Fantastic beasts and where they hunt

(Author's note: I realize this chapter won't be everyone's cup of tea, and that is of course fine. If you are just here for lewds, this is a safe skip.

I have been wanting to at least offer some explanation of or idea about what the beast that kicked this whole thing of might have been. A few of you have also expressed your appreciation for or enjoyment of my lore and worldbuilding. And while I immensely appreciate each and every one of my readers, you guys have a special place in my heart and I dearly hope you enjoy this little glimpse of certain parts of the world at large. And who knows, some of it might be relevant down the line.)

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The world could sometimes be a strange place indeed. Though they were few in number, humans walked the land who could perform truly supernatural feats by means of what they called magic. And among the elves such things were far more common, and often even more spectacular. This world was infused with magic and to no small degree created with it. So, while most humans and quite possibly even most elves were not aware of them, it should not really surprise anyone that some animals had adapted to make use of it.

On the lower slopes of the great peaks prowled a beast that might have looked somewhat familiar to the twins of House Andros. It was large and covered in shaggy black fur, with a greyish mane that extended far down its back. One might almost describe it as a cross between a large hound or wolf and a giant cat. As such it didn’t look exactly like the beast the two had once encountered on their little ride around the estate, but there was a clear resemblance. A larger and slightly more feline cousin, perhaps.

Said large cousin sniffed the air as it briefly stopped, then prowled onward, the scent trail reestablished. While it was possessed of powers some might call magical, it still relied on mundane senses and means for most aspects of its life.

It crested a ridge and spotted its prey at last. An ibex. The distance between them was still great, possibly even too great for the beasts’ powerful legs to close on its prey before it could escape. But that was where the magic came in. Its primal yet clever mind pushed outward, seeking that of the ibex. As soon as their minds touched, before the ibex could react, a spike of paralyzing power tore through what meagre defenses the poor ruminant could muster. It was frozen in place and, before the ibex had any chance to recover and free itself, the beast closed the gap and was upon it. It finished the job with the much more mundane means of fang and claw, but they sure were effective. It would eat well tonight.

In the dense rain forest canopies deep inside what imperials would call the Unknown Wilds, a large, feathered serpent silently flew as it too stalked its prey. Flew, yes, this serpent could fly. And that despite having no wings. As such, one might say it was more obviously magical than the beast from the peaks.

Far below the serpent on the forest floor stalked another group of hunters, completely unaware that they themselves had become prey. These were unmistakably humans, but they would have looked strange indeed to any imperial or ardalian. They wore next to no clothing except some loincloths and chest harnesses which held their tools, and their skin was painted in strange patterns of red and blue.

Until now they had stayed together in one group, but the serpent was patient. Patient, and clever. It’s mind too was primal but possessed of a beastly cunning. Eventually, perhaps inevitably, one of the hunters was briefly out of sight of the others. The vegetation here was dense, after all. In a millisecond the serpent reacted, dropping down even as its power paralyzed the larynx of its target, preventing it from calling for help.

Long fangs sank into the poor man’s shoulder, the venom quickly making his blood clot within his very veins. The snake’s magic of flight was not potent enough to carry such large prey very far, but it did suffice for swiftly vanishing back into the canopy with its prize. All the other hunters ever heard was a slight rustling of branches.

In the lands known to imperials as the Far Southwest, on the narrow strip of barren land that extended from the foot of the great peaks all the way to the western ocean, a lithe and elegant hunter sought its next meal. Mist hung heavy around the coniferous trees that grew here only sparsely, making the ground impossible to see for the swooping predator. She was a light brown color, her soft plumage muffling the sounds of her flight.

The prey she sought lived down below and as such was completely obscured by the mist. Such mists were extremely common here though, it probably had something to do with the proximity to the coast and the peaks. She would have never survived here had she not had a trick up her… Wing?

The mind of a marmot might not be particularly large or complex, but it was easy to spot for a practiced hunter, the mist being no obstacle at all for such powers. She swooped down, diving into the mist without fear. She emerged moments later, a dead rodent clutched in her powerful talons. She had no ability to paralyze or silence her targets, nor did she need them. She struck so fast and was so deadly, it would simply be redundant. Finding her prey was all she needed her magic for, and it worked very well for that indeed. Her chicks would grow up strong.

In the warm and shallow waters of the bay that formed between the expanse of the Great Desert and the dense jungles of the Unknown wilds swam a lithe and deadly predator. It was sleek and silverly blue and possessed of many rows of sharp teeth. A shark, what else?

For now, the shark was content to swim at a leisurely pace. The little school of fishes next to the corals below it were too far away to be worried by its presence, but they would no doubt disappear into little cracks and holes as soon as it picked up the pace. Suddenly, instantly, it vanished in a glimmer of silver, then reappeared in amongst the school.

Then, it promptly died, the fishes scattering in all directions and vanishing into their various hiding spots. The mermaid that until just a moment ago had been near invisible, her skin having changed colors to blend into the corals, slid her whalebone knife back out of the shark’s gills.