Godsent
The Godsent differed from country to country, keeping to their ancient breeding grounds for longer than memory could recall. They stalked the surface, skies, and depths of the planet, mostly ignoring the much smaller Sapient species that populated Visctheria. Giant serpents burrowed beneath the soil, and massive rays took to the skies, covering the ground below in huge swaths of shadow as they passed overhead.
Bearded Kamarind
Deep in the jungles of Hobrax, where the tree cover almost completely blocked the sun, you could find the bright orange coat of the Bearded Kamarind hidden above you. Growing to the size of elephants, they lived their lives near the tree canopy - occasionally toppling the trees that could not hold their massive weight. Feeding off of mostly squirrels and other small mammals, the Bearded Kamarind was an omnivore, and also kept the tree tops from totally blocking the light to the undergrowth.
Bighorn Sheep
The Bighorn Sheep of the Plaxoran Range protected the smaller herds of mountain sheep that populated the cliffs, acting as divine guardians for the creatures. None were able to kill the mountain sheep without invoking the wrath of a Bighorn, which could bring bad luck, illness, and even injury or death if attacked directly. They lived on the highest cliffs of the mountains of Everia and Priquish, and were a protected species under the Everian government. Priquish hunts them for sport.
Blue-Nosed Badger
The badgers of Oshor caused problems enough for the Vacinae as it was. When the Blue-nosed Badger was discovered to grow to up to the size of a house, government action was immediately taken to build badger-proof gates at the entrance to each city. Magic walls extended through the dirt, keeping away peering eyes and curious critters, but the Blue-nosed Badger pushed through with it's anti-magic cone.
The webs began to thicken, pulling at your hair and clothes as you push through the small tunnel. Soon all you could see were thick strands of the gooey white thread, blocking you from going futher.
Carlathan Spiders
The Carlathan Spiders mostly resided in the Meskaovanian colony of Carlatha. Dark creatures, they grew up to three feet across, and would feed on their caretakers if they were not careful. There was a small herd of spiders kept in the depths of the Bellowguard's stronghold in Durial, but the massive farms were in the colonies, carefully guarded for their silk, which created Carlathan Lace. This lace was the strongest and most delicate fabric on the planet, and was highly coveted around the world for its beauty and versatility.
Crulaetiks
Crulaetik roughly translates to "crackling" in Priquian, which was the only sign that they were nearby. Giant crystalline golems moved through the crystal caves on the island of Priquish, living quietly and feeding off small creatures that found their way in. While they had never harmed a traveller that did not attack first, they were often killed for their valuable bodies, and sold among the Clans of Priquish.
The Crulaetiks are peaceful creatures, and sentient. Who are we to mine them for their flesh? If we harm them and expect them not to fight back, we can only expect the same thing of ourselves.
Drakes
The Dragons disappeared from the world long ago, after the first coming of the Strutheo Star. Few still existed in the late Heroic Age, but some claimed to have seen the great beasts erupting from the waves on voyages, or pulling themselves from the mountainside while climbing the passes. However, their smaller counterparts, Wyverns and Wyrms, roamed the cities of Visctheria until the coming of the Strutheo Star.
Dulcenoth Owl
The only one of its kind, the Dulcenoth Owl was worshiped in Athos as a god of knowledge, and guarded the Athos Repository, a massive library in the center of the city capital. Ancient members of what would become the Interworld Arcanist Society would travel from all over the world to dedicate research to the Owl, reading their theses aloud in a special presentation that would draw global audiences. Presenting on the stage in the Repository was a highly coveted position. Rumour had it that if you spoke to the Owl in its native tongue, it would teach you the secret of the Godsent.
Dusk Eagle
The Dusk Eagles flew over the smaller countries of the Eastern Continent, picking off small creatures like deer, horses, and smaller Visctherians themselves. They were large enough to fly their prey to their nests, and feed their young whole foxes and smaller birds of prey that they captured in their talons. They were considered a population threat by Oshor, and were to be killed on sight, pending a hefty reward.
Ghost Adder
The Ghost Adder was the biggest myth of the Garlin Deep. A long, lithe, scaled creature, the Adder apparently feasted on smaller beasts and sailors themselves, pulling them deeper into the waves to tear into their flesh. It also did not truly exist, completely made up by the sailors who spotted a floating log on the Garlin Deep.
Glothir
The massive flying Glothir rarely interacted with the other Godsent, roaming the skies of the world and putting whole cities into darkness as they passed overhead, reaching up to 100 miles in length. Their barbed tails whipped through the sky, occasionally exterminating the local bird population, and giant wings spanned the stratosphere, cutting through the clouds and storms with ease. They regularly inhabited the rougher weather patterns, following the thunder and lightning from region to region. This earned them a reputation of being a harbinger of sorts, bringing terrible weather and hours of darkness.
Jursa Major
Hailing from Qascon and Broca, Jursa Major was a massive bear with patchy brown and white fur. Vicious claws and sharp teeth created a terrifying predator on their own; its gargantuan size only compounded the terror it brought. While many feared Jursa Major and ran from them, they were actually herbivores, and survived the great winters by consuming the frozen plants under the ice. Their claws and teeth were for digging, not killing.
Kraken
The Kraken was a massive species that roamed the oceans of Visctheria, taking down ships and guarding islands they claimed as their hunting grounds. Extremely territorial creatures, they often fought amongst themselves when they encountered one another, and created huge storms with their sheer power. While few were ever killed, many new Sailors of the Crescent Council were given the impossible task as a test. Their reaction determined much of their path with the Council.
Lycenian Crow
The royal animals of the Crown in Reacia, the Lycenian Crows inhabited a special birdhouse built atop the palace in the capitol city of Lycen. While some say their presence set a dark omen over the crown, their grim aesthetic fit very well with the shortlived Corvinian Dynasty, the last dynasty with which they were to reside in the palace. During that dark period, the Crows revealed they would eat human flesh if given the chance, and began to hunt the city for more meat. As a result, Queen Ruith Liaore decreed they be killed in an event that came to be known as the Murder of the Crows.
Megalopod
Up to four times the size of a regular killer whale, Megalopods could destroy a ship with ease, pulling the sailors to a watery grave. They prowled the Garlin Deep, seeking to destroy and consume all before them. While few were ever killed, there were some research explorations that wished to document the creatures. With no natural camoflage, they stood out easily, but they had nothing to worry about with their high position on the food chain.
Mumentoth
Even in the Heroic Age of Visctheria, few existed in their native land, the wilds of Raxala. However, there was a thriving population of Mumentoth in the Meskaovanian palace. They acted as circus animals in the main halls, and as guards and executioners deep in the dungeon caves below the palace. These creatures had a neverending appetite, and would eat any meat given to them - including their own kind.
Ninian Wyrm
In Reacia, the Ninian Wyrm ruled the land. One of the more aggressive Godsent, the Wyrm was often hunted as a rite of passage for the Darkbreakers. The tough, scaled flesh made for the toughest armor in Visctheria, making the Reacian military a force to be reckoned with. The Wyrm inhabited burrows it created below the surface of the world, sucking the surrounding nutrients from the soil.
Huge, dead clearings covered the distance above the burrows, marking the presence of the Wyrm, and providing an easy method to hunt the creatures - if you can get high enough to spot the clearings. Venomous and dangerous, the Ninan Wyrms bred quickly, and proved to be more of a pest than a primordial being, growing from their freshly hatched size of a humanoid arm to up to 300 feet long. The smallest of the Godsent, they began as a worshiped creature, and descended to game to hunt for sport.
The hunk of metal that Ruith called a sword never left her side. Forged of Duralian steel, and hilt bound in the leather of a Ninian Wyrm, Ruith had trained with the weapon since childhood. She was only able to lift it once she hit age thirteen. Since then, her strength had exploded, quickly learning to twist and swing the giant blade of Nightbane with the best of the kingdom's warriors.
Ostrello
Roaming the seas of Visctheria were the Ostrellos. Their translucent flesh made them invisible from above the water, but once below the waves, their sheer gargantuan mass made them impossible to miss. Reaching sizes of up to 500 miles in length, the tentacles offered a home to multiple ecosystems that only survived within the wispy tendrils. While these tentacles looked thin, floating gently in time with the currents, they ranged from one to five miles in diameter, with the thicker arms producing a deadly venom that only the Colicaethe could survive. Their heads glowed softly, natural phosphorescence creating colorful light shows under the ocean that drew many a curious sailor to their deaths.
Prikos
The Prikos were the backbone of Priquish society, carrying hundreds of pounds of supplies for thousands of miles across the wastelands. Massive furred and horned monsters, they were used as pack animals, farm creatures, and battle beasts simultaneously. A single Prikos, living for up to eighty years, could last a family generations, passed from warrior to warrior. They often carried the badges won by their champion on their saddles.
Proathian Viper
The Viper prowled the icy wastelands of Proatho, searching for new victims to drain of heat. Once it set its fangs into you, its venom put you into a sleep so deep it lowered your body temperature, which could induce hypothermia in the frigid temperatures. While this made the Viper incredibly dangerous, collection of its venom allowed for invention of a general anaesthetic that saved countless lives around the world.
Shiacan Rhino
The Shiacan Rhino was dying out, hunted to near extinction for their tough skin and ceremonially-used horns. Once they were taken down, they were often sacrificed in the very spot they fell, draped in flowers and vines to honor the spirit of the creature. Many artworks of the Rhino depicted these flowers bursting from their skin while they still lived, as if it was a part of them.
Wooly Mammoth
The giant Wooly Mammoths of Skaolia were ritualistically hunted for generations. While every part of their body was put to use, their skulls were carefully cleaned and used in massive bone puppet plays. The Skaolians tenderly wrote and put on regular productions of fully realized storylines, often with multiple characters. They told the stories of the Visctherian Pantheon in caricature, and continued the stories across the whole country.
Wyllow Dyr
The Everia territory held the entire population of the Wyllow Dyr. The huge creatures roamed the Living Lands, covered in just as many flora and fauna as the giant trees that made up the forest. Vines and ferns were woven into their hides, caught from passing through the undergrowth and canopy simultaneously or sprouting directly from their flesh. Huge antlers often tangled in the trees, breaking off to create massive traps that fell from the canopy when the wind picked up. Their hooves left depressions in the underbrush, forming ponds that became watering holes for the many strange species that resided in the humongous forest.
Xinkanrin Bat
In the massive cave system below Zareya's Academy for the Magically Inclined in Estrana, the Xinkanrin Bats live peacefully. Regular school and research tours through the caves kept them accustomed to Visctherians, but the deep caves beneath sea level housed some of the largest Godsent known to Sapients. Feeding off swarms of bugs and fish from the underground lakes - as well as smaller, less fortunate creatures - they existed in pitch black, their echoing croaks bouncing through the rock for miles.
This article was nominated for the 2023 Worldbuilding Awards in the Wonderous Nature category!
Ayda Northana
Ayda Northana was an Arcanist credited with documenting key information about all twenty-three species of Godsent, as well as discovering no less than seven types of the creatures on her own. Her massive contribution to the study of the creatures when the field was still in its infancy helped move the research along to an almost complete understanding before the Visctherian Analogs were able to document her findings.
Northana also helped establish Aquavelle, a massive city that rests on top of the largest Ostrello on record. The city is home to the Crescent Council, where they rule with an iron fist. Aquavelle also farms the Ostrello for their poison, and trade with the Everian Tainted Ones for their yearly supply.
The Golden Dyr
While only twenty-three species of Godsent have been discovered, there is rumor of a twenty-fourth: the Golden Dyr of Zabralka's Island. Supposedly related to the Willow Dyr, the Golden Dyr apparently lives on Zabralka's Island off the northern shore of Meskaovania. The cursed land hides from all researchers, keeping any myths and legends safe from destruction.
Attack on the Stardiver
Hilgor the High Flying lifted the Stardiver from the sea in a Kraken attack, performing a great feat of extraordinary magic that had never been done before. After much study, he was able to solve the mystery of flight for millions of researchers, creating an arcane equation that has held up for almost three hundred years. When Hilgor left the research field to pursue piracy, he hunted down that Kraken and took its heart as a trophy, turning it to stone with his new gift.
Everian Beliefs
Most of Everia believes the Godsent weren't created by the Gods - as they follow a very different pantheon - but are actually something closer to siblings, almost gods themselves. Ghaotz, force of chaos, birthed their Gods and Godsent, and all animals are descended from these god-like beings.
Trade Routes & the Godsent
Eletha ran her fingers through the thick fur wrapped around her shoulders, and watched them be engulfed in the white pelt. How far had this come, she thought, to sit and rot in the closet of a spare bedroom in the Meskaovanian palace?
While much of Visctherian trade is based on spices and fabrics, easily creatable exports, there are some routes that still thrive on Godsent poaching. Many countries protect their Godsent populations, choosing to respect them and help them grow. However, poachers flourish in the wild, killing any creatures they can.
There's little to be done to stop them, as Godsent pelts fetch a pretty penny on the black markets of Visctheria. Any poachers that live through killing a Jursa Major or a Megalopod can live off any funds they receive from the sale for the rest of their lives, creating a high demand for both the pelts, and hunters. A whole warrior force, disgused as Arcanists, actually managed to slaughter a species of Godsent almost to extinction, threatening the very existence of the Crulaetiks.
What magnificent creatures! I love the amount of detail that you provided about all of them. Very unique beasts.
I'm a little sad about this article transfer, since the original was nominated for the Worldbuilding Awards last year, but I'm excited to see what I can do this year!