Magical Creatures [Shards of Nerasa Wiki]

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===== Magical Creatures =====
Beyond the mundane, and beyond even creatures with magical abilities or created through magic itself are a myriad of beasts, entities and monsters comprised of magic itself - or so saturated with it to be classified as their own family of life.

==== Animated and Awakened Objects ====
Most often created by mages and arcanists for mundane tasks or as crude defenses, animated and awakened objects are rarely encountered without someone having planned for them, though it has been known to happen - with reports of animated objects milling about in the aftermath of particularly powerful arcane storms.

Animated objects are typically regarded as mindless - particularly by Wrought scholars - and simply follow direct orders and patterns, without thought or opinion. Typically, they are given energy through arcane weavings, magitechnical processes, or enchantments.

Awakened objects are more contentious. Given a sliver of spirit and a modicum of awareness, awakened objects can make choices, have opinions and in some cases actually speak and express those thoughts. Some scholars debate at what point an Awakened object becomes a member of the Wrought species - and their creation is considered somewhat taboo for this reason.

==== Arcane Spark ====

Consisting of arcane aspected energies, an arcane spark is a semi-aware ball of sparking magics that tend to manifest in the proximity of powerful magical events. In the wild, sparks can appear after magical storms, and will linger up to several weeks before dissipating - however, these sparks can occur in cities near magitechnical offices and academic facilities. 

Sparks are typically peaceful, but can be drawn to spellcasters in the throws of manipulating the arcane.

==== Guardians ====

Not only animals have the ability to express Intention and bend magic to their will. When the natural world’s balance is upset, the flora of a concentrated region have demonstrated an ability to manifest their Intent in the form of Guardians.

Typically composed of plant matter such as trees or massive roots, and taking the vague shapes of humanoid or animalistic features, Guardians are spirits of nature that seek to protect the balance of their home. They will ward off predators overhunting, drive away humanoids overdeveloping, and even do what they can try to mend and repair their homes.

When their purpose is sated, Guardians slowly go inert and shift into large, vaguely creature-like structures left behind in their glades or forests, waiting for when they are needed again.

==== Echoes ====

Not well understood and exceptionally rare, Echoes is the term given to the odd instances of Temporal magics weaving into what some describe as ghosts or specters. Generally not manifesting for more than a few moments , Echoes seem to be driven from an Intent to change the past, or alter the future - projecting an image and message along the timestreams.

Their messages are often cryptic and garbled, leaving only vague ideas as to what the Intent that created them was. They can appear as anything from a humanoid figure, to a glimmering shadow, or even just a rippling in the air, deliver their message, and harmlessly fade away again.

Only one report ever indicated an Echo doing anything directly harmful, so they are not considered to be dangerous.
==== Mythos ====

Seemingly born directly from the imagination, Mythos refers to any number of magical creatures that began first in the annals and stories of the cultures of the Shards, and then began to manifest in reality.

From the flaming Phoenix of the northern Vassellians to the massive tentacled Kepka of the Masreyan depths, these creatures are possessed of large amounts of Spiritual energy, taken to physical form, and have given truth to many a myth.

Because of the unpredictability of imagination, each of the Mythos entities behaves uniquely - following the behaviors and whims of the story they derived from. They can be dangerous, benevolent, or simply innocuous.

==== Reapers ====

Born of the Egress, Reapers are spiritual entities that seem to be the shepherd of the souls. Rarely seen but commonly felt, these ethereal creatures are often encountered near the departed. Described as shadowy figures, and accompanied by cold and an aura of serene calm, these creatures seek only to guide spirits to the Egress.

Regarded as benevolent by most cultures, they are rarely aggressive or harmful. If something attempts to stop the passing of a spirit, however, they will intervene - bringing to bear powerful spiritual magics, and perhaps guiding an extra soul to the afterlife in the process.

==== Shifter ====

Born of the various humanoid species but intermingled with the bestial, Shifters are those who have been affected by the magics of Change and Growth to cause them to - as the name suggests - shift from their native form into something all the more feral and primal. Legends in Vasselern speak of werewolves stalking the night, while the Kezvee tell tales of naga taking the form of snakes.

Shifters are often elusive and do their best to hide their transformative capabilities, which makes what the modern Nerasans know about them tend to be considered occult or mythological - though plenty of stories give plain evidence to their existence.

Because Shifters are often humanoids, it’s not clear if they are explicitly dangerous - though some tales say they lose all reason when succumbing to the bestial, and should be feared and avoided.

==== Stormfused ====

Another broad category, Stormfused is the term used to refer to any creature that has been saturated by the energy of a magical storm. The storms of the Shards are unpredictable and beyond strange magical or elemental effects on the landscape, they can also affect flora and fauna in bizarre ways.

Stormfused creatures are infused with large amounts of aspected magic, from elements to the arcane forces, and everything in between. This can drive the creatures to act in strange ways, manifest strange powers, and almost certainly deviate from their normal behavior. In this way, Stormfused creatures can be dangerous, causing many denizens of the shards to be exceptionally wary of traveling in the wilds after large storms.

Thankfully, the effects of being Stormfused are not permanent. Usually, a creature affected by a storm in this way returns to normal after a period of time.