Mythical Creatures

Yeah I posted a thread like this somewhere, but I haven't found it for whatever reason. I used it initially because I got this massive encyclopedia of mythical creatures from many different cultures, and I decided to post what it had, because people might be interested. They got the history of Fairies, Nagas, Dryads, and other creatures with names I cant eve begin to pronounce.

I guess I'll re-vamp it. I love legends and myths and stuff, and if multiple people post this kinda stuff it could give us ideas for felarya even. Who knows?

(I'll have to be in a good mood to write about Griffins, the entry is several pages. X_X)
I'll be taking stuff out of the "E" section.

Ereshkigal

Queen of the Sumerian underworld, Ereshkigal has a strange and horrific appearance. She has a horn on her back and another on hher forehead. She has a sheep's ears and human hands. Her body is that of a fish and from hips to feet she is a dog. Her body is completely covered with scales like that of a serpent.

Ereshkigal's title is 'Queen of the Great Below' and she lives in a palacewhich has seven doors, each guarded by a warden. In the story of the goddess Ishtar's descent into the underworld, Ishtar has to leave some token at each of the doors until she is naked - the earliest origin of the more mundane 'Dance of the Seven Veils'. Ereshkigal denies Ishtar's request to mourn her brother-in-law Dumuzi (sometimes described as her lover) and has the goddess hung upon a hook so that she might suffer and overcome death.

Eous

One of the four horses of the sun in classical Greek mythology. According to the poet Ovid, the four horses that drew the chariot of the sun were Eous, Acthon, Phlegon and Pyrios. Like Pegasus, they were winged and extremely swift.

Enfield

Another of the strange creatures from the bestiaries of British heraldry, it had a torso of a lion, with the tail and legs of a wolf, to which were attacched eagle claws. Its head was like that of a fox.

Emu

In the traditions of the Australian Aborigines, the emu is a totem bird and an ancestor. Emu is seen as one of the first creatures that rose with the sun from the sacred ocean. Objects sacred to tribes, such as the Chirunga and the Tjuringa, are often carved with footprints of the bird. At certain times of year, elaborate ceremonies are performed in honor of Emu.

Medusa the gorgan legend is one of my favorite's

Along with the legend of Kronos the titan father to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Chiron.

yeah, I'll write them up eventually. I have this rediculously large book and I this is mainly just me typing them out. Anyone's welcome to pitch in though XD

Dryads

One of two species of guardian tree spirits found in Greek mythic tradition. The others are the Hammadryads, who are permanently attached to their trees, and sometimes die when their trees are cut down. Dryads, on the other hand, are able to leave their trees and wander or dance in the groves of the forest. They are often described as companions to the moon goddess Artemis, and they also sometimes accompany Dionysus, the god of wine. It is considered unlucky to see them or remain in their company. The name dryad comes the Greek drys, meaning oak, from which it may be assumed they were most often associated with the oak tree.

Dragon-Horse

This hybrid creature, from Chinese mythology, is a messenger of the gods. It had the body of a dragon and the front quarters of a horse. This being bore both the vital essence of Heaven and Earth and it was revealed to the Yellow Emperor as the interpenetrating symbol of the Yin and Yang, the balanced polarity of the female and male energies in the world.

(hmm. I think I'll write about dragons, be prepared for a frickin' wall of text.)

Of all mythological creatures, the dragon is surely the best known. Virtually every culture in the world has its dragon myths, and countless stories have been told of its origins, history and of its defeat at the hands of dragon slayers. The dragon slain by St George is perhaps the most typical and consistent in its imagery, and dragons found in the bestiaries of heraldry echo, it has bat wings, a barbed and often poisonous tail, and it breathes fire. IT is depicted thus in numerous English folktales, and it is often portrayed in Christian churches, or in the many paintings that describe St George in the act of slaying the creature. In most of these, the dragon is usually represented as a far smaller creature than its more ancient forbears.

Most British dragons are really worms, a name that comes from Scandinavian tradition. These creatures are wingless, generally have lengthy bodies, and a poisonous rather than fiery breath. Dragons and worms have several traits in common - they tend to be scaly, haunt wells or pools, and have a deep attraction to maidens and princesses. Both creatures are known to hoard treasure, which they have either gathered for themselves or inherited, becoming guardians by chance. All are extremely hard to kill.

It is generally accepted that the myth of the dragon grew out of the remains of extinct dinosaurs discovered in ancient times and believed to belong to magical or unearthly creatures. Details such as their fiery breath and wily nature were added afterward. Artifacts depicting dragons of one kind or another have been found as early as the 4th millennium BCE. Excavations in Pakistan and China have unearthed objects decorated by winged snakes, while a cylinder seal dating to the late 2nd century BCE shows a creature which is not far in shape from the traditional idea of the dragon.

The word 'dragon' derives from the ancient Greek drakonta or drakon, which means 'to watch' or 'to look at', suggesting that even at that point in time the notion of a dragon as a guardian was already established. In the Greek myth, it is a dragon that guards the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, while in European it is usually crouched upon a vast mountain of treasure. The Latin word for dragon is draco and in classical Roman art the Draco is generally depicted as a vast serpent with wings resembling those of a bat, a long tail and fiery breath. Pliny the Elder in his Historia Naturalis (AD 77) gives an account of dragons in the land of Ethiopia, describing them as perhaps 60ft in length and living primarily off the flesh of elephants. However, over time there were fewer and fewer elephants and the Ethiopian dragons were forced to look elsewhere. The story is told that they twined themselves together to form a huge living raft and then sailed across the Arabian Peninsula. These dragons were said to possess a stone called the Dracontias, which was lodged in the brain. In medieval times, alchemists saught these with great diligence, as they were believed to be an essential ingredient in the creation of the Elixir of Life.

The most ancient stories relating to the dragon make it a power that must be defeated or bound by a god or hero. These cosmic battles which date back to the earliest times, include the story of the Egyptian Horus and Typhon, the Babylonian Marduk and Tiamat, the Greek Apollo and the Python, and the Graeco-Roman Hercules and the Hydra, and many more. Slaying the dragon often disguises a deeper struggle between light and darkness with the dragon usually symbolizing the dark, and its slayer light and goodness. Out of this also came the traditions of the dragons as guardians of treasure - a just reward for those brave enough and strong enough to overcome these mighty adversaries.

Early references to dragon-like creatures turn up in Babylon, Egyptian, Chinese, and Japanese accounts, as well as in classical Greek and Roman sources. In many of these the dragon described is not the evil creatures of later mythology, but often a great serpent that represents the primal matter of creation itself, or the life giving waters of Ocean. In this context, its wings are described as sending forth the air, which is the breath of life. It is also seen as a messenger of the sky gods. Later this symbolism changes, perhaps with the shift from Paganism to Christianity, which caused beings representing the ancient powers of the gods to become darker and more negative.

The 4th century BCE Greek playwright Eurpides was one of the first classical writers to describe a dragon breathing fire; while in the Old Testament, Moses mentions fiery serpents and Isaiah speaks of high-flying fire-breathing creatures which resemble dragons. In Egyptian myth, Apophis is a dragon of darkness who has to be overcome every day by the sun god Ra. (poor dude.) In Roman myth, the the goddess Ceres flies through the heavens in a chariot drawn by two dragons, and later lends this to the hero Triptolomus to enable him to distribute corn to the human race. Medusa, though not a dragon herself, in one version of the story escapes from Jason in a chariot drawn by a winged dragon. Apollo may be seen as a type of dragon slayer, who kills the Python pf Delphi - though the latter is more a serpent than a traditional dragon.

One of the earliest stories featuring a dragon of cosmic proportions is found in the Babylonian "Epic of Creation", composed during the 2nd century BCE. Here we learn of the struggle between the god Abzu, god of the primordial waters beneath the earth, and his consort Tiamat, who was a dragon of the sea, against their son Ea, the all-knowing god of wisdom. Ea fought and killed Abzu and replaced him. He then engendered the hero Marduk on his consort and prepared for war against his mother. To swell the ranks of her forces in the coming war, Tiamat gave birth to a host of dreadful creatures.

Giant snakes, sharp of tooth and unsparing of fang.
She filled their bodies with venom instead of blood,
She cloaked ferocious dragons with fearsome rays
And made them bear mantles of radiance, made them god-like.

In the ensuing battle, Marduk fought Tiamat in single combat. He forced wind into her belly, which he then pierced with an arrow. He then split her down the middle and used one half to create the sky and the other to create the Earth. The dragons to which Tiamat had given birth remained behind, hidden in the deep places of the Earth.

Biblical tradition takes the idea of the dragon and marries it with ancient images from Middle Eastern belief and tradition. Even the Serpent of the Garden of Eden is sometimes referred to as a dragon, while in the Book of Revelation a red dragon with multiple-crowned heads appears. Its tail is so great that it sweeps a third of the stars from the sky, throwing them upon the Earth. A great war then ensues between the beast and the archangel Michael and his angels, who cast it down upon the Earth. Three unclean spirits like frogs come out from the dragon's mouth, which are said to be devils, working false miracles. Finally, the dragon is then thrown into a bottomless pit, where it will remain for at least 1,000 years, imprisoned by an angel with a key and chain.

In Hindu tradition, the dragon represents manifest power and the spoken word, and is a representative of both Arun and Soma. The great god Indra slew a dragon named Vitra in order to release the primordial waters and make the Earth fruitful.

It is without doubt in China that the dragon achieves its most complex mythological and symbolic status. Here it represents the highest spiritual power and is emblematic of the representatives of such power on Earth. Dragons are said to influence every aspect of life and in this context are one of the 12 symbolic creatures of the Zodiac. Among its many other attributes, it is known to represent the sun, the heavens and the fertilizing rain. Often dragons are represented as living in elaborate palaces about ground or beneath the sea, and there is evidence that in ancient times offerings were made to them. Oriental dragons are also known as shape shifters and they can make themselves invisible at will. They have many different characteristics, some good some bad, the celestial dragon Tien Lung, is a guardian of the home of the gods and is sometimes represented as holding up the sky. Fu T'sang, the Imperial Dragon is a guardian of treasure. One very specific description shows that the dragon had become acknowledged as a hybrid being and that every aspect of it had symbolic meaning.

It is said that: "The dragon's horns resemble those of a stag, his head is that of a camel, his eyes those of the demon, his neck that of the snake, his belly that of a clam, his scales that of a carp, his claws are those of an eagle, his soles are those of a tiger, his ears those of a crow."

In both China and Japan, traditionally the dragon was able to change itself into a bird, and in a monastery in Kyoto there is a painting depicting a composite creature, half dragon, half bird. In Japan, the dragon myth evolved its own pattern. An ancient story tells how a dragon was formed from part of the fire god Kaguzuchi. It produced rain and snow in response to the payers of men. As in both China and India, Japanese river gods took the form of dragons and were believed to bring rain, but it was only with the introduction of Chinese and Indian dragon myths that Japanese rivers became filled with dragons.

Throughout Japan, dragons are also associated with Will-o'-the-Wisps. These spectral lights are also called 'Dragon Lanterns' and are said to rise from the sea to the mountains where they nest in pine trees close to the sacred temples.They were considered gifts from the dragons which lived in the sea.

In British folklore, there are several stories relating to winged, fiery creatures: one being that of the Dragon of Kingston who was eventually choked to death by a giant boulder that rolled down from a ridge into his mouth as he opened it to belch forth flames. The Dragon of Wantley in Lancashire was another dragon of this kind. An account of this creature from "Legends and Traditions of Lancashire" is typical of this kind of story.

The Serpent of Handale in Yorkshire was half dragon and half serpent, since it had fiery breath and a venomous sting. It was a great devourer of maidens until a young man named Skaw killed it when he set out to rescue an earl's daughter. The dragon that haunted Winlatter Rock in Derbyshire was probably the Devil, who had taken this form in order to prey on the local population. The evil creature was finally driven off by a monk who stood upon a rock with his arms out-stretched in the shape of a cross. His concentration was apparently so great that his feet sank into the rock and left impressions there that could still be seen in the 19th century. Apparently, the monk did not kill the dragon, but drove it away. It took refuge down a mine in the Derbyshire hills and the waters have been said to taste sulfurous and be slightly warm ever since, evidence of the dragon's presence.

Dragons are less prevalent in Celtic tradition, despite the importance of the Red Dragon Ddraig Goch in Welsh lore. Two dragons are said to plague the people of Britain every May Eve until they are defeated by the legendary King Lludd, who was instructed by his brother Llevellys how to catch the dragons by placing a vat of mead covered by a cloth at the most central point in Britain. Lludd found that this was Oxford where the fighting dragons became lured to earth by the smell of the mead. The nearer to earth they got, the quicker they changed shape finally metamorphosizing into pigs to be taken and entombed beneath Dinas Emrys in Snowdonia. This was later site of Merlin's revelation. The great dragon killer of Irish tradition is Fraech who has the help of fairies to overcome the dragon.

Dragons are particularly popular in the folklore and legends of Russia, and most conform to the classical type. Such natural phenomena as eclipses of the sun and moon are widely accepted to be caused by dragons; though when the heavenly orbs reappeared this was taken as a clear sign that if even such mighty creatures as dragons could not withstand the power of the heavens then mankind could survive them also. Most of the dragons in Russian legends and folk stories are less intelligent that their counterparts elsewhere in the world.

The appearance of the dragon can vary a great deal according to which part of the world it comes from. In some places it has a head that is reptilian, while in India it sometimes has the head of an elephant, a lion, or a bird of prey; in the Middle East it is usually serpentine and may have many heads. The color of of the dragon ranges from green, red or black to yellow, blue or white. Dragons seem to love ruins and are often found in ancient castles, palaces or cities that have fallen into ruins. They are also found in swamps, deserts and caverns, on mountains and in and in the forest. In other words, the dragon seems to be at home in virtually any setting. The story of the assault on the dragon's lair is almost as fixed as the form of the dragon itself. In almost every instance, the hero, once he has found a way to kill the dragon, ends by cutting off its head, tongue, feet or tail, often to prove that he has killed the creature, but sometimes because it carries power of its own. Thus in the Teutonic myth of the hero Siegfried, having defeated the dragon, he cuts out its tongue, getting some of its saliva on his lips in the process. Thereafter he can understand the language of birds and animals.

In Norse and Germanic tradition, we find one of the prime stories of the dragon in the epic poem Beowulf. In the oldest traditions of the Norse people, Nidhoggr ('One Full of Hatred') is the Dragon of Death, which drinks the blood of the dead and eats corpses. According to the Norseman Snorri's Edda, it is said that Nidhoggr will survive the end of the world and live in the one that will replace it. Elsewhere Nidhoggr is described as lying under the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. A squirrel acts as a messenger between the dragon and a great eagle which sits at the top of the tree, sowing discord in the human race. The Midgard Serpent lives at the center of the Earth or in the ocean, and was created from the eyebrows of the primal giant Ymir - though some sources describe him as the offspring of the black-hearted trickster god, Loki. Norse mythology describes this creature as living in the primeval ocean that surrounds the world. Later, Thor is said to have used an ox skull as a hook to catch the great serpent, dispatching it with his mighty hammer. In some versions, Thor himself dies as a result of breathing the poisonous breath breath of the serpent.

The dragon is found on the banners of many different peoples, including the Persians, Romans, Welsh, and Norse. This may have contributed to its fierce and warlike nature. The myth of the dragon continues to grow, with the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkein presenting the memorable Smaug the Golden and Anne McCaffrey's 'Pern' series adding an entire new line to the story, in the shape of her Dragon riders.

The magical properties of dragons include the ability to guard treasure and knowledge, to user in new cycles of time, to shape and sculpt the Earth and to endure to the ending of the world.(See also Apocalyptic Beasts, Ddraig Goch, the Midgard Serpent, the Laidley Worm, the Lambton Worm, Nidhoggr and Smaug the Golden.)

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Seriously what in Gods name possessed me to type that? That was FOUR pages =_=
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Archmage_Bael wrote:

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Seriously what in Gods name possessed me to type that? That was FOUR pages =_=
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I am sometimes possessed to write epic posts involving math; perhaps for you, it is the same but with mythology?

what about Harpies cousin?

Cerastes

Found within annals of greek legends, the cerastes were great serpents whose name means "having horns". This stemmed from the fact that according to myth they possessed either a pair of large ram-like horns or four pairs of smaller ones. These beast of the desert would hide in the sand with only their horns exposed, which in some cases were capable of being flexed, in order to attract would-be predators which confused it for food. Once they got to close, the cerastes would then attack and kill it.

It was also said to be so incredibly flexible that it was said to possess no spine. It is believed to be based upon the horned vipers, so it is likely that the cerastes was poisonous as well.

Harpies

a centar was one of the winged spirits best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which snatches" as it comes from the ancient Greek word harpazein, which means "to snatch".

 

A harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles. In this context Jane Ellen Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say.

 

Hesiod calls them two "lovely-haired" creatures, perhaps euphemistically. Harpies as ugly winged bird-women, e.g. in Aeschylus' The Eumenides are a late development, due to a confusion with the Sirens. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness.

Maneki Neko

In Japanese folklore, this is a good-luck symbol that takes the form of a cat sitting on its haunches with one paw raised in a beckoning gesture. Japanese shopkeepers use it to lure customers into their shops.

Ogre

The generic term 'ogre' is giiven to many of the cannibalistic giants of world culture when mythology is beginning to lapse into folklore and fairytale. It was first used by the French storyteller Perrault in his Contes (1697) and more bizarrely by George Macdonald in his Phantastes where he uses the word ogre to describe a sinister, pointy toothed woman who tempts the hero into looking into a certain cupboard by warning him against such action. This reverse psychology succeeds in making him look within. Ogre is a name loosely given to any bugbear or bogeyman who spooks you or follows you. The most recent cinematic appearance of an ogre is that of the foul-breathed Shrek who, against the odds, wins the hand of the princess. (dunno about that last sentence there, but its what the book said lol)

Here's a fun one:

Mermaid

Perhaps the most famous of the many magical creatures of the sea, the general character of a mermaid is well defined. According to these traditions, mermaids are like beautiful maidens from the waist up, with the tail of a fish below. They carry a comb and a mirror and are often to be seen combing their long, beautiful hair and singing with irresistible sweetness on a rock beside a sea. Shakespeare describes this perfectly, when Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, says:

"Once I sat upon a promontory
And heard a Mermaid on a dolphin's back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the sea maid's music"

But mermaids have a darker side. They lure young men to their death and their appearance presages storms and disasters. According to such beliefs, mermaids not only bring misfortunes but also provoke them, and they avidly seek human lives, either drowning men or devouring them. They are said to be born without souls, and the only way they may obtain one is by marrying a human. In some of the earliest Celtic descriptions, they are sometimes monstrous in size, such as the one recorded in the medieval Irish Annals of the Four Masters, who was 160 ft in length! She was believed to have been cast ashore in AD 87 (damn. a couple millenia too late.)

Some sea creatures were said to be allergic to fresh water, but mermaids penetrated up running streams and were to be found in freshwater lakes. Several stories exist describing mermaids who were caught and held to ransom for the sake of the wishes they could grant and the knowledge they could impart. None ever failed to remain true to their bargains, though the wishes granted by mermaids are often tricky and dangerous. In Scotland and Ireland the question of whether mermaids, like fairies, could ever find salvation was often raised. It was considered unlikely, but in Ireland there was one mermaid, named Liban, who is described as having died and entered heaven - though it should be said that she was not born a mermaid but was
transformed into that form.

In general, mermaids are said to live in an undersea world of great splendor and richness, but they may assume human form, especially to visit markets and fairs. (I'll be sure to look for one then ) They often lure mariners to their destruction, and are said to gather the souls of the drowned in cages. There are many different explanations of the origin of the mermaid. In early Irish tradition, they are said to be pagan women transformed into that shape by St Patrick. One middle European folktale says they are Pharoah's children, drowned in the Red Sea when Moses parted the waters. But the most usual and widely accepted tradition concerns their evolution from gods and goddesses of the early religions of the world, who were themselves represented as half fish, half human in form. Among these are the Chaedean Oannes and Philistine Dagon as well as the Syrian Atargatis, all of whom are represented as half fish. The mythographer Robert Graves in his seminal book The White Goddess associated with mermaid with love goddesses Marian and Aphrodite, both born of the sea.

Medieval belief in the mermaid was wide spread and substantial, as a story from Holand dating from about 1430 shows. It tells how, when the dikes near Edam broke during a storm, some young girls found a mermaid floundering in shallow water. They got her into the boat, took her home dressed her in womens clothes and allowed her to live with them. She was said to be able to weave and spin with extraordinary skill, but never learned to speak. In 1560, some fishermen in deep water off the coast of Ceylon caught several mermaids in their nets, which were afterwards dissected by a learned physician. He reported that internally and externally they were constructed like human beings.

In Japanese tradition, Ningyo is the name given to the mermaid who wards off bad luck and protects the land with peace. However, mermaids have often been known to lead people astray, but getting hold of the cap or belt of a mermaid gives one power over her. The marriage of a mortal man to a mermaid is widely reported in folklore, and the descendants of such unions are still believed to live in remote parts of the world. Such people are usually considered to be under some kind of curse, which may prevent them from sleeping since they constantly hear the sound of the sea in their ears. One of the most famous stories about mermaids is Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, in which a mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince, voluntarily assumes human shape in order to gain an immortal soul and to be near him for ever, but is doomed never to speak. When the prince finally marries a human princess, her heart breaks. Her statue is to be seen in the harbor of Copenhagen.

Belief in mermaids was still widespread in the coastal areas of Britain in the 19th century. As recently as 1947, an 80 year old fisherman from the Isle of Muck in the Inner Hebrides claimed to have seen a mermaid near the shore, combing her hair. The word mermaid may derive from the French for sea, or be a corruption of the Saxon 'Merymaid'. In the British Isles, where mermaids have always been common, she has many different regional variations in her name. She is known as Ben Varrey, Clytie, Gwyndwy, Mari Morgan, Roane and Selkie. Despite their widespread appearance in folklore the world over, their description and character varies a little, suggesting that belief in these extraordinary creatures has been present for a very long time.

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Side note. I want to go to Copenhagen now. I should have gone when I went to Europe a few years back. Also, there's an anime called "My Bride is a Mermaid" and it's very...entertaining.

My favorites are the Phoenix (which inspired me in my character Helia's design), the Dragon, and a creature named Teumessias (
Sorry, I aint got time to type its legand. For now just look up the Vixen and the Laelaps). I've used them all in stories before. I built a little rivalry with Teumessias and Artemis (my favorite myth figure)

gt500x wrote:

My favorites are the Phoenix (which inspired me in my character Helia's design), the Dragon, and a creature named Teumessios (
Sorry, I aint got time to type its legand. For now just look up the Vixen and the Laelaps). I've used them all in stories before. I built a little rivalry with Teumessios and Artemis (my favorite myth figure)

You lazy sod XP

Greek myth on Phoenix

In Homer's Iliad, Phoenix, son of Amyntor, is one of the Myrmidons led by Achilles who along with Odysseus and Ajax urges Achilles to re-enter battle. He gives the most passionate speech of the three. It is likely that this was a later addition to the epic, as Achilles continually uses a special dual verb form in speaking with his guests, rather than a more appropriate plural form. However, it has been suggested that Achilles speaks only to Phoenix and Ajax, ignoring Odysseus, to whose guile he bears a considerable dislike. He participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar.

 

Phoenix also makes a cameo in Virgil's Aeneid. As Aeneas is searching his fallen Troy for his wife Creusa, he glimpses Phoenix and Odysseus guarding their loot in Priam's palace.

Alright, I was in a rush earlier XP. Time to get my schit straight.


The vixen that I spoke of is called the Teumessian Fox (Teumessias is actually the name that I gave my character... sorry for the confusion on that part) So, the legend of this Teumessian Fox, or Vixen, seems to vary a bit. I read on www.theoi.com that she was a giant but I never confirmed that in my most trusted source, the Appollodorus.

Paraphrasing Appollodorus: The Library of Greek Mythology translated by Robin Hard and published by Oxford University Press Inc:

The Cadmeia country was being devastated by a savage Vixen. Though some sought to rid the country of her, they failed because it was fated that she could never be caught. The Thebans became desperate and began to expose the sons of one of their citizens to appease her. A group of hunters set on catching her brought a hunting dog gifted to them by Minos (I've seen this dog called the Laelaps on www.theoi.com). This dog that was fated to catch all that it hunted went after the fox that was fated to never be caught. Zeus steps in, faced with this contradiction in fates, and turned them both to stone, then placed them up among the stars where their chase could go on forever.

I absolutely love this tale.

In my own story, I've made a few changes to restart the battle and spice things up XP

That character on my Deviant I.D. is actually related to Artemis, sort of like a daughter but not in the conventional sense.

I really enjoy mythology of all cultures...But I'd have to say that my two most facvorite are Greek Mythology and Japanese Mythology.

The tale of Orochi and Susano'o, for example, from ancient Japanese Mythology. Orochi was a giant eight-headed serpent.. Every year it would terrorize a family by eating a virgin daughter. On the eighth year, Susano'o, who was banished from heaven, promised the family to defeat the beast if they allowed him to marry their final daughter. In the end, Susano'o slayed the beast. It's not the whole story, which can be found here.

As it states in the link on the Etymology section, stories of heroes slaying multiple-headed dragons are common in all forms of Ancient Mythology.

Thank you for posting here! I've been meaning to get around to putting in some entries ^_^

Two of my favorites are Kitsune and Gumiho, fox spirits from Japanese and Korean mythology respectively. They're similar in that they're fox spirits who can possess up to nine tails (the more tails an individual has, the more powerful it is) who enjoy tricking and tormenting humans, often taking the form of a beautiful young woman to do so. They're different in that when Kitsune tricked people, it was usually a not-too-harmful prank either to spite someone who'd wronged them or just for fun. Gumiho, on the other hand, were generally much more malevolent, and deceived people so they could eat them.

Kitsune sometimes fell in love with humans, but were often unable to stay with them. There's one really wonderful story about a Kitsune who ALMOST had a happy ending with a human hunter, until his dogs smelled the fox on her and chased her away, but before she flees, she tells him to come look for her in the forest so they could have another chance to be together. Gumiho often pretended to be in love with humans, again, so they could get close enough to eat them.

I'm actually working on a Kitsune race for Felarya; I'm thinking they'd be another hybrid prey race, like Nekos and Inus, but there's still some bugs to work out before I put it out here. I'm not sure about Gumiho, though; I had thought they'd be a trickster predator race, but we've kind of already got that in Fairies, don't we?

I think a few of us have attempted making Kitsunes. I have one in my first real Felarya story.. Things don't go well for her though.
T.T

Check her out > Torin Youth: The Finals I < hopefully you understand the description I gave.

Oh, but I changed one thing about the time period between growing tails.

In looking for the origin of the Kitsune (which I do not know of) I found something interesting.

Kirata

In the folklore of ancient India, this creature is part tiger and part human. Both male and female are human from the waist down but tiger above. The male has the markings of the tiger on his body but the females are described as golden in color and so beautiful that they have been known to seduce humans. Though they live primarily on a diet of fish, they also prey on humans.

Archmage_Bael wrote:

In looking for the origin of the Kitsune (which I do not know of) I found something interesting.

Kirata

In the folklore of ancient India, this creature is part tiger and part human. Both male and female are human from the waist down but tiger above. The male has the markings of the tiger on his body but the females are described as golden in color and so beautiful that they have been known to seduce humans. Though they live primarily on a diet of fish, they also prey on humans.

Oh wow, I've never heard of those. They sound kind of interesting, and definitely Felarya-appropriate. I'm picturing something akin to a race of Vivians.

I'm trying to think of some more good ones... There's the Wendigo, a cannibalistic spirit from Native American mythology. According to Wendigo lore, when people are lost in the far north during the winter, at least one of them will begin to go insane and become cannibalistic. They kill and eat the others. This act of evil causes them to transform into a Wendigo, a nearly unstoppable and insatiable predator that kills and eats every person it finds. Maybe a bit gruesome for Felarya, but there could still be a useable concept or two in there.

Wendigo:

In North American legend, the Wendigo is a monster that takes different forms, according to the locality in which these legends are collected. Among the peoples of Canada, around the Berens Lake near Ontario, the Wendigo is an amphibious monster like an alligator with bear's feet or cloven hooves. Among the Ojibway, the Wendigo or Windigo is known as an ogre, which is invoked to ensure compliant behavior from children. But among the Alconquin Indians it is the spirit of a lost hunter who now preys upon humans in a cannibalistic manner. This latter form is perhaps more widely known due to urban legends bringing the Wendigo to more popular notice, as has horror writer Algernon Blackwood's story The Wendigo.

edit: A race of Vivians? I dunno, do we WANT that? D: I may be overloaded with sexy females.

Dokkaebi:

Spirits in Korean folklore that transformed inanimate objects, typically those that had been disowned or left in perpetual disuse, so that they could perform pranks and other various forms of mischief. They weren't ghosts, as were not the spirits of those who had died. They tend to play mean tricks on those who have been bad while rewarding those who have been good by summoning gifts, though with the latter, they cannot make things out of thin air and thus the summoned gifts are actually stolen.

They are somewhat similar to the Japanese Tsukumogami.

Ah it has been such a long time since I posted here. Time for more Mythical Creatures! I'm going to make this one extra long~

Chi Lung Wang

In Chinese Folklore, Chi Lung Wang is the protector of domestic water supplies and is the one who is in charge of the pumps when it comes to putting out fires. His name means 'Fire-Engine King Dragon', and he is a dragon who is under obedience to the Dragon King, Lung Wang, who is the provider of water to the whole Earth.

Cheval Bayard

Among the waterways of Normandy, France, Cheval Bayard is a water horse ((could have guessed that from the name XD)) which sometimes takes human shape. Like many other water horses around the world, he temps passers-by to mount his back by appearing as an appealing pony. But as soon as someone mounts him, he tosses them into the water.

Each Uisge

An especially malevolent water horse in Irish and Scottish Gaelic folklore, this creature inhabits areas of saltwater or large inland lakes, a fact that distinguishes it from the Kelpie, which primarily inhabits running water. The Each Uisge is a particularly fearsome creature and its main purpose is to capture and kill humans. As with all water horses, it usually appears as a sleek and handsome horse, which offers itself to be ridden. Anyone foolish enough to mount it is instantly carried off to the nearest stretch of water, beneath which the Each Uisge plunges, carrying its prey, which it then devours. However, it is said that anyone who can saddle and bridle one of these creatures will have a reliable steed of more than normal strength and power, which can be used providing it never catches sight of water. The Scottish Each Uisge is even more frightening than the water horse. It may appear as either a gigantic bird or as a handsome young man, though it generally prefers the shape of a horse.

Kelpie

The Classic water horse in Celtic, and especially Scottish tradition. The Kelpie haunted rivers rather than lochs or the sea. When a storm was due, the Kelpie could sometimes be heard howling and wailing. He could also assume human form when he needed to, appearing as a rough shaggy man. In this shape, he would sometimes leap up behind solitary riders, ripping them in his strong arms or frightening them to death. However, his most usual shape was that of a young horse and in common with others of his kind his favorite trick was to lure travelers onto his back and then rush with them into a deep pool, where he struck the water with his tail, causing a sound like thunder, and then vanished in a flash of light. He was also suspected of sometimes tearing people to pieces and devouring them.

A brave member of the MacGregor clan once found a Kelpie with a magical bridle and took it off. The Kelpie begged him to put it back, but the man kept it and used it to work magic. On the other hand, anyone who could put the human bridle on the Kelpie could subdue him to his will. A man of the Graham clan from Morphie once caught a Kelpie in this way and used it to drag stones to build a new castle. When the castle was finished he took off the bridle and the poor exhausted Kelpie ran in to the nearest river, where he paused and said:
Sad back and sad bones
Driving the Laird o' Morphie's stones.
The Laird of Morphie will never thrive,
So long as the Kelpie's alive!

From then on, misfortune dogged the Grahams of Morphie to the end of their line.

Keto

A particularly hideous sea monster in the Graeco-Roman tradition. She was the wife of the sea god Phorcys. Their offspring were the even more monstrous Gorgons and their guardian sisters the Graeae.

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Interesting. That's where the Gorgons came from it seems :3 - NOW for the main passage!
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Fairies

Almost every country in the world has its own fairies. Fairies are a race of beings between humans and spirits. They live as our neighbors, but because human beings have often failed to look after their part of the Earth's guardianship, we seldom encounter fairies, for they regard us as boastful breakers of promises. If, however, you can establish a good relationship with them, if you leave offerings for them - usually the first fruits of whatever produce you posses, as long as it is not meat - they will be good neighbors to you. Because of the human propensity to act in a superior way - and also because fairies seldom breed - they often take thriving human children and leave a changeling in their place.

The word 'fairy' derives from the Latin fatum ('fate'). The theory that the fairies are the ones who bestow individual destiny or specific gifts is found in the widespread European figure of the Fairy Godmother who endows a baby with the gifts it will need for life. This idea is found in the Welsh Bendith y Mamau and the French Bonnes Mères, as well in the Spanish Fada and Italian Fata.

The origin of fairies is told in a Christian folktale from the Western Highlands of Scotland.

At the creation of the world, God made many beings before mankind. Some of them, like the angels who followed Lucifer, wanted to make their own abode and burst out of heaven leaving the gates ajar. The rush of their going caused many other beings to be sucked out of heaven. God became aware of what was happening and pronounced, 'Let those who are out stay out, and those who are in stay in,' and sealed the gates once more. All the rebellious angels made their home in hell, but the beings who had been involuntarily locked out had to remain on Earth and became the fairies.

Different races of fairy peoples are found all over Britain and ireland. They are sometimes involved in territorial disputes such as those of the Cornish Piskies who fought the English fairies for possession of all land west of the River parrett and banished their enemies forever. Some territorial disputes seem more historical, like the long exile to the hollow hills of the Irish Tuatha de Danaan who gave way to the human race of the Milesians. Many otherworldly tribes of beings like dwarves , elves, and goblins are generically called 'fairy folk', although they have distinctly different names.

Throughout the world, people are warned to be respectful of fairy beings, especially of their queens. Fairies, like bees, are ruled over by queens. Remnants of those powerful figures are found in the Italian Befana, the Gaelic Cailleach Beare and the German Percht, all of whom have become attached to midwinter festivities.

Also like bees, fairies can swarm in beneficent or malign ways, which we see in the Scandinavian Alfar and Svartalfar, as well as the Scottish Seelie Court and Unseelie Court (the Blessed Court and the Unholy Court); the Malaysian Bediadari are forms of trooping or swarming fairies. Some fairy folk have distinct tasks. We can see elements of fairy folk in beings like the Scandinavian Valkyrie who gather the slain from the battlefield, while the Irish banshee keens her deathly screech over the impending departure of a soul under her care.

Wherever we look, we find that a common task of fairy folk is to protect the natural world in all its forms and in this they are nearer to elemental spirits like gnomes. In India, it is the Vidyeshvaras who look after the woods and wild places, while in Greece, we find fauns, centaurs, dryads, and nymphs. These beings have leaders who are usually half animal, half humanoid like Puck, or Cheiron or dwarfish like the Indian Kubera.

The gossamer-winged, butterfly fairy of folktales is derived more from the Persian Peri. Our present notions of fairies show a diminishment both of human respect and fairy size, for they are invariably portrayed as tiny, colorful, be-winged creatures full of twinkle and no power. Such depictions are at odds with the vigor of real indigenous fairies who can appear in different sizes and whose actions are robust and even lusty. Fairies hold a trust for the sake of the whole Earth. Their wisdom and guardianship is a reminder to humans of the respect we must give to our environment: vigilant, faithful and loving.

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Cool huh?

So I'm sorta reviving a dead thread here. Not really! Time for another Mythical Creature!

This will only be one this time because I need to head to bed.

Nagas:

In Indian tradition, Nagas are snakes, most like cobras in form, but all Nagas are serpentine in nature, beings who inhabit the primordial oceans. Nagas are all believed to have been generated by the sage Kasyapa who had twelve wives. Their offspring include not only the Nagas but other creatures, including birds. They all live in the underworld city of Bhogavati. In Tibetan Buddhist belief, Nagas life in waterways and other places underground. They are susceptible to careless actions of humanity when nature and the environment are ignored or polluted, so Nagas may reflect to humans the suffering of the Earth by causing unwanted manifestations such as skin diseases.

But Nagas also bestow blessings, including fertility of crops and other wealth, which underlies their connection with dragons as keepers of treasure. Many of the festivals in Kashmir  relate to ancient Naga worship because the whole Kashmiri valley was once a great expanse of water walled in by high mountains. When the valley was uplifted by the Earth's movements, it was put under the care of the Nagas, according to the earliest known text of Kashmir, the Nilamatapurana. Nagas are closely associated with rivers and their courses; indeed every spring, river and watercourse has its own guardian Naga. Among the Hindus, the king of the Nagas is Vasuki; he bears the Nagamani, a jewel that bestows healing and good fortune on those who view it. His sister is Manasa Devi, the cobra goddess who cures snakebites. Indian Buddhists recognize Muchalinda as the king of the Nagas.

The reason that snakes are able to renew themselves is traced back to the myth that tells how Kadru, the ancestor of the Nagas, enslaved Vinata, mother of the birds. In order to ransom her, the Garuda stole the elixir of immortality, the amrita, from the gods. But before the serpents could taste it, Indra retrieved it. As he fled with the amrita, some drops fell to earth and the serpents slid through it, coating their skins with the renewing liquor. The nagas raised their cobra hoods to protect Buddha and are frequently shown sheltering other sages and yogis, such as the great Nagarjuna, the champion of Buddhism in India who is depicted with a halo of a multi-hooded Naga. Nagas are found as far afield as Cambodia, where they are carved on the great temple of Ankor Wat.

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Thanks goes to sadisticnerd for reminding me about this thread X3.

edit: I'll post one more Naga related creature!
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Nehebu-Kau

Nehebu-Kau is an Egyptian snake god, whos name means 'the one who harnesses spirits'. Like his mother, Serket, he is an invincible protector who is able to restore health to those who have been bitten by poisonous serpents, insects or scorpions. No magic, spell or enchantment can overcome him. He received these powers after swallowing seven cobras; the only way in which his power can be controlled is when the sun god Atum presses his fingernail on Nehebu-Kau's spine. When the deceased person is about to proceed to the Halls of Judgement, he prays to all the gods to obtain the favor of this snake god, for it is Nehebu-Kau who gives hospitality to the pharaoh when he first enters the afterlife, welcoming him and giving him his first food. Nehebu-Kau was originally born human but he devoured some of the coils of the world-serpent Apophis, after which he grew a serpentine head and the tail of a scorpion.

(confusing. It said he was a snake god. o.o )

I wasn't aware this thread existed XD Well most the posts are from before I came here, and the previous post that was posted on 2012 (my first year) seems to be posted on June, pretty sure I was on holiday so it's not that surprising I guess.

As someone who has looked into mythology myself, may I have a go? :3

BakeNeko:

BakeNeko, meaning 'Changed Cat' is a type of Yōkai, a supernatural creature or spirit in Japanese mythology. As their name implies they were once ordinary cats that became Yōkai, the reasons for this varies on depending on the folk-story.

One folk belief suggested that cats turned into BakeNekos after a certain age, when their tails would split into two. another one says that cats become BakeNekos after a tramatic death, normally murder, in which they will return to haunt and curse the human that killed them.

BakeNekos were known for being able to speak human langauge, shapeshifting into human form, possessing live humans, possessing dead human corspes and cursing people.
Despite being able to pass off as human, they never seem able to pull it off 100% effectively, and so there are normally something off about them that could hint to their true nature to observant would-be victims. For example their diets may be strange (Milk and raw fish) they might have cat-like behavior ticks, or they have cat ears coming out of their heads and tails coming from the rear. One of the most common disguises of the BakeNeko was an attractive woman (normally a prostitute) who preyed on men around the Edo red-light districts.
This is possibly where the modern image of the 'Neko-Girl' comes from, Cosplay and anime seem to have had an effect in gradually moeifying the BakeNeko into a race of cute humans with catlike traits.

Ah yes, feel free!

I'll have to try and remember to find something else to post in here, another creature. There's a ton of really obscure ones haha.

(Can I recommend one or two at a time so everyone gets a shot at posting =D)

Manticore:

It's name being held from a early persian legends, it's name derives from the language into two connontations . Martya "man" (as in human) and xwar- "to eat". The name as we know is from the latin derivative from Mantichora (Which litterally mean "Man-eater) but i'm sure you don't want to hear anymore details of that, so let's go to what it looked like.

This thing commonly took the aspect of a body of a red lion, face of a man with three rows of teeth, and a stinger of a scorpion that could shoot out it's stingers like arrows with great distance. Also had a distinct voice of a pipe and a trumpet, which could speak that of a man also... In some more later works it was described of having a wings of a bat, tale of a dragon or possibly a horn on its forehead, or you can let your imagination sing to these descriptions and combine those features with the already intimidating ones and the result will be that this beast was an utter badass.

Where most folklores would likely tell you where to find it is in the jungles of india. There's a lot of accounts from the ancients of india itself that this thing could tear apart most things, even a lion with much ease. However it had more of a peculiar taste to "Man-flesh" and would usually go out of it's way to eat or violently hurt people. Most of the accounts were pretty gruesome (mostly hysterical to me) in that it would often not leave anything behind and that it would eat it's prey whole. There's even one account that gaves a rough description of it's hunting habits. "Indeed it will slaughter a great number; and it lies in wait not for a single man but would set upon two or even three men, and alone overcomes even that number..."[1]
So rule of thumb was that you should never approach this thing, However in the same source some brave souls would hunt for the younglings and as the source describes: "Now the Indians hunt the young of these animals while they are still without stings in their tails, which they then crush with a stone to prevent them from growing stings".

That tells you how paranoid and exaggerated this legend was to exist, The indians swears to their multiple gods to outsiders and themselves that this thing existed and was to be feared fabulously and tremendously.

1.Aelian, On Animals 4. 21 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.)


Now to make a predator OC that fits the bill of what most likely would be classified under as Chimera In Felaryan standards. If you want to learn more about it and it's expanded folklore this site I had the most fun gathering information from, and far surpasses the wiki on the detail and such.