trimming away dead plant matter and excess insects; however, anyone thrown into their pond, bleeding close by or presenting a threat (including damaging nearby garden plants) is met with a terrifying surprise. The swan's jaw actually extends down its neck, so that its face down to the chest will split into a horrifically large maw, full of razor-teeth. The swans will attack as a flock to rend their victims to pieces. Their flocks number around ten, and so a Hellswan attack can make quick work of even larger Gembound who misstep.

Mountain Sparrows vary in color from pure white to gray, and are sometimes streaked with black as if to imitate rocky striations. They feed purely on foliage and seeds, which they often dig out from the snow and ice of Ursa and its surrounding tunnels. These birds are quite small and very fluffy, round with insulating feathers, with a very small black beak and four bright black eyes. They can often be found in small flocks, roosting high along the mountain ridges or along the skeletal remains of the trees in the Drowned Forest. Their song is eerie: an almost metallic, very quiet keening and chirping that can be mistaken for raindrops or falling crystals, were it not for its melody. These birds are also very friendly and curious, lacking any instinctive fear, and will often approach or accompany visitors and even perch on them unless frightened off. Each bird has two pairs of wings: one primary, and one very small at the rear, which act as an additional rudder against the harsh winds of the higher mountain peak.

Ghostbirds are mysterious creatures found only in the highest parts of Ursa. While only three to four feet tall, weighing about thirty pounds, these birds have a massive wingspan of twelve feet, and use it to soar nonstop through the fog and snow at the top of the mountain cave. They rarely land, even to roost, and are generally difficult for all but the keenest eyes (or highest flyers) to spot. White or light gray in color, they blend in perfectly with the snow and mist. In build they're heavy-bodied but broad- and long-winged, with a long, slender, back-curved neck like a crane's and a slim, gently-hooked, long gray beak. Dark lines on some stretch back to encompass the eyes, which are a silver that often shine with reflections of the aurora-like light. Ghostbirds land only to reproduce, and then only on the highest portions of the mountains, sometimes in shallow caves; the rest of the time they feed by sweeping low and snagging prey or foliage that they deem possibly edible. This is often the only point at which they're spotted by ground-dwellers, giving them their name: they are like ghosts passing only briefly through the world below.

A bird-like creature about two feet long, with a four to five foot wingspan, these Lessers live in and around the cave's larger water sources. They prefer the crashing waves of Leo and, since Leo's reopening, have settled back into Fornax as well. Some can also be found in other locations, such as rivers or Pisces' lagoon. Skycallers have three feet--two with hooked talons for snatching fish from the water, and one set horizontally which waves back and forth as a rudder when swimming or diving. Generally pale in color, with countershaded grey upperparts, they're covered in a coat of sleek, waterproof feathers and have a long beak of metallic silver or gold. This beak is ridged with small, back-facing teeth. The bird's six eyes (one at the throat, one at the back of the head, and a pair to either side) always match the color of the beak and are often damaged or missing from fights with others of their kind. Skycallers are highly gregarious, usually roosting and flying in colonies, and will fish for their own food; but they also serve as a sort of garbage disposal, eating literally any meat, fish or detritus that they can find. They're also very vocal, with constant loud and high-pitched cries that visitors may find melodic or irritating. Skycallers will try to eat anything smaller than themselves, but that's a rather small list; they will otherwise flee, though they'll mob (with sharp strikes of their beaks) anything that tries to plunder an active nest.

A feathered but reptilian Gembound, small and white, with a long, forked tail and four wings. About eight inches long, with a two foot wingspan at the most, they're extremely agile in the air; the long, slender wings with their single "finger" bone can retract and adjust to allow for very rapid changes in both speed and trajectory. They have hard, beak-like mouths but these are very broad, almost frog-like; they're used to snatch up big gulps of water which is strained out through the sieve-like corners of the beak, leaving only very small prey to be swallowed whole. The Frogbeak has two large eyes, one to either side of the head, and a third beneath the throat to help it search for prey while airborne; often several of them will accompany a Skycaller or two, with the smaller Frogbeaks seeking schools of fish and the Skycaller taking any larger fish while keeping watch for danger. While totally harmless to almost all Gembound, Frogbeaks, like Skycallers, will mob any creatures that get too close to an active nest; these nests might contain little chrysalises, or the leathery eggs that the gemless Frogbeaks lay. These eggs are tiny, but highly nutritious, and as even a flog of mobbing Frogbeaks can inflict very little damage, the eggs are sometimes sought out by hungry Cave Rats capable of scaling the cliffs on which Frogbeaks nest.

The Eyehook Vulture is a scavenger and predator whose range covers all of Hydra's treacherous reaches. With a wingspan of nearly twenty feet (and even larger for some individuals, such as Matriarchs), it can carry off even deer-sized prey. The Eyehook Vulture is known for being extremely aggressive, and extremely dangerous--and for good reason; it's named for its propensity for gouging at the eyes of potential victims. These vultures vary widely in appearance. Some are fully-feathered, some with leathery wings; some have short, fan-feathered tails, others long and whiplike. Many are dusty brown in color, but others are red, pale buff, or even black, or combinations of the above. These birds roost in large colonies in the highest plateaus of the Crucible, but circle the Dead Marsh, the Dunes and the Salt Flats in search of food. Even they, however, must often rest in the shade through the worst heat of the day, and cannot circle for long at midday.

A tiny, flat-bodied serpent up to five inches long with a small head. They are eyeless and a translucent dark brown (with blood meals visible within), with heat-sensing pits and a sensitivity to passing vibrations. These creatures remain in a torpor, coiled like a spring, until prey passes by. They are capable of surprising leaps to attach themselves to a host, where they burrow under any available scales or fur and live off of the host's blood. They produce a mild venom that numbs the region of the bite, and remain attached until removed or ready to part ways with their host to reproduce elsewhere. A heavy Fleasnake infestation can weaken a host through blood loss, and cause itching and degrade the fur, scale or skin quality. It can mostly be found in Cetus, Eridanus and any other cave with moist, loose substrate.

A heavy-bodied constrictor that can reach up to ten feet long. It is primarily found in darker, damper patches within the caves, sometimes swimming in water, though it does sun itself sometimes. Fornax, Cetus and Polaris often have a few of them present. The Lurker is capable of camouflage, its body shifting color to near-perfectly match its surroundings. It strikes powerfully when prey passes by, coiling its powerful body to squeeze the air and consciousness from its victim, which is then swallowed whole. The snake can take prey up to the size of, for example, a wolf or goat. When seen without camouflage, this snake is dusty brown and bears two sets of two eyes along the side of its head, and a fifth eye at the center of its forehead. Rather than perfectly smooth, its sides are ridged by fin-like protrusions running the length of its body on either side, helping it to maneuver and climb.

A very slender, thick-cheeked viper-like creature with two pairs of eyes and long, fishlike fins, which are often ragged from fighting. It is translucent, with a pearly blue sheen, matching it well to the cold crevices in which it makes its home: Tunnel M, Pisces, and Tunnel H. It thrives in the cold, and is both solitary and extremely territorial, making it very unusual to find more than a few in any of its home caves. Its venom induces localized paralysis and weakness in the limbs, like a sensation of frostbite. At around ten feet long, it (like the Lurker) can take prey up to the size of a dog.

A small, thin, tree-dwelling viper up to a few feet long. It is found in any cave with trees, and subpopulations tend to match their home cave, generally in shades of green or brown. The scales are small and smooth, running out from the spine rather than parallel to it, and it sports a large fan running the length of its body and beyond the tail, which ends in a long, hard point of keratin. This fan and spike camouflages the snake as a leaf, or (when flattened to the body) it can imitate vines, hanging loosely from branches. The spike can also be wielded as a powerful slashing tool in self-defense, inflicting deep cuts in attackers and causing heavy blood loss. The snake can jump great distances and spread its fan to glide quite far between trees. Its venom is mildly itchy, but it is less aggressive than other snakes, preferring to eat small prey, like mice and insects. They sometimes live in small colonies.

A squat, three-to-four-foot-long snake with a heavy, muscled body and rough, thick scales that act as armor; the belly and the sensitive face are unarmored. In color it is a striking coal-black with a line of glittering gold along the spine and golden freckles along its body. These snakes are typically quite territorial and remain in a fixed area around their home dens, only charging out to attack intruders. They have a circle of three eyes on each side of their heads, bright and gem-like, which can come in various colors; these eyes are falsely-mirrored on the flared tip of their tail, which they flick about to attract prey. This tail can be regrown if bitten off. Their bite carries venom which inflicts a dangerous condition called "Stonerot," rapidly calcifying the surrounding tissue. Small prey quickly succumb to organ or respiratory failure, and larger prey can be seriously maimed by the bite. The calcification can never be wholly reversed. Most stonerot-afflicted prey animals are difficult to consume as meat, but the snakes use their serrated teeth to slice chunks to swallow, and compress this, for digestion, with their powerful muscles. Golden Chargers, given their venom and ability to cut prey into manageable chunks, will take prey of any size: larger Gembound are not safe from attack.

These snakes are solitary, feeding mostly on Red Mice and the occasional Lava Rat, along with anything else they can catch and eat. Found only in very hot regions, they're generally a bright red-brown, like clay, though can be variously patterned with lava-red and black. Their scales are rough and diamond-like, so that when basking in the heat of Leo's forge, they can be easy to mistake for rock. They tend to ignore larger Gembound, but if provoked, their bite can deliver an agonizing venom: a searing-hot toxin that make the victim feel as though they are burning alive. It likely has some chemical similarities to capsaicin, and is generally completely debilitating to even the largest Gembound for hours. The very careful and very knowledgable can harvest this venom: either as a poison, having similar effects when consumed, or as a watered-down poultice that aids greatly in preventing infection and promoting new growth in wounds.

Though called a snake in name, the Lesser Snake is distinguished from true Cave Snakes by the vestigial limbs that hang tiny at their sides. These creatures are quite docile and fairly shy, avoiding conflict and confrontation. They prefer instead to hide entirely until they grow hungry and need to search out prey. Their scales are usually blue or yellow. They serve as predators of the tiniest Lessers, and food for the rest.

Frilled Chasers earn their name through two features: their enormous, extendible neck frills (not unlike umbrellas around the throat’s circumference) and their extremely territorial nature. Regardless of the size of the intruder, a Frilled Chaser will extend its skin frill and stand on its hind legs, mouth agape and usually hissing; they can look far larger than their size like this, and will usually charge and even bite their opponents. A frilled chaser might latch onto an enemy and refuse to let go, but for the most part, their bites are quite harmless. They feed on insects, foliage, fruit, and more rarely carrion, and sometimes seek out nuts or seeds. In appearance they are usually grey, from sandy to steel to grey-green, and universally share brightly-colored spots that cover their bodies. The spots are different in pattern and color for each individual, and some rare Frilled Chasers have spots of a variety of colors.

Slime Bellies are more amphibious in appearance than reptilian, featuring a soft, slick body coated in slime. The bright colors and patterns on the scales beneath serve the same purpose as the slime: deterring predators. The slime is toxic, and if ingested without cleaning it off can induce extreme illness (vomitting, headache, stomach cramps) for a few days, though it isn’t fatal. They are generally brown or grey, with a few blue exceptions, but the stripes and spots along their bodies can be of any vibrant hue--and in darker caves, are often bioluminescent. They, unlike the other lizard species, do sometimes live in damper or darker locations. They feed almost entirely on insects, which they catch with a long and sticky tongue, though they do sometimes feed on fallen fruit.

Firetongues are very cute lizards. They hunt exist peacefully throughout Leo, drawing Gembound in attracting new friends with their large, fiery-colored eyes--six in number--and dolphin-like smile. The frill around their neck can raise and gently vibrate in a hypnotic pleasing pattern, lulling potential prey new friends into a helpless contented state. Firetongues can therefore feed on even the largest prey, as a Spire Spider can make friends with just about anyone! They do possess a paralytic venom that can last for twenty to thirty minutes, but we're sure they'd never use it.

Icebeasts are cold-adapted to an extreme. Based on a reptilian design, they look almost like a komodo dragon in basic form: long-bodied and squat, with a downward-hanging, massive head and long tail. However, they're an icy white, their scales adapted into a feather-like insulating structure that gives them an almost fluffy appearance. Icebeasts are very rare, with only a dozen or so full-sized specimens found throughout Ursa, and a number of younger ones competing for survival. They eat anything they can find, with the smallest subsisting mostly on Ice Mice and the largest struggling to hunt Snow Deer. Horns resembling antlers branch back from their heads, providing a method of signalling to others: only the largest, most mature specimens will have a large set of horns and only the strongest hunters will have a healthy rack. A blue-tipped white tongue often flicks out to taste the snowy air, and these creatures often burrow beneath the snow to sleep. They are at least partially warm-blooded, though can survive being frozen nearly solid.

These beautiful fish have dark scales with little pinpoints of mirror-like shine that reflect light brightly, rendering them not unlike the ceiling of Orion. They are no exception to the rule of Origin’s fish being slimy, though their coating is thinner than many. They are obviously blind, lacking any eyes, and generally browse algae and foliage just beneath the surface, though will also take any insects whose vibrations they sense above them.

The Redfang is easily Origin’s largest Lesser Gembound fish species, tipping the scales at around a hundred pounds on average, though there are outliers. Their fangs and the area around their mouths is usually a reddish color--whether naturally, or stained with previous blood, is unknown. They are violent creatures and very strong, going into a frenzy at the scent of blood, and while usually solitary, several of them can turn up when large, struggling prey bleeds into the water. At these times they may also turn on one another. However, if a Redfang can be subdued, they yield a great deal of meat with a very good flavor. Their skin is a rough, slimy dark grey with a pointed dorsal fin that can sometimes be seen as they swim near the surface, hunting. Thankfully, Redfangs are never very commonplace, with usually only a few for any given cave. In Fornax, they tend to swim lower, hugging the warm vents deeper down.

Silverlings are fairly small, silver fish, the most common in the caves, often with hundreds in any given body of water. Generally they are smaller, six or so inches long, but older or unusual fish can grow to about double that. They swim in large schools, moving and turning together with the light flashing off their scales. They generally swim nearer the surface, feeding off smaller organisms and insects, and are therefore usually easy to catch. Silverlings each keep watch for danger with three silver eyes: one to each side, and one in their forehead.

Whiteling are primarily found in Cetus, though some swim deep in Pisces, Polaris, or the connecting underground waterways. They are pure white, their scales without pigment, but rather than attractively gleaming they are dull with the extra-thick slime that coats them. They are usually a slow-swimming species, their sightless pink eyes useless but their underwater sense of smell strong; they use this to patrol marshy channels or still waters, seeking anything they can eat. This can be the detritus of dead foliage, live plants, smaller fish, insects, carrion, fallen fruit and more. If the slime can be scraped away, and especially if the fish can be roasted, its meat is nutritious and very flavorful.

Purple Starscales are medium-sized fish with colors ranging from pale lilac to bright magenta to a rich, dark purple. They prefer shallow pools, but can be found throughout the caves, usually in low numbers and small groups. Females breeding naturally move to larger bodies of water to lay their eggs. These fish feed off of algae and other small organisms, but are opportunistic in nature, generally eating anything they can get in their mouths. They are slender fish, generally darting away from danger with surprising speed and agility, making them difficult to catch. In addition, their long fins allow them surprising leaps over the water's surface, through the air.

These shy, generally harmless crabs are capable of living either on land or in the water, and though a single species, come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Their only real defining characteristic, aside from a similar body shape, is their reuse of objects and shells discarded by other creatures for use as their own new shell. They can be found in Skullcrab or Luckbite shells, suitably-shaped gemstones, and more. They are also known for their habit of gathering up any objects nearby and using a long-drying paste saliva to affix it to their shells. These objects help them blend in, and are defined by the caves in which they live: land-dwelling crabs in Canis or Eridanus use bones or plants, for example, while water crabs might use fragments of Luckbite shell or bits of seaweed. In some places, they will also build themselves small huts constructed of local items. Beneath the shell lies a softer body with ten hard-shelled legs, all of which bear small, fairly harmless pincers; four eyes stand on short, thin stalks. Decorator Crabs are scavengers preferring detritus, serving as cleaners in the caves--any rotting foliage, abandoned carrion, and so on is fair game.

These crabs are found only in deeper waters, and are somewhat larger than Decorator Crabs. Their shells are usually shaped like a humanoid's skull, possibly as a defensive display or deterrant. These bear pointed spines that can be dangerous to bite. Rather than small, harmless pincers, Skullcrabs bear powerful, shearing forelimbs capable of cutting through meat, which they prefer in their diets. Though they prefer to utilize their shells for defense, they're more aggressive than Decorator Crabs, and capable of surprising speed and ferocity. They can be dangerous to Gembound smaller than their size, which is usually a foot or two in breadth from one side of the shell to another. Skullcrabs usually hunt small fish or scavenge carrion, but can eat almost anything.

Lanternfish are medium-small, and very silvery and reflective in bright light. But they live far beneath the black depths in Fornax, appearing darker in hue. These fish trail both long tailfins behind them and a lure before their head that can flash and glow with variously-colored bioluminescence. These lights lure in smaller prey, which the Lantern Fish dispatches with a massive set of jaws and long, hooked fangs. Though extremely dangerous to small creatures, they avoid larger opponents unless they hold an advantage of numbers--in which case they can become aggressive, surrounding a larger target and darting in from behind to attack, gradually wearing it down and killing it.

These creatures are bizarre, horizontally-oriented, like birds with soft, always-spread wings. They ripple their way in long glides through the waters of the caves, either alone or gathering in larger groups to feed. They're generally harmless, using their powerful jaws to feed on only smaller creatures or available foliage, but if a threat draws too close the Lightning Ray will employ its defense: a shock from ionized glands along the dorsal line of the body. These course over the Ray and a short distance into the surrounding water, stunning anything close and delivering a potentially fatal shock to anything actually biting or gripping the Ray. These rays are usually only one or two feet long, plus another foot or more of tail, but in exceptional cases can grow four or five feet long plus tail.

Snatchers are strange creatures, generally small and intelligent, even curious and sometimes friendly. They are capable of rapidly changing colors, and bear a venomous bite with strong, bone-plated jaws for defense. Their body, a cephalopod-like mantle, can change shape from smooth to seemingly spiky (though it remains soft to the touch) for textural camouflage. Six to twelve arms (the number varies) and any various number of eyes from one to twenty or more decorate these creatures. Snatchers are so named because they, being curious and usually fearless creatures, tend to steal anything they find interesting and swim away with it, either discarding it after growing bored or stashing it in a hidden hoard. They are rarely aggressive, and even in self-defense employ their paralytic venom in order to simply escape. They eat small fish, Water Crawlers, and Luckbites, prying the latter open with strong tentacles. Snatchers are very long-lived, taking many cycles to gain a single foot in length. Some very few may survive to grow into the behemoths known as Krakens.

Only the eldest, most fierce and cunning Snatchers survive to leviathan size, going from fearless and curious to voracious predators. Though a Kraken who isn't hungry will generally hide, they're so large that they're almost always hungry. Being that they retain their camouflage abilities and paralytic bite into massive size, the Kraken is an incredibly dangerous predator--but rarely numbers more than one or two per cave, and remain in the deepest, darkest depth of Origin's waters. When hunting, they will use powerful limbs (some of which are tipped with hardened points) to ensnare and spear prey in an incredibly strong grip, and then apply the paralytic bite and massive jaws to paralyze and shred their prey.

These creatures look much like long-legged, spindly crabs, but are actually deadly spiders adapted to deep water. In fact, they're still capable of spinning proteins into thick and sticky webs that retain their adhesive properties even underwater; it's not uncommon to find a narrow passage in the deep dark blocked by a thick, nearly-invisible spider's web. The Death tends to lurk nearby, and wait for prey to tire itself out, their bodies well-camouflaged to underwater, rocky surfaces. But if needed, its chelicerae can deliver a powerful venomous bite that causes numbness and physical weakness. Once prey is weakened, the Deep Death spins it into a web, and feeds at its leisure. While mostly found in very deep waters, these creatures can be found anywhere the water is very dark, including the water channels that run beneath the caves.

These creatures are not unlike eyeless Snatchers, but they are translucent, and from the center of their arm-like tentacles drifts a mass of longer, more flexible tendrils. These are used to trap small fish and Water Crawlers and the like, with a deadly neurotoxic sting capable of paralyzing the creature's body, respiratory system and heart. Lightstings are intelligent for Lessers, communicating intent with one another via a series of bioluminescent flashes in a variety of colors and patterns; they tend to read Greater intentions fairly well, leaving Greaters alone unless truly threatened. Even a brush with the tentacles can come away with no sting if truly accidental--but if startled or threatened, the Lightsting's venom can kill even large Gembound. These creatures float in small groups, and will come to one anothers' defense if need be. They navigate through vibratory sensation and sound, with two large, flapping pieces of flesh serving as ears and fins both.

Luckbites are molluscs with a wide variety of shell shapes, sizes, colors and even materials: as they grow, they are capable of incorporating substrate, other shell fragments and even gemstones into their own expanding shells. Within the shell is a simple muscle, with a "foot" capable of reaching out and moving them along or grabbing and manipulating objects. Luckbites will eat anything, and are so named because of the high-risk, high-reward nature of eating them: some might be toxic from their diet, some might be highly nutritious, and others might be hiding gemstones or other precious objects within their shells. The shells themselves can close, and stay closed, very tightly--they must be crushed, or pried open with immense force, to harvest the meat within.

Most aptly compared to shrimp, Water Crawlers are usually very small, multi-legged, and segmented creatures with a single pair of pincers used mostly for manipulating objects. Three eyes peer out from between each of the seven body segments: one to each side, one directly down the back. Water Crawlers are highly omnivorous scavengers, and necessary--as are Luckbites--for clean water; they eat absolutely anything, from plant detritus to bone fragments. They rely on rapid reproduction for their numbers, and this combined with the two long, broad "ears" (actually formed of hard shell) for sensing vibration have earned them the second nickname of "water rabbit."

These creatures appear, at first glance, to be beautiful and varied bioluminescent sea slugs. Usually dark in color, they're streaked with lines and spots that can flash and pulse in bright colors. These seem to serve the purpose of very simple communication with other Drinkers, calling them to food or warning them of danger, or perhaps seeking potential mates. Generally, Drinkers remain in or around water, preferring stagnant and swampy water or very deep, cold depths. They avoid fast-running waters, and are thus very rarely found in rivers. This allows their simple bodies to navigate more easily, without being swept away--and allows them to find their prey more easily. The Drinkers are actually parasites, which latch on to any larger beast that draws too close; their lamprey-like mouth is extremely difficult to remove, and they will hold on and grow fat on that creature's blood. Extreme heat will remove them, or simple brute force, but tearing them away can leave a nasty bite wound. Sometimes it is better to leave them be, for the Drinker's saliva contains both antibacterial and painkilling properties, which can prevent pain and leave the wound healthy when at last they have drunk their fill, and fall away. Accidentally gaining large numbers of these parasites, though, can be very dangerous, as they each tend to drink a surprising amount of blood. Despite their bright colors, they are edible to carnivores, and quite nutritious as a meal.

The Spitting Bug is a spider, despite its name, with eight long legs and a furry body. This body is either white or black, and it bears glowing red markings. The back of its abdomen sports a pseudo-mouth that allows it to spit venom with deadly accuracy. This venom can, after very brief absorption through the skin, paralyze smaller prey (usually Cave Mice) and cause skin rashes or irritation when used against larger threats. Though this spider will usually avoid confrontation with larger creatures, it will defend itself if closely-approached or cornered. One additional danger it poses is the effect the venom has on eyes: if it gets into a creature’s eyes, it can cause temporary (in the case of a couple drops) or permanent (if a full venom stream) blindness.

These are medium-to-large spiders that can be found walking across the top of lakes, pools and marshes. They are harmless to larger Gembound, avoiding anything bigger than themselves, and bearing no venom with which to defend themselves. Though strong, their bodies are very thin, making eating them offer little nutrition--and their furry bristles, when swallowed, can be an irritant. Water Walkers prefer to be left alone, living quietly solitary lives where they stalk small fish from the water’s surface and then retire beneath the pools to rest. They bear small gills, allowing them to breathe underwater, and any given Walker usually has one or more small underwater nests. They blend well with their environments, with populations usually locally adapted to the surrounding color, which is usually be blue, gray or green.

One of the tiniest spiders in the caves, and endowed with a shifting, strong camouflage, the Phantom Biter is rarely actually seen. Given its preference for abandoned burrows, holes, dens or crevices, they are often encountered by Gembound seeking hidden shelter. The Phantom Biter will flee if possible, but when cornered (as they are when a larger creature tries to take shelter in between them and their exit) they will bite a threat. Their fangs are large, and jaws surprisingly strong, for something so tiny; they can pierce most skin or even leathery hide with ease. This bite can cause powerful hallucinations in the victim, so that it’s difficult to tell what is real and what is not. Though often terrifying, some might use this bite recreationally, if they can somehow find a spider; it’s not physiologically dangerous.

Large spiders, but harmless to anything bigger than themselves, the Silk Spider feeds almost exclusively on Cave Mice. They are known for making intricate, beautiful silk webs often stretched between foliage at varying heights. These webs can be harvested for their silk, but Silk Spiders will defend these webs by leaping onto the offending creature’s face. Though their bites are harmless, this can be distinctly unpleasant. The large, beautiful patterns in their webs can be quite eye-catching, as can the often-multicolored hue of their bioluminescent bodies. The spiders themselves are usually a glassy silver, with slender limbs, but markings of many colors flow and dance across their bodies, providing bright bluff-warnings to predators, communication with other Silk Spiders, and perhaps attractive designs to lure in curious prey.

Deer Spiders are the largest spiders found outside of Hydra, and one of the most deadly. They tend to stick to darker areas, including crevices in Orion, Polaris and darker tunnels, and can be found in large numbers in the Crags of Cetus. Here they usually congregate in groups, which in the Crags can number in the dozens. They spin enormous webs ten or more feet across, and crevices with Deer Spider inhabitants can be tangles of sticky silk. These spiders are highly-aggressive, capable of spitting venom or biting their prey, and will not hesitate to physically attack with their large fangs. More often, however, they will allow prey (which can include creatures the size of large Cave Deer) to tire itself out in their webs before spinning it into a wrapped cocoon. Larger colonies of Deer Spiders often have dozens of these hanging in plain sight, and bones scattered across the ground. Their bristles, unpleasant to touch and capable of getting stuck in skin and working deeper, are usually colored black, but can also be grey or hold iridescent blue shades. Their many eyes are usually red, but the grey spiders sometimes have green eyes and the blue spiders, blue. The venom is a paralytic neurotoxin as well as dissolving the tissues of injected victims, making them easier to consume. Even a baby Deer Spider’s bite can become badly-infected and gangrenous. Despite all of this, if a Deer Spider is slain, their thick limbs and heavy body can provide a hearty, tasty meal.

Sand Spiders are fast-moving, quick-reacting spiders that are usually active during the day. They actively hunt prey, and are aggressive when disturbed at close range, though they will flee enemies approaching from afar. They focus on smaller prey, and their venom--though very painful, and even temporarily debilitating (causing stiffness, infection, swelling, and cramping), is rarely fatal to larger Gembound. At times, the Sand Spider even covers itself in a thin layer of desert sand, ready to spring out at passing Quill Mice or occasionally, Bone Hares. The Sand Spider sometimes falls prey to any of the other predators in Hydra, though it sometimes preys in turn on the scorpions there. Sand Spiders are usually only a foot or so across, perhaps two with their legs included, but they can grow to be larger with age.

Sand Spiders are fast-moving, quick-reacting spiders that are usually active during the day. They actively hunt prey, and are aggressive when disturbed at close range, though they will flee enemies approaching from afar. They focus on smaller prey, and their venom--though very painful, and even temporarily debilitating (causing stiffness, infection, swelling, and cramping), is rarely fatal to larger Gembound. At times, the Sand Spider even covers itself in a thin layer of desert sand, ready to spring out at passing Quill Mice or occasionally, Bone Hares. The Sand Spider sometimes falls prey to any of the other predators in Hydra, though it sometimes preys in turn on the scorpions there. Sand Spiders are usually only a foot or so across, perhaps two with their legs included, but they can grow to be larger with age.

Tending toward the larger side, and dark grey to black in color, the more sinister Spire Spider is named after both the iridescent blue shimmer to its bristles and its affinity to magic. The Spire Spider is mostly found in the Crucible, where it hides itself in the darkness of cracks and niches during the day. Nocturnal, it emerges at night to hunt, seeking out living prey and, whenever possible, sources of magicka. Upon finding prey, it lifts its abdomen to display the pattern there, which glows and shimmers and--reinforced by arcane suggestion--hypnotizes its target. Even large creatures fall prey to the Spire Spider; at times, the last thing a Gembound will see is the entrancing play of aqua and cobalt over the bristles, before slipping into a daze. Mercifully, the Spire Spider's bite--though generally extremely painful--is painless to its hypnotized prey, and unconsciousness usually follows within minutes. The target will then remain asleep, the Spire Spider feeding at its leisure--sometimes over days. If the spider is interrupted, and forced to leave its prey, the prey can sometimes awaken--though in pain and greatly weakened. Strangely, even a slight bite from a Spire Spider can drain its target almost entirely of its magicka--seemingly empowering the spider in the process. Even small Spire Spiders can feed on the largest Greater Gembound prey through their feeding habits, and some of the spiders can grow to truly enormous size.

At first glance this beetle might seem unassuming, what with its simple black body. Its glowing orange spots provide a warning, however, of its toxicity: if ingested it will cause violent seizures, foaming at the mouth, necrosis of the organs, and eventual death in even the largest Gembound. Even just touching its slick shell is enough to cause numbness. They generally stick to dark, close spaces such as holes and gaps beneath rocks, avoiding predators where they can, and will usually flee from contact. Otherwise they wander, feeding on foliage or dead vegetation. Their larvae are small, black, hairless worms with likewise glowing orange spots.

These are fat little bumblebees that canvass the caves in search of flowers. They nest in hives in any cave with native flowers, and create edible, sweet honey that they store within. This honey can be retrieved and eaten, though the rainbow-hued Bumblebugs will swarm those who attack their hives. Their stings are rather painful and can raise nasty bumps and with enough of them stinging can cause anaphylaxis, though generally they are very docile bugs. Their bodies are very soft and fuzzy, and their many bright colors and seemingly-idiotic flight patterns (bouncing off plants or pausing for a few moments in a confused circle) make them amusing to watch. Bumblebug larvae are fat, seemingly-happy black-spotted white worms with orange-yellow heads, found only in the honeycombs of the hives.

Green Wallcrawlers are millipedes, with thin, tubular, slick bodies made up of hundreds of smooth segments, and dozens of legs beneath. They are usually green in coloration, ranging from the dull yellow-green of spring leaves to bright and shining emerald. They are often found crawling along cave walls, using specialized secretions and jaws to erode tiny amounts of rock to consume. They will also eat any fungus that they find growing along the stone. Sometimes, a Green Wallcrawler can fall off of a wall after it’s eaten its fill and become too heavy, and occasionally they will land on a passing Gembound’s head quite by accident. They are generally very harmless, and quite edible (providing mineral nutrition), but in extremely rare cases they may try and eat an unaware Gembound’s exposed gemstone.

The Deathcloak Moth is a simple, fuzzy black moth with a shroud-like protrusion over its head. Unlike other moths they are drawn to carrion, their presence often an ominous sign if they arrive a little early (for example, drawn by the odor of advanced illness). Being a carrion feeder, the Deathcloak sometimes arrives when its food source is already dissolving into black goop. They will readily consume this, too, but Deathcloaks whose diets contain more goop than others tend to become oily themselves, with time, behaving more erratically and becoming far more dangerous to eat. These oily moths (usually either much older, or having fed on a great deal of the goop) can cause oil-corruption in their predators, though it is usually not significant unless the predator consumes a large number. Their caterpillars are a hairless black, small and slender, sometimes with paler, thin vertical stripes.

A plain brown moth, unassuming to look at, but with iridescent dust that shimmers behind it as it flies. If inhaled, or if the moth is consumed, vivid hallucinations can occur. These are not dangerous on their own, though they can of course prompt dangerous behavior if the victim loses track of reality and, for example, falls or drowns. This is their only defense, though it seems to keep most predators at bay as the Dust Moth makes its way between pollinating flowers. They also have enormous, feathery brown antennae, another quarter or even third their body length in addition. Dust Moths are very very soft! Their caterpillars are likewise a soft and fuzzy brown.

Bone Moths are white, from pristine snowy white to a creamy off-white ivory. These fuzzy little moths can be found primarily all over Canis. They are mostly herbivorous, feeding mainly on fungus and sometimes, nectar, though they can and do eat fur, fabric and even old crumbled bones. They are shy and delicate creatures, and will not attempt to consume living beings. Their caterpillars are a soft and fuzzy white.

Fairyflies are gossamer butterflies with long, swallowtailed wings. They are very brightly-colored, in hues of pinks, purples and blues (usually all on the same insect), sometimes with patches of translucent wing-membrane. They are large and shimmering, and they may be distantly related to the Dust Moth: their iridescent dust, though far more colorful, is likewise hallucinogenic if inhaled or consumed. Their caterpillars are fuzzy gray with a faintly lavender hue, sometimes with thin stripes of purple or blue.

Greenwings are brilliantly-iridescent emerald-green butterflies. They are smaller than Fairyflies, and faster, often outcompeting them to nectar sources and generally performing better at blending in against green foliage. They have no other defense other than fleeing and camouflage, and as such are harmless and a decent food source for smaller Gembound, both Lesser and Greater. They are, however, fairly good at avoiding predators: multiple eyes stare out from along their back, from head to thorax, giving their bodies the appearance of having honeycombed, reflective surfaces. Their bodies are otherwise black, and their caterpillars are a very fuzzy black as well.

These are jet-black butterflies with sparing, bright markings in red, orange or yellow. They are medium-large, as far as Origin's butterflies go, and their flight is adorably clumsy and bumbling. They often bounce off plants and flowers en route to finding food sources. Though found anywhere with flowers, they are not found anywhere in great numbers; they are one of the more uncommon Lessers in the cave. They are rarely preyed upon, despite their slow, erratic flight, as they are extremely toxic: eating a single Kiss of Death butterfly can be fatal. Their toxin results in seizures, foaming at the mouth, coma, and possibly even death; the neurotoxin can kill even the largest Gembound fairly quickly. Often, a predatory Lesser will die within a minute, with larger Gembound returning to their chrysalis or outright dying within twenty. Their caterpillars are fuzzy black, and almost as toxic as the adults--which may provide the caterpillars of the Greenwing species some parallel protection, as predators quickly learn to avoid fuzzy black caterpillars.

Ruby Biters, or Bloodflies as they're sometimes known, are bright, gleaming-red little flies. They're mostly harmless, not known to carry disease and with their bites hardly itching at all. In swarms, however, they can prove irritating. Generally, these tiny flies--sometimes so small that they're hard to see with the naked eye--attach to a target and drink for perhaps two or three minutes, until full. They have small, sharp proboscises that can pierce even thick hide, though they can and will burrow into the skin of Gembound with carapaces or armored skin in order to find a vein. When they've finished feeding, they will usually then seek out an area of dead leaf litter to lay eggs or shed gemstone for reproduction. Their larvae are tiny white threads, barely-visible little worms.

The Blackfly is a relatively small buzzing fly, a black color with an iridescent green, blue or violet sheen and four translucent black wings. Nobody knows how the Blackfly communicates. Perhaps they don't, and their senses are simply phenomenal: but often, minutes after the appearance of the first few flies, the area will be saturated by a cloud of them. They feed on almost anything: dead plant matter, carrion, fruit, fungus and more. They sometimes bite living Gembound, though these bites are mostly harmless, and they do not seem to have a swarming behavior for attacking targets. However, swarms covering a Gembound to ex. drink sweat or the like can be very irritating. Their larvae are maggots, matte black, about half an inch long.

River Flies are small flies that swarm in small groups around water sources, often at dusk, and serve as prey for both fish and Water Strider spiders. Despite their names, they are found more often around still water sources, and fill Cetus in great numbers, but can be found near rivers, too. They eat plant matter, usually landing to feed on water plants that protrude from the surface. If viewed up close, these flies are actually quite beautiful: faintly iridescent, with transparent wings and slender black bodies. The larval stage of the River Fly is aquatic: small, black-grey worms that swim in slow, inching movements through the water, feeding on aquatic plants. They provide a strong, numerous food source for smaller carnivorous fish.

Emerald green, scaled and reptilian in appearance, Dragonflies a strong affinity for hot, dry locations and a great tolerance for even flame-hot heat (though they are not immune to direct fire). Their wings are more batlike than insectoid in shape, green or transparent in color, and they bear two large, green eyes with horizontal black pupils atop long heads. Their mandibles pinch up and down, rather than side-to-side. They are carrion eaters, though some are large enough to feed on sick or injured mice. Dragonflies are unusual in that they continue to grow even after emerging as adults; their adult phase is only an inch long, but they can grow to four, or rarely, even longer. Their larvae are tiny and bright green, and are usually hatched near a carrion source.

Shifting Mantises defy categorization. They seem to belong to dozens or even hundreds of species, but in reality each individual is inexplicably entirely unique. They seem to take some features from where they are born, their color, size and shape adapting to survival there, but other features seem to be completely random. Sometimes they are passed on to their young, and sometimes they are not. As a result they come in a huge variety of colors, patterns, and shapes, often imitating Origin's plant life to some extent: many individuals appear, at first glance, to be leaves, flowers, or twigs, or even gemstones and rock. They are also highly-variable in size, some an inch long, others seven inches from head to tail. They are all long-bodied, with six legs, the front two of which are large, grasping pincers; their heads have either two large eyes, or a third in the forehead's center. They have no larval stage.

A black insect perhaps an inch or two long, with highly-elaborate, often patterned translucency on their abdomens that lets their bioluminescent light shine through. Some have abdomens with tips that glow, along with the detailed patterns higher up. Their glow can be any color, though swarms usually share one hue, and often it closely matches their home cave. These bugs eat leaves, primarily, and are harmless, though they do taste rather foul. Their larvae are Glowworms, which have a soft, permanent glow the same hue as their adult light; these often take shelter up along cave walls, providing a soft glow in shadowed regions. Glowworms eat decaying plant matter, and after heavy rains, the forest floors often feature a great number of their illuminating bodies as they feed on the rotten leaves.

The Wind Ants are typically dark blue to purple with pale heads. They often live near sweet food sources such as nectar and fruits, and after gorging themselves shift to a bright, vibrant hue. They return these sugars to the nest, producing a honey that varies in color by food source. The nests are often located within trees, and wet sugar is allowed to harden both as a candy-like food source, and a protective shell gluing leaves around the nest. Wind Ants sometimes travel from the nest by extending their second pair of limbs, with small sailing wings, and drifting down to the ground. They are tasty to eat, though their bites can be painful.

The Oily Bumblebug are of a similar size, shape, and social structure to their Rainbow cousins, but with a wildly different range and diet. Due to the Oil that they take in and process into thick, purple-black honey with nectar, they are slicked over with an iridescent sheen and constantly slippery. Those that consume their honey report a surprisingly pleasant—if acidic—flavor reminiscent of a lime before the corruption sets in. Due to workers being fissioned from a single queen, they are fiercely territorial. They will sting their aggressors relentlessly to dispense their otherwise mild toxin. They are only found near massive concentrations of magic—beneath the Spire, around the Black Spire, and the Hole in Tunnel K.

Somewhat akin to Glowflies, these beetles are covered thorax to abdomen in cobalt-blue hairs. They fly and eat like hummingbirds—with nonstop, rapid movements of the wings as they move from plant to plant to nibble on their leaves. The constant motion of their wings brushes against their hairy coverings and generates static electricity. Some gather up such an intense charge that small bolts of lightning jump across themselves or to nearby Sparkbugs. While the hardness of their carapaces might dissuade some Gembound, many find it fun to catch Sparkbugs in their mouths and get zapped by their built-up static and strangely rubbery insides.

Cave Scorpions are highly-venomous predators. They primarily hunt down and feed on Quill Mice, young Bone Hares, and Sand Spiders, taking unaware Spire Spiders where they find them. Scorpions are one of the only creatures that an Eyehook Vulture will generally avoid. Cave Scorpions have hard exoskeletons in shades of tawny, buff, grey and, rarely, black. They range in size from only a few inches long to nearly three feet long, and at this size--though rare--they can prey upon cave deer and even hold their own against smaller Sandworm attacks. The venom of the Cave Scorpion, injected by the tail tip, causes first sharp pain, then numbness, leading quickly to paralysis that spreads from the affected site. Gembound of the Scorpion’s size or smaller will be fully paralyzed, though those double or larger its size may only find the afflicted area stunned. If the victim survives, extreme pain, cramping and necrosis at the bite site can follow. Approximately one third of Hydra's scorpions have two tails; in extremely rare cases, a scorpion may have three. Scorpions are aggressive hunters and aggressive attackers, fearlessly going after anything that draws too close. If killed, however, their meat is nutritious, if a little bland--though eating the tail’s foul-tasting venom sac can prove deadly.

Sand Worms, or or Sandworms, are massive, carnivorous Lesser Gembound that live beneath Hydra's Dunes region. They burrow there beneath the soft substrate, and lie in wait, sometimes quite deep and still. Though blind, they can easily sense the slightest vibration from the surface above: even a Quill Mouse gently pattering over the grains will have them lunging up from beneath and sucking the prey down into their maw. Even the displacement of sand as they move is enough to topple deer down into their grasp. The Sand Worm is slow-growing, but can theoretically become infinitely large. In reality, most of them prey upon one another--a very large worm is slow, and is often devoured by those smaller. Smaller Sandworms, too, who venture to the surface sometimes fall prey to the other carnivores of the cave. The largest Sandworms tend to be ten to twenty feet long, though it's always possible that a truly massive behemoth lurks in hiding somewhere within the cave. Sand Worms are covered in hard, sandy-colored plates and scales, and with stiff bristles running down their spine. Bony protrusions erupt haphazardly from their thick hide: these are calcifications, as the Sand Worm turns the calcium from the bones and carapaces of its prey into spikes. Therefore, the more spikes an individual Sand Worm has, the more prey it has killed and consumed. Rows of lamprey-like teeth point inward down the throat. Two massive mandibles grip larger prey, like pincers, pressing in and often breaking bone as the creature drags this prey down into the sand to suffocate. The mandibles and mouth double as a burrowing device: the Sand Worm spends most of its life entirely beneath the surface, passing massive swathes of dirt and sand through its body as it tunnels. A Sand Worm can lie dormant for years, only coming active to eat--and can survive without food for decades.

The Ursa equivalent to Hydra's Sand Worms, the Ice Worm is a very rare creature. As with Icebeasts, only a few live at full-size (some fifteen feet long) at any given time; most kill one another off or starve before they grow so large. Like Sand Worms, they're carnivorous, exoskeletoned worm-like creatures living beneath the snow, tunneling and lying in wait there; generally they remain totally still, sometimes for many cycles, awaiting the vibration of passing prey. Then their bodies shove upward, toppling prey or snagging it in their lamprey-like maw or with powerful pincers to drag them down. Ice Worms are pale, usually whites, grays and light icy blues, and their calcified carapaces are more thickly-covered in bristles than their hot-weather relatives. Given their burrowing habits, Ice Worms are restricted to the deepest snow around the mountains' base and around the lake; an occasional stray can also be found utilizing the glacier tunnels as a burrow.

The workers of the Ursa Hive, these massive ant-like creatures are uniformly pale, with soft, bristly thoraxes and glassy abdomens webbed with white. Though elusive, they can occasionally be found outside the nest's ice tunnel warrens, foraging for food; the rest of the time they spend maintaining the tunnels, caring for their Queen Mother, and raising larvae. Six legs, six eyes and four antennae are situated in a perfectly symmetrical fashion, and any irregular larvae are quickly culled in the nest. Cleaners will attempt to reshape any non-symmetrical living things they aren't actively hunting, using jaws and pincers; this can be fatal to the target. Cleaners secrete a clear substance, which hardens into ice-like amber, to aid in repairing and shaping the ice tunnels. These workers are four feet tall when fully upright, and seven long.

The soldiers of the Ursa Hive, these creatures are even more scarce than Workers--making up only a quarter of the Hive--but incredibly dangerous. Found in matched pairs guarding the inner tunnels, they have larger, mantis-like forelimbs and immense and crushing jaws. The Praetor gives off an acrid stench that invokes a feeling of possibly irrational fear in those who smell it; those who ignore it and move forward to encounter the Praetor will generally be attacked and pursued. The Praetor is programmed to not allow witnesses to escape. A venom found in both jaws and hooked stinger rapidly crystallizes the target, preventing its victim from returning to the chrysalis while simultaneously turning their body into an ice-like crystal. Ominous 'statues' found throughout Ursa's ice tunnels are actually the past victims of Praetor defenses.

With strange characteristics of rats, squirrels and even primates, the Gilded Catsquirrel rather defies categorization. It is about the size of a Cave Rat, though it lacks their ragged appearance. They tend toward dark greys or browns, with gold tips to each hair which lends them an overall shining effect, as if they’ve been coated in gold. Their tails are very long, and are prehensile, allowing them both balance and climbing aid while traversing the branches among which they make their home. They are exceptional climbers and when under attack will bolt up a tree if they can. They are omnivorous, consuming edible plants, fruits, fungi, insects, and vertebrates smaller than themselves. They have four toes on the front of each foot and two to either side, allowing them to grip and hold objects. They each have four long ears with highly-sensitive hearing which they use to listen for both danger and for one another’s calls: a Gilded Catsquirrel’s yowl is not unlike an upset cat’s. This is used to signal other Catsquirrels of danger.

Named for their distinctive call, which sounds as if they are calling out ‘Kooru,’ the Kooru is a strange creature. It sports six long legs ending in cloven hooves, and yet bears a long, prehensile tail double the length of their bodies. These tails end in three feelers, and are often used to pick up and throw rocks at threats, or to pick berries, leaves and nuts from plants. They sometimes carry this food with them and consume it at a later time. Generally green, blue, or red in color, they bear glowing white stripes which vary in pattern and orientation for each individual. Their blunt teeth are made for grinding foliage, and they have four large, dark eyes which can keep watch for predators even while they sleep (one set remains open, the other closes in rest). Male Kooru are solitary creatures that claim a small territory and defend it, while females wander in search of a mate. It is not uncommon to hear the males bellowing through the trees in an attempt to impress the females.

Kytes are large, flying reptilian creatures up to three and a half feet in length, with a wingspan of about seven feet. They are furless, instead covered with smooth, cool skin. They have no forelegs, with the wings taking their place; these wings have claws to aid in gripping and climbing cave walls. Their rear legs can bend forward and backward, and bear strong hooked claws, for the same purpose. Their tails are as long again as their bodies and have flaps of skin running lengthwise to help them balance and glide in the air. They have three pairs of eyes that provide a full range of vision while flying, and their vision is so sharp that they can see a bug from a mile away in clear conditions. They primarily hunt insects and smaller vertebrates, using long, beak-like mouths with serrated teeth to pick prey from the ground or from the trunks of trees. Kytes are generally black or grey, with vividly-colored markings. These markings can take the form of stripes, spots, spirals, or a mixture of the above, and make them fairly easy to spot when skimming the treetops or nesting in their rocky crags. If killed, their flesh is surprisingly flavorful.

Trapdoor Rays are broad creatures with the distinctive shape of a teardrop. They walk low to the floor, scuttling along on eight segmented legs. Their undersides are fleshy and faintly translucent, whereas their dorsal is well-armored and sturdy. A large, frog-like mouth full of teeth takes up about a third of their body's total length. The top coating of carapace is advantageous to their hunting: they tend to settle down in highly trafficked tunnels and wait for something small enough to step on them. Like the Shifting Mantis, Trapdoors develop their camouflage based on their surroundings. There is a subspecies for every Tunnel.

This creature mimics, in appearance and behavior, carnivorous plants commonly known as "Pitcher Plants." It resides and grows in the walls of Gemini, or anywhere it can blend in with plant life. Many crystals and glowing mushroom species coat its outer form and lid, its skin and limbs adapted to mimic plant leaves and roots. It is not very mobile: its most notable feature is its stomach, taking up three quarters of its long pitcher-like torso. Its other organs and functions are located in random places beneath the surface layer of skin. Its mouth leads directly to this stomach, which is lined with rows upon rows of sharp, rotating teeth capable of shredding bone and gemstone. At the bottom of its open stomach is a pool of highly corrosive acid that aids in the digestive process, in which the plant takes several hours to absorb the rapidly-liquefied remains of prey. Random numbers of front-facing eyes rim the top of its lid, which it uses to locate prey. It can lunge several feet forward in an attempt to catch prey. It is rarely aggressive unless hungry, however, and is surprisingly intelligent and capable of being social; while generally solitary they are also sometimes found growing in large groups called 'clusters,' and in private, use limbs to communicate via quiet squeaking noises.