Kenash Bestiary

Size: Males and females tend to be of similar sizes, generally measuring at 25 feet from snout to tail, though females are generally bulkier, weighing in at 2800- 3500 lbs out of water while the males are generally more agile at 2500 - 3000 lbs

Colouration: Ranges from dark greys to vibrant forest greens, with varying shades of brown not uncommon.

Location: Waterways outside of Kenash proper and bordering the Sea of Grass.

Lifespan: Up to 40 years.
General Information: The Granidile is the main aquatic predator of Kenash. One thing all of these reptiles share, however, is the hard as granite armor coating that adds a significant addition to their weight, as well as their durability. It is quite rare to find these creatures very far on land, for it takes a great deal of effort for them to move themselves out of the water.

While virtually useless save for their powerful jaws on land, Granidiles are apex predators in the waters of Kenash. The only way to kill one is to expose and exploit the much thinner scales of a granidile's underbelly, so tough is Granidile hide. And it takes a brave or very desperate soul to enter waters filled with Granidile.

Granidiles are solitary creatures, preferring to hunt alone as they have few natural predators, and have no need of numbers. They group up for mating rituals, and can be found in relatively large numbers sunning themselves while partially submerged, however, perhaps a defensive technique due to their exposed nature. Granidile females can lay a clutch of up to 100 eggs, usually deposited in early summer to hatch before fall. Due their incredible bulk, and the fact that this is generally the only time a Granidile emerges from the water fully, more than one slave has discovered a beached female that has starved, unable to drag its bulk back into the water. Occasionally this results in the young eating the remains of their own mother depending on the amount of meat remaining upon the carcass once they have hatched.

Value: Young granidiles are often traded in the same manner of slaves, and just as often bought with goods as money. You are likely to pay a minimum of 800 GM for a single infant, however, for while they are a finicky creature to train, their presence as a guard on a plantation can be more than worth the risk. (L3 Animal Husbandry to train a granidile from youth. It is impossible to tame one that has reached adulthood.)

The leather of a Granidile is just as valuable as from any other crocodile, but the armored sections that coat their back can sell for 80 GM per square foot, so effective of an armor is it. It takes a skilled crafts-person to properly shape and fashion Granidile armor into clothing, but it is a worth while investment for any Dynasty that wishes to have the best outfitted guards.

Concept by Tinnok.

Size: 2-3 feet in length 20-25 lbs
Colouration: Dull brown to silvery grey fur
Location: Kenash
Lifespan: 4-6 years
General Information: Krite are a small group of aquatic weasels closely related to the otter. Quick, intelligent, and omnivorous, these creatures are largely considered pests by the dynasties around Kenash for their penchant of getting into any and all crops and gathering from plantations at their leisure. They have webbing in between their toes, and a powerful tail that they use as a rudder when swimming. Agile on land and in the water, it is said that they are one of the only species who can comfortably traverse the water ways of Kenash swiftly enough to only casually worry about granidiles.

Krite generally live in colonies dug into the banks of Kenash, and live in groups of about a dozen. They have a complex family system, and raise their young communally. Certain Krite perform different tasks, and it has been found that some of the agile Krite seem to have no other purpose than distracting under water predators when their pod has need of travel.

Social creatures Krite have a tendency to be very curious and friendly, which can lead them to be fairly easy prey, and extremely good pets. The Draer Dynasty especially seems keen to utilize these potential vermin instead of dismiss and kill them, and it is rumored that they were responsible for teaching the creatures to steal from plantations in the first place. Krite pelts can be sold for 1 GM per pelt, for their fur has useful waterproofing properties for clothing.
Value: Due to their frequency, Krite can be bought for 8SM.

Concept by Tinnok.

Size: Pygulls generally weigh around 20 Lbs, and can reach up to 7 feet in height.
Colouration: Light pinks with white tipped feathers to deep fuchsia and violet coloring depending on health and location.
Location: Kenash Swamplands
Lifespan: 4-7 years
General Information: Pygulls are one of the more popular sights in Kenash for their vibrant coloring. Feathers can range from a dull light pink to vibrant magenta and violet depending on location and diet of the Pygull. Tall birds, they are quite small and light, and not jokingly, all leg. They feed upon insects and small fish, and are patient predators, often remaining in the same position for days if they are given no cause to move. Calm and serene these birds speak of a side of Kenash rarely seen by the passerby or inhabitant. While not particularly useful other than for show, Pygulls can be used as a basic form of pest control on plantations.

Pygulls like to flock together, but are not particularly social birds. They gather for elaborate mating ceremonies, and a male and female stick together through the egg laying and hatching process, but the male leaves shortly after the infants are born to pursue other activities, and the mother abandons her young before they are able to gain flight, a strange ritual which leaves the population of Pygulls relatively low.

There is a silent competition between the Dynasties, almost all of which house and keep Pygull's in some fashion or another, to see which plantation can sport the most beautiful stock of the long legged bird. It is extremely bad luck to kill a Pygull, though their feathers do adorn the collars and dresses of many an outfit in Kenash, but even the slightest rumor that the Pygull was killed before its time can ruin an entire wardrobe, so only the boldest of families generally risk wearing the flamboyant feathers.
Value: Pygulls are bred and sold in markets around for Kenash, depending on the lineage of the family, generally based on coloring and temperament, a Pygull can range in price from 10 gm up to 75 gm.

Concept by Tinnok.

Size: 1/2 inch long.
Colouration: Murky brown.
Location: Most watery areas of Kenash, mainly the rivers
Lifespan: 2 years
General Information: Thin-nosed minnows are the primary food source for most small predators. Gathering in massive schools of at least 100, these inch-long fish are easy to find. However, their quick speed, darting movements, and ease of hiding make it hard to catch them in any way other than a surprise attack. Unlike most minnows, this species it is practically flat, for ease of darting through the reeds of the swamp. Their brownish scales do provide slight camouflage in the swampy water, but their large gatherings generally make them quite obvious to the casual observer.

Being so small and narrow, the thin nose is hard to catch with most ordinary nets. However, it’s quite simple to get and make one with holes so small that they can’t slip through the weave. Using this tool, they can be captured in large numbers, which is good since their meat is particularly tender and delicious. It’s not rare to see young children raising a few of these fish as pets, but it usually ends in despair when they die, since their lifespan is a mere 2 years long.
Value: 1gm p/pound.

Concept by Spirit Frostfawn.

Size: One foot high, two feet long.
Colouration: Brownish green patches
Location: Edges of the rivers
Lifespan: 15 years.
General Information: Compared to most wild cats, the Sokki Cat is relatively small. Only slightly bigger than a house cat, it has several other major distinguishing features. Its paws are wide, and actually slightly webbed, for ease of swimming and fishing. It’s tail is wide and bushy, and when the animal stalks whatever prey it is following, the appendage always sticks straight up. However, this isn’t really much of a disadvantage, since the tail is quite short, and looks almost exactly like a stick. The feline’s fur is also brown and murky, with the occasional patch of green for camouflage. Also unlike most cats, the Sokki swims quite a lot, and will generally make its home on a branch overhanging water.

Since their pelts are quite rough and patchy, and their meat bitter and stringy, these cats are rarely hunted. Instead, some are occasionally kept as pets, though the lack of soft fur turns off most potential owners. So, in the eyes of most sentient creatures, the Sokki Cat is seen to be relatively useless, and are most often ignored. Encounters between the residents of Kenash and this feline are rare, but generally uneventful.

Value: 3gm for a carcass. 15gm for a pet.

Concept by Spirit Frostfawn.

Size: Shires are short and squat pigs, usually only a few feet high and weighing up from 50 - 80 lbs.
Colouration:Shires range in coloring from light browns to dull pinks. All of the breed has a strange greenish sheen to their skin, however.
Location: Kenash fields and low vegetated areas.
Lifespan: 6-10 years
General Information: Coveted by the Ackina Dynasty, Shires are a product of the Djed Storm of 512 on the large troop of a particular breed of pot bellied pigs they kept upon their ranch. The piglets born in the following litters that Spring were strangely reptilian in nature, and grew up quite larger than their parents, supplying more meet and growing sizable tusks. Spring of 513 has shown the first successful litter of Kenashires, the first breed of pig to be uniquely found in Kenash.

Bred for meat most of the pigs on the Ackina ranches mature swiftly and are put to the knife at an early age. While the Shires seem to mature quickly, Ackina has been hesitant to send them to the butchers as swiftly, as the tusks and tail that the swine develops is a helpful tool in furrowing the soil for new plantings. The meat of these pigs has been tested and approved by more than one dynasty, and thus the uses of this new breed of pig seems to be wide ranging.

Currently, Shire piglets are a must for any young child looking for a unique pet, and it is said the intelligence level of the pigs is quite admirable.
Value: Shire piglets are quite priceless, and are only received after deal making with the Ackina Dynasty. The pigs meat is currently going for 5 GM/ LB in the Bloody Butcher shop in town.

Concept by Tinnok.

Size: 0.25 inches
Colouration:Red/Grayish-black
Location: Tobacco fields; occasionally seen among other crops or in gardens
Lifespan: 3-5 weeks, unless dormant
General Information: Gloom beetles are named not only for their gray-black base color, but for the mood which often descends upon slaves and overseers who spot them. They feed primarily on tobacco plants, and where there is one gloom beetle, there are probably many, many more. Infestations can be controlled in good years, but are nigh impossible to eradicate completely.

Adult beetles begin emerging from dormancy as the weather warms, becoming abundant in middle to late spring. Adults feed on lower leaves, leaving circular holes in the edges; they can kill young plants, particularly early in the year, but generally do only minor damage to older plants. Eggs are laid inside plant stems, where they remain invisible and unnoticed. Larvae feed primarily on leaf buds, flower buds, and on younger leaves, progressively denuding the plant from top down until they pupate. After about 7-10 days, the larvae retreat into cocoons, emerging as adults around 10-15 days later. The new adults go on to lay more eggs, repeating the cycle. Most years see five to seven generations from spring into fall, but up to ten successive generations can occur during particularly permissive years.

In an average year, gloom beetles can do substantial damage to tobacco crops, but are a manageable nuisance. However, these beetles are known to swarm, occurring in dread-inducing abundance throughout unlucky seasons. It's not known what differentiates a swarm year from a normal year, aside from the fact of vastly many itty-bitty red-and-black beetles crawling all over the fields. When swarming, gloom beetles can severely devastate tobacco crops. They are even known to try and feed on plants other than tobacco -- probably on account of overcrowding. Although the beetles don't seem to survive well on any other food, they still cause some damage to those crops and concomitant loss of value. Nonetheless, it's tobacco profits which a gloom beetle swarm endangers most; fortunes small and large can be lost to their hungry mouths.
Value: None.

Concept by Khida.

Size: Half and inch long, not including the multiple antennae which can triple the beetle's length.
Colouration: Their hues range from vibrant aquamarine to a brilliant emerald sheen.
Location: Thickets and scrub land around Kenash
Lifespan: 1 year (Maybe)
General Information: The Octobeetle, named for the numerous antennae that sprout from its forehead is a small and vibrantly hued insect valued for its surprisingly durable shell that is often used in jewelry and other adornments. The delicate fronds sprouting from its head are also valued for use in very delicate creations, and are said to act like a strand of the finest silk. Though lovely, it is hard to harvest enough of these fine strands to provide of much use, so the most common appearances of it are usually in earrings and woven bracelets.

This particular breed of beetle is an uncommon sight, generally because of the frequency of its parts being harvested, generally before the octobeetle has had a chance to procreate and lay its hundreds of eggs in a cool warm spot near the edges of the swamp. Because of their rarity in Kenash proper it is extremely good luck to find one perched upon a building or upon a plantation, and speaks of a good omen to the finder.
Value: 15gm as pet, 15gm per 20lbs of fur.

Concept by Tinnok.

Size: Anywhere from 5 inches to 32 inches in length, with wingspans up to but not restricted to 5.5 feet. They can, but not often, be bigger. This is in the cases of the larger females. Males are almost always smaller.
Color: Changes with the seasons for camouflage purposes. Various shades of earth tones, grays, and white.
Location: The swamps of Kenash and most wooded areas of Cyphrus. Some have been known to roost in plantation buildings that are accessible to them.
Lifespan: Up to 13 years in the wild. Some have been known to live 30 years in captivity
General Information: The Fowler is a strange creature, with the head of a domestic house cat and the body of an owl. They have been in Cyphrus for years, but started nesting in the swamps only about fifty years ago. No one knows why, but the animals don't cause trouble so they are generally left alone. Fowlers are territorial creatures, more so during their mating season in spring and when their young are born in the fall. They give birth to live offspring instead of laying eggs, and their growth rate seems to have increased dramatically since the Djed Storm. Where fledging and leaving the nest once took several months now only takes weeks.

They are carnivorous and will prey mostly on rodents, but fox, chickens, and other smaller animals are fair game. It isn't unheard of for a wealthy Kenashern's unlucky Rivali Lapdog to go missing either. Fowlers hunt in packs consisting of their tight-knit family groups. There is an alpha male and family - usually mother and father of the rest of the hunting party, and occasionally others they have adopted into their folds. Some groups have been recorded to be as large as fifteen or twenty. Their distinctive call is often heard at night when they are most active. Many people say it sounds like a woman shrieking. Their less distinctive sounds are soft chirps and the occasional meow.

Value: Fowlers are almost useless for profit. They can be domesticated, though few people wish to do so because they are not a lovable pet. The best way to do so would be with a newborn - which are usually sold for 5-10 GM. Their feathers can be made into quills, and they can be eaten, though their meat is tough and often reserved for slave rations or a last resort. On average no one pays more than 10 GM for their meat. When exported the meat has been known to be sold for higher prices, but only because foreigners are unfamiliar with the animal, and traders swindle them out of their mizas.

Concept by Alexandre Askara.