Cherreads

Bestiary - Beasts Of Mondrea

⚔️ "Beasts are not obstacles in Mondrea. They are reminders — that the world itself is alive, that Kucholel bleeds into every claw, every breath, every silence."

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🌑 Yahash — The Forest Badger (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Forest depths, foothills.

• Size: Up to 2 m long; 600–700 kg.

• Build: Broad, low-bodied, heavy forelimbs with digging claws.

• Appearance: Dark brown fur streaked with Kucholel-green leaflike patterns, blending seamlessly into underbrush.

• Behavior: Territorial stalkers; ambush prey with sudden, brutal violence.

• Kucholel Trait: Camouflage markings shift with seasons, rendering them nearly invisible when still.

• Threat Level: Moderate — deadly in close quarters, but limited stamina in pursuit.

Hunter's saying: "You don't see a Yahash. You only feel its teeth."

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🌀 Behel — The Trickster Fox (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Thick forests, river valleys, Kucholel-saturated lands.

• Size: Mouse-sized in disguise; true form up to 3 m long.

• Build: Lean foxlike frame in disguise; lupine bulk when revealed.

• Appearance: Emerald fur striped darker; body dissolves into Kucholel smoke when shifting.

• Behavior: Shape-shifters — lure prey with illusions before devouring.

• Kucholel Trait: True Transfiguration — can dissolve into smoke and reform as larger predators.

• Threat Level: High — intelligent, elusive, and difficult to corner.

Ch'olan proverb: "The fox you chase at dawn is never the fox you kill at dusk."

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🔥 K'ahal — The Dusk-Hound (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Open forests, scrublands, abandoned villages.

• Size: 1.5 m tall at shoulder; 3 m long.

• Build: Muscled shoulders, long badgerlike claws, hunched back.

• Appearance: Rust-red and coal-black fur, Kucholel seams glowing faintly along ribs and throat.

• Behavior: Hunt in pairs, circling prey with disorienting growls.

• Kucholel Trait: Emit low-frequency rumbles that disrupt balance and induce nausea.

• Threat Level: Moderate to High — a pair can kill an armed group.

Note from a Lak'te scout: "If you hear the ground sing, run before the second voice joins it."

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🌫️ Muxil — The Mire-Ferret (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Swamps, damp clearings, humid forests.

• Size: 1.2 m long; lithe and flexible.

• Build: Sinuous, foxlike, low-bodied, with thin, sharp claws.

• Appearance: Moss-green slick fur; reflective amphibian eyes; always damp.

• Behavior: Harasses prey with darting strikes, driving them into fungal terrain.

• Kucholel Trait: Vomits moss clumps that erupt into choking fungal clouds.

• Threat Level: High in packs; dangerous but manageable alone.

Swamper's jest: "Better to drown than choke on what the Muxil feeds you."

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🌌 Kulkul — The Night-Roaches (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Caves, ruins, battlefields after dusk.

• Size: Up to 20 cm long; wingspan nearly double.

• Build: Chitinous beetle bodies, translucent abdomens.

• Appearance: Shimmering exoskeletons with Kucholel starlight pulsing inside.

• Behavior: Swarm flesh and organic matter; drawn to fresh blood.

• Kucholel Trait: Store stolen light in abdomens, release bursts when crushed.

• Threat Level: Extreme in swarms; trivial when alone.

Scholar's margin note: "They do not eat light. They hoard it."

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🪨 Grunthorn — The Stone-Bull (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Mountain passes, cliff faces, high plateaus.

• Size: 4–5 m long; 2 m tall at shoulder; up to 3 tons.

• Build: Massive oxlike bulk, reinforced by rocky plates.

• Appearance: Hide crusted with stone growths; horns tipped with obsidian.

• Behavior: Docile grazers unless startled; stampedes devastate valleys.

• Kucholel Trait: Hide blends into surrounding rock when still.

• Threat Level: Low if unprovoked; catastrophic if panicked.

B'aakal miner's warning: "The mountain sometimes breathes — and tramples."

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🌑 Hozal — The Hollow Vulture (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Cliffs, wastelands, carrion sites.

• Size: 2.5–3 m wingspan.

• Build: Skeletal frame, long hooked beak, stretched skin over bones.

• Appearance: Heads masked by Kucholel bone-plates; stomachs glow translucent while feeding.

• Behavior: Scavenge both corpses and dying prey.

• Kucholel Trait: Cries resonate with dread, paralyzing listeners briefly.

• Threat Level: Low alone, dangerous in flocks.

Traveler's superstition: "If a Hozal circles you while alive, dig your grave before it does."

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🌒 Xuxul — The Shadow-Limbs (rare, eldritch-tier) (Image Here —>)

• Habitat: Only appear where Uruvel seeps into reality.

• Size: Undefined — limbs and silhouettes vary in scale.

• Build: Ever-shifting tendrils and humanoid outlines.

• Appearance: Distortions seen only from the corner of the eye.

• Behavior: Feed on fear and memory; stalk travelers at dream's edge.

• Kucholel Trait: None — they belong wholly to Uruvel.

• Threat Level: Unknown — survivors report hallucinations and lost time.

Ajtz'akol record: "They leave no corpse, only gaps where names once lived."

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