Fauna FAQ

(Revised 2/7/02)

Misty has included a ton of different animals on Velgarth. Some have equivalents in the "real world", and others are entirely products of her very fertile imagination. Here are some of the known denizens of Velgarth:

Colddrakes

A swarm, or clutch, of colddrakes consists of one queen and up to six males. Only an Adept can handle them.

The Five Sentient Races

These are intelligent creatures who live with the Kaled'a'in and Tayledras. They are:

  1. Dyheli
  2. Gryphons
  3. Hertasi
  4. Kyree
  5. Tervardi

Dyheli

These deer-like creatures are sentient and are known for their facility with languages. All dyheli have powerful Mindspeech. A dyheli can implant knowledge of a language in a human's mind. The King Stag can take control of the minds of his herd. Dyheli are occasionally used as mounts by the Tayledras.

Gryphons

Gryphons have the head and forelegs of an eagle, the body of a lion and the wings of a hawk. They can use physical speech. They have Mindspeech and Mage Gift.

Hertasi

The hertasi are a created race who have existed since before the Mage Wars. Many hertasi live with the Hawkbrothers and the Kaled'a'in, caring for both humans and nonhumans. The hertasi are shorter in stature than humans. They are known for their strength, their clever minds, and their skill with language. All hertasi use Mindspeech with ease. They either have a hive-like, group mind or a formidible gossip network <g>. They have a deep, in-born urge to be useful. Happy hertasi carry their tails high. Like humans, they have limited night vision although their daytime vision is superior to that of most humans. They become fertile only once a year. The hertasi tend to live in caves, either in marshes or in hillsides. Like the Tayledras, the hertasi favor simple furnishings. Their diet includes rice, fish, frogs and whatever they manage to kill while hunting. The Tyrills of Iftel are large hertasi. Known professions for hertasi are:

Hertasi can use a variety of half-sized weapons:

Hertasi are also skilled at using quicksand and sinkholes as traps.

Kyree

Kyree are wolf-like only bigger than the average wolf, standing about three feet at the shoulder. Kyree claws retract like a grasscat's and forward-facing eyes. The kyree are as smart as humans. All kyree have Mindspeech, and some have Mage Gift. Kyree come in three sexes: male, female and neuter. The neuters wander about the world while the males and females tend to be more territorial.

Tervardi

Members of this bird-like race are known for their singing ability.

Bondbirds

The types of birds that are known to be used as bondbirds by Tayledras characters include:

A disease known to occur in Bondbirds is Bumblefoot, which is a foot infection.

The lifespan of a bondbird is 25-50 years for falcons, larger owls and hawks. Eagle bondbirds can live up to 75 years.

Bondbirds are more intelligent than cats but not quite as intelligent as small children. Bondbirds are easily distracted and are most dangerous just after a kill. They can relay and report very simple messages. All bondbirds eventually bleach to white because of the proximity in which they live to the Heartstones of the Vales. Bondbirds that belong to mages will bleach faster than bondbirds that belong to scouts, but all bondbirds will bleach to white within ten years of bonding with their Hawbrother partner.

(Please note that we are not allowed to create nonhuman personae in the fan club. There are plenty of human persona-types to choose from.)

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