Water-Nebula's Ideas

Size: 20 ft

Threat: Very high

Dingoneks are a species of large feline found in dimensionally unstable areas. Most are encountered in Deeper Felarya, though some witnesses claim to have seen one in Languid Vale that is curiously immune to the time difference there. They resemble a large leopard with broad scales on their backs, walrus tusks, a large horn jutting out of their heads, and a long tail ending in a venomous blade. Most usually get to around 20 feet tall. If there's one thing a dingonek is known for, it's their odd way of perceiving the world. Strangely, a dingonek perceives terrain much differently than most creatures. 
        If one is chasing you, it might suddenly phase through trees in its way, or ram into seemingly nonexistent walls. Their way of perceiving animals and humanoids seems to be the same as any other mammal though, as they can always see prey regardless of any invisible barriers they might encounter. Still, the most dangerous thing about them is their tail. Besides being highly venomous, a dingonek tail blade seems to be able to cut through anything with the same amount of difficulty, whether it's as soft as butter or as tough as metal. This makes them extremely lethal predators, able to even take down giant creatures.

Carideans are a tiny marine race that commonly get two or three inches tall, though larger specimens getting up to five inches are not unheard of. Their bodies resemble cleaner shrimp from the waist down, and many even have long feelers extending from their jaw lines. Like labrydines, carideans clear dead skin and parasites (if they're small enough) off of larger animals. They won't pass up the chance to clean a smaller mermaid and win a free meal, but also frequently follow labrydines into the mouths of giant predators to clean off the remaining tidbits. Many labrydines employ these scavengers to finish off any scraps that are left behind. 
        This often happens if the labrydine wants to help a customer out of compassion but gets full, or if they simply have a reputation to keep up. These carideans usually stay with the same mermaid, becoming a form of symbiosis within symbiosis. This practice is risky though, as carideans can easily become inhaled or swallowed by an unaware predator. For this reason, they usually stick to cleaning smaller customers. Even these cleaners have to be wary though, as even the smaller clients occasionally snatch them up. 
        When not cleaning or accompanying a labrydine, carideans are a very shy race and spend most of their time hiding in secret colonies concealed within coral reefs. Despite being very common, this elusive behaviour means that not much is known about carideans and they can be hard to find when they're not at work. Similarly to tinies in Negav, many carideans are known to live discreetly in Ryzelm’oire. There, they have access to many customers and are able to feed without as much fear of getting swallowed.

Sylphs are hybrids of fairies and air elementals. Their skin and hair coloration is often composed of pastel colors, and they're wings resemble insects such as hoverflies and hummingbird moths. Sylph wings beat incredibly fast, to the point where they appear only as a distortion in the air. If seen from a distance, a flying sylph will look completely wingless, often prompting explorers to get a closer look at this mysterious "floating human". Consequently, these spectators often end up in a stomach.
        Even by fairy standards, sylphs are enormous airheads. They never seem to be able to sit still, and love socializing. They'll zip around complete strangers and chat as if they had become best friends within the few seconds they had known each other. Understandingly, other races are deeply annoyed by them. This is especially true for harpies, who are often extremely offended by the friendliness of a sylph. 
        Sylph magic seems to be as quick as the sylph themself, because unlike other fairies who need time to change the size of something, sylphs can do it almost instantly! As soon as it occurs however, sylph magic wears off rapidly so sylphs have to eat quickly. It's often very difficult to convince a sylph to spare you, as they just don't have time for it. Like other fairy/elemental hybrids, sylphs are able to transform into their element, in this case wind. Using this ability, they can suddenly vanish in the blink of an eye and get out of a bad situation.
        Sylphs are naturally very mischievous and love to pull pranks. Any that can befriend one are sure to never have a dull day.

Nature sprites are born when a fairy mates with a nature elemental. They often have wild, unkempt looks with tanned skin and disorderly hair. Their hair is most commonly green or brown, though bright colors aren't uncommon, and they almost always possess the leafy wings of a katydid. Similarly to how other fairy hybrids can transform into their respective element, nature sprites have the ability to merge into plants that they come in contact with. This ability comes in handy for spying or hiding from threats.
        For reasons unknown, they also seem very resistant to the pheromones of feyweed and faebanes. When a nature sprite is young, they will form small packs with other fairies. However, as they mature, nature sprites depart in search of their own territories to call home. Nature sprites claim their territories in places filled with vegetation, such as small groves or thickets. They are fiercely protective of this place, and take great care to keep the plants there healthy.
        Because of their stationary lifestyle, nature sprites usually feed on edible plants within their domain or careless trespassers. They very rarely go out of their way to hunt, and when they do they usually don't wander far. Due to their possessive behavior, nature sprites tend to have a selfish reputation among other fairies who insist on sharing the resources within their territory. Nature sprites really don't see eye to eye with these fairies, and seem perfectly happy and carefree when left to their own devices. 

Balloon root is an aquatic carnivorous plant found in the Myriad River. It's always found floating on top of the calm water and can be identified by it's clusters of beautiful pastel blue flowers. What appears above the surface is of little danger however, as the real threat is what lies beneath. The roots of this plant are very long and extensive, and are covered in pods of various sizes. These pods exist in two varieties.
        The first variety is round and filled with gas. These pods grow near the base of the roots, and help keep the main plant afloat. The second variety however, is flat and deflated with thin hairs growing out of an opening in the pod. When something of apropriate size pushes against these hairs, the pod will suddenly open up and inflate, sucking the unfortunate prey into the balloon-like pod. Then, the opening is sealed off by the trigger hairs, preventing any escape.
        The smaller pods are only capable of sucking up very small insects, but the larger ones can devour a human whole. Luckily, they're easily avoidable and the biggest ones usually just catch large fish or unwary merfolk.

Arai are an uncommon species of harpy that are found in forested areas. Most encounters are in the Bulvon wood and the Chidokai and Tolmeshal forests. Arai are human sized, and often have frizzy hair and dark green eyes. The feathers of an arai are usually drab shades of brown and grey, though blue, green, and black can also occur. The most defining features of an arai are their grasping clawed wings and long frond shaped tail.
        These features help when climbing trees, as arai cannot fly and must glide to navigate the forests they live in. Most arai live in solitude, as they're shunned by most other harpies for their unnatural appearance. They live in tree hollows, with many developing a talent for hexes and curses. The specifics vary greatly however, with different arai developing drastically different kinds of curses. Due to their reclusive nature, arai aren't generally used to speaking and luckily prefer to mutter insults rather than to shout them.
        While they're obviously much too small to predate on humans, arai love eating tinies. They aren't very good huntresses, and view them as rare snacks. Many will do just about anything to get a single neera, which can be a bit unnerving to other races. Despite their apparent dislike of socializing, they're friendly enough to someone familiar with harpy speech and are known to sometimes give brief magic lessons or words of wisdom. 

Photonflies are a species of animal found in the mycoria forest that resemble giant glowing dragonflies. They're a beautiful light gold color, and are renowned for their beauty. Photonflies are best known for their defensive habit of coating their wings in intense light to scare off potential threats or render them sightless. This defense mechanism is both beautiful and deadly, as the worst case can permanently blind anyone who dares watch this stunning display. In fact, "a photonfly's wing" is often used to describe a choice that seems favorable, but has horrible consequences.
        Similarly to dragonflies, photonflies go through a metamorphosis from a larvae or nymph to a winged adult. Photonfly larvae are seldom seen, as they bury themselves at the bottoms of shallow bodies of water to ambush small animals with only a faint glow revealing their position. Unlike adults who have no defense other than their blinding light, larvae are capable of giving a painful bite in retaliation to any dangers.
        

Citroise gyspas are a subspecies of gyspa found in most of felarya. Physically, they share the same features as a regular gyspa. From the waistdown, they also possess wasp bodies, but are more human-like due to the notable absence of large size and claws. Most possess muscular but slim bodies, and lack the typical barbed stinger. They still possess their shrinking sting however, and can use this to hunt small animals that otherwise wouldn't be bothered by predators their size.
        Being physically weaker, citroise gyspas are naturally much shyer than their loud cousins, and the two don't really mix. As the name might suggest, these gyspas have a curious relationship with citroise trees. Citroise gyspas will gather at the largest of citroise trees to mate. Then, when ready, they will return to that same spot to select unripe citroise fruit in which to lay their eggs. These citroise will grow differently than the other fruit, gradually developing into unappetizing galls.
        When it is time for the eggs to hatch, the gall will open up, revealing the fully grown gyspa inside. She will then spread her wings and fly off, ready to continue the cycle.

Asrai are a race of semi-aquatic vampires found in and around the Torrential Coast. They have very pale skin, blue lips, and resemble drowned victims. Like most vampires, asrai are weak to sunlight and will gradually melt away into water if exposed for too long. Luckily, the storm clouds in this area shelter them from the sun so they rarely perish due to this. One thing that sets asrai apart from other vampires is their food choice.
        Unlike most vampires that feed on blood, asrai instead drain water from their victims. For this reason, their ideal targets are water elementals which they view as rare meals. Why they can't just feast on the water they live in is unknown and is the source of much ambiguity. The last people who tried to find out unfortunately vanished, presumably eaten by Sea Krait nagas.

A changeling is a curious race created from the rare union of a human and a fairy. Physically, they possess few fairy features. They do not possess antennae, and have insect halteres in the place of wings. Their hair is of standard shades such as red, brown, white, silver, blonde, and black, but streaked with a colorful highlight or two. They also possess a telltale spur located underneath each wrist that they can retract at will.
        When used, the spike gives a strange shrinking effect to anyone unlucky enough to be struck with it, not unlike a gyspa stinger. Changelings can also change size themselves, but usually only by several feet to discourage attackers or squeeze into tight spaces. When a changeling is born, they will most often be left with the human parent as they do not develop their magic until at least reaching adolescence. The variety of fairy that goes into the making of a changeling seems to matter little, because while they still inherit behavioral and magical tendencies, physical deviations aren't as well passed on. For example, a changeling born from a water sprite may develop an affinity towards swimming and water magic, but will very rarely develop the ability to create a new body from water.
        Due to this, even very similar changelings can be found in drastically different environments. Some form small hunting parties in the wilds, while others dwell closer to civilization. Changelings inhabiting human settlements are especially known for impersonating humans. In fact, many Negavian authorities are rumored to be changelings themselves....

Alates are an insectoid race with the body, legs, and wings of a moth and humanoid arms, head, and chest. Unlike most other hybrid races, they lack a human torso, having an insect thorax in its place. Their eyes are mostly humanoid, excluding their irises which are completely compound in appearance. Due to being nocturnal, their specialized eyes help them to navigate in complete darkness. Alates also have much more horizontally built body structure, making them seemingly shorter in stature compared to other human sized races.
       A mostly herbivorous species, Alates feed on a multitude of edible plants, but are opportunistic and will eat small prey if they can catch it. They are also naturally preyed upon by a multitude of predators due to their small size. Mantoids, dridders, squamataurs, and certain harpies along with large fauna are their main enemies, but river mermaids, chilotaurs, and the occasional slug girl are also perfectly content with snatching them out of the air, albeit only rarely. Gyspas would revel at the thought of catching an alate, due to an unspoken friction between the two races, but such action is deemed impossible due to an alate's natural use of chemical warfare.
        When threatened, alates are able to release a strong chemical that causes their attackers to become violent towards each other and turn on themselves. In the midst of the confusion, the alate zips away. Obviously this only works on cooperative predators, and unleashing this chemical on solitary targets backfires, causing an intense feeling of voraciousness in their assailant. Aside from being a useful trump card, this chaos inducing ability is essential in ensuring the survival of the next generation. When an alate is ready to lay her eggs she will locate a miaxi nest.
        Under the cover of darkness, the female alate penetrates the hive and doses the miaxi guards with chemicals. As they all fight each other, the alate inserts her eggs into the egg chambers before creeping out of the nest. After recovering from the discord, the miaxi will care for the eggs, mistaking them for their own. The eggs are cared for until maturity. Once the honeycombs are unsealed, the miaxi workers are greeted with remaining traces of pheromone from the mother alate, allowing the young alates to take wing and leave the hive behind in the ensuing disarray.
        Knowing of this strategy, some merchants even hire alates to retrieve honey from miaxi hives in exchange for woolly fabric which they have a strange love for. It's not uncommon for alates to keep hidden stashes of fabric and other soft materials, the reason for which being unknown.  

Avem, known informally as "homing raptors" are foot long paravians frequently found in Felaryan jungle zones. They are similar in appearance to birds, but possess clawed wings, a toothed snout, and long, bony tails. While unsuited to extended flight, they can flit short distances between trees, and are of course excellent climbers as well. Avem are opportunistic hunters, able to subside on a wide variety of small mammals, birds, insects, fish, and lizards. They breed like rabbits in the wilderness, as they are much too quick for most small predators and larger ones simply ignore them.
       Explorers often use them as messengers as they are able to quickly navigate through thick foliage, and can efficiently locate their owners afterwards. The practice has spread to places such as Negav as well, where feral avem can be found gliding between buildings, scavenging off streets, and raiding small shops. White avem in particular hold a sort of cultural respect. They're considered a sign of fortune and are commonly kept as pets by Minalca priests and the upper class. For poorer Negavians without access to much technology, letters by avem are a cheap way to contact loved ones in the big city.

The Titan's Heart is an ancient artifact found only within raging ocean storms. Being a dodecahedron, it is said to work like a massive die, tumbling through the riptide and "landing" on different symbols. Each symbol is seemingly magic infused, as each side seems to conjure a different storm. As it rolls about through the undertow, it randomly activates different storm spells, making it virtually irritrievable to any relic hunter.
       Luckily, each disaster cancels breifly before transitioning to the next spell, and those who have seen it have caught a glimpse during this short period. Unfortunately however, the next spell is always worse than the last, as the Titan's Heart generates a seemingly endless variety of natural disasters. From rogue waves, to water spouts, to maelstroms, there is no way to predict what it will summon next. Before being claimed by the waves, in ancient times it is believed the Titan's Heart was used as a power source for the titans, hence the name. Utilizing it's malevolent magic, the Titans are thought to have been able to internally manipulate what spell to activate through the heart, which aided them in battle.
       Of the many believed to have once existed, only one known specimen remains, lost to the seas of Felarya and churning them with its unsettlement

A secretive guild of assassins stationed within the catacombs of Ryzelm'oire, mostly comprised of sea krait nagas. Barely known to most of the inhabitants, they operate in the leering alleys and dark corners of the underwater sanctuary, completely unseen except for the rare fluke of a tail quickly slipping into the shadows. Practitioners of all sorts of dark and hydrokinetic arts, they have gateways to the catacombs hidden all across the city. Locked with powerful magic, they are only locateable via a sea naga's predator sense. While unknown who exactly they work for, many sudden disappearances are usually linked towards their operatives.
A chlaena swimming by an alleyway might just...vanish without a trace. Tinies are siphoned away into the dark by sudden water currents, even giants can enixplicably disappear overnight. Often believed tied to the Shaper and Dreamer guilds by conspiracy theorists, and for good reason as such anomolies aren't entirely without pattern. Indeed, many of the victims of the coven are known to have been underground soldiers for one of the great chlaena houses, but the complexities between each spire make it impossible to discern a petty rivalry among the royals from an outright rebellion

Cridines are a tiny aquatic race inhabiting the various districts of Ryzelm'oire. They are very fragile beings, being only a few inches tall, and possess the lower body of a shrimp. They're very popular among the residents of the Great Houses as expendable servants, as their small size gives them access to the various sects of the Spires that only a chlaena can usually squeeze into, and they overall don't require much resource to keep alive and well. While they otherwise make a real effort to maintain an eloquent impression, the cridines themselves don't seem to mind the menial tasks enforced upon them and consider the prospect of freedom an insult. The shrimp people take great pride in ensuring the upkeep of their respective House, and will do anything from delivering messages to cleaning teeth, using the long feelers sprouting from their jaws to search for scraps that even a labrydine can't reach.
       Seemingly lacking the flexible figure of a mermaid, cridines are actually very capable swimmers and can jet themselves through the water quite swiftly in order to relay information. While physically frail, all cridines possess a form of innate magic that allows them to fire a small burst of compressed water which can be super heated or chilled to inflict a nasty sting on an opponent. While not very powerful all on its own, a large enough group of cridines can cause some serious damage, severely broiling anyone who might disrespect the House or its inhabitants. Hundreds upon thousands of cridines can all inhabit a single spire, organizing schedules and pulling the strings of noble life. Visitors to a Chlaena House should always be very mindful of their behaviour, as every nook and cranny is teeming with prying eyes, looking for any excuse to disassemble a potential hindrance.