Primeval Life

There lives in the world of Kaena a sort of creature that defies classification. They exist in the natural world and are as savage and monumental in body and soul as they were when the first creatures of their order were given life. They are relics of an earlier, primordial Age of the world. They have not changed, as far as can be reckoned by the most scholarly minds, since the time of creation when life was primitive and before man had been enlightened.
This primeval life, though hunted and feared and rarer now than they were in legend, still reign as kings of the land wherever they are found in all of their shapes or their size. Unless noted otherwise, all the creatures named in this article use the academic name given to them by the Imperium Vulcanalia.

Primeval Life in the Old World

Primeval life in the Old World, where man and elf have lived for millennia and driven to extinction much of the larger threats, is significantly rarer than in the New World. While this has allowed smaller, furrier, more docile creatures to thrive, there remain some vestiges of the savage beasts who once lived here.

Creautres of Iwisa

Iwisa is the home of most of these creatures left in Kynos and Casval. While the Titans have been driven to death, there still exist extraordinary creatures in Iwisa though they are mostly found in the deepest depths of the unknown land and upon the shores of its wide, wild rivers.
The arrow-headed Salamanders, larger than a man with wide, flat jaws lined with razor sharp teeth, still slither along the muddy banks of Iwisa's many rivers, feeding on the herds of pig-like ivory tusked Placerias that wander too close to the water's edge. Elsewhere, the low shrublands are ruled by the ponderous but powerful monstrosities called Saurosuchus, long-legged crocodiles with the size of a drake, are an ever present shadow of death upon the land that has no equal but the enlightened races.
The vast dunes of Northern and Eastern Iwisa are home to roaming packs of small lizards who run on two feet with terrible, reaper like claws on each foot. These Raptors are desert kings who specialize in bringing down the many camels, goats, and oryx of the desert, though they dare not venture into richer the grasslands of Iwisa where they would surely be hunted by the larger cats of the savanna.
The skies of Iwisa are ruled by giant lizards of all sorts. Tiny, feathered Dimorphodon with their leathery heads flit about the ground, while enormous flocks of the larger, dog sized Pterodactyls gather on the shores the seas and oceans of the land to pluck fish from the dark waters of Iwisa. Though these creatures are also found in the New World, they seem to summer in Iwisa. Ornithocheirus is the largest of these creatures seen in Iwisa, though they are not much larger than two thirds the size of a full grown man.
There are darker shadows cast upon the prey of Iwisa. Though exceptionally rare, the two legged monster-king Allosaurus can be found as far west as the grasslands of Avestan, and as far east as the drylands before the Uthulhi Dunes. Even the bravest and strongest lion flees when they pick up the Thunder Lizard's scent.

Creatures of Kynos & Sinanju

Kynos and Sinanju are the other most common places to see primeval life, though these tend to be smaller and more colourful. The little feathered bird like raptor called Archaeopteryx is a common sight in these hotter, wetter lands and are popular pets who work wonders as pest control, feasting happily on locusts and mice.

Creatures of Tcharnovog & The Weald

These ancient creatures who live in the cold forests and plains of Leiren are both more familiar and more unsettling to most. They are generally mammalian in nature, but writ large on the scale of life.
Here, herds of the furry, round-shelled creatures called Doedicurus, with curious spiked clubs on the ends of their tails, can be found in the verdant grasslands of the west. They are a common prey for the monstrously large Cave Bears, Dire Wolves, and Saber-Toothed Tigers that make their homes in the rocky craigs and mountainous hills of the land.
Though extremely rare, enormous stags and elk and bear-like long-clawed Sloths also call these lands home, but the more common king of these lands is indisputably the herds Mastodon, an enormous elephant-like creature with long ivory tusks and covered in a thick, penetrable hide covered in dark, oily wool who migrate from the frozen seas of the Volsunleid through to the southern shores of Tcharnovog and east to the foothills of Edelweiss. It is believed by those more scholarly than most that it is these herds of mammoths are what bring the dragons from their mountain roosts in Epona to reave their way through Leiren. Dragons, of course, are forces outside the natural order and were made by the Gods only for destruction, so these theories may be dismissed out of hand.

Primeval Life in the New World

The great Thunder Lizards, reduced to long forgotten beds of bone in the Old World, still reign in the new one.

Creatures of The Farplains

The rolling hills and thin pine forests of the Farplains are home to the largest and richest assortment of primeval life in all the world. Here, great herds of three-horned Triceratops and club-tailed and armoured Ankylosaurs run free alongside the bison and deer herds kept by the the Orcs of the Confederacy. The hard headed Pacycephalosaurus may frighten unlearned travelers who mistake them for raptors, but they soon prove a comical sight as they butt one another with the boney domes atop their heads. The Farplains are also home to some of the largest creatures in the world, including the many tonned long-necked Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, gentle but stern giants whose fallen bodies can support every living thing in an area from foxes and wolves to other predatory lizards of the New World.
The most common predators are the raptors, who, as with all primeval life, are relatively rare, but are by far the most recognizable primordial predator throughout the world. Deinonychus and Acheroraptor are the most common, and these large feathered raptors can be found throughout the forests and hills of the Farplains in large packs. They work well in groups, and together can take down prey much larger than themselves. Sail-backed Dimetrodons may be dangerous if caught unawares, but they are too slow to be real threats and prefer simple ambush hunting along river banks.
And yet they all bow before the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Tyrant King of the World. This forty foot long, ten ton king stalks the land and hunts alone. It needs no aid, it needs no pack. The Rex is a cunning hunter, gifted at both ambush and chase, and it is many an adventurer who was braved the wilds of the New World only to lose their lives in a Rex's razor toothed maw. This creature has no equal.

Creatures of Sanctuary & The Swale

The thick forests and wetlands of Sanctuary and Swale both provide excellent homes for primeval life. The duck-billed Parasaurs bellow their mournful horn-like calls through the mists, while the knife-thumbed Iguanodons strip bark and branch for their food. Like the Farplains, Sanctuary and Swale are home to long necked titans, only here we call them Apatosaurus and Camarasaurus.
There is little danger here. The raptors are small and birdlike, and there is little to distract from a life of plenty. It is only hiding in the clear, still waters of Swale that the Spinosaurus is found, a great monster with a bony, leathery sail upon its back and a long, thin snout full of hundreds of sharp teeth. Though it prefers to hunt simple fish, they will attack and kill any man or woman who dares enter their territory.

Primeval Life in the Sea

These primordial creatures are not limited to the land. The sea is stalked by creatures like Megalodon, a shark larger than any other, and Dunkleosteus, a predatory armoured fish as large as any shark. There are giant squids with razor beaks, and long necked Plesiosaurs who hunt the shallows alongside the finned Tyrannosaurus-like Liopleurodon. The sea is also home to smaller creatures, like giant salmons, tunas, and marlins as well as the strange and bony Coelacanths.
But, as on land, there is a King in the seas. Like a larger Leopleurodon, the Mosasaur is like a finned Tyrannosaurus on a grander scale. So strong and powerful, there is nothing in the world the Mosasaur fears.

Scientific Name

Archosauria, Dinosauria, Mammalia & Synapsids