Vindrgard/Native Species

Wildlife

Mammals

Crystal Strider

Vindrite Crystal Striders are a species of domesticated animals native to the crystals above Vindrgard. The first humans to settle there considered them pests, due to their abundance and tendency to cut away large amounts of crystal, via the blades on their legs, for food. However, it was soon discovered that the Striders were extremely docile and easily tamed, and now Vindrite humans use them as mounts, similar to horses on other planets. They are quite fast runners, reaching speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour when unmounted, due to their lithe build, but cannot carry the weight of more than one person at a time. Striders are passive animals with no natural predators, easily bred in captivity, and come in a variety of light or pastel-type colors, the most common being white, pale blue, and pale pink.

Monsters

Mammals

Ulfric

Gigantic wolf-like monsters that roam the planet's surface, Ulfrics hunt in packs and most commonly prey on Atchi'taii. Their chests contain a furnace-like cavity which converts the toxic air into fuel, allowing them to roam unhindered by the poison, and be unaffected by the venom the Atchi'taii secrete from their quills. The leader of an Ulfric pack is called the Fenrir.

Avian

Kiccaroq

large predatory birds with teeth

Inorganic

Vindrite Dragon

The dragons of Vindrgard are large, powerful eastern dragons that can fly with their innate mastery over Mana. They are said to be the servants of the god Saaldyr, made in his image to cull humanity every millennium so that only the most cunning and resourceful humans will pass on their genes. These massive creatures generally leave humans alone, instead opting to settle on one of the giant floating crystals in Vindrite skies.

Though appearing to be predators, Vindrite dragons only attack other creatures in self-defense, driving off or killing large predators attempting to encroach upon the dragon's space. They consume raw Mana and crystal rather than organic matter, because these dragons are not organic themselves.

Draco Contriventus is not a living species. The dragons are more akin to golems, made out of aether and crystal under the appearance of a dragon. They claim floating crystals as their homes because this is a source of food: as they consume the crystal, they add it to their bodies, assimilating the aetheric Mana into themselves as energy. Occasionally a chunk of crystal may be split off by a grown dragon, which will eventually shape itself into what amounts to a Vindrite dragon "hatchling". This hatchling will them undergo the same growth process as the adults. When a Vindrite dragon is somehow killed, it reforms into a new crystal, ready to continue the cycle of destruction and reformation.

The natural life cycle of Vindrite Dragons is believed to have been started by the death of Kienaii, the Nidhoggr of the First Era.