conworld fauna (Was: Re: alphabet-animal books)

On Thu, Mar 27, 2003 at 12:04:18PM -0500, Roger Mills wrote:
> Mike Ellis wrote:
> So far. I imagine this is more difficult for those
> > whose languages are not spoken on Earth: you must invent not only names,
> > but the animals themselves!
>
> Quite so.
Which is why, although I liked the idea of an alphabet-animal book, I
haven't come up with anything for it in Ebisedian yet. Still gotta spend
lotsa time inventing Ferochromon denizens. :-)

> > But wouldn't it be interesting to have a look
> > through an alphabet book of conworld fauna.
I'll have to come up with illustrations of the existing fauna in the
Ferochromon. Currently, there aren't that many:

_mangi'_ [ma"Ni] - Usually translated as "horse", this is actually a
hexapedal creature, usually black. Its low, slender body and great speed
makes it useful as a mount and a beast of burden.

_sy~va'ni_ [sy~"Bani] - A lesser-known large, hexapedal creature
resembling a dinosaur, with a dark, spiny body.  Its large protruding
teeth and evil-looking grin-like expression belies its tame, unaggressive
nature. In spite of its clumsy appearance, it moves with incredible
agility and speed through forbidding terrain such as dense jungle
undergrowth. Those who have learned to master it greatly treasure it for
this ability.

_CaKi'k_ [tS_ha"k_hik] - A dark, fast-moving insectoid, segmented
scavenger with many legs, having a spiky appearance. Its oval-shaped, flat
body is covered with a hard, segmented shell. It is hermaphroditic, and
grows up to a length of half a person's height and a person's full width.
It is usually unaggressive towards people, but extremely poisonous.

_by0'ni_ [by"?Ani] - A short, muscular and husky humanoid creature.
Exhibits acute intelligence and great capacity for Flame-powers;  and
generally extremely devious and malicious.

_ghangi'_ [Ga"Ni] - A generic term for any of the various half-height,
hunched humanoids in Ferochromon, stereotypically wild and beast-like.
Some of the larger Ghangi may grow up to average Bisedi height.

_khadha'ni_ [xa"Dani] - A malicious, non-corporeal creature encountered in
regions of great instability such as the _3K0n0roi'_, reportedly wielding
unparalleled Flame-powers by which it drains unwary adventurers of their
innate Flame-energy until death.

_bis33'di_ [bi"s@\di] - An unusual bipedal tool-wielding species
possessing unparalleled intelligence and industriousness, living in large
congregations, and rumored to speak a notoriously difficult language that
no outsiders can easily understand. ;-)

> Yes indeed; but I'll have to hire an artist........I'm recalling that some
> years back someone published a "Future Bestiary" with illustrations of
> various _possible_ animals, all quite weird.  And in Edgar Pangborn's novel
> "Davy" (post-nuclear-apocalypse), the hero has a companion animal, a large
> mutated Siamese cat.  A very interesting book BTW, as is most of Pangborn's
> work.
Reminds me of my own post-nuclear-apocalypse con-world, where large cities
have been turned into sunken labyrinths of debris, and irradiated
creatures grow to monstrous sizes infesting these ruins.


T

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