Wildlife and Dire Animals

For the most part, the setting and life found on Palmyra very closely mimic what is found on earth. Many of the same animals and plants abound there that are found in our own world.

There are of course some differences, outlined below.

  • There are two additional minerals/metals that can be found in Palmyra. They are granatyn, a nigh unbreakable sheer white stone, flecked with bits of rainbow crystal; and panala steel, an incredibly lightweight and durable metal alloy.

    There are plenty of new additions to the plant-life found as well, ranging from vegetables and fruits like snoggits and clayberries to the more exotic and dangerous mushrooms and fungi found across the world.

    Other than animeon, the animal life is all the same here as it is on earth as well. Mammals, fish, reptiles, the whole animal kingdom is found.

    However one fact is wildly different on Palmyra, and it affects and applies to both plant and animal life.

  • Things on Palmyra grow to immense sizes if given a chance. While the sentient races—humes, elves, dwarves, and the like—grow the same size as we do, much of the rest of life on Palmyra can become a giant among its own.

    With the right space, resources, and food, most animals and plants will continue to grow and grow. Many of the world’s largest animals and trees have died over the ages but there are still massive giants out there, of both animal and plant varieties, waiting to be encountered.

    In many ways this has helped the people of the world immensely. There is plentiful food grown from a healthy harvest. The work animals can grow to the size required to do their tasks.

    In others ways though, it has cursed the world to be stalked by predators the likes of which are truly mind-bogglingly horrifying. I’m talking enormous sharks and shit. It’s rough out there.

Dinosaurs of Palmyra

Other than dire life, one of the other biggest differences between Palmyra and our own world is that dinosaurs never went extinct.

They are still found in common number throughout the entire world, not only on the Isle of Khan, and are both thought of as majestic, domesticated work animals as well as enormous predators and nuisances.

I’m super hoping that I don’t have to explain what dinosaurs are, so I’m not going to.

In lieu of this, however, I’m going to name some of my favorite dinosaurs.

  • Brachiosaurus: Remember when that one sneezed on that girl? Classic!

    Zby: Mostly just for the name, but also, what is up with this name

    Diplodocus: Long slender necks are in this season, what can I say

  • Allosaurus: unsung heroes of the fucking-shit-up world.

    Baryonyx: a crocodile that grew up to become a T-Rex.

    Therizinosaurus: has the most fabulous nails you could imagine.

  • -Triceratops: Definitely the best one. Three horns, juicy thicc as hell.

    -Corythosaurus: Mohawk, beer coozie, skateboard.

    -Ankylosaurus: A turtle that got fed up with society and went Killdozer. A+

  • Smilodon: Great name, awesome smile, even more awesome kitty.

    Pterosaurs: If I had three wishes one of them might be to bring ‘em back.

    Dimetrodon: Wind powered alligators. Wtf was going on back then man

Animeon

The final, and perhaps most alien, difference found in the world of Palmyra are the mythical Animeon. Whispered legends, ancient predators, unique monstrosities.

Animeon are monsters, plain and simple. most are some horrid hybrid of animals mashed disproportionately together, a hobbling of traits and genetics mutations completely unique to them.

Where they came from, or why they exist, is unknown to science. So are the strange and wonderous things they can do, almost magic-like, that truly make them unique and dangerous. One thing they all share is that they reproduce asexually, laying eggs in clutches. There is little more than that in common among the variations.

There are eight different types of animeon outlined below.

  • A mashup of a humanoid stance, amphibian-like skin, with bat wings and a scorpion tail. It can perform an eerie mimicry of any noise it hears. They tend to attack in groups, and are notorious for driving ships ashore with false luring noises.

    They range in size from that of a small bird to that of a grown hume.

  • A hybrid between a… a bear and an owl. Basically says what it does on the tin. Only the smaller mountain varieties can take to the wing, and even then it’s more of a glide than a fly. They are blindly savage, with razor sharp claws, and insatiably hungry.

    Owlbears tend towards the bear-sized end of the spectrum, but the smallest known varieties found are only about 3’ tall.

  • A massive stingray and jellyfish-blob creature, that slowly floats, seemingly without pattern or direction, through the skies of many coastal areas. They float in large schools or pods, often blotting out the sun.

    Sunrays are enormous, with the smallest being the size of a large truck, and the largest outstretching even a blue whale.

  • Immense and armored snake-like worm creatures. They dwell almost exclusively underground except for the smaller forest varieties, which live among the branches, these hunters can burrow through dirt and stone at a slow but steady pace. They eat almost everything, including the earth itself.

    The smallest known wyrms are the size of large pythons, and the largest supposed wyrm was near half a mile long — but that is, of course, all hearsay.

  • A horse-bird mashup, with large feathered wings. They are fabled for being impossible to ride, throwing even the most seasoned of riders. The females have hoofs and sharp jagged beaks, while the males bare large gutting talons on their hoofless-feet.

    They tend to be between the size of a donkey and a large work-horse.

  • A strange beetle-like vole creature, one of the only passive animeon. They have a hard shell, the color of rust, with sharp bristling hairs all over. It secretes a strange acidic discharge that melts much inorganic matter such as ore and rock, which it eats.

    Most commonly they are the size of a human hand, but the largest ever documented was the size of a small automobile.

  • What are those low orchestra strings playing a two note motif? DUN DUN. Swimmingly through the very dirt almost the same way a shark might swim through the water, these squat six-legged monsters live underground waiting for food above, being incredibly sensitive to vibrations and sound. Dun dun! They have an almost chitinous skin.

    They are usually about the size of a grizzly bear.

  • The apex of animeon badassery. The ultimate predator, able to take down almost any prey it decides to. A famous folk legend of the land tells the tale of a lone gryffon challenging an entire medieval army. Entire villages can be laid to ruin overnight. When a gryffin takes a place as its home, it will fight until it dies to keep its home safe. They tend to be solitary but a pair is not unheard of.

    They are between the size of a tiger and a horse, with a wingspan of up to 30 feet..