The Naturalist's Journal

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

Spoiler

 

On the Undocumented Fauna of Axios

Dr. Edward Boyle

 

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Author’s Prelude:

 

In my extensive travels, I have seen many forms of life in all shapes and sizes. This is the true joy of being a naturalist, the realization that GOD’s creations are limitless. That every niche, no matter how small, has a creature to fill it.

 

Although my education and training was undertaken in Aeldin, I have always been enamoured with the distant land of Axios, where our human cousins carve lives for themselves on the frontier, among the dwarf-folk and elven-kin of the mountains and forests, and of course, among the vast untamed wilderness that land boasts.

 

It is my aim to eventually document every creature endemic to these Axiosan isles. Thus far I have ventured into the alpine hills of southern Ceru, and the jungles and plains of Asul. What lies below is the methodic documentation of all species previously unknown to the academics in Novo Horos, Aeldin, and all discoveries relevant to their name.

 

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The Marine Iguana

Location: Isle of Asul, Southern Coast

 

Length: 60-100cm

 

Width: 1 ft Across

 

Height: 1.5~ft Male. 1ft Female.

 

Weight: 26-29lbs

 

Habitat: Warm, rocky shoals.

 

Diet: Primarily aquatic algae

 

Behaviour:

Unlike its Genus Amblyrynchus cousins found in regions such as Almohad, these animals are veribly sea creatures, appearing very comfortable in the mild waters of Asul’s southern tip. The Marine Iguana appears capable of diving up to 10ft below the ocean’s surface, which it does to feet upon the algae that accumulates in rocky crevices of the shore. Beyond that, the Marine Iguana seems to spend most of its time basking upon the shore, absorbing the heat of the rocks.

 

Additional Notes:

N/A

 

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The Grand Auk

 

Location: Isle of Ceru, All Coastal Regions

 

Height: 3-3.5~ft tall

 

Weight: 11~lbs

 

Habitat: Alpine and tundra, coastal shoals

 

Diet: Small fish

 

Behaviour:

The grand auk is yet another fascinating anomaly among its family, the Genus Alcidae. Unlike other Alcidae such as the razorbill and the puffin, the great Auk appears to be entirely flightless, although it retains small vestigial wings. As such, this avian has adapted to be an excellent swimmer, capable of jetting through water at high speeds to catch prey. On land, they tend to be clumsy and slow.

 

The Grand Auk builds nests of stone and twigs upon flat surfaces by the shoreline. It appears to have few natural predators and have no innate fear of humans. I, for one, worry for the vulnerability of this species if exposed to mainstream hunting. For I suspect their clumsiness on land will render them easy prey.

 

Additional Notes:

N/A

 

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Flat-Faced Squirrel Monkey

 

Location: Southern Asul, inland jungle

 

Height: 1-1.5~ft

 

Weight: 7-10lbs

 

Habitat: Humid, thickly forested areas

 

Diet: Fruits, nuts, insects

 

Behaviour:

These small primate creatures appear to be highly hierarchical in nature. There is a clear head of the pack, of whom I affectionately bequeathed the title “king monkey” upon observation. He appears to have exclusive rights to pick his female mates first, and no other primate within the pack dares eat before he at the zenith of a successful forage. Fascinating how the behaviour of lesser primate species mirrors the most base instincts of our own people.

 

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The “Bryophite” (Sapient)

(Artist’s Rendition)

 

Location: Unknown Coniferous Forest

 

Height: 5’6Ft

 

Weight: 200lbs

 

Habitat: Thick evergreen and coniferous forests (of parasite, see below)

 

Behaviour:

Fully sentient, yet made entirely of flora. The Bryophite was one human, afflicted by a curse (a gift, as she herself considers it), turning all her organic tissue into plant matter. She claimed to have laid down upon a bed of moss as a human and woken up in her current form. Most peculiarly, the Bryophite seems to retain all the basic bodily functions of the common woman.

 

The Bryophite is capable of eating like normal. In her own words, the moss that consumed her body seems to be using the mammalian technique of energy intake, instead of photosynthesis. This leads me to believe the “moss” she speaks of is some form of parasite, taking advantage of the more advanced internal organs of it's host.

 

Additional Notes:

This mystic moss is evidently thick in texture and exudes a sweet fragrance. It pollenates using sleeping spores, perhaps a mechanism used to lure unsuspecting animals into its trap. It is found by lakesides and in deep evergreen and coniferous forests. I shall have to venture to the forests of Southern Ceru to examine this further, while taking the proper precautions of course. I should not like to be turned into a plant!

 

Evidently, the bryophite on occasion enters a trance, and spreads the moss through her fingertips onto objects such as boulders and trees. The moss seems to puppeteer the Bryophite to spread itself, much like pollen with bees.

 

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The Goblin (Sapient)

Location: Krugmar -  With large nomadic bands

 

Height: 5’1 and 5’6 respectively

 

Weight: 154 and 165~lbs respectively

 

Habitat: Varies

 

Behaviour:

This is hard to determine, given that the specimens given to me were delivered as corpses, slain by Westerlandic levy men. However my own personal experience from others of their species tell a story of a bestial race with little understanding of the subtle social cues that men (or even elves and dwarves) understand.

 

The goblins seem incapable of efficient metalwork or any other refined arts, making banditry and thievery the chief profession among their kind. They appear to be thin and scrawny, but in reality possess a wiry strength, much like their larger orcish cousins.

 

Additional Notes:

Further examination of the goblin’s optical capacities indicates a potential weakness for bright lights and flashing. Perhaps this is a vestigial remainder of the race’s origins in caves and caverns. Nevertheless, all Westerlandic personnel engaging in combat with these creatures are advised to bring torches, mirrors and any other device capable of blinding them with bright flashes.

 

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The Houzee (Sapient)

Location: Southern Asul Jungles

 

Height: Roughly 6’3 (The Gorilla Variety, other tribes are reportedly shorter).

               

Weight: 130-230~lbs

 

Habitat: Dense Jungle Biomes

 

Behaviour:

The Houzee are quite remarkable. They are a species of primate much like the squirrel monkey (seen above) who seem to have developed a sentience much like our own. They are capable of basic speech, and use words from their own native tongue when communicating with human-folk in common.

 

The Houzee are from the southern Jungles of Tahn, where they appear to make a living as subsistence farmers and hunter-gatherers. They forage abundant fruits from the jungle trees and hunt game such as wild ram when the time calls for it.

 

Additional Notes:

I must discover the other two sub-species of this enigmatic new people and document their attributes.

 

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Bokolo

 

Location:

Specimen examined was domestic.

 

Height:

Up to 12ft

 

Weight:

400-500lbs

 

Habitat:

Jungles and warm forests.

 

Behaviour:

These avians are exclusively flightless. Capable of imitating movement patterns of other species, most likely as a form of mating ritual. They are herbivorous in nature, feasting on bugs, fruits, seeds, leaves and vegetables. Fascinatingly, the Bokolo’s behaviour and minor features vary upon the primary colour of the bird’s plumage. For example, blue bokolos have webbed feet, more adapted for aquatic environments. Red bokolos appear to have curved beaks, very fierce and the hardest sub-species to domesticate.

 

Despite their docile nature and herbivore diet, bokolos possess immense strength and reportedly are used as mounts of war in various cultures.

 

Additional Notes:

I must inquire what happens when bokolos of different coloured plumage are crossbred with one another.

 

 

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About the Author


Dr. Edward Boyle is a graduate summa cum laude at the university of Novo Horos, Aeldin. His first published work was his master’s thesis titled ‘The amphibians of the Almorid - Debunking the extinction of the Yellow-bellied moundback’. Among his contributions unto the field of Naturalism, he also holds a general practitioner’s medical degree.

 

 

[zyquis 6]

Zanira carefully sews in additional pages at the back of her copy, for the purpose of appending her own studies "You have a good eye for detail Doctor..." She mumbles to herself as she works.

[Fawb 557]

Peter Walsh enjoys thumbing through his copy of the doctor's journal. He can't read, he just enjoys looking at the drawings of creatures from another land.

[Sky 0]

Philip Frederick thoroughly enjoys the read and looks forward to the next piece of published work.

[MrMineLoveDude 299]

Ruin'nir Terin reads through the journal, fascinated and intrigued by its contents.

[ski_king3 0]

Remus reads the piece while riding on his bokolo.

[Chorale__ 2147]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

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