The Bestiary section

At the bestiary-section of the library of Tortiopel, there are several books of well and not so well documented beasts. Here are some of the books:

Basilisk
The great bones found north in the Kvitfjellar mountains, close to the University of Lamacas, are commonly believed to be those of a dragon. In this book, I will argue why I think that is wrong, and prove that it is in fact the bones of a great basilisk.

It is no wonder why the skeleton is believed to be a dragon, as it has a huge body and a powerful jaw, just as the legends of dragons. There are generally three main arguments for why it must be a dragon.

The first one is that there are bones in the chest that could be for producing fire. This one is highly speculative and ridiculous, and I will not waste my time arguing this. Instead I will simply state that this is utter nonsense, and that no scholar should take it seriously.

Another reason commonly stated is that in the days of old, when dragons were still around, the dragons are known to have lived in the mountains of Kvitfjell. What proponents of this argument forgets is that Kvitfjell was also home to several other enormous beasts - including basilisks.

Proponents of the dragon-hypothesis often bring up the fact that the skeleton is found far underground encompassed by rock, proves it being a dragon as dragons are known to dwell underground. This is to my understanding true, although none seems to be able to explain how rocks so tightly surrounded the bones without being crushed. However, other creatures are also known to dwell underground, including the serpents.

The major issue the proponents of the dragon-hypothesis have is the lack of wings. The skeleton have no wings, as a dragon should have. This problem have been attempted solved in a variety of different ways. Some of these are creative, but they are all flawed and wrong.

One explanation is that the wings have disappeared after it died, as they were not made of bone. This is ridiculous for a number of reasons. No other winged creature have wings made without bones, and a beast as large as this would surely need boned strong - and proportionally very large - wings to keep it up. The body is also not structured in a way that logically make room for a pair of wings. It would also be sensational because the skeleton already have four limbs, and no other beast with hard bones have ever been proved to have more than four limbs.

Another explanation is that it had no wings, but flew by the use of magic. This explanation is not only false, but also insulting to mankind. Only intelligent creatures possess the capability of using magic, as we know in this age of reason. A race of beasts where only some of its members can talk is not an intelligent one.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some also claim that the dragons could not fly. They propose that the dragons instead appeared to fly, due to them for example being able to jump very high. This is ridiculous as the stories of dragons clearly states that they fly.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nevertheless, by now I have spent far too much parchment to prove why this skeleton is not a dragon. In the following part of the article, I will explain my hypothesis of why it must be a basilisk.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">As those familiar in the science of natural philosophy will know, a basilisk is the result of a hen being impregnated by a serpent, and thus having the characteristics of both. The skeleton in question is remarkably similar to a chicken. The structure of the legs, for example, is almost identical. The main differences between this skeleton of that of a chicken can all be explained to be the characteristics of the serpent. Had we had sources of giant birds in our past, I would want to classify this as a type of enormous bird. As a good scholar, however, I can not due to there being no sources of giant birds by our ancestors. Serpents, on the other hand, are known to have existed in a variety of sizes, including gigantous.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">The main weakness for my hypothesis is how far north the skeleton is found. Today serpents thrive much further south, and I have found no sources of serpents living far north in older times. However, this is an issue that have recently been addressed, and I have not had time to travel to the library of Tortiopel since. Therefore there may be sources of northern dwelling serpents that I have not had the chance to read yet.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">I do not, however, think that finding sources of northern serpents is the only solution to the issue. A basilisk of this size would be able to travel vast distances, and even if it was born further south it could have travelled north in its life. Perhaps it was driven north by our ancestors in stories lost to time? Or perhaps it travelled to a certain place to die, as we know other beasts such as the grey mastodon do. But now I'm afraid I have indulged in speculations as well, so I will restrain from continuing it further.

<p style="margin:12pt0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">This book should be more than enough proof to debunk the ridiculous dragon-hypothesis permanently. If the proposed basilisk-hypothesis is not widely accepted immediately then that is understandable. I do, however, strongly believe that the basilisk-hypothesis is our best explanation at this point, and should be accepted as such.

Harpy:
The harpies are half human, half bird. They reproduce by kidnapping humans, usually young women, and flying them to their nests.

The nests of the Harpy are usually located at mountainpeaks or inside caves along the mountainside, although a few may make nests in tall trees.

Harpies live mainly in the X-mountains. Due to human caution they have had a hard time reproducing and thus are neary extinct. If we continue to keep our daugthers safe, the harpies may soon be extinct, and the threat be gone all together.

Mastodon:
The Mastodon is a large beast, with two giant hornlike teeth and a remarkable long nose. Although usually a herbivore, it has been reported to strangle humans with it's nose and eat them.

There are two main types of this beast, the Naked Mastodon and the Snow Mastodon.

The Naked Mastodon is the most common type, living around the south-western corner of the world among the Asudians. Although usually not very agressive, it is very vengeful. There are known cases of it ramming down city walls with it's horns, as well as eating whole villages. This is usually revenge after humans have killed members of it's family.

The Snow Mastodon is a rarer, and more agressive type. It used to live in the Kvitfjellar mountains, but the Order of the White thorn hunted them and chased them northwards. Now it only lives north of the University of Lamacas, and is thus rarely observed. Upon seeing enemies, such as humans or wolves, the Snow Mastodon will throw large rocks or trees at their foe with its nose.

Marsh Spirit:
The Marsh spirits live in the marshes around The University of Lamaces. There have been claimes of them living in other places, such as Dunklewood and Welfania, but this has not been proven.

The spirits are the souls of dead people who have been cursed with evil magic, and thus are most frequently found among the ancient burialmounds of the marshlands. Their main wish is to not be lonely in their afterlife, and will thus try to drown humans. Any person who sticks their foot in the cursed waters will feel a hand around their ankle. When the spirit has chanted the proper curse required to remain in Anthrogaia after death, it will drag the victim to the depths of the water and drown them.

Sometimes the spirits are seen accompanied by beautiful white horses. The horse will tempt humans to ride it, and upon being riden it will jump into the water and drown the person.It has not been scientifically proven whether the horses are spirit-shapeshifters transformed to horses, or the personal horses the spirits were buried with.

The spirits seem to be friends with witches, and do not attack them.

Crocodile:
Crocodiles are wingless dragons living in water, with long powerful jaws. There are two known types, the green and the grey:

The Green Crocodile is the most common, the most dangerous, and by far the biggest type. These lives far south, in the Shrafluma-river. They vary greatly in size, but the biggest is said to have blocked the whole river by it's sheer size, so boats could not pass. These crocodiles have an alliance with the Sultan, and thus prevents any Turugian offensive military operation southwards.

The Grey crocodile is much smaller and rarer, and is found in the Boglands. It is conscidered sacred by the people of Bogmire, and it is thus punishable by death to hunt it.