Aegis - The Fauna (work in progress)
Below is a list of all mentioned fauna that are unique to Aegis's ecosystem. Please feel free to add your own synergy animals! Just follow the examples below and create your own! Once you have an animal and a spiel to go with it, leave a comment here and we'll add it to the list! Please try to use many different animals and make as few repetitions as possible; if an animal has already been used, try to come up with new combinations to include many different kinds. And most of all, have fun! XD (Much thanks to Ari for all her help in this section!)


Angora-lion (Panthera kedici): Lovely, elegant creatures found wild in the drier areas of Aegis for ages untold, their trailing tawny silken fur bleaches and dyes beautifully and was collected in the tufts that often pulled free or fell loose from the luxurious coats, long before some clever agriculturalist succeeded in domesticating a strain. Still too dangerous to keep for a housepet, their fur makes one of the finest textiles in Aegis--and their cubs make a fine black-market trade, first to sell to silly little rich girls convinced that they'll bond beautifully with the gorgeous animals, just like their favorite romantic novel heroines in the wild steppes, then to buy back "under duress" at a low price and sell again to a proper breeder when Fluffy gets too big and grouchy and has the inevitable falling-out with Missy.

Badger-dragons (Draconis arctoryx): These large, ill-tempered creatures have the visual markings and razor-sharp claws of a badger, but are reptiles the approximate size and shape of a komodo dragon, and can weigh upwards of 150lbs. Native and exclusive to Naraka, they have thick scaly hides and viciously serrated teeth. Scavengers, they prefer to eat the carcasses of the other creatures that live on the island, but have been known to attack, kill, and consume live prey (including humans who fail to slay them). Their thick hides are often used in making armor and saddles for riding animals, but they are almost always skins from old, sickly, or already dead badger-dragons, as young live ones are nigh impossible to slay. A prime badger-dragon hide can fetch a price of upwards of two dubloons, as the hide is nearly impenetrable and if rubbed the wrong way can slice a man's hand open like the bladed skin of a shark.

Bat-beetles (Homunculus pipistrellus): Diminutive and fast, these creatures have tiny black bodies, a small white head, bat-like wings and no other limbs. Males have a pair of small horns atop their heads, while females do not. They are fairly common, especially around the northern islands. Due to their small size (barely larger than one's palm), they never migrate very far past their point of origin. They like small, dark places, so it is not uncommon to find a couple nesting in the hulls of ships. Their diet consists of nectar and other various liquids for they have no teeth, and their jaws are too small to be seen. Colloquially, these creatures are often referred to as black golems, though no one is quite sure where the moniker came from.

Cat-owls (Pseudoscops silvestris): Often heard at night in wooded areas of the northern islands, the yowling cry of the cat-owl is unmistakable and eerie, often thought in superstitions to be tolling or mourning a death nearby. Medium-sized and usually tabby-striped, the cat-owl's plumage tends towards subtle tawny or gray shades. Unlike the fixed eyes of an ordinary owl, the wide, slit green eyes of the cat-owl swivel and move freely, as do its triangular tufted ears and lashing, broadly feather-fanned tail. Its taste for small rodents and pests makes it a handy creature to have nesting near your home if you can endure the nocturnal cries; just keep your small children from sticking their hands into its nest, usually found in hollow tree boles, for it has a short temper, hefty claws, and a nasty bite.

Centipede leeches (Chilopoda hirudinea): Long and with varying widths, centipede-leeches are both a blessing and a curse to coastal areas. Typically, they are black and flexible, with very finely segmented bodies that look almost liquideous. Along their sides they have many, many legs, allowing them quick movement over land; when in the water, their sleek bodies allow them to swim with as much ease as any fish. While their preferred habitat is underwater, or at least a damp place, they have no qualms with scuttling on dry land to look for a meal. They typically attach to anything warm-blooded with a deeply inset mouth, using a hidden but extendable set of pincers to pierce the skin before latching on and sucking away the blood. On rare occasions, they will devour entire insects whole, but only that which is smaller than them. Because of their surprisingly painful bite and their lust for blood, people tend to be frightened of them and have them killed at any opportunity.

Chicken-pigs (Suidus gallus): Ubiquitous farm beasts with snouty pink faces, feathered from their fat little necks to their spreading long-crested tails, these critters seem half mammalian, half avian, and all delicious. The rich meat, white and dark alike, is inexpensive, versatile, and popular fare, and their eggs are rich and nutritious. Since they'll thrive on anything from premium barley and corn to table scraps, they're common household animals from the highest homes in the land to the lowest hovels. The only drawback is the shrill, drawn-out snorting squeal with which they insist on greeting the dawn...

Cow-bison (Bos bonasus): Great thundering work beasts, cow-bison are huge, heavy, and docile creatures with giant horns and powerful legs. Their great horns are often used in carving tools and knives, and their hides are used frequently in leathermaking and armor. Powerful enough to pull even the heaviest of equipment, cow-bison are used all over Aegis in fields and factories, and though the milk of the females is a bit too salty to drink straight (though the cheese is rather tasty, and the salt-ice cream of Destiny Islands is unparalleled as a childhood favorite), the meat of the cow-bison is very commonly served in dishes.

Clam-scallops (Pectinoidea panope): Largish bivalves with pale gray-yellow shells, fluted prettily along the lips. Found in shallow coastal waters all over Aegis, and with plenty of meat inside, they're popular fare on all four islands--cheap as dirt in the North, where folks aren't picky where they get their bottom-feeders from, and somewhat pricy in the South, where small coastal weirs raise them for upper-crust consumption with a guarantee of a tidy diet for all their shelly produce.

Frog-rats (Muridus anura): Slithery little rodents with slimy, greenish skin, patchy fur, and an alarming talent for jumping, they're a common sight in any run-down urban area. Opinion varies as to whether they're a natural species or some kind of escaped scientific hybrid, and urban legend has it that some elderly specimens living in the sewers can and have grown several feet long; either way, they are poisoned vigilantly and hunted eagerly by servants and pigeon-cats all over Aegis.

Giraffe-horses (Equus camelopardalis): Long-legged and graceful, these beautiful beasts are bred for speed and elegance, never burden. With tawny reticulated coats, almost ungainly long legs, and long, slender necks, giraffe-horses are a prime example of fine breeding and fierce pedigree. Found only in wide pastures on Destiny and pulling gilt carriages across Elysium, these creatures do not ever appear in the wilds of Aegis anymore. They grew endangered in their wild form and shortly after a selection was taken into captivity, the species vanished into extinction outside of the plantations where they are bred.

Hammerhead-tuna (Thunnus sphyrnida): These huge, vicious sea carnivores can grow to be more than 15 feet long, and have wide, T-shaped heads. They are aggressive predators who feed on smaller fish and crustaceans, and live mostly in the deeper waters far off the coasts of the islands, rarely coming close enough inland to cause fear. There have been fewer than ten recorded hammerhead attacks in all of Aegis's history. These huge fish are caught in large skiffs off the coasts of Tartarus and Destiny (as they are only found on the eastern side of the Sanzu--no one really knows why...), and their meat is considered a delicacy.

Lionfish-sharks (Squalus scorpaenidus): Found near reefs and shallow coastal areas in the northern islands, this magnificent-looking fish is as dangerous as it is lovely. Up to two feet long when fully grown, its slim spotted cartilagenous body would attract little notice if it weren't for the veritable forest of slim, striped barbs or "whiskers" that form a bristling mane around it. With an all-round diameter of up to four feet when extended, and brilliant red-gold-black-and-white coloring, it's highly visible to any living thing it approaches...which is just as well, because the poisonous barbs and the pair of vicious two-inch spurs under its tail are capable of delivering enough poison to kill a predating hammerhead-tuna...or a bathing human child.

Lizard-mice:

Panther-foxes (Vulpes pardus):

Pigeon-cats (Felis colombidae): While felis domesticus is present across the isles of Aegis, pigeon-cats are in fact far more common than their more grounded ancestors. Flocking in huge droves in the larger cities on the rich islands, and often found roosting in orchid-palms and near homes on the poorer ones, pigeon-cats are a familiar sight to any Aegean. Smaller than domestic cats and with a pair of silvery iridescent wings cresting their shoulderblades, these endearing little creatures have replaced the fairy-tale "parrot" birds as the pirate shoulder-pet of tradition. While they come in any color imaginable on a feline coat, the wings are always steel-grey and pearlescent, and their chests are almost always dappled. Friendly and relatively tame, pigeon cats are often a welcome addition to ships, households, and warehouses, keeping local vermin under control and meticulously preening their own fur and feathers into shimmering nests. Their soft, almost melodious purring chirps are a very common sound in most cities.

Rainbow-eels (Anguilla mykiss): A glimmering spangled streak in the water in any saltwater area, the elegant rainbow-eel prefers to hole up in comfortable crevices and be left alone. Unfortunately for it, the incredible tenderness and sweet flavor of its delicate white flesh have long made it a favorite of human fishers, who have no trouble spotting it in the water. So popular is it, in fact, that overfishing has turned it from a cheap and common food source all over Aegis, to an increasingly rare delicacy paid for handsomely by Heaven's Gate nobles, who prefer any number of delicate sauces and glazes to the hearty traditional teriyaki of the northern islands.

Snapping-crocodiles (Crocodylidus macrochelys): Heavy-shelled, lugubrious creatures, ominous when left alone and dangerous when riled, these leathery and toothy behemoths can often be seen sunning themselves in the patches of light that reach the swamps of Tartarus and Naraka. Their flesh, though somewhat musty-rank and muddy, is prized for the sheer difficulty of procuring it, but any would-be hunter who thinks his machete can hack through the thorny neck and pierce the massive shell with its triple rows of spiny plates must first be cautious of the bewildering speed with which that long-jawed head can strike.

Sparrow-beetles (Homunculus carduelis): Much rarer and more intelligent than their black-colored cousins, sparrow-beetles are also bigger in size, about an entire hand instead of just a palm. They have round little bodies, four tiny limbs, and a pair of feathered wings. They also have long tails with a tuft of fur at the end. Like their smaller, darker cousins, male sparrow-beetles also have a pair of horns and the females do not. Across the body is an interesting cross shaped pattern of lighter shade than the rest of the body. In spite of having tiny brains, they are very intelligent like cats and are known to display affection and even understand their owner to some degree. Golden golems are carnivorous, with their bodies splitting open to reveal large jaws and sharp teeth. However, it is believed that these jaws are more for carrying objects as they eat very little for having tiny stomachs. Their eyes are also very tiny, and it seems that they rely more on hearing than sight for maneuvering around. While closely related, sparrow-beetles cannot mate with bat-beetles, although the species have been known to coexist peacefully and even colonize together--sparrow-beetles have never been known to eat or fight with their black-winged cousins. These creatures have also obtained an urban nickname, and are usually referred to as golden golems, although this name is similarly untraceable to its origin.

Squid-octopus (Octopus teuthida): Small cephalopods, ink-spraying and eight-tentacled, with triangular fins widening their already wide bodies. Sliced finely, their meaty tentacles are a daring delicacy at southern banquets; gutted and rammed whole-or-sliced onto a stick, then fried with a salty marinade, they're a common and popular street vendor's food in the North.

Sting-sharks (Isurus dosyatidus): Slim, speedy little sharks with plain gray coloring, flattish bodies, and long, narrow beaky faces, the sting-sharks are mostly harmless creatures whose main natural defense is their quickness and agility. Up to four feet long, including their tapering, sting-tipped tails, they glide and duck and weave through the water like birds of prey. The broad triangular fins that make these maneuvers possible also make them a target for human fishers looking for an exotic soup ingredient. Although they flee first and sting only when cornered, more than one unwary wader has stepped on an equally unwary sting-shark minding its own business on the seafloor and gotten a whipped-up barb in the leg, which has given the unassuming creatures a disproportionately vicious reputation.

Swallow-hawks (Accipiter hirundo): These small, swift birds are found all across Aegis, brightly colored with thin twin tails and streamlined, backswept wings. These little birds of prey hunt in flocks, so they can take down unusually large prey, though their preferred diet is fish. Found all over the island chain except for Osorezan (where they cannot fly due to the hydrogen), these little raptors are a common sight over the sea, and though they are not known to have a taste for human flesh, they have been seen scavenging around shipwrecks.

Turtle-ducks (Anas pyxidea): Small and friendly with a plaintive forlorn call and large, glassy eyes, these pleasant little creatures are usually white or yellow in color with tough shells across their backs like their reptilian namesake. The meat of the turtle duck is dark and moist, and is used in many dishes, as are their eggs. The female turtle-duck is rumored to actually hunt small insects and and lizards to accommodate what are believed to actually be omnivorous eating habits.