Kronis' Flora and Fauna

Kronis is home to plants and animals both familiar and unusual. Below are unique flora and fauna that one might encounter in their travels or in reading about Kronis. Sections are organized by where they are found: everywhere, Severon, or Barakon

Everywhere

Bioluminescent Life

Oceans and rivers are home to a variety of bioluminescent creatures at night, including jellyfish and algae. Lantern jellyfish can emit different patterns and pulses of Bioluminescence while Bioluminescent Algae retains a lot of its real world qualities, and is just more common in Kronis.

Storm Birds

Storm Birds are often witnessed in flocks preceding storms and are usually the best indicator of such weather, hence how they earned their name. They are slightly larger than ravens, with pale glowing eyes and feathers that are iridescent grey-blue with streaks of silver or violet that shimmer in low light.
Storm birds feed on insects driven to the surface by storm humidity as well as small animals exposed by high winds. Their cries are long and drawn-out, almost mournful — like the wind passing through a canyon. Some cultures believe these are the voices of drowned sailors or lost spirits warning of doom. In truth, Storm Birds ride the winds of storm fronts.

Severon

Gloomstag

Deer-like creatures with branching, moss-covered antlers and glowing eyes. They tend to appear and disappear silently and their breath can cause hallucinations. Gloomstags are held sacred by the Ailesians, Kholams, and Salkans and are hunted only in ritual or defense, its antlers are believed to offer protection from curses and madness.

Mire Serpent

A massive, semi-aquatic predator native to Severon’s swamps and deltas, particularly around lake Ube, the mire serpent is known for lying buried in mud or shallow water, striking with sudden force to suffocate prey. Non-venomous but fiercely territorial, it emits a deep, bubbling hiss when threatened. Its waterproof hide is prized by marshfolk, and its bioelectric mucus is harvested for rare alchemical uses.
Children are told to stay out of the fog “lest the mud breathe.”

Stonebark Tree

These towering, slow-growing trees are famed for their bark as hard as slate and their ability to anchor themselves into sheer rock faces. Stonebark wood is a more durable wood, nearly impervious to rot, and used in everything from fortifications to ceremonial relics.
Planks of a Stonebark are often inscribed and used in ceremonial purposes, such as marriages in Alexia and temple rites in the Slintan kingdoms.

Barakon

Cindertrees

Also known as "Fire Trees", these trees thrive in excessively dry areas as well as the volcanic wasteland of the Cursed Coast. Their "leaves" are small combustions resulting from cells constantly colliding instead of osmosis, which indefinitely produces small flames along the tree's branches. The trees feed off oxygen and carbon and grow seeds resembling small wood cages of fire kept within. These seeds eventually drop and explode, spreading the seeds along the ground.

Floranthes

Also known as "Flower Trees", floranthes are deciduous trees known for their lush, aromatic flower blooms such as lavender, chamomile, and rose. Unlike most trees, their blossoms form along both the outer canopy and drooping boughs like oversized wisteria, creating a curtain of scent and color.

Glimmerroot

From the surface, Glimmerroots resemble small, unassuming plants — thin grasslike stalks or mossy patches. But beneath the soil, they stretch for meters in all directions as massive root-networks tipped with bioluminescent nodules that shine like buried stars at night. They bloom only once every 3–7 years, sending up a single thin stalk that bursts with tiny, glowing seed-spores at twilight — an event called a “Starbloom”.
An ancient tale among the Iananosians says Glimmerroots are the buried hair of the fallen star maiden Tancra, reaching skyward for her lover’s return.

Okapi and Zebra species

In the grasslands of Barakon roam various species of Okapi and Zebras, some sporting blue and black stripes, and even rare breeds of white and gold. Okapi are hunted for food like deer while zebras are sought out as steeds like horses. Zebras on Kronis are equally as domesticated as horses, but often more unique given their rarity.